Authors Note: The usual: all characters and places, except the obvious, belong to the Goddess of all things Harry Potter, J. K. Rowling. This takes place in the sixth year at Hogwarts, and is in an alternate universe. This is the second last chapter, folks. I'd like to thank you for reading this far. So, enough with the blah blah blah, read on!
Penny Dredfule Chapter Twelve
The Cat Call
There were only a few pages of the book left. Penny steeled herself to finish them, as much as it hurt to do it. It seemed the darkness would engulf her if she read much more, but she had no choice. She kept reading.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
But how would Keef kill the man who had killed his soul when he had no powers? Keef, being the resourceful sort, had an answer. He was, after all, an ex-Enchanter.
Keef searched for Snape and found him the place he least: Hogwarts. Snape had taken on a teaching position at the famous school of witchcraft and wizardry. How very droll, he thought.
Keef watched the school with great interest, for there had to be a way to get to Snape without arousing too much attention. That was the mark of a dark Enchanter.
One fateful day, however, his prayers were answered. An Enchantress had taken up a teaching position at the school as Defense Against the Dark Art professor. Penny Dredfule was her name, and in her lay the key. Although, it looked like a monkey wrench had been thrown into the works before they had started.
She was an Enchantress and with her came her Guardian. Her Guardian turned out to be the Ki-Sheh-Soon, Sheryll Townsend. Surely a powerful Enchantress required a powerful Guardian.
But as Keef watched Penny, he began to realise something. Penny had no idea of what she was, what she was capable of or what she would become. Penny had power in her that even Sheryll couldn't dream of. The mark of the five-pointed star on her left hand attested to that.
Penny Dredfule was higher than the Ki-Sheh-Soon. Penny was prophecy made flesh. Penny was the Goddess Isis reborn, in flesh and body.
And she had no idea what she was.
Once Keef had discovered this, his plan fell into place easily. He began to tap into Penny's powers. With enough determination, anything was possible. By tapping into Penny's powers, Sheryll was none the wiser. By using the form of a "Memory Book" Sheryll had assumed that they were all the same. And you know what they say about assumptions.
He had been growing stronger on a diet of Goddess magic, older than time itself and she had no idea This was something that Keef found most amusing, but that grew tired after a while.
So he turned it into a game. Leaving her the Snape book in her reality, talking to her while in her Memory Library. It had become a game of cat and mouse to Keef who had had nothing left to lose.
As he feasted on Penny's magic, he grew stronger.
It saddened Keef that it was almost at an end, for the final stages were in preparation.
When he gave the book to Penny for Christmas, it became the catalyst: the rolling ball of thunder that would undo them all…….
* * *
Harry and Ron were sitting in the Gryffindor common room, enjoying a quiet afternoon. Valentine's Day was ending and Harry and Ron were glad to see the tail end of it. They had had enough of giggling girls and pink hearts. Just thinking of love poems made Ron want to gag.
They were discussing their Astronomy homework when Hermione rushed into the room looking excited.
"What are you so hyped up about?" Ron asked, "A book sale at the Library?"
Hermione looked at him. "All you do is insult me. Why can't you be nice to me for a change?"
"I do not insult you."
"Yes, you do. You know what that means, don't you?"
"No, why don't you enlighten me?"
"It means you like me." She paused, "In that special sort of way."
"And where did you learn that? In Hogwarts: A History?"
"No, just girl's intuition. Something that boys don't have."
"Humph." Said Ron.
"Go on, admit it!" Hermione yelled, "You like me!"
Ron looked at Hermione, a serious look on his face. They stared at each other for quite some time, all sorts of emotions running across their faces."
"Oh, Hermione!" Ron said.
"Oh, Ron!" Hermione said.
"Oh, please!" Harry said, "Stop it before I vomit. What did you want to show us, Hermione?"
Hermione composed herself, her face still flushed. "Look!" she held up a record. "I found it on my bed! My parents must have sent it. It's the Beatles' White Album!!"
"The who?" said Ron.
"The Beatles." Hermione replied.
"Like I said, who?"
"You've never heard of the Beatles?" Harry asked, stunned.
"No, what are they?"
"They're a musical group." Said Hermione, not believing what she was hearing.
"Cool." Ron replied. "When are they playing next? Maybe we can go see them in concert?"
Harry and Hermione stared at him. There was nothing they could say.
"Anyway," Hermione said finally, "I want to try something! My mother sent along a note with the record. She said that if we play it backwards, it says 'Paul McCartney is dead'".
"Who?" Ron said.
"Never MIND Ron!" Harry said, fed up.
"Anyway, I want to try it and see what it says." With that, she took out her wand and set to work.
"How are you going to do it, Hermione? We don't have a record player."
"That's okay, I learnt a new spell this afternoon in the library." She balanced the record on the tip of her pointer finger and aimed her wand at it. "LEVATUS!" She said. The record was suspended in the air.
"Okay, now what are you going to do?" Harry asked.
"Easy. Just two more spells: one to make it rotate and one to make it rotate backwards. Watch. ROUNDUS!" The record began spinning clockwise. "COUNTERUS!" and the record began spinning backwards.
They watched the record spin for a while before Ron spoke. "How're we going to hear what it's playing?"
"That's easy!" Hermione replied, eager to show off the new spells she had learned. "Watch!" She pointed her wand at the spinning record and whispered "Play."
Harry looked smug. "I should have guessed that one."
There was nothing at first, just the crackling of the record. But then they heard something: a voice. They listened.
"…..help….Penny….trouble…..Temple………Isis……Penny……dying……..help………..Penny…."
Then the record stopped.
"I don't think your parents sent you that record, Hermione." Harry said quietly.
"Who cares who sent it!" she screamed, "Professor Dredfule is in trouble!"
The three of them rushed out of the common room to see if they could find someone who could help them.
* * *
Who they found was Snape. Or, more to the point, Snape had found them. He was wandering towards them, a hurt look on his face. He had make-up smeared on his face and mascara was running down his cheeks. He looked like a psychotic raccoon that had been hit by a lightning storm, as far as the hair was concerned.
As he approached the trio, they heard him muttering: "Loves her…doesn't love me…sweet, sweet Penny…my little Goddess of Smut…."
Hermione approached him. "Um, Professor Snape?"
Snape jumped, almost as if he was shocked to find someone else in the halls of the school. "Oh, Miss Granger. How are you?" he said softly.
"We're not doing to well, Professor." She proceeded to tell him what they had heard on the Beatles' White Album.
Snape snapped to attention. "The Temple of Isis? Are you sure that's what it said?"
"Yes, Professor," Hermione replied, "What are you going to do about it? We have to help her!"
"You stay here, children, stay right where you are. Stay in the common room, yes, I think that's best. I shan't be long, stay right here, alright children?"
He flew through the halls. As Hermione, Ron and Harry watched his retreat with great awe, they heard him say: "Don't worry, Penny! Your little Smut Boy will save you!"
* * *
Snape entered the Temple.
On the altar he saw a giant black book. Beside the altar was the Living Goddess. She had a terrified look on her face, which seemed to be telling him to stay away.
"Penny?" he said, quietly.
"Not quite," said a voice from the shadows, "but close enough. PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!" The voice roared.
Snape felt himself go rigid, much as Dinah had only hours before. Snape watched the figure from the shadows step into the light and gasped. "Who would have thought that spell would have worked twice?" The man smiled.
"Hello Snape." Said Keef. "Remember me?"
* * *
Sheryll was in her room, enjoying a cup of tea. Her nerves were on edge and she wanted to talk to Penny very badly. But she knew Penny wasn't finished the book yet and until then would not go to see her.
She wanted to help Penny, but there were things that Penny had to first. Sheryll, of course, knew what Penny would become, but Penny must discover that, and her powers, on her own. Sheryll could not push her. This much she knew.
But the waiting was killing her. Her tea wasn't calming her and her new book "It's Me! Gilderoy Lockhart! I Know Who I Am!" wasn't holding her attention either. She wished Penny would hurry up and finish reading so they could discuss what they would do.
As well, Sheryll knew who Keef was. She just wasn't sure what he was planning. That is where Penny could help her. Together they would stop him before it went too far.
Whatever "it" was.
Sheryll was pulled out of her thoughts by her cat, Poly. He was meowing incessantly, clawing at the door.
"What is it, Polly? Is mommy not paying enough attention to you?"
Poly continued to claw at the door. He then turned to face her and gave her what was unmistakably a look of impatience.
"What is it, Poly?" Sheryll whispered.
Poly pawed the door, and looked at her.
Sheryll got up and went to him. "Did you want to show me something?"
Poly gave her a look of happiness and meowed loudly. "Alright," she said, "lets go." Sheryll grabbed her wand and opened the door.
Poly seemed to know where he was going and was soon leading her to the bowels of the castle; right towards the Temple of Isis.
* * *
Penny had only two more pages to go in "The Book". So intent was she on her reading that she did not notice Morris.
He was pawing at the door and meowing.
Penny Dredfule Chapter Twelve
The Cat Call
There were only a few pages of the book left. Penny steeled herself to finish them, as much as it hurt to do it. It seemed the darkness would engulf her if she read much more, but she had no choice. She kept reading.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
But how would Keef kill the man who had killed his soul when he had no powers? Keef, being the resourceful sort, had an answer. He was, after all, an ex-Enchanter.
Keef searched for Snape and found him the place he least: Hogwarts. Snape had taken on a teaching position at the famous school of witchcraft and wizardry. How very droll, he thought.
Keef watched the school with great interest, for there had to be a way to get to Snape without arousing too much attention. That was the mark of a dark Enchanter.
One fateful day, however, his prayers were answered. An Enchantress had taken up a teaching position at the school as Defense Against the Dark Art professor. Penny Dredfule was her name, and in her lay the key. Although, it looked like a monkey wrench had been thrown into the works before they had started.
She was an Enchantress and with her came her Guardian. Her Guardian turned out to be the Ki-Sheh-Soon, Sheryll Townsend. Surely a powerful Enchantress required a powerful Guardian.
But as Keef watched Penny, he began to realise something. Penny had no idea of what she was, what she was capable of or what she would become. Penny had power in her that even Sheryll couldn't dream of. The mark of the five-pointed star on her left hand attested to that.
Penny Dredfule was higher than the Ki-Sheh-Soon. Penny was prophecy made flesh. Penny was the Goddess Isis reborn, in flesh and body.
And she had no idea what she was.
Once Keef had discovered this, his plan fell into place easily. He began to tap into Penny's powers. With enough determination, anything was possible. By tapping into Penny's powers, Sheryll was none the wiser. By using the form of a "Memory Book" Sheryll had assumed that they were all the same. And you know what they say about assumptions.
He had been growing stronger on a diet of Goddess magic, older than time itself and she had no idea This was something that Keef found most amusing, but that grew tired after a while.
So he turned it into a game. Leaving her the Snape book in her reality, talking to her while in her Memory Library. It had become a game of cat and mouse to Keef who had had nothing left to lose.
As he feasted on Penny's magic, he grew stronger.
It saddened Keef that it was almost at an end, for the final stages were in preparation.
When he gave the book to Penny for Christmas, it became the catalyst: the rolling ball of thunder that would undo them all…….
* * *
Harry and Ron were sitting in the Gryffindor common room, enjoying a quiet afternoon. Valentine's Day was ending and Harry and Ron were glad to see the tail end of it. They had had enough of giggling girls and pink hearts. Just thinking of love poems made Ron want to gag.
They were discussing their Astronomy homework when Hermione rushed into the room looking excited.
"What are you so hyped up about?" Ron asked, "A book sale at the Library?"
Hermione looked at him. "All you do is insult me. Why can't you be nice to me for a change?"
"I do not insult you."
"Yes, you do. You know what that means, don't you?"
"No, why don't you enlighten me?"
"It means you like me." She paused, "In that special sort of way."
"And where did you learn that? In Hogwarts: A History?"
"No, just girl's intuition. Something that boys don't have."
"Humph." Said Ron.
"Go on, admit it!" Hermione yelled, "You like me!"
Ron looked at Hermione, a serious look on his face. They stared at each other for quite some time, all sorts of emotions running across their faces."
"Oh, Hermione!" Ron said.
"Oh, Ron!" Hermione said.
"Oh, please!" Harry said, "Stop it before I vomit. What did you want to show us, Hermione?"
Hermione composed herself, her face still flushed. "Look!" she held up a record. "I found it on my bed! My parents must have sent it. It's the Beatles' White Album!!"
"The who?" said Ron.
"The Beatles." Hermione replied.
"Like I said, who?"
"You've never heard of the Beatles?" Harry asked, stunned.
"No, what are they?"
"They're a musical group." Said Hermione, not believing what she was hearing.
"Cool." Ron replied. "When are they playing next? Maybe we can go see them in concert?"
Harry and Hermione stared at him. There was nothing they could say.
"Anyway," Hermione said finally, "I want to try something! My mother sent along a note with the record. She said that if we play it backwards, it says 'Paul McCartney is dead'".
"Who?" Ron said.
"Never MIND Ron!" Harry said, fed up.
"Anyway, I want to try it and see what it says." With that, she took out her wand and set to work.
"How are you going to do it, Hermione? We don't have a record player."
"That's okay, I learnt a new spell this afternoon in the library." She balanced the record on the tip of her pointer finger and aimed her wand at it. "LEVATUS!" She said. The record was suspended in the air.
"Okay, now what are you going to do?" Harry asked.
"Easy. Just two more spells: one to make it rotate and one to make it rotate backwards. Watch. ROUNDUS!" The record began spinning clockwise. "COUNTERUS!" and the record began spinning backwards.
They watched the record spin for a while before Ron spoke. "How're we going to hear what it's playing?"
"That's easy!" Hermione replied, eager to show off the new spells she had learned. "Watch!" She pointed her wand at the spinning record and whispered "Play."
Harry looked smug. "I should have guessed that one."
There was nothing at first, just the crackling of the record. But then they heard something: a voice. They listened.
"…..help….Penny….trouble…..Temple………Isis……Penny……dying……..help………..Penny…."
Then the record stopped.
"I don't think your parents sent you that record, Hermione." Harry said quietly.
"Who cares who sent it!" she screamed, "Professor Dredfule is in trouble!"
The three of them rushed out of the common room to see if they could find someone who could help them.
* * *
Who they found was Snape. Or, more to the point, Snape had found them. He was wandering towards them, a hurt look on his face. He had make-up smeared on his face and mascara was running down his cheeks. He looked like a psychotic raccoon that had been hit by a lightning storm, as far as the hair was concerned.
As he approached the trio, they heard him muttering: "Loves her…doesn't love me…sweet, sweet Penny…my little Goddess of Smut…."
Hermione approached him. "Um, Professor Snape?"
Snape jumped, almost as if he was shocked to find someone else in the halls of the school. "Oh, Miss Granger. How are you?" he said softly.
"We're not doing to well, Professor." She proceeded to tell him what they had heard on the Beatles' White Album.
Snape snapped to attention. "The Temple of Isis? Are you sure that's what it said?"
"Yes, Professor," Hermione replied, "What are you going to do about it? We have to help her!"
"You stay here, children, stay right where you are. Stay in the common room, yes, I think that's best. I shan't be long, stay right here, alright children?"
He flew through the halls. As Hermione, Ron and Harry watched his retreat with great awe, they heard him say: "Don't worry, Penny! Your little Smut Boy will save you!"
* * *
Snape entered the Temple.
On the altar he saw a giant black book. Beside the altar was the Living Goddess. She had a terrified look on her face, which seemed to be telling him to stay away.
"Penny?" he said, quietly.
"Not quite," said a voice from the shadows, "but close enough. PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!" The voice roared.
Snape felt himself go rigid, much as Dinah had only hours before. Snape watched the figure from the shadows step into the light and gasped. "Who would have thought that spell would have worked twice?" The man smiled.
"Hello Snape." Said Keef. "Remember me?"
* * *
Sheryll was in her room, enjoying a cup of tea. Her nerves were on edge and she wanted to talk to Penny very badly. But she knew Penny wasn't finished the book yet and until then would not go to see her.
She wanted to help Penny, but there were things that Penny had to first. Sheryll, of course, knew what Penny would become, but Penny must discover that, and her powers, on her own. Sheryll could not push her. This much she knew.
But the waiting was killing her. Her tea wasn't calming her and her new book "It's Me! Gilderoy Lockhart! I Know Who I Am!" wasn't holding her attention either. She wished Penny would hurry up and finish reading so they could discuss what they would do.
As well, Sheryll knew who Keef was. She just wasn't sure what he was planning. That is where Penny could help her. Together they would stop him before it went too far.
Whatever "it" was.
Sheryll was pulled out of her thoughts by her cat, Poly. He was meowing incessantly, clawing at the door.
"What is it, Polly? Is mommy not paying enough attention to you?"
Poly continued to claw at the door. He then turned to face her and gave her what was unmistakably a look of impatience.
"What is it, Poly?" Sheryll whispered.
Poly pawed the door, and looked at her.
Sheryll got up and went to him. "Did you want to show me something?"
Poly gave her a look of happiness and meowed loudly. "Alright," she said, "lets go." Sheryll grabbed her wand and opened the door.
Poly seemed to know where he was going and was soon leading her to the bowels of the castle; right towards the Temple of Isis.
* * *
Penny had only two more pages to go in "The Book". So intent was she on her reading that she did not notice Morris.
He was pawing at the door and meowing.
