Last time, Harry trained with Max Kildare in the basics of Martial Arts. Afterwards, Max revealed himself and the other Ramblers to be Meta-Humans, the next step in human evolution. Harry also learned why Virgil and Steve hate each other. And now, on with the show!
Chapter 24: R.A.B.
Shortly after dinner, Harry walked in to the parlor, to see Lara and Neville in a heated argument. "I don't care what your reasons were!" exclaimed Neville, "What you did was no better than what The Death Eaters would have done!" "You weren't there!" yelled Laura, "You have no idea what those three warlocks are capable of doing. You have no idea of what they've done!" "And what did they do that deserves torture? Because that's just what you did to them!" "They sold their souls for power and greed!" "It's still no excuse for acting like the Death Eaters!"
At this, the marks on Laura's skin began to appear. "How dare you compare me to a terrorist organization!" "Um, I think the Death Eaters are more than a terrorist organization." Said Taranee meekly. "I don't give a damn!" yelled Neville. "All right! Break it up!" yelled Jill. "This is no time for petty fighting! That's what Voldemort wants!" "This has nothing to do with V-Voldemort," Said Neville, "This has to do with the fact that she used torture as a weapon, and she enjoyed it!"
The marks on Lara increased. "That is the biggest load of bull sh$t I've ever heard!" "Well it's true." Said Hay Lin. "I saw you when you forced Darcy to the ground. You were smiling." At this, Lara's marks began to fade. "Well?" asked Neville, "Explain that." Laura glared at Neville, then at Hay Lin, before turning to leave the room. "This discussion is over. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a lot of paper-work to catch up on." She left the room, slamming the door shut.
Let's pause for a moment to learn a bit about Laura.
Name: Laura Hurst
Age: 18
Birthday: March 15
Zodiac Sign: Pisces
Height: 5' 4"
Blood Type: AB+
Hometown: Denver, Colorado USA
Weapon of choice: Telekinesis, Precognition and various mental abilities.
Suffers from sporadic mood swings.
Enjoys mental weight lifting and reading Stephen King novels.
Further information to be released.
We now return you to your regularly scheduled Fan-Fiction.
"What was that all about?" asked Harry. "I don't know." Said a rather stunned looking Luna. "She was telling us what happened today and Neville just exploded." "Yeah, you want to tell us what that was all about?" asked Seamus. "I just don't like torture, that's all." Said Neville. But Harry knew that wasn't all. He, Ron and Herminoe knew that Neville's parents were tortured into madness by Bellatrix Lestrange. "About Laura," said Jill, "You have to understand; when she gets angry, she tends to act like a different person, sometimes.
"What did those three do that made you so pissed off?" asked Irma. "They have harassed me for over two years now." Said Bloom. "Firstly to steal my powers, and to make my life and my friends lives miserable. And that's only the tip of the iceberg. They are directly descended from the ones who murdered my family and scattered my people across the universe." She sat down, looking rather depressed. "They did all that when I was just a baby. I can barely remember birth parents, let alone where I came from. I'm one of the last of Sparks." Harry sat down next to her. "I can't begin to imagine how you feel." he said. "Well I can, some what. I barely remember my parents as well."
"The let's make a pact." Said Bloom, her spirits lifting. "I'll help you stop Voldemort, and when the time comes, you'll help me stop those Warlocks." "Sounds like a fair deal to me." Said Harry, as he shook Bloom's hand. "I'll join you in this pact." Said Will, as she placed her hand on Harry's and Blooms'. "No matter what it takes," said Will, "I'll help you defeat your enemies." Harry looked towards Max. "No offence," said Max, "But I'm not the kind of person to make such a commitment. However, if those three show up again in this dimension, it'll be the last thing they do."
"Oh Max," said Will, "There's something I'd like to ask. What does the D.P. in D.P.'s name mean?" "I'm glad you asked." Said D.P. who just walked into the room. "It's short for Donkey Puncher, if you know what I mean." "Oh brother, here we go again." said Virgil. "Sometimes it's D. to the P. Or Big D.P." "I get the picture." Said Will. "Sometimes it's Donkey Puncherello, and this one time, it was King Donko of Punchstainum." "I get it!" exclaimed Will.
"What's your real name?" asked Cornelia. "I hate my real name, let's just stick with D.P." "It's Simon Brotonononowluski." Said Virgil. "Dude, just call me D.P." "What about your friend's name, Skeater?" "Zarnold Edward Quigly; Born in South end of The Bronx; Major's in Business; Interests include beer," said D.P. rather fast. "I just want to know his name." Said Cornelia. "I had to memorize all of that, or they would have killed me in Hell Week." "Why don't you go and do something useful for a change?" said Virgil, "Like cleaning your room at H.Q.?" "Okay dude." Said D.P. as he left the room. "Why did I bother recruiting those two? They've been nothing but a pain in the ass." Said Max. "I'm sure you had your reasons." Said Irma.
"I've got a question on what happened today, Bloom." Said Virgil. "Why did Icy react as she did when you called her a Warlock?" "I was wondering about that." Said Herminoe. "Here, a Warlock is just another word for a wizard." "In my dimension," said Bloom, "When a witch abandons the principal of 'do no permanent harm,' and sells her soul for power and/or greed, they have truly gone over to the dark side permanently. They are forever branded as Warlocks."
"I feel for you," said Cornelia. "I didn't know you could feel." Said Irma. "There's something else," said Bloom. "Those three would normally get along with each other. But today, they were almost at each other's throats." "I'll bet that that box of Darcy's is what's causing them to fight amongst themselves." Said Hay Lin. "If that's true," said Will, "Then when they show up again, we could use it to our advantage. Maybe get them to destroy each other."
Max then stood up and turned to leave the room. "I've just remembered I need to make a very important phone call." He turned to leave, and Virgil soon followed. "I've got something that needs checking," said Virgil, and they both left the room. "I'm not so sure Max and the others can be fully trusted." Said Irma. "I agree," said Harry, "I don't know what, but they're hiding something." He then told the others what Max told him about Meta-Humans. "Weird," said Cornelia. "Not as weird as some of the things we've seen." Said Ron. "We've seen weirder." Said Taranee.
"Something just occurred to me," said Herminoe as she asked Will, "Aren't your parents going to be worried that you've been gone for so long?" Will looked at the other Guardians before answering, "Oh, we've discovered that if we return from a parallel dimension to home via Candracar, we can arrive home with little time having progressed. It'll be like we never left."
"Oh Harry, we think we've discovered who R.A.B. is." Said Neville "Who then?" Harry asked anxiously. "Well," said Seamus, "We started with a list of witches and wizards who went to Hogwarts within the last 60 years whose initials are R.A.B." "Then we cross referenced with a list of known Death Eaters, both alive and dead." Said Neville. "And we got the name Regulus Arctus Black." Said Seamus.
"That's Sirius's brother," said Herminoe. Suddenly, Ron burst into laughter. "What's so funny?" asked Taranee. Ron tried to regain control as he said, "Harry, do you remember the summer we spent at Sirius's place?" "Yes I do." Replied Harry. How could he forget: He spent half the time cleaning the place to make it fit for the Order, and the other half scared about his hearing. "Well," said Ron, "we were cleaning out one of the cabinets, an there was that big locket we couldn't open." "Oh my god!" exclaimed Herminoe, "He's right! I can't believe I forgot about that!" "You know what else?" asked Ron, still giggling like an idiot, "I think we threw it away."
Harry ran straight for the door and out into the hall. He headed straight to the study, where Professor McGonigall and Jill Sparrow were talking. "What is it Potter?" asked Professor McGonigall. "Floo powder!" exclaimed Harry, "I need some Floo powder!" He rushed over the fireplace, grabbed some Floo power from the jar on the mantle and threw it into the fireplace. Green flames erupted, and Harry stepped into it. "Number Twelve, Girmmauld Place!" yelled Harry as he vanished.
The end of chapter 24. Next chapter, Harry finds Slytherin's locket. See you next time!
