Dreogan stood up from his seat. Everyone's eyes followed him as he, slowly, walked up to the portal, standing within a hair's width away from it. A cemetery would have been noisier.
He took a breath, deep and long. "You might as well kill me now, Cillian, for I will never join you and I will always fight you, you disappointing excuse of a genes donour. I reject you and all that you stand for", Dreogan finished by spitting at the portal. Turning around he started walking towards the Great Hall's entrance.
'GET BACK HERE!" Cillian bellowed, pointing at the ground in front of him. "GET BACK HERE THIS INSTANCE AND ASSUME YOUR ROLE BY MY SIDE!"
Dreogan didn't even slow down. "Never", he breathed out, exiting the Great Hall.
He practically run to the drawbridge outside the castle's main gates.
There he leaned in against the baluster, wrapping his head in his hands. Torch light illuminated his face and the small portion of the drawbridge, other torches illuminated small parts of it to the end in the opposite hill of the old moat, now filled with water from the lake.
"Well…that was interesting!" Charles' voice echoed across the landscape.
Dreogan turned his face to see Emerick and Claudia following his best friend. He turned his gaze back on the moon shinning on the dark waters of the lake.
"They…he didn't come through the portal, did he?", he asked after a while.
"Nope, none of them did", Charles confirmed, shaking his head.
"They want me so bad, why not come in and grab me?" Dreogan wondered aloud. "I doubt the Professors could have stopped them three."
"They…he doesn't want to force you, your father wants you to embrace it…him willingly", Claudia said, leaning against the drawbridge's metal wireframe.
"And he's willing to let the world burn for it", Emerick stated, strained.
"He's the one holding the torch, he and Azrail", Dreogan said.
"I can't believe he is your brother, he is…he is…" Claudia searched for the right word.
"Mental?" Charles voiced his choice.
"Clinically insane?" Emerick followed suit.
"He is Azrail, he has no empathy and he's as psychotic as he is genius in inventing new spells."
"War has broken out, there is a good chance an Auror will bring him down, lock him up in Azkaban and throw away the key", Emerick said.
"The world's not going to be safe as long as Azrail is alive in or out of Azkaban. Dementors won't keep him in Azkaban for long, they won't affect him as they do others", Dreogan shook his head.
"Dementors?" Charles asked, raising a brow.
"Some of the foulest creatures to…walk Earth. Undying, the feed on human emotions as you and I feed on vegies and meat", Dreogan explained.
"Sounds revolting", Charles skewed his nose.
"Aye, although the truly worst thing about them is the Dementor's kiss, where they suck out your soul through your mouth, and you are left an empty, void shell", Emerick finished Dreogan's explanation.
"You are yanking my chain!" Charles exclaimed.
"They're not…it's true, all of it", Claudia breathed out. "Only my parents know, but…I've been near one. It was summer four, maybe five years past, we were visiting family and I was playing in the garden when all got cold, so cold…" Claudia shivered.
"I didn't know what was going on or why that thin man was standing on top of me, floating there in his black cloak, looking so gloomy and dreadful and the flowers I had been picking were dying in my hands, ice forming on the soil beneath my legs. Ice during summer!" Charles passed a hand over her shoulders, hugging her.
"I remember becoming sadder and sadder, kept thinking of granny who had died earlier that year and how I had felt about it, how I had felt when daddy had admonished me for whatever stupid thing I had done, or mum…It was horrible, just horrible", She wiped tears away from her cheek. "I couldn't understand why dad looked so afraid of the floating, hooded man, or why he had his wand out, yelling at me to get behind him, or why mum kept asking him what was wrong, like she couldn't even see the floating man in the black cloak. Last thing I remember is dad's wand emitting a white light which transformed into a glowing bunny rabbit…" she straightened up. "ever since then mum's been calling him her big bunny."
"Eeeewwww!" Charles and Dreogan let out, making all four of them laugh.
"We're way past curfew."
"I like the breeze…it's refreshing after…" Dreogan whispered.
"Mr. G…Dreogan", came Professor Horsewood's voice, caring and worried. "It's time for you all to head to sleep, please", She turned and left, without waiting for a reply.
"My idea or…did she sound not hostile?" Dreogan asked, perplexed.
"We must get bread from the kitchens!" Charles beamed making Dreogan restrain another snorting laugh.
The corridors were eerily silent the next morning, everyone was numb and scared. People were so lost to their thoughts they even ignored Dreogan, as he walked the arched pathways to the Great Hall.
Upon entering the Great Hall, he was greeted by another event he never thought would ever happen. The entirety of the Gryffindor table started cheering him and clapping their hands fervently.
"Uhm…what?" he stuttered, astonished.
"After last night you are considered an "honourary" Gryffindor", a Gryffindor third year told him. "Which is weird 'cause of who you are and your house and all. Gryffindors love bravery and loyalty, to Hogwarts and each other, and you displayed it in spades we think", He grinned.
"Not to mention some amazing father-irritation skillz there", Claudia chuckled.
"Irritating father was the easy part, finding out how to not anger Azrail and avoid torture was the hard part. It seems my very existence set him off", Dreogan shrugged.
"I should enjoy my newfound popularity, it won't last will it", Dreogan laughed.
"Don't expect any such popularity from my house", Emerick told him.
"Oh good, some stability!" Dreogan quipped.
"I hope your family loses", a Gryffindor fifth year girl told him, giving him a goblet of orange juice; he poured the juice in his glass made of wood.
"That makes everyone, including me."
When Charles joined them, Claudia motioned them to follow her leading them to an empty classroom on the first floor.
"You noticed it right? Last night?" she said locking the door behind them, with a flick of her wrist and "Colloportus."
"Last night? Notice what? I was rather preoccupied with the possibility of imminent death", Charles said.
"There was chaos, I dunno what you're referring to", Emerick shrugged.
"When Cillian exploded after your rejection of him, the Headmistress stood up almost impulsively looking all enraged", she told them, looking at Dreogan.
"The professors were all trying to close the portal, they were all standing up at that point", Emerick noted.
"I know, and yet to that point she still sat on her chair like nothing was the matter", Claudia replied.
"I dunno, by then I was storming out of the Great Hall", Dreogan said.
"Well she stood up, looking like she could commit murder and I bet you anything, she is the one who both opened the portal and closed it after", Claudia told them.
"You know what we need?" Emerick shook his right hand's index finger emphasizing his words. "We need a space we can go and keep notes and stuff, without anyone able to overhear us. Can't be talking about this sort of stuff in corridors and classrooms."
"I guess you're right. There's always the room of requirement. Not many know of it", Claudia said.
"The room of what now?" Charles asked, surprised.
"I've not heard of it", Emerick nodded.
"I have, Azrail used it for his experiments while he was in Hogwarts". Dreogan replied.
"See! Half of us don't know it", Charles grinned. "How do we even find it?"
"I'll show you, during the lunch break", Claudia told him.
"Exciting! How do you know of it?" Charles beamed.
"A first-year Gryffindor showed us, she was bragging about how much her older sister had taught her. Know-it-all git", Claudia scoffed.
Emerick snorted.
Charles snorted.
Dreogan snorted.
Charles gave a second snort.
They all burst laughing.
"For now, the most exciting lesson of them all…History of Magic", Emerick said, bored.
"Good class as any to catch up on my transfiguration homework", Claudia said, looking smug.
"I thought you finished it already?" Dreogan asked.
"I did. So, naturally, I asked the professor for more. I want to try becoming an animagus next year instead of in the sixth year. So, I'm learning as much as I can now", she explicated.
"Oh, that sounds interesting!" Dreogan cried. "What's required?"
"Well, I dunno…yet. Want me to tell you when I do find out?" Both Dreogan and Charles nodded energetically. "Yeah, for sure!" they stated simultaneously.
They walked to the History of Magic classroom.
"Today we'll learn of Medieval England, her greatest wizards and witches and the great lengths they went to evade Muggles", Mr. Beans said in the same achromatic, same-level voice. "Dod Log went as far as using spells to alter the perception of Muggles and wizardfolk to avoid contact."
"That's an unusual name, even for a wizard, Sir", Charles noted.
"Indeed, back to the lecture", Mr. Beans replied.
"His voice can kill the dead", Charles whispered to Dreogan.
"History of Magic, the only lesson that makes death by burning preferable and exciting", Claudia quipped.
Dreogan swallowed a laugh.
"Yes, Mr. Gaunt. Something you want to add to the lesson?" Mr. Beans asked him.
"Is it true sir, that even if the Muggles managed to catch one of us, some enjoyed the pyre?"
"As recorded in our history books, several of us would allow themselves to be captured, cast a flame-freezing charm, rendering the flames harmless and would enjoy a good tickling sensation. The first one to do this was Wendelin the Weird. Dod log was the opposite, inventor of the Confundus spell, amongst others, he would do his outmost to avoid Humans. Some theorized him to be a necromancer who used the necromancer's cup to talk to the souls of the dead. Although there aren't enough collaborating sources on this to make it a concrete Historical fact and the necromancer's cup has never been seen or found."
Dreogan soon lost interest in the lesson, keeping notes where and when he had to.
"Sometimes wizards chose silly names for themselves, Dod Log…" Charles shook his head in disbelief. The lesson had finished, and they were going to the next class.
"And even more horrible sense of fashion", Claudia remarked, looking at a bunch of third-years going to Hogsmeade in casual clothes.
"I don't know, I kinda sorta like the rainbow pants and navy-blue shirt-in-robe that boy's wearing!" Charles remarked, grinning.
"Atrocity!" Claudia tilted her head up, tightening her lips as if she was angry at them, refusing to look at them.
"So easy to get you to swear in Italian", Charles giggled.
"The British Wizarding world could use some Italian fashion and design, some gusto, eh!"
"Ain't no one caring, it's how we are!" Emerick rebutted her.
"Humphf."
"To more important matters", Dreogan interrupted them.
"Follow me", Claudia told them, heading to the Grand staircase.
She walked them to the seventh-floor corridor, at the end of it.
"Now what?" Emerick looked around, seeing no doors or entrances.
Claudia turned to Dreogan. "Picture, in your mind, as clearly as you can what you need of the room. Be as specific as you can make it", she told him.
"What do we need?" Dreogan thought aloud before going silent. "We need a room only us four can access, so that we can gather and analyze evidence that prove the Headmistress is being controlled by my father, without anyone being able to eavesdrop on us."
Not a moment later the end of the corridor leading to a dead end started splitting up, creating a doorway.
"Woah!" Charles, Emerick and Dreogan breathed out at the same time.
"Wicked!" Charles low-whistled.
They entered the room well-lit by large ceiling-hanging torches as well as smaller ones pinned on the red-bricked walls, divided into four section by four omni-arched, green Florentine columns.
Each section had various different tools for writing, cataloguing, and classifying like parchment rolls, quills, inks and blackboards.
"This is perfect!" Dreogan beamed.
"And I bet you anything if you thought it, it'll be protected by magic against anyone listening in on us", Claudia mentioned.
"And only us four have access to this?"
"If that is how you thought it up, yeah", Claudia nodded. "Although I think it's that no one else can use the room of requirement while we are using it and no one else will have access to this variation of it."
"But others can make their versions of it?"
"If we're not using it at the time? Yeah", she confirmed.
"This is soooo cush!" Charles beamed, grinning wide.
"Amazing! It has everything we need", Emerick stated, looking around at all the stationary, desks, chairs, sofas and even a fireplace for warmth.
"Dreogan walked up to one of the blackboards, picked up a chalk and wrote "Evidence", at the top, before continuing to write everything he thought proved their case.
"What else? Do we know something else?" he asked them.
Claudia walked up to the blackboard, picking up another, different coloured, chalk.
Polyjuice potion?
Imperius curse?
She wrote.
How does he retain control?
Emerick wrote.
"I know our name!" Dreogan exclaimed suddenly, looking at Claudia.
"Eh?" She raised an eyebrow, like Charles usually did.
"Last year, you said we were the only multi-House gang in school and that we needed a name for it", he reminded her, beaming. "I know our name!"
"Oooh! Exciting! What is it?" Charles jumped up from his chair.
"Simple, Hogwarts' Protectors."
"Not the most original of names", Claudia stated, disappointed. "But I guess it works."
"It's House-neutral, that's good", Emerick said.
"I'm open to suggestions, if you have anything better", Dreogan shrugged, not the least bit offended. "Just thought that it doesn't mention any one House and it's what we're trying to do, protect and serve Hogwarts."
"Yeah, it works", Claudia smiled.
They continued discussing and writing ideas and what details they thought went along to providing proof Cillian was controlling Mary Adams.
Hours later, after the day was over, Dreogan entered his dorm, going to his four-poster bed with the green Slytherin snake tapestry, providing some privacy, hanging from the bed's top he saw a sealed envelope.
"A letter?" He thought aloud, picking up the white envelope, neatly placed on his pillow, at exactly the same distance from all sides of it. "Probably another one calling me a blood-traitor or something…" He opened it.
Who are you?
The sum of four, and time. To find who you are, find Gryffindor's greatest shame. The deed he hid, undoing his work.
Do you know who you are? Dreogan Gaunt, your father's choice of a name? Dreogan, a name as old as Gryffindor, with two meanings. One your brother aspires to, one your father demands of you.
Do you know who you are?
8