Title: Prince of Light
Author: Mysterious Phantom Shyraz
Disclaimer: HP not mine. 'nuff said.
Fifteenth Night-Bread and butter, morning letters
"I can't take it anymore!" Ron threw up his hands in defeat. The Gryffindor gang (a.k.a. Hermoine, Ron, Ginny, Harry and the new members Akira and Zephyr) sat around the large table in the downstairs common room. Normally, Ginny would not be there, but under the invitations of other sixth years, she was allowed in. The place is quite deserted due to various reasons. One because most liked to work down at the lower common room and two because the exams nor coursework are not due yet.
"What are you doing now?" Hermoine asked from beside him as she reached for another large tome placed in the middle of the table.
"Divination." Ron rested his head on the table, "my head's gonna burst soon. I can't think of other ways to hurt myself…"
"Do something else." Harry suggested from the other end of the table. The table was large, with few seats in between. He had given up all attempts to do work and is thinking of reading the letter Sena and Zephyr delivered. Extracting himself from the studying group, he headed over to the large fireplace in between the shelves. Ripping the wax seal apart revealed only a single piece of paper inside the envelope.
It seems that there are trouble brewing in both realms though it's nothing to worry about yet. Lily is asking you to take better care of yourself and not throw yourself in the line of fire next time. We've had a meeting at the High Merlin's Council, they suspected we don't have much time left. You take care now.
The letter was left unsigned but it was clear who had written it.
"I'm heading off to bed now." Harry told the rest of the group as he stacked his work up into a pile. The tomes were left on the table; after all it was charmed to return back to its original place at night. Zephyr followed after him, returning to his room as well. Akira, deciding to stay for a while, waved in reply and ducked his head back down to focus on the Transfiguration essay.
" 'nite Harry." Hermoine commented, this time looking up from her work. Ron had already fallen asleep in his position. Ginny placed grabbed the throw on the nearby armchair.
"Goodnight Harry," Ginny yawned, "I guess I should head back." She waved a goodbye to Hermoine and headed on down back towards her dormitory.
"Wait, what am I suppose to do with him?" Hermoine yelled out and pointed at the sleeping Ron.
"Leave him there, he'll be fine. It's not cold in here anyways." Zephyr replied before entering one of the large doors. 'Where'd Harry go? And I wanted to know what Sena wanted him to see…'
DREAM SEQUENCE
In the pitch-black void, hands rose out from the supposed ground, grabbing onto the nearest thing they can find. The coldness of the grasps could be felt even through the air. Looking downwards, it could be seen that the ground was not solid but instead was made up of human corpses. Even though there should be fear, there was a sense of familiarity, as though he has been here before.
A sudden scream echoed in the area. The piercing sound vibrated through the air and caused the hands trembled and shake. Rocks rose from where there wasn't any before. The bodies and jagged rocks formed the ground whilst the sky itself was black. The whole place was devoid of life and not a single creature could be seen. Right in the middle, not so far away, was a silvery lake. It shone brightly and sliced through the darkness.
The silvery liquid looked tempting, as though wanting someone to dive into it. Reaching out into the water with, the liquid trembled. Then, as sudden as the tremble, the liquid turned blood red instantly. Image after image flashed through its surface. Scenes of destruction, of chaos came one after another. The people's gasps for air as they run through the crumpled buildings, the scream of the injured and the cry of children can be heard as an accompaniment to the images.
"So this is the answer."
END DREAM SEQUENCE
"That was…interesting…" Harry said out loud as he woke. After coming back into the wizarding world, his nights were mostly filled with nightmares. Although once or twice, like last night, incomprehensible dreams will plague his nights. Its as though his mind was trying to tell him something, something that he should remember.
The days passed quickly and soon, Quidditch tryout was approaching. The lifetime Quidditch ban has been revoked earlier in the school year as well as the many Education Decrees approved by the late Minister of Magic. However, with the arrival of the recent letter, it made Harry understand that he may not have as many privileges as he had before…
"Professor McGonnagall." Harry addressed one day after transfiguration, "I was wondering if I could quit my Quidditch position?"
"And what might your reasons be?" she questioned after she recovered from the initial shock. Never had she, in her whole career, had heard someone not wanting to play the most favoured game in the Wizarding world. Then again, Harry Potter is no ordinary wizard.
"I don't think there will be enough time for me in the future to pursue the sport with the piling of course work and all…" Harry did not like lying but he does not mind half-truths.
"Very well, I understand that Quidditch does take up a lot of time. I'll inform the current captain."
Harry felt guilty for having to dump a load of responsibility on the team. He knew how sometimes the team depended on him to catch the snitch but this time they are on their own as he has other things on his plate. But he could not feel a bit relieved for being off the broom and on the stadium, watching the game and enjoying it for once.
HALLOWEEN
The day of Halloween collided with the Hogsmead weekend trip. However grateful Harry was for the trip, he was given a large dose of disappointment. They were all planning to spend the full day then go to the Halloween ball, which was held specifically for the year in place of the Yule ball. As some has never seen a wizarding village before, they thought it was best to go as a whole group.
The day started off pretty well enough, with its usual morning shower rows and exclamation of water dripping everywhere or toothpaste goes missing. Then the whole group (Gryffindor Trio plus one and the newbies) went down to breakfast in the Great Hall. The owl posts came as usual, right on time, and there were nothing special about the lack of owls. But the thing that stood out the most were three birds that did not normally carry letters in public, or in one case does not carry a letter that frequently. Harry's snowy owl Hedwig, a green-blue sparrow-like-bird and Fawkes, Dumbledore's phoenix, each carrying a letter in its beak for their masters. Those around Dumbledore knew that it was mostly Order business and did not look up from their plates or their conversation. The rest of the staff knows better than to pride into someone's personal matter and it's not like they haven't seen the current DADA professor with a letter from time to time. Though, in Harry's case, things were a bit more hectic. Ron and Hermoine was having a heated argument at the moment, Akira was trying to calm his twin sister down as she was sitting in the Gryffindor table but no one minded a single bit. Ginny is currently whispering in Zephyr's ears that cause him to sputter, laugh and choke at the same time. So no one in particular noticed Harry ripping open a letter.
HELP! In the name of Light, help us!
Harry quickly flipped the envelope to look at the seal, trying to identify where it came from. Dumbledore and Sena did the same thing. A colourful string of choiceful vocabularies decided to make itself known in the Gryffindor table. The twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes dimmed remarkably as he suddenly stood up from his place and headed out. Sena crumpled his letter in his fist, taking a lot of discipline to not shred the letter in front of the whole school, and walked out of the Great Hall. Harry's current companions looked at him in disbelief, as those words are normally absent from Harry's speech patterns.
"Um…" Harry turned back to see that he now has an immediate audience.
"Harry? You alright?" Hermoine, sitting next to him asked on behalf of all those present as she could probably guess what was on their minds.
"Yeah…yeah, I'm fine. Um…I think I'll just skip going to Hogsmead today. I'm not exactly in the mood to…so you guys have fun!" Harry was about to go when Hermoine held on to the sleeve of his robes.
"You sure you can handle it by yourself?"
FLASHBACK
"You sure you can handle it by yourself?" A young woman asked as the group of four sat by each other on the grassy plains.
"Yea, it's nothing serious. They'd probably want to know what she saw." The male jerked his head towards a redhead.
"But why call you mate? Won't it be better to just…" Another male voice spoke up.
"I'd be glad to go in place of you. I know how much you hate dealing with those people." The redhead looked at the first male speaker straight in the eyes.
"There's more to that isn't there." The previous male sate up, directing all his attention.
"You're not telling us again." It was the same woman who spoke to him first.
"It's better for you guys not to know yet."
The scene changed, it was a white hall surrounded by marble pillars and decorative tapestries on the walls.
"You've finally deemed us worthy of your presence then?" Dark robed figures loomed over, casting large shadows on the pale flooring.
"What is it you want Honourable Councillors?"
"Is that mockery I detect?"
"Please do not forget who help you all to gain such responsibilities."
The group laughed, their voices echoing in the cavernous hall.
"Do not kid us, Light's Guardian, we have the power now to remove all of you…"
"Fine, what do you want?"
The scene has once again changed.
The grassy knoll was soon filled with bloodshed.
In order to protect, one must stain their hands…
Children cried from their huddled form.
In order to save, one must pave a new path…
The wooden bearers of buildings collapse from the lack of support.
In order to survive, one must preserve…
A lone shadow stood in the middle of the ruin.
"So this is the answer…"
END FLASH BACK
"Harry?" The group looked worry, seeing Harry standing so still for the past couple of seconds as they awaited answer.
"Sorry, what were you saying again Hermoine?"
"I said are you sure you're ok."
"I'll be fine, just a little headache. Nothing serious. You guys go have fun." Harry quickly left the table to avoid any more strange questions from the group. However the remaining group were not quite persuaded by his answer, but choose to corner him at some other time. They returned to their meal as they quickly discussed where to go in Hogsmead.
In Hogsmead, things grew more chaotic. Zephyr wanted to visit every store in the little village, thus the group walked on foot, non-stop for the next two hours. Then Akari wanted to try and see if she could bribe the bar tender at Three Broomstick for something stronger than Butterbeer, which lead to a heated conversation between the two. Only when Akira appeared in the scene, due to the lack of drinks at their table, was the conversation brought to a halt. It was lucky for the boys that the girls had already bought their dresses for the Halloween ball else they might have to spend another couple of hours wondering on foot looking for the so-called 'perfect dress'. Though in tradition, Hogwarts only hold balls in Christmas and only on special occasions, Dumbledore saw fit that the student population requires a bit of boosting up. He has also adopted a slightly muggle approach in the whole affair.
"Wonder why the Headmaster the Professor Sena left in such…rapid-ness…" Ginny voiced the opinions of the whole group. It still made Zephyr snicker every time someone mentions Sena and the word professor in the same sentence. After all, he had never thought of his friend as a teaching sort of guy.
"Could it be You-Know-Who?" Ron spoke in an unsteady tone.
"Who? Zephyr asked, he was unfamiliar with the term.
"You know, Him…" This made Zephyr think. Could the 'Him' these people referring be the 'Him' that he's learnt back in the tower? But that 'Him' does good, and by the sound of it, this 'Him' is nothing good. Zephyr blinked in confusion. 'These wizards need to define their terms better…'
"Voldemort." Hermoine injected. The rest of the group shuddered at the name. "What? It's only a name. And as Harry had said, the fear of a name increases fear itself."
"But even if it were to do with…" Ginny braced herself to say the name, "Voldemort," another shudder, "why would Harry leave?"
"The letter…"Akari spoke in a voice of reason, "it has to be something to do with the letter. All three of them received it…"
"There was a strange seal on it as well…" Akira added. The twins have a tendency to finish each other's sentence.
"What sort?" Zephyr urged, he had a slight inkling but does not wish his suspicions to come true.
"Can't remember. Greenish-blue colour…"Akira was thoughtful.
"Having eight-branched leafless tree…" Ron suddenly said from the brim of his glass.
"With silver outline…" Ginny somehow manage to voice out.
"And an inscription at the bottom?" Hermoine asked Akira, who at that time was sitting right next to Harry during breakfast.
"How did you guys know?" Akira asked in curiosity. According to his memory, Hermoine, though on the other side of Harry, was in a heated argument with Ron and Ginny was busily whispering something in Zephyr's ears. They couldn't have possibly noticed. He only noticed it himself because he took a glance at it before trying to calm down his sister. The group paused for a minute, thinking hard.
"We may have seen it somewhere…" Hermoine answered for them. Truth to be told, they had no recollection of seeing something like what they have just described.
"Well, better head back. You girls need all the time in the world to do your makeup and stuff." Ron changed the topic quickly. The rest of the people agreed and headed over to the 'horseless' carriages taking them back to Hogwarts.
The professors of Hogwarts had once again outdone themselves. Not only did they decorate the Great Hall but also the Entrance Hall. Though all they could see was McGonnagall running around trying to have everything organize. The group heard the said professor muttering something about "More people" and "Foreign magicians" but decided to ignore it. Akari quickly parted as they entered Hogwarts to head over to the dungeons. The Gryffindor group headed back to their tower, promising to meet by the entrance.
"Wonder if Harry's back yet…" Ginny spoke out loud as she entered the Gryffindor tower. Nearly everyone inside was bustling; there weren't this much commotion during the Triwizard Cup Yule Ball. But then again, this time, the whole school was involved. Though those below third years were told they cannot stay after ten and forth and fifth years are to leave before midnight. This meant that sixth and seventh years have full reign until six the next morning.
"Hey, you guys seen Harry?" Ron directed the question at Neville when they entered the higher common room. Even in here, the older years are bustling with energy.
"Nope," He replied, still trying to tie the tie on his neck, "haven't seen him breakfast."
"Maybe he's in his room. Why don't you go and check Ron?" The group's voice of logic and reason (Hermoine) told him. They then parted ways and headed towards their rooms. Once in front of Harry's, Zephyr was the one who knocked on the door whilst Ron looked a bit uneasy and Akira a bit tired.
"Harry? You in there?" Zephyr was the one who asked the question this time. But there was no reply.
"I have a bad feeling about this…" Ron spoke up as they prepared to open the door after a few times. When they did open it, they were confronted with an empty room. Harry was nowhere to be seen and there were no traces of him being here, at all, for the whole afternoon.
"Something is definitely off." Akira yawned again; arguing with his sister taxed him out a bit.
"Maybe he's in the library?" 'After all, during his stay at Ragnarak, he did spend most of his time pouring over tomes and manuscripts.'
"No, I've known Harry for too long to know that he is definitely not a books sort of guy. He'll probably show up soon. If not, I'll personally search him out and corner him…" Though Ron was not exactly angry, he was worried. He could tell that his sister and Hermoine were worried over him as well. 'He's never just left before, not in the past and certainly not in Hogwarts…' Closing back Harry's door gently, as though trying not to disturb the room, they three headed back out. They decided a quick game would be best as there were still some time before the Halloween ball and guys do not take three hours to get ready, with the exception of Neville of course.
Their game of chess was quickly interrupted as the clock chimed six time, signalling it is currently six o'clock. The boys readied themselves quickly to pick up the girls at the lower common room and Akari by the entrance. However, when by the entrance, Ginny, Hermoine and Ron was extremely worried over what had happened to their friend that caused him to go missing for the whole day. On the other hand, Zephyr could fathom a guess as to where the said boy went. It was quite obvious as they Great Sage, Sena and Harry had all left at the same time with grim faces. 'Hope it isn't really bad. Else I would hate to deal with a moody Sena on Monday for DADA…'
A/N: WAHO finally, I've managed to finish this chapter. It's growing harder to try and put stuff down on paper/computer…things are (hopefully) running fine with the stories. Though grammar mistakes are nearly always present. I need a better spell checker…
In the middle of the night
Spooky music in the background, Phantom lying asleep in bed>>
Harry: >>whispers>> We have come back to haunt you…
Phantom: >>wakes up suddenly>> Wha? Who? realizes it is the whole cast looming over the bedside KYAA!
Cast: >>screams>> AHHHHHHHHH!
Harry: Ow, my ear…jeez…do you guys have to scream?
Phantom: WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE!
Harry: On behalf of the cast, I would like to say… >>cough cough>> YOU ARE SLOW!
Phantom?!
Harry: You haven't updated in the while, you know that?
Phantom: Stuff happens. 'side, this is a good chappie isn't it?
Harry: No it's not. You better get back on track else you know what's coming. >>fingers wand slightly>>
Phantom: As if that little stick can hurt me.
Cast: Not just one >>whips out wands>>
Phantom: >>laughs weakly>> hehe…..well….um…..yea…..sure…..
Hermoine: And where is the promised action?
Ron: >>looks at Hermoine>> Thought you didn't like that much action.
Hermoine: I don't, but that's what it says in the category…
Phantom: Next chapter. I promise.