Authors Note: All characters except the obvious are property of J. K. Rowling. All events are fiction, and are not real. (as much as we want them to be). This story takes place in the sixth year at Hogwarts, in an alternate universe. This is not Hogwarts as we know it. A WARNING: This chapter is a little bit more dark and graphic than previous chapters. There's one or two swear words, and a little bit of gore. You've been warned. Now read on!!!
Penny Dredfule Chapter Eleven
Dark Reading
"Kee'fs life," the book read, "had been horrific. A devastating life for a child, actually. Therefore, it is no surprise that he ended up where he did.
As a child, Keef would often slide towards the darker side of thing,, preferring more the cover of night than the light of day. He was a child with a kind heart that had been stamped on too often.
He believed that one everyone deserved fair chances at life, even if they came from the gutter families of the wizarding world, although that opinion would change.
Keef's Mother, Gunwalda Alshomees, was an enchantress of notable talent. It was naturally assumed, and quite rightly so, that Keef would inherit her talents.
Keef's Father, one Lanshire Quirrell, was a mere wizard. This caused considerable stress in the marriage and Keef often suffered the brunt of both his parents anger.
His older brother didn't suffer, though. Duncan Quirrell was off in France studying Magical Defense. Alistair was spared his parent's anger and constant battles for power in the house. Kee'fs older brother had freedom.
The turning point in Keef's life came on the eve of his twentieth birthday. By this time he had established himself as a formidable Enchanter, capable of powerful magic.
Keef came home from working at the Ministry to find his parents in the middle of what would be their final argument. There had been arguments and fights before, but none as heated as this one.
His parents didn't notice his arrival, so intent they were on insulting each other. Keef hid behind the door to the kitchen and as he listened a cold settled in him. It chilled him to his bones. He felt he would never be warm again.
"Useless man!" His mother screamed, "All you think about is power and status! You can't deal with the fact that I hold more power than you!"
"Damn fucking right!" His father screamed back. Keef paled. He had never heard his parents swear. "All the time, its 'I'm the Enchantress, I'll decide'! You can't stand the fact that I might be right and you might be wrong!"
"But I have experience in these matters! Voldemort is coming to power and we have to stop him!"
"Why don't you just shut the fuck up!" Keef's father bellowed and struck his mother across the face.
A cold rage burst in Keef like a tidal wave. He rushed into the kitchen and began beating his father, fists flying, legs kicking, totally unaware of what he was doing. One thought kept repeating itself over and over in his head: 'No one hits my mother'.
He stopped suddenly when he heard screaming. He thought it was his own, but when his head cleared he discovered it was his Mother's.
Keef came back to an awareness that hurt. His father's dead body lay on the kitchen floor, blood soaking the tiles. Keef stared at his hands, dimly aware that he had just killed his father.
His mother was sobbing, clutching her robes to her bosom. He went towards her hands outstretched .
"Mom," He said, "Mom, it's okay, it's going to be okay…"
"Murderer!!" She screamed at him, "Killer, you are not my son!"
"Mom?" He replied. Tears were streaming down his cheeks.
"Killer!!" She screamed at him, "I reject you, I denounce you! You killed the only person I have ever loved!"
The floodgates opened inside Keef. His rage was pouring over him in torrents; so much so, that twenty minutes later his mother's dead form was beside his father's, her neck broken.
Keef went outside at that point and fell to his knees in the grass. He screamed as loudly as he could, thinking it to be someone else.
As an answer to his scream of rage, the neighbourhood cats came to him. They came by the hundreds, even after his scream had died away. That's where the Ministry officials found him; asleep and wasted on his front lawn, surrounded by hundreds of cats.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The Ministry ruled in the favour of murder. They were certain that Voldemort's Death Eaters were behind the killings, one more example of his growing power. To kill such a powerful Enchantress and a wizard was a testament to great power. Keef was never put in the light of blame.
A month after the incident at his home, Keef was approached by a man. Keef was sitting on his front porch, thinking, when he saw the gentleman approach.
Keef stood, unsure of why, but this man seemed to demand courtesy. As the man approached, Keef thought: 'And it starts'. He was not quite sure why he had that thought, but it turned out to be far more accurate than he could have imagined.
"Let us go inside." The man said, and Keef obeyed. The man seemed to know his way, and led Keef to the kitchen where he had killed his mother and father.
"This is where you did it." The man said.
"I didn't do anything." Keef replied.
The man laughed a high, cold, cruel laugh. "Oh, come now, we both know that isn't the case. I know your darkest secrets, Keef."
Keef swallowed. "Who are you?" He asked.
"I am many things." Said the man. "They used to call me Tom Riddle, but I have not used that name in many years. They now call me VOLDEMORT."
Keef stared in awe. Here was the answer, he thought. A man into whom he could pour all the dark feelings. A man who wouldn't flinch at the fact that he had murdered the very people who had given him life.
"I hear you have an affinity with cats, Keef. I would like you to do something for me."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Keef began to use his affinity with cats to Lord Voldemort's advantage. The cats would answer Keef's call, for he was an Enchanter with a connection to the feline species.
He used his powers to spy on those who would not follow Lord Voldemort's ways. It was the perfect revenge, thought Keef, on a world where no one seemed to care for him, where no one noticed him.
He was well liked, which only helped to mask his involvement in the deaths of several prominent wizards and witches. Keef knew this was a serious offense, but he didn't care. His soul had been eaten away by hate.
He wasn't smart enough, however. One of Lord Voldemort'srank, one Severus Snape, suspected something. Unknown to Keef, Snape was a spy for the revolution against Lord Voldemort. Keef's undoing came four years after he began his term with the dark side.
Snape found Keef in his house on that fateful evening. Keef wouldn't leave the home where his parents had perished.
Snape watched Keef from his vantage point in the bushes in front of Keef's house, his decoy ready to step into action.
His decoy, one Minerva McGonagall, was a registered animagus able to turn herself into a cat. The perfect cheese for the proverbial mousetrap. When Snape heard Keefs (Keef's) call to the felines, he sent Minerva in cat form to the front stoop of Keef's house.
Minutes passed while Snape watched the transference of information. When Minerva came back to the bushes and told what had transpired, he then alerted the Ministry of Magic.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The trial was quick. Keef was sentenced to life in the prison of Azkaban. He was also stripped of his Enchanter powers. To abuse your powers as an Enchanter was serious business. Keef would never have the power he once had.
Keef knew, of course, that Snape was behind his capture. When he was carried away by the Dementors, Snape saw his eyes.
They held no trace of life. The blue eyes were cold as ice and they pierced Snape's soul, marking him. Snape was now on Keef's death list.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Keef, of course, escaped Azkaban. Death was easy enough to fake. The Dementors never knew the difference between his body and another's. He was free. After twenty years in Azkaban, he was free.
And he knew just what he would do. Kill the man who put him there.
* * *
Penny blinked and reached for her mug of tea. She felt dirty all over and wasn't sure if she would ever be clean again. What she had read had changed her, made her more aware of an evil presence around the castle. She shuddered and looked down at the book.
There wasn't much left to read. She had to keep going, had to find out the rest of the story. How did Keef get here? How did he gain the power to enter her head and into her Memory Library? Without his powers he was not able to achieve such feats.
There was a knock at the door. She looked up and Sheryll entered the room. "How're you doing?"
"Almost done, but I think I need to speak to Professor Dumbledore right away."
"You won't be able to do that. He received an owl from the Ministry of Magic. Someone there has information on Keef, he went right away."
"He's not here? Why didn't he wait for me to read the book?"
"He couldn't be sure of when you would read it, Penny. Any information, any leads he could find, are few and far between. He had to answer this owl. It may save our lives."
Penny nodded. Her mind felt all dark and gloomy.
At last, Sheryll spoke. "I won't keep you. I just wanted to see how you were holding up. I believe I might have a little lie down. Come and get me when you're finished reading. Then we'll see what we can do."
"Right. Thank you, Sheryll."
Sheryll smiled and let herself out.
Penny sighed and kept on reading.
* * *
The Living Goddess Dinah was meditating in her temple. The stars had been troubled lately and Isis was displeased. Dinah intended to find out why.
Purple and amber light began to glow around Dinah. She was centering her chakras, trying to get all of seven of them in line. This required a lot of concentration. That being said, she was doubly frightened when she was jolted out of her meditative state by a cruel, cold laugh.
"Hello?" Dinah said. "Isis greets you! Show yourself!"
"PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!" Screamed a man's voice.
Dinah felt her entire body go rigid, her arms were stuck at her sides. She couldn't move her legs as they were stuck where they were. Dinah had become a human statue of the Living Goddess and the Living Goddess was deeply frightened.
A man approached her from the shadows of the temple. He was a tall, thin man with long blonde hair and hazel eyes. His lips were pouty, even while smiling, and he looked very sure of himself.
"Hello, Dinah". Said Keef.
Penny Dredfule Chapter Eleven
Dark Reading
"Kee'fs life," the book read, "had been horrific. A devastating life for a child, actually. Therefore, it is no surprise that he ended up where he did.
As a child, Keef would often slide towards the darker side of thing,, preferring more the cover of night than the light of day. He was a child with a kind heart that had been stamped on too often.
He believed that one everyone deserved fair chances at life, even if they came from the gutter families of the wizarding world, although that opinion would change.
Keef's Mother, Gunwalda Alshomees, was an enchantress of notable talent. It was naturally assumed, and quite rightly so, that Keef would inherit her talents.
Keef's Father, one Lanshire Quirrell, was a mere wizard. This caused considerable stress in the marriage and Keef often suffered the brunt of both his parents anger.
His older brother didn't suffer, though. Duncan Quirrell was off in France studying Magical Defense. Alistair was spared his parent's anger and constant battles for power in the house. Kee'fs older brother had freedom.
The turning point in Keef's life came on the eve of his twentieth birthday. By this time he had established himself as a formidable Enchanter, capable of powerful magic.
Keef came home from working at the Ministry to find his parents in the middle of what would be their final argument. There had been arguments and fights before, but none as heated as this one.
His parents didn't notice his arrival, so intent they were on insulting each other. Keef hid behind the door to the kitchen and as he listened a cold settled in him. It chilled him to his bones. He felt he would never be warm again.
"Useless man!" His mother screamed, "All you think about is power and status! You can't deal with the fact that I hold more power than you!"
"Damn fucking right!" His father screamed back. Keef paled. He had never heard his parents swear. "All the time, its 'I'm the Enchantress, I'll decide'! You can't stand the fact that I might be right and you might be wrong!"
"But I have experience in these matters! Voldemort is coming to power and we have to stop him!"
"Why don't you just shut the fuck up!" Keef's father bellowed and struck his mother across the face.
A cold rage burst in Keef like a tidal wave. He rushed into the kitchen and began beating his father, fists flying, legs kicking, totally unaware of what he was doing. One thought kept repeating itself over and over in his head: 'No one hits my mother'.
He stopped suddenly when he heard screaming. He thought it was his own, but when his head cleared he discovered it was his Mother's.
Keef came back to an awareness that hurt. His father's dead body lay on the kitchen floor, blood soaking the tiles. Keef stared at his hands, dimly aware that he had just killed his father.
His mother was sobbing, clutching her robes to her bosom. He went towards her hands outstretched .
"Mom," He said, "Mom, it's okay, it's going to be okay…"
"Murderer!!" She screamed at him, "Killer, you are not my son!"
"Mom?" He replied. Tears were streaming down his cheeks.
"Killer!!" She screamed at him, "I reject you, I denounce you! You killed the only person I have ever loved!"
The floodgates opened inside Keef. His rage was pouring over him in torrents; so much so, that twenty minutes later his mother's dead form was beside his father's, her neck broken.
Keef went outside at that point and fell to his knees in the grass. He screamed as loudly as he could, thinking it to be someone else.
As an answer to his scream of rage, the neighbourhood cats came to him. They came by the hundreds, even after his scream had died away. That's where the Ministry officials found him; asleep and wasted on his front lawn, surrounded by hundreds of cats.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The Ministry ruled in the favour of murder. They were certain that Voldemort's Death Eaters were behind the killings, one more example of his growing power. To kill such a powerful Enchantress and a wizard was a testament to great power. Keef was never put in the light of blame.
A month after the incident at his home, Keef was approached by a man. Keef was sitting on his front porch, thinking, when he saw the gentleman approach.
Keef stood, unsure of why, but this man seemed to demand courtesy. As the man approached, Keef thought: 'And it starts'. He was not quite sure why he had that thought, but it turned out to be far more accurate than he could have imagined.
"Let us go inside." The man said, and Keef obeyed. The man seemed to know his way, and led Keef to the kitchen where he had killed his mother and father.
"This is where you did it." The man said.
"I didn't do anything." Keef replied.
The man laughed a high, cold, cruel laugh. "Oh, come now, we both know that isn't the case. I know your darkest secrets, Keef."
Keef swallowed. "Who are you?" He asked.
"I am many things." Said the man. "They used to call me Tom Riddle, but I have not used that name in many years. They now call me VOLDEMORT."
Keef stared in awe. Here was the answer, he thought. A man into whom he could pour all the dark feelings. A man who wouldn't flinch at the fact that he had murdered the very people who had given him life.
"I hear you have an affinity with cats, Keef. I would like you to do something for me."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Keef began to use his affinity with cats to Lord Voldemort's advantage. The cats would answer Keef's call, for he was an Enchanter with a connection to the feline species.
He used his powers to spy on those who would not follow Lord Voldemort's ways. It was the perfect revenge, thought Keef, on a world where no one seemed to care for him, where no one noticed him.
He was well liked, which only helped to mask his involvement in the deaths of several prominent wizards and witches. Keef knew this was a serious offense, but he didn't care. His soul had been eaten away by hate.
He wasn't smart enough, however. One of Lord Voldemort'srank, one Severus Snape, suspected something. Unknown to Keef, Snape was a spy for the revolution against Lord Voldemort. Keef's undoing came four years after he began his term with the dark side.
Snape found Keef in his house on that fateful evening. Keef wouldn't leave the home where his parents had perished.
Snape watched Keef from his vantage point in the bushes in front of Keef's house, his decoy ready to step into action.
His decoy, one Minerva McGonagall, was a registered animagus able to turn herself into a cat. The perfect cheese for the proverbial mousetrap. When Snape heard Keefs (Keef's) call to the felines, he sent Minerva in cat form to the front stoop of Keef's house.
Minutes passed while Snape watched the transference of information. When Minerva came back to the bushes and told what had transpired, he then alerted the Ministry of Magic.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The trial was quick. Keef was sentenced to life in the prison of Azkaban. He was also stripped of his Enchanter powers. To abuse your powers as an Enchanter was serious business. Keef would never have the power he once had.
Keef knew, of course, that Snape was behind his capture. When he was carried away by the Dementors, Snape saw his eyes.
They held no trace of life. The blue eyes were cold as ice and they pierced Snape's soul, marking him. Snape was now on Keef's death list.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Keef, of course, escaped Azkaban. Death was easy enough to fake. The Dementors never knew the difference between his body and another's. He was free. After twenty years in Azkaban, he was free.
And he knew just what he would do. Kill the man who put him there.
* * *
Penny blinked and reached for her mug of tea. She felt dirty all over and wasn't sure if she would ever be clean again. What she had read had changed her, made her more aware of an evil presence around the castle. She shuddered and looked down at the book.
There wasn't much left to read. She had to keep going, had to find out the rest of the story. How did Keef get here? How did he gain the power to enter her head and into her Memory Library? Without his powers he was not able to achieve such feats.
There was a knock at the door. She looked up and Sheryll entered the room. "How're you doing?"
"Almost done, but I think I need to speak to Professor Dumbledore right away."
"You won't be able to do that. He received an owl from the Ministry of Magic. Someone there has information on Keef, he went right away."
"He's not here? Why didn't he wait for me to read the book?"
"He couldn't be sure of when you would read it, Penny. Any information, any leads he could find, are few and far between. He had to answer this owl. It may save our lives."
Penny nodded. Her mind felt all dark and gloomy.
At last, Sheryll spoke. "I won't keep you. I just wanted to see how you were holding up. I believe I might have a little lie down. Come and get me when you're finished reading. Then we'll see what we can do."
"Right. Thank you, Sheryll."
Sheryll smiled and let herself out.
Penny sighed and kept on reading.
* * *
The Living Goddess Dinah was meditating in her temple. The stars had been troubled lately and Isis was displeased. Dinah intended to find out why.
Purple and amber light began to glow around Dinah. She was centering her chakras, trying to get all of seven of them in line. This required a lot of concentration. That being said, she was doubly frightened when she was jolted out of her meditative state by a cruel, cold laugh.
"Hello?" Dinah said. "Isis greets you! Show yourself!"
"PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!" Screamed a man's voice.
Dinah felt her entire body go rigid, her arms were stuck at her sides. She couldn't move her legs as they were stuck where they were. Dinah had become a human statue of the Living Goddess and the Living Goddess was deeply frightened.
A man approached her from the shadows of the temple. He was a tall, thin man with long blonde hair and hazel eyes. His lips were pouty, even while smiling, and he looked very sure of himself.
"Hello, Dinah". Said Keef.
