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'Thought'
"Speech"
DISCLAIMER: I own nothing of Harry Potter, only my OC(s) and some plot twists...
Now, what were we talking about previously? Ah, yes...
I got to the top of the tower without a hitch, all the practice from when I'd sneak out of my old college dorm was coming in handy. By the time I got there though, the entire left side of my body was all pins and needles, so I hastily made towards one of the tower's many stone windowsills that currently faced the moon - in favour of actually walking out onto the parapet that surrounded it - and plonked myself down.
With my good hand, I then quickly flipped to the last page of the journal and laid it open on the sill as I reached for my, or rather Colin's (I'll get into that later) wand. Exactly seven minutes to midnight, a few short lines appeared on the previously half-filled page.
The spell didn't require any form of wand movement. The person who'd written the diary obviously knew that it would be impossible, given the potency of the poison. All one had to do was mutter the words (that had just appeared) while pointing their wand at the book's spine. I watched a red spark emerge from the wand tip, which cleanly separated the spine from the rest of the book. Inside the cavity so formed, was a ring and a vial of dark liquid, that suspiciously looked like blood.
I knew that the potion - or whatever it might have been - was perfectly preserved. So I grabbed the vial and haphazardly uncorked it, downing its contents just as I heard the bell-tower toll the first strike of midnight 'Phew! Just in time!' back slumped against the cold stone window, I breathed a sigh... shivering as an unnatural chill (that had nothing to do with the chilly breeze flowing through the tower) ran through my very being.
'Guess the antidote worked…' I mused after all twelve tolls had passed 'Now I just have to figure out what exactly it's done to me' I sighed, I firmly believed that things had turned for the better (even though I didn't know exactly how) but at the moment all I wanted to do was get back to my room and crash for the rest of the weekend.
It took me a few minutes to regain some semblance of control over my body. The first thing I did was pick up the now ruined book and wiggle out the ring from its resting place. I then promptly stuffed the book back into my bag, which I'd brought with me out of pure habit.
The ring was made of black silver and, at first glance, looked like a normal ring with a black gem of some sort in the centre. Only upon looking closer would one see that its body was actually serpentine and just beside the jewel in question was its head. All in all, the ring basically looked like a snake guarding its egg, which in this case was the gem.
'Coo–'
"And just what… are you doing here Mr. Creevey?" came a less than pleased voice, giving me a good jump. I barely managed to keep myself from letting out a yelp as I turned towards the lady - the voice cluing me that it was most definitely, a female speaker - in question.
More specifically, it was the voice of the school's resident Astronomy teacher: Professor Aurora Sinistra. I still thank my lucky stars (to this day mind you) that it wasn't McGonagall or worse yet... Filch, you'll understand why as you read on.
"I'm- nothing Professor I just…" I cursed my quivering voice, I was still recovering from the Potion's effects so I couldn't help it "I've had trouble sleeping... I'm still not used to my new dorm" I explained, lame I agree but it was partly true, and therefore more believable.
Her previously stern expression, softened to a degree "I understand that all of this might take some getting used to… but that does not give you the right to wander about after hours, twenty points from Ravenclaw and you will also serve detenti–" she started, but stopped when my eyes suddenly widened in fear.
I'd fucked up in the worst way possible… the ring at some point had slipped from my still-not-completely-functional hands and had come to rest by her feet.
'Shit!' and I all but froze.
"You should be more mindful of your belongings…" her eyes had followed my own and had landed upon the offending piece of jewellery and with a flick of her hand, she levitated it off the ground into her palm.
"No, don't!" I warned as I jumped to my feet (though a dim corner of my mind did in fact note that she'd just performed wandless, and wordless, magic) only to stumble immediately, my knees hitting the floor with quite some force. Paying no need to the pain, I desperately tried to move closer towards her "No...!" but I could only watch helplessly as an acid, almost venomous - but not the iridescent kind a.k.a. the killing curse - green glow emerged from the ring, and encompassed her form.
She crumpled to her knees almost instantly, bracing her hands against the floor to stay upright. The poison (curse?) acted fast, so much so that she didn't even scream, which in retrospect might have been fortunate but I was too freaked out to care. I shakily got to my feet and stumbled towards her, hoping against hope that it wasn't too late.
Now I might not be the nicest of persons, but I wasn't without a conscience 'She was just doing her duty, she doesn't deserve this…' a voice in my head kept saying.
"I'm so sorry…" I muttered, trying to keep my voice from breaking as I knelt next to her, and moved to pick up the ring which had fallen to the floor nearby.
"It's cursed! Don't tou–" she grasped my shoulders and almost tackled me to the floor when she realized what I was doing... but I had already slipped it on, her grip on my shoulder tightened as if to steady me. The fear and worry etched on her face were none too subtle, and I realized with a start that they were for my sake, not her own.
I resolved myself - then and there - to do everything I could to help her. I shuddered, as an icy feeling crept up the length of my hand as the ring (unlike her case) glowed a royal blue. It then magically resized itself to my finger, as a familiar migraine greeted me once more 'Fuck!' I winced, but stopped myself from cursing out loud "I'm… okay"
I watched as her expression morphed from frantically worried, to one of relief, and then to anger as her grip on my shoulders tightened slightly. Judging by the sweat on her brow and her erratic breaths though, I could tell that the curse was clearly taking a lot out of her.
She was biting her lip in an effort to stay conscious, I winced at the added weight but silently marvelled at the strength she still possessed. I now knew how potent the curse was (courtesy of the good ol' migraine-inducing info dump I got from wearing the ring) and that she barely had a few minutes until she succumbed to it.
"You tampered with a Lord's Ring, whose House you had no affiliation with…" I started.
House Rings held a lot of importance and stealing, hell for that matter even touching one without consent was akin to a criminal offence. Some of the older Houses went further and usually had their Lord's ring bound by blood: If anyone other than a blood relative tried to handle it without consent, they would be inflicted by a nasty curse - at the very least - and could potentially lose their lives (kinda like with Dumbledore and the Gaunt's ring) as a consequence.
"No…" her voice broke, all the anger drained out as her shoulders slumped in defeat, tears flowing freely from her eyes. True, the ring had accepted me, but that didn't mean I could render the curse moot with a few simple words, and she knew it.
The curse - whatever it was - was a very malicious one... however, regardless of the end result, I knew for a fact (thanks to my extra-curricular reading, which I'll go into some other time) that I wouldn't face any ramifications - Ministry or otherwise - because of it. However, the fallout would make me stand out, not to mention bring me under Dumbledore's radar. Both scenarios were less-than-favourable, true, but the latter was something I wanted to avoid at all costs. So, given the circumstances, there was only one sure-fire option I could take... doubly so, seeing as it was the only one that would leave my conscience - at least somewhat - in the clear.
"I can help you, we can fix this!" I told her, my as-of-yet unbroken voice was still uneven... talk about a lack of presence. Nonetheless, I placed my arms on her shoulders and gently pushed her away so that her tear-stained gaze could meet my own "A magical vow, we'll need to perform one... it's the only way" she froze at my words, but I tried to keep my voice (and expression) as impassive as I could while continuing "You have to decide, now! There isn't much time left!" I sputtered out, towards the end.
'Please take it, please take it!' I pleaded inwardly, growing increasingly anxious as the seconds ticked by "Please… don't make me a killer" the words came out before I could stop myself 'Damn this eleven-year-old body's emotional stability!' I inwardly cursed but decided to use it to my advantage, my eyes immediately watering as I let the erratic mess of emotions I was feeling, take hold. Hey! The tower was dusty, what can I say? I wasn't crying, nope... it's the dust I say!
Anyhow, as you have no doubt figured out by now, she agreed to it finally. But I decided then and there, that I would give first priority to my Occlumency training. Puberty was gonna be a pain in the ass as is, and I didn't want the additional headache of fretting over if (or when) I would inadvertently blabber something out at the wrong moment, or under duress.
At the time though, I found myself unable to turn my tear-stained gaze away from the person in front of me.
I considered it a major lapse in judgement for not having noticed earlier... though truth be told, my previous interactions had been strictly limited to admiring her from afar: either during meals or our weekly Astronomy classes. In both instances, the majority of my attention (and patience) was spent trying to prevent myself from causing a scene, given the sheer number of kids milling about around me at the time.
What was I on about? Ah, yes, well... despite her current state of sobbing into my shoulder while mumbling in a language I didn't recognize, I couldn't deny that Aurora Sinistra was a bombshell.
Her face - soft and aristocratic - was perfectly framed by the dark brown shoulder-length hair surrounding it, accentuating and drawing one's gaze to her beautifully shaped eyes. I couldn't decipher their colour, unfortunately... though I did note that her unblemished copper skin - which looked quite pale in the light of the moon - was covered in a fine layer of sweat that, in my opinion, made her glow all the more.
You get the gist, she was a right beauty... and no that wasn't why I'd been set on saving her, though it might've made it a little easier for me to convince myself into doing so.
Yup, I'm a right royal bastard... thought we'd already gotten that established, people.
"Wha–!?" I asked when Luna shook me awake, oh that's right I'd fallen asleep in History of Magic reminiscing over the events so far "Thanks…" I mumbled as I walked out with the rest of my class ignoring the dirty glares most of my housemates were giving me well, us. Our schedules were such that we had History of Magic and Herbology with the 'puffs, Charms and Transfiguration with the Snakes, while Potions and Defence were with the Lions. Flying lessons and Astronomy were common to all Houses, you see.
I'd say this confirmed my suspicion that ol' Dumbles had deliberately messed with the timetable for Potter's year(s) so that he and Malfoy butted heads more often, but then again I might be wrong. It could very well be a scheduling thing... so I'll leave that topic for later maybe, after I've addressed the elephant in the room.
So, why were my housemates trying to burn a hole in my head with their glares? Well, one look at the glass container denoting the house points and you'd find out. As of two days ago, Ravenclaw had the lowest number of points, where previously, we'd been right up there at the top with Slytherin. Granted, we were barely into the first week of October and everyone was certain we'd get back up as the year progressed, but that didn't mean that the fact was simply shrugged off.
This was especially in the case of the sixth and seventh years since they were the ones that had contributed most, to our gain. So when they found out that almost all of their hard-earned points were lost, all because their juniors were bullying one of their own… well, let's just say that our Head of House wasn't the only one that had given them a firm talking to.
I'd actually waited a good week or so, after the tower incident and until I was confident that I'd cemented my friendship with Luna, before I chose to act. I just wanted to be sure that my helping her wouldn't actually end up pushing her away, since I didn't want to earn Luna's ire as well.
Trying to convince her to go to Flitwick though, had been difficult. I'd explained to her why I thought that Nargles weren't the culprits, basing my assumption on the fact that only she was being targeted here.
"And besides… don't Nargles nest under mistletoe? I don't think there'll be much of that until Christmas" I'd said to her the night before last. Luckily, our following discussion (argument) had been interrupted by the sudden interference of one Penelope Clearwater who, after returning from her 'rounds' to quote her words, had been listening in.
She gave Luna a crushing hug after which she promptly ushered (threatened to Petrificus Totalus and levitate) her to Flitwick's office. The half-goblin had then called for an impromptu house meeting and had then summoned almost all of her missing articles (I made it a point to learn that spell later) after which he dolled out detention after detention to - not to mention, docked a significant amount of points from the House, because of - the students involved.
Neither the books nor the movies did the Charms Professor any justice… Filius Flitwick was a badass in his own right. Hopefully, I'll be able to ask him for some duelling tips before shit really hits the fan.
Of course, I was promptly cornered after Transfiguration the very next day and was preparing to weather through anything they threw at me... they were first years, and despite being 'claws there were only a limited number of spells they could use, most of which were easily evaded. That was when, lo and behold, who should come to my rescue but the beautiful Professor Sinistra herself.
She 'kindly' reminded them that Filch could be very accommodating if in case the duration of their detention(s) was extended "You on the other hand Mr. Creevey, I am told, were found out of bounds recently... and since Mr. Filch has his hands full you will face detention with me, starting tomorrow, after your Astronomy class" she declared, and then promptly turned and made her way towards the Great Hall.
'At least she didn't dock me any more points!' I paid no heed to the rest of them, or their sniggering, as I made my way to the Hall in turn. They would soon realize that Filch was even worse a slave driver than McGonagall... heck, under different circumstances I would've actually pitied them, but I had bigger problems to deal with.
I don't mean getting any more flak from the upper years... I'd already made up for more than what I lost on that day of the whole 'Tower incident' in any case. What do I mean? Well basically, I (and Clearwater as well for that matter) had in fact been rewarded for actively trying to encourage Luna to go meet our Head of House.
No, it was the thought of being stuck with Sinistra alone, that worried me. A fact which (under different circumstances) would have garnered an altogether different reaction, if only she didn't happen to hate my guts.
'Well, I can't exactly blame her' I smiled ruefully as I sat next to Luna at our House table. I did however note that she'd deliberately been vague earlier, about the timeline of events. So now, in case I actually was questioned by the upper years, I could simply say that I was afraid of Bob (and some of my other dorm-mates) ganging up on me, so I'd been in an old classroom, hiding out and waiting for them to fall asleep.
'She couldn't have actually meant to hel-' I shook my head and shelved the thought away, for the time being, I already had a lot to deal with as is.
Oh, on a completely different note... as far as the side effects from Potion (if you could call it that) went: my vision was clearer, I don't know how else to describe it aside from saying that everything seemed more 'crip' like I was looking at the world in better resolution. Aside from that though I couldn't exactly say, Colin was actually in the midst of a growth spurt - as hard as it is to believe - when he'd gotten his letter. So I have no clue how to exactly attribute the cause of some of the other changes my current body was going through.
"There aren't as many Wrackspurts around her now..." Luna suddenly stated, bringing me out of my musings.
"Wha-" I started but she cut me off before I could get a full word in.
How, do you ask? Well, by promptly giving me a sudden kiss on the cheek "... she'd better learn to share" she declared, continuing to read the day's edition of The Quibbler like nothing was amiss.
'What eve- nope, forget it' I stopped myself from trying to make any semblance of sense from what she'd just said 'Damn it! I could really use a drink right now' I inwardly grumbled.
And that's a wrap!
Doctor Doofenshmirtz: Firstly, thank you for giving this fic its first review... as for what power he gains, I've got a few ideas but am open to suggestions.
Sullenwhitedevil: Dunno about the Inheritance fic, will think about it. And as you've no doubt guessed from this chapter I'm thinking of pairing him with Luna as well...
Still juggling with the multi-pairing idea so feel free to give me your thoughts.
As always, reviews and/or suggestions are welcome and appreciated, as is constructive criticism, though any and all flames will be ignored.
Until next time...
BerserkSpectre out
