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Chapter 2: Fainting and the Future Past
Kate walked down the long narrow staircase, smiling to herself. She'll figure it out...eventually. Reaching the base of the stairs she turned down the hall heading to Headmistress McGonagall's office. However, spotting a puff of silver fur sitting in a sill, Kate changed her course and walked over to the spooked Demiguise.
"Hey Buddy," she said softly, "Cassie scared you good huh?" Josie turned towards Kate, big eyes wide. Kate pet Josie's head, trying to sooth the creature. Josie relaxed and turned, climbing onto Kate's shoulder.
"Come on, work to do," she said, returning to her previous path. As she walked the long corridors and darkening halls of Hogwarts, Kate couldn't help feeling something strange. As if there was something still in the air as if time itself had slowed.
A cold wind raced down the corridor, blowing, not only by, but through Kate. She fell, ice flooding her veins forcing her to her knees. The world spun, colors blurred in front of her eyes. She could hear Josie howling, holding it close against the force. Drawing her wand, she shouted
"Expecto patronum!" causing a blue light to flash in a protective wave. Looking up, once her vision cleared, expecting to see a Dementor, she instead saw the ghost of a young man. He stood, floating just above the stone ground.
Scowling, he spat in a voice most foul, "YOU…. YOU WILL FAIL…". Then as quickly as the malevolent spirit had appeared, he vanished, leaving Kate cowering on the castle floor, haunted by dark, mercury eyes. Kate collapsed on the stones, fighting to keep conscious. The last thing she thought and said at barely a whisper was "Get...Cassie…" before the darkness took her.
Josie, seeing its dear friend collapsed onto the floor, shifted out of view as its eyes flashed blue and it started running. The demiguise taking full advantage of the paintings and statues to move faster, swiftly reached Cassie's room as she was closing the portrait door. Josie jumped onto her shoulder and started to tug her hair in the direction it just came.
"Ow, Josie stop that! What are you doing?" Cassie yelled, but Josie continued to pull. "Stop pulling my hair, what do you want? I'll follow you if you just stop."
Josie ceased with the hair pulling and jumped off Cassie's shoulder to run a few feet down the hall before stopping to looking back and shriek. Cassie shaking her head at the impatience she could feel radiating off the demiguise, followed Josie as it sprinted off through the castle.
A few minutes later, Cassie turned a corner panting to see Kate sprawled across the floor. "KATE! Oh my god, what happened?" She kneeled down and cast a few diagnostic spells, sighing in relief to find her merely unconscious.
Turning back to Josie, Cassie expressed her thanks, "Thank you, Josie, for coming to get me so quickly. Don't worry I'll take good care of her."
Cassie stood back up and levitated Kate's body to float alongside her. "I'll be taking her to the infirmary now if you like to follow." The demiguise looked up at Cassie with a look of incredulity, before jumping onto its friend stomach and lying down. Shaking her head at the creature Cassie turned and proceeded to make her way to the Hospital wing.
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"You know Kate if you wanted a nap you didn't need to faint and scare Josie and me," Cassie stated as she looked up and saw Kate starting to sit up on her bed.
"I didn't faint, I was accosted by a goddamn sinister ghost with a bloody grudge," She snapped whipping her head to look at her friend.
"He was going on about how I was going to fail. Fail what?! My apprentice exam to Minerva? To blow out a candle before I fall asleep tonight? Or I don't know, our entire plan to change the fate of the British Wizarding World?! Hell, the entire Wizarding World! He didn't give me any fucking details, and that worries me. SO, EXCUSE ME FOR FREAKING THE FUCK OUT!" The annoyance bled from her face she slumped back into the pillows with a huff.
"Kate I'm sure everything will be fine. Just relax." Cassie tried to reassure her. "We've double, triple, quadruple checked everything for this trip. Even before we knew we were witches, we were going over this with a fine-toothed comb. The only thing missing was the magic, and we both know that the last few years haven't gone to waste."
"Yeah, that may be true Cass, but we also didn't have a ghost attacking us and spouting off about how we are going to fail until you figured out the damn potion!" Kate exclaimed as she threw her hands up into the air.
"I'm glad to see your doing better young lady." Madam Pomfrey stated as she emerged from her office, causing both Kate and Cassie's heads to snap and look at her. "However, this is a place of healing and as such, I would appreciate it if you kept your voice, and language, under control. Now, I need to run a few diagnostics to ensure that you are healthy, and then you two ladies can take this conversation to other areas of the castle that are better befitted to its company."
Kate began to open her mouth saying, "You know what would really be appreciated? If you would just f-". Moving very quickly, Cassie threw her hand over Kate's mouth effectively silencing her. "We'll try to keep it down Madam Pomfrey," Cassie said, smiling as Pomfrey walked away shaking her head and muttering to herself.
Returning to her seat, Cassie removed her hand, saying "Relax, she's just doing her job." Kate, selectively ignoring her, continued glaring after the retreating Madam. "Kate, come on, let's go back to the lab. We can talk there."
LINE BREAK
However, the talk was the last thing they did upon reaching the Potions Mistress's room. Kate, once inside, promptly turned into a calico cat and jumped up on the countertop, followed by Josie, who began to pet the sitting cat.
"Kate…." Cassie scolded. The cat, however, was disinterested. "Fine then," Cassie said snapping, "I'll just go over the plan and you can chime in if you have any issues." Kate simply blinked and lay down, her head still raised. Dobby, who had gone unnoticed until this point, lay down on his pillow, all the while eyeing the multi-colored cat.
Cassie went over to the side of the room and pulled a sizeable revolving whiteboard away from the wall.
Thank god for muggle inventions, Cassie thought.
Her and her god damn whiteboard, Kate judged.
Once in the center of the room, she flipped it around showing a spider web-like diagram of timelines. The pictures scattered showed many famous witches and wizards, each moving and connected by a string. All the various strings converged upon a single central point, which held a pair of pictures, side by side. One of the three Dumbledore siblings, Albus, Aberforth, and Ariana, shown together. The other, a wanted poster of one of the most dangerous wizards ever to walk the earth, Gellert Grindelwald.
"Ok, so" Cassie began, "We know that the effect of Ariana's uncontrollable powers on the Dumbledore family, and the relationship between Albus and Grindelwald, are main focal points of the timeline. Starting with Ariana's powers, they were repressed in her early childhood due to the Dumbledore family living near muggles. Ariana magic was hard to hide, and a few muggle boys saw her performing magic. When they couldn't replicate the feat, they violently attacked her. This left her traumatized and unable to control her magic. Her dad, after hearing of the accident, attacked the Muggle boys in return causing himself to be shipped off to Azkaban because he refused to explain how Ariana broke the Statute of Secrecy. After their father was sent to Azkaban, the Dumbledore family moved to Godric's Hollow."
"We can't allow this to happen and thus the beginning of our plan. Using the illegal time-turner Draco gave me to study, bless his heart, we can go back in time to just before Ariana is attacked. Underneath a glamour to change our appearance, we save Ariana from the boys before they can hurt her, and then obliviate the boys of the knowledge that magic is real. Thus preventing, her father from going to jail and Ariana from becoming traumatized. Using the debt of saving Ariana from harm, we convince the Dumbledores to move to a more magical community to prevent further incidents. This helps to prevent Ariana's magic from becoming too repressed and out of control. To completely ensure that her magic doesn't become uncontrollable, that is where you come in Kate. Your final dissertation in the prevention and restraint of an obscure, along with the creation of the magical artifact that helps with the regulation of accidental magic will help see to the control of Ariana's magic."
"Next comes the death of their mother. Ariana being traumatized from the muggle boys combined with her wild magic killed her mother in an episode of uncontrolled magic. Since our plans completely negate that entire incident from happening, the mother shouldn't die. Our preventative measures with Ariana will remove all of the main reasons for Albus to hold any disdain or resentment towards muggles. Lastly, Grindelwald and Albus should till meet in Godric's Hollow as normal and develop their relationship."
"Then comes my part. I have been working on a potion that will de-age us permanently to our desired age, but unfortunately, we can only take it once. The ingredients necessary for the potion in any higher of a quantity would become toxic. But we if we de-age ourselves after saving Ariana and convincing the Dumbledores to move, we can then grow up with Albus and Grindelwald. We can help prevent them from committing a mass genocide of muggles and going dark."
"The only other thing that we need to worry about is Tom. Because of the situation surrounding Tom's conception, it isn't really connected to Albus or Grindelwald. However, if the two are in a happy relationship when Tom is born, we can have to two adopt Tom. They can help give him a happy and healthy childhood he needs to grow up sane. Albus will want to help because that is his nature and Grindelwald would never let a child of a famous line like Slytherin's be treated in such a terrible way. Thus, the completion of stage one."
"Now, on to stage two. The Marauders will…" Cassie began; however, it was at that exact moment that there was a loud bang and cursing from the broom cupboard on the far side of the room. Cassie spun, her eyes wide, and immediately cast a glamor on the whiteboard. Kate, in the same moment, jumped down from the table, changing into a golden leopard, stalked towards the noise.
Kate crept closer to the closet, ears alert as she inches lower to the ground. She turned her head and nodded to Cassie, who flicked her wand to open the door. Kate pounced on the eavesdropping intruder, expecting an ex-death eater or dangerous creature. What she got was disoriented, flailing Draco Malfoy. In midair, Kate quickly changed back into a small house cat, trying desperately to retract her claws. Draco flailed around, barely missing stepping on Kate, and dove out of the closet.
"Draco!" Cassie yelled.
"Bloody hell Cassie! What is that thing!" he scrambled, rushing behind Cassie as if to hide.
Cassie reassured him saying, "It's just Kate." The aforementioned cat reentered the room, glaring at Malfoy.
Draco, leaning in close to Cassie, muttered, "I still think she hates me" Kate walked past the two and returned to her perch on the counter next to Josie.
"No, she doesn't," Cassie said with a knowing smile, turning and facing Draco, pointing a finger in his face. "What were you doing in the closet? What did you hear?" Cassie asked as Draco turned bright red.
"It's none of YOUR concern where I spend my days and I heard nothing. Your wards are too great you overly paranoid pansy!" He said quickly, eyes darting around the room, avoiding his friends glare.
"Ok...well what are you doing here anyway?" Cassie said. Draco looked back at her with a scowl of disapproval, as if looking at a piece of pond scum.
"It's Thursday," He said bluntly. Cassie blinked for a moment when it clicked. Visitation.
"Oh shit, I completely forgot. We can go right now." She said, quickly gathering her stuff, as Draco pulls a plastic pink donut from his shirt with a scowl. Dobby, noticing her, ran to her side just as she returned to Draco. "Bye Kate, we'll finish later." She said as she and Draco disappeared.
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