Journey of Legends
By: Cheddar Chapter
A vague disclaimer is nobody's friend: I don't own any of it except the plot and the characters who you all don't know from cannon. Don't sue me, I'm a very poor student with nothing but pocket lint to offer you. Although, if you want that then you can have it.
Chapter Four: The Surprise
That morning found the castle alight with more whispers and theories than any other morning anyone could remember. Rumors flew like the tiny snitches that no longer buzzed about the pitch and everyone had something different to believe.
"Well I heard that they all went crazy and killed Professor Pullium," one Ravenclaw said to another.
"I wish that were true!" injected a Gryffindor. "I heard that the Slytherins had one of them up in the girls' dorm last night!"
"What? Why would they go visit the Slytherins?"
"I know I would never..."
"Who asked you anyways? They weren't in our common room last night that's for sure. If they had been you'd know." A boy said. Everyone turned to glare at the Slytherins. Seam Milo hid a secret smile as he walked past them all and into the dining hall. Guy followed him shortly doing much the same, blissfully unaware that Sean knew as well. It had hit him right before he fell asleep last night whom the woman was.
"Anyways..."
"Yeah, I bet it's true. You know those Slytherin girls would do anything..." It was Adela and she held every one's attention as she let her words trail off. And, being normal teenagers, no matter what year it was, they all leaped to one thing. A giggle broke the quiet and everyone erupted in excited whispers.
"You'd never see a Ravenclaw doing anything like that!"
"Or a Hufflepuff!"
"That's the point, stupid! That no one sees you!"
"Oh."
Every one laughed at the girl and she flushed deep crimson. "Ravenclaws are so naive!" One of the Gryffindors said.
"But smart!" Everyone groaned as they filed into the hall talking loudly about the Warriors.
The hall was loud and filled with people running from table to table talking and what had been mere whispers in the hall had become loud shouting in here. The teachers hurried here and there making sure everything was as perfect as possible and trying to get the students to settle down.
Professor Pullium stood at the staff table with thoughts of all the past headmasters in his head. Would they have done the same? Would Dumbledore have his students already in their seats? Would he have the warriors here at all? Would Dippit have hidden them away for a while until they had time to a just? Would he have known what to do? Because at the moment, Beneyt had no idea what he was doing.
He stood slowly hoping the students would notice and quiet, but they didn't. He held up his hands for silence but they ignored him. Finally, the deputy headmaster, Professor Barron shouted out, "Silence!" and there was. Beneyt nodded his head to the man and turned back to the assembled crowd.
"I know each of you are waiting to hear the results of the spell cast last night." He pushed. Had it really only been last night? It seemed longer. "I have good news. They are here, each of them. In a little while you will be introduced to them. I expect you to be on your best behavior while they are here."
He almost felt bad for hemming and hawing around the truth like that. Sure they were all there but come on, they didn't get along, Elyzabel Petty had amnesia and they were going to start a war among themselves before they stopped the war they were brought back to win. He sighed. They were going to need lots of help in the days ahead that was for sure.
***
When Harry woke up the next morning, he didn't know what was going on. He didn't know where he was or what had happened. Then it all came flooding back to him in a flood of memories. The finale, battle, dying, coming back, the dream. The room came sharply into focus at this and Harry wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep and wake up to find out that it had all been a nightmare. But he couldn't. The voices in the hall were too loud.
Getting up, he went over to the wardrobe at the other end of the room. Inside he found some of his own things. Tears welled up in his eyes. This was all he had left of his own world. His own time.
He still wore the bottle green robes that Mrs. Weasley had gotten him in fourth year. The ones he'd woken up in. In the closet was a set of black robes. He pulled them on over his head and reached for his wand, which lay in a slim box at the bottom of the wardrobe next to an envelope containing what he found to be his parents wedding rings. They'd been a gift from Dumbledore in sixth year. His photo album from Hagrid was there too, along with the necklace that Ron had given to Hermione so many years ago. He shut the doors fast before he could dwell more on it. He wasn't going to think about it.
He slipped out into the hall only to find most of his fellow warriors out there already. Max gave him a thin smile which Harry only half heartily returned. The revelation about him being so homophobic really disturbed Harry on some level. But then too, this feeling betrayed him as well. Hadn't Max been the first one to be nice to him last night?
Xira and Weland were arguing again. This time it was about where they should be going. Xira wanted to go to the great hall but Weland opted for going to the headmaster's office. "Have you looked at a clock, Walsh? It's breakfast time! He's not in his office!"
Harry ignored them. He amended his earlier thought about almost every one being there. They were there in that cramped hallway. Dane had his arm around Elyzabe,l who hid her face in his chest. Max glared at that. Monica and Marcus were talking softly with Amide while Alexa smiled simply at everyone.
Finally, it seemed that Marcus had had enough and declared his intention of going to the great hall. "Come if you want." They all followed him because none of them wanted to be lost here alone. Who knew what might have happened? They'd all been gone a long time.
***
They began arguing about the right rout to take about ten minutes later. Marcus insisted it was to the left while Max stated at it lay in the hallway to the right. Dane glared at him and said we'd passed it already while Alexa put in merrily that it that it was above them. Monica groaned. "And we're supposed to win a war? We can't even find breakfast!" Harry couldn't help but suppress a laugh.
"Wait! I hear something! I think it's over there!" Elyzabel shouted.
"What does she know?" Weland sneered. "She can't even remember her own name."
"No," Amide said slowly. "I hear it too."
They were silent for a moment and in a rush they all set off down the hall like the gun had gone off. The race was on. Each person seemed more competitive than the last. Harry realized something as he quickened his steps to match Dane's. They were all so used to being the best and the fastest and the smallest that all of these new warriors bugged them. Even him.
As it turned out, Alexa had been right. The Hall did lie above them. The hallway in which they had stood ended in a staircase that led to a small chamber just off the Great Hall. Harry rem embered this place. He smiled despite himself. At the glimpse of the ceiling through the door, he knew he was home.
***
Beneyt saw them before the rest of the staff only because he knew where to look. It had really been Professor Barron who heard them before any one else though no one was surprised. That woman could hear a swear word on the other side of the hall at the welcoming feast. Her eyes narrowed at the unfamiliar voices and she looked to the headmaster, whereupon every one at the high table heard it too.
The headmaster tried to look like he had it all under control. Why were they here? It wasn't supposed to happen like this!... Isn't that the story of my life? So he stood and walked as calmly as possible over to the small room there and went in with not one of the student noticing the not so great event.
They were all there. Harry, Max, Alexa, Dane, Elyzabel... each and every one of the ten stood before him. A miss-matched group that seemed to struggle simply being near each other. Not the kind of thing he'd hoped for when the plan had first been born inside his head. He stood before them like sinner before God and no one said a word.
Professor Barron walked in then and in her normal no-nonsense way, she began to tell get person what was going on. "You each come up in front of the staff table when I call your name and stand there while I introduce you. When I am finished you will take a seat at the table to the left of the staff table, I'm sure you can each find it without assistance."
She turned to Pullium. "There is a hoard of ministry wizards here as well as half of the council. They're mad as hell but I told them they couldn't talk to you until tonight." She turned briskly to face the room at large. "Are we ready then?" And with that she left leaving them al stunned. Beneyt gathered himself up without having said a word, and followed her out. The warriors were left stunned and none said anything as the voice of some one they did not know echoed in through the open door way. "Alexa McRyan," was the first name called and someone whispered good luck to her as she steeped slowly out on to the platform.
"I guess that means that I'm next," Amide said as the crowd broke in to cheers. Her name was called and she too left. The remaining eight stood awkwardly. Not knowing what they should do, they began to drift into a line along the back wall as if that would keep them from having to go out there and face all those people.
Harry was reminded of his fourth year. Why did this whole thing seem so much like it? This was that same room he'd been in so long ago. The faces around him though, they were so alien to him that he began to wonder if in his longing for death he'd not earned it but instead earned himself a place in St. Mungo's. Marcus was called out and Weland Walsh followed in his wake. Elyzabel Petty left slowly on quaking legs and Harry knew then that he was next. His knees began to knock and his heart to pound. He began to sweat along his hair line as his palms slipped away from each other. He hadn't known he was clasping them. Monica met his eyes in sympathy as his name was called. "Harry Potter" It seemed louder in his ears than anything in the world.
He took a few wavering steps, praying that he wouldn't end up in a helpless heap on the floor. But some how he made it. He could hardly see the faces before him as he stepped up to cheers. Behind him a man in tacky yellow and brown robes called out his feats. Harry felt sick. All he wanted was for this to be over.
It seemed like forever, but it finally was. He sank with relief into an empty chair at the table. Every one who was already there gave him sympathetic looks. He tried to smile as Dane's name was called.
***
Adela wasn't paying very close attention as her potions teacher rattled off names and dates. Her mind had drawn a complete black when she'd seen his face. It was the boy from her painting. Up in her secret spot! It really was Harry Potter. She smiled. She knew it! All along, she'd known it was him. Rich was looking at her queerly but she ignored him. Next to her, Anne Brach leaned over to whisper, "I think he's hot," to which she could only nod. She missed the rest of the introductions.
***
Across the hall at the Slytherin table, Milana was going through much the same thing. When Alexa's name had been called, the girl had sat up just that much straighter and she smiled, knowing that she knew her. She knew something the rest of her schoolmates didn't. Up there, each one of them looked so mature and professional but Milan knew what was really going on. Her heart swelled with pride to see her newfound friend standing there.
But if Alexa made the young Slytherin's heart lift then the sight of Harry Potter made her heart falter. She knew that face! She'd never seen him in her entire life and yet she knew him. She had drawn that face every day. It had haunted her like a nightmare that invaded her waking hours. It was the boy from her painting! That was whom she'd been drawing in the library when Adela had insulted her. That was why Alexa had said it looked like him. Because it was him... But how?
***
After breakfast, Beneyt watched as the student filed talking excitedly while the visitors was hustled out by the various staff members. Everyone kept looking back to get one last look at the warriors. Beneyt sighed at them, exasperated.
The warriors greeted him when he turned around. Not one was smiling and not one of them had done so since he'd seen them. The inept headmaster wondered what was wrong with them. He'd brought them back from hell. Shouldn't they be celebrating and thanking him? He shook his head. Just goes to show how narrow-minded people can be.
He stood there just watching them. Finally Xira Newt broke the silence. "Well? You have some explanations for us I hope." This woman was a real puzzle to the man. Her bright red hair reminded him of a family at the school and while each of them were sweet as could be, she had a heart cold as ice. Even the way she walked showed her disdain for a person.
"I... well, I have brought you back to life," he stated. He didn't know what else there was to say.
"Well, let's give it up for the master for the obvious," Weland Walsh sneered at him. Yet another puzzle for Pullium.
"Yeah, I don't care how we got here. I want to know why." Marcus, not to be outdone by Weland sounded even nastier, which was saying a lot.
"Well, we have a problem here. Now. And we can't fight it alone... You are each the best warriors of your respective times, and we need you." He thought it sounded nice. Poetic and something out of a novel he'd read when he was younger. One a great leader might give his troops. Max Harrison obviously disagreed because he gave a soft snort.
"The whole 'best of your respective times' bit is open to interruption," Xira muttered glaring at Weland. The Australian returned the look.
"What... What I mean is that now that you're... here, you need to know... well, you need to know what you're up against. We have some... well, there's five of them."
"Of what?" Marcus sneered. "Cats?" Dane gave a soft giggle at this and Max scowled at him.
"Yes well, first, first we have..." Beneyt shuffled the sheaf of parchment he held. "Um..." This wasn't going the way he'd hoped it would. He put the papers down with shaking hands and hoped no one had noticed. They all did. "Well, Amide..." He didn't know what to say to the girl with the white blond hair. "Sholto is a shade... a ghost of sorts that can. well he can..."
With an irate sigh she interrupted him. "A shade can posses human and control any ghostly being causing it to become a solid entity until he's done with them, that's when they go back to being ghosts." She sounded like a textbook but Harry had to smile at the look on Pullium's face.
"Yes well, he has amassed an army-"
Dane, who sat beside him, muttered, "He shouldn't use big words. He might choke." Harry almost did. But Beneyt didn't hear and continued.
"He is going around killing unhappy people to join his army... because, every one knows that happy people don't become ghosts..." Someone cleared his or her throat in annoyance.
And so the meeting continued. He told them about Wayland the Muggle killer who tortured his victims to within an inch of their life and then healed them so they'd be loyal to him. They were the unlucky ones. The lucky ones got to die.
They were told about Radames, who ruled the legions of vampires that had turned evil. As he told them about this, the sight of the Hogwart's vampire warning him against the raising of the dead haunted his memory.
He told them of Kamron who raped witches before turning them over to his friend Radames who turned them. They became the worst of the worst; vampires that boiled with a hatred for any man, living or dead. And finally, Siobhan who brought with him spells and enchantments from what had once been called the Middle East. He ruled each of the Dark Wizards. He had complete control. If he wanted something badly enough he invariably got it. And as of three weeks ago, his sights were set on Hogwarts.
As he told them these things, he watched as each name was followed by a nastier person and the name took on more meaning for them. They fumed and he could see the desire to fight burning within them. He smiled slowly to himself. Maybe the plan hadn't been so bad after all.
Afterwards, each warrior went their own way. Elyzabel, looking very lost but determined, set of for parts unknown and Harry set off towards the entrance. Dane began to wander towards the astronomy tower while Max headed for the cellars. Watching them as they dispersed he wondered, what memories the castle held for them? Things he could only imagine. Hoping Elyzabel would remember something soon on her wanderings in the halls, he turned back to the table to find that one of the warriors still remained.
Amide Langa seemed the most docile of them all. Her blue eyes were soft and misty as if lost in a dream while her pale hair and face made her seem as innocent as a lamb. She stood slowly letting her long black robes fall to the floor before speaking. "I know that in order to kill your Sholto I too will die, but know this," she said raising her finger to point as his face. Her sharp nail only inches from his face. "I do this only so I might rest again. I don't give a damn about you or any one. If I could, I'd kill you now." And with that she swept from the room leaving Beneyt shaking in fear. Maybe it hadn't gone as well as he'd hoped.
***
She knew this place. She knew these walls and this hallway. She knew that if she didn't think about where she was going, her feet would remember the way. They carried her with a steady swiftness that spoke of some one who knew where she was going but she did not.
She was bare foot and her long blue robes brushed the floor making her appear to be a ghost rather than a human. If it hadn't been for the scars criss-crossing her face, Elyzabel would be beautiful.
But in a world where she knew nothing, the face in the mirror puzzled her. Shouldn't she know her own face? Shouldn't it be one of those things that you just know? She felt like she should know this. Like she'd seen it all before but it seemed as if it were a different person entirely.
People told her what wonderful things she had done but she knew none of it. They told her she'd had friends and family and yet she did not remember them so she, unlike the other warriors, did not mourn her past. She didn't care about that or about wars or anything. She just wanted to know who she was. Beyond awaking with a sheet over her face, she knew nothing.
But this, this was familiar. She almost knew it. Almost. It itched at the back of her brain. This room she had just entered. These four walls with their dusty hangings and its uninhabited feel. That dark hulking shape looming at her from the darkest of the murky shadows.
She knew this. Walking slowly over the ancient stones, Elyzabel Petty suddenly knew what was over there! What that dark shape was. Her heart beat a bit faster. She knew something. She'd never been more sure of anything in her entire... well, you get it.
She slowly reached out her hand, half afraid that it would just vanish in a cloud of dust. She held a frayed edge of the cloth that covered it. It had once been bright with the blue and bronze of her house but it was now black with time. She remembered this! She could still faintly see bits of the bright colors poking through, and when she pulled back a part of it that had been folded over, the wing of the raven seemed to dance, ready to fly.
With a confident jerk, she pulled the covering off sending a cloud of dust up to the ceiling and a family of mice running for a new home. It fell apart in her hands leaving only the bright wing as the only evidence that it had ever existed. Her hear sank slightly. Time had taken it toll here as well.
But now that the old fabric was gone, she could clearly see the polished wood of the piano that had lain beneath it for so many years. It looked just as she knew it would, having been protected by the tapestry. And though it had been unused for centuries, she was sure it would play just the way it should.
She ran one hand lovingly across the keys and came away with a small film of dust on her fingers. The wood shone with a bright luster that made her smile. Cause the horribly disfigured face to bunch up in the parody of a child's nightmare.
The sight of those white and black keys below her made her fingers itch to play. She sat down at the bench, which made a scraping sound as she pulled it out. The sound echoed strangely in the cavernous room. For a moment, unexplainable tears threatened to spill down her face. But she pushed them away. And she played...
***
He needed to sort things out. Harry's mind felt heavy with all the information that had suddenly been dropped in there. He'd felt like this his whole life though. What was different now?
But Harry knew what it s. He'd been dead. He'd known, in that time, what true peace was. And now he was here once more. A life with the pain of existence running races in his veins. He wanted to run away from all of this. He wanted to sprint down to the lake, dive in, and never come back up for air. Why not? He was suffocating anyways.
Instead he walked. He wandered down to the lake. The wamping willow was gone. He walked over to see if there was any evidence of the tunnel to Hogsmeade left. But no, there wouldn't be. Pullium had told them that the town was destroyed years ago. There was nothing left to claim the tree had ever stood except for a slight dip in the too-long grass. Harry sighed and wandered closer to where Hagrid's hut had once stood.
In it's place stood a slightly larger building made of stone and looking something like a monument and not a place or residence. Nearing it he saw that I was. "Here's to all those who gave their life in the fight against Voldemort. May you be forever in our hearts." The carved words were faded and almost unreadable. Was there nowhere where the test of time had been passed? No, there couldn't be.
Hearing voices near-by he crept around the back of the memorial. There was a class going on there. Care of Magical Creatures, which appeared to be taught by a young man who looked just out of school himself. Today's lesson was on snakes and the teacher held a very large one in his hands. Harry chuckled. If only they knew...
He went back inside the monument and sat on a bench that rested just inside and out of sight. It was peaceful here. He listened with half an ear as the class went on but never did the thought cross his mind to join them or alert them to his presence. No, he was done with school.
***
Looking around the potions classroom, you couldn't tell what had taken place that morning. No young lips held the names of the warriors and none had them on their mind. All of them that is, except Milana. Her head spun. She knew Him! He'd met him! Harry Potter. But no, that wasn't right... She'd never seen him before in her life. And yet, how then had she been able to draw him so accurately. She'd been drawing that picture long before she'd heard of them coming.
Adela watched the other girl from across the room. "I really hate her," she said to a friend of hers. The other Gryffindor gave her a wary smile before going off to get her pounded rose stem. Adela sighed and rolling her eyes, she made her way over to the other side of the room to get the next thing needed for the healing potion they were brewing that day. Not that they had ever made much else in that class except the occasional pepper-up potion.
Milana was so into her own thoughts as she moved about her work that she didn't even see her arch rival until it was too late. She held her cauldron full of very warm mushy-nothingness one minute and the next, it was all down the front of Adela Huddson. The other girl was screaming in pain and rage.
"You idiot! Watch where you're going! Fucking bitch! That was my best robe!" She lunged at her sending drops of the warm liquid flying about her causing people to shrink back from the circle that had formed around them. "I'm going to kill you, you little whore! Give me one reason not to!" Milana shrank back. Adela's eyes were dark and stormy. "You can never do anything right. I bet you think you're Miss Perfect too! Bet you think that you're special that some dead woman came into you're room last night! Oh yeah, I know all about that." But in truth she did not. Milana didn't know that. "All she wanted was a good fuck! And she probably went back to tell the rest of them what a slut you are! And you know I'm right."
It was at this time that the teacher finally regained his wits. He pulled Adela away hard and she staggered backwards forcing them both to the ground. Not pausing for anything she kept on screaming at the cowering girl. Some one had gone for the headmaster and he came in blustering with false pride and no one listened as he told every one to settle down.
Milana, seeing that the attention was off her for the moment, ran as fast as she could out of the room and down the hall to her dormitory. No one even noticed. "I bet they won't notice when I'm gone either. No one's gonna care except Cielia, who'll only care long enough to have my body removed. No one was going to care. Not really."
***
Things were getting too confusing for the young muggle woman. Mary? Who was Mary? Her heart betrayed her every thought. She loved Divin but now, every time she saw him, it was like a hand was stopping her heart up with ice. She couldn't breath or move. It was too much.
"I can't live like this" she told herself. "I have to leave."
And so she did. Calmly she packed her bags with a few things and not even turning around to see what she was leaving behind. But her head was not so calm. It raged war against her heart, assaulting it at every turn. Her mind was like a maze that she could easily loose herself in.
She didn't look back as she marched down the hill towards the road that would take her to a near-by town for what was there to see? Divin waiting her at the tower as she left?
For indeed he did. "How could I have let her get away?" He asked himself. "How could you fuck it up again?" He seemed to be one of those men who can never seem to get it right but is always trying to make everyone happy. "When is it my turn to be happy?"
***
While every one else ate dinner up in the Great Hall, Harry found himself alone by the lake. Possibly the one thing that had not changed since he'd been gone. The castle-like monument to himself was almost comical in the setting sun, sitting up there next to the real thing but Harry didn't laugh. It wasn't supposed to be like this.
But that was the story of his life wasn't it? Some bloke decides he wants Harry Potter to fight his battles for him so it's Harry to the rescue. Only this time he'd been dead. Gone. Wiped out like he'd never existed. Who was truly cruel enough to do such a thing? But then, Harry had to wonder what he would have done in the same position. Five Dark Wizards was a lot to face.
As the sun sank lower in the sky casting deep purple shadows over everything, he began to think about what might have been. Had he lived... had he stayed dead... had he never been born... had he been happy... He never got a once upon a time and never would have a happily ever after.
Out of the corner of his eye he noticed a slight jot of red in the fading light. Red, like a Weasley's hair. Red like the blood on the lawn that bright day in late April. Red... And suddenly she materilized before him just as he remembered her from his dreams. Was it? Was this just another dream? No one living had hair like that any more. That family had died off long ago. He was sure of it... None living...
"Ginny..."
By: Cheddar Chapter
A vague disclaimer is nobody's friend: I don't own any of it except the plot and the characters who you all don't know from cannon. Don't sue me, I'm a very poor student with nothing but pocket lint to offer you. Although, if you want that then you can have it.
Chapter Four: The Surprise
That morning found the castle alight with more whispers and theories than any other morning anyone could remember. Rumors flew like the tiny snitches that no longer buzzed about the pitch and everyone had something different to believe.
"Well I heard that they all went crazy and killed Professor Pullium," one Ravenclaw said to another.
"I wish that were true!" injected a Gryffindor. "I heard that the Slytherins had one of them up in the girls' dorm last night!"
"What? Why would they go visit the Slytherins?"
"I know I would never..."
"Who asked you anyways? They weren't in our common room last night that's for sure. If they had been you'd know." A boy said. Everyone turned to glare at the Slytherins. Seam Milo hid a secret smile as he walked past them all and into the dining hall. Guy followed him shortly doing much the same, blissfully unaware that Sean knew as well. It had hit him right before he fell asleep last night whom the woman was.
"Anyways..."
"Yeah, I bet it's true. You know those Slytherin girls would do anything..." It was Adela and she held every one's attention as she let her words trail off. And, being normal teenagers, no matter what year it was, they all leaped to one thing. A giggle broke the quiet and everyone erupted in excited whispers.
"You'd never see a Ravenclaw doing anything like that!"
"Or a Hufflepuff!"
"That's the point, stupid! That no one sees you!"
"Oh."
Every one laughed at the girl and she flushed deep crimson. "Ravenclaws are so naive!" One of the Gryffindors said.
"But smart!" Everyone groaned as they filed into the hall talking loudly about the Warriors.
The hall was loud and filled with people running from table to table talking and what had been mere whispers in the hall had become loud shouting in here. The teachers hurried here and there making sure everything was as perfect as possible and trying to get the students to settle down.
Professor Pullium stood at the staff table with thoughts of all the past headmasters in his head. Would they have done the same? Would Dumbledore have his students already in their seats? Would he have the warriors here at all? Would Dippit have hidden them away for a while until they had time to a just? Would he have known what to do? Because at the moment, Beneyt had no idea what he was doing.
He stood slowly hoping the students would notice and quiet, but they didn't. He held up his hands for silence but they ignored him. Finally, the deputy headmaster, Professor Barron shouted out, "Silence!" and there was. Beneyt nodded his head to the man and turned back to the assembled crowd.
"I know each of you are waiting to hear the results of the spell cast last night." He pushed. Had it really only been last night? It seemed longer. "I have good news. They are here, each of them. In a little while you will be introduced to them. I expect you to be on your best behavior while they are here."
He almost felt bad for hemming and hawing around the truth like that. Sure they were all there but come on, they didn't get along, Elyzabel Petty had amnesia and they were going to start a war among themselves before they stopped the war they were brought back to win. He sighed. They were going to need lots of help in the days ahead that was for sure.
***
When Harry woke up the next morning, he didn't know what was going on. He didn't know where he was or what had happened. Then it all came flooding back to him in a flood of memories. The finale, battle, dying, coming back, the dream. The room came sharply into focus at this and Harry wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep and wake up to find out that it had all been a nightmare. But he couldn't. The voices in the hall were too loud.
Getting up, he went over to the wardrobe at the other end of the room. Inside he found some of his own things. Tears welled up in his eyes. This was all he had left of his own world. His own time.
He still wore the bottle green robes that Mrs. Weasley had gotten him in fourth year. The ones he'd woken up in. In the closet was a set of black robes. He pulled them on over his head and reached for his wand, which lay in a slim box at the bottom of the wardrobe next to an envelope containing what he found to be his parents wedding rings. They'd been a gift from Dumbledore in sixth year. His photo album from Hagrid was there too, along with the necklace that Ron had given to Hermione so many years ago. He shut the doors fast before he could dwell more on it. He wasn't going to think about it.
He slipped out into the hall only to find most of his fellow warriors out there already. Max gave him a thin smile which Harry only half heartily returned. The revelation about him being so homophobic really disturbed Harry on some level. But then too, this feeling betrayed him as well. Hadn't Max been the first one to be nice to him last night?
Xira and Weland were arguing again. This time it was about where they should be going. Xira wanted to go to the great hall but Weland opted for going to the headmaster's office. "Have you looked at a clock, Walsh? It's breakfast time! He's not in his office!"
Harry ignored them. He amended his earlier thought about almost every one being there. They were there in that cramped hallway. Dane had his arm around Elyzabe,l who hid her face in his chest. Max glared at that. Monica and Marcus were talking softly with Amide while Alexa smiled simply at everyone.
Finally, it seemed that Marcus had had enough and declared his intention of going to the great hall. "Come if you want." They all followed him because none of them wanted to be lost here alone. Who knew what might have happened? They'd all been gone a long time.
***
They began arguing about the right rout to take about ten minutes later. Marcus insisted it was to the left while Max stated at it lay in the hallway to the right. Dane glared at him and said we'd passed it already while Alexa put in merrily that it that it was above them. Monica groaned. "And we're supposed to win a war? We can't even find breakfast!" Harry couldn't help but suppress a laugh.
"Wait! I hear something! I think it's over there!" Elyzabel shouted.
"What does she know?" Weland sneered. "She can't even remember her own name."
"No," Amide said slowly. "I hear it too."
They were silent for a moment and in a rush they all set off down the hall like the gun had gone off. The race was on. Each person seemed more competitive than the last. Harry realized something as he quickened his steps to match Dane's. They were all so used to being the best and the fastest and the smallest that all of these new warriors bugged them. Even him.
As it turned out, Alexa had been right. The Hall did lie above them. The hallway in which they had stood ended in a staircase that led to a small chamber just off the Great Hall. Harry rem embered this place. He smiled despite himself. At the glimpse of the ceiling through the door, he knew he was home.
***
Beneyt saw them before the rest of the staff only because he knew where to look. It had really been Professor Barron who heard them before any one else though no one was surprised. That woman could hear a swear word on the other side of the hall at the welcoming feast. Her eyes narrowed at the unfamiliar voices and she looked to the headmaster, whereupon every one at the high table heard it too.
The headmaster tried to look like he had it all under control. Why were they here? It wasn't supposed to happen like this!... Isn't that the story of my life? So he stood and walked as calmly as possible over to the small room there and went in with not one of the student noticing the not so great event.
They were all there. Harry, Max, Alexa, Dane, Elyzabel... each and every one of the ten stood before him. A miss-matched group that seemed to struggle simply being near each other. Not the kind of thing he'd hoped for when the plan had first been born inside his head. He stood before them like sinner before God and no one said a word.
Professor Barron walked in then and in her normal no-nonsense way, she began to tell get person what was going on. "You each come up in front of the staff table when I call your name and stand there while I introduce you. When I am finished you will take a seat at the table to the left of the staff table, I'm sure you can each find it without assistance."
She turned to Pullium. "There is a hoard of ministry wizards here as well as half of the council. They're mad as hell but I told them they couldn't talk to you until tonight." She turned briskly to face the room at large. "Are we ready then?" And with that she left leaving them al stunned. Beneyt gathered himself up without having said a word, and followed her out. The warriors were left stunned and none said anything as the voice of some one they did not know echoed in through the open door way. "Alexa McRyan," was the first name called and someone whispered good luck to her as she steeped slowly out on to the platform.
"I guess that means that I'm next," Amide said as the crowd broke in to cheers. Her name was called and she too left. The remaining eight stood awkwardly. Not knowing what they should do, they began to drift into a line along the back wall as if that would keep them from having to go out there and face all those people.
Harry was reminded of his fourth year. Why did this whole thing seem so much like it? This was that same room he'd been in so long ago. The faces around him though, they were so alien to him that he began to wonder if in his longing for death he'd not earned it but instead earned himself a place in St. Mungo's. Marcus was called out and Weland Walsh followed in his wake. Elyzabel Petty left slowly on quaking legs and Harry knew then that he was next. His knees began to knock and his heart to pound. He began to sweat along his hair line as his palms slipped away from each other. He hadn't known he was clasping them. Monica met his eyes in sympathy as his name was called. "Harry Potter" It seemed louder in his ears than anything in the world.
He took a few wavering steps, praying that he wouldn't end up in a helpless heap on the floor. But some how he made it. He could hardly see the faces before him as he stepped up to cheers. Behind him a man in tacky yellow and brown robes called out his feats. Harry felt sick. All he wanted was for this to be over.
It seemed like forever, but it finally was. He sank with relief into an empty chair at the table. Every one who was already there gave him sympathetic looks. He tried to smile as Dane's name was called.
***
Adela wasn't paying very close attention as her potions teacher rattled off names and dates. Her mind had drawn a complete black when she'd seen his face. It was the boy from her painting. Up in her secret spot! It really was Harry Potter. She smiled. She knew it! All along, she'd known it was him. Rich was looking at her queerly but she ignored him. Next to her, Anne Brach leaned over to whisper, "I think he's hot," to which she could only nod. She missed the rest of the introductions.
***
Across the hall at the Slytherin table, Milana was going through much the same thing. When Alexa's name had been called, the girl had sat up just that much straighter and she smiled, knowing that she knew her. She knew something the rest of her schoolmates didn't. Up there, each one of them looked so mature and professional but Milan knew what was really going on. Her heart swelled with pride to see her newfound friend standing there.
But if Alexa made the young Slytherin's heart lift then the sight of Harry Potter made her heart falter. She knew that face! She'd never seen him in her entire life and yet she knew him. She had drawn that face every day. It had haunted her like a nightmare that invaded her waking hours. It was the boy from her painting! That was whom she'd been drawing in the library when Adela had insulted her. That was why Alexa had said it looked like him. Because it was him... But how?
***
After breakfast, Beneyt watched as the student filed talking excitedly while the visitors was hustled out by the various staff members. Everyone kept looking back to get one last look at the warriors. Beneyt sighed at them, exasperated.
The warriors greeted him when he turned around. Not one was smiling and not one of them had done so since he'd seen them. The inept headmaster wondered what was wrong with them. He'd brought them back from hell. Shouldn't they be celebrating and thanking him? He shook his head. Just goes to show how narrow-minded people can be.
He stood there just watching them. Finally Xira Newt broke the silence. "Well? You have some explanations for us I hope." This woman was a real puzzle to the man. Her bright red hair reminded him of a family at the school and while each of them were sweet as could be, she had a heart cold as ice. Even the way she walked showed her disdain for a person.
"I... well, I have brought you back to life," he stated. He didn't know what else there was to say.
"Well, let's give it up for the master for the obvious," Weland Walsh sneered at him. Yet another puzzle for Pullium.
"Yeah, I don't care how we got here. I want to know why." Marcus, not to be outdone by Weland sounded even nastier, which was saying a lot.
"Well, we have a problem here. Now. And we can't fight it alone... You are each the best warriors of your respective times, and we need you." He thought it sounded nice. Poetic and something out of a novel he'd read when he was younger. One a great leader might give his troops. Max Harrison obviously disagreed because he gave a soft snort.
"The whole 'best of your respective times' bit is open to interruption," Xira muttered glaring at Weland. The Australian returned the look.
"What... What I mean is that now that you're... here, you need to know... well, you need to know what you're up against. We have some... well, there's five of them."
"Of what?" Marcus sneered. "Cats?" Dane gave a soft giggle at this and Max scowled at him.
"Yes well, first, first we have..." Beneyt shuffled the sheaf of parchment he held. "Um..." This wasn't going the way he'd hoped it would. He put the papers down with shaking hands and hoped no one had noticed. They all did. "Well, Amide..." He didn't know what to say to the girl with the white blond hair. "Sholto is a shade... a ghost of sorts that can. well he can..."
With an irate sigh she interrupted him. "A shade can posses human and control any ghostly being causing it to become a solid entity until he's done with them, that's when they go back to being ghosts." She sounded like a textbook but Harry had to smile at the look on Pullium's face.
"Yes well, he has amassed an army-"
Dane, who sat beside him, muttered, "He shouldn't use big words. He might choke." Harry almost did. But Beneyt didn't hear and continued.
"He is going around killing unhappy people to join his army... because, every one knows that happy people don't become ghosts..." Someone cleared his or her throat in annoyance.
And so the meeting continued. He told them about Wayland the Muggle killer who tortured his victims to within an inch of their life and then healed them so they'd be loyal to him. They were the unlucky ones. The lucky ones got to die.
They were told about Radames, who ruled the legions of vampires that had turned evil. As he told them about this, the sight of the Hogwart's vampire warning him against the raising of the dead haunted his memory.
He told them of Kamron who raped witches before turning them over to his friend Radames who turned them. They became the worst of the worst; vampires that boiled with a hatred for any man, living or dead. And finally, Siobhan who brought with him spells and enchantments from what had once been called the Middle East. He ruled each of the Dark Wizards. He had complete control. If he wanted something badly enough he invariably got it. And as of three weeks ago, his sights were set on Hogwarts.
As he told them these things, he watched as each name was followed by a nastier person and the name took on more meaning for them. They fumed and he could see the desire to fight burning within them. He smiled slowly to himself. Maybe the plan hadn't been so bad after all.
Afterwards, each warrior went their own way. Elyzabel, looking very lost but determined, set of for parts unknown and Harry set off towards the entrance. Dane began to wander towards the astronomy tower while Max headed for the cellars. Watching them as they dispersed he wondered, what memories the castle held for them? Things he could only imagine. Hoping Elyzabel would remember something soon on her wanderings in the halls, he turned back to the table to find that one of the warriors still remained.
Amide Langa seemed the most docile of them all. Her blue eyes were soft and misty as if lost in a dream while her pale hair and face made her seem as innocent as a lamb. She stood slowly letting her long black robes fall to the floor before speaking. "I know that in order to kill your Sholto I too will die, but know this," she said raising her finger to point as his face. Her sharp nail only inches from his face. "I do this only so I might rest again. I don't give a damn about you or any one. If I could, I'd kill you now." And with that she swept from the room leaving Beneyt shaking in fear. Maybe it hadn't gone as well as he'd hoped.
***
She knew this place. She knew these walls and this hallway. She knew that if she didn't think about where she was going, her feet would remember the way. They carried her with a steady swiftness that spoke of some one who knew where she was going but she did not.
She was bare foot and her long blue robes brushed the floor making her appear to be a ghost rather than a human. If it hadn't been for the scars criss-crossing her face, Elyzabel would be beautiful.
But in a world where she knew nothing, the face in the mirror puzzled her. Shouldn't she know her own face? Shouldn't it be one of those things that you just know? She felt like she should know this. Like she'd seen it all before but it seemed as if it were a different person entirely.
People told her what wonderful things she had done but she knew none of it. They told her she'd had friends and family and yet she did not remember them so she, unlike the other warriors, did not mourn her past. She didn't care about that or about wars or anything. She just wanted to know who she was. Beyond awaking with a sheet over her face, she knew nothing.
But this, this was familiar. She almost knew it. Almost. It itched at the back of her brain. This room she had just entered. These four walls with their dusty hangings and its uninhabited feel. That dark hulking shape looming at her from the darkest of the murky shadows.
She knew this. Walking slowly over the ancient stones, Elyzabel Petty suddenly knew what was over there! What that dark shape was. Her heart beat a bit faster. She knew something. She'd never been more sure of anything in her entire... well, you get it.
She slowly reached out her hand, half afraid that it would just vanish in a cloud of dust. She held a frayed edge of the cloth that covered it. It had once been bright with the blue and bronze of her house but it was now black with time. She remembered this! She could still faintly see bits of the bright colors poking through, and when she pulled back a part of it that had been folded over, the wing of the raven seemed to dance, ready to fly.
With a confident jerk, she pulled the covering off sending a cloud of dust up to the ceiling and a family of mice running for a new home. It fell apart in her hands leaving only the bright wing as the only evidence that it had ever existed. Her hear sank slightly. Time had taken it toll here as well.
But now that the old fabric was gone, she could clearly see the polished wood of the piano that had lain beneath it for so many years. It looked just as she knew it would, having been protected by the tapestry. And though it had been unused for centuries, she was sure it would play just the way it should.
She ran one hand lovingly across the keys and came away with a small film of dust on her fingers. The wood shone with a bright luster that made her smile. Cause the horribly disfigured face to bunch up in the parody of a child's nightmare.
The sight of those white and black keys below her made her fingers itch to play. She sat down at the bench, which made a scraping sound as she pulled it out. The sound echoed strangely in the cavernous room. For a moment, unexplainable tears threatened to spill down her face. But she pushed them away. And she played...
***
He needed to sort things out. Harry's mind felt heavy with all the information that had suddenly been dropped in there. He'd felt like this his whole life though. What was different now?
But Harry knew what it s. He'd been dead. He'd known, in that time, what true peace was. And now he was here once more. A life with the pain of existence running races in his veins. He wanted to run away from all of this. He wanted to sprint down to the lake, dive in, and never come back up for air. Why not? He was suffocating anyways.
Instead he walked. He wandered down to the lake. The wamping willow was gone. He walked over to see if there was any evidence of the tunnel to Hogsmeade left. But no, there wouldn't be. Pullium had told them that the town was destroyed years ago. There was nothing left to claim the tree had ever stood except for a slight dip in the too-long grass. Harry sighed and wandered closer to where Hagrid's hut had once stood.
In it's place stood a slightly larger building made of stone and looking something like a monument and not a place or residence. Nearing it he saw that I was. "Here's to all those who gave their life in the fight against Voldemort. May you be forever in our hearts." The carved words were faded and almost unreadable. Was there nowhere where the test of time had been passed? No, there couldn't be.
Hearing voices near-by he crept around the back of the memorial. There was a class going on there. Care of Magical Creatures, which appeared to be taught by a young man who looked just out of school himself. Today's lesson was on snakes and the teacher held a very large one in his hands. Harry chuckled. If only they knew...
He went back inside the monument and sat on a bench that rested just inside and out of sight. It was peaceful here. He listened with half an ear as the class went on but never did the thought cross his mind to join them or alert them to his presence. No, he was done with school.
***
Looking around the potions classroom, you couldn't tell what had taken place that morning. No young lips held the names of the warriors and none had them on their mind. All of them that is, except Milana. Her head spun. She knew Him! He'd met him! Harry Potter. But no, that wasn't right... She'd never seen him before in her life. And yet, how then had she been able to draw him so accurately. She'd been drawing that picture long before she'd heard of them coming.
Adela watched the other girl from across the room. "I really hate her," she said to a friend of hers. The other Gryffindor gave her a wary smile before going off to get her pounded rose stem. Adela sighed and rolling her eyes, she made her way over to the other side of the room to get the next thing needed for the healing potion they were brewing that day. Not that they had ever made much else in that class except the occasional pepper-up potion.
Milana was so into her own thoughts as she moved about her work that she didn't even see her arch rival until it was too late. She held her cauldron full of very warm mushy-nothingness one minute and the next, it was all down the front of Adela Huddson. The other girl was screaming in pain and rage.
"You idiot! Watch where you're going! Fucking bitch! That was my best robe!" She lunged at her sending drops of the warm liquid flying about her causing people to shrink back from the circle that had formed around them. "I'm going to kill you, you little whore! Give me one reason not to!" Milana shrank back. Adela's eyes were dark and stormy. "You can never do anything right. I bet you think you're Miss Perfect too! Bet you think that you're special that some dead woman came into you're room last night! Oh yeah, I know all about that." But in truth she did not. Milana didn't know that. "All she wanted was a good fuck! And she probably went back to tell the rest of them what a slut you are! And you know I'm right."
It was at this time that the teacher finally regained his wits. He pulled Adela away hard and she staggered backwards forcing them both to the ground. Not pausing for anything she kept on screaming at the cowering girl. Some one had gone for the headmaster and he came in blustering with false pride and no one listened as he told every one to settle down.
Milana, seeing that the attention was off her for the moment, ran as fast as she could out of the room and down the hall to her dormitory. No one even noticed. "I bet they won't notice when I'm gone either. No one's gonna care except Cielia, who'll only care long enough to have my body removed. No one was going to care. Not really."
***
Things were getting too confusing for the young muggle woman. Mary? Who was Mary? Her heart betrayed her every thought. She loved Divin but now, every time she saw him, it was like a hand was stopping her heart up with ice. She couldn't breath or move. It was too much.
"I can't live like this" she told herself. "I have to leave."
And so she did. Calmly she packed her bags with a few things and not even turning around to see what she was leaving behind. But her head was not so calm. It raged war against her heart, assaulting it at every turn. Her mind was like a maze that she could easily loose herself in.
She didn't look back as she marched down the hill towards the road that would take her to a near-by town for what was there to see? Divin waiting her at the tower as she left?
For indeed he did. "How could I have let her get away?" He asked himself. "How could you fuck it up again?" He seemed to be one of those men who can never seem to get it right but is always trying to make everyone happy. "When is it my turn to be happy?"
***
While every one else ate dinner up in the Great Hall, Harry found himself alone by the lake. Possibly the one thing that had not changed since he'd been gone. The castle-like monument to himself was almost comical in the setting sun, sitting up there next to the real thing but Harry didn't laugh. It wasn't supposed to be like this.
But that was the story of his life wasn't it? Some bloke decides he wants Harry Potter to fight his battles for him so it's Harry to the rescue. Only this time he'd been dead. Gone. Wiped out like he'd never existed. Who was truly cruel enough to do such a thing? But then, Harry had to wonder what he would have done in the same position. Five Dark Wizards was a lot to face.
As the sun sank lower in the sky casting deep purple shadows over everything, he began to think about what might have been. Had he lived... had he stayed dead... had he never been born... had he been happy... He never got a once upon a time and never would have a happily ever after.
Out of the corner of his eye he noticed a slight jot of red in the fading light. Red, like a Weasley's hair. Red like the blood on the lawn that bright day in late April. Red... And suddenly she materilized before him just as he remembered her from his dreams. Was it? Was this just another dream? No one living had hair like that any more. That family had died off long ago. He was sure of it... None living...
"Ginny..."