AN: I'm still not called either Rowling nor Garfield, so I fear I still own nothing.
CHAPTER 18 - Wild ricochet
The following day's paper headlines read as one would expect, denouncing Liliana as a dark witch who could summon hordes of dementors with just a thought and that was therefore surely out to topple the Ministry. It also dedicated a grand total of two lines to the task.
When the necromancer read it she laughed out loudly –so much that many younger students scuttled away from her– and proudly declared that had she "actually wanted to, the Ministry would have already toppled like the house of cards they are".
From what they had seen, neither Chandra nor Ajani doubted such an affirmation. The leonid still cautioned her to keep things quiet unless actually threatened. It did nobody good to make an enemy of the local government.
The extraplanar trio had anticipated no more trouble from the authorities and only some minor disturbances from the students –especially from Malfoy's posse– but they hadn't accounted for the veritable parliament of owls that started dropping mail for Liliana. Some letters looked normal enough, while other missives were suspicious simply because they had no obvious sender, but the vast majority didn't even try to disguise its hurtful nature by being written on blood-red parchments or downright black ones that positively reeked of dark magic. The necromancer scoffed at such simplistic attempts and left the letters where the owls dropped them, not bothering to open any single one not bearing the Ministry insignia or some such markings. Not that she cared for those either, but she guessed those at least could be somewhat important.
One unforeseen consequence of the second task was that Hermione decided not to be pushed around by anyone anymore, be they Weasley or the Ministry. Apparently, Liliana's whispers did their job in convincing the bushy haired girl that she could be much more than just the brightest witch her age, so she decided to scour the library for anything that could help establish her image.
"I won't help you get into the forbidden section," said Chandra when her friend came to her for help "I could certainly do it, but the Multiverse could do without another dark mage running around."
"Come on Chandra, I need those books!" implored Hermione kneeling in front of the bed where the redhead had been sleeping "Think of all the knowledge! Think of how I could use it to better the world!"
"I'm pretty sure half of Nephalia's population justify themselves like that, and that city is crawling with mad wizards playing god with the corpses of other people," rebutted the pyromancer juggling a fireball "You don't need that knowledge Hermione, you just need to stand up for yourself."
In the end Hermione went to ask Liliana for help, but she also decided to be careful with what she studied and frequently asked Chandra for inputs on the themes to avoid. The pyromancer wasn't a hundred percent happy with the outcome but accepted to be the voice of moderation –and wasn't that a worrying thought!– to Liliana's influence.
The last consequence of the task was that an unexpected guest knocked on their door one dark evening: Chandra was more than a little surprised to see the girl that had challenged her to a duel standing in the corridor and looking around as if she feared being discovered.
"If you're looking for a repeat performance I'm not in the mood," stated the pyromancer crossing her arms and leaning against the door.
"I'm not here for you Po-Nalaar," hissed Pansy scowling "And I'm not suicidal, thank you. I need to speak with your friend, Lady Vess."
Chandra raised an eyebrow at the title –it was actually possible Liliana was some kind of noble on either Innistrad or Dominaria, but the redhead doubted the girl could possibly know that– but shrugged, let Pansy in and pointed her to the necromancer's door.
"Be careful," said Chandra before going back to the couch by the fire and the novel she had been reading.
Pansy was mildly surprised to see Granger sitting on the other couch, a leather bound tome in her hands that didn't look like any one of their schoolbooks, and a phoenix chick napping on her head.
Deciding to ignore the odd sight, she knocked on the door. It wasn't long before Liliana opened the door with a mildly annoyed expression that instantly morphed into one of surprise.
"Miss Parkinson, what a surprise! Came to have a chat?"
Pansy nodded and the necromancer motioned for her to come in. The room was pretty dark compared to the rest of the dorm, with the fire extinguished and only a single candle lit on the mantelpiece. The woman draped herself on her bed with a sultry smile and pointed her a chair.
"I see we had a change of heart," she said tapping her fingers on the comforter "I'm not going to give you a better eye though."
"That's not it!" said Pansy shaking her head "I'm here to offer information and my services as spy amongst the Slytherin in exchange for your protection, Lady Vess."
"Lady Vess eh? It's been years since anybody called me that, you wouldn't believe how many... So," she said sitting up and leaning closer "Let's hear this information first."
Convinced that she had secured a place in Liliana's graces, Pansy spilled the beans on everything she knew of the Dark Lord's plan and who played which role in it, or at least all she knew for sure. She also forwarded a number of additional hypothesis on extra plans and people.
Since the whole Tournament was becoming a massive source of headaches for the Ministry, it was unilaterally decided by Fudge to anticipate the third task. The official reason had been that foreign dignitaries couldn't be present otherwise, but it was an open secret that Crouch and Bagman's blunders had tested the minister's patience, and Fudge –who hadn't been elected on sympathy alone despite being likable enough– had been fast to throw them to the sharks to side with Chandra.
The political machinations bored the pyromancer to no end, with her being more action oriented an whatnot, but what she really cared for in all that posturing was that the third task was going to be held on the twenty-first of march, less than one month after the second, which in turn meant that she would be confined on that plane for a shorter time than foreseen.
Sure, she was sorry to have to say goodbye to her newest friends, but nothing prevented her from coming back from time to time. She was going to miss Hermione in particular: the bushy haired witch was like an amalgamation of the best of her, Liliana and Jace, and had the potential to be a force to be reckoned with. It was like Samut all over again, albeit without planeswalker spark: blind faith turned into a champion of her people, the one true leader they had needed. Hermione was just like that, but she was also a better friend than any other Chandra had had in recent years except maybe Nissa. But Nissa was special and didn't count.
The pyromancer decided to put those thoughts away till it was time to actually say goodbye. She had never been one to ponder the future but rather a spur-of-the-moment kind of girl.
"I'm impressed Weasley, you actually managed to feed them the potion," said Draco staring down on the two unconscious girls "But why the mudblood?"
"That Vess woman was Merlin knows where with that Frenchie, you know, Delacour. And Potter shared the pastries with Granger, so..." he let the phrase linger, hinting that he had had to improvise.
"Well, we still got Potter, so I'd say it's good. Vess was just a bonus, really," said the blonde shrugging "You did a good job. Now all we need to do is wait for them to wake so the love potion will have taken hold."
"How long will that take? Potter's judge will notice sooner or later."
"Patience my friend, it should be any minute now. Just the time for some last minute preparations..."
That said, Draco moved deeper in the room.
His father had told him of the secret location and what to look for, and right next to the ugly tapestry with the dancing trolls he had found it indeed. It was a massive room, filled to the brim with clutter without rime or reason but still plenty easy to navigate. He had given the potion to the stupid Weasel so that if things turned sour he would be clean –nobody would believe him actually being in league with his most hated enemy in the whole school, after all– while he managed the rest of the plan. It was really a work of beauty how he had played everyone, if he had to be honest.
He reached his destination and uncovered the dusty, old cabinet, before opening it and placing a single green quill in it. The all clear signal.
"You done Malfoy? Potter's stirring," came the Weasel's voice and Draco turned sharply in that direction.
"It's too soon," he muttered worriedly before answering back "I'm coming!"
He rushed back, taking his wand out, and arrived right on time to see Potter open her eyes and bring her gauntleted hand to her head.
"Oooh," she murmured, obviously feeling the aftereffects of the sleeping draught "By the blazes Weasley, what did you put in those pastries?"
"Stupefy!" cried Draco before the girl could regain her wits.
If Pansy's duel had taught him anything it was that Potter was dangerous, and certainly not an opponent he could fight alone. Or with Weasley, which was honestly little better than being alone.
"Why did you do that?" asked the other boy getting red in the face.
"The potion hadn't taken, she must be resistant. Let's keep her asleep some more," smoothly lied Draco.
There was no potion of course, but he didn't feel any need to tell the Weasel.
Now, he thought looking back towards the cabinet, If only the others would hurry...
Knock knock
"Heeey theeereee," came the singsong call from behind the door "A little birdie told me that there was a party here!"