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Chapter 9: A Bogart Tells No Lies

A few hours later, Ares entered the Great Hall for lunch with his friends. Talking to each other cheerfully, they chose their seats at the staff table, and broke off into discussions with the other professors.

Sapphire was speaking happily with the Charms professor, Flitwick, about what wonderful weather the day had had. The man looked delighted at the prospect of speaking to someone who was as cheerful and happy as he, and was beaming at the girl as she spoke of a formation of some cloud she saw.

Jay was entertaining himself by listening to the Divinations professor, Trawlany, going on about how he was going to die within the week should he go anywhere near a vat of creamed corn. The poor woman was growing rather flustered by the young Elf's unsuppressed snickering as she told him of his ill fate.

Shadow was conversing seriously with the Transfiguration professor, McGonagall, about the first day of lessons. The old witch looked impressed when Shadow launched into a complicated description of the Multi-Animagus transformation for Elves.

Coal was listening - or really just barely tolerating - the Care of Magical Creatures professor, Hagrid, as he went on about different animals he had encountered in the Forest. It was obvious to her friends, from her expression as he described the habits of Wolves; she was just dieing to yell at Hagrid that she had a mental connection with a wolf familiar and knew a wolf Animagus. The elf's right eye twitched as the man proceeded to tell her about the wolf's regular diet, and only just stopped herself from telling him as nastily as she could (which was very nasty indeed) that when agitated, wolfs would not hesitate to go out on a limb and take a bite out of a half-giant.

That left Ares speaking curiously with the Defense professor, Black, about his biological parents. Ares had never given them a second thought before now since his past was a rather painful topic before that of Sky's rescue mission. Sirius, as he had insisted Ares call him, had apparently been a close friend of theirs, and was telling Ares stories from when he and his father had been in school together.

"...And then, Lily screams at James to let go, so he does, and she went flying into the lake!" Sirius said in between gasps of laughter. Harry snorted into his pumpkin juice, grinning further at the look of disgust Coal shot at him while she proceeded to ignore Hagrid's talk of wolves.

"That's insane!" Ares choked out, gasping for air as he tried to control himself. "Sky would 'triple if she were here!"

"'Triple'? Sky?" Sirius questioned.

Ares smirked. "Oh, I forgot. You're old. You wouldn't know what triple means."

"Hey!"

"Okay! It's short for 'triple flip'... You know... Flip out?"

"Oh!" Sirius exclaimed, a look of dawning comprehension spreading across his face.

"And Sky is my... well, I guess mother, but she doesn't act like it. She's more of my older sister, and Ashleigh is more of a mother." Ares mused.

"What?" Sirius asked, surprised.

Ares' smile faded. "Well, I didn't know Lily and James. I don't really consider them my family..." Sirius looked sadly at him, but nodded in understanding.

Before more could be said on the matter, the bell rang threw the school to announce the end of lunch.
"Well, that's my cue." Sirius observed, getting up and stretching. "If you and your friends want to stop by the Staff Room at dinner, I can tell you what I'm going over with my student and you can go off that."

"Sounds good." Ares responded, waving the man off as he exited the Hall.

"Shall we?" he added over his shoulder at his friends.

"We shall!" they chorused, also leaving the hall.

The rest of their day was spent with two more Dueling classes, and a short break before the five lazily headed over to the Staff Room. On the way over, something suddenly clicked in Ares' mind.

"Hey, guys, that reminds me. I know that I sent Ivy into the dark forest because that's where she would be most comfortable, but where did your familiars go?" he asked curiously.

Shadow answered first, saying, "Well, I let Jupiter just explore the grounds. He has the sense not to do anything stupid."

"And Jaylin is just flying around, chillin' in who knows where." Jay added, grinning as they walked on.

"Damien... I don't really know where he is." Coal muttered, not meeting anyone's eye. Ares looked at her in surprise. Coal's job was to know; some would even go so far as to call her nosy. Before Ares could say anything on the subject, Fire spoke.

"Lily is in the kitchen," Fire giggled. "She loves watching the house elves."

At the mention of 'house elves', Coal scowled, but the rest of the group ignored it, and Ares forgot about his friend's disturbing attitude about the safety of the raven.

"They do know not to touch her, right?" Jake asked in concern.

At the very thought of it, the elves shivered. Ares knew that the elf species was very sensitive to magical bonding. The only reason Jay, Fire, Shadow and Coal could touch one another's familiars was because they had a mind-link bond. Ashleigh had once tried to explain to him the complicated mechanics of a familiar bond...

"A familiar bond is very sacred, Emerald... I don't think I can explain it well." Ashleigh admitted, fiddling with Aurora's ear unconsciously.

"Can you try though? You have 'Rora, and Sky wouldn't even know where to start since she doesn't have a bonded," Ares pled with his grandmother desperately.

"...Well, I suppose. There is not much I can say that you will understand at this age, for it is rather complicated, but there is a very important taboo that you must be aware of at all times. NEVER touch another's bonded. If someone outside an elf's bonding circle were to touch an elf's bonded familiar, it would feel... wrong." Ashleigh shuddered at the thought and Aurora twitched her tail unhappily.

"Wrong?"

"Like... Like someone reaching into your heart and tugging on something privet." She winced again, and looked at him seriously. "Never do It, Ares. It can drain an elf's life force, but such a method is not even used in battle. Not all of It's affects are known, and research has been discontinued. It is an offense greater then all others in this realm."

"But, then why did Aurora carry me here on my first day?" Ares asked in horror.

"That was her choice." she responded seriously.

"Our choices make us who we are, Emerald." Aurora growled suddenly. "Never forget that."

"I won't." Ares answered firmly.

"Yes, Jay, they know. They are elves, too." Fire was saying.

"Pride less and lacking in dignity, but elves all the same." Coal sneered.

No one bothered to argue with her as they knocked on the door to the staff room. When no one answered, Coal arrogantly pushed the door aside and entered with the others following.

The first thing Ares noticed was that the room was littered with different sized chairs, and had several ugly-looking wardrobes pushed against the walls.

Sapphire seemed to feel this way too, because she scrunched her nose at the choice in furniture, but didn't comment.

Not everyone had such restraint, however.

"Who decorated this place?" Coal scoffed.

"Girls. They have to judge everything!" Ares sent to his best male friend.

"Story of our lives, Re." Jay answered back, sagely.

"My gosh! What do you suppose they keep in here?" Jay muttered aloud, reaching for the door of the nearest cabinet.

As soon as the door was open, two things happened in quick succession.

First, something rushed out of the open wardrobe door, and second, Jake gave a loud yell of shock.

Laying on the floor, motionless and obviously dead, was Jaylin.

Ares' world came crashing down around him with an almost audible BANG as Jake gave a horrible cry of anguish, throwing himself to the ground, and attempting to revive her.

"This can't be happening! This can't be real!" Sapphire sobbed.

"No... This isn't real..."

Ares spun around to stare at Shadow, who had spoken. She was watching Jake scream at his deceased familiar to stop playing such a sick joke on him, and was in the process of drawing her wand.

"What did you say?" Ares demanded of his friend.

Ignoring him, Shadow called loudly to Jake, "It's not real, Jay! It's a Bogart!"

"Jay, it's not real!" Sapphire called desperately, hearing what the wolf animagus had said.

"Fight it, Jay!" Ares yelled.

The grieving boy didn't seem to hear them, however, and continued to cry his heart out over his lost friend.

"This is getting ridiculous." Coal hissed, but she was obviously scared.

"Do something then!" Shadow spat out, channeling her Storm side.

"And what should I do?" Coal demanded, rounding on Shadow in her anger.

"Haven't any of you ever battled a Bogart before in your life?" Shadow snarled as she pushed herself past her friends to assist Jake.

As she neared, the Bogart seemed to consider her, and switched into a carbon-copy of Shadow herself... with deliberate mistakes.

The copy was frightfully thin; you could see indents between each rib in her chest threw her tight black dress. Her skin was pale to an unhealthy degree, and she looked overall very sick.

Shadow seemed to freeze inside of herself, staring at her emaciated counterpart in a sort of horrified trance as it advanced towards her.

"What is that thing?" Coal asked of Ares, who was at a loss for an answer. The only thing he could feel was a blinding sort-of panic. Whatever that creature was, it was hissing something that no one but Shadow could hear. The girl looked to be on the verge of tears as she backed away from it, but tripped over her own feet in her haste to move.

Something inside him gave an uncomfortable tug as he saw Shadow's greatest fear. Ares ran forward in what Jay would later deem his 'active hero complex', and placed himself before his friend and watched uncertainly as the Bogart changed shape.

Ashleigh now lay dead on the floor with Aurora, who was on the edge of slipping away as well, standing over the young-looking queen as Skyler watched the two die sadly a few feet away. The great animal turned its head to glare at Ares in hate and snarled weakly as it uttered its last words.

"You killed us both, you selfish little human. I never should have let that half-breed Skyler drag you into our perfect life. My Ashleigh trusted you, and look what you did. I hate you, and I wish that that uncle of yours killed you before you were brought into our lives..." and with that, Bogart-Aurora died too.

Bogart-Skyler gave a cry of anguish as the two slipped away. She spun around and gave Ares a look of such loathing that the boy recoiled as she yelled at him.

"You're the reason that Aurora hated me so!" Bogart-Skyler screamed at him. "It's your fault that Aurora tried to kill me as an infant! I wish I had never met you! I wish that Ashleigh had told me to take you back to that hell that you lived in! You deserved everything that they did to you!"

Ares continued to stare at the spot that Bogart-Aurora had spoken to him as Skyler screamed at him. He had unshed tears in his eyes, and didn't notice that Coal stepped quietly forward to take on the Bogart herself. No one noticed what Coal's Bogart turned into, because everyone was still very much upset.

And so, the fact that Kcoalia's greatest fear was a little crystal bottle filled with clear-as-water liquid, was totally ignored as the group stewed in their own despair. No one noticed Sirius Black slip threw the door a few moments later until he started to greet them.

He spoke to the Warriors for the better part of an hour, and didn't once realize the horror written clearly in each teen's eyes as they recalled: Auror/Skyler's words, the dead form of Jaylin, Shadow's dark-side counterpart, or the little crystal bottle full of water-looking substance. And each was, indeed, their greatest fear.

After all: a Bogart can tell no lies.

Whew! I got a chapter done! I hope it gives you something to think about. There was a lot of foreshadowing in this chapter, and I hope people picked up on it! R&R!

-Master of Random Disaster