Chapter 12:
Train Rail Zeppelin, Inverness, Scotland, July 11th, 1997
Inside the last freight car was nearly empty except for a few neatly stacked crates and bags. The interior was dark yet a sole window illuminated the forms of the passengers.
A brunette lady with olive skin, adorned in all royal blue, sat huddled near the left wall, her six year old child stuck to her side. Opposite to said passenger stood a scarred asian man clad in black leather, who, for some reason, was wearing sunglasses indoors.
Near him, a copper haired old man was hunched over his bedazzled cane, adorning an expensive brown suit. In the farthest end, a silver-haired teen was slouched on a large wooden crate, seemingly asleep.
Daphne couldnt believe her eyes. Before her, the remaining passengers idled safe and sound in the one section of the train that wasnt affected by the bounded field. It was suspicious. How could it not be?
She clutched her leg in pain, face pale and hair damp from her sweat. Harry tried his best to help her stand, holding her upright with both arms.
"What is the meaning of this!?" Daphne cried out. "How did you all manage to escape to this room?
The other passengers backed away, untrusting of the newcomers, but the scarred man in black came forward to answer, pointing a thumb towards Draco. "We have this kid to thank for. Popped out of thin air and moved us all here."
Daphne peaked over to catch a glimpse of the lazing Malfoy before she let herself lean on the wall, her leg gravously paining. "Heres the thing though." Daphne gritted out, panting with exertion. "There were two dangerous individuals battling it out in the first car. How the hell did he get everyone past- actually, you know what! Nevermind that! We're all still in danger!"
"If you mean the purple lady, she already disappeared," a cocky voice called out. From behind Daphne and Harry, the red knight walked up to their side, armor making noises with each step. At her arrival, the other passengers scrambled away in fear.
"Disappeared?" Harry questioned, turning to the Servant. "Uh. . . Saber, you're certain about that? She's not on the rooftop anymore?"
The knight perked up at his voice. "Yes, dematerialized right in front of me then left no trace. Must have been called back to her master. I reckon she's still in her spiritual form." Saber eyed the passengers with an accusatory expression.
Harry helped Daphne onto the floor, allowing her to sit against the exit door. He then stood defensively in front of her form. "Where do you think the master's hiding?" Harry whispered. The Blonde adjusted her legs in a more comfortable position before whispering back, "Isn't it obvious. This is a moving train, and the servant can't be too far from the master. He or she must be on the train with us."
"Who? Who could it be? Malfoy? He seemed awfully suspicious, disappearing on us like that," Harry softly accused. He glared at the other teen with suspicion. "Everyone here, make no sudden moves, or else. . . or else, Saber will cut down every last one of you!"
Shifting in position, the knight pointed her sword towards the passengers.
"Is there someone who knows healing magic?! Or have potions that help!?" Harry demanded.
The other maguses eyed each other in silence, but Malfoy decided that was the right time to come forward. Saber raised her sword higher at his sudden movement but the magus paid no mind to the threat. Walking closer, he strode past the frightened passengers and stopped before the point of the sword, holding up a black briefcase.
"The doctor we were with moments ago, he had a briefcase, remember?" Draco explained. "There's probably something in here than can help."
Harry immediately pointed his wand to the magus and Saber nicked the other's neck, causing a beed of blood to swell and fall. Harry's eyes bore into Malfoy's skull, brimming with confusion and anger. At his full height, Draco Malfoy was half a head taller than the other teen, yet the magus seemed to crouch just a bit at the intensity of Harry's glare.
"Hand it over and make no funny moves."
Draco extended his arm, dangling the case closer to Harry while his other hand made a peace sign. "Ok ok, take it. Your the boss I guess. No violence please."
Harry snatched the briefcase away and rushed towards Daphne with worry. He opened the case, revealing a multitude of vials with liquids he couldn't name or place. The other magus held at swordpoint hadn't moved but was carefully watching Harry struggle to treat Daphne's wound. Said girl was now on the brink of fainting. Her eyes were heavy lidded and her breathing slowed by the second.
"Use the green one. The one at the bottom," advised Malfoy. Harry quickly took out a small ornate vial, filled with a glowing green liquid. He felt sick when he realized it had the same color as the killing curse. "And why should I trust you? This doesn't seem safe to use at all," said Harry.
"I recognize the vial and the liquid. It should be some type of druidic medicine. Feel free not to use it, but you're running out of options aren't you?"
Harry bit his lip in frustration before deciding to take the risk. He uncorked the cap and have it a quick whiff; it smelled quite pleasant actually, very different than the potions Madam Poffrey would give you. "She drinks the solution then you have to wait for its effects to heal her. Give it eight hours tops?" Malfoy explained. The blood on his neck dried up, yet the sword still dug into his skin uncomfortably.
Harry frowned at the mention of her recovery time. Eight hours was too long of a wait. He tapped Daphne's shoulders and helped her sit upright then held the vial to her lips. After she drank the potion, she immediately felt her pain lifting, but her leg was just the same as before. Harry decided to unwrap the bandages and try Episky once again, hoping the potion will speed up the process. It turns out his theory was right. Once he cast the spell, the gaping wound closed in on itself, bone and flesh stitching back together.
From a few feet away, the other passengers looked on in awe. Saber seemed proud of her master's prowess while Malfoy just looked intrigued. Once Daphne's wound was healed, she made a gesture informing Harry she was alright now and just needed a moment of rest.
Harry nodded in understanding, shutting the briefcase next to him. He stood and turned to glare at Malfoy again. His expression was riddled with skepticism and doubt.
"You. . . You basically teleported didn't you?" Harry shouted. . . "You disapparated! You managed apparition!"
Draco gave no response.
"How did you know the last car was safe? Speaking of which, why did u even follow me and Daphne to see the bodies? What's your end game here?! You're hiding something arent you!" Harry loudly accused. He had almost forgotten just how horrible the blonde ferret was back at home. Why did he give this guy the benefit of the doubt too?
Finally, the magus responded in a taunting manner, frowning at Harry's assumptions. "Wow, Daphne was right. You really don't remember anything." When all the other occupants shot wary looks at him, Draco let out a defeated sigh. "It's not apparition, whatever that is. I used my family magic. It's something along the lines of flash air, allows me to distort space. I followed you and Daphne because I was bored."
Harry still didn't look convinced.
"And lastly, I didn't know this car was exempted? I guess you could say it was a lucky guess." Once the magus finished his explanation, he tried backing away from the sword inch by inch.
"Master, do you want me to cut him down?"
"Ye-"
"Now wait a minute". The man in black raised a gloved hand in peace. "I can attest for his last answer. He didnt know. Kid displaced us twice before we arrived here. If he had known this area was unaffected, why didnt he teleport us here right away?"
At that moment, the old man finally spoke. "Pointing fingers will get us nowhere. We're almost at the station anyway."
"Yes, yes! We should probably notify the train conductor right away. Do you think he knows?" The mother chimed in.
"Well. . . Only one way to find out," declared Harry.
With a bit of convincing, everyone came to the agreement of meeting the train conductor together, and by the time the passengers reached the front of the front of the train, it was already nightfall. The venture there was smooth sailing, no surprise attacks of any sort, but Harry still kept his distance from the rest, helping Daphne walk alongside him. At some point, Saber dematerialized, explaining to Harry that it would be beneficial to stay hidden. Harry had no objections, especially since he could still feel his Servant's presence.
Daphne looked a lot better since recieving treatment, but she preferred to sit when they finally reached the locomotive. The others were standing, ready at any moment to bolt out of the train.
In front of them, a severely thin man who wore a black uniform, stood straight and alert. Underneath his hat, a stony expression scrutinized each passenger onboard. Even after Harry regailed everything that had occurred in the past three hours, the man still had a poker-face.
"My apologies for allowing such an incident to occur. As your conductor, I should've known and prevented such occurances."
The train conductor snuck a glance behind him, outside the main window, before he bowed to the passengers. "We at Rail Zeppelin will contact everyone on the matters of possible compensation. For now, I assure everyone there is no further threats onboard."
Murmurs of relief could be heard from behind Harry, but he paid them no mind. His eyes were glued onto the mysterious figure a distance away from the train's exterior. Behind the train conductor, a large window showed the foggy night, streetlights dimly washing over the train tracks.
A woman clad in white stood barely visible in the fog. She was ghostly pale and beautiful. Dozens upon dozens of rose petals surrounded her form and lay suspended in the air. She stared at Harry with her gleaming red eyes before pointing towards something behind him. Harry glanced back to only see Daphne and another passenger, the scarred Asian man. Confused, he looked out the window again only to realize the woman had vanished.
Apparently, Harry must have distracted himself for too long; the other occupants were already exiting the train. Panicking, he was about to call forth his Servant, to thoroughly investigate each passenger, but Daphne stopped him. She laid a hand on his arm and shook her head in warning. "It's too dangerous. If you provoke the master right now, who knows what they'll do to the other passengers," whispered Daphne. She eyed each magus carefully as they left the train before turning her confident gaze towards Harry."Besides, we can track them down afterwards."
Harry frowned as he watched the scarred magus depart from the station. "Trust me," whispered Daphne. Harry felt a tug of energy, a feeling of urgency that he couldn't quite place, but ultimately he forced himself to settle his nerves and turned his attention back to the conductor.
"Um, conductor Sir, there's also a body, in the first guest car. The doctor who was with us was murdered there," reminded Harry. A renewed sense of guilt washed over him at the thought of the other magus. He had almost forgotten the entire mess in the guest car due to all that happened in the last hour.
"Not conductor Sir, but Rodin, just Rodin. And yes, that sounds very unfortunate. We'll make sure to contact his family and arrange the usual means of investigation," replied the conductor. "What was his name again?"
Harry couldn't reply right away, rubbing his eyes in discomfort, regretful of his careless decisions, but Daphne squeezed his hand in reassurance, which seemed to wake him from his trance.
"Oh, uh, Timothy, Timothy Radley, I think. He warned everyone of the first victim," muttered Harry.
Rodin nodded stiffly then tipped his cap and held up a clipboard, which seemed to just appear out of thin air. He scanned the contents of his papers for a good solid minute before meeting Harry's weary gaze.
"Ah, I see. . . " said Rodin in a low gravely tone.
"What is it?" Daphne questioned.
The thin man stroked his clipboard in confusion. "How strange. There seems to be no Timothy Radley on our passenger list."
Undisclosed Cave, Tyrrhenian Sea, July 11th, 1997
The scorching sun irritated Snape's skin. He wasn't used to such bright skies or Mediterranean weather. The gentle winds rustled the nearby olive trees and passed through his trench coat, slightly stirring his clothes as if to tease him.
The pale man caught another whiff of the salty ocean and grumbled, glaring at the surrounding waters; he truly hated islands. When he turned back towards the creek, instead the magus was faced with eyes just as vivid and blue as the sea.
With her white tank top and jean shorts, the fiery woman was accurately dressed for the occasion. The same could not be said for Snape's Fall dress wear. Scowling at how close the red-head was, the man took a step back, which she responded with a cheeky grin.
"Why do you look so happy. We're not here on vacation you know," grumbled Snape.
"Of course not. We're here for Harry's sake!" The woman exclaimed before walking over to the busted flagstone. "The other kid is on his way to Scotland right about now, right?" Snape met her at the entrance to the hidden cave, glancing downwards before he replied.
"Yes, he should be onboard Zeppelin right now."
The red-head hummed in thought before both magi looked down at the endless stairs that disappeared into oblivian. Snape grimaced at the sight before he sighed. "The Mafloys were always such dramatic folk. This really shouldn't surprise me." Beside him, the ginger chortled, crouching down on her knees. "Couldn't bear to hide their heirloom in a house like all other magi do. Too bad this safe-place was easily broken into."
"Indeed," drawled Snape. The two shared a look before they descended, Snape leading the way with his unnaturally bright cigarette. However, it later turned out there was no need for magical torches for outside light spilled in from the cavern's crevices. The interior was warm, damp, and filled with broken rock. Footprints, splatters of blood, and giant crevices indicated that a battle had taken place here.
"So, you heard of the fuck up too? The prisoner who escaped?" The red-head asked. Snape frowned in response. "Yes, but why bring that up?"
"Small talk."
"Hmm, the twelveth one right? People are already using this opportunity to bash the Vice Director and thus her faction as well," Snape commented.
The woman stopped in her tracks to admire the scene before them, smirking towards the other occupant. "Oh poor Vice Director and her complicated hate boner for bloodsuckers. Speaking of bloodsuckers, it seems like Harry really killed number 19 didn't he. Look at this mess." Snape paid her comment no mind, passing by to venture deeper into the cave.
"You dont have to be here, you know, helping out like this," Snape suddenly snarked. "That boy is a Potter, through and through, as he should have been since his birth. He no longer has any ties with that wretched family or with you."
The other magus scoffed, holding her hands out in a questioning gesture. "Sorry, did I touch a nerve or something?"
The other man stayed silent.
"Tch, maybe you should've joined Atlas instead. What made you become so grouchy I wonder," she hummed to herself before scanning the area again.
"I'm just impressed and proud that's all." She marched faster to close their growing distance. "I know you see him as a son, but It seems you've already forgot that I was the one who rescued him from the Nanayas? Gave him a pep talk and glasses, that whole pizzaz. That's gotta count for something right?"
". . . Aoko."
"Nah, save it. I'm here for other reasons too other than your little psycho," she muttered. Snape's feet grinded to a halt at her words, and suddenly, Aoko felt guilt overriding her at the use of the silly nickname.
"You did a great job by the way," she whispered softly. "The boy seems totally sane now. He's come a long way for sure."
Snape gritted his teeth in response, lighting his second cig of the day. This time, instead of using it as a makeshift flashlight, he held it to his lips and took in a long drag. He coughed out the smoke, clouding both their visions for a bit. "I'd like to think that he's fixed, but I don't know how much your magic glasses factor into it. . ."
Aoko waved away the smoky air. "Worried he'll go off the rails in this other world don't you?" The silence that ensued told her everything there was to know. Without warning, the other explorer continued further into the darkness. Aoko followed in tandem.
It didn't take long for them to find a large hole dug into the ground. There was no treasure box or corpse or anything physical present in the pit, only a small crack laid suspended in air. Prismatic light danced along the jagged lines, an alluring and dense energy emitting in the random patterns. Aoko extended an arm to keep Snape from approaching closer, shooting him a grave expression. "Don't go closer. It'll suck ya right in like it probably did with Harry," she explained. Snape narrowed his eyes at the anomaly before scrutinizing the famous magus before him. His gaze was filled with doubt.
"Not that I don't appreciate your help, but I fail to understand how your area of expertise extends to parallel worlds. Wouldn't that vampire know better how to deal with this?" Snape questioned.
Aoko shuffled her feet until she was slightly closer to the crack. "The Fifth Magic . . . I'd prefer it if I don't ever use it again." She looked up at Snape's miffed expression. "But does it look like Zeltrech would help in anyway? The old geezer probably think this whole situation is funny. It's entertainment for him."
"But not for us."
"Right, the balance of the worlds and whatnot. The collapse of order. . . I'm doing this not just because of the kid but because I'm probably the most suited for this task. . . And I haven't been up to much lately."
Snape nodded then leaned to his right, taking in the half formed portal from a different angle. He scanned its surrounding area, analyzing the blood streaks and damage done to the walls. "Harry must have been sucked towards it in his fight with the dead apostle," he deduced. Tilting her head in confusion, Aoko crouched down low to inspect the marks on the ground. Dark splatters of muddy red seemed to end just a yard away from the rupture. The stains seemed to pool into one area where a great brown stain was forming. By all means, it appeared as if the Dead Apostle died a good distance away from the pit.
"Weird. . ." Aoko murmured. "This happened a few days ago. The crack would not have been strong enough to pull him in unless he was standing right in front of it."
Snape clicked his tongue in annoyance. "That boy. . . even with the Greengrass girl stuck to him like glue, still manages to mess up like this." He turned to Aoko. "Can't you figure out what happened here exactly? With that special magic of yours?"
Scratching her head for answers, the red-head slowly stood up. She gave the other man a deadpan expression, waving at the glowing rupture. "Hello? Try time traveling right here? In this cave? Don't you see that oddity right there? Who knows what could go wrong if I tried that!"
Snape clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Just as I predicted."
"Then why ask in the first place!" Aoko stood up straighter, poking Snape in annoyance. "I can work my stuff somewhere else on this island first. Not right now, not here." The magus turned on her heels and ventured upwards towards the stairs. Snape followed suit, glancing once more at the pulsing rift and the curious pattern of the blood stains.