Title: Harry Potter and the Orb of Souls
Author: SerafinaMoon
Date: May 29-June 2, 2005
Summary: Voldemort has discovered a new weapon—the Orb of Souls. With it, he has discovered a way to purge the world—with their only savior.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, any of its characters, or themes. I will not profit from this story except receiving enjoyment of your questions, comments, and input on this work.
Claimer: I do, however, own this story and its plot and any Original Characters that I may use during the duration of the story making process.
A/N- Despite changing everything around so that I had no idea what to write this chap...I think it turned out well. Enjoy!
Chapter 12: Aftermath
When Naito came to a standstill in the Headmaster's office, the main thing worrying him was what the other Death Eaters would think when he did not make it back to the meeting with their lord. Surely he would be punished for this.
But Dumbledore said he'd take care of you. He'll make sure you have a good reason for not going to the meeting.
But that brings up something else...what all did he see when he was rummaging around in your mind? How much does he really know about everything?
It was right then that Naito decided he would not tell Dumbledore anything that he did not directly ask about and even then only marginally describe what kinds of abilities he had for sneaking around and finding out information.
Dumbledore already suspected him of being a ferret Animagus, but had no idea about his multiple forms, Naito decided he liked it that way. In case Dumbledore ever turned on him or was in a desperate position to reveal his secrets, he would not be able to. That way, it protected them both. After all, who could tell what they did not know?
Naito had seen many men fall from grace after being tortured by the Dark Lord and he did not intend to let that be used against him in any way. After all of the men he had seen come before Voldemort to be tortured, not one of them had been able to resist him and had all given in, spilling all the carefully kept secrets they had hidden away.
Dumbledore had no reason to be loyal to him and therefore, would more than likely have no reason not to tell if he was being tortured for information, did he?
The old man also knew that he was an Occlumens, possibly a Legilimens so it would not matter if he knew that.
Naito gasped out loud as he realized something.
What if he wants to do a full Legilimency check on me to make sure I'm telling the truth? How will I hide all of this stuff from him then?
Then it came to him; the time when he and Snape had been going to a Death Eater meeting right after the attack on Hogsmeade and he had shown Naito how to layer his thoughts so that people would see only what they wanted to see and did not even know anything was being kept from them.
It had worked on Voldemort, hopefully it would work on Dumbledore as well.
If it was possible, Naito would also try to keep the fact that he had lost his memory a secret. He did not want anyone that did not already know to be exposing that secret and exploiting it as a weakness against him.
After all, he still had hope that he would get his memory back. Did the Sorting Hat not say something to that effect? What were the flashbacks about then otherwise?
His Metamorphmagus abilities would also have to remain secret as well as all the advanced magic he knew that he had been taught by Voldemort himself and Ganmou. Of course, he could reveal some of the advanced magic that he knew, but not all of it...like those dark rituals...
Naito was so lost in his thoughts that he did not even notice that he had gained the attention of everything in the room. The paintings were all staring at him, rapt with interest, whispering behind their hands as they walked from portrait to portrait discussing the boy with their companions.
A magical bird that had been sitting on its perch preening its feathers when the boy arrived was also paying avid attention to the pensive figure in Death Eater robes.
Naito was startled from his musings, however, when the bird lifted from its perch and settled on his shoulder and began nuzzling his cheek as if he were a long lost friend.
Hesitantly, as if unsure, Naito reached up and began cautiously petting the phoenix, causing it to make a purring-like sound that was more of a soothing song than anything.
That was how Dumbledore found everything when he came into his office after the raid was over. The portraits were all whispering, conspiring together as they stared at the strange boy petting Fawkes.
"Well, I must say this is somewhat of a surprise, my boy. Fawkes is never so taken with one of my guests especially someone of your...background," Dumbledore said, looking at Naito's clothes and the mask in his pocket.
Naito flushed at the comment, but his countenance remained impassive otherwise.
Fawkes gazed over at the old Headmaster, but stayed on his new perch as Dumbledore walked around his desk and sat, waving a vague hand to indicate Naito should do the same.
"Now, you said you wanted to help us by being a spy for our side while posing as a spy for Voldemort's. I am prepared to accept this, but I would like to know what your true motivations are."
"I don't agree with what Voldemort is doing," Dumbledore looked surprised that Naito had so casually said his master's name. Naito knew it was because none of the Death Eaters, not even Snape, had the courage to even utter it.
"What he intends will destroy our world. He says he just wants to rid the world of filth like Muggles and Muggleborns, but I know that he won't stop there. He will continue until there is nothing left in the world. I also know that what he's doing is immoral.
"I've been training with him and his Death Eaters for the past year; in that time I have had to undergo and witness horrible acts and I do not wish for anyone else to suffer the way I have any longer. I have actually been intending to do all I could to help your side win this war for a while; just now I have decided to make it known to you.
"I know what Voldemort will do to me when he no longer has need of me if he wins and I would rather not have to endure it. I want to be able to have a life of my own when this is all over."
Naito noticed Dumbledore smiling faintly, his eyes seeming to stare through Naito to the wall beyond.
"You remind me so much of a wonderful young man I once had the pleasure of knowing. You sound just like him in everything that you said. It would have been nice if you could have met; I think you would make great friends.
"Well, as for your situation we will have to figure out how much you will tell Voldemort as I am sure that he is going to want to know something. You may tell him that you could not go back with the others because you had to be back at school at a certain time.
"You found out that I intended to put up some more wards around the castle, which I have been meaning to do for quite some time actually, and in order to work, I would be locking all of the students in their dormitories for the morning and have their Heads of Houses tell them what was going on. They would make sure that all of the students were in their dormitories and would have to tell me if anyone was missing.
"In order to avoid arousing suspicion, you had to get back before you were found out and locked out of the dorms. Now, I have been meaning to ask you for some time whether you were an Animagus, I just have not found the appropriate opportunity."
"Wait a minute! You do know that I can't just feed him stuff and hope he doesn't do a background check, don't you! He's going to have someone check my story out and he's going to kill me when he finds out I've lied to him!"
"Who says you will be lying? I told you that I have been intending to give the wards a little upgrade; this just gives me an excuse to do it as well as give you an alibi. When you leave here, you will go straight to your common room and be locked in like everyone else. No one need know the real reason I am doing this. Being thought of as eccentric does have its advantages you know."
Naito frowned and lifted one eyebrow, but answered Dumbledore's previous question, "I am an Animagus; I have a ferret form that is all black."
It had not been a lie, it was just not the whole truth, Naito justified to himself as Dumbledore nodded, muttering, "I thought as much."
"Are there any other abilities you possess that I need to know about?"
Need to know about? Not really...I can share some things though...
Naito told the Headmaster all the things he had decided to share with him while he had been waiting for the old wizard to show up. Naito knew he could probably trust the Headmaster with more than he was sharing, but with all the experiences he had had that he remembered, it had always been best for him not to trust anyone completely.
"Well, now that we have that taken care of, I need to know what you have learned about the Order of the Phoenix."
"Well, I know who most of your members are and I've been to several of your secret meetings in the last month-"
"What!"
Naito was surprised by the lack of composure on behalf of the Headmaster who always seemed to be poised and in control of every situation. For him to lose himself so completely that he did not even realize he had stood up and lost all control of his normally benign and usually blank facial features, he must have been enormously surprised.
"I said I've been to several of your secret meetings in the last month."
"But that is not possible; the place we have been staying at is under the Fidelius Charm. The only way you could have made it to the place we've been staying is to be told by me, the Secret Keeper. I have been very careful not to write down the password or to even say it so how do you know where it is?"
Dumbledore looked angry now and Naito knew he was worried about the location of their Headquarters becoming known.
"Don't worry, Professor. Voldemort has no idea where you've been hiding out, nor do any of the other Death Eaters besides Professor Snape who I believe is a spy for you. I'm not really sure how I know where it is. I have always been able to understand when others would say the place and just thought you had not put the charm on the house.
"As a matter of fact, I had thought it was rather foolish of you not to. I had no idea that you had the charm in place and that I could somehow understand what everyone else was saying."
Dumbledore seemed to calm at this and sat back down behind his desk, brows furrowed in thought and a hand running through his silky white beard as he considered everything Naito had told him.
Finally, he said, "I honestly have no idea how you could have known about Headquarters without previous knowledge of it, I will have to look into this to make sure there is nothing wrong with the Charm itself. There has to be an explanation for this and it is more than likely something simple that is easily overlooked; I will have to get a second opinion on this.
"Now it seems as though you already know quite a bit about the Order and what we are doing and have been inadvertently helping us already. It would make sense to include you in the Order except that I don't allow students in until they become of age and are out of school."
"Well, if it's any consolation to you, I could pass my N.E.W.T.s right now and the only reason I'm in school is to spy on you. It gives me a cover you see and I don't see how anyone can have gone through, seen, and done all the things I have and not be 'of age' if not in body than in mind."
Dumbledore smiled lightly at him.
"I suppose I shall just have to ask the others to see what they think of the idea. They will help me to decide."
"Ok, but just so you know, I could still get into those meetings even if you don't let me in. If you make me a member, it just makes it easier for me to get around.
"Actually, it would be better if you didn't make me a member, just in case someone in your Order is a spy. It would not do to have Voldemort find out about me helping you. It would probably be a good idea to just keep this secret between you, me, and Professor Snape.
"Hm...on the other hand, Voldemort already knows that I'm supposed to be gaining your trust so he would not think that I've turned on him, but then he'd want to know everything you're telling the Order! Sheesh! I don't know what to do, that really is confusing!"
Dumbledore gave Naito a patient smile and patted his hand kindly before saying, "Then let me take care of that. I will discuss with Severus what the best course of action will be and I will let you know. How does that sound?"
Naito merely nodded.
"Well, I think that is all for right now. Why don't you go back to your dormitory so I can start working on your alibi, hm?"
Naito nodded again and left the office, sneaking into the dungeons and up to his room without a single person noticing.
So when Draco opened his bed hangings just as Naito was starting to fall into a restful doze, Naito growled at him to shut the curtains again and stop the light from pouring in.
"Come on, Koori! If you want any breakfast, you have to get there before Crabbe and Goyle!"
"No, it's Sunday, there's no classes so I want to sleep in! Go away!"
"Fine! Suite yourself; I'm going then!"
"Whatever," Naito mumbled into his pillow as he pulled it over his head to hide from the light.
It was extremely annoying, therefore, when Draco came back in, tugging at Naito's arm and telling him he had to get up.
"Why?"
"Because, Professor Snape said everyone had to come to the common room so that he could tell us something. You've got to come; anyone that's not in the common room will be reported to Dumbledore!"
Naito sighed, giving up the last visage of sleep and hobbled his way into the common room to collapse on one of the comfiest couches with a yawn.
"Now, I assume that everyone is here so I will begin. You are all to stay in your dormitories or the common room; everyone that is here now will be locked in so that the Professors may update the wards surrounding the castle without the distractions of children running around.
"Anyone found outside their common rooms will be severely punished and sent to the Headmaster himself, so I suggest nobody leave. Now, your breakfasts will be sent up to you courtesy the House Elves if you are worried of starving to death, therefore, I wish to hear no complaints from any of you. Is this clear?"
"Yes, Professor," the room chorused as everyone found themselves seats to sit in.
As Snape left through the portrait hole, one of the sixth year bullies that did not have a Death Eater parent came up to Naito, which every Death Eater child knew was a bad idea, and said forcefully, "Hey, you're in my seat! Get out now! I want to sit there!"
Being in one of the comfiest seats in the common room, Naito could understand what the boy was whining over, but he had had a long night and was in no mood to be generous.
"So what?"
"So what! That's my seat you're sitting in and I want you to get out now!"
"Oh yeah? And what are you going to do if I refuse?"
"I'll move you myself!"
"I'd like to see you try," stated Naito in a perfectly level tone.
All of the Slytherins in the commons looked over and "oohed" as they eagerly anticipated a fight.
"Very well! Tri-Serpensortia!"
With that, three very enraged snakes shot out of the boy's wand and landed on Naito, hissing and spitting at him.
At once, Draco leapt up off the couch and shot across the room in fright.
Naito rolled his eyes and vanished the snakes with a wave of his bare hand. He would have talked to the snakes like his master taught him, but did not want word to get out that he was a Parselmouth. It could not lead to anything good.
With that accomplished, Naito looked up to the boy who was fuming silently, his face turning purple with rage.
Without any regard for safety, the boy began pelting Naito and the entire couch with flames.
This made Naito extremely angry as not only could the flames hurt him badly, but it could catch everything on fire and with the common room locked, they would all be trapped in with the fire with no way to escape.
This was no longer a game; Naito quickly doused all the flames that had caught on everything and petrified the burley sixth year.
"You IDIOT! Do you have ANY IDEA what would have happened if you had managed to catch everything on fire! WE WOULD ALL BE DEAD! They have LOCKED us in here, or do you not understand that! What if the fire had gotten out of control so that no one could put it out! WE WOULD ALL BE TRAPPED IN HERE AND BURN TO DEATH!
"Some of you in here need to grow up and learn to make the right decisions! You're all SLYTHERINS for Merlin's sake! You're supposed to be cunning and ambitious! Use your heads for once and have a LITTLE COMMON SENSE! Where's that Slytherin sense of preserving yourself? Do you WANT to get yourselves KILLED!"
Several heads shook.
"THEN ACT LIKE IT!"
With that, Naito stormed back to the dormitory chagrined and back to his bed where he slept till lunch.
As he sat at the table between his year mates, Naito began to wonder when he would be summoned to answer for what happened at Gringotts. The answer came as soon as he thought it in the form of a black eagle owl.
It swooped into the room and dropped off an emerald green envelope with black lettering addressed to him. Everyone in the room looked at him as all the mail had come while everyone was locked in their dorms.
Opening the letter, Naito saw the short message scrawled onto its surface in silver lettering.
Since there are no classes on Sundays, you will report to the meeting point directly upon receiving this message.
There was no signature or address so that no one would know who it was directed to if they just happened to pick up the letter by itself. The only thing giving away its evil intentions was the Dark Mark that was printed at the bottom of the page.
Naito handed the letter to Draco and whispered for him to get rid of it.
After that was taken care of, Naito looked up at the Head Table. He did not meet the Headmaster's eyes, which were gazing at him curiously, that would alert unwanted parties.
Instead he met the intent onyx stare of his Head of House and sent a miniscule nod in his direction. Then he got up and left the Great Hall, noticing as he did that Snape had gotten up as well and was whispering something in Dumbledore's ear, probably telling him I've been summoned, Naito mused.
Once out in the hallway, Naito started for the Entrance Hall, but was waylaid by two excited Gryffindors.
"Naito! We're so glad we got a chance to talk to you! Dumbledore told us that you changed sides for good! We're just so happy that we were able to get through to you before it was too late."
"Um...yeah, what she said mate. Can't wait to see ya at the next DA meeting. We'll see ya around, alright?"
"Yes, I'm sure you will. Now, if you will excuse me I must be on my way."
"Whatever you say, mate, later."
As the trio parted ways, none of them noticed the pair of eyes that had watched the exchange and hurry up to the Owlery to dash off a quick note.
Naito met Snape out in front of the doors.
"Good luck, Mr. Koori. If anyone asks where you have gone, you are in my office discussing your Potion's grade. That should keep anyone nosing around from discovering the real reason for your departure."
"Thank you for the cover story, Professor. I'll be sure to let you know what happens so you can report it to the Head of the Order. After all, it would not do to have you discussing my Potion's grade with me when I'm not there!"
Snape nodded and entered through the front doors.
Naito headed in the other direction and Apparated directly into Voldemort's Headquarters. Bowing low to the ground, Naito waited for his master to acknowledge his presence before crawling forward and kissing the hem of his robes.
"You may rise. I trust you had no problems getting out of the castle?"
"No, Master. Professor Snape is covering for me. Everyone else thinks I'm in his office discussing my Potion's grade."
"Very good. I will have to reward him for his loyalty."
Naito shivered unconsciously. He thought, now that he was openly defying the Dark Lord he would feel slightly different, but everything felt the same as when he had simply been spying on the Dark Lord for himself. It was to be expected he supposed.
"Yes, Master."
"Now, I wish to know why you did not report back with everyone else after your mission failed yesterday."
"I am sorry not to have told you beforehand, but I have finally managed to sneak into Dumbledore's office and overheard him telling some of his Order that they would be strengthening the wards around the castle and would be locking the students into their rooms for the duration. Anyone that was found not to be there was to be reported to the Headmaster directly.
"Dumbledore was at the battle yesterday. I knew if I did not leave and make it back in time he would add up the figures and know that I was at Gringotts. He already suspected me of aiding your service, Master. I did not wish to give him reason to put me in Azkaban where I would be of no use to you."
Just as Naito finished explaining, Wormtail entered the room a letter in hand, which he handed to Voldemort with a bow. When he went to leave, Voldemort ordered, "Stay," and stay he did, just out of sight beside the Dark Lord's throne where the red-eyed lizard was perusing his mail.
"Well, this is interesting. It seems that you have 'switched-sides' according to this letter from Miss Parkison."
"I have no knowledge of which you speak, Master. I have always been loyal to you. What is the girl referring to, if I may ask?" Naito replied easily behind a mask of calm, aided by his Occlumency shield while in reality, his body was a mass of nerves as adrenaline coursed through his body in panic as sweat beaded on his forehead and his hands.
"She says she overhead a...discussion...of yours that you had in the Great Hall with two Gryffindors. They said, and I quote, 'Dumbledore told us that you changed sides for good! We're just so happy that we were able to get through to you before it was too late.' Can you tell me what this is about?"
Naito almost breathed a sigh of relief, he did not know if Naito had switched sides or not, he was merely following up on a suspicion. Well, this he could deal with.
"After I helped fight off your Death Eaters in the attack on Hogsmeade, not only was I able to convince Ron and Hermione that my loyalty was to them, but I was also able to persuade the Headmaster as well."
Naito had learned some lessons about lying along his journey to be the best spy ever, when lying, always speak in vague sentences, give just enough detail to be convincing and let the rest take care of itself.
"I thought as much. Although I am surprised the Muggle-loving fool is so willing to believe you just on that account after he's already suspected you, but I suppose his belief that everyone is innocent until proven guilty is clouding his mind once again."
"Now, would you care to tell me why the raid on the bank failed? I do believe I said that if any Aurors showed up, waiting for you, that I would hold you accountable?"
Naito inwardly cringed; outwardly, he straightened up and actually looked into the ruby-red eyes that caught every detail of everything around him.
"Yes, you said you would blame me if the Aurors were waiting on us, but from what I recall of last night it was Bellatrix Lestrange's fault that our mission failed."
"What was that, boy?" the Dark Lord hissed dangerously.
"I said it was Bellatrix's fault."
"Explain."
"We made it down to the vault you indicated with no resistance and were able to make our way inside. We found nothing there but some gold and furniture. Everything else was useless bits of house ware. The Orb of Souls was nowhere in sight so we left.
"As we were getting back into the carts, we heard the alarms going off upstairs where Bella's group was and it was made obvious that they had set off the alarms in the building. We did our best from there and were winning until Dumbledore came with reinforcements."
Voldemort glared at Naito for a minute, using Legilimency to determine the truth of his statement then finally called Wormtail to his side.
"Yes, Master?"
"Hold out your arm, Wormtail; I wish to summon Lucius and Bella to me."
"Yes, Master," Wormtail replied, wincing in anticipation.
Voldemort pressed his fingers to the black mark that stood out clearly on Pettigrew's skin and the rat let out a fresh howl of misery as the searing pain flashed through him. When Voldemort let go, Wormtail stepped back over to the side, cradling his arm close to his chest.
Naito stood silent and still when the unmasked Malfoy and Lestrange entered the chamber and bowed before their lord, kissing the hem of his robes before straightening when asked.
"When I questioned you yesterday, the both of you blamed the failure of the attack on my spy," the Dark Lord indicated Naito, "when in reality it was your fault," he pointed to Bellatrix, "for setting off the alarms! What do you have to say to answer to that?"
Bellatrix fell to her knees muttering useless apologies only to receive a Crucio for her trouble.
"So you are at fault. Stand over there, I will deal with the both of you in a minute. Now, Naito, my little night," Voldemort said as he took the curse off Bella and approached Naito, running his hand through Naito's hair as if he were some sort of exotic animal he was petting and only kept to amuse himself, "you have finally managed to instill some faith in yourself. I trust you will not disappoint me?"
Naito shuddered despite himself and saw the Dark Lord smirk at the motion as he continued his petting.
"Yes, Master."
"You have succeeded in making the Muggle-loving fool trust you and have been successful in entering his office while he discusses plans with Order members. I trust you will bring me sufficient information from now on?"
"Yes, Master."
"Good," Voldemort finally let go of him and returned to his seat, relishing in the fear of his underlings, "now, tell me what else you managed to find out while you were spying on Dumbledore and discovered this plan to update the wards. Who was he talking to?"
Uh oh, he's trying to get me to tell him who the Order members are! Ok, so who does he know about already? Weasley, McGonagall, Moody, Lupin...
"He was speaking with McGonagall and the werewolf."
Those two, he at least knew were tucked away safely: one at Hogwarts with Dumbledore and the other in a secure location under the Fidelius Charm.
"And what else were they discussing?" Voldemort said impatiently.
"Somehow they know what you are looking for, Master. They know you seek the Orb and Dumbledore at least knows what it does, but he would not explain its effects to the others."
Voldemort stood up at that and paced around the room. He did not say a word out loud, but the others knew he was contemplating this new development.
"What do you wish for me to do?"
"I want to know what all he knows or thinks he knows about the Orb. If he has more knowledge of it than I then he may know where it is hidden. He can lead me to it. Keep an eye on him and let me know directly about anything he says about it! Go now, I need to think."
Naito bowed casually and left, thinking that it had been one of the shortest and easiest meetings he had ever attended.
After ducking and dodging several people, Naito managed to sneak his way into the Potion's Office when he made it back to the castle.
"Ah, Mr. Koori. I see you have returned; you appear to be unharmed, but I could be wrong. Are there any potion's you require?"
"No sir. I didn't get punished. He was too preoccupied wondering what the Headmaster knows about the Orb of Souls. He's sent me to find out. I'm supposed to be sneaking into Professor Dumbledore's office to find out anything and everything he knows, about that and the Order of Phoenix."
"I see. Is there anything else?"
"No, he just asked me why I left Gringotts before coming to the meeting and what went wrong. Besides that, he just punished Bellatrix Lestrange for setting the alarm off."
"Very well then. I trust you understand potions well enough now, not to need my help for a while longer," Snape said as Naito opened the door to leave.
"Well, I might still need help so I reserve the right to ask again, but I think I'm settled for now, Professor."
"Good day then, Mr. Koori."
"You too, Professor," and with that, Naito headed off to the Room of Requirement to release some of the tension that had been building up in him ever since his meeting with Voldemort when he told Naito that he would have to fight at Gringotts.
Naito checked to make sure the hallway was empty before he imagined what his room would look like as he paced the hall three times.
Naito smirked when he walked in, it was perfect. An obstacle course of sorts had been erected off to one side, while the other side of the room was left clear, with immobile dummies against the wall, waiting to be turned on and fought against.
It was perfect.
Deciding to get warmed up before doing anything too strenuous, he did not want to pull anything after all, Naito began with some routine exercises—push ups, sit ups, jumping jacks, and everything else he could think of.
When that was finished, he stretched every muscle that he was able and started on some katas.
When he was sufficiently warmed up, Naito raced over to the obstacle course and went through it several times.
First, he had to crawl under a threading of ropes, made harder because they magically moved like vines. Then, Naito had to run to the next object, which was climbing a rope to the top of a platform and mountain climbing down the enhanced backside.
After that, he would shoot up a latter of bars to swing across the endless amount of monkey bars and finally jump down at the drop off on the end. The tire swings were definitely his favorite, trying to cross the swinging masses of tires without touching the ground, followed by climbing a netting of Acromantula silk, and sliding down a rope.
He did think it was challenging, of course, when he had to jump through flaming hoops and had to stop running for a moments to put out his clothes. Next, he had to cross a log that had been propped up on two foundations, which he noticed that the log had rotten spots that he must avoid to keep the felled tree from collapsing.
He tried to race across that as fast as he could without making any mistakes before he was finally finished. All in all, it had been a fun exercise.
I need to do this again sometime, he thought, his tension from earlier turning into excitement as he relaxed into the physical training.
When he finished going through the course multiple times, Naito headed over to the dummies, starting out with one and then turning them all on so that it became a full fledged duel. They only shot Stinging Hexes at him, which he counted to mean that he was dead every time he got hit with them. He was extremely happy with the practice when he managed to only get killed five times during the duel.
Intending to work on his spells and blocking, Naito cast a volleywall and got into a dueling sequence. It was during this practice when someone walked in. He had just cast a very strong blasting curse when he heard the door open, his attention was divided as he glanced over to see Ginny standing in the doorway, gaping at the sight of the obstacle course, only to be hit from the front by his very own blasting curse.
The impact sent him reeling in the opposite direction so that he hit the wall behind him hard and blacked out as he slid down the wall, Ginny's cries of, "NAITO! Oh no! Naito!" ringing in his ears.
(To Be Continued…)
A/N- I'm afraid I'm having some issues with my email or something so my beta reader is having difficulty getting me the beta version of this chapter so at the moment this chapter is the unbeta-ed version. I will repost it when I get the other version from my beta reader, Jin Cheng. (But I hope you liked it anyway!)
Coming Up: After waking up in the hospital wing from his accident, Naito gets a chance to talk with Ginny Weasly about the upcoming Slytherin and Gryfindor match they are both playing in. Not being welcomed in his group of Slytherin's Naito takes a late night walk and figures some things out and decides to take more action against Voldemort in Chapter 13: Gry vs. Sly.
Review Responses:
Professor Moony S. Padfoot: Actually, some of my stories I do like, this is one of my best in my opinion, but I'm always looking for what I could do better to improve my writing. Besides, most people don't like their own work cause they know what they have the potential to do (in most cases) and know what they are best at...yadda yadda. I'm glad you liked it and I was happy to be home in time to update and have a holiday too. Wish me luck, cuz at the moment I'm having writer's block on chapter 13 & 14...I'm WAY behind schedule...I should have chapter 15 finished by now at least!
Nicky: So, you like the plot so far...I had an idea last night, but I'm afraid I can't tell you about it...lol!
Joanna Potter: I'm thrilled that you like my story! Thank you so much for reviewing! I hope you'll stick around!
Hazel-Beka: Yeah, I think I amaze myself too...I actually meant for Naito to go to Azkaban and Dumbledore to get him out and THEN become the light's spy, but that chapter had other ideas for itself and decided to take control before I got too far into my idea...these stories have a mind of their own I'm telling you! Oh, add mean mice to the list of AIOD...& I'm not sure if the rat traps are going to help us or just stay neutral...they obviously don't want to help either side as they snap humans as well as mean mice...but...who knows?
RowanRhys: Thank you so much! I'm really glad you like it! Yeah, I kinda freaked myself out w/the burning torture thing...my yami's actually the one who came up w/it...
Willow Evenstar: hey, I know I haven't gotten to review your story yet, but I haven't forgotten you! Don't worry! I'm not sure I CAN write action...I try but I can never think of anything and just have to wing it...I'm really surprised you all like my fight scenes so much! HAHAHA! You're story's pretty horrible...that's funny...as you have more reviews than me...
Nippledora Tweaks: (blushes) I'm glad you think I'm doing ok for my age...I'm kinda wishing I was a bit more advanced and professional in my writing, but I try...
MagicmanSmokegirl: Sorry for not emailing much...everything's gotten so hectic recently...hopefully I'll be able to get stuff finished soon so I can start emailing more again. Wish me luck! I'm glad you liked the chapter...hopefully I kept the characters IN character! Apparently I did well for Dumbledore...
WoodElfPrincess: We've still got a VERY important event that needs to take place before Naito can get his memory back...I left a hit in the Sorting Hat chapter that sort of clues you in on what's going to trigger Naito's memory along w/his most intense vision. Hm...that question gives me an IDEA!...
LadayoftheWood: Thanks for catching up...now I just need to catch up w/you...how was the rest of the party after I left?
Bunny Aino: Wow, haven't heard from you in FOREVER! Don't worry as soon as I make time in my schedule to start emailing everyday again...I'll email you...I've got a new bible story I'm about to put out, but I need help w/this one part first…everything else is finished...it's going to be called What I Believe, which is just going to be a basic outline of...what I believe...
Lizzy: I'm glad you love this story! (squeals) Hopefully you'll stick around til the end!
phoenix catcher: Thanks! I'm so glad you like my story and are eagerly awaiting the next chapter!
Challenge: To whomever wishes…
I've given two hints in this story so far as to how Naito/Harry gets his memory back...the first is something the Sorting Hat says and the other is Naito's mostINTENSE memory...see if you can guess what in particular would be strong enough to help Naito remember his past...just leave your answer in a review if you want to take a shot at it.
I'd like to thank Jin Cheng for beta reading for me! You do an awesome job Jin Cheng! I love you Jin Cheng!