I accidentally posted the wrong version of this chapter. New version's in place now.
Through A Half-Breed's Eyes
I hate being weak.
The Demons were on the outskirts of the school again. Staring. Mocking.
As if they know that I can't do anything to them.
It's infuriating.
Once or twice, I've seen a group of one or two of them watching me, as I went about doing my own thing during my free time: it's starting to unnerve me.
I just really really wish that
I can kill them. I know I can kill them. But is it worth it? If one of those things disappears, and I don't have a concrete alibi, then they'll know.
They'll know, and they'll find out.
And I can't let that happen.
Ginny's been out of it for a couple of days: looking over her shoulders as she walks the grounds, but even then she's stuck to inside the castle. I think she's starting to become paranoid.
Even more often, she's been waking up in the middle of the night.
She has the same classes as me, so I've taken to walking with her during our only 'real' free period.
She hasn't thanked me yet, but if she doesn't, she can repay me later by having my back later when everything invariably goes horribly wrong.
Anyway, Potter's recovered fully, and I've had to bear several horrifyingly long discussions about 'whether or not he'd make it'. I think I dismissed every single one of the conversations the same way.
A low snort.
Any student able to kill a Basilisk in melee combat can handle being near a demon or two. Not like they even touched him.
But yeah, ever since the whole Quidditch fiasco, the lower-year students are starting to be a bit wary around the edges of the grounds too. I think the entire school will be happy to see the wretches go.
McGonagall stopped us in the hallways earlier. Apparently, the Headmaster wanted to see us.
Now, normally, that'd leave me terrified, but since he was asking for both of us, I assumed that it was merely a check-up, and not some sort of interrogation.
Either way, Ginny was looking hopeful, and I was told that I looked miserable.
The meeting with Dumbledore went reasonably calmly.
A bit of back and forth between Ginny and him, before the topic inevitably turned towards the demon, and then to my 'heroic last stand' against the creature.
The entire time, the Headmaster's pet Phoenix was sitting in my hair, making itself comfortable. And by comfortable, I mean it was lighting a portion of my hair on fire.
Assuming that no one was able to smell burning (or if they did, they'd blame the phoenix), I offered my explanation.
Luckily, my explanation of 'hit it with your strongest spell, until help can arrive' was both entirely true, and a legitimate (if inefficient) strategy. I got a couple of points for Gryffindor (to be added later discreetly, which I appreciated quite a bit), as well as an urging to look into the Patronus charm.
And of course, I didn't recognise the charm.
I had to ask about the charm: what it did, what it took to cast it.
Dammit.
Well, it turns out, that the Patronus charm is more or less just a pretty solid form of anti-demonic magic. It's also incredibly magic-intensive, with trained Wizards being unable to sustain the spell for longer than a minute. Add in the fact that the government doesn't like people being able to defend against their 'enforcers', and it's a relatively obscure spell too.
As it's magic that I have less-than-zero compatibility with, I have pretty much less than a snowball's chance in hell at sustaining it longer than a second. The unmodified version, at least.
Heck, if the pain I felt when McGonnagal's Patronus charged me and the demon was an indicator, even attempting to cast it would probably hurt like nothing else.
Even worse, it's the only method of dealing with the demons when they get uppity without leading to all sorts of questions, at least according to Dumbledore. Every other option can, and probably will, lead into an investigation.
Ginny looked extremely disheartened when Dumbledore told about how difficult the spell was. It's good to know that she values being able to defend herself too.
Oh, and Dumbledore said he couldn't really do anything about the demons. He also shot me a weird look, which I promptly ignored, hoping it was a mistake.
So, long story short, the only option that won't raise red flags is magic I physically cannot cast, Ginny lacks the power to cast it by herself, and even worse, it hurts for me to be near it.
Well, I know now what my next project is.
Disassembling the damn thing.
Let's hope it will be done by the end of the year.
Ginny approached me earlier.
She wants to learn the kind of magic that I used against the demon.
Probably because she thinks that what I'm throwing around is easier than the Patronus.
It's not.
It's my spell, and it's not even her kind of magic. I've never tried to teach it to another, much less a human.
I promised to figure out what I can, or can't teach her, and that I'd keep an open mind.
But I did say that I wasn't sure that her family would appreciate her learning that kind of magic from me.
But I'm really not sure.
If I teach her it
She'll be defended, I guess, but
No. Even what little protection the spell would give her could put not just me, but her at risk as well.
I trust her, but
Would she trust me if she knew the truth?
In the morning, I'll tell her it's not possible to teach her the spells.
I hope she can forgive me.
There's something wrong.
Earlier today, I was following this gigantic cat.
No, not the custodian's cat, I mean the biggest cat I've seen in the castle. It was a reasonably ugly thing too, a bright orange, slightly magical feline.
Anyway, the cat was clutching someone's wand in its teeth.
I managed to track the cat out into the forest, where I saw it disappear into a tunnel underneath a rather vicious tree.
The tree didn't manage to do any lasting damage, and even better, the tunnel lead to something rather interesting.
Notably, the signature of the dog is there.
The one in the forest.
The one that I am pretty much certain is not a regular dog.
I'd charge in myself, but I
No, I want backup for this one.
I'm going to go get Ginny.
Tomorrow, we figure out just what this creature is.
V2