Welcome, one and all, to the next chapter of HP: The Path of Trials! Not much to explain here except...
Disclaimer: Absolutely NO ownership of HP, which saddens me a little. I do own all OC's that appear in this series, so that's a plus...I suppose.
Now, here's...
Chapter 2: The Diggory's
Enjoy!
A young man with white hair sat up quickly in his bed, panting heavily, the images he'd just seen still playing in his mind.
"Just what are Riddle and The Dark Prince up to?" thought the white-haired young man. "Surely, they couldn't be thinking of doing anything at the Quidditch World Cup, right? No, they couldn't possibly. Yeah, nothing to worry about."
Now, normally, such phrases as "Quidditch" would seem quite odd to the average person. Although, nothing is considered normal or average when one is considered a witch or wizard in the Wizarding World.
Such is the case with the white-haired young man named Marcus Williams, a young wizard with unusually great merit among other witches and wizards, accredited to stopping The Dark Prince nearly a decade ago. To this, the young man had much doubt as to how he had any hand in the matter, but he hardly paid it any mind these days.
In fact, the only thing he wanted to do was to get a little more sleep before he began his morning workout.
However, when he went back to sleep, he found himself in a great state of confusion.
He found himself standing on open streets, unusual music echoing around him. Many muggles with odd clothes bustling about, getting errands done or merely conversing with one another. Each building was well designed, as if they were transformed from an artist's canvas. However, the most prominent building in all of his surroundings was a tower. A tower with four great metallic pillars that curved upward and inwards until they met at a single point, high above the other buildings.
"'Ello, Mar-kees! Don't jus' stand around! Let's play!"
He turned to the source of the voice, a voice that was very accent-heavy, and found a little girl. A little girl with waist-long silver hair that seemed to shine in the afternoon sun, dark blue eyes that looked like ocean water, and a smile that seemed to emanate their own light. Something about this little girl was very familiar, but what it was, he couldn't quite put his finger on it...
"Okay! Let's play!"
He started to run toward the little girl, shocked by two things: The sound of his own voice and how familiar he seemed to be with this girl. His voice in this setting was quite unlike the voice he knew, full of joy and wonder, like nothing could get him down. Not to mention that he never recalled seeing this girl before in his entire life, much less being open to spending time with her.
But, sure enough, he did spend time with this girl. Playing tag, card games, and all sorts of other games he had no idea he knew.
Eventually, the two children sat on a nearby park bench and, looking all around them, the little girl saying, "Mar-kees, 'ow much longer will you be here?"
"Not sure," he replied in a higher voice than he was familiar with, "Until Mommy and Daddy are done, I think."
"And when they're done, will you leave?"
He found himself quite sad as he said, "Probably."
"But you can't leave, Mar-kees!" the little girl cried. "We're having zo much fun!"
"I don't want to leave either," he told her. "But Daddy said we'll be going back home as soon as he's done, so there's nothing I can do."
The little girl then rearranged herself on the bench so that he was facing him and said, "Then, Mar-kees, let us make a promise togezer!"
"A promise?" he asked.
"Oui," said the girl. "A promise. When we are older, let us meet again and spend as much time together as possible."
He felt a smile creeping on his face and, just as he was about to respond, he felt great shaking with a familiar, hoarse voice saying, "Master, Master."
Suddenly, he found himself looking at the ceiling of his own bedroom and, standing on the side of his bed was -
"Blinky," Marcus said. "What time is it?"
"It's six in the morning, Master," said Blinky, his house-elf.
"Well, that's what I get for sleeping in," Marcus mumbled before turning to Blinky and saying, "Thank you, Blinky. Please inform me when my parents arrive home. I'll be in the backyard, training."
As Blinky disappeared and he was getting dressed into his workout clothes, he found himself reflecting on the most recent dream he had: The dream with the silver-haired girl.
He knew for sure that he hadn't met anyone like that that he could remember. It was possible that it could've been someone from before he turned five, as he had no recollection of any memory before then, but it was highly unlikely. A person with such features would definitely be someone that he couldn't forget.
As he stepped outside, he couldn't help but smirking as he familiarized himself with the settings of his training. The morning dew caressing his shoes, the slowly warming air breezing on by, the few twinkling stars lit on the nightly canvas. There was something about bettering himself under these conditions that seem to resonate well with him, like he could go about his tasks without any worry, as if everything was fine.
And, with this mindset, he began his training. As he was underage, he could not perform magic, but there was nothing to stop him from fine tuning his own physicality.
Finally, after he returned from jogging through the countryside, he saw that Blinky was waiting for him just outside the backyard door.
"Blinky, have they returned?"
"Yes, Master. They have been waiting patiently for you."
"Thank you, Blinky."
He stepped inside and made his way into the living room to find his father, Michael Williams, eating a light breakfast while his mother, Brynn Williams, was persuing through the Daily Prophet, the wizarding newspaper delivered to every wizarding family's homes and jobs.
"I had a feeling you were doing your morning workout," said his father. "How was it?"
"Better," Marcus replied. "Although, I'm trying to put on more muscle, but I don't think it's working all that well. It's strange, my diet plan and workouts haven't changed..."
Michael, unbeknownst to Marcus, shot a quick look to Brynn, to which she replied, "Well, son, you're getting at that age where your body goes through all sorts of changes."
Marcus cupped his chin with his left hand as he said, "I guess you're right. I have already grown half a feet taller, putting me around five feet five inches exactly."
He then put on a smirk as he said, "Give me another few years and I just might be taller than you, Dad."
Michael gave a sort of unapproving cough and said, "Well, all growth spurts aside, did you get anymore sleep than usual?"
"Well, not really," Marcus replied. "I had this really strange dream."
"You mean a Dark Prince nightmare?"
"Not that." Marcus then put on a quizzical look as he stated, "It was in this rather strange town with a curving tower."
Brynn, who was preoccupied with the Daily Prophet, suddenly shot a glance at her son and said, "A curving tower?"
"Yeah," said Marcus.
"Could you possibly be referring to the Eiffel Tower?!"
"Yeah, that's -" Marcus started to say, but then realized what he did. "-oh, no..."
"Oh, you must've been dreaming about being in Paris!" his mother squealed in delight, putting down the newspaper and twirling around the living room. Marcus looked to his father, who gave him a "I-can't-believe-you-did-this-to-us" stare. There was an unspoken rule between Marcus and his father in the Williams Residence: Do not, in any way, shape, or form, bring up France or anything to do with France around Brynn. Doing so resulted in his mother going off on a very long, tortured rant about said country, which could very well go on for half a day.
"Oh, do you remember the first time we went to France, my darling?" Brynn asked Michael.
"Yes, dear, I do," Michael replied in such a deadpanned voice that it was quite obvious he was asked this question all too often.
"Oh, it was our first time helping out the French Ministry of Magic," she went on, not noticing her husband's behavior. "They were in such a bind that they asked our Minister for our assistance. Shortly after we arrived, we were given a grand tour of Paris, and it spoke to me in a way that resonated with my heart. It was so very hard to believe that the fonce magiciens could be in such a city -"
"Yes, the Dark Magic group, I recall," said Marcus. Like his father, he heard the tale so often, he was surprised he didn't know it by heart.
"Well, it was a lucky thing you never encountered them, son," she stated. "I mean, you were only four at the time -"
At this point, Marcus found himself incredibly surprised. For one thing, Marcus never heard his mother mention him being in France before the age of five.
"Wait, what?"
"Yes, you were very young, Marcus," his mother told him. "Of course, we had no choice but to take you with us. Anyone that could've babysat you was quite busy."
"Then, who watched over me in Paris when I was only four? Surely, not the two of you?"
"Oh, of course not," said his mother, who then stopped to think about it and stated, "Huh, I don't recall. Anyway, I made sure to talk to anyone I could -"
Marcus, who didn't want to be listening anything more about France, said quite abruptly, "How goes the search?"
Knowing exactly what Marcus was referring to, the previous look of joy on his mother's face gave way to disappointment as she replied, "There hasn't been a trace of the Dark Prince since his breakout from Azkaban."
"Didn't think there'd be any," thought Marcus.
Since the age of five, Marcus had been training and learning diligently for one purpose: Confronting, beating, and kill if possible, The Dark Prince, the man responsible for traumatizing his childhood and marking his torso with his mark of murder, a crown with an X in the middle. He was greatly affected by what people referred to as "The Great Breakout", as it meant that The Dark Prince was, once again, free in the world. To Marcus, it only meant that it was only a matter of time before he would meet him once again.
"Well, he's not going to be found by us standing around, Brynn," said Michael. "We have to get going."
"Wait, don't you go guys have enough to be worrying about, with the World Cup security?" Marcus asked.
"Shacklebolt is the one setting up the World Cup security," his father clarified, "due to our hands being full with another project along with searching for the Dark Prince."
"Another project?" Marcus asked, his interests piqued. "What project? Tell me!"
"Yeah, no," his mother said to him. "Now, take a shower and get dressed. You're coming with us."
"Huh? How come?"
"We're having you stay with a certain family until the World Cup is over."
"Oh, is it the Weasleys?!"
"No. The Diggory's," his father stated.
Confusion set over Marcus as he looked at his father and said, "What?"
"Mr. and Mrs. Weasley are currently busy making sure that their eldest sons, Bill and Charlie, can visit and stay with them for the World Cup. As Gringotts is notoriously stingy on allowing their employees time off, and Romania's International Committee is horrendous with protocol, it's going to take them some time to do so. And while that's going on, Mr. and Mrs. Diggory are...well, 'eager'...to watch over you for however long the Weasley's can't."
"Oh, swell," Marcus deadpanned.
"Don't they have a son, Michael?" Brynn asked.
"Yes, actually," Michael replied. "His name is Cedric, isn't it, Marcus?"
"Yes," Marcus said flatly.
Marcus was not a fan of Cedric Diggory, to say the least. Not only was Cedric regarded as one of the most handsome boys in Hogwarts, as many girls thought him to be, but he was supposably one of Hufflepuff's smartest and most capable students. Marcus thought Cedric to be incredibly lacking, his presence not noticeable, and his reputation undeserving. This view on Cedric only deepend when the pretty boy was responsible for giving Gryffindor their only loss in an otherwise flawless Quidditch season.
Michael noticed his son's sudden change in attitude and said, "I hope there won't be any problems when you're staying with them, Marcus."
"Oh, there shouldn't be," said Marcus. "Just as long as they don't bother me too much," he thought to himself.
"Good," said Michael. "Now, go take a shower and get your stuff around. You won't be back here until after the World Cup."
So, Marcus did what he was told and took a shower and got around. However, when he knew that his parents were waiting outside for him, he snuck into his father's study and looked around until he found what he was looking for: A book his father created called Everything you need to know about Duplication. He decided that, at the end of the past school year, he would make mastering his father's revered Duplication Spell his next major project, for it would surely help him immensly in his future duels.
Once he managed to cart all of his stuff outside, his parents each grabbed a portion of his belongings and Michael said, "All right, then. Both of you, my sleeves."
Once he grabbed on his right sleeves, he had to endure what felt like being shoved into a small, cyndrilical tube and, upon coming out the other side feeling quite surprised.
Aside from the house being rather smaller than his family's, he would've hardly noticed the difference, at least from the front side of the house. He was willing to bet that the inside, as well as the backyard, would tell an entirely different story.
"So, remind me again why you chose the Diggory's," said Marcus.
His father gave a sort of disapproving noise before replying, "Aside from their gracious invitation, they live near Ottery St. Catchpole, which should no doubt sound familiar."
Marcus's eyes grew wide as he said, "The Weasley's live nearby!"
"Correct," said Michael. "This'll make the burden on Mr. and Mrs. Weasley a little more bearable."
"Hey, I'm not a burden!"
Michael cleared his throat as the three Williams approached the Diggory's front door and knocked three times on the door.
It took a couple of seconds, but eventually they were greeted by Mr. Diggory, a tall man with a scrubby brown beard on a rather ruddy face with oval shaped glasses accencuating his eyes.
"Ah, Michael, good to see you!" he said rather excitedly as he extended his right hand out to Michael.
"And the same to you, Amos," said Michael with what Marcus noticed to be a forced smile.
"And Brynn, looking just as youthful as the last time I saw you!"
"You're too kind, Amos."
Mr. Diggory then looked at Marcus and exclaimed, "Great Scott! Marcus Williams, it is an honor to finally meet you! Cedric has said some great things about you!"
"Thank you, sir," said Marcus, taking a leaf from his father's book and forcing a smirk on his face.
"Speaking of which," Mr. Diggory said as he turned to the inside of his house and half-shouted, "Cedric! Marcus is here!"
As he could hear the footsteps coming towards the door, Marcus felt a little uneasy, which only grew stronger when Cedric stood next to his father.
"Ah, Marcus, it's good to see you again," said Cedric with a rather pleasant smile.
"Likewise, Cedric," said Marcus, though he did not share the same sentiment.
"Well, Amos, shall the three of us get going to the Ministry?" asked Michael. "After all, there's so much to be done."
"Too right you are, Michael!" cried Amos. "Cedric, can you help Marcus with his belongings?"
"Certainly, father," said Cedric.
As he was grabbing some of Marcus's possessions, Michael turned to his son and said, "Behave while you're here, son."
"I will, father," said Marcus.
Once his parent's and Cedric's father Disapparated, Marcus thought to himself, "This is going to be a rough two weeks, I just know it."
And this concludes this chapter of HP: The Path of Trials! Feel free to leave a review, as this will help me refine future content. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to send me a PM and I promise I will answer them to the best of my abilities. Until then, keep your eyes peeled for the next chapter of HP: The Path of Trials!
