A/N:
::Does little victory dance:: Finally, the last chapter!!! Since
Ch. 6 was so small, I made it up here!!! There is also going to be
an epilogue, kinda an intro to the third series, but the third part is
going to take a while, as I want to finish my other fics first so I can
fully concentrate on this. but don't worry... I have a plot
bunny nest under my desk and they have been rather busy lately... ::looks
worried under her desk:: I hope you enjoyed reading this series as
much as I enjoyed writing them.
As I said before, I will try to explain
as I go if you haven't read Harry Potter, but please understand that this
was originally a Harry Potter story and His Royal Tightness wiggled his
way into it...
Special thanks to all of you who
reviewed Chapter 6: Silver Space (this is the end! It will
give you a clue about what happened to her family, but we will return to
the Underground in the third series), Lillian Estelle and L (glad
you folks liked the idea, I'm always trying to think of things that haven't
been done before ^_^), Amber (If you really want to know what happens to
him, read the sister story, which I'll mention at the end of this story!),
and last but not least, Danalas (When are you posting our collaboration?
Be afraid folks, be very afraid... again! ^_^)
If you find mistakes here, please
excuse my spelling errors and other horrors, but English is not my first
language(and this was my second fic). So let me know any errors you
find and I will correct them. As always, please R/R and tell me if
I'm doing a good job or if this sucks.
And before I forget,
DISCLAIMER - All characters
from Potterverse belong to the magnificent J.K. Rowling. Sarah, Jareth,
and everything Labyrinth belong to Jim Henson Productions. I only own Caridwen,
the plot, and any other characters you don't recognize.
And now, the story.
The Searcher II:
Harry Potter and the False Ghost
Ch. 7: Crashing A Party Is Not Easy To Do...
"Cari, are you ready?"
"Coming, Hermione!" said the clone.
The two of them went downstairs to
the common room, where Harry and Ron were waiting for them.
The four friends went down for dinner
and Harry asked the clone "Are you going to see the quidditch practice
tomorrow?"
She answered, "You know I would not
miss it!" with a smile, lacing her arm around his on their way to the Great
Hall.
Quidditch practice was very early
the next day.
The clone was cheering Harry on the
stands when she heard a voice in her mind saying *This is the perfect opportunity.
Act now.* making her smile.
After practice, the clone stayed
helping Harry put the bludgers and the snitch back in their box.
After they were done, she asked Harry
"Would you mind staying here to talk for a moment?"
He nodded and asked, "What do you
want to talk about?"
She smiled and motioned him forward.
When he did, she pulled him closer
to her and said "I have been wanting to do this for a long time" and kissed
him, putting her arms around his neck.
Harry kissed her back, getting very
involved in the kiss. She managed to take a dagger she had been hiding
in the sleeves of her robes.
She went to stab him, when a flash
of white feathers came over to her, attacking. Harry pulled back,
and all he saw was Jareth attacking Cari, who was holding a knife in her
hands.
Cari started screaming "Stop it,
stupid bird!"
Harry took his wand out and said,
"Who are you? What you did to Cari?"
Jareth stopped attacking the clone
and perched on his shoulder. She looked at him, but her beautiful
face was framed with an evil grin.
"Harry, I'm still the same old Cari,
but I realized I want my fiancé back. The way to do it is
to kill you" sending chills down his spine.
At that moment, she looked over Harry's
shoulder and smiling said "Darling, I'm so glad you are here. Like
the present I got for you?"
Harry turned around, knowing whom
he would see, as his scar was starting to hurt at that moment. Voldemort
was standing right behind him, and before he could do anything, he heard
Cari saying "Expelliarmus!" and his wand went flying to her.
Jareth took flight at the same moment,
going towards the castle.
Harry saw Voldemort walking next
to Cari, giving her a kiss on the lips, while saying, "Well done, beloved.
You have brought me what I wanted, so I'm afraid I don't need you anymore.
Avada Kedavra!"
She froze, looking at Voldemort "You
promised! You promised I would be with you!" as a green light enveloped
her, and she fell on the floor, eyes open.
Cari woke up with a scream "No, Harry!"
She realized she was in the room
where she saw Voldemort for the first time. 'He is going to kill
Harry and there is nothing I can do about it!' she thought.
Voldemort turned to Harry, who was
pale as a ghost. "Don't worry, Potter. You will join your girlfriend
pretty soon!"
"Not today, Voldemort!" said Dumbledore.
"I don't know how you got here, but I know it won't be for long."
Voldemort slit his eyes in a hateful
glance and turned to Harry "Until next time, Potter. You will not
be so lucky!" and he disappeared, leaving his evil laugh behind.
Harry was still shaking when he asked
Dumbledore "How did you got here?"
"This owl was very insistent that
I followed him. It was a good thing I did, considering the circumstances."
said Dumbledore, pointing to Jareth, who was perched on his shoulders.
Suddenly, the owl took flight and
disappeared in the sky. Harry turned towards Cari's body, and kneeling
down, he closed her eyes and gave her a farewell kiss on the lips.
He then asked Dumbledore "What about
her? I can't believe she did this on her own. Could she had
been under the imperious curse?"
Dumbledore put his hands on Harry's
shoulders and said "She probably was. We will give her a proper burial
service."
With his wand, he created a stretcher
and put Cari's limp body in it, making it float behind them.
"Let's go see Madam Pomfrey.
It is going to be a long day" said Dumbledore, guiding the still shocked
Harry towards the medical wing.
Voldemort apparated in front of Cari,
who was looking murderously at him.
"What did you do to Harry, you monster?"
"I did not kill him, if that's what
you want to know. But I doubt he will be the same person after watching
the love of his life die before him" he responded with an evil smirk, turning
around and leaving the room.
Cari murmured to herself "You'll
pay for this, Voldemort. I swear!" and continued to look for a weakness
in her invisible cell.
After Madame Pomfrey made sure that
Harry was physically all right, she dismissed him to his tower, assuring
him that he did not have to take any classes if he did not want to.
As soon as Harry got into the common room, he knew that the news of Cari's
death had spread to the school. He saw in a corner Hermione crying,
being consoled by Ron, who was also crying
Harry just wanted to be alone, so
he walked towards the boy's dormitories. He just wanted to sleep,
he did not want to think. He stayed in his bed the whole day, curtains
closed, closed to the world, not going down to eat at all.
The next day arrived, and Harry did
not want to get up. He was numb to the world. Cari was dead.
He thought that the pain brought by Cedric's death was bad, but this pain
was unbearable.
He felt like half of his being was
gone. He did not want to feel, to think. He stayed in the common
room the whole day, refusing to go down to eat, or even go to Cari's burial
services.
He just stayed in his chair in front
of the fireplace looking blankly at space. He acted like an automaton
that whole day, making Hermione and Ron worried.
Ron looked at Hermione and said,
"I think Cari's death affected Harry more than we thought. I think
he really loved her. Now, he acts like he is dead. We need
to do something to cheer him up." Hermione nodded and they both got
up and went to Harry.
Hermione started "Harry, if you need
to talk, you know we are here for you. Cari was our friend too, and
we miss her as well."
Harry looked up to his friends, and
with half a smile he said "Thanks."
His face got serious all of the sudden
"Why did she had to die? It should have been me!"
With that, all the emotions he had
bottled up came out, tears flowing through his face, unable to control
his sobbing, being comforted by his best friends.
Cari woke up when she felt a weight
next to her. When she opened her eyes, she saw that Voldemort was
sitting next to her, his back against the bed's headboard.
"Rested well, my dear?" he said.
She only looked at him with hatred
in her eyes, and turned her back to him.
She heard him laugh while he said
"Still the same spit fire I remember, I see. This will make tonight's
events much more interesting."
Now he got her curiosity, but something
was telling her that she was not going to like the answer.
"What happens tonight?" she asked,
dreading the answer.
"Why, my dear, tonight's our wedding
night. We are getting married at sundown."
She felt a coldness rush through
her body, and a very unnerving calmness surrounded her.
"Then can I at least make myself
presentable? I am sure you would not want to present your wife to
your followers dirty and smelly."
Voldemort was surprised as her unexpected
calmness, but he attributed it to the fact that could be the first signs
of her spirit breaking.
He answered "Of course. You
can use the bathroom next to this room; there are some robes in the armoire.
I will be watching you, so I know if you try to escape."
She looked at him coldly and arching
up an eyebrow replied "Watching me? I would have hoped to get some
privacy at least until tonight."
His mouth was curved in an evil smirk,
obviously amused by her answer. "Very well, I will not watch you
while you bathe, but I will now anything that happens outside the bathroom.
Is that clear?"
She nodded, and looked in the dresser
for clean underwear, went to the armoire, took a set of clean robes, and
directed herself to the bathroom.
She was about to take her clothes
off when she heard a faint hoot outside the bathroom's small window.
She opened the curtain and delighted
exclaimed "Jareth! How did you found me? Never mind, I'm in
big trouble. Looks like tonight I'm going to become Mrs. Evil Psychopath
Wizard. I need help, but I don't have any parchment with me."
The owl looked at her, and in her
mind, she heard *Then we have a bit of a problem, don't we? *
Then an idea occurred to her.
She was not sure if it would work without her wand, but she tried spells
without it before, and they worked. She just hoped her other magic
was strong enough.
"How did that spell worked again?
Think, Caridwen, think! Your life depends on this. Ah, got
it!"
She looked at her beautiful white
barn owl and put her hands on his head while saying "Dico Humanus!
Now go and tell Dumbledore. He will know what to do, and tell Harry
I'm alive!"
"Whatever you say, but just be careful!"
said the owl, in a melodious, cultured voice.
She knew that Voldemort would be
watching Jareth outside the window, so she shouted "Voldemort, I thought
I told you, no peeking! Now go, scram owl!" and winking, motioned
her owl to leave.
Jareth took flight, going to Hogwarts
as fast as his wings could take him.
"Come on, Harry. Let's go downstairs
for lunch." said a very frustrated Ron.
"Yes, Harry, you have had nothing
to eat in the past 2 days. Come with us, please?" pleaded Hermione,
taking Harry's hand in hers.
Harry was about to respond that he
did not want to eat, when his stomach betrayed him with a loud rumble.
Ron said with a smile "I'll take
that as a yes!"
And they went to lunch, Harry walking
between Ron and Hermione.
The three friends were having lunch
at the Great Hall, and talking. Harry was looking and feeling much
better. He even got interested in a quidditch discussion with Ron
and the twins, when they saw a white owl fly through the Great Hall, perching
on Dumbledore's shoulder.
The strange thing is that they saw
expressions change in Dumbledore's face, but he was not reading anything.
He actually looked like he was talking to the owl.
They saw Dumbledore stand up and
leave the table, followed by professors McGonagall and Snape. Then,
the owl took flight towards their direction.
He perched in an empty chair in front
of Harry, when they heard a voice say "Dumbledore wants to see you three
in his office now."
The three friends looked at each
other, silence filling the table when they figured out who spoke.
Harry, still with wide-open eyes said, "Jareth, did you just talked?"
"No, it was the chair. I like
to do ventriloquism from time to time. Yes it was me, and we better
hurry, this is important." the owl answered in an annoyed tone.
Ron, Harry and Hermione stood up
and hurried to Dumbledore's office, Jareth flying right behind them.
Once they arrived next to the statue,
Harry said "Canary Cream", the statue moved and they got into the passage
to the headmaster's office.
Once they got in, they saw professor
McGonagall and professor Snape sitting in the office as well.
Dumbledore said "Please sit down.
I have good and bad news. The good news is that I just found out
that Voldemort tricked us again. Caridwen is alive and well, imprisoned
by Voldemort. The bad news is that Voldemort plans to marry Caridwen
at sundown today."
Harry went numb by this revelation,
and said "Cari is alive? But we saw her body. How can this
be?"
Jareth looked at Dumbledore and said
"I think I can answer this one. The girl you saw was not the real
Caridwen, but a copy. I could sense it, which is why I attacked her
when she tried to kill you. Also, after Voldemort left I smelled
a scent that told me where he was, and I knew that if I found him, I would
find her, and I did. She put a spell on me so I could talk to humans,
and get help. So, here we are."
Ron was confused by all this "Why
Voldemort wants to marry Cari anyway?"
Snape answered, "Isn't it obvious
Mr. Weasly? Voldemort wants an heir, and Caridwen is a very powerful
witch. Their child will have the potential of becoming the most powerful
witch or wizard that has ever existed. The only way he could be in
control of her is by performing a very special, very ancient submission
spell, which can only work if they are married. This kind of spell
was very common hundreds of years ago, when husbands expected total submission
from their wives."
Dumbledore spoke then "We need to
do something fast. It is going to be dangerous. I'm expecting
that it will be a public ceremony, so the majority of Death-eaters will
be in attendance. What we need is some distraction that would allow
us to take Cari and apparate immediately in Hogwarts. I want you
to be on the alert, because I need to take the apparition deterrent charm
for the time we are going to be out."
Harry answered back "No. I
want to go with you. I want to get Cari out of there. You know
that you will need my help against Voldemort."
Dumbledore studied the situation
for a few minutes and nodded.
"Severus, I expect that it's time
for you to go." said Dumbledore, then looking at professor McGonagall "Minerva,
you are to be in charge while we are out. Round all the prefects,
and don't let anybody out of their towers."
She nodded, and left the room with
Snape.
Dumbledore turned to Harry "Harry,
I think it would be a good idea if you bring your invisibility cloak with
you, along with Miss Blantyre's wand."
Harry nodded, and was leaving the
room, when he heard Dumbledore talking to his friends "Now, Mr. Weasly
and Miss Granger, I need you to quickly learn this spell to create a little
diversion..."
The weird calmness still enveloped
her when she was changing her robes into her wedding gown.
Cari thought, "This is turning out
to be the worst day of my life. I just hope Jareth was able to get
help."
She finished putting on her makeup
"Well, it's showtime!"
With a stoic face, she opened the
door to her bedroom, to find Wormtail waiting for her outside the door.
He gave a small bow and said, "If
you will follow me, please."
As soon as she got outside of the
castle, she saw a lot of people gathered in a small area of the garden.
She kept following Peter, who suddenly stopped.
She looked at him "Now what?"
He gave her a bouquet of white orchids,
that made her raise an eyebrow "Well, this is a surprise" she thought.
She kept her face unreadable while
she walked towards Voldemort. Once she got there, he nodded to the
official to start the ceremony. As soon as Voldemort reached the
golden binding ropes, they heard a loud noise, something between a crash
and an explosion, not that far away from them.
Someone arrived to the gathering
screaming "We are under attack! Take cover!"
That is all that was needed to create
Panic and Chaos. Voldemort was furious.
He shouted "Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle
come with me. Wormtail, make sure nothing happens to my precious
bride."
The stranger that arrived shouting
came to them and said to Pettigrew "We better hide her, they might be looking
for her."
Peter smiled and said, "It's a good
idea. Follow me."
As soon as they got out of eyesight,
Cari heard the stranger say "Stupefy!"
She turned toward the stranger, who
winked at her and said "It's me, Harry. Let's get out of here, fast!"
She was still looking at him suspiciously,
but knew it was him as soon as she saw the invisibility cloak.
They kept running through the castle
grounds under the invisibility cloak, making sure that they did not bump
with anyone in the process. They arrived to a small clearing, where
she saw Hermione, Ron and Dumbledore creating madness around them.
Dumbledore stopped and said, "Good,
you are here. It is time for us to go. Hold hands, please."
and disappeared, not without been spotted by Voldemort before they did.
Voldemort quickly followed suit,
knowing that time was of the essence. As soon as they arrived safely
in Hogwarts, Dumbledore took the illusion spell from Harry, and proceeded
to put back the spell against apparating in the school, but it was too
late. In that instant Voldemort appeared with Malfoy, Crabbe and
Goyle.
Voldemort shouted, "You will pay
for this!" and lifted his wand, when they heard a voice behind them
"Oh, no, you don't" and they saw
a round crystal fly in direction of Voldemort, making them disappear in
the midst of glitter.
When they turned around, they saw
a tall man, long blond hair in spikes, wearing black boots, black tights,
and a crimson velvet shirt with a black breastplate, and a black cape.
His eyes were mismatched, one blue, and the other one hazel.
The boys looked at him with curiosity,
while Hermione looked at him starry-eyed. Dumbledore and Cari could
not suppress a chuckle at their expressions.
Dumbledore had a very intense twinkle
in his eyes when he said, "Well, I had my suspicions of who you were, Goblin
King and you have confirmed them. What are you going to do with them,
Jareth?"
The Goblin King looked at Dumbledore,
blue eyes meeting mismatched ones, and said, "I might have fun with them,
and probably I will erase this little 'incident' from their minds as well.
And Albus, it has been a long time, too bad I can't stay and talk, perhaps
some other time."
He then turned to Caridwen and very
seriously said "You and I will have a little chat later." and disappeared.
The only thought in Cari's mind was
"Oh, boy. I'm in trouble now."
Harry just came out of his shocked
state and said, "Is this it? Is he gone?"
Dumbledore said, "I'm afraid is not
that easy. He is breaking the rules of interfering with mortal life
as it is. I suspect we will see more of Voldemort in the future,
unfortunately. But for now, I suggest you go to your house and rest,
it has been a long day."
Once in their common room, Harry
and Cari were talking in their favorite corner. Cari told Harry about
the clone, and Harry told Cari everything that happened after they 'rescued'
her.
Cari said to Harry "Can you forgive
me? I acted stupidly, and put your lives in danger."
Harry just smiled and said, "Of course
I forgive you. I love you."
She smiled back and said, "I love
you too."
He pulled her closer to him and kissed
her. Inside Harry's embrace, Cari was frowning, immersed in her thoughts
"What does he want to talk about? I hope I didn't mess up the mission."
Harry and Cari kept cuddling in the
corner until they were the last ones in the common room.
Harry suddenly turned to Cari and
asked her "How come the Goblin King wants to talk to you?"
Cari just shrugged, and said, "I
don't know. Perhaps he did not like being my owl?", with a smile.
As soon as Harry was distracted she
motioned her hand over his head.
Harry tried to suppress a yawn, and
Cari told him "It's late. You better go to sleep. Good night."
And dismissed him with a quick peck
on the lips. She made the motion that she was going to her rooms
as well, when she caught the sight of a white owl in the window.
She opened the window and the owl
flew in, changing from an owl to a man in the midst of glitter.
She smiled and said, "It's nice to
see you again."
He just looked at her very seriously
and said, "Do you have any idea of what you have done? The danger
you were in? Even now, I have to make a spell to make anyone involved
forget this little incident. Not to mention that when your mother
found out what happened, she was worried sick. What do you have to
say for yourself, young lady?"
Cari just looked at the floor and
said, "I'm sorry, father. I have been careless, but I won't do it
again."
Then she turned her head up to meet
his gaze "Please don't send me back home, please? I've come too far,
and his training has to start soon."
He just smiled and said "You can
stay, but if you cause any more trouble, is back to the Underground for
you. Do you understand?"
She nodded and he gave her a big
hug "I missed you, my princess."
"And I missed you, father.
Please tell mother that I love her and miss her? And tell that brother
of mine to get ready for this summer, I intend to kick his royal…" and
paused when she saw her father's face, "…tights?" earning a chuckle from
him.
"It's time to erase the memory of
the incident. Everybody will forget except for your friends and the
headmaster. From now on, you will be a regular student at Hogwarts,
never was a ghost, you have been with your friends since the beginning.
You stay with your parents during summer breaks. I'm also sad to
say that I will have to erase certain swim in the Bog of Eternal Stench
for some people."
Cari looked at her father with an
arched eyebrow and smiled, a mental picture of Voldemort, Malfoy, Crabbe
and Goyle taking a swim in the Bog, being annoyed by Sir Didymus.
"You know what we need to do.
Are you ready, my dear?"
"Yes father."
They both turned their hands, and
a crystal ball formed in each of them. They let them go, floating
in the air like bubbles and bursting in a rain of colors.
"Well, I think that pretty much does
it. It's late, and you should be in bed" the king said.
"Father, please say hi to uncle Hoggle,
uncle Ludo and uncle Didy for me, will you?" Cari said, with tears in her
eyes.
Jareth sighed, and gave a hug to
his daughter "You know I will. Now, go to sleep, sweetheart."
He kissed his daughter's forehead,
and transformed himself back into an owl, flying out the window.
Cari closed the window, and went back to the fifth year girl's dormitory.
Sarah was watching her daughter sleeping
peacefully through the mirror. She turned to her husband "Jareth,
does she really have to live like a witch on Earth?"
Jareth held his wife and said "You
know our daughter is destined to find the protector of our realm, and if
he is this Harry Potter, she has to prepare him for his future task.
But that, my darling, is another story."
The End?
A/N: Well, the
story is done, but I'll include a brand spanking new epilogue on Friday.
Also look for the sister story, Voldie and the BOES, coming up later this
week. This explains what happened to him after they disappeared from
Hogwarts. The Searcher 3 will come, I promise. I cannot tell
you when, but sometime this year, it will come.
Here is where I plead and grovel...
review, review, review....
Your opinion and comments help me grow as a writer, so:
Please....
Leave a contribution in the little box.