Twists and Turns.
To be perfectly honest, putting the pieces together was easy. There was some reality altering magic at play. Even more reality altering than the usual reality altering magic that was in play. This had to be a Fairy Godmother wish. I had it on my mind during my entire day of classes, before I met with Astra, Kara, and Daphne outside of History of Magic. It was honestly now or never.
"Beatrice and Penny switched places," I said.
"I thought something was off there," Daphne said. "But, I kept finding reasons why everything is okay."
"Yeah, that makes sense," Kara said. "How did that happen?"
"Well, I'm just giving an educated guess," I said. "But, Beatrice might have gotten frustrated at Penny. And she wished that Penny lived in her shoes. And Beatrice is now living in Penny's shoes."
Everyone nodded, unable to disagree with my impeccable logic.
"Damn it, Nora," Astra said.
"If it is, Nora," Daphne said. "After what Harry did to the timeline, we don't know if Nora still has her old job."
That was true, Daphne had a point. The problem is, how do we approach this? Beatrice was now an assistant Potions Professor and Penny was a fifth year Hufflepuff. I wondered if anyone else had put the pieces together easily or not. I think we were the easiest to shove them all together, because of the time travel.
"True," Kara said. "We're just going to have to…"
A very terrified looking Susan Bones rushed down the hallway towards the History of Magic classroom. She looked completely spooked. Given that Susan did not crack easily, that was very concerning.
"Professor Flamel!" Susan yelled. "It's Draco Malfoy. He's not breathing!"
Astra and I locked eyes. I saw Elle rush out of the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, with Ariana following her. She had been sorted into Hufflepuff and Rosemary was in Gryffindor. Which was all kinds of amusing, given that she was sorted into her mother's least favorite house.
"Malfoy?" Astra asked.
Curiosity always got the better of me. I remembered the information I gave Malfoy before the summer. I'm surprised he's not coming back.
Thankfully, the door opened and Draco Malfoy had been slumped on the ground. A terrified looking Megan Jones and Hannah Abbott crouched around him, doing their best to revive him.
"Neville went and got Madam Pomfrey," Megan said.
Astra stopped and sniffed the air.
"Everyone stand back," Astra said. "Oh, Malfoy, you idiot."
Astra sent a pulse of magic towards Malfoy which jarred him awake. A rather agitated looking Malfoy sat up and glared at Astra.
"I could have found her," Malfoy said.
"You had one foot in Hell with the other one slipping," Astra told him.
"Are you trying to say you tried and open a portal to Hell?" Elle asked. "Mr. Malfoy, what possessed you to do such a thing?"
"It's…it's a personal matter," Malfoy said.
"You performed a very dangerous ritual which put both yourself and the other students of Hogwarts in grave peril," Elle said. "Stand back. I must do a searching spell to make sure nothing slipped through the portal when you were searching."
Astra stood at high alert. Ariana leaned down and put a hand on Malfoy's head.
"Still warm," Ariana said. "You won't find her that way."
"You are an absolute idiot!" Astra yelled. "You opened a portal to Hell. Do you realize what kind of magic you're tampering with?"
"My father made a deal, I'm trying to find out where she is," Malfoy said.
"Lyra, he's looking for Lyra," Ariana said.
"You told her about Lyra? Potter?" Malfoy asked.
"Who is Lyra?" Daphne asked.
Elle motioned for all us to be quiet. Rowena walked out of a gateway along with Madam Pomfrey.
"What were you doing, Mr. Malfoy?" Pomfrey asked.
"He was opening a portal to Hell," Elle said.
"My word!" Pomfrey yelled. "What possessed you to do such a thing?"
"Bad choice of words," I told her. "Only poor judgment though."
We all viewed the scene and Malfoy looked annoyed about something.
"Rowena, nothing escaped," Elle said. "Mr. Malfoy is quite fortunate that his portal spell was weak."
"So, no harm was done," Malfoy said. "Can I go now?"
"Mr. Malfoy, you're to head to my office," Rowena said. "And you're going to explain to me why you thought it was a good idea to open a Hell portal in the middle of Hogwarts."
"It didn't work," Malfoy said.
"And you're damn lucky it didn't," Elle said. "Messing around with portals to alternate dimensions are not child's play. Your only salvation is you have not reached your first maturity."
"I am curious how you learned such a spell," Rowena said. "Unless your missing father pointed you in the right direction."
Draco said nothing, but had been lead off to the office of the Headmistress for a little talk.
"He'll be okay?" Hannah asked.
"Dark magic, he was dabbling in dark magic," Elle said. "And not what the Ministry refers to in dark magic. Actually dark magic."
"Such magic can be done by a really powerful wizard," Harry said. "But, there's a price to be paid. Malfoy's only saving grace was that he doesn't have the power to pull it off."
"Lucky for him," Kara said.
Susan, Hannah, and Megan went their separate ways. I walked with Astra, Kara, and Daphne.
"Is there a chance Malfoy's sister is down there?" I asked Astra.
"Well, yes," Astra said. "But Hell is a vast place. Malfoy would have been consumed before he could even get a hint of her. And you know that things are not what they seem."
"Yes," I said to her.
"Oooh, we're going to have to go down there to hunt for her, aren't we?" Kara asked us.
I gazed at Astra and she threw her hands up in defeat. Yes, that seemed very likely and inevitable as well. That's just how our luck went. Perhaps there are some things we should leave in the hands of others.
X-X-X
The week passed and it was the last class of the week. And the best class, Defensive Magic, the former Defense Against the Dark Arts class. I noticed Bellatrix sitting in the background. Oddly on her best behavior. I know, I could not believe it either, but there she was, just calm and chill. I had no idea either. I took a seat next to Astra, and the Patil twins sat in front of us. I overheard Blaise talking to Ron.
"I can't believe I'm excited about reading about Lockhart," Blaise said.
"Well, it's not the real Lockhart, is he?" Ron asked. "He's just some fictional construct out of a book who came to life due to a magic potion. How does that even work anyway?"
"Magic," Blaise said. "He chopped off Fenrir Greyback's head. He's hunted down the creatures the original Lockhart wishes he could."
"So, how long do you think that he'll be around?" Fay asked. "I mean, a potion like that, it has to wear off eventually. And the cool badass Lockhart will fade away."
"Sucks to be the poor saps who are stuck with the pathetic one at the Ministry's school," Dean said with a chuckle.
"Feel sorry for my cousin who has to go to that school," Ernie said. "Already a week in and the upper year students are more qualified to teach than the teachers."
"Everything the Ministry touches turns to dirt," I said.
"Absolutely," Merula said when she popped up. "Welcome to Defensive Magic. I am Professor Snyde and I will be instructing you today. As Professor Lestrange will be indisposed temporarily, I will be just building off of what she's done. Now, I need a volunteer, if you please to duel."
"I'll do it," I said.
"Mr. Potter, we know what you're capable of," Merula said. "I was thinking about Ms. Patil."
"Which one?" I asked her.
"Let's go with the Gryffindor one, for now," Merula said.
"Me?" Parvati asked.
"You have aspirations to be with the most powerful wizard in the world," Merula said. "Let's see what you're capable of by dueling the most powerful witch."
Parvati rose up to her feet and looked a bit nervous. I could not blame her. Astra and I locked eyes. Merula was good, damn good at what she did. Cassie might be just as good if not better. Tonks was pretty damn good herself, although her clumsiness caused problems.
"Attack me with everything you have, Miss Patil."
Parvati immediately fired off the initial charm. Merula casually deflected the spell and Parvati had been lifted up off of the ground. She had been wrapped up in cords with her wand sliding across the ground. Seconds later, Merula was on top of her.
"Don't waste any time," Merula said. "Mr. Zabini? I know your mother has taught you a few things."
Padma and Lavender helped untie Parvati.
"She caught me off guard," Parvati said. "I'm going to have to get better."
"She's Merula Snyde," Lavender said.
Blaise fared a little bit better, but eventually Merula reflected his spells without even lifting her wand.
"You used wandless magic!" Fay cried out in surprise.
"Yes," Merula said. "Hogwarts teaches you that a wand is a necessary component to perform magic. But, you can catch an enemy off guard by not having your wand."
Fay and Lavender had been hoisted up off of their chairs and spun in the air before Merula set them back down.
"And for some, a wand holds them back," I said. "Are you sure you don't want that duel Professor?"
"Unless you're scared Harry will beat you," Astra said.
"I'm not scared, Ms. Logue," Merula said. "Let's see what you're capable of."
I took a second to stiffen. Merula and Astra dueling. Oh, the consequences of this one could be, well I better be prepared to summon Madam Pomfrey at a moment's notice. The two powerful and skilled witches circled each other.
"She doesn't let defeat go well, does she?" Cassie asked me.
"Astra or Merula?"
"Yes," Cassie said.
Astra and Merula exchanged spells. Neither backed down. Both fired spells at each other and the lights propelled against each other. Astra shifted out of the way of some iron shackles and then came back with a flame whip. Merula caught the whip and spun Astra around. Shields appeared around the desks and Astra bounced back.
"And I wonder if my wife and your wife are going to kill each other," I murmured.
Astra slipped behind Merula and sent three blinding flash bulbs through the air. Merula had been shielded and Astra grabbed Merula before flipping her to the ground. Then with one more swift motion, Merula had been tied up by of her students. Well for a second until she transfigured into smoke and shifted out.
"Ms. Logue has demonstrated that a physical assault can be useful in a duel," Merula said. "Most sorcerers don't dirty their hands…."
Astra's hands glowed with magic as she jabbed away. Magical spells propelled against each other. Astra and Merula flew backwards a few feet. They started to break into hysterical laughter from the ricochet effect.
"I think you've proved your point," Cassie said.
"One more round?" Astra asked Harry. "If I wasn't in this kid b…"
Harry clapped a hand over Astra's mouth.
"You did good," Harry said. "Hand to hand is good. Magic is good. It's just Merula has a couple of advantages over you."
"The point I'm making is, your wand is just a tool," Merula said. "Don't make it your only tool."
"The Ministry wants to control you by making you dependent on your wand," Bellatrix chimed in. "Don't give the government too much power. They will never give it up without bloodshed."
Well, if you take one lesson away from life, that's the one to take away from this one.
"Today, we're going to be discussing ways to disarm an opponent without using magic," Merula said. "Because ninety-five percent of all witches and wizards will fall back on their wands. No matter if they know or learn wandless magic or not."
The entire class looked interested.
"It might be beyond the grasp of most here. But, if you can grasp it, it's useful information to know."
X-X-X
Friday nights were always a great night for the Ravenclaw house. I met Penny after her last class of the day, History of Magic, and she looked excited. It was amazing what a real teacher did to the passion and the enthusiasm of the students.
"So, ready for our Friday night get together?" Penny asked.
"Yes," I said. "I have to say, I missed it over the summer."
We had to appreciate these moments. Because, they could be gone in an instant with all of the insidious forces out there.
"What happened to Malfoy the other day?" Penny asked me.
"He tried to open a portal to Hell," I said. "Because…well he's got his reasons but it's not my place to say. Or at least he thinks he does. Rowena and Elle are keeping a close eye on him."
"I talked to the Hufflepuff prefects, and they're concerned he's lost it because of the mysterious illness that Lucius Malfoy got," Penny said. "He's trying to find a way to save his family's magic."
"Well, they're on the right track, just for the wrong reason," I said. "You can channel some dark forces to break reality. But there's a price to be paid."
Suddenly, I noticed Bartemius Crouch Junior standing at the end of the hallway.
"Better go talk to him," I said.
"Has he given you any concrete information about the Cloaks?" Penny asked.
"Bits and pieces," I said. "But, I want names. That I can go on."
"And names you'll receive, Harry," Junior said. "I've been to Hogsmeade and put my ear to the ground at the Hog's Head. There's a plan to channel magic beyond any of our imaginaing. And the Fortescue family are behind it."
"Fortescue?" I asked.
"Like Florean Fortescue?" Penny asked. "The ice cream shop owner in Diagon Alley?"
"His sons and younger brothers to be precise," Junior said. "And his younger sister as well. You might know her as Alice Longbottom but she was at one time Alice Fortescue. And then there was her aunt, Marion Fortescue, who married a man named Michael Pettigrew. I know that name rings a bell."
"It does," I said. "You mean to tell me that Florean Fortescue and his family are in the center of the cloak conspiracy."
"Among others," Junior said. "Generation after generation they have dabbled in ancient dark magic. They were over to my house several times. Florean's oldest son was my roommate in Ravenclaw. David. He had a thirst for knowledge and something to prove. And he joined the family business after Hogwarts, and I don't mean ice cream."
Suddenly, we heard someone rustling from behind the curtain.
"Neville, come out," Junior said. "I want to say I'm sorry for the part I played with your parents."
"My mother is not involved in this," Neville said. "I can't believe you would believe this. I can't believe I got suckered into this. That woman who you have. That's Alice Longbottom."
"Neville, we'll get to the bottom of this," I said.
"No, I was better off believing that my parents were driven insane by the Lestranges and by…him," Neville said. "And I'll make him pay."
Neville whipped out his wand. Penny and I moved to step in in case things got a bit ugly.
"Attacking a squib?" Junior asked. "Bold move. Not even The Dark Lord would stoop that low."
"Bellatrix's magic is returning, and yours will as well," Neville snapped.
"Bellatrix lost her mark," I said.
Neville blinked and turned around. Penny held her wand firmly.
"Another one of your secrets?" Neville asked. "How do we know that You-Know-Who did not hijack your body on that Halloween and he's been slowly taking over for eleven years? That would explain why you don't act like a normal kid."
Oooh, I can understand why he believed that.
"Look, kid, Harry's different, I'll give him that," Junior said. "In Godric's Hollow, he defeated Voldemort. Stopped him for good."
"I know, that's what they say," Neville said. "But, maybe they're wrong."
"And they can be wrong about your parents as well," Junior said. "I was an idiot who swallowed my father's bait and riled up the Lestrange attack dogs. Although, I don't think he planned on me getting caught, because that collapsed his entire political career."
Neville looked at Junior.
"You said David Fortescue has a flat in Hogsmeade?" I asked.
"Here's his address," Junior said. "Now as a responsible adult, I must warn you not to engage. He's extremely dangerous and the people he's involved with are also extremely dangerous. But, I would highly advise doing all of your homework on him."
"Right," I said.
It was a name. I just hope Junior didn't send us on a wild goose chase.
"Do you believe him?" Penny asked me.
"It's a lead," I said.
We walked out and Daphne was waiting for us, along with Astra. Neville hung behind us.
"Let me know if you find anything out about my mother," Neville said.
"Do you believe me?" I asked.
"I believe the truth," Neville said.
Neville stepped back from me.
"The Fortescues are tied into this," I told them.
"Oh, I knew they were no good," Daphne said.
"Now is that because you don't trust them or it's because they're your most direct competition in the ice cream business?" Astra asked Daphne.
"They've done some pretty shady things to freeze competitors out," Daphne said. "But, we'll see."
"And Alice being related to them along with Peter Pettigrew, well that adds another wrinkle," I said. "Maybe I should arrange another trip to Azkaban to have a chat with Wormtail."
I feel like I've been spending a lot of time heading to Azkaban. Hell, the Dementors must be wetting themselves at this point.
Well if they wore pants.
Did Dementors wear pants underneath those cloaks?
You know something, I don't know.
I'm not sure if I want to know.
"I don't know," Daphne said. "Pettigrew might just be a stupid pawn."
Maybe, maybe not. Astra decided to join us for our Friday night S'mores. And Kara also popped in as well. At this point, they're honorary Ravenclaws.
X-X-X
There are times where I look at the finer things of life like a S'more and wonder what they represent. And I think I understand they represent the hope of a simpler thing in life. I look at the group of Ravenclaws and our guests gathered around and I ponder.
This is what I'm fighting for. Against elements of darkness which will ruin these happy times.
"You okay?" Tracey asked me.
"Fine," I said. "Just thinking."
"It's been quite the first week back," Cho said. "Marietta's been writing to me daily. Let's have a moment to think about those who were trapped in that Ministry school."
Yes, that's another problem. I did wonder about that school.
"That school has to collapse sooner or later, right?" Padma asked.
"Or, they'll just double down," Cho said.
"It's the Ministry, "Astra said. "Of course they'll do everything they can to prove they were in the right. And Umbridge is determined to make Hogwarts look bad."
"Can't look any worse than the woman who got catapulted out of school twice," I said
"And somehow survived," Penny said.
"Magic can do wonderful things," I said.
"And letting Umbridge live to menace us another day is not one of them," Daphne said.
"I'm glad I got sorted here," Astoria said. "This is a nice distraction of all of the shadows lurking out there. We're all safe in Hogwarts. For now."
"The Founders have returned to make sure their vision is true," an older Ravenclaw said.
"Mmm, I wish," Astoria said. "The Cloaks are out there."
"There's a lot of weird things out there," Andrea said. "Lockhart staked another three vampires just last night. And bludgeoned a troll."
"You're talking about the book Lockhart," Su said.
"Well, yeah, real Lockhart isn't nearly as epic," Daphne said.
"You'll save us, right, Harry?" Astoria asked. "You defeated You-Know-Who. Can you defeat them? Stop them?"
"Harry's just a kid, let him enjoy his life," a seventh year said sternly.
"He's done more for us than any adult has," Padma said.
I realized that people counted on me.
"He's done more than he should," Astra said.
"They won't rest though," Astoria said. "Dad…"
"Astoria, not now," Daphne murmured.
"You never want to talk about it!" Astoria snapped. "You've heard Luna. You've heard Ariana. And then there's Rosemary, living breathing proof that the Cloaks exist. How many more people do you have to see before you realize it's not a conspiracy theory?"
"I don't mean that," Daphne said.
"Well, you always shut me down when I talk about them," Astoria said.
"They're real," I said. "But, they can't hide forever."
"Harry will bring them out into the light," Su said.
I appreciated their support. Junior's information was the closest I had to go on.
"Was You-Know-Who behind this too?" Cho asked. "These…Cloaks?"
Cho seemed nervous.
"It's just a myth," another student said. "It's fear and uncertainty that dark wizards use, making us think their movement is bigger than anything we've ever faced."
"What happened in Diagon Alley was strange," Su offered.
We finally returned to talking about less unsettling topics. Astoria kept looking at me.
"Good luck when you hunt for them, "she whispered. "I'm rooting for you."
I had to take a trip to Azkaban this weekend. Oh, I loved how I ended up there.
X-X-X
I entered Azkaban. The fact there were no Dementors in the prison raised a rather bothersome red flag in my head. I walked over towards the cell.
Bartemius Crouch Senior was currently hanging from his cell by his neck.
Well, shit.
I feel like I should point out for the record that Bartemius Crouch Senior did not kill himself. It was unsettling. Especially considering that there was another loud gasp and a scream.
"Please, I did everything you asked."
"And we thank you for your service."
I blew down the doors of the cell which contained Peter Pettigrew. Two figures, dressed in cloaks spun around and fired spells at me. I spun around and grabbed the arm of one of the attackers and shattered every bone in his arm. Then, I pulled the wand out of his hand and impaled the wood through his throat, before blowing his head clean off.
"You wanted my attention, didn't you?" I asked the remaining cloak.
"AVADA…"
I slammed a blunt force attack into the man's jaw to shatter it. The man created purple flames with his hand and whipped it. I remember this as the spell that really fucked Hermione up six ways from Sunday in the Department of Mysteries. I caught the fire in my hand and sent the flames back against the cloak setting him on fire.
Cinders fell to the floor from my repelled spell. I noticed a ghastly figure who had been pulling Wormtail through the wall. I whipped the Elder Wand at the wall and caused the figure to become corporeal and thus get stuck into the wall. Then, I tore the hood off.
"You!" I hissed.
Two cloaks dead and one stuck in the wall. It was quite fortunate that I recognized the cloak who had been caught in the wall. To be fair, I should have recognized him by the silk white gloves which were currently soaked in blood.
"Pyrites," I said. "It's been a long time."
"You made a grave mistake, boy," Pyrites said. "You know too much."
"Never good enough to get the mark, and yet you were Riddle's little clean up boy," I told him.
"You will die, Potter," Pyrites said.
"Heard it before," I said.
"You can't stop the Knights of Walpurgis. We will achieve our destiny."
Suddenly, Pyrites vaporized. Wormtail, as a rat, tried to scurry out of the way. Not quite sure how he could still turn into an Animagus, but perhaps he was capable of just a little bit of magic.
"Nice try," I told him. "We're going to have a nice little chat, Peter. Man to mouse."
Sure he was technically a rat, but fuck it.
Were there any more?
The Knights of Walpurgis and the Cloaks were one and the same. Or at least the Cloaks were responsible. An ancient order to ensure that the Muggle world never overthrew the Wizarding World. They were responsible for countless acts of atrocities over the ages. I ran into them in the past, in the present, and in the future.
The Peverell Brothers were their founding members. Although regretted creating the organization towards the end, but it had been too late. Voldemort used their name towards the beginning, although it twisted into the Death Eaters we knew today.
Wormtail squeaked. I noticed one more wrinkle.
Severus Snape was gone from his cell. Obviously they needed a Potions Master for something. And despite Snape's lack of ability to perform foolish wand waving and silly incanations, he still had the knowledge they required and the skilled hand.
And they could dangle a reward underneath his hooked nose.
X-X-X
I returned to Hogwarts where Astra and Kara were waiting for me.
"You're covered in blood," Kara said.
"Not mine," I said. "Crouch Senior has been suicided in his cell. They kidnapped Snape. They were about to kill Wormtail before I intervened. It's the Knights of Walpurgis. They and the Cloaks are tied together. Might even be one and the same."
"You really don't know, do you?" Astra asked.
"Not a clue," I admitted. "I'm just trying to figure out if they have a plan. Or if they're like a dog chasing a car at this point."
I double checked to make sure Wormtail was safely in his cage.
The fact that Wormtail could transform into a rat raised a rather concerning point. All of the Death Eaters should have lost their magic. But, yet Wormtail could still transform.
That's another question I'm going to have to answer.
"Damn," Astra said. "Can this day get any weirder?"
"Just unwish the bloody wish already," Beatrice yelled from the other room. "Yeah, I got it. Penny's life is not sunshine and roses either. I wish we were in our proper lives. Don't tell me that you can't do it."
Before this conversation could get any further, Astra opened the door.
We saw Beatrice Haywood. And her fairy godmother.
"YOU!"
"Oh, you were expecting someone else, weren't you?"
Yes, out of all of the things, I did not expect this. Wade Wilson, better known as Deadpool, dressed in a blue dress and a tiara.
"I know what you're thinking," Deadpool said. "And yes,this dress makes my butt look big."
Deadpool is a fairy godmother. Oh this is the most absurd thing ever.
Except it isn't. Because I've seen some shit.
Bellatrix and Deadpool cannot meet. At all. It would break reality even more than it's already broken.
"I know, Marvel character in a DC crossover," Deadpool said. "The shit this author comes up with when on the toilet at three in the morning."
At this point, I just roll with what Deadpool says. It's better for the few strands of sanity I have remaining.
"How did you become a fairy godmother?" Kara managed.
"Well, I've got a funny story to tell you," Deadpool said. "And I've got a handy dandy Powerpoint presentation to lay everything out for you."
I can hardly wait.
"But, the readers will have until the next chapter."
Just roll with it, Potter. Just roll with it.
"He said the thing!"
"Wade," I growled. "Just shut up!"
Well, this could prove to be enlightening. Maybe.
To Be Continued.