The Last Dinosaur
Written by: Sawn-Off GlitterBoy
Disclaimer: If you're reading this from chapter one, then you already know what this says.
Ah, while I'm remembering: The language key! I am speaking French now! French. YAY! I can insult my parents without them knowing what I'm saying! Spanish
Chapter 3: Scar Tissue
The main doors of Hogwarts had been there since the school was constructed. They had even survived the mass rush of the last battle by Voldemort's minions. They had seen and lived through much, but nothing prepared them for the plasma-induced wrath spewing from Harry Potter's hands that blew the mighty doors right off their hinges and threw them forty feet out, landing with a loud 'THUD' on the castle grounds. The aforementioned plasma-wielding individual was storming out, the electric-blue aura crackling around him and arcing into metallic items occasionally or burning jagged lines into anything unfortunate enough to conduct the super-heated material. He was being followed by a group of witches and wizards that were throwing spells at him of all varieties, all of them splitting apart of disintegrating as the hit his shield, the weaker ones just fading as they got within ten or so feet or curving around him to go wild, lighting up the evening sky. They were fearful, not only for themselves, but for the students on the Quidditch pitch, as it was in the middle of a match.
However, Harry stayed as far away from the pitch as possible, moving toward the edge of the Apparation wards for show. Another one of his more useful studies in the field of advanced magic was the knowledge of how to beat any kind of Apparation wards, through the use of Distortion. It was more of a branch of meditation and perception of the world around you than it was of actual spell work. In quick and dirty terms, it distorted the magical core of a person in such a way that it made a sort of shockwave of anti-magic. It was localized and stayed around once it had been deployed, allowing the "caster" to Apparate out through the wards. Also very useful for shorting out detection wards and traps on doors by creating a concentrated burst through the hands, saturating and burning out the energy of the wards similar to how an EMP worked on electronic devices.
The group of Professors and the Headmaster watched as he slowed to a stop and the air around him seemed to ripple and bend, like you were looking at him through a heat wave. They began casting spells, trying to stop him, but before they could even cover a quarter of the distance, the luminous blasts just vanished. They didn't fade, didn't fizzle, they just vanished, gone, like they had never been cast. Harry spoke above the din of the match and the spells flying around him, "I'm going to leave now, and if you follow me, try to take me, or anything of that nature, my earlier threat still stands. The school will burn, regardless of who is inside, it makes no difference to me. My life is my own now, and if you think you can come and ruin what I've worked so hard for, I've KILLED for, then you are a fool of the highest caliber, and I will have no mercy for you." With the threat still ringing in the air, Harry vanished, Apparating away to his home in Jamaica. This was followed by the obligatory shout from Professors Granger-Weasely and Weasely that Apparation was impossible inside of Hogwarts.
Ellis reappeared just inside of his own area of town, inside of a warded zone that was safe from muggle eyes, or magical ones for that matter. He stepped out into the early afternoon light, savoring the smell of home, his little slice of paradise. His walk home was leisurely; many people spotted him that he knew in passing and regulars at his bar, each one saying 'Hello' or asking how Kirby and Juno were. The dogs were fixtures at La Mascarade, and acted as entertainment for the little ones that came by and as a potent motivation for surly patrons to leave; Kirby and Juno had been sent after drunk patrons before, and often began growling when people disagreed with Ellis' assessment that they had had enough.
He made it around to his corner of the world, a modest little white house with a porch, a hammock swing, and a beautiful ocean view. He unlocked the door, and was immediately pounced upon by the aforementioned pups. They were overjoyed to see him it seemed, and the showed their displeasure with his sudden magically-induced disappearance by licking his face with gusto. "Alright you two, off! I wasn't gone for THAT long, you should still be sleeping!" The dogs just looked at their owner as if to say, "And your point is…?" Ellis sighed and threw up his hands, "Like you two would ever behave. C'mon, I got some mail to sort and wards to strengthen." The dogs obediently went inside, their master shutting the door behind them with an unceremonious 'BANG' and locked it with a wave of a hand.
The woman across the street watched all of the events with a keen eye, looking for details. She seemed satisfied when he closed the door, and she moved away from the window as she pulled out a cell phone, pushed a button and said, "Albus, he's back, and he doesn't look overjoyed about the unexpected reunion."
The sun was beginning to dip towards the horizon, and our protagonist and his dogs began their nightly sojourn to Ellis' place of work, La Mascarade. The name of the bar was a double pun by Ellis' count; the first was that the bar was located in the magical part of the city. Many magical folk came to this bar for a good drink at reasonable prices. The magical patrons also noticed that if asked correctly, the bartender had a rather large collection of magical liquors that seemed to be unrecognizable by the rest of the bar. The second was the fact that the owner was a wizard hiding as a muggle among wizards that thought he was a wizard. What better way than to hide in plain sight, where no one would really look with any thoroughness?
The night was warm, the sun painting the sky a myriad of red and gold, Gryffindor colors, and Ellis couldn't help the smirk that crept on to his face. He quickly suppressed the thought, and went back to his patrons, swapping stories and jokes over liquor that flowed like water, and he felt at peace for a few moments. Juno nuzzled up to his leg, whining softly as she sensed his sadness. Ellis' thoughts drifted back to his old life, wondering why he hadn't seen Remus' death coming. He had stopped beating himself up over it a long time ago, but he still grieved occasionally when the memories were too much to force back into the dark corners of his mind.
The crowd was beginning to thin out, and only the regulars were left when the clock hit ten. Ellis smiled and went over to the master jukebox controls behind the bar and punched up "Still Crazy After All These Years" by Paul Simon. He relaxed on the stool that had been so graciously left there by a surly patron one night that Ellis never got around to moving. He was relaxed, but not to the point where wasn't aware of what was happening around him.
Case in point: As the door opened, blowing in the warm tropical air, Harry caught the smell of a woman wearing rather nice perfume, with a bitter tang of magic on the end. The only people that put out that kind of smell were magical folk that had some kind of full-body ability that was always on, his plasma manipulation for example. A few more seconds of comparison smelling indicated that she was in her mid-twenties, as the magic smell was strong, and she moved in a way that was vaguely familiar to him. He cracked one eye as she rapped on the counter, demanding his attention. "Yeah, what would you like? " He asked, taking stock of her.
She was shapely, about 5' 7", definitely a piece of eye candy. She gave him a crooked grin and replied, "I don't speak French." Ellis merely replied, "That could be a bit of a hazard if nobody knows English and you get hit by a car. So, waddaya want?"
Kirby and Juno had come up beside him, and Kirby began to vibrate from his growls, ever so slightly. Ellis knew that the dogs could smell magic, and especially magic from people he had trained them to stay away from.
The woman, oblivious to the dynamic duo out of her line of sight, asked for a Long Island Iced Tea. Ellis moved to comply with the order, carefully palming a tiny vial filled with clear liquid, putting three drops into the drink at uneven intervals, as to throw off suspicion. He finished the drink's preparation with am artistic flourish of the bottle and gave her the drink.
His mystery woman gave muted thanks as she began to drink, the liquor sliding down her throat, the Veritaserum working its magic in moments. Her eyes clouded slightly for a moment, and then regained their life, as she kept drinking. Ellis quietly asked her, "Who are you?" She had already come up with an alias, but her mouth wouldn't listen to what she told it to do. "Nymphadora Tonks," she replied in an equally quiet voice. Her eyes snapped wide at the statement, and realized what she had said and what had happened.
Ellis had a blank look on his face as he proceeded with the questioning. "Why are you here?" His voice was devoid of emotion, and the flicker of laughter that had been there before was absent. "I was given orders by Albus to track you if you managed to escape Hogwarts," she said numbly, her mind screaming for her lips to stop. Tonks' eyes were frantic, but she couldn't escape the seat, it was like it was holding her there. His eyes flared for a minute, and then were filled with a combination of sadness and rage. "Forget you ever saw me, you were never here. You were thrown off the trail, and you lost me somewhere in Munich. I don't want to see you around here ever again, understand?" Ellis' voice was cold, and his final sentence brooked no argument. Tonks strangely found herself agreeing with him, and he memories of the last few hours were fading and shifting, rearranging themselves into what Ellis had suggested as the potion did its work.
Ellis took the money she had put on the bar and wished her a good night as she got up and left, resolving himself to find out how they found him and destroy it at all costs, even if it meant moving again. He was tired of the fighting, and he would rather eat his hand than fight for them again. He closed the bar early that night, and began hunting down what had allowed him to be found by the wizarding world.
So, did you like it? Hate it? Give me a review and you can tell me! I'm squeezing my muse for all of her precious vital ideas, and she has yet to disappoint me. Input and replies are welcomed, and Mecha-Tama's for everyone who reviews! Later!