Saturday, October fifteenth . . .
It is called A Moment Of Clarity.
"I had a dream," Voldemort said at breakfast. "Right before I woke up."
"What sort of dream, Master?" Lucius Malfoy asked.
"A very strange dream," Voldemort replied. "I dreamed that a demon made of bone with red eyes stood between me and Potter. It seemed to me that I should be worried about it."
"That is a strange dream, Master," Lucias said.
It happens once and only once to each and every one of us at some point in our existence.
"You're getting fat," Aroha Maruapo said to Helena Potter in the bathroom.
"I am not," Helena replied.
"Yes you are. Look at you. You're what? one ten now? Ninety pounds is the ideal body weight." She took a closer look. "And what happened to your boobs? They shrunk."
"I'm adding mass and decreasing breast size," Helena replied. "I found a book on Patil's bed. For this host's height and build, healthy weight is about one-twenty and the breasts should be more in the C range. It makes the back muscles ache less too."
"Pfft," Aroha replied as she finished brushing her iridescent starwing black hair. "You'll never get any if you're one twenty and have breasts that are that small. Cow." She made a few mooing noises and then left, laughing to herself.
Helena watched her leave and then looked back into the mirror. Harry's green eyes looked back at her. They almost seemed to be accusing her, of failing the Gryffindor name by her mere existence.
Helena felt guilty, then angry at the guilt, and splashed water on the mirror, obscuring the image.
"Well, really," the mirror protested. "What did I do?"
It is a moment where we are shown a small bit of the Universe's Purpose and our role in the fulfillment of that Purpose. Few people recognize the moment for what it is and so are taken by surprise when the time comes for them to play that role.
"It is odd, Minerva," Dumbledore said as they walked to the Great Hall. "Since the exchange students arrived, the house rivalries seem to have disappeared."
"That is odd, Albus," McGonagall replied.
"I suspect an outside force in this."
"Voldemort?"
"Doubtful." Dumbledore looked down at a house-elf as it popped into existence. The little creature was actually shaking with fear. That was unusual as Dumbledore had done his damnedest, and more besides, to see to it that the house-elves felt safe and unafraid within Hogwarts' walls. "Materian?"
"Please, Master," the house-elf said in a quavering voice. "You have a visitor, in your office."
"Lucias Malfoy, I expect," McGonagall said quietly.
"There is only one way to find out. Oh, and Minerva, If you should learn anything regarding the students, please let me know."
"Of course, Albus," McGonagall lied with a perfectly straight face.
Today, three people had a Moment Of Clarity. Only one realized what had happened.
In a forgotten corner of the castle, Gary glared down at his hands, forcing his claws to retract, willing the skin to close and hide the claws. Only when his fingernails had slid back into place did he relax, leaning back against the stone wall and taking deep breaths.
It was getting harder. Lately, fully half his attention was focused on keeping his instincts in check and the longer he had to share Hogwarts with the Sius, it would only get worse. He could smell them, their pheromones hung in the castle air. Made him want to tear them out of their bodies. The kill, the sweet release.
He forced his mind away from those thoughts. He had to hold on. Had to. Whatever the Old Lady had done to him, he was still in control. Still capable of biding his time, letting the hunt play out. Capable of waiting for the right moment, the opportunity to strike.
Helena was his best shot. Vital, he told himself firmly as he stood. Vital and necessary. The Old Lady had been very clear; Harry Potter had no family. None. Helena was a Siu, and as much as he wanted to rip out that snow-white throat of hers, she had to stay alive. For now.
He took several deep breaths and then inhaled deeply. Even here, away from the occupied parts of the castle, he could smell them. Sweet, with just a touch of sour and mint.
His claws twitched inside his fingers, but otherwise, nothing. He nodded to himself and headed off towards the Great Hall for breakfast. The holidays were drawing closer, he just had to be patient.
"I'm going to kill Gary," Ron announced as the Gryffindor sixth years exited the dormitory and descended the stairs.
"I'll hold him down for you," Seamus volunteered.
"Me too," said Dean.
Harry groaned. "Ron, you can't kill someone for having nightmares."
"Sure I can," Ron said. "Especially when his screams and moans keep the rest of us up. I'll tell the Ministry it was out of mercy."
"You'd still be sent to Azkaban," Hermione said as she, Helena, and a girl in Hufflepuff robes joined them. "Mercy killings get you sent to Azkaban unless you can prove that there was no other option."
"But there is no other option," Dean said.
"Yeah," Seamus agreed. "We either kill him, or go nutters."
"Honestly," Hermione sighed, rolling her eyes.
It was at that point that Ron stopped and turned to stare at the girl in Hufflepuff robes. "Who are you?" He looked her up and down. She was just a shade over five one and had a figure like a willowy reed. Her hair was bright pink and pulled into pigtails. Her eyes were also pink, exuded a deep, unrelenting sadness and were focused on the black box in her hands, which was making strange noises as her thumbs danced on its surface. "And what the hell are you doing in the Gryffindor Dorm?"
"Febreeze Arabella Bach," she replied with a Lichenstien accent in her voice. "Saint Joan's Academy of Witchcraft."
"She's a friend," Hermione said, laying a hand on Bach's arm. There was something oddly possessive about that gesture.
"Oh," Ron said. He looked down at the box in Bach's hands. "An what's that then?"
An almost fanatical look came into Bach's eyes. "This is Sonic-chan," she told him in a whisper. "The fastest hedgehog alive."
"A bloody hedgehog?" Ron exclaimed in disbelief.
"Ron . . ." Hermione whispered in a "oh no, please don't" tone of voice. But Ron was already rolling.
"A hedgehog? Fast? I could outrun a hedgehog on all fours."
Bach made a hissing noise. "Are you mocking Sonic-chan?" she growled as her willowy figure seemed to change, her teeth elongating to points. The box she'd been holding fell to the ground as she reached out for Ron, her fingertips lethally sharp.
"You're a Veela!" Harry exclaimed.
"Half-Veela" Hermione corrected as Helena jumped between Ron and Bach. The other girl's form was now twice as tall and clearly no longer human. But oddly, she didn't look like Veelas from the World Cup. Harry pressed his hand to his forehead, vaguely aware of Hermione, Ron, Seamus and Dean doing the same as a shooting pain raced through his brain, vague memories swimming to the surface.
"Feebreeze!" Helena shouted, grabbing Bach's upper arms. "Feebreeze!"
"Kill him," Bach hissed.
"Febreeze! Remember why you're here! This isn't it! Remember!"
Bach halted and stared down at Helena. "Re . . . member . . .
"Yes," Helena said, sounding oddly relieved. "Remember why we, why you came here to Hogwarts."
"Yesssssss," Bach hissed in a more human voice.
Harry closed his eyes, the memories were almost where he could see them.
"Sonic-chan!" Bach shouted, startling Harry into opening his eyes. The girl was staring down at the box and then she rushed over to Hermione and grabbed her bare wrist. "Is Sonic-Chan all right, Hermi-chan?"
Harry blinked. Hermi-chan? Hermione would hex anyone into next week if they called her that. Why would--"
"Are you all right, Brother?" Helena asked, laying a hand on Harry's cheek. At her touch, the surfacing memories vanished with his curiosity about Hermione's odd behavior. Moments later, so did his awareness of that. He turned and looked into his sister's eyes and smiled. He had his sister, and that was all that mattered. Still, what had he been --
"Are you all right?" Helena asked again. "Did your scar hurt?"
Of course, that had been it. "Yeah," Harry said. "Just a little."
She smiled at him and let go of his cheek. "But not any more?" Harry shook his head. "Good. Why don't you, Ron, Hermione and your friends go down to the Great Hall? You do have a Quidditch game today."
"Oh! Right!" Harry exclaimed and dashed out of the room, his friends close behind. Helena, however, grabbed Bach's robe to keep her from following.
"What?" Bach snapped, not taking her eyes from the game.
"Have you totally lost your mind?" Helena exclaimed when she heard the painting close. "What were you doing, shifting right in front of Potter like that?"
"Weasley insulted Sonic-chan," Bach replied sullenly. "He had to pay."
"Pay?" Helena threw her arms up in the air. "Have you completely forgotten what you are?" She jabbed a finger into Bach's chest. "This, is a shell. A disguise." She slapped the game from Bach's hands. "Pay attention! This is a top level operation and I'm about ready to go over to Dumbledore and work against us--yes, my own kind, then have to associate with such miserable, incompetent, operatives!"
"But Sonic-chan . . ." Bach protested weakly.
"You want Meghan to hear about this?" Helena asked. "Because as an Analyzer, its my opinion that you are becoming contaminated by your host and that makes you a problem unit. You know how Meghan likes to deal with problem units."
Febreeze swallowed audibly. "Yes, Helena. I'm sorry. It won't happen again."
"Good." She started to leave as Febreeze retrieved the game. "And one more thing," she said, pausing and turning to meet Febreeze's eyes. "I could care less what you and Granger get up to, but kindly keep it down. Not everyone in that dorm can switch off their hearing like me and Aroha. No, on second thought, stay out of here entirely. Remember that Stuart isn't like the others and he wouldn't think twice about 'accidentally' shoving you off the side of the stairs if it occurred to him." Helena had always been careful to walk so that Potter and his friends were between her and Stuart, especially on stairs, but she was starting to wonder if the others were that smart. "We can't fly, you know."
Bach nodded and the two girls left the room.
Gary had never seen a Quidditch Match before. He'd heard about it, of course, all the Airborne Tatics instructors had been bonzo for it and he'd heard them talking about some of the great games of the past, but he'd never seen an actual game.
So here he sat in the Gryffindor stand, Luna on one side, Granger on the other. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Marauapo and Helena sitting together. Neither one was looking at the other. He frowned to himself. Was it his imagination or was Helena looking more . . . normally proportioned then usual?
He shook his head and redirected his attention to the game. Gryffindor was playing against Slythrien and he should be interested, but years of training kept him watching his prey instead. He leaned forward and stared across the field at the Syltherin stands. Most of the Siu's had been sorted into Syltherin and Ravenclaw. A few were in Gryffindor, one or two in Hufflepuff, but most in Slytherin.
Maybe the Old Lady was wrong about why the Siu's had come. It could be they were-- he stood up without realizing it as a faint smell reached his nostrils.
A smell he recognized.
"Gary?" Granger asked, but her voice was faint to his ears.
"Get them out of here!" Gary shouted. "Clear the stands! Now!"
"Hold on," Hagrid said. The massive gamekeeper was staring at them in puzzelment. "What's this about? Why you goin on about clearing the stands?"
As though in answer, a red bolt shot from the trees at the edge of the woods, smashed aside one of the Sytherin players and smashed a hole in one of the Hufflepuff stands.
This was followed by several more bolts and the stand began to fall over the sound of wooden timbers breaking echoing across the field and merging with screams of those trapped inside.
Then creatures burst forth from the woods. Goblins and beasts that looked like reptilian cats charging across the field. The Goblins carried staffs which fired the red bolts and the reptile creatures simply smashed aside anything in their way.
"That's why," Gary said grimly.
Harry had been completely taken back by the attack. But his surprise only lasted a moment. He drew his wand and shoved his broom into a dive, firing curses and jinxes at random.
Beside him, Ginny joined him and they both landed. Back to back they stood, their wands flashing red and blue as they tried to hold off the horde. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Ron trying to join them and Luna and Hermione fighting their way closer.
This had to be Voldemort's doing. But why?
With the mob of students, no one noticed Helena confronting Meghan, Tawnee, and Kat.
"This wasn't part of the plan, Meghan," Helena demanded. "What's going on?"
"Orders from Kalia," Meghan replied. "She wants the Spork dealt with without our getting directly involved." She spread her hands. "Just following orders."
"Using Goblins and Lampurs?" Helena asked incredulously. "Why wasn't I told? If anything happens to Granger, everything we've done is for naught!"
"Oops," Maruapo said, giggling a bit.
Helena's eyes narrowed.
Harry's voice was going. His arm hurt from waving his wand and his eyes were watering from the dust and smoke. But he couldn't stop. Didn't dare.
Then something loomed over him and then smashed into his body, sending him tumbling across the grass.
Gary watched as the last student went down the steps. At least they should be safe. Now for--
Luna screamed. A scream of terror and all rational thought vanished from Gary's mind in a haze of rage as his armor exploded through his skin.
At the edges of the chaos, Kalia watched the scene with interest. The orders to Meghan had been deliberately vague as Kalia was curious as to how far the contamination had spread. If the indiscriminate destruction was any judge, the spread was deep. Very deep.
Pity. Meghan had been so capable once. Ah well, you worked with what you had. Pleased, Kalia headed inside the castle with the other students. There was still work to do.
"Harry!" Ginny's voice, raised in fear and terror, jolted Harry from his stupor. He was slung across the shoulder of one of the creatures and he could see Ginny and Luna across the shoulders of another. He raised his head and looked around. They were deep into the Forbidden Forest, and getting deeper every second.
At that point, they arrived in a clearing, and he, Luna, and Ginny were unceremoniously dumped on the ground.
"Why'd we bring the fire hair?" One of the Goblins asked. "We were only supposed to nab these two." He pointed at Harry and Luna.
"Might be a while before the Spork shows up," another Goblin replied. "Figured we could do with a bite to eat while we wait."
Ginny's eyes widened with horror, but Luna simply stared up at them. "He'll kill you," she informed the Goblins. "You were dead the moment I screamed."
"That so?" the first Goblin said. "Well I feel pretty alive right now." He reached over and grabbed Ginny by the arm. "And hungry. I say we eat her right now!"
At that moment, there was a scream of pain from the edge of the clearing and Harry looked.
A creature stood there, the remains of what had once been a Goblin in its hands. It dropped the carcass on the floor and Harry had to struggle not to throw up. The newcomer was tall and covered from head to toe in what looked bone plates fitted together as some sort of armor. A long tail made of tiny bones lashed in the air behind it and glowing red eyes stared at them. A shock of brown hair stood up from its head. It wore the shredded remains of gray pants.
But it wasn't human, Harry decided as it walked into the clearing. Nothing human moved like that. So smooth and flowing, like it was made of water. Its steps were precise and measured, and yet Harry somehow knew that at any moment, it could suddenly move with unbelievable speed.
"Dead," Luna said firmly.
"Give me the girl," the creature said.
Two Goblins lunged at it and Harry watched in horror as the creature grabbed one of the Goblins by the neck and swung it like a club, the sharp crack of its neck breaking echoing in the clearing and the impact of its body against the other was almost as bad.
Then in the same motion, the creature slammed its club on the ground, and tore out the throat.
By that point, the other Goblin had gotten to its feet and ran at the creature, who lunged forward with outstretched claws, driving them through the goblin's chest and out the other side in a spray of gore.
Harry retched, vaguely aware of the other Goblins, as well the strange lizards, charging forward in a mob.
The creature exploded into movement. Its hands and feet seemed to move in several directions at once, sometimes visible only by the spray of blood as they sliced into flesh and bone.
It had to have taken longer, but it seemed like only seconds had passed before the creature had slaughtered all its attackers and was walking towards them again. Hands and feet greenish-yellow with goblin blood. Behind it, Harry could see the steaming corpses.
Harry felt the blade of a knife against his throat and realized that three of the Goblins hadn't attacked, but remained behind. "Come one step closer," quavered one of the Goblins, "and by Heptaur's teeth, they die."
The creature stopped, eyes closed and it shook briefly, as though reaching inside itself and taking a firm grip. When it's eyes opened again, the red glow had dimmed somewhat and it was no longer so inhumanly still.
"What do you want?" it asked.
"You're not leaving here alive, you know," Luna said to the Goblins. "If you so much as make us flinch, you'll be dead." She paused. "You're dead anyway, come to think of it."
"Oh shut up," snarled the Goblin, giving Luna a shove. The next instant, the air was split with an animal howl and then the creature was on top the Goblins, blood everywhere. The last thing Harry saw before he passed out was Luna, smiling.
Minerva McGonagall was a Gryffindor to her fingertips. Since its founding, there had always been a McGonagall at Hogwarts, and always in Gryffindor.
She had seen many things in her years, things which even to her dying day, would give her nightmares. But nothing had prepared her for what she found in the clearing. It was sickening. Violence unequaled by even Voldemort and Grindenwauld's combined deeds.
But she ignored it in favor of the students who sat in the middle of the clearing. Harry was unconious, and Ginny Weasley sat nearby, holding Harry's hand and making a soft keening noise in her throat. And Luna Lovegood was making a crown of daisies, calm as you please.
All three were covered in Goblin blood. Or perhaps drenched was a better term.
She took a deep breath, and marched forward.
Gary sank down to sit on the ground next to the greenhouse. The leaded glass was cool and oddly comforting.
Losing control like that was dangerous. Too dangerous. Harry and his friends could have gotten killed and above all else, Harry Potter had to live. Had to.
But it had felt so good to tear apart the Goblins. To do what he'd been trained for since birth. What he hadn't done since the Old Lady . . . since he'd been reborn in this new, this altered body that carried a conscience with it, damning him to nights where nightmares brewed by his past misdeeds were his sole company.
"You look like shit."
Startled, Gary looked up. Helena stood at the exterior entrance to the greenhouse, a rag in hand. She tossed it to land in his lap. "Rumors are already flying. None about you, but the centaurs are in an uproar, for some reason."
"I made a detour on my way back," Gary said, wiping his face with the rag. "What do you care?"
"Only that you need to be careful," Helena said. "McGonagall's looking for you, by the by." Then she was gone.
Gary tossed the rag away. If McGonagall was having second thoughts about their arrangement . . .
Well, no help for it if she was. He got to his feet and made his way back into the castle.
Albus Dumbledore stared at his visitor. At a face he hadn't seen close to a century, even though he saw her every day. The tale she'd told him that morning had seemed so unbelievable, and yet what he'd seen in that clearing . . . he had to be sure. Too much was at stake.
"I cannot fault your reasons," he said. "However, given what happened today, I have to question your methods."
"I'm concerned myself," she replied. "Gary was never supposed to react like that. Its as though he went berserk. I can't imagine why."
"Perhaps because Miss Lovegood was threatened," Dumbledore replied. "He seems to value her, for some reason."
"Luna Lovegood?" she repeated. "Luna? He's . . . in love with . . . Luna? That's . . . not in his programming. He's not supposed to develop romantic feelings."
"Perhaps he's evolved beyond his 'programming'." Dumbledore said quietly, his tone revealing just what he thought of her "programming."
"Don't look at me like that," she retorted, angrily. "You have no idea what its like. I did what I had to. I gave him what he needed." She crossed her arms and looked off into space. "I did what I had to do," she repeated, as though trying to convince herself. "Had to."
Dumbledore nodded to himself, as though her words had answered a question. "Moving on," he said. "Professor Vector, given the events this morning, has requested some time off. Will you be able to fill his shoes?"
"You're asking me to teach? Me? If she sees me . . ."
"And if she does?"
"You know how clever she is and . . . and I don't know if I can face her when this all comes out."
"Is there anything she can say that you haven't already said to yourself?"
She smiled at that. "I always thought you lacked a sense of humor."
"As you so aptly demonstrate," Dumbledore replied. "People change."
McGonagall didn't so much walk up to Gary as she swooped down on him like an avenging angel.
"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?" She demanded. "Potter, Weasley and Lovegood could have died!"
"I wasn't thinking straight, okay?" Gary demanded. "I don't even remember most of it and what I do remember is hazy and blurry. Only thing I do remember clearly is wanting to save Luna." He looked away, guiltily. "I don't know what's wrong with me," he said in a much quieter voice. "But I can't stop thinking about her. She's constantly on my mind all the time. Drives me insane, but I can't help it. I've never felt like this before."
McGonagall's mouth thinned to a line and she drew herself up as though to deliver a thundering retort. But then she sighed and laid her hand on Gary's shoulder. "You're in love, Mr. Stuart. Boys your age, I've noticed, tend to stop thinking when there's girls involved." He smiled shyly. "That said," McGonagall continued in more crisp tones. "However. Boys your age, even underage wizards, do not possess the power to singlehandedly demolish an entire Werewolf pack, or brutally slaughter a band of rogue goblins and their pet Lampurs."
"They were rogues?" Gary said.
"That's the official position of the Goblin King, yes," McGonagall said. "Personally, I'm sure Jareth is lying through his teeth, but there's no way to prove it."
Gary frowned, eyes narrowed in thought. "But why would they go to the Goblins?" he mused. "Something's not right."
"Quite," McGonagall said. "Do I want to know why you killed the werewolves? The Centaurs are up in arms. They're convinced that its a human plot to drive them from the forest."
"Good." Gary replied.
"Have you forgotten, Mister Stuart," McGonagall said in icy tones. "That if it wasn't for me, you wouldn't even have met Miss Lovegood?"
"And if it wasn't for me," Gary replied, "You'd be licking Crystal's shoes and thinking its the greatest thing in the world."
McGonagall's nostrils flared, but Gary didn't blink as he met her gaze.
For the longest time, they stared at each other, and then McGonagall huffed. "Very well, Mister Stuart, we owe each other then. But the fact remains is that you must be more careful. Much more careful." She waited until Gary nodded agreement. "Now that that's out of the way, you best come with me. Molly Weasley is worried about you."
"Me?" Gary was stunned. "Worried about me? Why?"
"You're part of the family, it seems."
"Family?" Gary asked, in a soft voice and McGonagall realized that she knew nothing about Gary personally. He'd been very vague about himself and at the time, she hadn't wanted to press the issue, but now, just for a moment, she wondered.
"Yes, Mister Stuart," she said. "Family. Useful thing, a family. I think you'll like it."
She put her hand on his back and gently steered him towards the infirmary.