"Blah." Talking
"Blah" Parseltongue
'Blah' Thinking
Blah Memories/Flashbacks/Dreams
Blah Anything, and Everything else
A/N: I warn you now. I went crazy with the line breakers in this chapter. You think I was abusing it before? That's nothing in compairison. :)
Bill was confused.
"What the fuck is a WALL doing out here!?" And apparently so was Charlie. The twins just moved around the wall, taking in every detail. Bill and Charlie wondered if maybe Dumbledore's lead was just wishful thinking.
"Hey… this is the Malfoy crest." Bill wandered over to where they were pointing. Sure enough, carved into the stone was the Malfoy crest: A lily behind two crossed swords with the phrase 'Je te protéger.' Always a family to surprise everyone, the Malfoys; one would think they'd have something gothic and sinister, not a lily.
"This must be the old manor; an earthquake destroyed it, right?" Charlie turned to Bill for conformation. Bill nodded; he head heard that after the earthquake only Abraxas Malfoy was left. At age fifteen, he inherited the whole Malfoy fortune and promptly relocated to Britain. There was, at the time, gossip that Abraxas had summoned the earthquake to kill off his family.
"Bill, is this what we're looking for?" One of the twins asked, jarring Bill out of his thoughts. He refocused his attention on the twins. They were pointing at something, which led his eyes back to the wall. He blinked in bewilderment.
'Well, I'll be damned.'
"Yes, I'm guessing that is what we're looking for." A small portion of the wall looked somewhat distorted, like warped wood. To the average muggle, that meant the wall was simply old, but to a wizard that meant one thing: a very powerful ward, or several, was covering something up. Bill sighed.
"We're going to be here for awhile."
Arthur and Remus were back to back, firing off curses. A little ways away Albus and Mad-eye were doing the same. Molly and Severus were inside the house, alternately gathering important things and fighting off the few Death Eaters.
A stray flash caught Arthur's attention and as he looked at it, he realized what the stray flash was. It was a body consumed in flames freefalling out of Arthur and Molly's bedroom window on the fourth floor. He hoped his wife was alright.
Dolores Umbridge woke with a head ache, which only became worse once she remembered the events that led to her unconsciousness. She hoped the Minister got the book he requested; if not, she didn't know what she was going to do. It had taken a long time to track down Chang, who was related to Dolores through some distant relative.
The book containing Merlin's Ancient Secrets, a last accounting written by the god himself, could only be found by someone related to Dolores, as in distantly related. It was some old trick, an old curse, placed upon her family line by Merlin. That was the theory anyway. Every time she looked upon its pages she saw nothing. Nothing. Knowing it was there was useless without being able to read it! So, she had climbed the Ministry ladder, looking into everyone's heritage, trying to find someone, anyone, that was related to her distantly. It took years, but she finally found Chang.
Over the years it took to locate Chang, she had fallen in love with power, money, and Cornelius Fudge. Sure, the man was married, but that didn't stop him from pounding her into a desk every now and then. Her body grew hot at the very thought.
She opened her eyes and was greeted with Minerva McGonagall's stern face. In an instant, she knew: Her pet Auror had failed: Chang did not give the book to Fudge. She was doomed.
Minister Fudge was conflicted. He looked at the bound woman across from him, contemplating his possible decisions.
'This is the only way, the only way.'
This thought rang in his head as he released the woman in front of him from her bindings.
Harry smelt death.
I don't want to die.
The scent burned his nose, inflamed his thoughts.
I'm scared.
The watery abyss of sleep was not where he was supposed to be.
I'm scared.
He tried to claw his way to the surface, force himself awake; he had to wake up. Now.
I don't want to die!
Sirius was just starting to nod off when Harry's previously asleep eyes snapped open. His godson stood up and faced the doors to the Infirmary, staring ahead with such intensity that a chill went up Sirius' spine. He saw Lucius and McGonagall turn towards Harry in confusion.
The doors opened with a bang and Sirius was up in a flash, wand drawn.
'Nobody who means well opens doors like that.'
In seconds, the Infirmary became a battle ground. Curses flew, shouting drowned out thoughts, Lucius dove to the right as a sickly green light smothered Tonks, and Harry was gone. Sirius was frantic, he could not see his godson, but he could not move from where he was. If he did, the kids might get hit by something fatal.
'Strange that they have not woken up… oh, that's right Poppy drugged them.'
"Lumos!" A short spurt of bright light flashed and it was over. Harry had two wands grasped in his right hand, his left wound in the hair of a struggling female student. When McGonagall moved forward to address the situation, she drew back in horror when she saw who the female student was.
"Brown." Sirius wasn't sure if she sounded more confused or horrified.
Harry was having a hard time breathing and seeing. Lavender was encased in darkness and he smelt rotting flesh. Her figure was so covered, he literally could not see her, thus the need for the lumos spell. Of course, the fact that the girl reacted so badly was also food for thought.
He felt sadness creep up his spine; felt sorrow attempt to choke him. He clenched his jaw as he made a spur of the moment decision.
'I will free her; I will give her back to Thantos.'
Fire spread from his hand to her hair, red-orange ate black. He heard shouting, but it was so distant, and then… silence.
He opened his eyes to his field of flowers. He felt the long dress of night clinging to his body as he looked to his companion. He could see her now, a lot clearer then he had in a while. Her face was cut up, her nightgown torn, there was blood everywhere it seemed. She turned wide, frightened eyes on him.
"Harry, I'm scared. I've never really liked you, but I'm scared… help me. I don't want to die." Lavender's fingers were twisted and broken, her nails missing on some.
"I can't help you Lavender, you're already dead. But it's okay, you won't be in pain for much longer. You won't be afraid." His flowers were wilting, the sky was crying, and he realized Lavender was crying, too.
"Mama, Mama, Mama. I'm sorry I yelled at you, I love you, Mama, Mama." Thantos glided over to them, silent and compassionate, warm and understanding, cold and cruel.
"My child, my precious child." Thantos spoke as a mother would, gently gathering Lavender into stone cold arms. Lavender sobbed, broken and dead, against the demi-god. Thantos swayed, softly singing to the girl.
A different singer's voice was starting to become more pronounced and Harry narrowed his eyes. A necromancer was trying to find Lavender. Necromancers were children of Thantos and Hades, born of their union. It was why they were so rare, because Hades and Thantos were only ever allowed to make love once every decade. They could not indulge themselves anymore then that.
Necromancers, for all their human qualities, were not human. A human could give themselves to someone or something. A necromancer could not – they belong to no one, but Thantos and Hades. They could not love, could not hate, and could not be loyal. For a necromancer to try was not only pointless, but it was fatal. It was grounds for extermination – for while Hades was possessive, Thantos was selfish.
"Thantos, one of your children seeks that one. What would you have me do?" Harry spoke softly, not wanting to disturb the two. The singing of the necromancer was turning into a low whine, a pathetic grovel. Harry sneered. 'What manner of necromancer cannot sing properly?'
"That child has let herself be owned by another." Thantos' statement was met with Harry's eyes widening, his mouth coming up into a cruel and cold smirk.
"Well then, I suppose that means I get a new play toy."
"Wait. That child is going towards your body. It should be easy to return to it and get rid of my wayward child." The wind beheaded the flowers and the sky fell into darkness.
When Harry opened his eyes he was laying against Sirius' chest.
"Hey, kiddo. You okay?" Harry blinked sleepily as he stared up at his godfather's face. The older man looked tired.
"Potter. You killed her." Professor McGonagall sounded cold. Harry sat up, looking at the charred remains of flesh and bones near the entrance.
"You cannot kill something that was already dead."
Lucius was looking at Harry oddly, caught between awe and terror. McGonagall looked closely at Lavender's remains, casting a few spells over them.
"What makes you think she was dead, kiddo?" Sirius played with Harry's hair.
"I've known since term started. It seemed pretty obvious to me." 'Now, how am I going to explain this without saying too much? I wonder… yes, we suppose I can say that.'
"She always smelt like rotting flesh." McGonagall looked at Harry critically for a moment and was about to question him further, when Pomfrey's soft voice was heard from nearby.
"Nymphadora… she's dead." Harry looked over in mild shock.
'Well, I'll be damned. Lavender was good for something.'
Dolores looked at the scene around her in a mixture of panic, fear, and denial.
'You are the Minister's most trusted; these people are in your, and his, way! Do something about it! Your pet is dead, Chang has obviously been found out, and a student is also dead.'
She stood up shaking, bracing herself for the actions she was about to commence in.
"That child is a murderer! Potter has just murdered a student and an Auror in cold blood! And that man is Sirius Black! An AZKABAN escapee! When the Minister finds out that Hogwarts has been hosting him, I will maker sure, personally, that you are ALL locked away! I demand that you release me so I may, as my civil duty commands, inform the Minister right away!"
'Breathe, Dolores, breathe. You are more powerful then anyone in this room; you have more power. Cornelius will notice if you suddenly stop communicating with him, therefore, they cannot kill you. Breathe, just breathe.'
Silence still prevailed and Dolores marched forward to grab the Potter child by his upper arm. He stiffened almost immediately in fear of her. The brat was skinny, and his pretty looks reminded her of the red-light district whores. As she moved towards the still open doors, someone else came through them.
Harry stiffened when Umbridge grabbed his arm, but not out of fear of her, as the woman assumed. No, he stiffened because he saw one of Thantos' children. Necromancers, to Harry, looked warped, distorted. And they constantly changed. One minute they were the pitch black of a bottomless abyss, the next, the white madness of an asylum. Their magic clashed with their bodies and thus Harry could see both aspects.
Typically, muggles were white; they looked white to Harry. Sure, he could see their skin color or the colors they are wearing, but they had a white glow to them. The darker the color, the farther away the person was from a muggle. But no one could be black, barring a necromancer. To be black meant you were dead, and in many ways a Necromancer was dead. They were mortal, but were children of Thantos and Hades. Their magic came from the grave, but it was caught in a previously non-magical mortal body; thus, the clash of white and black seen on a necromancer.
This necromancer was a female with short, red hair. Her skin was tanned from exposure to the sun, her eyes were brown, and she was rather short and wore raggedy clothes. Harry sneered, this was not something he could tolerate. A child of Hades should have been cold and pale, and a child of Thantos should be beautiful, not average. Necromancers were born with these traits, but when their looks descended, it meant that they had given themselves to someone or something. If Harry had any doubts about whether or not Thantos was telling the truth, they were banished from his mind. A decrease in singing quality and appearance meant one thing: She had to be killed; she had given herself to someone.
Lucky for Harry, a necromancer who breaks taboo also had massive decrease in power. With the break, their power starts to return to the Grave and if not hunted, they age rapidly over the course of a few years and die.
"Who are you?" Lucius Malfoy's voice was wary and firm. McGonagall and Sirius had moved to bring Madam Pomfrey to the children, so she could wake them from their drug induced sleep. At least awake, they weren't sitting ducks.
"I am the Ministry's necromancer. My name is Nora and-" Harry didn't let her get any farther.
"You don't deserve a name. You've given yourself up to someone else. How dare you come in here and pronounce that you belong to the Ministry?" Harry spat out the accusation, with every word screaming offense. It bothered him, how offended this woman was making him. Perhaps it was because of his unnatural connection to Thantos?
She looked at him, really looked, and he knew she knew what he had been assigned to do. Her eyes widened in horror and a choked sound came out of her throat. Golden nets closed in around her and squeezed. It was like a balloon: she inflated until her body could not take the strain and then exploded into tiny little pieces.
Harry blinked, for he hadn't done anything. Looking at his friends cleared up his confusion. Apparently, Ron had deemed it necessary to kill the woman himself. To say the other adults in the room were shocked would be an understatement.
"Alright, Alright. Settle down. Obviously, we all need to talk." Albus paused to clean his glasses and gather his thoughts.
"Harry Potter has killed a student that had been dead since the beginning of term, and Ronald Weasley has killed a necromancer, something no one in this room can claim they have done. When questioned, Harry admitted to teaching Ron how to create and execute the spell used to kill said necromancer. This brings to light new questions: how and why would someone as young as Mr. Weasley be able to create and use such a spell? Harry claimed to know Miss Brown was dead: how did he know this? What are we going to do about Dolores Umbridge? How are we going to tell Nymphadora's parents that their daughter died essentially a traitor? Are we going to allow or even think about young misters Potter and Weasley joining the Order?" Albus looked around the meeting table. Most were still in shock over hearing the events that occurred in the Infirmary only an hour ago.
"Um, Albus, I feel I must have this noted." Minerva McGonagall cleared her throat. "Mister Potter seemed most… offended by this necromancer."
"I also got word from Bill and Charlie: they said 'they found it.' What were they looking for, Albus?" Arthur posed this question, concerned that his sons were away doing something he had no knowledge about.
Albus heaved a sigh.
'I'm getting too old for this.'
Up in Gryffindor Tower, Ginny and Luna were curled together asleep in Ginny's bed. In the boy's dorm, Hermione and Ron were up, curtains drawn around Ron's bed. They were finishing the last of their homework that they had ditched when Ron suddenly felt that his sister was in danger. It was taking a while because the two kept getting distracted by the other. Harry wasn't in his bed to keep them focused.
Harry was sitting calmly at the foot of Draco's bed, down in the dungeons. He was trying to decide whether he wanted to wake Draco up or not, when the other boy chose for him.
"'Arry?" Harry bit his lip; Draco was so cute when he slurred his words.
"Yeah. I'm sorry for more or less going stalker on you, but I wanted to see you."
Draco yawned before opening his arms to Harry, obviously intending to go back to sleep.
When Harry was curled around Draco, their legs intertwined and Harry's head tucked under Draco's chin, they drifted off to sleep.