Disclaimer; see in Part One.
Hidden Bridges
Ryoko Porter
Part Eighteen
'And the serpent said unto the woman, "Ye shall not surely die: for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil."'
Genesis
The already crowded DADA classroom was suddenly bombarded by the arrival of three of the school's teachers and its headmaster. They made a horrible mess of themselves, all squeezing themselves through the door nearly at once. It was like watching some pathetic "Three Stooges" scene, plus one more person.
'Why Snape, you act as if you actually care,' Draco said dryly, standing over his godfather who'd fallen over the end of Julian's tail. But he still offered his hand to the Potions Master, helping him stand to his feet.
Harry had never seen Dumbledore so stunned before, with his usual playful self, gone completely. But Harry thought to himself, he wasn't usually conscious when Dumbledore had something to worry about. The old wizard's eyes were wide, as was his mouth. Behind him, McGonagall and Hagrid had very much the same expression. Only Snape was able to control himself enough to just raise an eyebrow.
Julian studied the newcomers with his four piercing eyes, like he'd never seen them before. One of the heads even bent down to taste Snape's scent, and then to push Draco back over to Harry. Then lifting back up, Julian reared up so that he could stretch his wings to show all of his glory. Both heads opened their mouths to show off their long teeth, and drip acidic poison down to the floor. And a horrible hissing roar echoed through out the halls outside the classroom.
The show of power was certainly impressive, with its unexpectedness adding to the supremacy. But just as fast as it had started, it ended with a continuation of the loud cracking noises. Lying his two heads down and folding his wings, Julian let his body rest.
'I gotta get me one of those!' Hagrid finally broke the silence with his jovial comment. The other teachers looked aghast at the idea, but Dumbledore and the students couldn't help but laugh. And even Julian's two heads looked amused by the giant man. 'Must've eaten something great at that, to be making all those cracking noises in its stomach,' Hagrid observed. Harry and the others just didn't say anything.
'It looks to me that it left some it,' Snape said as he looked down at the two rather large bits of tentacles that had once held Luna Grey captive.
'What do you plan to do about this Albus?' McGonagall demanded suddenly. No one knew if she or even Dumbledore fully realized who the great chimera was, but it didn't really matter. Neither the party of teachers or Julian had done any harm to one another.
'Well I suppose classes for today should be canceled so that this room can be cleaned up,' Dumbledore answered lightly.
McGonagall looked a bit put out by the easy answer, but went to make the necessary arrangements. Snape took another moment to eye Julian, and then followed the older woman out of the room. Leaving only Dumbledore and Hagrid, the later edging closer to the great beast as best he could without being noticed.
'Well Julian, I hope you can continue classes tomorrow. We are in a war if you remember, and your class is vital for our students,' Dumbledore said very matter of fact. He obviously wanted to show his dominance, though it only made him look foolish since he had none over the other powerful wizard. Not even here in his own realm, did Dumbledore have any power. And especially not over his prize warrior anymore, Julian would be sure of that.
The beast and the wizard took another moment to stand off of each other. Though even with Julian lying flat on the ground, he still seemed to tower over the other. Finally Dumbledore turned to leave, trying to hold onto whatever political power he had left in the room. The air thick with his frustrated magical aura, still after he was gone.
Harry worried immensely, at the situation that seemed to be lying out for him. He was being given a choice of two paths. Dumbledore's golden path, which seemed to be more of a game that was full of secrets and riddles. And Julian's dark path, which was real with its forthright brutality… and Draco. He had to choose, and soon. Though as he held Draco close to him, it seemed even to him that he already had.
Blessedly the tense air of the room was suddenly chased away by the growing rumble coming from Julian. Looking over, Harry couldn't help but smile at the site of Hagrid running his large hands down the huge snake's back. Earning a kind of purr from Julian despite the annoyed look on both his faces.
End Part 18.
Sorry it was so short, but I wanted it to be just a sort of bridge chapter. It's just there to give you guys a break, and explain a few knick-knacks. The next chapter will be more meaningful, including Harry getting ready to face Voldemort. But I'm not happy with the lack of good reviews lately… I do write fan-fiction for the reviews (I know it's not a popular idea, but ff is just a practice run for me… before I write my real stuff) and I demand at least 10 good reviews before I post the next chapter. That means you, ff-dot-netpeople! And aff-dot-netpeople atoo!
Ryoko Porter