The Human Stain
By Anna Kate
To My Own Griffin Chamber;
Amy W, Laura W, Hannah G, Harriet M, Erin H, Phoebe R, Annabel J, Bella C, Imogen T and most importantly, Zoë H.
The Griffin Chamber wishes you better, Zed.
Chapter Twelve- What Words Before
Claudia woke up slowly as John entered her cubicle. It was a little past midday, and John had been reminded by Pomfrey that Claudia did actually need to eat to survive, strangely enough. John had rolled his eyes at her behind her back. Stupid old bat.
John pushed the cubicle curtain aside with one hand and carried a tray of sandwiches in the other. He smiled at Claudia, who had her eyes half-closed and was relaxed fully against her pillows, black ebony locks spilling out behind her. Her hands were folded neatly in her lap, and John would clearly see the strange mark above her right eyebrow.
"Hey, how're you feeling?" he asked her, and she rolled her eyes.
"Hungry." She told him simply, and he smiled.
"Yeah, well, Pomfrey told me to give these to you."
"Goody!" Claudia looked at the tray of sandwiches as if they offended her. "Any dairy products?"
"Hmm?"
"Any dairy products. Cheese, et cetera?" she repeated, green eyes flicking to his face for a moment.
"I think there are some cheese sandwiches in there." He said unsurely.
"Which ones?" she asked, and looked at the tray again, this time suspiciously.
"I don't know." John shrugged, and brushed his hair away from his eyes. Claudia sighed.
"I can't eat until I know which ones are cheese." She said simply.
"Why not?"
"I'm lactose intolerant." John looked at her blankly. "Jesus, what kind of Healer-wannabe are you? I'm allergic to dairy products." She explained patiently, and John nodded.
"It's curable in the Wizarding World. I guess that's why I've never heard the term outside of a textbook before."
"I thought you were severely dyslexic?"
"Talking Textbooks. Wonderful things, but the voices are so monotone and boring." He sighed, and sat down on the end of her bed. Claudia gave him a faint smile.
"Any way of finding out which are the cheese ones?" she asked, and John sighed. He lent over the tray and picked out a few sandwiches, which all turned out to be cheese. "Great!" Claudia said happily, and she picked up a tuna sandwich and began carefully eating it. John took a bite out of the cheese sandwich, and Claudia leaned back against her pillows, enjoying the company.
00
Harry was watching everyone carefully underneath his mask. People sat around the large round table, hands in the indents, costumes shining as the candles flickered. Across from Harry sat a woman with a large bosom that almost spilled out over the square neckline of her dress. Her dark hair was pilled high in ringlets on her head, and her mask and dress were both a rich red colour. Her skin looked strange in the candlelight, almost white, and Harry was unnerved that he couldn't see her eyes under the shadows of her mask. She seemed to be looking at Harry with a steady gaze.
A man entered from the chamber to sit in a large throne-like wooden chair. His black clothes swirled around him, and his mask was black with a silver ribbon, plain and austere. His hair was long and black, and Harry had to bite back a gasp of recognition.
Severus Snape!
The old Potions Master now sat proudly in the throne of the room, and placed his hands in the imprints.
"I am the Marked, and I call upon Dark." He said, and a black line ran from his hands to the centre of the circle created by the table.
"I am the Beast and I call upon the Moon." The next man said. He had long shaggy light brown hair with streaks of silver, and his clothes were earthy tones of grey and white. His mask was grey, and a silver beam of light came from his hands to join to Snapes.
"I am the Dancer and I call upon Music." The woman next to him said. She had short brown hair and her clothes were a dark, rich plum colour, as was her mask. A rich purple light came from her.
"I am the Taker and I call upon Death." The woman across from Harry intoned. Her voice was low and husky, and Harry couldn't help but shiver. The rich red of her dress was reflected in the light from her hands.
"I am the Angel and I call upon Heaven." said the man next to her. He was dark-skinned, but dressed entirely in white and silver. A white light came from his hands.
"I am the Reader and I call upon Knowledge." Said the woman who was sat next to Luna. She was dressed in a strange amber colour, and that same colour came in the light from her hands. Her hair tumbled in ringlets over her shoulders, but she could not brush it back.
"I am the Dreamer and I call upon Light." Spoke Luna, and a white light joined Snape's black in opposites.
"I am the Named and I call upon the Sun." said the next person, and Harry saw it was Ron. His fiery red hair looked strange against the sunny yellow of his clothes and mask, both of which were trimmed in gold. His bright gold light joined with The Beasts.
"I am ze Midnight and I call upon Silence." Stated the man next to Harry, in a strange French accent. He wore pale green clothes, lighter than Harry's emerald green and his light was the same colour when it joined with The Dancers. Then, it was Harry.
"I am the Saviour and I call upon Life." He spoke softly, and a soft green light came from his hands, and spread across the circle, joining with The Taker's. Harry felt a jerk at his shoulders, and he strained backwards as though he was about to be pulled into the circle they had created. But it was not complete.
"I am the Healer," Draco said carefully. He looked to Harry. "and I call upon Hell." As the last word died, a scarlet beam, almost dark enough to be black, but not quite, went to the centre of the circle.
The last person spoke. She wore peach coloured clothing, and her hair was done ornately around her face.
"I am the Traitor, and I call upon Power." She said firmly, and a peach coloured light met it's partner in the middle.
"Thrice we have defied evil, and once more we must rise to take our place in the Griffin's Chamber." Snape spoke, and suddenly the room was filled with sounds. Everyone was speaking, as was Harry.
"Everilda Greenson, Bartholomew Everarch, Eve Tillman, Victor Illinos, Alice Rhyeland, Baker Tenfield, Marcus McCloughen, Lily Evans." The last name flew out of Harry's mouth before he could stop it, and he froze at his mother's name. Names… Names of the past Saviours. But what had his mother done to be a Saviour? The last name Harry heard from Draco was 'Narcissa Black.' His mother? But… the man next to Harry never spoke a word. Why had he been the only man ever to be the Midnight?
Who were these people? And what was the Griffin Chamber?
00
Claudia was dozing against the pillow, and John was reading. It was peaceful and calm in the Hospital Wing, since no students had yet to fall off a broomstick, be exposed to Mandrakes, or better yet, fall off the Astronomy Tower (it had happened before…). John was concentrating so hard on reading that his tongue was poking out between his lips.
"And Alice spoke softly to Hunter, c-c-con-stan-telly…" he sighed, and went back to just looking at the illustrations that were scattered throughout the book. John leaned down and took the sketchbook and pencil out of a bookbag on the floor. He opened it and began sketching Claudia roughly, then blocking in the shading… He was almost done when…
"JOHN!"
"Fuck!" he snapped, and he slammed the sketchbook shut. He threw open the curtain, then jerked it shut, coming face to face will a fuming, red-faced little girl. "What the hell do you want?"
Rebecca Elizabeth Jane Granger was a short little girl with a mass of light brown curls and large blue eyes. A light scattering of freckles were brushed over her small button nose and cheeks, but underneath that adorable façade beat the heart of a contemptuous bitch.
"You're supposed to address me as Miss Granger, and you know it!" Rebecca fumed, and John raised an eyebrow.
"Right, okay, yeah, fine Miss Granger, what the hell do you want?" John snapped and Rebecca's mouth worked furiously, before she could speak again.
"You're not supposed to be rude! You have to call me that, since I'm at school and you're not! Obviously, I'm better." She told him, and John sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. Rebecca was like this; she got a hold of your weakness and used it against you in every way possible, including blackmail.
"Whatever. What do you want?" he asked calmly and Rebecca looked pleased with herself. She obviously thought she had won him over.
"I can't find Mum and Dad anyway, so I can't get into Home, so I need somewhere to do my homework." She told him, and, knowing he couldn't refuse, John motioned to the desk that was pushed against the corner of the wall. It was put there after their mother, in her 7th year, had to miss a week of school and threw a hissy fit that she couldn't have a desk to work on.
Of course, Rebecca didn't get her work ethic, and though she thought she got the intelligence, really, she didn't. The small girl was in the top 20 per cent of marks in her year, but she didn't work hard enough to get the top marks. She was estimated three Os in her OWLS, in Charms, Potions and Divination (surprise, surprise) but that was the highest she got.
Rebecca sat down at the desk and opened her school bag, taking out books and writing materials. Once she was thoroughly 'engrossed' in her work, John left her, and went to sit with Claudia again. She was somewhere between awake and asleep, her eyes flickering open but then closing again.
"Who's there?" she asked softly when she noticed John's figure.
"My sister Rebecca." He said, and Claudia closed her eyes in recognition of what he said. She sighed, and turned onto her side, a curl of her hair tickling her nose and cheek. Her mouth opened slightly, and she spoke quietly to John.
"John?"
"Yes?"
"… You might want to check on Rebecca."
00
"I speak to you tonight on behalf of the Minister of Magic, Mr. Boot, and the Ministry as a whole. Lucifer has struck again, this time on a Muggle Village very near Farnham in Surrey." Harry's heart sunk. "The village is… was known as Ewshot and a very prominent Wizarding Family lived there, disguised as Muggles. The family were the Cranstones." A collective sigh of sadness went around the room. "Their eldest daughter, Aimee, is here. Unfortunately, the son and heir, Daniel, is dead."
Harry had to look down. To lose your entire family in one go… Harry knew that pain. Harry had known it almost all of his life. He could not remember his mother, except for her final moments, screaming and dying before his eyes, before the wand that killed her was rounded on him, with the intent to do the same. Yes, Harry knew that pain, and instantly he pitied Aimee.
But something strange was going on in the centre of the joined lights. An orb appeared, large enough for all to see. There, in the centre of the orb was the profile of a girl, with short dark hair, olive skin, and dark eyes. She was crying her heart out, surrounded by friends in Ravenclaw, and Harry could only assume it was Aimee. His heart went out to her. Then the image faded.
"Graham Cranstone was a very influential Official in the Ministry. His wife, Denise, was working on a top-secret weapon in the Department of Mysteries. Daniel was showing promising powers as a Wizard. It is a sad loss for all, especially Aimee." Snape concluded, and the chamber fell silent. "Midnight, if you will."
The man next to Harry, the Midnight stood and looked carefully around the room. He spoke firmly and with an accent.
"Ze Taker and I 'ave been looking around ze school recently for clues, az Monsieur Marked mentioned a few nights ago, az to ze where-abouts of ze missing students. I shall say zair names again, if you please. James Taylor, Mercy Gutazzi, and Merlo Boot." Out of the corner of his eyes, Harry saw Luna's shoulders shake and drop a little. "Ve must find zem. All of zem could 'old vital information for our sides. Mais, in ze wrong 'ands… I dread to think."
Apparently, so did the rest of the group as there was a collective shudder of dread. Harry shuddered with them, and looked to Luna again, who had regained some composure. If Merlo Boot was in any way related to her or Minister Boot, then she had Harry's full sympathy. A loss of any family member is hard to bear, but if Merlo was Luna's child… Harry's heart dropped as he thought about losing Claudia, again. This time, he had been lucky.
If he had lost both Anna and Claudia, than he would not be alive today. That, he was sure.
00
John threw open the curtain and saw Rebecca slumped forward in her chair. He ran to her, but did not touch her. He knew the signs of a vision. She spoke in a low, echoing voice.
"The child of the saviour shall raise the lost,
And in her way, shall be the phoenix.
The dead will rise under her touch,
And songs will be sung by dead voices.
Again she rises, this is not the first.
Life is what she seeks,
Life is what she will thirst."
As the last echo of the vision died away, Rebecca woke up and went to work again. She looked at John.
"What?" she snapped. He glared at her, and turned away, walking back to Claudia. But Claudia had fallen asleep, and was snoring softly.
John closed the curtain, and left her alone.
00
"Aimee!" Why were they screaming? "Aimee!" They weren't screaming. They were sobbing.
"I hate hearing people cry." Said a voice to Claudia's right. She turned and saw Tom standing there, dressed in black, looking calm.
"Not you again!" she exclaimed, and Tom smiled. He held his hand out to her, elegantly and full of poise. She took it, though slowly and cautiously. He smiled at her, and led her forward. She looked down and noticed she was wearing a long black dress, with full-netted sleeves. She probably looked like some gothic wannabe, what with her long black hair.
They were walking through what seemed to be a river, yet Claudia could not feel the water swirling past her legs. The water below her was white, with grey ripples, no hint of the normal blue anywhere. Around her there seemed to be fog and nothing was distinguishable except for Tom's black-clad figure. He held her hand tightly in his, leading her along this river, closer, and closer to the crying, sobbing people.
When she neared them, she could make out three people kneeling together, holding each other, heads ducked. A tall, large man, a tall thin woman, and a thin little boy. They looked up and round at Tom and Claudia and scrambled away from them. Claudia walked until she was beside Tom, then held out a hand to them. They looked at her, eyes wide, and she walked towards them again, unconsciously. She raised her hand and traced the sides of their faces, in turn, not touching them, but almost. They watched her, and then they sat quietly by her feet.
Claudia looked at Tom and he just looked at her. The little boy was nuzzling his face into her skirt, and the man and woman just sat looking at her dolefully. They were acting as pets do, not humans. It was bizarre!
"Where is our Aimee?" the woman asked, her eyes wide and her voice quiet. "Where is my daughter?" Claudia looked confused, at Tom, then he spoke. Together, in fact, as her voice joined his not a second too late.
"Aimee is safe. Do not worry. She will live, the school will keep her safe." Tom finished speaking, and so did Claudia. It was strange; their voices had blended and become one. Neither feminine nor masculine; in-between.
"Who are you?" the man asked, and he looked at Claudia with awe. She thought for a moment.
"Belle Morte." She replied, and he nodded, then together the family fell back into the swirling white river and disappeared. She gasped, and Tom came forward and took her hand.
"Come, Mademoiselle Death." He spoke softly to her. Claudia looked at him, confused, and then he held her against him. He kissed her face soundly, and then she was gone.
Tom smiled to himself, and placed his fingers on his lips, before turning on his heel and walking further down the river, towards the ultimate death.
00
The Midnight sat down and Snape nodded.
"Merci, Midnight." His French was highly nasal, and the Midnight inclined his head.
"De rien." He spoke charmingly.
"Children, it is the end of our meeting. The Circle is closed, and we shall once again sleep. Guards, recall your magic." And one by one around the circle, anti-clockwise, starting with the Traitor and ending with Snape, they recalled their Magic, speaking 'and I recall' instead of 'and I call upon'. Harry felt the life flooding back into him though he never felt it leave.
Then, Snape stood, and all of them bowed or curtsied with respect while he walked away.
People began to talk. The Midnight walked over to the Taker and they began to speak in very quick French. Harry and Draco stood together, and they were approached by the Traitor and Luna. The Traitor curtsied to them both.
"Traitor." Said Draco, yet he didn't mean it as an insult.
"Healer. I thought you would not be here for this meeting." She spoke with a very strong posh accent, and Draco inclined his head.
"I didn't think I would be either. But, I am." Draco smiled, and Harry remained motionless at his side, even his face was blank. He then pulled on Draco's sleeve.
"Healer, we have to go." He said softly, and then the two men bowed to the Traitor. She smiled.
"I shall come with you." And they nodded.
Harry didn't know for the life of him how to get back, but all Draco and Traitor did was take their masks off, and they disappeared. Harry did the same and when he opened his eyes, he was standing in the chamber with Draco and… Pansy Parkinson!
000
Author's Note: This didn't take me too long… Basically, it's a filler chapter while I get ready for the big stuff. I'm estimating that The Human Stain should come to between 19 and 23 chapters, and probably completed late spring, early summer. So, yay, then I can move onto the sequel (yes, there will be a sequel!)
My friend is doing a lot better. YAY!
-Anna Kate xox