Harry ran as fast as he could through the burning forest. He leapt aver a fallen amber tree, and continued his chase. He could see them. They were right there! The four figures who saved him that night, walking slowly away from him. He yelled out to them to wait, demanding to know who they are. But they didn't turn or flinch to his call, as if they didn't hear him.
Harry kept running towards them, but for some reason couldn't catch up to them. He called out one more time, reaching out for them. But as he did, a fire phoenix erupted from the flames, flying Harry back, his back skidding in the dirt.
As he scrambled up, he saw the four figures standing in front of the flaming bird, looking at him. Harry panted, staring at them before calling out one last time. The four figures said nothing, then one of them stepped forward. As the figure extended their hand, Harry could see the hand was one of a woman's. Harry looked down, seeing ten golden keys with a few silver keys dangling from her belt.
"Who are you….?" Harry asked.
"Harry….. Do you trust us?" She asked.
Harry looked at her hand, then looked at her hidden face. "Do you trust us?" She repeated again, the heat of the fire scorching Harry's skin. Before he could say or do anything, an invisible force dragged Harry back, away from the four figures. The last thing he saw was symbol, like a Phoenix riding on a wind.
Harry gasped, kicking the bed sheets off his body. He panted, looking around the room. It was normal, everyone asleep. He wiped his brow, his hand drenched in his sweat. He gave a violent sigh, and held his head in his hands.
"What was that dream? That was weird… Who are they…?"
He closed his eyes as he laid back down, the sudden image of a gold key blinking in his mind. He snapped his eyes open, knowing who could help him with this mystery. The next morning, Harry rushed out the Common Room, past Ron and Hermione, who was still getting ready for the day.
"Where's Harry going?" Ron asked, looking at Hermione. Hermione just shrugged, looking back at Ron. "Anyway, I'm off to the Quidditch field. I'm going to watch Fred and George. If I want to be on the Quidditch Team one day, and if I want to be Head Boy."
As soon as Ron finished his sentence, his three older brothers came down the stairs, rubbing Ron's hair. "Try all you want! As we, the older ones, will try to keep the bar up so high you won't reach it." Fred teased, walking out first. "Don't worry Ron, even though you may not make it to Quidditch, you can still try to be Head Boy. Maybe." George teased as well, following Percy out.
Ron looked down, his brother's snarky comments making her spirits plummet a bit. "Anyway… I'll see you later." Ron waved Hermione goodbye, and left. Hermione sighed, and stepped out. "Right, now I need to find these ingredients…."
As Hermione walked the halls, she turned to get to the library. As she did, Draco and his possy walked into her, stopping in her face. "Oh look. It's the mud-blood." Everybody laughed, except for Gajeel, as he was trying to play it cool. "Where's Potter and Weasley? Abandon you?" Hermione stayed silent at Draco's words, trying to compose herself. "Huh. I guess Weasley finally woke up. Good thing too. I doubt he'd want to be friends with you after he's dragged down with you into the Chamber." Draco sneered.
"Those are only rumours Malfoy." Hermione gritted. "Are they? Or is Potter and Weasley only trying to save their own skin. Maybe they should have stayed with you. That way Weasley and Potter would be out of the way. And all because of you. You filthy mud-blood."
Everyone laughed, bumping Hermione's shoulder as they passed by her. Gajeel was the only one who stayed behind. Hermione took a breath, and looked at Gajeel. "What do you want? You going to mock me as well?" She asked. "Not my style kid." He said out of habit.
"You're the same age as me Redfox." She informed him, odd that she called her kid. Gajeel simply shrugged. "Anyway, see ya around shortstack." Gajeel said, walking past her, ruffling her wavy hair.
Hermione looked down, all alone again. "Is it true? Is there no one I can trust anymore…?"
Levy hummed as she climbed the ladder to the top of the book shelf, holding many of the library books she was reading earlier. The students whispered around, as they all weren't allowed to talk in the library. Naturally.
"Professor McGarden?" A sweet voice asked, Levy turning to look down at who was calling out to her. "Oh, Miss Granger. What a surprise! How may I help you?" Levy asked with a smile. "Um… is it alright if I talk to you?" Hermione asked, sounding like something was on her chest. Levy blinked at Hermione a few times, wondering what she wanted to talk about.
The two sat next to each other on the fountain rim, the water trickling down behind them. "So what do you want to talk about?" Levy asked, her hands supporting her weight in a relaxed position. Hermione looked down, biting her lip. "Professor McGarden … Do you ever feel like…. Any minute you're going to be betrayed? By the closest people you know?" She asked, her hands folded nicely in her lap, knees together.
Levy tilted her head, not knowing what she meant. "What do you mean Miss Granger? And why do you want to discuss this with me? I mean, you're not even in my class yet, and I believe this is the first time we ever sat down to talk." Levy chuckled. Hermione shrugged. "I don't know…. I just feel like you're the only teacher I can trust. I told Ron and Harry about this, but they don't believe me. And I feel like the other teachers wouldn't understand…. And after what happened with Gray, and Zach, and Ernie, and Justin, and…." She explained, slightly looking at Levy. "I guess I'm just worried that there's no one I can trust. And with the Chamber rumours…."
Levy stayed silent, then looked at her feet, thinking. "That's not true at all Hermione." Hermione looked at Levy, her head tilted at what she meant. "From what I've seen, Ron, Harry, and even Natsu are there for you always. You have amazing friends." Levy smiled. Hermione sighed softly, and looked down at the ground. "I know…. But… what happens if something like Gray happens again…?"
Levy could now see where Hermione was coming from. She was worried that her friends would turn against her and end up like Gray. And her being a muggle-born didn't help her case. If anything, it made her more of a target.
"Well, a few years ago, there was an incident. We were at war with those who thought were better than us. It even evolved to the stage where it was dangerous for us to go out alone. Unfortunately, my team and I were attacked badly and publicly humiliated." Levy looked at her stomach and rubbed it lightly. "A few months later, our same assailant came to where we worked and I was forced to team up with him. Of course I was very edgy about him and I felt like I could never trust him…." Hermione looked at Levy, wondering where she was going with this.
"But the truth is… after all those years, he became the best thing that ever happened to me. I know I wouldn't get this far without his help." Levy smiled, looking at the sky. "So… what are you saying Professor?" Hermione asked, leaning forward a bit. "People can change over time. Even though you don't trust them now. And even if you're right, you'll have amazing people beside you. And don't forget, people aren't born into evil automatically. There's always a reason to why they are doing it." Levy smiled.
Hermione looked at Levy, then back at the ground, still unsure of what to make of this. Levy looked at her, then looked down at her feet. "Tell you what. If you feel like you're being watched or threatened, and there's no one you feel like you can talk to, then you can come to me. Alright?" Levy smiled.
Hermione looked at Levy, then smiled slightly. She and Levy looked at the clear blue sky and smiled. "Okay." She agreed.
Ron rubbed his hands together, and huffed into them. He hunched over his body, watching the his brothers practicing their bludgeoning.
"Ready Fred?!"
"Ready George!"
George tossed the bludger high into the air, and hit is as hard as he could towards his brother. Fred battered up and hit the ball hard and straight into the ten point goal. George cheered and zoomed towards his brother, high fiving him as they flew towards each other. Ron turned to the left and saw Percy nose deep in a book, his Gryffindor House badge glinting in the sunlight.
Ron sighed, his breath physicalizing into crisp fog. "Mister Weasley." Ron looked up suddenly at his name, meeting eyes with the beautiful Mirajane Strauss. "May I sit next to you?" She asked, smiling. "O-Oh, sure Professor…" Ron agreed, shifting over a bit, even though he was on his own. Mira smiled and sat politely next to him.
He examined her up and down, wondering why a Slytherin teacher wanted to sit next to him. Surely she had better things to do.
"Seems your brothers are doing great at practise. To be honest, I'm quite excited about the Quidditch Match tomorrow." Mira smiled, watching the brothers practise. "I wonder if you Weasleys are sporty." She pondered. "Not really. Percy's more of an introvert rather than a sporty type." Ron gestured his head over to his other brother, still reading his book.
Mira hummed, and looked at Ron who visibly sighed and supported his head with his hand. He looked around, trying to avoid eye contact with anyone.
"Try all you want! As we, the older ones, will try to keep the bar up so high you won't reach it."
Mira hummed, then poked Ron in the cheek smiling cheekily. "Bit jealous of your brothers?" She teased, winking a bit.
Ron jumped at her sudden jab in his cheek and looked around, his cheeks red and flustered. "W-What?! No!" He denied, moving away from her a bit. "Ron, I know a sibling related face when I see one." She smiled winking. "How do you know?" Ron asked the Slytherin teacher. Mira simply smiled and took off what looked like to be a heart necklace. She clicked open a button and the locket flipped open.
"This is my younger brother and sister, Elfman and Lisanna." Mira placed the locket forward. Inside a drawing of a petite young girl and a buffed up young man who looked like a giant. Ron's eyes opened at the drawing, amazed at the resemblance. "Bloody hell! How often does your brother work out?!" Ron gasped. Mira giggled and looked at the drawing of her family.
"Well, ever since our parents died, I had to step up as a sibling. But everyone in my village feared me. They called me Demon Child." Mira looked at her right hand, opening it and closing it. "I feared for my brother and sister. We had to flee. After a tragic accident, Elfman decided to become the man of the family. That's why he trains to become strong. And so do I." Mira closed the locket and put it around her neck again.
"As the older sibling, we look after the younger ones. And the younger ones try to surpass the older ones. You may not find your rhythm yet, but you will soon. So try to aim high, alright?" Mira smiled, ruffling Ron's hair.
Ron blinked a bit, not sure what was happening right now. "Professor Strauss… How are you Slytherin? You're way too nice to be one." Ron asked, very curious. "Well like I said. I'm a Demon Child." She smiled again, and stood up. "It was nice talking to you Mister Weasley. Remember to try practise the spells I gave you." She gave a slight bow, shocking Ron even more. Slytherins never respect others! And to a Gryffindor no less.
"Yeah of course. Thank you Professor Strauss." Ron thanked her, nodding his head a bit.
She smiled and gave a twirl. As she did, her body became smaller, and her arms became wings. Her face became flat, only a small beak sticking out. Her skin became white as snow, her legs forming to one of a bird's.
Ron watched in amazement, as she turned into a teacher to a beautiful white owl.
Mira gave a final hoot and flew off towards the school. Ron watched her fly off, smiling as he felt a lot better. "Thank you Professor…" He whispered.
Erza was walking down the courtyard corridor, a stern look in her eye. All the students that walked passed her payed no attention to her, as they feared that they will get a cold stab back. As she walked past, each student immediately turned to whisper about her.
"Professor Scarlett!"
Erza turned around, humming in a questioned tone. Harry ran up to her, and stopped in front her panting a bit. "Mister Potter, what can I do for you?" She asked, a bit strict but at the same time sounding happy to help. "Professor Scarlett, last year you taught us about keys?" He began, still gasping for a bit of air. Erza stared at him, her face very hard to read.
"I mentioned it yes." She admitted, turning around fully to face him. "Why do you ask?" She asked, her stern stare almost making Harry gulp. "Is it alright if you tell me everything you know about these keys?" Harry asked. Erza stayed silent, thinking for a bit. "Why do you wish to know? You're not searching for these keys, are you Mister Potter?" Erza asked, her tone a bit concerned. "N-No of course not…. I'm just curious." Harry told her plainly.
"Good. These keys are very rare and very dangerous. But not in the way you think. Think as these keys as your wizard trading cards. Some are very common and everyone can find them. Others are ultra rare, and are one of a kind. That's why possession of these keys are dangerous. People are after them, and will do any means necessary to have them. Do you understand Harry?" Erza questioned him, a hand on her hip. Harry nodded, understanding.
"Good. Now you definitely promise that you won't try find these keys?" Erza asked again, Harry nodding again. Erza nodded again, as she turned away, facing away from Harry. "If you do wish to find these keys, you will have no luck. They are impossible to find." And with that, Erza began to walk away. Harry blinked a bit, before remembering the figure wielding a golden key.
"Wait! Professor Scarlett!" Harry called out following her around the corner into one of the dark corridors. "I saw someone with a key!" Erza stopped suddenly, Harry bumping into her slightly, his glasses becoming a bit crooked on his face. "They summoned a man. I think she said Leo… as in Leo the Lion!"
"Mister Potter… My knowledge on the keys is limited. I can't answer everything about them." She told him, her tone very serious. "But Professor Scarlett… I saw someone with the key! I just feel like I need to know about the keys! Please tell me! I need to know!" Harry argued.
"Harry." Erza said sternly once more. Harry looked at Erza's flowing red hair. Erza flicked her wrist, her wand snapping out of her sleeve. She flicked it up in the air, a golden glow flashing before Harry's eyes. A sword spun in the air, as Erza grabbed the hilt with her free hand and swung it at Harry. He gasped and fell back, the sword in his face.
Harry panted and whimpered a bit, staring at the tip of her sword. As he looked at Erza's eyes, her eyes were dilated and stone cold. Her eyes one of a murderer. She closed her eyes, and pulled the sword away, a heavy clink coming from the weapon. She rested it by her side, the sword hanging loosely from her hand. "You need to work on your reflexes. We'll work on it next class." She said coldly, walking away as a red and gold light engulf the sword as it disappeared.
Harry was so stunned, that he stayed on the floor watching her walk away into the light of the day. Hermione was right. She was hiding something.
Something big.