Disclaimer; see in Part One.
Hidden Bridges
Ryoko Porter
Part Fifteen
'I care not whether a man is Good or Evil; all that I care is whether he is a Wise Man or a Fool. Go, put off Holiness and put on Intellect…'
William Blake
In the dark of the forest, a man plotted the demise of another. His prey was a wicked and ruthless man. A leader of a great many wizards and witches, who were known for their cruelty. He himself had witnessed the man he was stalking; spell away a person's organs one by one. The evil man's brutality was legendary, and had lasted over a hundred years. However when he'd disappeared, people began to worry even more.
No one had any idea as to where the great and powerful "Lord of Snakes" had gone. Nor did they know if he would ever return. What was worse was the realization that in many ways society needed him, for it to continue as they had for the last fifty years. With the Muggle and Wizarding communities open to one another, there was need for an awesome power to force peace between the two. For all of his cruelty, people began to realize that they needed Julian Grey to stop hateful murders on each side.
It was when an old man, kept alive by his work with magical plants; spoke of the appearance of Julian in his past, that anyone had an idea as to where he'd gone. And so people tried to find a way to travel through time.
There were a few who were brave enough to search the records of Julian himself, a potentially cursed job. What they found were thousands of notes on spells that were not known to the public, or anyone at all. Spells that destroyed and created, which healed and broke. Some spells that controlled animals and magical creatures, others that controlled other humans. There were spells that could prove the existence of a god, and others that could make you a god. All of it the work of a woman that some weren't even sure had existed, the great explorer of spells Luna Grey, Julian's long diseased wife. It took nearly three years to sort through all of it, even with the help of magic. When they finally found the ten pages that described the way to travel through time, they found that they needed to be decoded. After another year spent decoding the spell, Julian had been gone for well over five years, and the world seemed to be slipping into Armageddon. But they were finally ready.
Ten of the greatest wizards and witches were gathered and supplied for the trip they would take across the Hidden Bridges. When the Hiding Gate was opened to show the various bridges, people were amazed. There were those who went insane with the overwhelming site. Each unnamed point in time was connected to every other unnamed point in time. The reality of infinity was never more apparent, as was the hopelessness of the situation. But with determination, six of the ten started down bridges leading to god knows where.
And so for the last seven years, Christopher Weasley had been traveling from point to point, searching for Julian. His red hair was torn and dirty, and his body sore from the various "bad times" he'd dropped into. But his mind was in far worse shape. From the lack of continued contact with others and seeing things that he shouldn't, he'd gone mad. And in his madness, he'd changed his mission to murder instead of capture.
♦♦♦
Getting inside the Hogwarts castle was a little harder than expected, but nothing Chris couldn't handle. But he had to admit that the mazes of the castle's halls were driving him up the wall. In his time, Hogwarts had fallen to ruins a few generations back. So there were few that knew how to get around the place. After being stuck on the moving stairway for an hour, he was quite ready to just jump back down the first floor and risk the broken leg. And being seen, which he was supposed to avoid.
Finally he found his way over to the place where he could feel the Lord of Snake's power originating from. Stopping just outside the closed door that let to his prey, Chris took a moment to gather his wits. He was about to face the greatest wizard to ever live. He remembered the stories his mother told him as a child, of how powerful Julian Grey was. Stories that told of both his valor, and of his violence. How he'd taken on an uprising of a hundred angry and mate-less veela, and slaughtered them all. Or of the time he'd created a new palace from nothing for him to live in. And Chris couldn't help but remember the spells that they'd found in his wife's notes, on how to make oneself a god. Could he have used them? Nevertheless now was too late to turn back, he had to face Julian Grey no matter what. He had to face the "Lord of Snakes"!
Suddenly barging his way into the room, Chris brandished his wand ready to attack. The room was full of students, all panicked to see him holding his wand against their teacher. Signaling them that they should leave most took the hint and did. All but four of them.
'Julian Grey,' he barked. 'I am Christopher Weasley, and I have come from a hundred and seventy-nine years in the future! I have spent the last seven years of my life trying to catch up to you!'
'And what do you plan to do now that you have, Christopher Weasley?' Julian asked calmly.
'KILL YOU!' Chris cried. 'I intend to prove that we of the future have no need for the "Lord of Snakes"!' Chris said defiantly. And just as he was about to throw the "killing curse", he felt the tip of a wand at the back of his neck.
'Over my dead body!'
End Part 15.
Cliffhanger! Hehe!
Ryoko Porter