Hello once again audience! I'm back again with the fourth installment of Conpiracy of Ravens! I really enjoyed writing the end of the last chapter, as it turned out better that way than I had originally planned. My wife, who is also my beta, actually liked it quite a bit. She's more into Supernatural and Walking Dead fics, but she decided to tough it out for my sake..
Disclaimer is in the first chapter, but pretty much just says I own nothing but my (hopefully) original ideas and this work of fanfiction itself.
I would like to thank the guest who wrote their 'name' as Millie for writing some reviews that helped out with some ideas I was running through, and I decided to put them into the story itself. Also, it was she who asked about Duble's manipulations. I would also like to thank ObsessedWithHPFanFic, about why the sorting hat had had his 'malfunction' during the sorting. These reviews also helped to remind me to put a Dumbledore scene into this chapter like I had been planning to. I was actually already finished with chapter 5, but it won't hurt anything to lengthen this, admittedly, short chapter. Enjoy!
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Madam Hooch and Professor McGonagall could be seen walking into the courtyard to find the Ravenclaws huddled into a large group, whispering frantically to eachother, with Caleb still holding Lily in his lap and breathing somewhat heavily. Harry, Hermione, Luna and Mindy all seemed to be stuck between wanting to make sure Caleb was okay, and wanting to run for their lives at what they had just seen. McGonagall and Hooch were slightly surprised in the fact that Caleb now had jet black hair and glowing electric-blue eyes.
"Mr. Beck, I must ask that you follow me to the Headmaster's office. I have heard some incriminating stories about you involving my lions, and I would like to hear your side of the story, if you will." She called to Caleb, gesturing a hand towards the castle. Caleb just gave a slight nod and stood, still holding Lily to his chest as he walked with her.
"I would also like to request the presence of Professor Flitwick, as stated in the school's charter, 'Any meeting between a student and the headmaster must be held with their head of house there as their 'magical gaurdian'.' " Caleb asked, looking up at the stern woman and recieving a nod in return. She then sent off a spell that was a bright blob of light, that wound up forming into the shape of a cat before running off ahead of them, making a left turn once inside the doorway whereas they were going to the right.
"He should be meeting us there. I'm glad you read up on the school charter, many students tend to just hope for the best, while I think it is better to have a nuetral adult helping them." She stated, bringing them to a stop in front of a stone gargoyle that looked to be holding some sort of orb. "We'll wait here until Filius arrives." She said, watching the end of the corridor expectantly.
After only a few moments of waiting, they heard the sound of the tiny professor's quick footfalls along the ston floor. He came jogging around the corner, before making his way over fto them. "I came as fast as I could, I was busy grading papers when I got you message. Is the boy hurt? Did he hurt somebody else?" The half-goblin professor fired off questions, still out of breath from his unexpected run.
"I don't quite know myself Filius, but Mr. Beck here has requested you to accompany him for his meeting with the headmaster, as is stated in the school's charter." She replied, smiling slightly at her friend's exuberance. "Shall we?" She asked, gesturing towards the gargoyle. After receiving nods from them both, she looked towards the statue and with a muttered "Cockroach clusters", the gargoyle hopped off to the side. The trio of people walked through the revealed doorway and stepped onto a revolving stairway that was rising upwards, like an escalator.
Once at the top, they approached a large mahogany set of double doors that opened by themselves after they heard a muffled "Enter." from the other side. The opened doors revealed a somewhat strange yet magical looking office, with small golden and silver trinkets and machines that all twirled, dinged, and gave off puffs of smoke at different intervals. Upon the walls behind his slightly raised desk were moving portraits of what Caleb assumed to be previous headmasters. There were shelves upon shelves of books lining the walls around the room as well. Perhaps the most enchanting item within the office though, just so happened to be a large red and gold pheonix sitting upon a large golden perch just to the side of the headmaster's desk.
Caleb quickly, yet calmly, walked up to the pheonix and gave the bird a light bow. "Hello there handsome! May I be graced with the honor of petting a creature of such marvel and beauty?" Caleb said, looking upon the bird in awe.
McGonagall and Flitwick shared a quick chuckle as the bird puffed up in pride before giving the boy a bow in return before nodding. Caleb reached out and ran his hand lightly along his plumage, starting from the top of his head and to the bottom of his chest, before repeating the process a couple of times.
After letting the boy calm down a little bit by way of petting the, now prideful, pheonix, the headmaster cleared his throat to get his attention. Caleb seemed to snap out of a trance and flush slightly in embarassment. "Well, as entertaining as this is, I would thank you for guiding the boy here Filius, you may take your leave now." Dumbledore said, looking toward the shorter one of his colleagues in a dismissing manner. "I believe I requested just Mr. Becks presence, not the three of you, though I thought that Minerva's continued presence would help her understanding of the matter." He finished, frowning slightly at the smirk that appeared upon Filius's face.
"Actually, headmaster, I personally requested for him to accompany Professor McGonagall and myself here for this meeting. I believe I saw in the school's charter that my head of house was to be my acting guardian should I have to meet with the headmaster, that being you, at any given point if my parents happened to be non-magical, which they are." Caleb replied in a slightly cold manner, still not happy with today's happenings. Before Dumbledore could think of a reply, Caleb walked towards one of the three seats. "After you ma'am." He said, gesturing towards one of the seats, surprising the professors briefly. Dumbledore seemed to gain a frown and glare at the boy for the smalled of moments, before he schooled his facial expression.
"Why thank you, Mr. Beck." She said, sitting and crossing her legs lightly, watching as the student and Filius sat after she situated comfortably in her seat. "Now, I believe that we would all like an explanation as to what happened during your flying lesson that all of my first year lions to become terrified of you, with some of them actually relieving themselves in the process of running back to the tower." She stated, looking towards Caleb in a questioning manner.
Caleb just gave a sigh and explained everything that happened during the class, from the start of the class and all the way to the teachers arriving. Lily was laying in Caleb's lap, helping to keep him calm during the entire explanation. "And, then we wound up here." Caleb finished his explanation, looking at the pheonix for a few seconds, swearing that he had seen a look of sympathy in his eyes before the bird turned to take a drink from a bowl next to his perch.
The room was silent for a few moments, mulling over what had happened. McGonagall was feeling a wide array of feelings. She was feeling angy at her own lions bullying someone of their own house. She was feeling proud of the way that Caleb, a Ravenclaw, had stood up for someone he barely knew, who also happened to be from another house! She was especially feeling saddened by the fact that something had scarred such a young boy that he would have such a magical reaction to something so trivial as school yard bullying.
"That doesn't eplain your change in appearance though, and the fact that once your magic died down, you didn't change back to your normal appearance. Care to explain this to us?" Dumbledore asked, his eyes flicking between his jet black hair and glowing blue eyes.
Caleb just sighed and gave a solemn nod. "The only thing that I can tell you is from what I've experienced so far. This is the third or fourth time I have lost control like this, I don't remember why on the other times though. My appearance seemed to stay changed like this for about a week before changing back. I will also have to warn you that I might be slightly colder to everyone around me, as well as having a shorter fuse on my temper while in this state." He told them, looking at the floor. "I have had some training in meditation in calming my nerves, but it doesn't shorten the length that I am like this."
Once they all waited a moment to absorb that information before Dumbledore spoke. "I believe that we should view the memory, just to corroborate the differing stories. Now, this is what I need you to do." The headmaster said in a firm tone, walking to a cabinet that Caleb hadn't noticed from the doorway, before coming back with a large bowl that was covered with what looked like runes, or what he assumed were runes since they looked like the runes from his video games, and filled with a grayish gassy looking liquid. Once McGonagall had extracted the memory from his, giving him an encouraging smile as she did so, she placed it into the bowl and the three professors dipped their faces into it, disappearing from his view.
After a few minutes of Caleb just sitting there conversing in a one-sided manner to both Lily and the pheonix, that he learned was named Fawkes from a plaque on his perch, the teachers reappeared with frowns marring their faces. "Well, I suppose that Mr. Beck has told us the entirety of nothing but the truth. I would like to award Ravenclaw twenty points for your bravery and for sticking up for someone who needed it. I would also like to award ten points for each person from Ravenclaw who risked their own safety to try to help Neville during his abrupt flight." Professor Flitwick stated as soon as he regained his bearings. Both McGonagall and Flitwick smiled at the boy when he gained a slightly gobsmacked expression at the amount of points that Ravenclaw had just gained. "Though I will have to take off ten points for the fact that you resorted to violence to solve the matter, instead of finding a professor to handle it." Flitwick finished, with Caleb giving a nod in understanding before standing.
"Does that mean I am excused, headmaster?" Caleb asked in a calm manner, feeling exhausted from today's happenings. Once he recieved his nod, Flitwick walked out of the doorway with him to escort him back to the common room. On the way there, Caleb had placed Lily on the floor so she could walk herself, as she enjoyed running around more than being carried.
"I am proud to claim you as one of my Ravens, Mr. Beck. It takes great courage and loyalty to stand up to greater numbers when by yourself. You also showed great magical power today, more than someone of your young age should posess, that also includes Mr. Potter as well." Flitwick said to the boy, making him slightly happier about his choices, albeit some of them were out of his control. "I was wondering if you and your friends might want some extra tutoring, to perhaps help you to learn to control your excess amounts of power. I was, personally, a world champion duelist for six years running." He continued, making Caleb look at him in awe at being the student of someone so skilled, and at the fact that he was offering his friends and himself extra tutoring. The thought of his friends made him sad though, thinking that they wouldn't wish to be friends with someone so frightening.
"Do you think I even have any friends at this point, Professor?" Caleb asked in a quietly subdued voice, looking at the floor as they walked down another corridor. "Would they even want to be friends with someone who freaks out at the drop of a hat? Someone that goes somewhat dark because of the smallest thing happening? Someone who has seen death the way that I have?" Caleb ranted on, getting more and more scared of losing his friends the more questions he asked.
Filius had frozen in his spot in the hallway at Caleb's accidental reveal, surprised at the boy's apparent past. He shook his head and lightly grabbed the boy by his elbow, directing him into his office. Once inside, he instructed him to sit down in one of the chairs in front of his desk. Caleb could hear the professor rumaging through a cabinet before he handed him a small bottle that had a light blue liquid in it. Upon recieving a questioning glance, Flitwick smiled and explained that it was a calming draught. Caleb shrugged and drank it quickly, easily disliking the taste, before handing the empty bottle to the professor.
"So.. You mentioned having training in meditation. I think you could use a little extra help with keeping your nerves in check. I just need to find the appropriate book for you, if you'll give me a moment." Flitwick said, shuffling off towards a set of bookshelves against the wall. Caleb only had to wait a couple of minutes before The professor returned with a weighty tome in his grasp. "I would like you to try reading this book and maybe work on putting it into practice. It helps to teach you something called Occlumency. There are two types of magic involving one's mind. There is the so-called 'mind reading' type of magic called Legilimency. The other side of that coin is Occlumency, which is the art of organising one's mind, while also building defenses, or shields, around your mind to keep out Legilimency users." Flitwick explained, placing the book in the seat next to where Caleb was sat at.
"This book will teach you each step in helping you to learn Occlumency. I believe that this might be able to help you in controlling yourself from losing control like you did today, perhaps maybe even help you be able to use it as more of an ability, instead of it just happening." He continued explaining. He gave Caleb a rueful smile as he gestured to the book. "Consider it my reward to you for your show of bravery when trying to help a friend in need, both during his flight and with his bullies."
"I don't know how to thank you professor.. It seems like an extremely old book. Which means it would be extremely expensive as well!" Caleb stated, looking at the cover of the book, opening the cover to look at the inside to hopefully see how old the book might be.
"I don't need to be thanked, as I said, this is a reward. I am giving you this book. I also happen to have multiple copies of the book itself, so its of no major consequence for me to give you a copy. I myself see it as a just reward for services rendered when others did nothing." Flitwick replied, a smile on his small face, making Caleb smile in return. "Now, I believe that you might need to go take a nap. You expended a decent amount of magic today. Professor's orders." He finished, gesturing to the door.
With one last 'thank you' the the professor, Caleb picked up the think tome and walked out of the office, Lily running out before he closed the door. Caleb slowly made his was towards the common room, not looking forward to the fallout from his friends. He just decided to get it over with, quickly answering the door's riddle and walking through the common room and towards his dorm room. He noticed the room go silent at his entry, but didn't stop long enough for anyone to converse with him or to hear anything said. He quickly climbed into his bed, letting Lily jump up before pulling the curtains closed and slamming his face into his pillow, falling asleep almost instantly.
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Caleb woke up the next day to Lily licking his face exuberantly. He just sat up and rubbed his face with his palms, hoping to rub the sleep out of his eyes. Hopping out of bed, he decided to grab a shower as quickly as he could. Once out of the shower about ten minutes later, he noticed the dorm was already empty. Caleb just huffed quietly before dressing, walking out of the dorm quickly, Lily trailing not far behind.
Caleb walked out of the common room before anyone even noticed he had walked downstairs, or so he thought. He walked through the castle, just exploring needlessly, letting his mind wander as he did so. He wound up finding several secret passages. Some were hidden behind small alcoves that made you think they were windows, some were covered by fake walls that seemed to shimmer if you looked at them closely enough. It was through one of the fake walls that he found something that seemed to be a dueling room. With a smile, he took off his robes, leaving himself in just his sweat pants and a thin shirt.
Once he was situated in the middle of the room, he stood straight and took a deep breath. He began to do various stretches that he knew, standing and touching his toes, squats, lunges, hurdle stretches, and etc. Once done stretching, he stood once again in the center of the floor and started taking a deep breath. He raised his fists up to high chest level, stepping his left foot out to shoulder width, his toes pointed downward. As he breathed out, he lowered his fists to waist level and stepped flat onto his foot, settling into the ready position for one of the forms he had learned. He then started executing blocks, punches, kicks, grabs, and stepping every which way. He started working up a bit of sweat as he repeated the form for the seventh time, having been speeding up and throwing harder strikes after each repitition. Each strike he threw, he let out a puff of air, tightening his stomach muscles. After having finished the seventh repitition, he walked over to the wall farthest from the door.
Facing the wall, he spread his feet a decent distance apart, his elbows bent and fists next to his ribs, almost as if to scratch the areas under his armpits. Going from this stance, also known as Horse Stance - Full Chamber, he started slowly, and powerfully punching the wall. Every twenty punches, he switched to palm thrusts, hitting the brick wall of the classroom with the heel of his palm. He repeated this process with all of the blunt type hand strikes he knew, palm strike, straight fist, fore fist, uppercut, and back fists. He worked at this for what felt like maybe ten or fifteen minutes, he didn't really know, all he knew was his hands were quite sore with having been striking the stone brick wall.
With a weary smile on his face, Caleb decided to go through his cardio exercises to finish off his workout, sweat dripping from his face and soaking through his shirt enough that it stuck to his torso. He walked a few laps around to dueling room to cool himself off, as there seemed to be no windows in the room. Looking over at Lily, who was waking from her nap from among his piled up robes in the corner next to the door, he smiled and leaned down to pet her a little bit. "Lets get outta here girl." He said affectionately, opening the door as he was wiping the sweat from his face using his robes. He had missed working up a good sweat. It seemed to him that not many wizards excercised, like... ever!
Caleb looked around the corridor they were currently in, not knowing where they were so he looked down at his faithful companion. "Know the way back to the dorms, girl? I kinda wasn't paying attention on the way here..." He said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head as she just gave a small huff. She started leading him down the corridor on his right, heading towards a set of stairs. As they were leaving the corridor, he looked up and noticed a strange painting of a wizard trying to teach some trolls how to do ballet. Leaving the strange painting behind, he followed his trotting friend.
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Meanwhile, when Caleb had left the dorm, the current quartet was sitting in their usual spot in the common room talking about their fifth friend. In better detail, they were talking about Caleb's transformation during his anger. They were also wondering on where he had wandered off to, having sent Harry up to the dorm to see if he was there but found Caleb's bed empty. This left the group in somewhat of a conundrum. They wanted to find Caleb, but didn't want to get lost while trying to do so. They just decided to study and finish their homework while they waited for him to return.
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Nobody in the castle had seen hide nor hair of the subject of everyone's conversations. It was actually starting to make professors Flitwick and McGonagall worry somewhat. Their worries seemed to be unfounded when he walked into the Great Hall towards the end of dinner, drenched in sweat and carrying his school robes under his arm. Flitwick gave a wry smile and continued eating his meal as he watched the boy sit down at the empty end of the table before he started piling food onto his plate.
Caleb himself wasn't paying any attention to what the other students were saying around him, as he was too hungry to really care all too much. He just sat down and placed a few burgers onto his plate, followed by mashed potatoes that were topped with corn and green beans, before they were smothered in a large dollop of gravy. He then began digging into his meal with a fervor, having not eaten anything since the previous day's lunch.
Once finished, he quickly stood and walked back out of the hall, still ignoring everyone's not so quiet whispers about his appearance. None of the tables were quite as loud as the Gryffindor table seemed to be, having been the target of his magically enhanced rage. One of the boys sitting at the table of lions stood up and followed Caleb as fast as his legs could carry him without running at a full sprint
The boy finally caught up to him after having climbed several flights of stairs, almost getting lost, and having knocked over three sets of armor, which frightened the nearby paintings' inhabitants. "Caleb! Please wait up!" He called out, making Caleb halt at the end of the corridor and turn around to face him.
"How can I be of assistance Neville?" Caleb asked in a firm tone, not wanting to see a look of terror in the eyes of someone who he had lost control in helping. It definitely wouldn't make him feel any better about the situation.
Neville shyly looked at the floor for a moment before straightening his back and looking Caleb in his glowing eyes. "I, Neville Longbottom, heir to the Ancient and Noble House of Longbottom wish to officially bring you under house protection." He stated in a firm tone, making Caleb stumble slightly in surprise before looking back at Neville.
"What does that uh... What does that mean, in easier to understand terms Neville." Caleb asked, scratching the back of his head nervously, making Neville smile a little bit.
"It means that any attacks on your person or your reputation itself will be seen as an attack on the House of Longbottom. Let's just say that, while my grandmother was the driving force behind this decision, it was my idea to start with. You and Harry both risked your own selves in trying to help my in my peril, while not asking for anything in return. Even after I was not present, you continued to protect me by standing up to those of my house who were saying things about me behind my back. I would personally like to thank you for your self sacrifice for someone you barely knew." Neville replied, bowing lowly at the waist to Caleb, surprising him further before making him smile.
Caleb returned with a bow just as low, before walking forward and taking Neville's hand to shake firmly. "Thank you Neville, for all of this. It seems I still might have at least one friend left in this school at least, with you around." Caleb said, smiling brightly before the continued walking around the castle with Caleb showing Neville the shortcuts he had found. They then made plans of making some form of map or something of the sort to help them out around the castle. Little did they know, they were being watched by a couple of individuals who were smirking mischievously as the rounded the end of the corridor, making plans for the boys in the future.
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Headmaster's office
Dumbledore sat in his comfortable high-backed chair, sucking on another lemon drop, contemplating what he should do with his somewhat scattered plans. He had had the perfect groundwork laid out for his little weapon, but some sort of wrench had been thrown into his machinations. Had it perhaps been him meeting his fellow students in Diagon Alley? Perhaps.. Or maybe it was just that he had miscalculated about the young boy's will power. He would have to clear some extra time at another point to figure out the why's. For the moment, he had to figure out how to 'bring the train back to the correct track', so to speak.
He wasn't exactly happy about the fact that Molly had failed to help Harry through to the Platform 93/4. Though he supposed some of the blame could be put on Hagrid for letting the other Muggleborn students asking Minerva ahead of time, and taking Harry off of Hagrid's hands. There were just so many things that could have gone wrong or right with his planning, and he had been having horrid luck as of late. He would have to give the boy his father's cloak. Maybe that would make him somewhat more pliable to his cause. It would help him to see that he had had connections to his father, making him think he was working for his betterment.
He gave the Sorting Hat a baleful glare, not exactly happy that it had place Harry into Ravenclaw, when he had placed on of the most powerful compulsion potions he had ever brewed into his fabric. He gave a smirk at his genius, having used his alchemy and potion skills to make the wonderful concoction. He would also have to find a way to get him away from the group of children he had befriended, somehow. He could probably use Halloween as an oppurtunity. Quirrel was still looking for ways to distract him from watching the third floor corridor, perhaps a few well placed compulsions would be in his schedule. He grew a slight smirk at his continued genius. He also put it to the fact that he always had the best ideas when he was enjoying his favorite sweet! They were just so delectable, he really must think of a way to get the other professors to love them the way he did. He gave a shake of his head, he had almost lost track of his original thoughts.
It also seemed that the American boy, Caleb, had more secrets than he had let on. He would have to be watched closely as well for the time being. He had gotten quite the headache from the floo-call that Molly had given him at the boy hurting her precious baby boy. He didn't really care for the brash woman, but she was one of his biggest boons as a supporter, being such a skilled potioneer. He would have to try and engineer a way for the Weasley boy to try to become friends with Harry, but he doubted that would be a viable option.
Dumbledore removed his glasses and rubbed his temples with his fingertips. He was getting much too old for this type of thing, but alas.. It had to be him. He was the only one wise enough to lead the wizarding world towards its true end. The Greater Good called for him to be the leader in these times of coming strife! He replaced his glasses and stood from his desk, walking passed a cresfallen Fawkes, and into his sleeping chambers.
Once the door of the sleeping chambers snapped shut, Barnabus, the Sorting Hat, looked at Fawkes and gave a sigh. "It seems he has been making plans again, and as we both know, anyone he has plans for tends to come to a tragic end. Wouldn't you agree?"
Fawkes just gave a sad trill, rustling his plumages a little before tucking his head under his wing to fall into an unpleasant slumber for the night. He was saddened by his Master's inherent ways, but couldn't do anything about it. He needed someone else to bond with in order to break the bond with his current master. He had found a wonderful candidate, but it seemed like it would be a difficult road to attempt, both for the bond he shared with his own companion, and for Fawkes himself to be able to approach the boy.
Barnabas just gave a shake of his tip, saddened by how low the headmaster had fallen in his eyes. He decided that he wouldn't be able to do anything until he could get away from his current perch, which was difficult with the charms and enchantments that Dumbledore had placed on him.
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Alright, I seem to have mostly focused the chapter on Caleb this time around. I blame my hands for not wanting to stop typing. In all seriousness though, I typed this up only three or four days after posting the first chapter... But that's besides the point. Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Review/Fave/Follow at your usual leisure. Have a great day!