Chapter 20 Waiting
If you were to look at Hogwarts school, just as the first edge of the sun was touching the horizon on the evening before Christmas vacation ended your eyes would have been caught by a figure atop on of the towers.
Cloak whipping about in the wind Harry stood, gazing northwest, he tilted his head back and smelled the wind, all senses on alert. Behind him a man riding on the back of a phoenix landed silently on the tower top. The phoenix shrank back to normal size and landed on its master's shoulder. Vaguely Harry knew that Sirius was behind him, standing silently watching him. He heard the rustle of a cloak as the other moved forward and felt a hand descend on his shoulder.
"What are you searching for Harry?" Harry ignored him for a moment, searching the mountains beyond the forest, smelling the wind and listening, but nothing came, except for the wind the early evening was undisturbed.
"I do not know…yes I do…my ancient enemies will be hear soon, and I know nothing of them…and they a lot about me."
Sirius Black, the Lord Phoenix watched his godson carefully. Harry had an unusually strong mind that was normally completely closed behind powerful walls, but now those walls were thin and weak. And through them he could sense an overwhelming fear. Another gust of air blew past and he felt Harry shudder and he realized that Harry wasn't scared, he was terrified.
"Why are you so scared?" He asked gently, Harry had said nothing about this menace since the Order meeting yesterday, with the students coming back to school this evening, the new transfers, classes, and Quidditch he hoped that Harry might forget about it for a while, but now that seemed unlikely.
"I do not know. If there were others…other Royal Aarons…they could tell me…but they are gone…and I must stand alone. If what I said yesterday was true then there is some kind of creature, a bunch of them…about to attack. In days gone by the Royal Aarons would have fought these creatures and kept the world, and entire galaxy, again only if that was a real prediction, safe…but they are all gone…and one cannot fight them alone. There was a reason there were always six…it was because one could not handle them all. I do not know what is going to happen, but danger is near, death and destruction, many times worse than Voldemort…" He trailed off, then the whistle of the incoming Hogwarts express sounded and his head snapped up.
"Where will they come from?" Sirius asked.
"The northwest, I think." But though Harry was watching the train Sirius could still sense the fear in his mind, being kept firmly in check, and he sensed hi godson wouldn't or couldn't tell him anything more.
"Well I have to go, take care of yourself Harry, and make sure to get plenty of sleep, when these things come I'll call in the Order to help." Harry didn't move. Sirius gave his shoulder a squeeze and turned, he took two steps and leaped off the roof to land on Raslith's back, they flew off, leaving Harry to watch the train come in.
The great hall was buzzing with talk, everyone was eager to meet the transfer students. Finally McGonagal came in leading seventy-eight new students. The great hall had been enlarged, everything had. The tables were longer, wider, and the hall was more brightly lit. The huge Hogwarts seal on the wall began to move as al the animals came alive; it had been enchanted just for this occasion. The new students were sorted like the others had been, Gryffindor got nine new sixth years, two first years, six second years, seven third years, one fourth year, four fifth years, and two seventh years. 31 new students in Gryffindor, Ravenclaw got 23, Hufflepuff got 16 and Slytherin 8.
That evening everyone gathered in Gryffindor common room, which had been much expanded, to meet the new students. Harry joined a group by the fire listening to a third year named Calvin tell of the death eater attack on his school.
"Those dementors, I tell you they're the living dead! The air went all cold, weird sounds started in our heads, the teachers were shooting huge silver things out of their wands, and it wasn't doing much good. And then there was he-who-must-not-be-named, he was there himself!" Astonished gasps went up form the score or so of students listening. "he must have been at least eight feet tall, with gigantic silted red eyes, and teeth like a vampire!"
"He must have grown and had a facial." Harry commented loudly, Calvin turned to him, angry at anyone for interrupting his story.
"It's true! I should know I saw him!"
"So have I, and I happen to know that he's only 6'8", and his teeth are in place, well most of them, and none are like that, I should know, I broke three or four of them."
"How the hell would you know all this?"
"I've had quiet a few conversations with him, old Tommy, that's his name, just gets stranger and stranger, but he's not that far off, not yet. And he's not human enough to become a vampire, though his eyes are red, and Calvin, here at Hogwarts we call him Voldemort, that is his name after all, no need to fear a name." Calvin started up angrily, but at that moment Ira came over.
"Harry? Come here for a sec, we need your help with this." Harry stood, a light breeze blew the hair that had been covering his scar away, he hadn't tied it back today, everyone around him gasped, Calvin's jaw dropped open. Harry followed Ira to where Ron and Hermione were waiting, behind him he could hear whispering.
"Oh my god, that's Harry Potter! Oh no! I was arguing with him! Damn it, of course he'd know what, what…Voldemort…looks like! Oh I am so stupid!" Harry suppressed a grimace.
"What's up?" He asked Ron, Ron looked into the crowd, not answering, Harry concentrated and the wall in Ron's mind dropped.
Harry? Harry nodded a little. Those two twins over there, the girls with the blonde hair with sparkly purple locks on both sides of their faces, and gray-green eyes, slightly pointed noses? They're the McKinnon twins! Voldemort held their mother under an imperius curse and forced her and their father to work for him, just before he fell, he killed their mum. They have an older brother who's in Slytherin! Harry nodded and left Ron's mind, the blocking spell closed behind him. He gritted his teeth, after hours and hours he'd figured out how to ignore peoples thoughts, but not for this long.
"I'm going to bed guys, can you handle all this?"
"Sure." Hermione said, Ron nodded, Harry walked off up to his dorms. Tomorrow all the students would have a review of the mind-blocking spell so hopefully most of this would stop.
**
A week had passed, and Harry's fear grew, very time he glanced to the northwest it flooded him. He started having dreams of the battle song of the Royal Aaron. Images of six Royal Aarons in flight, but everything blurred before he could see their opponents. He hadn't walked the dream world in so long he'd forgotten how to control his dreams, but eh quickly found that these dreams he could not control, that part of him that was a dream walker was gone. From his dreams he did manage to figure out about where the other Royal Aarons were…dead. They had been killed, betrayed by those they had tried to save. Killed while they were still injured from suppressing an especially large batch of these…Elemental, if his prediction was correct. But before they had died the three females had each laid an egg. From these would come other Royal Aarons, hopefully in time to help him…but Harry knew that they wouldn't arrive in time. It would him and the Elementals, one Royal Aaron where the flight of six had once fought. And he was scared, terrified, because he didn't now when, he didn't know where, and he didn't know how many there would be, all he knew was that he had to fight them when they came. *In the old times the Royal Aarons kept track of how many of the Elemental lived to reproduce so that they would know how many there would be each time, but they all died and that knowledge with them…as well as the fighting tactics used.* Harry thought as he waited at a prefect meeting for the others to arrive.
Once they finally did McGonagal got them quiet and began.
"Now everyone, we have word that sometime soon Hogwarts may be attacked." Gasps all around. "And not by Voldemort."
"By who them?" Ron asked.
"By…well we don't know really what they are. They don't appear very often, usually they are fought off…but this time that might not work. The creatures that used to fight them off are all dead…but one, and one can't take the place of six. What we need ot do is to protect the school." McGonagal said uncertainly.
"With what?" Was the general response.
"The Order will be building an encasement of stone about the school, we'll be able to call it up with a spell when these things come. We'll need your cooperation to keep students out of their way."
"You can count on us professor!" Hermione said, looking proud, Harry, glancing out the window, felt another wave of sickening fear.
Is it good?
Sorry it was so short, next one will be longer! I promise!
Review! I LOVE reading reviews! (Besides ones written by freaks of nature like Borg) Helpful ideas always welcome, no flames please. If you know Borg's email tell me so I can send hate mail.
Borg you are a LOSER of the First order! I am Not perverting JKR's books! You can go kiss my cat's furry little orange butt and keep your comments to yourself! You are the ultimate proof that evolution CAN work in reverse! If you don't have anything halfway nice to say you shouldn't say anything at all. I noticed You haven't written anything! (and if you did it wouldn't be decent to read, what with your deranged mind!) Go rot in hell, maybe Voldemort will ask you to join the death eaters to replace wormtail as his whipping boy! (or is it girl? Never mind your genderless as far as the rest of universe is concerned!)
If you were to look at Hogwarts school, just as the first edge of the sun was touching the horizon on the evening before Christmas vacation ended your eyes would have been caught by a figure atop on of the towers.
Cloak whipping about in the wind Harry stood, gazing northwest, he tilted his head back and smelled the wind, all senses on alert. Behind him a man riding on the back of a phoenix landed silently on the tower top. The phoenix shrank back to normal size and landed on its master's shoulder. Vaguely Harry knew that Sirius was behind him, standing silently watching him. He heard the rustle of a cloak as the other moved forward and felt a hand descend on his shoulder.
"What are you searching for Harry?" Harry ignored him for a moment, searching the mountains beyond the forest, smelling the wind and listening, but nothing came, except for the wind the early evening was undisturbed.
"I do not know…yes I do…my ancient enemies will be hear soon, and I know nothing of them…and they a lot about me."
Sirius Black, the Lord Phoenix watched his godson carefully. Harry had an unusually strong mind that was normally completely closed behind powerful walls, but now those walls were thin and weak. And through them he could sense an overwhelming fear. Another gust of air blew past and he felt Harry shudder and he realized that Harry wasn't scared, he was terrified.
"Why are you so scared?" He asked gently, Harry had said nothing about this menace since the Order meeting yesterday, with the students coming back to school this evening, the new transfers, classes, and Quidditch he hoped that Harry might forget about it for a while, but now that seemed unlikely.
"I do not know. If there were others…other Royal Aarons…they could tell me…but they are gone…and I must stand alone. If what I said yesterday was true then there is some kind of creature, a bunch of them…about to attack. In days gone by the Royal Aarons would have fought these creatures and kept the world, and entire galaxy, again only if that was a real prediction, safe…but they are all gone…and one cannot fight them alone. There was a reason there were always six…it was because one could not handle them all. I do not know what is going to happen, but danger is near, death and destruction, many times worse than Voldemort…" He trailed off, then the whistle of the incoming Hogwarts express sounded and his head snapped up.
"Where will they come from?" Sirius asked.
"The northwest, I think." But though Harry was watching the train Sirius could still sense the fear in his mind, being kept firmly in check, and he sensed hi godson wouldn't or couldn't tell him anything more.
"Well I have to go, take care of yourself Harry, and make sure to get plenty of sleep, when these things come I'll call in the Order to help." Harry didn't move. Sirius gave his shoulder a squeeze and turned, he took two steps and leaped off the roof to land on Raslith's back, they flew off, leaving Harry to watch the train come in.
The great hall was buzzing with talk, everyone was eager to meet the transfer students. Finally McGonagal came in leading seventy-eight new students. The great hall had been enlarged, everything had. The tables were longer, wider, and the hall was more brightly lit. The huge Hogwarts seal on the wall began to move as al the animals came alive; it had been enchanted just for this occasion. The new students were sorted like the others had been, Gryffindor got nine new sixth years, two first years, six second years, seven third years, one fourth year, four fifth years, and two seventh years. 31 new students in Gryffindor, Ravenclaw got 23, Hufflepuff got 16 and Slytherin 8.
That evening everyone gathered in Gryffindor common room, which had been much expanded, to meet the new students. Harry joined a group by the fire listening to a third year named Calvin tell of the death eater attack on his school.
"Those dementors, I tell you they're the living dead! The air went all cold, weird sounds started in our heads, the teachers were shooting huge silver things out of their wands, and it wasn't doing much good. And then there was he-who-must-not-be-named, he was there himself!" Astonished gasps went up form the score or so of students listening. "he must have been at least eight feet tall, with gigantic silted red eyes, and teeth like a vampire!"
"He must have grown and had a facial." Harry commented loudly, Calvin turned to him, angry at anyone for interrupting his story.
"It's true! I should know I saw him!"
"So have I, and I happen to know that he's only 6'8", and his teeth are in place, well most of them, and none are like that, I should know, I broke three or four of them."
"How the hell would you know all this?"
"I've had quiet a few conversations with him, old Tommy, that's his name, just gets stranger and stranger, but he's not that far off, not yet. And he's not human enough to become a vampire, though his eyes are red, and Calvin, here at Hogwarts we call him Voldemort, that is his name after all, no need to fear a name." Calvin started up angrily, but at that moment Ira came over.
"Harry? Come here for a sec, we need your help with this." Harry stood, a light breeze blew the hair that had been covering his scar away, he hadn't tied it back today, everyone around him gasped, Calvin's jaw dropped open. Harry followed Ira to where Ron and Hermione were waiting, behind him he could hear whispering.
"Oh my god, that's Harry Potter! Oh no! I was arguing with him! Damn it, of course he'd know what, what…Voldemort…looks like! Oh I am so stupid!" Harry suppressed a grimace.
"What's up?" He asked Ron, Ron looked into the crowd, not answering, Harry concentrated and the wall in Ron's mind dropped.
Harry? Harry nodded a little. Those two twins over there, the girls with the blonde hair with sparkly purple locks on both sides of their faces, and gray-green eyes, slightly pointed noses? They're the McKinnon twins! Voldemort held their mother under an imperius curse and forced her and their father to work for him, just before he fell, he killed their mum. They have an older brother who's in Slytherin! Harry nodded and left Ron's mind, the blocking spell closed behind him. He gritted his teeth, after hours and hours he'd figured out how to ignore peoples thoughts, but not for this long.
"I'm going to bed guys, can you handle all this?"
"Sure." Hermione said, Ron nodded, Harry walked off up to his dorms. Tomorrow all the students would have a review of the mind-blocking spell so hopefully most of this would stop.
**
A week had passed, and Harry's fear grew, very time he glanced to the northwest it flooded him. He started having dreams of the battle song of the Royal Aaron. Images of six Royal Aarons in flight, but everything blurred before he could see their opponents. He hadn't walked the dream world in so long he'd forgotten how to control his dreams, but eh quickly found that these dreams he could not control, that part of him that was a dream walker was gone. From his dreams he did manage to figure out about where the other Royal Aarons were…dead. They had been killed, betrayed by those they had tried to save. Killed while they were still injured from suppressing an especially large batch of these…Elemental, if his prediction was correct. But before they had died the three females had each laid an egg. From these would come other Royal Aarons, hopefully in time to help him…but Harry knew that they wouldn't arrive in time. It would him and the Elementals, one Royal Aaron where the flight of six had once fought. And he was scared, terrified, because he didn't now when, he didn't know where, and he didn't know how many there would be, all he knew was that he had to fight them when they came. *In the old times the Royal Aarons kept track of how many of the Elemental lived to reproduce so that they would know how many there would be each time, but they all died and that knowledge with them…as well as the fighting tactics used.* Harry thought as he waited at a prefect meeting for the others to arrive.
Once they finally did McGonagal got them quiet and began.
"Now everyone, we have word that sometime soon Hogwarts may be attacked." Gasps all around. "And not by Voldemort."
"By who them?" Ron asked.
"By…well we don't know really what they are. They don't appear very often, usually they are fought off…but this time that might not work. The creatures that used to fight them off are all dead…but one, and one can't take the place of six. What we need ot do is to protect the school." McGonagal said uncertainly.
"With what?" Was the general response.
"The Order will be building an encasement of stone about the school, we'll be able to call it up with a spell when these things come. We'll need your cooperation to keep students out of their way."
"You can count on us professor!" Hermione said, looking proud, Harry, glancing out the window, felt another wave of sickening fear.
Is it good?
Sorry it was so short, next one will be longer! I promise!
Review! I LOVE reading reviews! (Besides ones written by freaks of nature like Borg) Helpful ideas always welcome, no flames please. If you know Borg's email tell me so I can send hate mail.
Borg you are a LOSER of the First order! I am Not perverting JKR's books! You can go kiss my cat's furry little orange butt and keep your comments to yourself! You are the ultimate proof that evolution CAN work in reverse! If you don't have anything halfway nice to say you shouldn't say anything at all. I noticed You haven't written anything! (and if you did it wouldn't be decent to read, what with your deranged mind!) Go rot in hell, maybe Voldemort will ask you to join the death eaters to replace wormtail as his whipping boy! (or is it girl? Never mind your genderless as far as the rest of universe is concerned!)