Chapter 24: A Halloween to Remember
Disclaimer: Here's a horror story suitable for Halloween at least for me 😊 I don't own Harry Potter and Bioshock. Also, what's horrifying, my jokes.
Halloween was quickly upon them, the start of term had proven uneventful, routines quickly being restarted for the Second Years with some minor adjustment for the slightly increased workload.
Professor Binns had yet to return, after a conversation with Dumbledore, he had left Hogwarts with promises to return after he caught up with some of the events that he had missed in his daze. Elizabeth was both praised and criticised for this, praised because history had the possibility to be so interesting and yet Binns had almost managed to drain the life out of the students as they listened to him repeat facts, criticised because many of those that used it as a free sleeping lesson as little to no homework was given out either now found their workload increased as the substitute professors, generally whichever had a free period at the time, though homework hadn't increased lessons had stepped up and were moving away from Goblin Rebellions towards the more recent history covering the rise of Grindelwald. It was a positive change to say the least.
Defence for the second year students continued on a lot more reigned in approach, with the near miss of the Pixies, Lockhart had decided to keep live creatures out of the class and while he would retell his exploits and talk about the situation he did cover some basic jinxes and ways to deal with the smaller pests. He had taken Elizabeth's words to heart and had backed off from selecting Harry for his 'diorama's and re-enactments.' Of certain scenes from the books. To the Ravenclaws these had been the less impressive of the lessons because although they were perfect for a Drama class in Muggle School it didn't teach as much what they were supposed to be doing.
Quidditch practice had resumed and with it several new members had joined the reserve team for Ravenclaw, the other houses having also done the same, now there was double the number of players and training became a lot more interesting, each turning into miniature games, reserves against main team. it was not uncommon now to see the houses going down to watch and study in the stands while their teams practiced. The first Quidditch match had been Gryffindor vs Slytherin, again raising the question as to how the most heated rivalry wasn't last in the line-up. Nothing like throwing away a heated rivalry as an opening place on the list. Though with the fact that they had a captive audience essentially, it didn't matter overly too much in the long run. Still the game itself had been messy, the Slytherin beaters had been taken out early on by the Weasley Twins, the replacements, Crabbe and Goyle were not on the level of the twins by a long shot, but what they lacked in unison they made up for in strength. The Slytherins also had the advantage of speed, Draco had bought his way onto the team with a set of Nimbus 2001's for the main team, he had taken the spot of Seeker. There had been criticism about it and many of the other houses were very unhappy about the unfair advantage but there had been nothing in both the school rules and the Quidditch rules about donations from a parent to the house.
So, they had speed and strength, they had ability, but they tended to favour dirty tactics and bullying using size to push the other team around.
The Gryffindors even on inferior brooms were able to keep up in score just due to their skill, with how much their captain Oliver Wood trained them, it was unsurprising that they were able to hold relatively stable.
Harry had been sat in the stands watching it with interest, he loved flying, he enjoyed Quidditch but he found himself less interested in this than the message that Dobby had delivered before the school year had started, two months and nothing had happened, two months and the most unusual thing to have happened was the chaos of the Cornish Pixies that never happened because Elizabeth had been on the ball. The crowd gasped as Cormac McLaggen, the current seeker for Gryffindor dived in, the snitch hovering near the grass at the moment, Draco responded just as quickly his higher-class broom allowing him to close the distance quicker. Harry leaned forwards, watching as they dived, his eyes darting between the snitch and the other two, part of him mentally picturing himself in the chase, thinking what he would do if the roles had been reversed, Draco was pushing ahead, the 2001 far superior to the Cleansweep that Cormac had, the Gryffindor kicked out, a foul clear as day in an attempt to dislodge Draco but he pushed away throwing the older boy off balance. Draco darted around and reached out for the snitch only for a bludger to narrowly miss him, causing both to veer away and lose sight as it disappeared into the support beams.
Both seekers looked at each other and glared before flying back into the air. The match would continue for another hour, Harry had become fatigued as had several of the students, they still responded but it was definitely more muted as time went by, the Snitch just refused to be found by the other team. He looked up from the book he had been flicking through, the book that Elizabeth had given him last Christmas: Barriers to Trans-Dimensional Travel - R. Lutece. one sentence had stood out, the beginning of the book had it, written as a forward without context, "The mind of the subject will desperately struggle to create memories where none exist" he muttered to himself as he read through the pages, "so many ways that could come into effect." Harry said thoughtfully as he read the introduction, talking about different realities in a mixture of scientific and laymen terms.
The crowd cheered, drawing his attention away from the book as he looked up to see Draco spinning wildly out of control, his broom seemingly shorter now and a glance around showed the reason why, a Bludger had clipped the end of it, snapping the wood and now disrupting the enchantments. Crabbe and Goyle abandoned what they were doing and were trying to steady him. this gave the Weasleys free reign of the field and Cormac plenty of time to search for the snitch uninterrupted. With the ease that they had; the snitch was caught moments later. The final score ending in the favour of Gryffindor by 170 points. There was cheering all around, for both sides. The Slytherins had put up a damn good fight and underhandedness with the brooms aside, they had been close.
As students filtered back down the stairs and made their way to the Castle, Harry watched several Slytherins whispering it each other, glancing from him to Elizabeth and then resuming their whispers. He felt a shiver run down his spine, if they were planning something, he'd have to keep an eye out. Zabini had repeatedly tried to goad him, had made plans to get him in trouble and so far, he had remained one step ahead, however, there was always the possibility that could change so it wouldn't do for him to become overconfident just yet.
Blaise was walking back towards the School, behind Harry and had indeed been talking to Pansy and a few other students about the plan that he had for Elizabeth and the Boy who Lived. It had taken some searching but large castles with plenty of unused rooms were well known for harbouring small pests and annoyances that could cause problems for the unaware.
They had found it on the fourth floor, an old room that looked like it had been used for Alchemy at one point though the books had been removed, the tables while still in maintainable condition had been pushed to one side and were now thick with dust, all that was left, the object that they needed for their task and the main part of the room, a shaking cupboard that held the tormentor of their prey inside. They had 'convinced' a first year to get her attention after dinner, to lead her to the room and then they'd lock it from the outside. It wouldn't do any permanent physical damage to her, but who knew what reaction she could have to what she'd be stuck with.
The Halloween Feast was loud and excitable a combination of the Quidditch match and the sugar that came with Halloween sweets reviving the students that had started to be fatigued by the length of the show. "It's already proving to be better than last Halloween." Harry muttered in amusement to Terry as they ate, sat near the end of the table, farthest away from every other house.
"How d'you mean?" He asked curiously.
Harry smiled, taking a sip of his drink before responding, "there's not been a troll breaking into the school, I'm not in detention, you know, it's multiple choice with the answer." He joked calmly drawing a laugh looking around the room. "Huh, Neville seems to be missing." He said as he looked over the Gryffindor table, "a couple of others as well..." He trailed off thoughtfully as he looked around some more, trying to spot anyone else that was missing.
"think it's anything to be concerned about?" Terry asked quietly as he also looked around.
"Doubt it, their house ghost is missing as well... actually all of the house ghosts are missing, except the baron." Harry corrected as he realised the Grey Lady and the Fat Friar were missing as well.
"I know where they're gone." Lisa Turpin chimed in with a small smile, "I heard the ghosts talking about it in the hallway the other day. Apparently, it's Nick's five hundredth death day."
"Death Day?" Harry questioned, although he felt he had a general idea.
"Some ghosts celebrate the day of their death, like a birthday but not so to speak... it's his five hundredth so the other ghosts are also going to be there for him. Except the Baron, I don't think he gets along too well with the majority of them."
"May have something to do with being covered in blood... and that he's a bit of a jerk." Terry spoke dismissively, bringing his attention back towards the food as it switched to dessert. "Besides, would they even have anything for the living down there? It's not like the dead can eat anything... except vampires and Inferi. Though does that second one really count?" He asked sort of weakly as he realised his own contradiction. there was a mixture of shrugs and thoughtful looks before they switched the conversation. If the Gryffindors wanted to miss a feast to hang out with the ghosts, then that was their choice.
Up at the Staff table, Elizabeth found herself sat between Lockhart and Snape. She made polite conversation with Lockhart for the most part, Snape and her not exactly being on the best of terms but she did ask him a few things related to the upcoming potions that they were going to be working with. Looking at the students she had noticed the few missing as well but didn't put much concern into it, she looked over at the Slytherin table to see Draco sat alone, the others having given him some space. "It seems Draco wants to be alone after the match." She said to Snape who looked in the direction of the table.
"He's not used to losing, that and the destruction of his broom is probably not being taken too well either." Snape admitted after a short pause, his Godson had rarely lost, though whether that had been due to his own abilities or the fact that the deck was stacked in his favour by his father was a question that was still up for debate. "He'll learn from it and improve; I have no doubt."
"You can learn more from a defeat than a victory at times." Elizabeth added thoughtfully get a snort of amusement from Snape, having experienced the pain of defeat alongside victory over the years he knew that all too well. "But there's something else I feel I should mention," She said with a slight pause, gaining his full attention as her tone shifted to a more serious tone, "I think your snakes are planning something." She explained with a small frown, clasping her hands together in front of her, leaning on them gently. Snape turned to look at her, a raised eyebrow being the only thing that gave it away. "Surely you've noticed them?" She asked calmly and Snape glanced around, barely moving his head as he did. "Zabini and his group have been pretty much staring at either myself or Harry for the entirety of the meal, they're not exactly subtle about it." She said, almost disappointed by the lack of subtlety that their house was allegedly renowned for.
"Perhaps, you haven't done much to make connections to the Slytherin house." Snape commented almost in bemusement at the situation.
"I've made friends and connections with some; it is not my fault that their attitudes do not really help themselves towards making friends and connections outside of an already limited circle." Elizabeth said pointedly and Snape had to concede that point, the students of his house were not inclined to break from age old traditions and preconceived notions. "Still, what could they be up to?" She mused thoughtfully before smiling. "It'll be interesting to see what they're up to." Confidence was evident in her voice and Snape rolled his eyes, not really finding reason to argue with her.
He'd leave her to get caught in her own over confidence, knowing that there was little chance that Zabini would do something too dangerous with all the potential witnesses, from his own group and the portraits that littered the corridors.
Eventually dinner came to an end, Elizabeth leaving with the staff after the students had made their way out, talking to Professor McGonagall about Animagus and some of the steps required to investigate it. She had to admit it was way ahead of what she could do at the moment but the ability to turn into an animal had the potential to be extremely useful. They went their separate ways after reaching McGonagall's office, Elizabeth continuing upstairs to the second floor, she could hear the sound of footsteps, moving quickly and curiosity had got the better of her, they were coming towards her from a side passage. She turned her head, looking as a Slytherin first year ran up to her looking scared.
"You have to help me." He called out, panic evident, "if you don't it's going to hurt her." He cried out as he skidded to a stop in front of Elizabeth.
"Calm down." Elizabeth said comfortingly, kneeling slightly in front of the young boy to bring her more to his level. "What's happening, what's wrong?" She asked as the Slytherin took several calming breaths.
"I... I had been exploring with Bridget, there was time before the curfew and we were up on the fourth floor, there was something in the class room and it grabbed her and..." He started to stutter, and stumble and Elizabeth tried to calm him down.
"It's okay, it's okay, take me there and I'll help her." Elizabeth said, standing up dusting off her robe as the kid started to run back the way he came. Elizabeth moved to keep up with him, the two taking two secret passages that she had not known about before coming to a stop in front of a disused classroom, she didn't know what lessons had once been held here but knew that nothing was being done in here now.
There was no one in the room, a cabinet was shaking at the back of the room, in front of the blackboard that the professor would have used in the past. She looked around, no sign of student or whatever had grabbed her as she stepped into the room. looking around for any threat hiding just out of sight but there was nothing other than the cabinet.
"I'm sorry. I don't have a choice..." She heard the voice of the boy behind her quietly before the door shut. She spun around, hearing the click of the lock and tried the handle for it not to budge. She grimaced, a trap had been anticipated and she had walked into it with barely a look back. She took her wand out and tried the unlocking charm, but it didn't work, it meant the kid wasn't alone, someone else had to have been nearby or the door would have unlocked. Behind her she could hear the cabinet shaking more and more, whatever was in there was getting agitated. Could it have been a student? they weren't making calling for help but at the same time, a simple silencing spell would prevent any noise that they could try to shout. Part of her wanted to just open the cabinet to see, the other part didn't want to on the off chance it was something else entirely.
The cabinet shook roughly, the flimsy lock on it buckling as Elizabeth started looking around the room again, trying to decide how to deal with the situation. The easiest way would just be to open a tear and walk through and just continue on as normal.
But that would be too easy. She couldn't rely on that power all the time to solve all her problems. With the door being magically locked it wasn't possible for her to open it the normal way with her limited repertoire of magic that she had still. Another option could be to brute force it open, but if there was anyone on the other side she risked injuring them , but if she was going to be honest with herself, she wasn't that worried about injuries to the people on the other side regardless of who it was, child or adult. It was their own actions that had put them in that situation, and it would be their own fault, responsibility for their own actions.
Preparing to do so, she stopped as she noticed the quiet in the room, her back to the cabinet she didn't move for a moment, listening intently for anything. for a moment there was nothing and then she heard footsteps and a very familiar voice. "That would be just like you, wouldn't it?" The woman's voice snapped, and Elizabeth felt a chill run down her spine as she turned around slowly. "Willing to kill or hurt anyone as long as it fits your ideas."
Elizabeth stopped as she looked at the figure that now stood in front of her, it was like looking into a mirror of the past, she stood looking at her younger self, her clothing, her hair, everything stood looking exactly the same as that which she had been back in the tower all those years ago. Idly, her mind registered that the cabinet was open, whatever had been inside was now out and presenting that image. "What are you?" She asked weakly, there had to be a logical explanation to this, it couldn't actually be her.
"You already know," The younger Elizabeth mocked, "I'm that little whisper that constantly asks you 'is it worth it?' That part you constantly push down and silence with justifications and excuses to get away with the horrors you've committed and brought upon the places you've visited." It mocked with a sneer worthy of Snape that was almost horrifying to see on a usually caring face. "How much innocent blood is on your hands... on OUR hands?" She asked holding up her hands, they were clean but as Elizabeth watched she though she saw flickers of stains appearing before vanishing, she shook her head trying to clear her mind of this situation. It was trying to unsettle her, to unnerve her and throw her off balance. Could it truly know anything about her? "How could you justify Sally suffering?"
"I..." She started weakly, unable to justify it in the slightest, Sally the girl abducted in Rapture and turned into a Little Sister by ADAM obsessed maniacs. But her suffering didn't end there, abducted once more and stuck in a prison to either be killed or worse, a toy for the crazed Splicers of the failed rebellion. And then Elizabeth had used her as a pawn to torment Comstock, to set him up to die even though he had been trying to do the right thing for Sally... and for her, haunted as he had been by his memories, his failure all those years ago and again in recent time when he had been protecting and watching her.
"Did she deserve to suffer as you tried to burn her out of the vents?" She shouted angrily and the older Elizabeth flinched back, she had been in a very dark spot at that time, everything that she had been through, that she had seen, it had tested her and found her lacking, tainting her thoughts and actions as she tried to do what she felt had been right at the time.
"No... stop." She muttered weakly, pinching the bridge of her nose as she shook her head again lightly, trying to find focus. It should have been easy to respond to this; she had thought about it so much over the years but now all those justifications and reasons that she had just felt hollow in the face of herself questioning her so openly.
"You'd like that wouldn't you, no questions, no doubts, no guilt. To do what you want without fear or any form of morals." The voice started to shift sounding older and tire. "Because you don't want to become me..."
"What?" Elizabeth asked weakly, looking back up and stopping, completely thrown by what she was seeing, where once stood the younger version of her, now stood a path that could have been. If Booker, her true father had failed to save her from Comstock House, if he had been stopped and Comstock had the implants put in that he wanted hen this is what she would have become, the fulfiller of self-made prophecies. "This isn't real."
"We are a bird in a cage. We can't escape our fate forever." She said in resignation and Elizabeth felt a sickness in her building up at the defeat that was in the older woman's voice.
"The door was shut and sealed. It can never be opened again! You can't exist!" Elizabeth protested her voice getting louder as she argued with the older version of herself who just looked sadly at the shaken woman.
"Any door that is closed can be opened again; it just takes the right key. It's always there, knowing that you can become me, that part of you thinks that Comstock was right, that the world needs a second flood." She paused gesturing to the window and to the world outside. "To wipe away those that can't see the path that should be taken."
Elizabeth shook her head, her hair falling in front of her face as she tried to protest against it. "No!" She snapped though her voice shook as she did, "it's never right, you can't judge the innocent on the actions of the guilty!" Elizabeth tried to counter but in the back of her mind there was that little voice that had always sat there. The years of teaching by Comstock and others so that she would see her place to answer the Prophecies that Comstock had made, that she would cleans the Earth in flame, that she would sit on the Throne and drown in flame the Mountains of Man.
"But you've done just that, when you brought Atlas to Rapture, you passed judgement on any innocent that remained there and found them guilty." The older version countered, and Elizabeth couldn't help but let out a small snort of derision.
"Rapture!? Hardly an example of innocence." She scoffed though it was a lie, there had been plenty of innocents that suffered in Rapture.
"Do you truly believe that?" Elder Elizabeth asked, already knowing the answer from the look on her face. "No children? no little girls or boys caught in the crossfire or used for the uncontrolled experiments that Atlas was willing to perform? Do you truly believe that there were no men or women in that city who deserved peace? that moved there to live new and better lives? Did they truly deserve to suffer through that rebellion?" The tiredness and venom in her voice, such a stark contrast to the questions that she was asking in an almost educational way cutting Elizabeth deeply.
"It wasn't my place to stop him." Elizabeth tried to argue, snapping slightly as she let anger take over from self-doubt and fear. "It had to play out as it was meant to, I'm not God, I don't get to decide who lives and dies." Elizabeth protested and the Older Elizabeth just shook her head again and the real Elizabeth started to see a shift in the image that was causing her so many issues.
"And yet..." the voice started to shift, becoming younger, darker and colder "That's all you've been doing." She taunted easily, the fire of anger in Elizabeth vanishing as she now stood in front of a new figure. "And it's oh... oh so easy." The voice of the now mirrored Elizabeth spoke, her clothing similar to what she had worn in Rapture. "An unlimited number of worlds, all loyal to me as their Queen. None able to stand against us." She sighed almost wistfully, "and those that try..." She laughed coldly and Elizabeth felt her blood turn cold, "those that try just seem to disappear, it's ever so weird." She joked with another laugh.
"I am NOT you! I will NEVER be you!" Elizabeth spat out as she backed away from the reflection.
"But you're already taking those first small steps." She purred, walking forwards with small steps with each word, closing the distance, "a slight change here, a difference there, where do we draw the line?" She smiled predatorially, "so many people with plans and schemes to hurt those you care about." She warned, seeing a glimmer of fear suppressing the anger that had started to resurface. "And you could remove them with but a snap of your fingers." She emphasised that with a click, laughing as Elizabeth flinched.
"I am not listening to this." Elizabeth said turning her back to the evil double, "I refuse to listen to this." She protested trying to focus on the door and the way out. A tear would be her best option, it would get her out and gone far, fast and easily.
But wouldn't that just be proving her point?
She stopped; it would solve the problem, but it would validate the thing which she was being taunted for. Using her powers for her own benefit instead of following the rules that she had to live with.
NO, to hell with that, this is a completely different situation.
She prepared to open a tear, regardless of what the others were saying, there was no harm in this. "I don't need to do what you're suggesting; I won't abuse the abilities that I have like whatever you're meant to be, I won't do it!" She said as she opened a tear that would lead her out, preparing to step through.
"Funny." the evil doppelganger said with a mocking laugh causing Elizabeth to stop, her torn curiosity getting the better of her. "He said the same thing when I offered him a place at my side." She said and Elizabeth found herself frozen, the tear starting to shake and collapse on itself "So I had to teach him a lesson, after all what he had was what he had taken from me... so it felt only right that I determine just how it was used, no?" She asked sarcastically.
"What did you do to him?" Elizabeth asked, her voice going dead as she started to turn around. Everything she had done here had been to protect Harry, to help him live and have a decent life. If she had done anything to hurt him, real or not, it didn't matter.
"I just took a page from dear old dad." She teased and Elizabeth knew straight away what was being implied. "I built a tower, just for him..." A sly smile crossed her lips, "a gilded cage with the only key held by me." She stopped right in front of Elizabeth. "Don't worry, I make sure he gets plenty of exercise."
There is very little that separates fear and anger. Fear of what she could so very easily become replaced by pure anger at the implication of what could happen, her magic lashed out slamming to the alternate version sending her flying back into the cabinet as she dropped to her knees from the surprise exertion struggling to catch her breath.
Laughter echoed from the cabinet, Elizabeth's breath caught in her throat, if before the chill that had run through her body had been enough to feel like ice in her veins, this one left her feeling like she had been dropped onto the North Pole. A laugh that haunted her nightmares, that crept up on her during the darkest moments. "You really are still a crazy lass, aren't you?" The thick Irish accent carrying through the room loud and clear as the man that had beaten her back in Rapture, that had caver her skull in and had killed her... or at least came extremely close it stepped out of the Cabinet. "I guess that shot to the head knocked something a bit loose as you're still here." Atlas taunted, a wrench in hand, the same one that had been used on her. She backed away, her back against the wall as she tried to put as much distance from him as possible. "You know I have to thank you, for all your help." He paced in front of Elizabeth, tapping the wrench in his hands, each time it made contact, Elizabeth flinched the sound of metal hitting flesh bringing her right back to that night in Rapture, the blurriness of her vision as she started to fade, her hollow broken laugh as she essentially begged him to kill her with how she had been at that point. "You gave me Rapture on a silver platter, you gave me the kid, the key to unlocking everything and taking it from Andrew Ryan, you game me the tools to take over and you left me one final gift." He said stopping in front of her and kneeling down, so they were staring eye to eye. Cold, pale, calculating blue eyes locked with bright, fear-stricken eyes partly covered by her hair that had fallen into disarray.
"What... what do you mean?" She asked though she felt the answer was something obvious, she just couldn't think of it, but it scared her immensely.
He laughed coldly and she broke eye contact with him, turning away as he pushed himself back up to his feet. "You gave me access to an Infinite Scam, an entire realm of possibilities. An infinite number of Raptures and an infinite number of Plasmids and Splicers, all for me to lead into whatever I wanted. It's all thanks to you." He said happily as she pulled her legs up to her, hugging herself as she tried to block out what he was saying, previous traumas stopping her from acting against Atlas, her body just refusing to listen to her panicked mind. "But just when I think you're all used up, that there's nothing left to give me, you just keep surprising me adding something new for me to take. Magic." He said with a grand gesture at the room. "You're the gift that just keeps on giving, if I knew you were so useful, I'd almost feel bad for what I did before but that's business." He knelt down again, seeing that she wasn't properly focusing on him and reached up to turn her head, but she flinched away before he could make contact. "Then there was one final gift, I find out there's someone else with abilities just like ours, well I guess I can always get rid of the broken toy and just start all over again, icing on the cake." He laughed walking back to pace around the room. "I wonder if he's as easy to use as you are." He stepped back with another laugh as she shook in uncontrolled fear.
She mentally fought with herself to move but her body refused to listen, her logical mind told her that it couldn't be real but the rest of her refused to listen, it just felt so real, his voice, the smell of smoke, his actions, all of it at once with all the others just froze her.
Atlas didn't have a chance to speak again as the door slammed open, Elizabeth barely reacted as she heard a familiar voice cast spells, flashes of light flickering into view as a shadow passed over her. "Elizabeth?" The voice spoke quietly as a hand gently touched her shoulder.
She reacted fast, dragging herself away with a strangled cry of "Don't touch me!" Curling up on herself in the corner.
"Harry stay back a moment." Bathsheda said as she walked away from the now locked and sealed away problem. "She's been stuck with a boggart. They're creatures that use your own fears against you." She explained as she slowly knelt in front of Elizabeth. "I don't know who that was or what he told her, but it's shaken her." She continued before shifting her full attention from student to Elizabeth, "I'd ask if you're okay, but it's a stupid question at this point," She semi joked, trying to ease the tension in the room but Elizabeth barely reacted, "Elizabeth, I'm going to help you up, we're going to take you back to your room and I'll get a calming potion from Poppy." She said gently, waiting for a moment before moving forward. Elizabeth flinched slightly before looking at Bathsheda with frightened, tear stained eyes, accepting the help back to her feet. "Harry lead the way," she said as she supported Elizabeth, holding her close as they walked through the corridors.
Around them, portraits and paintings were talking, watching what was happening as they spoke, and Elizabeth tried to shrink in on herself the whispers cutting through the otherwise silent corridor. "We'll be away from this soon." Bathsheda comforted quietly as they started to climb the stairs to the next floor and the Ravenclaw Common Room and just beyond, the Head Student dorm.
"I..." Elizabeth started softly but stopped herself as she still tried to deal with all that had been thrown at her.
"Just relax for the moment." Bathsheda urged as they arrived at the entrance, overriding the password with the Staff password. "Many don't deal well with a boggart for a shirt time, the creature has a passive ability to find your worst fears to use them against you to get their target to leave their area. You being locked in with one meant that it had to change its tactic, shut you down with fear and self-doubt." She led Elizabeth to her desk helping her into the chair. "Harry, keep an eye on her, I've got to get her a calming draught and probably a dreamless sleep potion." She said quietly, getting a nod from him and she was out the door almost a second later.
Harry sat on the edge of the bed, looking with concern at his best friend and constant saviour. "I knew Blaise was up to something," He paused, he felt guilty at what she had gone through, that he had failed to help her when she needed it. "I saw him talking after the Quidditch match and I just knew he had something up his sleeve, but I didn't know what." Harry started to explain to an otherwise motionless Elizabeth, "When you didn't return here, I went to Bathsheda and we started looking for you." He sadly explained. "I'm sorry we didn't find you sooner." He apologised quietly.
Elizabeth didn't show any response to him as she turned to look at the mirror, her movement almost mechanical as she stared at her reflection. "I... I have to know." She whispered her voice barely audible even in the silence of the room.
"What?" Harry asked pushing himself to his feet.
" have to know if it happened." She said quickly, her voice holding a strong tone of fear and panic.
"You need to stay here." Harry protested as she stood and started pacing.
"If what it said is true and he's out there, then I need to know and I need to stop him, I need to..." She started to mutter semi hastily, continuing to pace back and forth as she quickly started muttering inaudibly.
"You need to sit down and take the calming..." Harry started to talk and Elizabeth cut him off sharply.
"I don't need a potion!" She snapped, Harry flinching back at the sharpness of the tone. "If he's out there, you're in danger. If he's out there, I'm in danger! We're all in danger." She said in panic.
"You're not making any sense, who are you talking about?" Harry question in confusion.
"Him, the one who... the one who almost killed me, Atlas." Elizabeth said shakily, trailing off as she stopped in front of the window, looking out over the school grounds, not that much was visible in the dark of night. "That may not have been him but the words are accurate, his actions are because of me, if he's survived and he's bothered to look, he'll learn about the device and how to travel along the rifts, if he has then he's even more dangerous and I have to stop him." A tear started to open to the Sea of Lighthouses, and she stopped on the edge, looking through the tear at the various paths that lay before her.
"Don't do this, it was set up to scare you, to unsettle you. You're not thinking straight." Harry practically begged her, moving in front of her. "If he's as dangerous as you say, going like you are now will just play in to his hands."
"He has to be stopped." Elizabeth pleaded her eyes showing the desperation that she was feeling, "he's hurt to many people, he's going to kill so many more and it'll all be my fault." She started to shake, looking away from Harry, "everyone he kills is directly because of me, I took him back to Rapture, I released him from his prison because I was so focused on one little girl." Elizabeth argued more with herself than Harry. "I have to find out if there's any truth in that statement, I have to look into..." Her eyes rolled up as she fell forwards, Harry struggling to hold her as she slumped, the tear closing behind him. He looked towards the entrance and saw Bathsheda back, holding her wand in one hand and two potions in the other.
"Not what I wanted to do but I didn't really see much of an option." She said as she placed the potions on the desk and moved to help Harry lift the dead weight of the unconscious Elizabeth.
Inwardly, Harry was cursing, another Halloween and something horrible had happened.
Why did he have to tempt fate?
HPCVHPCVHPCV
Back in the unused classroom as the three left, another figure, having been hidden in the corner of the room under a disillusionment charm cast by Flint and he was set to see Elizabeth be taken down a peg.
It just did not go the way he had expected in the slightest. As the spell faded away, he stood there still in shock, his mouth moving but no words coming out before he finally stopped, taking a moment to compose himself.
"What the hell just happened?"
TBC
Okay, here we go, new chapter done and dusted. Halloween and more things start to change, where's the appearance of the basilisk? What will Elizabeth do now that she has had a run in with the Boggart.
That idea started weirdly, for me. A conversation with a friend sparked an idea and I just kind of sat there with "What would Elizabeth's fear be." And I couldn't really think on anything less than those four ideas. Fear of who she is compared to what she had wanted to be in the version of her younger self. Fear of what she could have been, in the form of the elder version of her from the window that Booker visited where she did what Comstock had wanted her to do. The third version was one that was branched from the actions she was taking now combined with her past, a version of her given into the impulse to do what she wanted when she wanted and change everything to how she wanted it and remove all possible opposition regardless of how. It was an interesting thing to run with.
The last was Atlas, that one was always going to appear, the man that for lack of a better term broke the damaged Elizabeth in Burial at Sea episode 2. And although its heavily implied that the timeline is one that leads into Bioshock 1, I could easily see it as yet another branch where Atlas, after having his plans screwed with by multiple people could easily take it a different route to ensure that he kept control.
But that doesn't make much difference in the long run, it was just a Boggart after all.
See you in the next chapter.