"You know," Selvis's voice whispered as Ness squinted at a piece of parchment with Kale's prophecy hastily written on it, "I'm really starting to HATE puzzles."
"But puzzles are so much fun!" Bearable exclaimed.
Defo huffed, "Not when you're solving them at the middle of the night." And presumably started yelling at Herbo, "Why couldn't you have waited until the MORNING to relay this to us?!"
"It seemed important!" Herbo fretted, "And it wasn't like we could trust the painting to be truthful!"
"Better to work on them now before we have to scramble around to attend exams and cheer Ginny on at the final Quidditch match." Ness thought, interrupting the brewing argument as he spared a glance at Nagini who was dozing at the foot of his bed. Blissfully unaware of Selvis's growing frustration and Ginny's weary mumbles of, "Can we PLEASE solve this in the tomorrow after the Quidditch match? Or better yet just give me foot notes?"
"Oh! Oh! Luna asks if Ness knows who his shadow is!" Bearable chirped.
"Maybe it's his evil twin brother." Selvis deadpanned, sending a shiver down Ness's spine given how at this point anything could happen as he gave a mental shrug of his shoulders. "I don't know. I'll probably figure it out in the morning but right now, I just want to figure out what the Soot Covered Whisperers are and what a Cosmic squib is."
"I wonder why Twisted Painting brought up an astronomy term." Selvis murmured, "Outside of seers and homework no one really relies on it."
"Maybe it's one of his weird nicknames?" 'Luna' offered before huffing in annoyance, "Got to go, I'm starting to wake up a few of the others."
"Night Luna," Ness 'called' as Selvis grumbled, "I'll solve this in the morning." And Defe's presence vanished from his mind, leaving Ness alone with his thoughts as he tried to use what little moonlight was peeking through his curtains to study the prophecy. A small knot forming in his stomach as he reviewed the last few lines.
When four unite and a squib is born, the ruins shall echo a warning and the eagle's shadow, raised from land shall rise into the sky once more.
"The only person who I could possibly call my shadow is Giygas…But…he wasn't born or raised on earth." Ness thought, tapping the parchment and forcing himself to breath as the haunting idea of Giygas somehow surviving and being the underlying cause behind the memory gaps and how none of the wizards knew about Foggyland, Winters, Summers and Eagle Land loomed in the distance of his mind.
Although, that was probably a blessing in disguise since that meant that Dumbledore couldn't find his family and convince them to do…whatever the heck Dumbledore was attempting to do.
"No doubt meddling when he should be correcting his problems." Ness mentally scoffed, earning a few murmurs of agreement from the PSI beings.
Echo a warning…to echo that meant someone had stated it before and the area was repeating it. But what warning had someone said aloud only to be ignored?
"Oh duh! It's my warning!" Ness realized, "Or, the warning signs I gave off."
After all, who in their right mind would keep a ticking time bomb of anti-magic around? Dumbledore, that's who. And if he didn't believe Ness was a danger after there had been a slew of dangerous pranks, then he was certainly one after Edgecombe lost her magic because of Nagini's Poison Alpha bite.
"So…is a new enemy coming? One I made by accident when I fought at the graveyard?" Ness wondered, feeling sick as he sighed and folded the parchment up before stuffing it under his pillow. If he was going to make himself sick with fear and worry, then he might as well do it in the morning.
"No point in wasting sleep." Ness thought, closing his eyes and picturing himself at a baseball game with his dad to try and stave off the nightmares. They hadn't been very frequent lately, but he was starting to wake up with the feeling that he should remember something scary or the feeling of hunted but couldn't. And at this point it was better to be safe than sorry.
His repetitive mantra of 'baseball game' slowly leading him to just that, a baseball game with his dad. It was Onett Beginnings versus the Fiventent Fighters, the stands filled with fans dressed in Onett's trademark red and blue and Fiventent in green and loud yellow. Yells and cheers filled the air as the announcers relayed everything that was happening. "Go Beginnings!" He cheered, waving a flag and giving his father a wild grin before turning back to the crack of a ball being sent flying into the air.
"Come on Home run!" Ness urged, groaning when a Fighters catcher jumped up and caught the ball, the ref yelling "Out!" as the game went into its eighth inning.
Ness
"The Beginnings are down by three points, if they can just counter the Fighters' strong offense then they may have a change to get into the nationals!" Ness murmured, adjusting his cap and frowning as he heard the speakers playing a familiar melody.
"That's weird, we're just starting the inning." Ness thought turning to ask his dad what was going on only to find that he was gone. "Dad?" Ness called looking around the blurs of vibrant color to try and spot his father's 'lucky' varsity jacket.
"Dad?" he stepped out of his row, looking up and down as the melody grew louder and then abruptly faded as some unseen being lowered the volume.
Ness
"What's going on?!" Ness exclaimed, looking around and gasping as the sunny skies were swallowed up by the night sky filled to the brim with stars that glowed brightly in the darkness.
Help me
"I need a weapon." He realized, debating if he should just risk jumping over the guardrail to grab a bat from the dig-out or take the long way around when the stars flickered. Dying out one by one and creating a trail that had Ness turning towards the pitcher's mound where a being in black was.
Help me
"A Wizard…?" Ness murmured, taking a deep breath before he slowly walked towards the guardrail, noticing a shiver of movement within the shadows around him as he stopped at the rail. The wizard was wearing a black robe like every other wizard, only they had a hood on and were covering their mouth.
"Dangerous."
"It's stirring."
"What? Who's whispering?"
"We need to find him."
"Hello? Who's there!"
"A memory wipe won't be able to stop him."
The movement in the shadows grew bigger, acting as if they were grass blades in the wind instead of a flicker of light.
"Dumbledore is to be prosecuted for his crimes."
"We need to act quickly."
"His family doesn't exist."
"He has friends though…"
"Mr. Weasley is already under suspicion."
"We'll go after them."
"I won't let you touch them!" Ness yelled, moving to jump over the rail when something held him back.
Help me
"Lovegood knew too much."
"It's about time we dealt with them."
Run
"I won't hesitate to use a Rockin' Omega!" Ness threatened, his heart pounding in his chest as he realized the shadows were people looking at him with hidden eyes, their mouths not moving but their words still being whispered to him. As if…As if he was reading their minds without realizing it.
To close, they were too close to him. They were crowding him in, trapping him in one spot as the stars were snuffed out with much more urgency.
"We can't have another war."
"Our secrets shall be protected."
"For the sake of the Wizarding World!"
"We simply need order…"
"We simply need to dispose of him!"
"Stay back!"
Ness used Rockin' Omega
Sound exploded around him, the silent screams of the whisperers—the Unspeakables that Dumbledore and that book had mentioned? —piercing Ness's mind as a hurried, almost corrupt version of his lullaby feverishly played in the background.
The Unspeakables stumbled back. Grabbing their heads and silently wailing as Ness pushed past them, running for the exit as trembling hands reached out to stop him only to falter.
Stay
Almost there, he was almost at the exit!
Safe
Just a few more steps—wait, what was that silhouette? It was blurry and sliver with several chains and locks standing against the background.
Little -
The world spun, spinning Ness around so he was facing the sky which only had one brightly shining star near a dull sliver one high in the sky.
Until I am safe.
And then the sky exploded, light smacking Ness right in the face as he sat up and fought the urge to throw up.
The early summer yet not summer chill bluntly informing him that he was awake and feeling clammy as he took a deep breath, grabbed the parchment paper from last night and hastily wrote down everything that he could remember from his dream.
His trembling hands going into a full-blown shake as he reread the simplified contents of his dream.
"The Soot Covered Whisperers were Unspeakables." Ness realized, nudging open his curtain and cursing at the night sky peeking in through the window.
It was far too early to inform his friends about his realization and dream…But hopefully not that early to tell Paula about what he had seen and what Hermione had discovered.
"Na-," Ness started to hiss before he stopped himself and gave the snake a hard poke. Earning a grumpy half hiss and an angry snap of, "I'm Ssssleeeping!"
"I need you to deliver this to Paula." Ness explained, quickly adding, "And no, this cannot wait." When Nagini gave him a grumpy look and moved to slither under the blankets.
"Fine. You owe me." She huffed, coiling around the paper and disappearing with another grumpy hiss. Leaving Ness with his jumbled thoughts as he lied back down and focused on breathing.
Of course, the exercises Kale had given him to practice closing his mind and relaxing were swiftly destroyed by his mind feverishly going over the dream, picking at the muffled words that had been floating under the roar of the crowd and the whispers of the Unspeakables.
"Someone…had been calling me for help." Ness realized, another wave of nausea going over him as he remembered just what the Unspeakables were in charge of. Why was whatever was sealed in the vault that felt like Giygas be calling him for help and…telling him to be safe?
"Ensure that Victoria is keeping the Unspeakables away from Harry and Ness."
If Victoria was supposed to be keeping them away from him and Potter then that meant she was either the person in charge of the Unspeakables, an Unspeakable herself or someone who had power over the real person in charge of the Unspeakables.
"And her job is pushing the Unspeakables into attacking the people AROUND me to maintain order." Ness realized, "Something she won't be able to do for much longer if Fudge is cracking down on Voldemort AND Dumbledore's spies."
"Just so you know, Paula's preparing to smack someone with a frying pan." Nagini announced, grumpily reappearing on his lap with Paula's letter as Cloak gave her one of his many disapproving ruffles.
"She should be," Ness murmured, opening her letter with trembling hands and forcing himself to breath as he read it.
"Starting to think that Wizards just LOVE to tip-toe around one another. Although good on Sirius for throwing Dumbledore into the frying pan. That man deserves it. Especially if he's trying to find Eagle Land for some troubling reason.
Are you doing okay? Your writing was very shaky and having a nightmare on top of the confirmation that our locations don't exist in the Wizarding World and vice versa isn't helping.
Although I suppose that's a silly question after that nightmare you had. I really don't want to admit it but…It seems more likely that Giygas somehow didn't leave after we defeated him, and the wizards somehow got a hold of him. I really hope that's not the case but knowing our luck? It probably IS why you've been getting such weird dreams and why those Unspeakable fellows are hot on your heels.
Although…If Giygas DID somehow linger on earth then how would that explain all of the changes we've encountered in Cultist land? And why would he start looking at you as some sort of equal? We were his enemies. Weaker, annoying enemies who needed help from everyone to calm him down.
From, a tired and annoyed Paula."
Paula's points helped ease the whirlwind of panic swirling inside him, but not by much as he leaned back and looked at the red canopy roof over his head. Was Giygas honestly back and trapped inside the Ministry? Or was it a secondary being? Like that Nova Enigma being Dumbledore had mentioned.
"Nova Engima…connections to America and outer space….wait." was…was it possible that Giygas wasn't the only PSI alien who had their eyes on earth? One who was sane until they stumbled into the wizards' line of sight?
Grabbing another sheet of paper, Ness relayed his newest theory to Paula and his realization of Victoria's role.
"I mean, it IS possible that another alien came to visit and started to reach out to you for help. But until we can somehow break into the Ministry, we aren't going to find out anytime soon.
Also, that painting was right, Dumbledore has way too many puppets under his control. But that brings up another thing to wonder about, why did Dumbledore use Ginny's father to guard the Department when he had an Unspeakable under his thumb? It couldn't be loyalty to the Ministry given how many Ministry workers he has under his thumb.
And another thing, if this Nova Engima IS another alien wrapped up in this mess then why did Mr. Kale's prophecy warn about your shadow born from the earth coming back? If it IS an alien, then they would be born in the land of the stars or something. And why are the cultists obsessed with stars and outer space all of a sudden and chucking magic at it? I thought they turned their noses up at the thought of life existing in the stars."
"Because clearly, America has more aliens than we know." Ness thought, "Although…Paula's right, why WOULD they care about NASA science stuff when they have astronomy? It's not like Americans use science in magic."
"Or vice versa." Cloak offered as Nagini yawned, "Well, apparently they do since Twisted Painting said THEY call Kale's race Cosmic Squibs."
"They being the Unspeakables-," Ness started to reply when he stopped.
"Ness?" Cloak prompted as Ness blinked and breathed, "Kale's a PSI user. The Unspeakables classify PSI users as Cosmic Squibs."
"Which has to do with…?" Cloak once again prompted as Ness started to write back to Paula, "Why would they label a race that came from America with a name that connects to Outer Space? Why did those American wizards I read about in that ghost author's book was convinced that they had angered a god among the stars? Because our powers somehow came from the stars."
"But how do they know that?" Nagini asked, "They don't know about Giygassss…right?"
"I…I have no idea." Ness admitted, "The only way they would know is if they asked Porky or…or if the Nova Engima WAS somehow Giygas."
And it would make a small amount of sense if Giygas was the Nova Engima, it would explain how he knew that lullaby that Ness had grown up with and how the creatures brought to life with PSI saw him as their leader despite his ties to Giygas being firmly severed. But at the same time, it wouldn't make sense.
"That can't be the answer." Ness thought, jumping as he heard movement around him and realized that it was time to get ready for breakfast. "It shouldn't be the answer." Ness silently pleaded, numbly falling into his morning routine as he hurried to breakfast.
His heart dropping when he didn't see Ginny at the Gryffindor table and remembered that today was the final Quidditch match of the year. He glanced around the dining hall, relived to see Luna happily eating breakfast and Selvis trying to stifle a yawn and avoid bumping into someone.
"I'll tell them on the way there." Ness decided, forcing himself to relax a little as he prepared his plate and looked around the noisy Gryffindor table, their voices low but their spirits high as they rushed to finish their food. Obviously eager to partake in an event that wasn't connected to politics or the growing man hunt for their Headmaster.
It made Ness feel a little envious at how easygoing they were all acting while he was suffering with the dilemma of Giygas being back and his friends being hunted down by Unspeakables. "Envy never helped anyone though." Ness chided, tuning out their chatter and excited whispers as he shoveled some grits into his mouth and moved to stand outside. His appetite almost non-existent thanks to his nightmare and early morning realizations.
The sky was a hazy blue and devoid of any clouds, giving the Quidditch teams a perfect day for a match but for the people sitting in the stands a bothersome day thanks to the muggy summer heat rolling in. Pointedly reminding everyone that it was the end of May and that June would bring them closer to a rushed exam season.
"Right…Exams…Maybe I should focus on that." Ness realized before he tossed that thought aside with a small huff of laughter. Other than getting a decent grade so he wouldn't have an army of summer homework to deal with, he really didn't care about the wizards' crazy school system or their world to try and be a part of it.
Plus, he didn't need any of these classes in his normal life. So why should he care? Shaking his head, he walked down the staircase and leaned against it. Enjoying the cold chill of the stone guardrail as he watched clusters of students make their way to the Quidditch field, trying to pick out Selvis and Luna from the crowd as he tapped his foot and listened to the bursts of chatter and laughter walking past him.
His shaky but easy-going mood souring slightly as he caught bits and pieces of conversations that implied that someone in the Ministry had been attacked.
"Did the Unspeakables start their attack already?" Ness wondered, feeling sick as he caught, "-hy is You-Know-Who so gun-ho about that department? It's heavily guarded." And relaxed a little. It was just Voldemort being Voldemort and trying to break into the Department of Secrets again—wait. Wait.
"Ness!" he jumped, briefly breaking the mantra of 'Voldemort is once again attempting to get into the Department of Secrets where several PSI beings are being held captive.' As he looked up to see Luna and an oddly flustered Selvis.
"Did you read the news?" Selvis started, forcing himself to calm down as Luna gave a strained hum of, "He doesn't read the Daily Prophet, Ginny does."
"What happened?" Ness asked, feeling sick as they started to walk to the Quidditch field. Trying to keep an air of normality around them to avoid the groups bustling past them to take interest in their conversation.
"Well, according to the Daily Prophet someone tried to break into the Department of Secrets." Selvis started, fiddling with one of his charmed rocks as Luna nodded and interjected, "We think they succeeded."
"Why?" Ness pressed, Cloak tightening around him as Selvis glanced around and hissed, "Because someone named Victoria Withers was put into Saint Mungo along with several other people. Meaning that somehow, You-Know-Who did break into the Department for a hot second."
"Victoria's an Unspeakable—or someone in charge of them." Ness murmured glancing at Luna and remembering how the Unspeakables were going to after his wizarding friends just to get to him.
"Right, so she must have been close to guarding whatever Dumbledore wanted if she got in You-Know-Who's way." Selvis theorized, his eyes sharpening as he continued, "This could work in our favor, force Dumbledore to come back or maybe cough something up to Lupin who could tell-,"
"What about the Unspeakables?" Ness interrupted. Earning a baffled look from Selvis and a worried one from Luna.
"You think the Unspeakables will start their attack on you and Potter now that Victoria's out of the picture?" Luna asked as Defe murmured, "I wish that was the case."
"I had a dream last night—a warning about the Unspeakables and I got to hear their thoughts." Ness hastily explained glancing around the road which still had clumps of students around them, the noise picking up as the field came into view. "They were whispering about attacking the people around me since they couldn't find out where I lived."
"What?" Selvis whispered, growing pale as Luna's eyes grew glassy, a barely audible murmur of "Father?" escaping her lips going unheard as Ness gave a grim nod. "If Victoria's in the hospital, then that means the Unspeakables don't have anyone to keep them on a lease."
A heavy silence fell over them. Only broken by Luna's soft, "After Ginny's done being a seeker, you'll tell us about what else you saw in your dream."
"Right." Ness started when Cloak suddenly yelped, "Granger alert!" and almost pinched Ness's arms from the sleeves suddenly shrinking a size or two in surprise. The trio exchanged a bewildered look and tried to discreetly look around before Luna pointed to the entrance of the Quidditch Field to see Hermione and Potter standing by the gate.
Hermione standing on her tippy toes and trying to find someone while Potter looked confused and annoyed, gesturing inside and saying something that was lost in the babble of chatter.
"She's probably looking for me." Ness realized, the knot of dread and fear morphing into light annoyance. His headache returning with a small vengeance as Selvis mumbled a few curses and Luna murmured, "With that attitude, she makes a perfect Gryffindor."
"What?" Ness asked looking at Luna in surprise as the girl gave a stiff shrug of her shoulder, clearly having pieced something together about Hermione's strange behavior and not liking it.
"Think about it, she risked an encounter with a crazed painting, spent time with a teacher she loathes all for the sake of knowledge. She's a Ravenclaw when it comes to smarts but a Gryffindor when it comes to obtaining knowledge."
"You don't think she's going to try and force Ness to talk about his hometown. Do you?" Selvis said in disbelief before he shook his head and scoffed, "Never mind, I forgot that Gryffindors have the subtle of a runaway train."
A snort escaped Ness as Selvis shot him a glare, "Earthbound I swear on Merlin's beard, if you have actually fought a runaway train-,"
"I haven't, I haven't." Ness promised laughing as Selvis relaxed and then face palmed as he stated, "I have fought Titanic Ant though."
"I hate you. So much right now." Selvis stated, scowling as Luna quipped, "How big was the ant?"
"About the size of a cat." Ness answered as Selvis snapped, "Don't encourage him! I don't need my brain rotted by his weirdness!"
"I thought your brain was going to rot thanks to my weirdness." Luna hummed, giggling as Selvis deadpanned, "Yours as well. I simply built an immunity to it."
"Really? So, you wouldn't get mad about the Three headed Snake of fate?"
"Lovegood. Shut your mouth before I hex it shut-," Selvis started, pulling out his wand to carry out his threat when someone yelled, "Earthbound!" and they looked up, the tense but jovial mood snuffed out as they spotted Hermione bustling over to them through the crowd with Potter half-heartedly chasing after her.
"Did you guys forget she was there? Or was it just me?" Ness asked, fighting back a scowl as Hermione stopped in front of them, "It wasn't just you." Selvis stated with a small scowl as Luna murmured, "We were probably walking by a field of small Forgetful Tulips."
Selvis shot her a withering glare as Ness shoved his hands into his pocket and gave a slight nod at Hermione, "What's up Hermione?"
"Nothing much," Hermione said, but it was a lie given the fire burning in her eyes and a hand resting in a school bag that should have been left in her dormitory. "I just have a few questions for you."
"Well, they'll have to wait." Selvis interrupted, giving Hermione a sneer as she shot him an irritated look, "We're on our way to cheer Ginny on."
"Or give her bad luck." Luna offered, shrugging her shoulders at Ness and Selvis's bewildered looks, "What? Even though I don't like the people in my house very much doesn't mean I want them to lose." She stated.
"But it's very important-," Hermione started when Ness noticed that almost everyone attended the Quidditch match was already inside, meaning it was almost a matter of seconds before the game started.
"Unless it involves what happens to us now that Victoria's MIA, it can wait." Ness interrupted, noticing how Potter flinched a little bit and directed his gaze which had been on Luna onto a patch of grass. "We have a friend to cheer on." Ness finished, stepping around Hermione as she reached out to try and grab him only to flinch back when Ness shot her a warning glare and Luna hummed, "It would be a shame if Ron got some good shots only to find out that his friends weren't watching."
"It'll only take a few minutes." Hermione insisted, but she knew she had already lost the battle as Luna's words prompted Potter to hurry inside the field to grab a seat in the stands.
"Selvis, I think your turning Luna into a Slytherin as well." Ness noted as Luna climbed the stairs into the Ravenclaw stand and proudly revealed her blue and gold scarf that was charmed to say, "Go Ginny!" and "Go Ravenclaw!"
"I'm a wonderful influence." Selvis stated, glowing with pride as they sat with the Slytherins to distant themselves from Hermione who was giving Selvis a withering glare. Ness would have made a rebuke at that, but Lee Jordon started talking and the two teams kicked into the air.
Time slipped away as Ness watched Ginny dip and dive around the Ravenclaw seeker while trying to find the end game ball. The crowd cheering, booing or singing 'Weasley is our King' at every high point, low point or every time Ron fumbled with the ball.
"He's doing a lot better…" Selvis grumpily admitted when Ness asked if Ron was really that bad as Gryffindor got to their feet in a wave of red and gold as Ron scored and put Team Gryffindor in the lead for a few moments. The game ended with Gryffindor winning with a fairly large lead and taking a giant trophy. Much to the Slytherins' and Ravenclaws' dismay as everyone trooped back to their respective house for a party.
"We're going to have to tell Ginny about your dream in the morning." Selvis lamented, "I forgot how party happy the Gryffindors can be."
Ness was about to ask what was wrong with that before he remembered that this was the last game of the year and Ginny had been the MVP of the game. "I'll tell you it tonight, once everything winds down." Ness stated, tapping his pocket as he looked around for Luna.
Selvis nodded and joined the Slytherins who were complaining about the Ravenclaws' bad luck and trying to take solace in the fact that at least the one Weasley who had her head on straight had been the seeker and not a part of Golden Boy Potter's group.
"You know, I heard that Gryffindor parties were the things of legends but ah…this is a bit much." Cloak admitted as Ness stepped inside and was bombarded with cheers, made up songs being paraded as Gryffindor's anthem, butter beers and food and banners glowing with gold, red and fireworks.
"Your original owner wasn't Gryffindor?" Ness asked, glancing at Cloak as he briefly shot Ginny a thumbs up before he retreated to his dormitory. Not in the mood for a wizard's version of an American football after game party.
"No, he was Hufflepuff, but he had a heart of a Gryffindor, always eager for adventure and what not." Cloak explained, "He wasn't friends with a lot, but before the Slytherins started to win every year Gryffindors were well known for their celebrations."
"Really? Even back then?"
"Oh yes, when Hufflepuff won it was a loud party as well, but it was mostly small and not noisy since they all took care of one another. Same with Ravenclaw but it was less of a party and more of a book group meeting to discuss how to prepare for their next fight."
"And Slytherin?"
"Don't know, he had a few friends here and there in the Slytherin house, but ah…with Voldemort's return he stopped speaking with them."
Ness could only manage a soft, "Oh." As Cloak continued his tale, "Gryffindors were brave and reckless, going all out to celebrate their wins and not caring about the rules. It's sort of a no brainer why Slytherin started to win the house cup every year given their headstrong attitude."
"Wow…But, if that's the case then why does everyone state that Gryffindor is the best house?" Ness asked, kicking his shoes off and jumping on his bed as Cloak answered, "Not everyone says that. Everyone you've spoken to is merely bias by their house."
"…huh." Ness thought, moving to close the curtain when he spotted a shadow on the staircase. "…Weird." He decided but ignored it to close his curtain shut so he could write to Paula some more before dinner.
That quickly proved to be a mistake when he heard annoyed hiss of, "Come off it Hermione, we should be celebrating not poking a bee hive!" that belonged to a certain red headed King of the Weasleys.
"Do you need something?" Ness called, frowning as a sudden hush went over the trio trying to sneak up on him. "Well?" Ness prompted, pulling the curtain aside to try and glare at frozen trio looking at him.
Only Hermione seemed to know what she wanted from this encounter as Ron grinded his teeth and tried to pull her back. Not wanting anything to do with Ness. Potter looked unsure and grumpy, but he too was trying to pull her back. Looking tired as he mouthed something to the brunette's back in frustration.
"I should have gone to the library." Ness thought, at least there he could disappear behind a bookshelf and teleport into his sanctuary. But he doubted that would hinder Hermione for long, so with a sigh he said, "What do you want Hermione? I really just want to relax before we're thrown back into exam season."
"Yea, we should be studying for that." Ron agreed, looking pained at the thought of studying…or maybe it was agreeing with Ness as Potter nodded in agreement and whispered something that went unheeded as Hermione pulled her robe free and sat on the bed in front of Ness's with a determent expression on her face.
"Let me guess, here to ask me about the prophecy Twisted Painting overheard." Ness stated, taking a small moment to inwardly laugh at Hermione's stunned expression before she nodded, "That's right it's-,"
"None of your business." Ness interrupted, remembering with a jolt that the Twisted Painting had warned Hermione against finding out more about the mess Giygas had seemingly left behind.
"What—it has everything to do with us!" Hermione spluttered her shock morphing into outrage as Ron pointedly reminded her, "Hermione this is Dumbledore's problem. Not ours, it's not even connected to You-Know-Who."
"Last time I checked. The prophecy didn't mention a little Winged Lion." Ness pointed out.
"How do you-," Hermione started when she stopped and said, "You spoke to him."
"He had something important to tell me." Ness lied before he said, "But you really shouldn't speak with him. He's dangerous."
"Dangerous how?" Ron questioned, his scowl deepening as Ness truthfully admitted, "He doesn't listen to me—not like the others, he just comes and goes."
"So that attack on Hermione was unprompted." Ron said with a hint of surprise in his voice as Ness nodded.
"Could you at least tell us where Eagle Land is?" Potter asked, climbing up the stairs to gentle nudge Hermione as she fumbled for another path to try and use to get the information she so desperately needed. "Maybe we can send someone to cut Dumbledore off—get him to explain himself."
Potter seemed pained to admit that Dumbledore was holding secrets but given their relationship it was normal for Potter to feel defensive over his headmaster. Ness glanced at Hermione and then slowly but truthfully stated, "Eagle Land is in America."
"Where in America?" Hermione pressed looking annoyed when Ness could only shrug his shoulders and give her a firm look, "Don't know, and frankly I don't want you to know."
"But-," Hermione started when Ron joined Potter and gave her a hard nudge, warning her not to keep pushing Ness's buttons.
"Could you at least tell us why you won't tell us?" Hermione finally settled on, looking annoyed at Ron's sharp warning glare and Potter's wary glances at the staircase. As if realizing that someone might come up to drag Ron back to the party.
"I don't want to give the Unspeakables a reason to hunt people down or encourage whoever directed the PSI beings to me a reason to hunt you down." Ness stated giving Potter a sharp look, "Remember? Victoria was guarding us. And with her out of the way they're going to start taking pot shots."
At first Potter didn't look worried going to say something when he stopped and murmured, "Sirius," before scowling and looking away.
"We can handle them." Harry said as Ron looked uneasy.
"Be my guest then." Ness stated, checking the clock and getting to his feet, "If you excuse me, I'm going to get dinner."
"Hold on!" Hermione exclaimed, flinching back from the withering glare Ness gave her as she stumbled on, "Why did Kale feel at ease at your…minions stirring up trouble?"
"That is none of your business." Ness stated before he disappeared down the staircase and found Ginny latching onto him like an octopus and rushing him out of Gryffindor tower.
"Not a fan of being in the spotlight?" Ness tried to joke when Ginny shot him a serious look, "Defe told Sawdust that the Unspeakables are going after us."
"I'll explain after dinner." Ness promised, throwing a glance at the Fat Lady's portrait before picking up the pace. "Hermione just got done trying to mug me for information."
"She isn't going to stop." Ginny warned, sharing a bitter frown with Ness as he nodded in agreement, "Yea. But if she's searching for information then at least we'll be getting some as well."
"Hopefully, some information that points AWAY from Giygas somehow being alive." Ness thought as they walked down the empty staircase to dinner. Their footsteps echoing loudly around them as they went.
12 out of 12 chapters!
Which means that I just nuked most of my back log...I really need to think ahead more ;;-
Oh well! That's a problem for future me and not present me since present me is busy focusing on trying to stay on a schedule.
Also thanks to Johto Jedi's reviews I am fully convinced that the camera man was the one who sold the pictures that showed Ness's adventure at the very start of the story/fanfic to the Wizards...well I was convinced after I remembered who said "Fuzzy Pickles" in Earthbound, had a few laughing fits at the bits and pieces I remembered and before realizing who said Fuzzy Pickles in the game.
Also thanks to my lack of Earthbound knowledge (Well, knowledge that isn't pulled haphazardly from the wiki) I don't really know what house Lucus would fit in, I can definitely sort of see Ninten being a Slytherin given how he is actually related to Giygas and how he kept going despite facing the unimaginable odds.
But I also see him as Gryffindor like Ness (Well, not like Ness since I forgot why I put Ness in Gryffindor other than his loyalty to his friends and Dumbledore interfering and after looking at the wiki I now see Ness as a Hufflepuff since Gryffindor has nothing to do with loyalty just bravery) since he didn't even realize Giygas was a part of his family tree he had the courage to keep moving forward with his friends to protect his family and hometown.
Lucus sort of strikes me as a Hufflepuff since despite being scrappy and very timid (at least in Brawl I don't know much of Lucus's personality other than him being quiet and sad thanks to everything just going wrong for him in terms of family relationship...someone give this kid a hug) he keeps going despite facing terrifying obstacles and having to kill his own twin brother to protect his friends, dog and save the world despite facing hardships that a child should never face.
Also, I asked my little sister if she thought loyalty was a Gryffindor trait and she said it was a Hufflepuff trait so now I have no freakin' clue where I got loyalty from other than Nevile getting points in book 1 for trying to stop Harry and co. but failing and I guess I merged bravery with loyalty for some reason since Nevilie didn't want to rat them out but had to for the greater good? and used the evidence of Harry's friendship with Hermione and Ron and the other houses relationships- I.E the Hufflepuffs seemingly always ready to strangle Harry whenever he was painted in a bad light, the Ravenclaws being the smart kids and Slytherin being evil- to further cement loyalty with bravery since they were always ready to dive head first into trouble with him? Idk.
Also-Also WHY DOESN'T FANFICTION SUPPORT ALIGN RIGHT?! It's ruining my attempts to make reading chaotic and unsettling. T-T
