Disclaimer: For the twenty-third time, I do NOT own The Harry Potter books...
Author's Note: Hmmm... what about this chapter... well, nothing aside from the normal, I hope you like it!!!!! Heh heh
Chapter Twenty-three
First One to Know
Into November things didn't get much better. Severus's leg was slowly healing, and, thanks to an assortment of potions that Thorn began to make for him, the scars would not be there and infection did not come. Yet worry did not leave her. She was still in a sort of shock about the entire thing. Severus was hurt, and, for the first time in eight years, Thorn was afraid. It seemed to show through a bit as well. She didn't quite act like herself, her friends noticed. There was a strange change in her demeanor. She was even more quite than usual and, during potions classes, she could hardly concentrate. She would constantly look up to Severus, as if afraid that he might just fall to the ground.
The night before the first Quidditch match Thorn was sitting on the astronomy tower, ignoring the cold air that caressed over her face. She stared up at the stars, her dark eyes empty of the emotion that was locked deep in her heart. Sparkie was nowhere to be found, probably hiding inside where it was warm. She was thinking again, and thinking was bad for her.
Suddenly Thorn felt something on her shoulder and turned around harshly, prepared for the worst as she always was. Maken was standing there, though, a kind smile on his face and two blankets in his arms. "What are you doing up here, Thorn?" he asked, his voice full of concern. He draped one of the blankets over her shoulders and wrapped it around her. "It's bloody freezing."
She nodded. "Yes, I know." She looked back to the sky as he set himself down next to her with his own cover. A sudden, chilling gust blew her hair into her face and her blanket in a fury about her form. When it died down, though, Maken was surprised to see that her eyes now held a strange thing that he had never seen before. Fear.
Maken knew Thorn better than any aside from Severus and Sparkie, and he knew that there had to be something big to make this glimmer appear. "Thorn," he muttered, "You've been acting strangely. You hardly talk, and you're not paying attention in classes…" He placed a hand on her shoulder, and she looked into his deep brown eyes, "You can tell me what's wrong."
She sighed and looked down. She trusted him with her life, and she would not lie to him. "Severus is hurt."
Maken was amazed. "What? How? When?"
Thorn sighed and began to explain. She started with the stone, and went on to explain Quirrell, the protections, and, finally, Halloween night. "And when he came back hurt…" Thorn shook her head and hung it down, her veil of dark hair hiding her face, "I… I didn't know what to do. I was scared, Maken, for the first time since… my parents died."
Her head came up in surprise as Maken's arm suddenly draped over her shoulders. "Thorn," he muttered quietly, "It's okay to be scared. Don't worry about it… Everything will be fine."
She smirked. He was like a brother, protecting his younger sister. But he was wrong. It was not okay to be scared. At least, not for her. Someone could abuse that emotion… She let loose a sigh and said, "How did you find me up here, anyway?"
Maken laughed. "I used Sparkify, and your lovely lizard wouldn't tell me where you were, nor would he go find you for me. I took a wild guess." He gave a knowing smirk, "Good thing I know you so well, huh?"
Thorn chuckled, "Yes. Well, my lovely lizard is probably wondering where I am right now." She looked for him with her mind and, when she found him, all she heard was an echoing, Look at the pretty colors… I didn't know that rivers looked like that… "Never mind."
Maken laughed. "Well, it is freezing, so we might want to go in anyway." He stood and held his hand down to his friend to help her up.
She smirked and took it. He pulled her up and she removed the blanket from her shoulders. "Thanks," she muttered as she handed it to him and headed back inside. "I'll see you tomorrow, then," she said as she went down to the south end while Maken parted to go to his dormitory.
"Yeah. Slytherin versus Gryffindor," he smiled. "G'night, Thorn."
The next morning Thorn went to visit Severus and give him his three morning potions; blood replenishing (her specialty), infection fighting, and pure heal. When she went into the room he was sitting at his desk and he seemed nothing short of furious. "Severus?" she asked calmly as she set the potions down on the parchment covering his desk.
He looked up as she came in and sighed. "While Argus and I were changing my bandages yesterday evening Potter came in," the name was said with obvious bitterness.
Thorn's eyes darkened. "What did he say?"
Severus sighed as he picked up the first potion vial, "He wanted his bloody book back." Then he downed the potion in one swift movement and made a look of disdain. "You'd think that they'd be able to make these blasted things taste better…"
Thorn sighed. "Well, no doubt he will have his own erroneous ideas on how you came across such a horrid wound…"
Severus nodded. "Yes…" He quickly drank the next two potions, giving off the same disgusted look that he did when he drank the first. Then he stood, a limp to his left leg still obvious. Sparkie, who was sitting upon Thorn's shoulder, flinched, thinking of the pain that his friend must still be going through. "We should get to the hall for breakfast. Then we have to attend that Quidditch match…"
He led the way out, Thorn following him as always. Sparkie was sitting on her shoulder, anxious for the match to begin. He was almost as obsessed with it as Maken was. Almost.
Yet not quite. That much was made apparent as the school made its way down to the field not long later. Maken, Cade, and Celestial were walking besides her, and Maken's mouth never shut. He went on and on about the different teams, players on said teams, and how many referees had disappeared within the last decade. Turned out to be thirteen.
"Maken!" Celestial finally said, "I don't care! Please, please stop talking about Poodlemore United!"
Maken's face went serious almost at once. "Celestial, please, it's Puddlemere United… And if you don't care then don't listen!" Cade laughed as Celestial huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. Then the Slytherins and Gryffindors parted ways to go to their own places in the stadium. There were no assigned spots for the games, but when one house was against the other the students seemed to stay in one spot, away from those in the other house. This was especially put for Slytherin and Gryffindor. Sparkie flew about the heads of the green-clad students, darting to and fro happily as he awaited the match to begin.
Not long after they were seated the two teams came onto the field. Thorn's own was dressed in green and the Gryffindors in flashing scarlet. She smirked as she looked across the field into the stands to see a large banner reading "Potter for President" in multicolored flashing paint, a lions head drawn beneath. The rest of her house was angrily pointing at the opposite side.
Then the game began, Sparkie giving commentary just as Lee Jordan was. Thorn watched as the players darted around like humming birds. The first score was received by Gryffindor, not surprising to Thorn seeing as her team usually used brute force and not strategy to make a point.
Yet the victory did not last long. Gryffindor scored a second time, then the snitch was seen. The whole crowd went silent as they searched for a glimmer of gold. Sparkie seemed to be the first, aside from Harry who went darting after it, to see the little winged ball, for he leapt up, pointing and shouting words that only Thorn could understand.
Terence Higgs, the seventh year seeker for the Slytherins, was right next to Harry, but the race seemed hardly worth it, seeing as Potter had a Nimbus Two Thousand. Suddenly Sparkie roared, literally, in anger as Marcus Flint, the Slytherin team captain, rammed headlong into Potter, sending him off course.
There was an angry holler from the onlookers, at least, from all the onlookers, save for Thorn, that weren't Slytherin. The green-wearing portion of the stands either laughed or cheered. Thorn heard Malfoy behind her say, "Hah, look at Potter go! He's nearly fallen off twice."
Thorn turned around to face him, yet another voice rang through before hers had the chance to give a remark. "Come on, Malfoy," Raleigh said in a mocking tone, "Why don't you go play with the tough boys and get leave your toy box for younger kiddies?"
He made a soft noise of disagreement as the tall elf sat next to her black haired friend. "Hey, Thorn."
Thorn smirked, "Hey." Then Sparkie muttered something and Thorn laughed. "Sparkie wants me to tell you that you have a way with words."
Raleigh laughed. "Tell him that I say thank you. It's always good to know that a lizard appreciates my wonderful phrases." Thorn chuckled, but then a sudden worried exclamation from the school made them look up to the sky.
Harry's broom was making violent lunges, nearly throwing the young player off. Thorn's brow furrowed and she looked to the teachers stands. She was surveying them, trying to spot the large purple turban, but then she felt a tap on her shoulder and turned back to see Maken. "Thorn!" His eyes showed worry and suspicion.
Then she muttered one word before she turned back to the stands, "Quirrell." Soon she spotted him, but she couldn't make anything out from her distance.
"What's going on?" Raleigh asked, also looking to the area where the professors were sitting.
Thorn sighed. "I'll explain later… Just… can you see Professor Quirrell from where you are?" Thorn turned to the elf, who looked back and nodded. "Good… tell me, what's he doing?"
Raleigh looked back into the stand. "Be warned though. My vision isn't as great as the rest of my species." Then she concentrated and said, "He's… Muttering, none-stop… Doesn't seem like anyone's noticed, though."
Thorn sighed. Then she looked to Sparkie, who had flown off and was speeding, invisibly, towards the young boy on the broomstick. He had suddenly been flung off and was now holding on with one hand. Then she looked back to Raleigh, who was looking towards her, and said, "Now, find Severus, Professor Snape. What's he doing?"
The elf looked back up to the crowd while Thorn went into Sparkie's mind to find him holding only Potter's sleeve, trying desperately to keep him on the broom. The lizard, being invisible, was the only thing that was able to even touch the player. Whenever any one else got near him the broom would suddenly jump up. Then Raleigh said, "He's doing the same thing… Muttering under his breath… What in the heck are they playing at?"
Yet Thorn heaved a sigh of relief. She felt Maken's hand come to her shoulder, as if asking her what was going on. Then she muttered. "Severus is countering the curse." Maken removed his hand and nodded, but his worry was not gone. It seemed that Severus's counter-curse was not as strong as whatever dark magic that the Defense Professor was using.
Raleigh turned to Thorn and said, "Okay, I'm tired of being in the dark… After this we gotta talk somewhere."
Thorn nodded. "Alright, follow me to the forest then."
Maken nodded. "I'm coming, too. Cade and Celestial will be alright without us."
Suddenly the rapid jerking of the broom stopped and Harry pulled himself back onto the Nimbus. Sparkie darted back to them and reappeared on Thorn's shoulder. "That was close…" he muttered. Thorn agreed.
Yet that little incident, that nearly cost Harry his life, was soon forgotten as he sped towards the earth. Then he tumbled onto the ground and nearly lost his lunch, to which Raleigh could be heard muttering, "Well, that's nice…"
Then he coughed and a little golden ball fell into his hands. It took the surrounding students a moment to register what had just happened, but soon enough a majority of the school, minus the Slytherins, began to cheer. Thorn took the arms of both of her friends and said, "Let's get out of here, before all the commotion dies down and we could be seen."
Somehow they managed to get through the crowd and out onto the field, where the three of them preceded to sprint across the field to the forest. "Where are we going, exactly?" Thorn heard Raleigh ask as she followed the Slytherin and Gryffindor through the dark, looming trees.
"To the only place that we will be safe from anything and everything hiding in these woods," she answered as she caught sight of a clearing ahead of them. Not long later they emerged into the small field. Raleigh gasped quietly as she spotted the large mass of black scales that was Fang.
"A dragon? Oh yeah, we're really safe…" she whispered to herself.
Thorn smirked. "Yes, but a very tame dragon. In fact, the only tame dragon, thanks to a little ability of mine." She led the two of them over to where the dragon was laying, asleep. "Fang?" She lowly hissed.
His black head snapped up instantly and turned around, his violet eyes searching for whoever had spoken to him. When he saw Thorn he growled in happiness and leapt up, his long tail swishing and knocking a tree over. "Thorn!" He roared back as he slowly made his way towards her. "We've needed to talk to you, but Shadow couldn't get through."
Thorn sighed. She hadn't thought that they'd need to talk to her, so she'd closed all mind passages save for Sparkie's. "What's been going on?"
The dragon heaved a huge sigh, smoke coming from his nostrils. Thorn sighed, he'd be breathing fire soon… Better watch out. "Thorn, something has been attacking unicorns." Sparkie, who was listening on Thorn's shoulder, looked around, as if trying to spot anything that could even catch a unicorn.
She sighed. "Okay… Is Shooter okay? He didn't get attacked, did he?"
Fang shook his head. "No, but he is really worried about everything. He hardly strays from my side anymore, nor do Feather or Shadow. Talon and Fell have patrolled the forest, looking for whatever it is. They haven't found anything."
Thorn nodded. "Alright… Where are they now?"
Fang snorted and looked behind him. "This thing only comes at night, so they roam around during the day, trying to find the best paths to safety, just in case…"
She rubbed her temples. "Okay… I'll call Shadow later, right now I have to explain things to my new friend." She ran a hand over Fang's large, purple eye and walked over to the two others, who looked relatively baffled.
"Well," Raleigh said, "Thanks to Maken that made some sense. Sparkie taught you to speak to every reptile? That will come in rather handy." She looked to Thorn, her eyes showing something like a knowing hint. "Parstletongue, then?"
Thorn nodded. "Indeed…" Then she sat down on the grass and watched as the others did the same. "Now, I assume that you want to know what's going on with Quirrell?"
She nodded. "Yeah, I'd like to know why my Defense Against the Dark Arts professor was probably trying to jinx Potter's broom." Thorn took note that Raleigh said the name 'Potter' with just as much dislike as Severus did.
She nodded. "Well, the Sorcerer's stone is being kept in the school." Raleigh's eyes seemed to widen at that and she leaned forwards. "And Quirrell is after it. Something about him, some strange thing… He seems to be connected to Voldemort."
Raleigh laughed. "Tom Riddle? I can't believe that he changed his name, hoping to invoke fear into the hearts of the wizarding world."
Thorn chuckled. "That's what I've been saying…"
Maken cleared his throat, seeming to be rather confused. "Er… go on Thorn, with the Quirrell thing."
Thorn nodded. "Yes. Quirrell is after the stone, probably to give it to his master, and make the elixir of life. We can't let him get it. Severus and I are watching him. Severus is my—"
"Uncle," Raleigh cut in, "I know." Thorn nodded. She should have figured. Raleigh was over a hundred years old, she would have known about Thorn… she'd probably read the article. Thorn sighed. She'd know all about what happened… Oh well, not the time to think about that.
"Yes," she continued. "Severus and I have been watching Harry, and Quirrell, to make sure that he didn't try anything, and to make sure that Harry was never alone with him."
Raleigh nodded. "Alright. I have one more question." Thorn prepared for the worst, something about her past, but all the elven girl said was, "What were you and your dragon talking about?"
Thorn almost sighed in relief. "I have many pets. A unicorn, pegasus, thestral, hippogriff, and, by a strange breeding incident, a pegacorn. Something has been killing unicorns, and Shooter is petrified about it. Which reminds me…" she opened the connection with Shadow, as shallow as it was, and called to her.
The pegacorn was frantic, and bombarded the Slytherin with questions. Thorn calmed the cross-breed down and told her to get the others and come to Fang's restricted area. When that was done she turned back to Raleigh and Maken. "The others will be here soon. If you don't want to wait for me you can go ahead and leave. I have to stay for a while and sooth my poor, traumatized unicorn."
Raleigh laughed. "Nah, it's alright. I'll stay. I wanna see what a pegacorn looks like…"
Maken laughed. "Yeah, well, there's probably a party going on at my common room, so I might wanna get going."
Thorn nodded. "I understand." Then the five horse-like creatures either flew or ran in and Thorn said, "Here, Talon will lead you to the border of trees." The hippogriff, though slightly surprised that he was called upon as soon as he'd appeared nodded and trotted besides Maken. The Gryffindor waved to them as he disappeared beyond the veil of trees, the black form of Talon beside him.
Thorn! The distant voice of Shadow rang through both Sparkie's and his friend's minds. I've been trying to talk to you forever! Something's killing the unicorns, Thorn, and drinking their blood! Then the large head of the pegacorn swished as she caught sight of Raleigh, who waved, and she said, Thorn… Who's that?
Thorn chuckled. That, my friend, is Raleigh Sawyer. She's a first year, a Ravenclaw, and an elf.
Shadow whinnied and not long later said, She's nice. She's a good person to be friends with, Thorn. Apparently the mixed blood had spoken to the new Ravenclaw.
The Slytherin nodded, Indeed she is. Now, don't you guys worry. As Fang has told me, whatever it is that is attacking unicorns only comes at night, and you have been keeping close to him. Nothing in its right mind would attack you while in the company of a dragon.
They have strayed awfully close, Thorn, Shadow muttered, but then she said, Yet you must be right. The only reason Daddy is still alive would be the fact that Fang is here…
Thorn smirked, Don't worry…
Thorn turned to Raleigh, who was watching Sparkie fly in circles out of boredom. "We can go now." Thorn said as she walked towards the elven girl sitting on the grass.
Raleigh laughed quietly. "You're friends don't know, do they?" Sparkie froze in mid air and almost fell to the ground as he stared at Thorn, wondering what she would do.
Thorn was taken aback at first, but soon she heaved a sigh and said, "No." Then she looked up to the elf and said, "You read the article nine years ago, didn't you?"
She gave a cocky smirk. "Well, when, in reality, you are hundreds of years old but appear to be three there's not much you can really do. So I read."
Thorn nodded. "If you've read the article why are you even here? Don't you believe what the foul woman tried to call the truth?" Sparkie flopped onto Thorn's shoulder as she spoke, his large, webbed wings draping down her shoulder and back.
Yet the elf merely laughed at her statement. "No way! I was raised better than that! Well, at least, my father, I guess you could call him, told me everything. See, he was locked up then, still is, in fact, but I got to visit him. He read the article and, though he's never liked your uncle, he told me that it was all a lie. He knew your mother, apparently, and your father. He said that they were not bad people, as the article proclaimed. And, though he swears that he will deny this under pain of death, he doubts that Professor Snape would have even considered teaching you to follow Voldemort."
Thorn was generally as surprised as she could be. "Who is your… father?" Thorn asked rather calmly, while Sparkie stared at the elven girl.
Raleigh smirked. "Sirius Black."
This took Thorn off guard and Sparkie nearly fell from her shoulder. "Black?" she said bitterly. Now she was even more surprised. Sirius Black, out of all the wizards in the world, stood up for her, her parents, and, most amazingly of all, Severus.
Raleigh laughed, though her face remained emotionless, save for her eyes. "For some reason, even though you hate my daddy, I don't dislike you, Thorn."
Thorn chuckled quietly, "And even though you're related to that foul man—no offence—I don't dislike you."
Raleigh snickered. "Technically I'm not really related to him. When my race was killed off, only two remained. My first guardian and I. He died not long later, though, and, even though I was over two hundred years old, I was still treated like the baby that I looked like, and was given to Da—Sirius. It was fun, until Harry was born…"
Thorn noticed that hateful hint in her voice. Then she continued. "But that's not really important. I'd like to know the real reason. Not all that 'hate and spite filled' crap that Skeeter tried to pull off. You're story has always perplexed me, Thorn, and now's time that I learn the truth."
Thorn nodded. Then she went into how she had been named as Voldemort's heir, the dark mark, and the curses. When she was finished with her story the sky was dark. "So," Raleigh muttered, "Your mother didn't rightfully explain the reasons that you should use the curses… That's the main thing there… Oh, and I've been wondering, is that thing on your left arm to hide the dark mark?"
Thorn nodded. "And to catch the blood that I loose when the mark is touched and run it back into my bloodstream."
Raleigh nodded. "That makes sense. When are you going to tell Maken, Cade, and Celestial?"
Thorn shook her head. "I don't know. Not yet, at the least. They're not ready, and, I'm afraid, they might not understand." Raleigh nodded. After a moment of silence Thorn asked a question that she, and the rest of wizard-kind had been wondering, "What happened to the elves? How were they killed off?"
Raleigh smirked. "Well, long, long ago, before I was even fifty years old, there was a huge war between all the creatures of the elven lands. Wizards and witches were left in the dark, for the elves didn't want to seek their aid. Well, that turned out to be a mistake, for we were attacked by everything; vampires, veela, even some districts of merpeople. We didn't stand a chance. Only my companion, Hutser, and I lived through it. He was mortally wounded, and threw the years his condition didn't get any better. You see, elves such as Hutser, who was one of the eldest in our village, do not heal quickly without elven medicine. Hundreds of years later he had found the one person that he was confident in helping raise me. Go figure, though, he had to be locked in Azkaban not long later. Then I was put in the care of Mrs. Wilcox, but I go to visit Daddy often."
Thorn nodded. "You seem to have been unscathed in the battle, though. That in itself is an accomplishment." Sparkie nodded, but Raleigh shook her head.
"I didn't come out unscathed." The elf pointed to her left eye, and, for the first time, Thorn noticed a very, very thin, inch-long scar cutting over the light azure orb. Another strange thing was that the scar seemed to slice through the eye itself, not just the skin. "Since we didn't have elven medicine the wound didn't heal well, and now I see only in black and white through this eye, and my vision is blurred unless at the perfect point."
Thorn nodded while Sparkie flew up to Raleigh's face to get a better look at her eye. "That must be rather bothersome."
Raleigh shrugged, "After two or three hundred years you get used to it. Sparkie, do you mind?" The lizard gave a guilty smile and flew back into Thorn's robes. "Well, we should get to the school. It's getting dark and you might want to talk to your uncle."
Thorn nodded. "Yes." Then they stood and walked threw the woods and to the castle.
Ten minutes later Thorn was sitting in Severus's office, discussing the game. Well, not really the game, the occurrences of the game. "You saved Harry Potter's life; you do know that, right?" Thorn muttered as she stroked Sparkie's head.
Severus nodded. "Yes. As much as I may despise the child, I will not let Quirrell kill him, not if it means bringing Voldemort back to power."
Thorn nodded. "Of course. What caused the curse to stop?"
Severus shook his head. "I'm not sure. All I know is that somehow my robes caught flame. After that little panic I looked up to the sky to see Potter making a strait path to the ground."
His niece nodded. "I see. At least you kept Potter alive."
Severus sighed and nodded. "I'm not quite sure if I'll always be proud of that accomplishment."
