Luminescent
Part Thirteen
Connor's Legacy
Disclaimer: I still don't Harry Potter, but the Lugovaloses are still mine.
Warnings: Slash, because, you know, it was obvious enough, and two more words: Grandma Lugovalos. Enough said.
Author's Notes: This is probably the last chapter I'll send out before exams, and this is, once again, not beta'd. She's probably as busy as I am, I just stole some time this weekend since so many people were wondering about Phyrrus. This is now beta'd. Love on PrincessXXMoonXX. She did it! Yay for her!
To Princess Felton: I have no idea if I made it or not, but Happy Birthday! I hope I managed (seeing how I've no idea when it is), so here's a gift!
To digimist: I've never been to such a large Thanksgiving, but I don't have normal sixed ones either, lol. Our Thanksgiving was "very small" one year with a total number of 30! "Normal" for us is around 60, to tell the truth, and it took me a long time to understand that 16 was actually considered a "large" Thanksgiving and 10 was "normal." (That's my dad's side of the family only, by the way, but it does include second and third cousins and in-laws and friends and, well, whomever else gets invited). The scene was really fun to write, though, because I got to exaggerate a lot about the Thanksgivings I experience and just got to run away with it. Not something I normally do in my stories, so I really enjoyed myself!
To Everyone: Thank you for all the reviews! It's so nice to read people that have followed and appreciated the story for so long! I hope you continue to do so, and please keep reviewing. They really brighten my day. More-so when I'm stressed. So, once again, thank you so much for reading and reviewing! You're all so wonderful! Now, one last things. . .
Please enjoy (lucky) chapter thirteen!
oOooOo
Automatically, Harry wrapped his arms around his trembling boyfriend, the wracking sobs muffled against Harry's stained and borrowed coat. Phyrrus' powerful arms were wrapped so tightly around Harry that the smaller teen briefly wondered if Phyrrus would leave bruises from his grip, but it didn't matter. Phyrrus was whimpering like he was about to break, and Harry held him even tighter, murmuring words of nonsense and stroking Phyrrus' long hair and back, pressing kisses to those flame-colored locks.
"Talk to me, arudo," Harry whispered, pressing a kiss to his boyfriend's temple. "Tell me what's wrong."
Phyrrus let out another whimper, gripping Harry even tighter, and trying to choke out a response. "I'm sorry," Phyrrus finally managed, before breaking into tears again.
Harry, unsure what to do, just held Phyrrus in his arms, rocking him back and forth and murmured nothings into his ear. Sending soothing, calming emotions over the bond to let his soul mate know he was there, Harry decided it would be better to calm Phyrrus before actually attempting to get anything from him. "It's my fault, I'm sorry." Phyrrus muttered, over and over, leaving Harry confused as to whom he was talking too--Harry was under no illusions it was him--and nuzzled Phyrrus' cheek.
"Talk to me," Harry breathed again, breath ghosting over Phyrrus' ear. "Who are the tears for?"
Phyrrus collapsed to his knees, and Harry fought to not let them both fall too quickly, managing to lower them to the ground so they didn't gain bruises on their kneecaps. "Dad," Phyrrus croaked, still not relinquishing his grip on Harry. "I wanted him. . . for him. . . and I just wanted. . ." He didn't manage to go on, laspsing back into heartbroken sobs, and all Harry could do was hold him and love him and rock him slowly back and forth, pressing kisses to his hair and temple, still rubbing his back.
"Why?"
"I wanted him to meet you. I wanted for him to. . . to be here," Phyrrus choked, sniffing and finally letting Harry go to wipe at his face. "I wanted him here," Phyrrus repeated, and Harry wrapped his arms around Phyrrus' waist, leaning close.
"Tell me about it?" Harry asked softly, pressing a kiss to the material over Phyrrus' heart.
Phyrrus nodded. "He. . . He was the one who taught me how to shoot," Phyrrus choked, "and he should have been teaching you."
"He taught you what you did?"
"My dad was the best shot here. He could outshoot anyone. He won a ton of awards when he was younger, before I was even thought of. I. . . I inherited his talent, he told me. He could do even more than that, knew how to take out two or three with one shot. . . it was so awesome to watch, Harry. And I was shooting those damn clay pigeons, and I thought. . . I thought about how proud he'd be to see I'd gotten his technique down like that." Phyrrus let out a shaky breath.
"And then I wanted him to meet you. It's not fair, Harry. You'll never get to met him. You'll never know what he was like, and you'll never see him, and he'll never get to see you, and he won't get to adore you, and he's not going to be part of our lives. He's not. . . he's not here, Harry, and I want him to be. I want him to see you and adore you and get to know you. I want him to see me finish growing, and I want him to be the over-protective father when River and Rayne go on their first dates, and I. . . I just. . . And. . . damn it, that coat still smells like him!"
Harry stared at Phyrrus blankly.
"I had that coat when Dad was alive," Phyrrus explained, staring at his hands. "I kept it for one of the twins, or a cousin or something, but it got pushed back into the closet. I'd forgotten all about it until I was looking for one for you, and then I remembered that one, and it still smells like him, damn it."
"So that's what the other scent was," Harry murmured to himself. Phyrrus gave him a curious look. "I smelled the farm, and I smelled you, but I couldn't figure out what it was that smelled like. . . like sunshine."
"Sunshine?"
"Yeah. It's bright, and fresh, and. . . and comforting. Like home. I guess that was what your dad smelled like?" Harry rubbed hand over the coat. "I like it."
"You would have liked him. He would have liked you. . ." Phyrrus was biting his lip to keep from bursting into tears again. "I just. . . I was standing there and I could almost hear him next to me, telling me how to work that gun and preparing me for the recoil, arms around me to help me hold it, and. . . and then it was like. . . I suddenly realized I'm never, ever going to see him again."
"Someday--"
"But not soon. I just miss him so much," Phyrrus whispered brokenly. "I can still feel the warmth of his hands on that gun. I can feel where he held it, the grip is all worn smooth there because he used it so much. It used to be. . . I used to be. . .My hands are bigger than his." Phyrrus finally admitted. "They weren't last year. They were still smaller. Now my hands are bigger, and they don't fit where his hands were anymore. I don't want to wear new grips into it, because those were his hands," Phyrrus choked on his tears again.
"Phyrrus. . ." Harry wrapped his arms around Phyrrus again. "You can't live in his memory forever. Eventually you're going to have to let him live in yours."
"I don't want to give him up. It's like I'm forgetting. I can't hear him anymore, Harry. I'd almost forgotten what he smelled like, and it's hard to remember his face. And I just going to forget him entirely?"
"You are never going to forget your father, Phyrrus. No matter what happens, he's going to live in your heart. Do you have any idea how much people say you resemble him? You can't forget a face you see in the mirror all the time. And you have pictures, right?"
Phyrrus nodded.
"And maybe videos?"
Phyrrus nodded again.
"That's a start. But you aren't going to forget your dad, Phyrrus. You love him way too much. And you're always going to miss him, but that's okay, because that's what happens when we loose people we love. We miss them. And its never, ever going to go away completely, and you're always going to miss him, but he wouldn't want you to live your life living in the past." Harry smiled. "He'd want you to move on and become someone great. To honor the legacy he left you, not spend your life wallowing in pity and guilt." Phyrrus closed his eyes, knowing Harry was right.
"And as for me. . . I might not get to meet your Dad, but I bet you anything he's seen me. I bet he's still watching over you, and making sure I'm okay for his baby boy to date. And since I'm still here, apparently I pass muster."
Harry's attempt at humor got a small chuckle from Phyrrus, and piercing golden eyes searched Harry's gentle green ones for several long moments. "Thank you, baby," Phyrrus murmured, giving Harry a fierce kiss that left him breathless. "I love you."
"I love you, too," Harry murmured, allowing Phyrrus to help him to his feet and following the taller back around the parked cars and trucks to rejoin the fun. Cyrrus looked them both over, but didn't say anything. Several of Phyrrus' uncles looked concerned, but only Clayton caught the boy in a tight hug, pressing a kiss to the top of his head.
"Connor would be proud of you," Clayton whispered.
Phyrrus gave a watery smile and nodded, and Harry finally realized that even though Phyrrus had lost his real father, he had not run out of people willing to step up and be the men Phyrrus needed them to be. Older uncles and cousins stepped into that role whenever Phyrrus or the girls needed them, though Leon had always been one of the first to step up. Clayton, as the eldest, felt the most responsible for Chara and her children, watching out for them, but he also knew that it was Leon that Connor had asked to be a father to his children when he could. Harry smiled. Phyrrus might not have realized it, but even if Connor couldn't be around to watch over him, he had plenty of other people that were more than willing to do so. And while they might never fill Connor's shoes, they would make sure his legacy surpassed them.
oOooOo
The rest of the week passed fairly uneventfully, with a little more shooting, upon Harry's request so he could practice just a little more, and several games of both Quidditch and Quid. Phyrrus had even convinced Harry into playing American football with the various cousins in for the holiday, and Harry was surprised at how much fun he had. He had protested he didn't know the rules, but it seemed as though no one else did either. There were a couple of cousins that had played in college or were currently on teams, but most of the family just had fun tackling each other.
When it was finally time to go back, Harry was feeling much more refreshed and ready to face the school. It had been trying the past weeks as they settled in, then had a mess with Umbridge and then had those abuse accusations against Phyrrus and the issue with his hands, and then the DA. . . Harry had been more than ready for a break. That and he was fairly sure Hermione was going to start revising for OWLs as soon as they returned if she hadn't started already.
"Hey, Phyrrus," Harry finally turned to his boyfriend, and question in his eyes.
"Hm?"
"Are you taking the OWLs? And are they the same over here?"
Phyrrus and Cyrrus both snorted. "We're lucky, lucky," Cyrrus grumbled.
"We're taking the OWLs, but we're also taking the American tests too." Phyrrus grumbled. "So I get to sit in on two different tests this year, and again seventh year. Won't that be great fun?"
"Not really," Harry told him dryly, shuddering.
"That's why I've been keeping up on my American Wizarding History studies," Phyrrus explained, making a face. "To take these tests too. Can we say boring?"
"You should be fine in most of your subjects," Chara reminded them, raising an eyebrow.
"Not if Umbridge is still being a total moron," Phyrrus huffed.
Chara, Grandma Lugovalos, and Uncle Leon traded looks. Harry felt his heart sink. Whatever they were doing could not end well. Sighing, Harry gathered his things and put a finger to the port-key, smiling at Phyrrus as he felt the familiar jerk behind his naval as they spun away to land in the middle of Hogsmeade. Half the party was retching again, and Grandma Lugovalos smiled genially. Harry gaped at her.
"After all my babies and grand babies, boy, did you really think a little old port-key would make me sick?" Grandma Lugovalos winked. Harry pondered that for a moment. She made a very good point.
Then he blinked. "What are you doing here?"
Grandma Lugovalos smiled, showing far too many teeth. "Umbridge and I," Grandma Lugovalos offered sweetly, "Are going to have some words."
Harry shivered, getting the sudden feeling that "words" would not be the only thing flying in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. And with Grandma Lugovalos knowing about what Umbridge had done to Phyrrus and Harry, Harry just closed his eyes and prayed everything that did fly was legal.
He wasn't sure what Grandma Lugovalos would do if she got sent to Azkaban, but he had a feeling it probably wouldn't be good for security. Looking at the little old woman again, Harry suppressed a shudder.
No, this could not end well.
oOooOo
"Harry!" Hermione called cheerful greetings to everyone that had arrived as she and Ron raced to meet the travelers at the gates of Hogwarts. "How was it? Was it fun? Was the food good?"
"Hermione, if the house elves could cook like the Lugovaloses, we'd all get fat," Harry cheered, and launched into an almost immediate description of the food. The only thing that gave him problems was Uncle Alvin's peach cake, which was beyond description. It was Cyrrus that solved the problem.
"Dad learned how much you liked it, and heard you wanted to share it with your friends," Cyrrus explained, toeing the ground. "He baked one for me to bring back."
"Seriously?" Harry clapped.
"Yeah," Cyrrus smiled brightly. "We baked it together yesterday night. And Serpa wasn't there and Dad was amazing and he's been sober for three months and he says that he'll still be sober next Christmas because Grandma told him she'd kick his ass if he let me down again, but it was so great!"
"Alvin's your dad?" Ron blinked.
"Right now," Cyrrus nodded. "I don't know who he is when he's on drugs and stuff, but right now. . . yeah, he's my dad."
"That's great," Ron smiled, and then urged for further descriptions from Harry, who was glad to comply. Everyone else broke in several times, though Chara soon had to return home to get ready for work the next day, leaving the rest of the group standing in the entrance hall and talking.
"How long will you be here, Grandma Lugovalos?" Hermione hugged the old woman happily.
"Just a couple of days." Grandma Lugovalos' eyes burned with an inner fire. "Umbridge and I will be having. . . words."
Everyone in the group winced though Sirius and Remus managed to make quick escapes. They needed to get ready for work in the morning as well, and almost ran out of the gates, hoping they didn't have to bail anyone out of Azkaban when this was all said and done. Though not even Sirius was sure who he would feel sorrier for if Grandma Lugovalos got sent to Azkaban. Her or the Dementors. And he was still leaning for the dementors.
Serverus and Leon shooed the children away and smiled at Grandma Lugovalos. "Would you like to meet Professor Umbridge now?" Leon's eyes were glittering just a little too much to be healthy.
Grandma Lugovalos shook her head. "I'll start tomorrow. She'll need a. . . good night's rest."
Leon and Severus shivered, leading Grandma Lugovalos down the hall.
This was going to be great.
oOooOo
The next morning Harry and his friends were some of the first students in the Great Hall. Grandma Lugovalos was already there, speaking to Headmaster Dumbledore, smiling and chuckling a bit. The headmaster had a peculiar gleam to his eye, as did Phyrrus' grandmother. Everyone shivered in anticipation, squirming in impatience until Professor Umbridge arrived. Grandma Lugovalos raised an eyebrow, her sharp blue eyes sizing up the woman with ease. "Professor Umbridge?" Grandma Lugovalos' voice was cold, her eyes like chips of blue ice.
"I am," The toad woman nodded regally. "And you are?"
"Kiera Lugovalos," Grandma Lugovalos shook the woman's hand. "I would say it was a pleasure, but I'm actually here for business."
"Oh?" Umbridge tilted her head.
"One of my grandbabies came to me, claiming that he had a blood quill used on him in detention. I've come to see what the headmaster has to say on the subject. After all, he assured me blood quills were illegal, and has restated so again. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"
"Well, I--" Umbridge paled a bit. She never thought either Harry or Phyrrus might go to an authority figure on the matter.
"Not to mention," Grandma Lugovalos cut in, her eyes narrowed, "That not only are my grandchilden American citizens, they are Lugovaloses. We're all rather displeased on the matter."
Umbridge went whiter. Blood quills were not entirely illegal in America because they were still often used for blood contracts, however their use was strictly monitored. And children were never allowed to touch the quills. Anyone giving a blood quill to a minor without parental consent and a wavier from the national and state governments that had to be nearly fifty pages long could be placed in jail for a maximum of twenty years and a minimum of three. They would also never be allowed to have a job working with children again because of the magic Americans associated with the quills. "Are you threatening me?"
"Should I be?" Icy blue eyes narrowed on the woman, and Grandma Lugovalos frowned.
"I never said that." Umbridge protested.
Grandma Lugovalos smiled at the woman, making her let out a small whimper and freeze. One bony, shaking hand gripped Umbridge's pink sweater with surprising force, yanking her down to Grandma Lugovalos' diminutive height. "If you ever harm a child--especially one of my grandchildren--with a blood quill ever again, Deloris Umbridge, you will wish your parents had never been born. Understand?"
Umbridge nodded rapidly, trying not to look cowed.
"And if you ever dare harm a child in any other manner, you'll wish you'd never seen the light of day. Not that it will much matter, because its very difficult to see the light of day. . . when you're in a coffin."
"Are you threatening me?" Umbridge demanded.
Grandma Lugovalos' eyes were almost spitting fire. "Yes."
"I'll report you for this--!"
"Good luck with that," Grandma Lugovalos snarled, stalking from the room. Umbridge stared at her, terrified. "But to. . . dissuade you, let me warn you: Report me, and the things you receive now will seem like a gift of my love."
The doors to the Great Hall burst open, allowing the old woman to stalk out, leaving a white faced Umbridge in her wake. And while the children watched in awe, not a single one was afraid. Perhaps it was because of Grandma Lugovalos' grandmotherly nature, but even after the outburst, not a single child looked at the passing woman with fear. Only one set of terrified eyes followed her. Those of Professor Umbridge.
"You think River and Rayne are bad," Phyrrus and Cyrrus commented together, watching their grandmother leave. "Who do you think they learned it from?"
Deloris Umbridge's eyes widened, and the woman slumped over in a dead faint. The cousins smirked at each other and returned to their seats. "And this is just the beginning," Phyrrus told Harry, rubbing his hands together. "Sit back and enjoy, because the show is just about to begin.
Harry's eyes widened. Just what was Grandma Lugovalos going to do to Umbridge, anyway?
oOooOo
The students quickly learned how to duck and roll when entering the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, thanks to the sheer number of things Grandma Lugovalos had booby-trapped the entire room with. It was rare for a child to trip the "gifts" Grandma Lugovalos had left, at least with the help of Leon on several occasions, but even if one of the students did trip it, the only person it was likely to affect was Umbridge. Grandma Lugovalos had left not twenty four hours after the confrontation, and a week later, Umbridge was still finding traps.
Her hair had already been dyed pink, her skin had magically been turned blue, Grandma Lugovalos had charmed her to talk like a smurf while multi-colored, and the muggle students had laughed themselves purple at the sight. Her fuzzy pink cardigan had also been destroyed--the students had never been happier to see anything bite the dust--and most of them claimed Umbridge had smoke shooting from her ears regularly.
And, to add insult to injury, Umbridge started receiving Howlers from what had to be every last person at the Thanksgiving feast as well as every single relative Phyrrus had in America. Orange envelope after orange envelope was dropped on her food, her desk, and her lesson plans over the course of the next week. And they were still coming. Students wore earplugs to breakfast until Phyrrus had written his Grandmother. The volume the students got to hear after that was much lower, with Umbridge hearing it all the louder. Apparently Anya had developed a charm just for Umbridge.
"Bloody hell, Phyrrus, how many relatives you got?" Ron breathed, eyes widening. "I thought my family was huge!"
"Well, Grandma probably told her friends about this, who told their friends, and I have a feeling my aunts and uncles were involved too. . . did I mention they know just about everyone in my home county and probably a good portion of Illinois? They talk to everyone. And I mean everyone. Plus there were all those people at Thanksgiving that heard it, and they all have friends everywhere else, and. . . well, if they're friends with my family, they have to be nuts, so they'd jump at the chance to send a Bawler, whether or not they had any idea what was going on." Phyrrus shrugged.
"Aunt Anya's parents sent one yesterday for Harry," River announced after swallowing a bite of her pudding. "They liked you, Harry."
"Oh, boy," Harry muttered, rolling his eyes. He found Aunt Anya's parents creepy, to tell the truth. "How much longer will this last?"
"Whatever revenge Grandma wanted is probably over now. Anything longer than a week is a bit over kill, even for her, but the Bawlers will probably keep coming for awhile until they decide their version of punishment is enough, or Grandma tells everyone to cool off." Cyrrus shrugged. "Month or two at most, maybe."
"Month?" Several students squeaked, eyes growing wide.
"Well, there are only between three and five a day," Phyrrus shrugged. "They probably made a rotation or something, knowing them, with Uncle Leon at the helm. It really wouldn't surprise me, though he can't send anything himself. I bet you Uncle Clayton'll send one every day for the next three weeks."
Harry sighed and shook his head. Phyrrus' family was insane. Harry just hoped his boyfriend was right. Because there had been a gleam in Leon's eyes when Harry had last seen him, and he had a feeling there was more to it than just Grandma Lugovalos.
oOooOo
Two weeks after Thanksgiving, and two DA meetings later, the Bawlers were still coming. The students were coming along nicely with all their charms, and Umbridge had put up a new decree about all groups needing the okay from the High Inquisitor. Harry chewed his lip. He wasn't sure how, but he had a feeling Umbridge knew about them. So far, however, Severus and Leon claimed they were safe. Leon also smirked and mentioned that Umbridge was going to have something else to worry about shortly.
That was not a comforting thought.
Two Saturdays after returning from the states, Harry, Phyrrus, and Cyrrus learned exactly what Leon was talking about. As the students woke and settled in for breakfast, the doors to the Great Hall swung open, revealing several people that had no place in Hogwarts. Next to Harry, Phyrrus cursed softly and on the other side of the room, Cyrrus dove under the table.
River and Rayne gave gleeful smiles and nodded to each other, garbling something in twinspeak before racing toward the front of the Ravenclaw table where they dove under the tablecloth.
Harry's heart sank.
"Professor Dumbledore," Clayton Lugovalos snapped, striding forward, every last one of the Lugovalos siblings in tow. "I think we need to discuss some things. You, Professor Umbridge, and us." Leon winked at Harry, and Harry and Phyrrus followed Cyrrus' example and dove under the table. And he thought Grandma Lugovalos was protective!
"I can't believe they're here," Phyrrus wailed softly. "I thought the bawlers would be enough."
"They're your family!" Harry grunted, burying his face in his hands. "Can't you stop them?"
"Are you kidding? Do you know anything about physics? That unstoppable force didn't just move the immoveable object, it disintegrated it!" Phyrrus whimpered, not daring to poke his head out until he got an all clear signal from somewhere.
"Well, can't we ask them to stop?"
Phyrrus shook his head, hugging his boyfriend tightly and sighing. "They're over protective of me and my sisters and Cyrrus, since Dad's gone. I don't have one overprotective father, I have. . . what eleven? No, twelve, because Uncle Alvin's here. Plus Aunt Lily which might just be worse. See, Dad probably would have stormed the castle, so they're doing it for him. But there's more than one of them. And there's no way we'll get out of this without bloodshed."
"That's just what I wanted to hear," Harry muttered, sighing.
Phyrrus shook his head. "Come on. We might as well go to the DA meeting. There's nothing we can do here."
Harry and the others sneaked to the Room of Requirement, smiling and greeting the rest of the DA and dodging questions about the people that had stormed into the Great Hall that morning. Phyrrus did not want to talk about it, and neither did the others from the look of things. River and Rayne might have spilled, were they at the meeting, but it sounded like their conversation in twinspeak had changed something.
Truthfully, Harry didn't care to know, and he hoped he was far away from the involved fireworks.
"Harry?" Phyrrus touched his shoulder. "You okay?"
"I think I need to go for a walk," Harry intoned faintly, blinking out of his stupor and waving as people left the Room of Requirement. "I'll meet you back in the common room?"
Phyrrus shrugged and nodded, slipping out of the room with Harry, and splitting up at the next corridor. He hoped Harry would be all right.
oOooOo
Harry sighed and shook his head, summoning his heavy cloak and venturing outside to walk around the lake, staring into the icy water and watching the squid play. How did he get mixed up with this weird, over-protective family again?
Right. He was bonded to Phyrrus.
So how did he bond to someone with a family as insane as Phyrrus'? Not that he'd known it at the time, really, but how did he get into these messes? Did he have some kind of karmic kick-me sign on him somewhere? If he did, it had to be Dudley's fault somehow. How Harry couldn't have said, but it had to be Dudley's fault. The only thing he'd ever done was destroy Voldemort and turn him into a shallow, half shade before returning him to life. . . upon reflection, helping Voldemort return--against his will or not--might have been the culprit to his current issues.
"Hey, kid," The deep voice wasn't familiar right away, but Harry vaguely recognized the speaker upon looking at him. All the Lugovaloses looked somewhat alike, so once Harry had met a few of them, he began to pick out a few features that were the same on all of them. Like the man in front of him had Phyrrus' eyes and nose. In fact, he and Leon shared a similar face in general. "You okay?"
"I'm fine." The man had Anders' golden hair, but his eyes were the same molten gold as Phyrrus'. Harry's brows furrowed for a moment as he desperately tried to place the face, then he gave a thin smile. "Uncle Kelsey."
"Finally remembered, hm?" Kelsey smiled and patted Harry's back. "Come on, you walk with Clayton and me."
Harry blinked, focusing on the other man. Clayton's salt and pepper curls offered him an almost regal air, though his knowing eyes were the same blue-green as Leon's. Both were a few inches over six feet, Kelsey being the taller of the two, with gentle smiles. "You don't look all right, kiddo," Clayton commented, wrapping an arm around Harry's shoulders. "Want to talk about it?"
"Phyrrus didn't want you to come," Harry blurted out, then clapped his hands over his mouth, blushing brightly.
Kelsey and Clayton exchanged a look, and Kelsey sighed. "We know."
"Then why come?"
"Because he's family." Clayton replied simply. "Connor left us his legacy to raise, and protecting him--whether or not he wants it--must be done. He is a young man, now, and even though he will no longer be a child, soon, we can't afford to let him go too early. Nor could we leave a threat for others to stumble across. You and Phyrrus were the first, but what of Cyrrus? Or River? Or Rayne? We protect more than just one when we rally for defense here. And what if she had tried to hurt you again?"
"You do this. . . just because he's family?" Harry's green eyes were sad.
"You're part of that family." Kelsey's voice was so firm. "Don't you ever forget that."
Harry bit his lip. "But I'm not. And I don't understand! I'm not related to you, I'm not anything to you! Why should I be something? I don't even know you that well!"
"You're part of Phyrrus' family." Kelsey shrugged. "That's good enough for us."
Harry blinked and turned away. "What did you say?"
"We didn't have to negotiate much. Mom did enough of that. We just asked for all her blood quills and requested we be allowed to search her office and classroom for more. We've come out with nearly fifteen." Clayton frowned. "We've left the others inside, but Kelsey saw you out here and we felt we should talk, at least a little."
"I'm just not used to a family coming together like this." Harry sighed. "Your family. . . always seems so perfect, like it's a dream I'm waiting to wake up from."
"Perfect we are not," Clayton snorted. "Phyrrus and Cyrrus both will be furious with us for the next few months, I can assure you. He thinks he's old enough to handle it all on his own. He and Cyrrus always have. And Mom's going to kill us for coming because she told us not too. But that's okay. It's for the betterment of society."
"The betterment of society would be turning her into a toad and leaving her that way," Kelsey muttered, making Harry laugh. He smiled at them both and started following them back to the castle. Maybe Umbridge would leave them alone now, at the very least. That would be something to be happy about.
Reaching the castle, Harry grinned and waved at them both before freezing as his scar tingled faintly. Burning pain swept across the small, lightning shaped mark, sending Harry to the ground with a scream of pain.
The hallway was dark and lonely, standing by itself at the end of the hall, dim light gleaming from under the heavy wood. The hall itself was brick, worn smooth by centuries of people running their hands along the stone. Faint noises from behind the door made Harry's eyes grow wide as he stared around the hallway, trying to reach the door. If he could only get to the door, it would all be okay.
One hand reached out to touch the knob--
--and everything went black.
oOooOo