Chapter Thirty – The Flight of the Metamorphagus
Ron, Harry and Hermione managed to make their way back to Gryffindor Tower without any problems. The corridors were deathly quiet. Not even Peeves was around performing his usual nocturnal activities and at the portrait of the Fat Lady they were chastised by her for going out after hours.
"I should have known it was you three again. Always out making some sort of mischief, aren't you?" she scolded.
"If you say so," Harry replied before giving the password.
"Nimblenooks," he told her and she frowned at him as she reluctantly swung out of the way so the three students could enter the common room. Once inside they made their way to the stairs that led to their respective dormitories, but when Hermione was out of sight, Harry stopped Ron and motioned for him to follow him back down to the common room. They took seats in front of the low burning fire and Harry looked around before speaking.
"There is more, but I wanted to tell you Ron."
"Tell me what, and why not tell Hermione?" Ron answered.
"Because, you know how she is, always wants me to go to Dumbledore whenever anything happens, but what I have to tell you is from Dumbledore, and she would just go batty if she heard it."
"What? What is it now?" Ron checked his watch as he talked. The night was almost gone and the sun would be up in less than four hours and none of them had gotten any sleep yet that night.
"Dumbledore thinks Voldemort may have tried to use a student, possibly more than one to try to get any information he can from here in the school."
Ron sat back abruptly and felt his blood run cold as Harry told him this.
"But, why does he think that?"
"Because, it is just about the only thing that he hasn't tried. He keeps trying to lure me out of school so he can try to attack me, so why not try to get any information that might help him if he decides to come here?"
"Voldemort would never come back here. It would be too dangerous for him, and besides, he is too scared of Dumbledore to try to take over Hogwarts."
"Yeah, but if Voldemort found out about the prophecy, he wouldn't fear Dumbledore anymore, would he?"
Ron could only nod his head in agreement at Harry's statement. It made perfect sense to him now. Voldemort could only die at the hands of Harry Potter, and Harry could only die at the hands of Voldemort. Their final battle would be a battle for the survival of not only the wizarding world, but the entire Muggle world as well. If Voldemort won and killed Harry, he would become all powerful, and unstoppable.
"You know Ron, sometimes I wonder how a kid at Hogwarts could turn out how Voldemort did. What would have made Tom Riddle turn into the monster he is now?"
"Who?" Ron asked absentmindedly.
"Tom Riddle, remember? Voldemort's real name? Come on Ron; don't tell me you forgot that."
Ron composed himself before answering. "No, I remember that. I was just thinking of something else for a second."
"Oh, well it doesn't really matter I guess. Why Riddle became Voldemort is really a moot point I guess. But the idea that a half-blood wizard is leading a group of insane pure-bloods in an attempt to take over the wizarding world is almost too crazy to believe. I just wish I knew what he was up to right now."
"Well, we aren't going to figure it out sitting here at," he checked his watch again, "twelve fifteen in the morning. Besides, McGonagall wants us in class early tomorrow to go over what is on the exam."
"Yeah, we should get to sleep I guess," Harry said as he stood and headed to the dormitory.
He stopped at the foot of the stairs and turned back to Ron, who was still sitting on the couch.
"You coming Ron?"
"I'll be there in a minute or two. I just want to sit here for a while and think. That stuff with my dad kind of shook me up, to tell the truth."
"Okay, well I'll see you in the morning then Ron. G'night."
"Yeah, good night Harry."
Ron sat for thirty minutes, but did not move. He sat and let his mind run with the information Harry had told he and Hermione that night. Harry Potter was the only person that could stop Voldemort. That had made him almost cringe in fright, to think that a sixteen year boy had that much weight on his shoulders. He had no idea how he would have reacted and his mind was still going a thousand miles an hour when a noise behind him caught his attention.
Ron turned in his seat and saw Darren standing behind him.
"Have a seat Ron," he said to Darren.
The boy that looked like Darren sat down as he was asked, and Ron stood up and pointed his wand at Darren.
"Novo Corpus," Ron said as he aimed his wand directly at Darren. A weak light shone around Darren and when it dissipated Ron Weasley was sitting in the chair, staring at an exact copy of himself. The standing Ron went over to the mirror on a far wall and stood in front of it. He let his body relax and watched as his face contorted and writhed and then Darren saw his own face looking back at him in the mirror and when he was satisfied with what he saw, he turned back to Ron.
"I want you to listen very carefully to me now Ron. What I have to tell you is very important, and you have to remember it, because Harry might talk about it with you again."
For the next ten minutes, as Ron sat silently on the chair, Darren told him everything that he had learned that night, including what his father had done. He quizzed Ron a bit to make sure he had it all in his memory before he started up the stairs to the dormitory. When he was he was almost at the first landing, he turned and pointed his wand at Ron one more time. With a soft whisper, he lifted the Imperius Curse from Ron and hurried up to his bed which did not give him the rest he needed so badly. Instead he tossed and turned and could not get the consequences of what he had learned out of his head, and what would happen if he did indeed tell Voldemort what he had learned.
For hours Darren tossed and turned in his bed, unable to fall asleep or to even keep his eyes shut for a few minutes. Tears were running down his cheeks as he quietly lay there and contemplated what he had both learned and done. He had ensured the destruction of the world as he knew it. He could not help but think about what would have happened if he had refused Voldemort three years ago. Yes he and his family would be dead, but that was certainly going to happen anyway. At least Voldemort would not get the information he wanted, and he would have no clue about how fragile both he and Harry were, nor how their futures were tied together. He rolled over and looked at the windup clock on his bedside table and saw in the dim light that it was almost five A.M. It would be daylight in less than three hours and he knew he could not stay and face Harry, Ron, Hermione, and especially Neville and Cho in the morning. His mind was already running in mad circles as it was and he knew he could not handle trying to act normally around them, much less being treated by them as a friend which he wasn't sure he was anyway.
He threw the covers off of himself in disgust and sat up on the edge of the bed, his head in his hands as his body was racked by quiet sobs of anger.
'Why? Why me?' he thought. 'Why my family? What did we do to deserve this?' he asked himself as fresh hot tears of sorrow began to run down his cheek now. He could envision them lying dead, their fate unknown or uncared about by the rest of the world after Voldemort took over and made the world into what he wanted it to be. He could not think of anything that could help him. There was no one to turn to. He had no allies, no friends to rely on, nowhere to go and no way to help anyone. If he ran, Voldemort would only hunt him down and find him and then it would be a matter of time before he got what he wanted.
Darren stood up and walked quietly out of the room to the lavatory. He leaned on the basin and looked into the mirror. The sight he saw in the reflection was of someone he had never seen before. It was of someone that was afraid. Not for himself or his family, but for others. Others he had never met, and who would never meet him in return. His face was contorted in rage and he let out a howl and slammed his hand into the mirror. A loud crack shot out into the quiet night and he stood still to try to hear any movement from the dormitory. For a minute he waited to see if anyone came to investigate the noise, but no one did. His anger had not awoken any of his fellow students and he let out a small sigh of relief. At least that had gone his way. He turned and looked around at the inside of the lavatory.
'Maybe I could just stay here, never leave this room. That way Voldemort couldn't get at me, not inside Hogwarts itself and mom and Ellie will be safe as long as I have what he wants. He can't kill them if he still needs me.'
Darren smiled at his thoughts with a hint of insanity and then he shook his head clear of the ridiculous thoughts. He knew he could no more hide in a school lavatory than Harry could avoid Voldemort in the future. Darren opened a stall door and slumped down on a toilet. His head leaned over on the stall wall and he asked himself 'What do I do?'
'You know what to do Darren,' a familiar voice told him.
Darren sat up with a start and looked around. There was no one in the stall with him and he saw no feet under the walls.
"Who's there?" he called out quietly.
'It is me Darren. I am in your mind, and your heart.'
Darren recognized the voice then. It was something his father had told him years ago when he had explained how a wizard was never alone, as long as he truly loved those that were gone.
"Dad?" Darren asked out loud.
'Yes Darren, I am here for you, at least as long as you need me.'
Darren shook his head, not believing he was hearing the voice in his head.
"I've gone mad," he said out loud. "I've gone completely mental."
'No, you haven't son. Do you remember what I told you when your sister was born?'
"What," Darren answered as his voice cracked.
'You were afraid that your mother and I would stop loving you when Ellie was born, and I told you that as long as a wizard was alive, those that he loves and that love him will never abandon him. Not as long as the bond of love is never broken by either of them.'
"What do I do father?"
'Do you want you sister and mother back Darren? Do you love them enough to risk everything for them?'
"Yes."
'Then if you want them back, you use everything you have learned in both the Muggle and wizarding world about defending yourself and you take them back.'
Darren sat quietly for a few more minutes as he let what he had heard sink in. He could not help but think that he was going crazy. He remembered his father telling him that years ago, but there was no way his father was here, not now, was there?
"No, he's dead, and there is no way he was here," Darren told himself as he stood up. "Get it together Darren," he said as he stood up and tried to compose himself.
He exited the stall and turned the water on. The cold water felt good on his flushed skin face and when he looked up he heard the words again.
'Then if you want them back, you use everything you have learned in both the Muggle and wizarding world about defending yourself and you take them back.'
He could see his face harden a bit with resolve as he shut off the water and left the lavatory. In the dormitory the other five boys were still asleep as he quietly yet quickly packed a few things he would need and turned to leave. The sun was coming up as he stood in the doorway looking at Harry and then Neville. His heart felt heavy as he thought about how he had betrayed them both and used them, but he felt worse when he looked at his best friend over these last few months. Neville had never really had a true friend, and now the one he finally had was only using him to get something for the wizard whose followers had ruined his family, and probably ruined his life. The last thing Darren did before he walked down the steps was to raise his wand and aim it at Neville who was snoring quietly in his bed. With a quiet incantation he lifted his second Imperius Curse of that night and said softly "Goodbye."
Once outside he made his way to the owlery. Inside he called Janus from his perch and let him take his place on his shoulder as he headed to the far side of the castle grounds. He sat down under a large oak tree and took out several scrolls of parchment and ink and quill. The first letter began Dear Harry, the next Dear Neville, and finally he wrote to her.
My dearest Cho,
I am sorry I have to send this to you, but it is too dangerous for me to tell you in person. I cannot stay at Hogwarts anymore and I have left. Maybe some day you will know why, but for now trust me when I tell you that I broke up with and hurt you for your own safety. I want you to know that when I told you I love you that I meant it with every fiber of my being. I have loved you from the first moment I saw you in my first year at school and when you told me that you loved me it filled my heart with more joy and happiness that I thought I might burst. I wish things could be different for us, but I am afraid they cannot be. Not now. Maybe someday in the future, after it is all over we can meet again, but for now I fear it may never happen. Please don't try to find me, please. Others have told me how badly I hurt you but now I am asking you to just let it go. I beg you to, just let it go and let me go. I want you to shut me out of your thoughts and go on with your life after school. It is the best thing for both of us.
Goodbye Cho, I will always love you and miss you, Darren
Darren read the letter to make sure he had said all he wanted to say and decided to leave it as it was. There were small wet spots from his tears that had fallen as he had written it and he wondered if she would see them. A part of him hoped she would so she would know it was genuine, but part of him hoped they would dry before she read it.
With a sigh he folded the letter and put it in an envelope that he sealed and put in Janus' talons.
"Wait twelve hours Janus; then deliver these to Harry Potter, Neville Lomgbottom, and Cho Chang. Do you understand me? Twelve hours, no less than that."
Janus let out a quiet hoot that Darren took to be an affirmation and then he got to his feet.
"After you deliver them, you belong to Neville, understand me? It is in his letter. You belong to him because I won't be in need of an owl anymore after the next few days."
Janus hooted loudly and cocked his head at Darren but Darren told him to be quiet.
"Don't look at me like that Janus. It's going to be okay. Neville always liked you and he will take good care of you. Just don't eat Trevor, okay? Stay in the owlery until it is time to deliver the letters."
Janus hooted again and Darren shoved his arm out to send Janus into the air. He stood and watched as his owl flew into the owlery and then he turned to Brogan who had been standing over him while he wrote the letters.
"I need your help Brogan. I need you take me to Ireland."
The great Griffin nuzzled at Darren's shoulder and snorted softly at him. Darren opened the pen and asked Brogan to kneel down so he could climb onto his back. Brogan knelt down and Darren pulled himself onto the great animal's back. He could feel the muscles in Brogan's back and shoulders as he sat on him and when the Griffin stood up he realized just how large Brogan was. Darren took hold of the feathers that were on his neck and then Brogan reared back on his hind legs and threw himself into the air. With a great beat of his wings Darren felt them be lifted in to the air and Brogan began to rise farther and farther up into the air as the distance from Hogwarts grew beneath them. Darren looked down and saw the castle grounds disappearing in the distance and he felt his heart grow heavy for just a second before he turned back and looked into the still dim western sky.
"No time to think about them now," he told himself as the wind blew through his hair.
Instead he looked into the dimly lit sky that was just beginning to see the new day and in the distance he thought he could see the coastline of Ireland and after that would come Mortice Manor.