"The inherent power and potential for misuse are great indeed. It is for this reason that promising young witches and wizards are sent off to Hogwarts and other schools of magic to refine their craft and learn the art and responsibility of their power." From the Harry Potter Lexicon
ADJ: Awesome review! Thanks for the tip. You made me educate myself with the HPL. lol I found the quote above. I rewrote the bit about Ginny and made it as Ginny trying to remember and put together words from Transfiguration books. I think it makes more sense that way. The magic seems to be in them, but there is the risk of misuse or so it says in the lexicon. Thanks for that review! I appreciate it as I tend to overlook things!
Song: 'Omna Magni' by Yui Makino (From Sousei no Aquarion)
Ch. 14: Help At Hand
"Yapheth was or is the nicest person I've ever met, except for the fact that he is a vampire. He must be about 823 years old and purebred, just like Renard, only difference is that he decided to stick himself between the ages of twenty-five and twenty-seven, somewhere in that age line. Yapheth used to be famous amongst the vampires. His long silky black hair and crimson eyes attracted many females, but Yapheth rejected them all. To this day, many vampires hate Yapheth because their love and passion went unrequited. About 300 years ago, Yapheth did fall helplessly in love with a human girl named Beredyce. One of Yapheth's weaknesses was that he had always wished to be human. It was common for him to be hiding amongst Muggles, dressing like them, acting like them, eating and drinking with them.
"Beredyce also fell in love with Yapheth, just like many girls before her. I think it's impossible for a woman not to fall in love with him. When that girl found out the truth about Yapheth she was terribly scared, but in little time she didn't care. They would see each other frequently and she carefully hid from her family the truth about her lover, but a plague came to the small village. People started to die like flies and soon Beredyce was affected. Yapheth tried and tried to convince her to become a vampire because it was the only possible way of saving her, but she turned down the offer over and over. Beredyce told him that she wanted to die a human and not live forever. Three days after that, Beredyce died of the sickness. Since then, Yapheth started to hide from the other vampires and the world as a whole. Many came to him wanting to sincerely comfort him, but just as before, he rejected them all. His love was only for Beredyce and that was how it was going to remain forever. Yapheth wishes death to claim him, but he knows that is practically impossible. He is not suicidal so he would never try taking his own life. Many times, he put his life in danger so that someone would kill him, but to no avail. As a purebred, he is too powerful and can't die easily.
"I met Yapheth by coincidence some time after graduating Hogwarts. I was already a Death Eater and we were torturing a group of Muggles. I didn't want to do it. It was the middle of the night and the Muggles had been holding a campfire in a forest. I left my fellow Death Eaters to take a stroll, as I couldn't stand the screams of those Muggles. Suddenly a soft tenor voice asked why I did it if my heart wasn't in the matter. In seconds a man was in front of me and I immediately knew it was a vampire. I thought that was my last night in this world, but he didn't harm me. From then on we became friends for a while, until we parted ways."
Hermione was crying by the time Severus finished his tale, surprising him, Tonks, Harry, and Ron. She had no idea why the tale had made such an impact on her, but she couldn't help herself. Both Ron and Harry placed arms around her, but she wouldn't stop crying. It was like she could feel something stirring inside her, like lost memories of a past life. Ron kept her enclosed between his arms while Harry rubbed her back and in this fashion, they soon fell asleep together.
XxXxX
Ginny set about her journey with the again human looking Cassius and Theseus. They walked all the way to Hogsmeade and Ginny took a deep breath before removing the toy car portkey from the cloth she had it wrapped in. "You two have to touch it." Both boys obeyed in silence and Ginny said: "Bloody fangs." She blushed as she muttered the ridiculous password the man called Renard had spoken of in his letter and in a second they were gone.
Cassius, Theseus, and Ginny appeared in front of a large mansion. Ginny blinked several times, adjusting her eyes to the great sight in front of them. She never dreamt of visiting a house that big. She swallowed and started a solemn pace towards the house with Cassius and Theseus following her. Cassius seemed very timid while Theseus' silvery orbs showed excitement.
They stood in front of the door and before Ginny was able to knock the door opened and there stood a strange girl with white hair and yellow eyes. The girl eyed Ginny up and down, turned, and yelled: "Renard! Are you being unfaithful to me again?"
A voice came from inside the house. "What makes you think something like that, Theresa? You're the one that's never home! And I've never cheated on you!" The man that was yelling from inside appeared at the door beside the woman named Theresa and stared at Ginny. "I believe you might be Miss Weasley? You do have the same red hair of the young man called Ronald..."
Cassius whispered in Ginny's ear: "Vampires." Ginny gasped at that and stared at Cassius before looking back at the beautiful couple at the door. At that moment the girl named Theresa got out the door and left the house after giving one last disgusted glance in Ginny's direction.
"Where are you going now?" asked Renard to his parting wife.
"To Ireland!"
"Again? What do you do there anyway? Stop looking for him! He doesn't want to be found!" Theresa ignored Renard's words and soon disappeared from their sight. Renard simply turned to the three teenagers in front of him and sighed. "Just ignore what happened. You may come in."
Ginny was followed by Cassius and Theseus into the house, but all the while she was very uptight. Nothing in the letter had told her that the man inviting her for a chat was a vampire, although now the silly password for the activation of the portkey was beginning to make sense to her. As she sat down on the couch Renard indicated to her after getting into a very confortable looking room, Ginny gained the courage to speak: "Are you a vampire?" She wanted to curse herself by the slight trembling of her voice. She had wanted to sound sure of herself.
The vampire called Yon entered with a tray full of pastries and served tea while Renard smiled at Ginny and said: "I am, but not all vampires are monsters... I don't consider myself a monster at least. I also have my contacts between wizards and even Muggles. Why do you ask?" he sipped his tea after asking and dismissing Yon.
Ginny shook her head and proceeded with her next question. "Did you really meet Harry and my brother?"
"As a matter of fact, I did. I actually told Severus Snape that I would lure you here because they were worried about you."
"I think I was safer in Hogwarts," Ginny retorted.
Renard was taken aback by the reply. "I had no idea you were in Hogwarts, miss. You can return there if you want to. At least I can write to your friends and tell them that you're alive and well."
"No... I... I can't return to Hogwarts because if I stay I won't be able to save Harry!" Ginny lowered her face as she spoke.
Renard's features showed confusion by that point and he asked Ginny about what was she talking about. In little time Ginny told him everything about her strange dreams of the final fight between Harry and Voldemort. Renard listened to her intently and frowned. "I think that dark wizard, Voldemort, will somehow take something from young Potter, something very important, but it can't be. He can only accomplish such magic little by little and to complete it he would need blood from the victim."
"What is he trying to take from Harry?" Ginny stood up from the couch, but Theseus gave her a pitied gaze that made her sit back down.
"I'm not sure... It could be Harry's memories..." Renard went thoughtful trying to figure out what could Voldemort be depriving Harry of, but he couldn't come with a specific answer.
"Harry's memories?"
"Or Harry's own soul? Something like the Dementor's kiss?" Renard seemed to be still thinking aloud. "Harry is looking for the Horcruxes so..."
"Harry is looking for what?" Ginny asked interested. Renard then noticed his mistake, but quickly summarized for Ginny the purpose of Harry's journey. Ginny was afraid after learning the truth, but didn't want to show it. "Is there a way to save Harry?"
"I think I can help you puzzle things a bit, but at least for now I think Harry is safe. I don't think that man called Voldemort has any possible access to a vial with Harry's blood." Renard said with certainty.
All of a sudden a servant woman came looking nervous. "Master, there are Death Eaters outside."
"What do they want?"
"I have no idea, master. They haven't approached the door, but they keep going around the perimeter and seem to be waiting for more."
"Are they planning to attack?" Renard asked standing up. "Are they mad? I already told them that I'm not hiding Harry Potter!"
"It seems that they didn't trust your words, master."
"Corinna, you know what to do about the secret matter. Tell him it's for his own good."
The servant named Corinna hurried out of the room and Renard motioned for Ginny, Cassius, and Theseus to follow him, but just then the windows from that room were torn apart by a strong spell. Renard pushed Ginny towards the door and Cassius and Theseus followed suit. Three Death Eaters had entered the house. "Bloody hell! They must have figured how to break the wards," muttered Renard with clenched teeth.
"What do we have here?" a female Death Eater asked. "A girly boy vampire and some children!"
In seconds Cassius had produced his magical quiver and bow. To Ginny it seemed like an enlarging spell, but she had no idea if centaurs could perform magic even if they were magical creatures. Cassius shot an arrow in a male Death Eater's direction, piercing the dark wizard's heart. Just then more Death Eaters seemed to be entering from everywhere and they started a barrage of spells against Renard and the others.
"Get down!" Renard told Ginny and her companions. They obeyed, although Ginny kept her wand ready. She was surprised to see Renard performing wandless magic against the Death Eaters, knocking several. Renard then transformed into a vampire bat like creature of great size and ferociously attacked more of the Death Eaters, killing some of them by ripping them apart. He returned to human form after a short while, helped Ginny stand, and they ran out of the room. "We have to hide! Keep following me!" he told his guests. They were about to go through a door when a new spell storm almost hit them, but something stopped the spells. "Who is making a shield?" Renard asked Ginny raising an eyebrow.
Ginny looked at a confused Cassius and then at Theseus. Theseus eyes were full of determination and he had his hands opened in front of him. "Theseus? You can perform magic?" Theseus smiled at her and she shook her head with an answering smile of her own. "Still, we have to get through this door!"
They finally went through the door and Renard opened a secret passage after caressing a strange triangular symbol on the wall. They closed it rapidly behind them and stayed hidden. "What are we going to do?" Ginny asked.
"We'll wait until they're gone," Renard answered with a hint of nervousness.
"Can't they find us in here?" asked Cassius.
"Only if they have a vampire with them, which I doubt. If they find us this passage continues, but..." Renard lowered his gaze. "How could I have been so stupid? Are you a seer?" he asked Ginny.
"Not that I'm aware of!" Ginny retorted, an image of the teacher named Sybill Trelawney forming in her mind.
Renard swore several times and then blurted: "I just hope they don't find it. Your bad dreams might start to come true, Miss Weasley."
"What do you mean?" Ginny asked full of concern, but Renard hid his face in his hands.
XxXxX
In the morning, Harry and his friends woke up to the sound of water running in the bathroom. It was mid morning and Lupin was obviously in the shower. Tonks said a quick 'good morning' to Severus and the teens before speeding to the bathroom to check on Remus and then going to the kitchen to prepare some breakfast.
After breakfast, the foursome on a quest were very grateful to the werewolf and Auror that had given them a place to stay for quite a while, but they had to part. The idea of going to Hogwarts was exciting for Ron, Harry, and Hermione, but not as thrilling for Severus. Just the thought of dealing with McGonagall was enough to almost make him change his opinion.
Remus told them to take good care of themselves and that if they needed him again they could simply owl him or Tonks. As Severus had assured Harry, he hadn't tampered with Nymph's memory.
XxXxX
Back at the Shrieking Shack, the youngsters and Snape started to brew a plan. Hermione would enter Hogwarts first and explain everything to McGonagall so that the older woman wouldn't have a heart attack at the sight of Snape. After confirmation from Hermione, they would enter the school and head for the Headmaster's office. Severus was going to remain hidden under Harry's invisibility cloak until they reached their destination while at the same time Ron and Harry would be checking the Marauder's map.
Harry took out the map and pointed at it with his wand before smirking at Snape: "I solemnly swear I am up to no good."
Severus raised an eyebrow and soft laughs came from the three friends as the map started to show everything in Hogwarts. There were very few teachers in the castle to their relief, but still enough to avoid an encounter. The only one they had decided was unavoidable was McGonagall as she was Headmistress.
Severus cleared his throat: "So that's how you make that map work... So... Potter like..."
"Don't start with my father, Severus..." the boy warned making Severus sigh. Then Harry called a name: "Dobby."
The house elf appeared happily: "Harry Potter, sir! What is you needing? Can Dobby be of assistance?"
"Yes, Dobby. We need to know the password to the Headmaster's office." Dobby looked uncertain as if he was about to do something that he wasn't supposed to, but Harry reassured the elf. "We are not going to invade the office or anything of the sort. We actually intend to speak to the Headmistress and Dumbledore's portrait so you won't do anything wrong by telling us."
Dobby was very happy and his green tennis ball shaped eyes were almost shining. "The password is 'sad phoenix'."
"Thank you Dobby. You may go back." The house elf saluted and disappeared with a 'crack'. Harry felt strange that the password wasn't anything that had to do with sweets, but it was a password obviously chosen by McGonagall.
"Why didn't you call Kreacher?"
Harry looked incredulously at Ron: "Do I even have to explain that one?"
Ron laughed and shook his head.
Without any words, Hermione was quickly leaving the Shrieking Shack. She simply waved at them before disappearing behind a doorframe, concentrated on her task. She had to convince McGonagall of Snape's reasons, and it was something that Harry and Ron wouldn't be very good at. There were things that required feminine sensitivity.
Hermione found herself like weeks before, running through the secret passageway that connected to the Whomping Willow. When she found the entrance, she used her wand and emerged from the small tunnel unharmed. Quickly she ran towards the castle. A sense of nostalgia encompassed her as she gazed at Hagrid's cottage, but kept her course and entered the school. She ran all the way to the gargoyle: "sad phoenix!" Going up the spiral staircase Hermione felt herself getting more and more nervous. As she found herself in front of the door, she took a deep breath and knocked.
"Come in," said a familiar voice that somehow to that day still sounded broken. When Hermione entered, Minerva's eyes opened wide. "By Merlin, girl! How did you get into Hogwarts?"
"Professor... Let's just say that we have ways of getting here... Passageways... but that is not the reason I am here."
"We?"
"Yes. We. Me, Ron, Harry, and... Severus."
Minerva fell on the chair putting a hand on her heart. "How, Miss Granger?"
"He killed Dumbledore... on Dumbledore's orders."
Minerva seemed to take it better than what they had expected. She shook her head in sadness and looked at the portrait Hermione and her friends wanted to speak to. "Why Albus? Why did you do something like that?"
The Albus in the portrait chuckled. "I see I can still surprise you, Minerva. Yes, I did some crazy things while I was alive, didn't I?"
Minerva went back to Miss Granger. "So I guess the others are here too?" Hermione nodded. "You can bring them, but be warned that Severus is not welcome. If other teachers see him we will have serious problems."
"We know, Professor. He will come under Harry's invisibility cloak." The older woman nodded and Hermione quickly left to fetch her friends.
XxXxX
As they entered the office, Severus removed the invisibility cloak. Minerva didn't even want to lock eyes with her ex-colleague. Even if it was Albus' fault, the man was still a murderer.
Harry, knowing what Minerva was going through, gave her the letter they had found in Godric's Hollow. The Headmistress read it with ease and handed it back. "I don't want to know much about that quest of yours. I will leave the office right now so that you can speak with Albus' portrait." With that, the older woman left and they found themselves gazing at what was left in a certain way of Albus Dumbledore.
The portrait chuckled. "I never thought I'd see the day you three would be together with him!" They all smiled and Snape smirked. "Well? What do you want to know? Minerva still has a jar with lemon drops. You can serve yourselves some."
"No thanks," replied Harry. "Sir? We wanted to know if there were any clues to where another Horcrux might be."
The Albus in the portrait smiled. "I always noticed that going to the places that had something to do with Voldemort's past helped a lot. You might find something in the orphanage where Tom grew up. There is one thing, though. Harry, you must at least have an idea of what you are looking for. There is a wizarding library in Gales. You might want to go there and find out about relics that belonged to the founders of Hogwarts. It's the biggest wizarding Library in England and it's located in a village that is more or less like Hogsmeade. The village is hidden from Muggles, but wizards can see it. Do you have your Firebolt with you?"
Harry shook his head. "It was too big and I didn't think I would need it. I left it at Aunt Petunia's."
"I have a feeling you will need it, if portraits can have feelings..." the portrait chuckled yet again before speaking: "Harry, you do know there are reducing spells you can use to put the broom in your pocket, right?"
Harry slapped his forehead with his right hand. "I forgot!"
Albus smiled. "It happens to the wisest of wizards, I can assure you."
Severus started to check Harry's forehead to see if it was injured, but the boy pushed him away: "Stop that, Severus! I'm fine!"
"Don't hit yourself on your head so hard, Po, Harry." Snape gave him a glare before looking at the portrait again.
"I'm so glad to see you getting along." The old man in the portrait was laughing.
"Thank you Professor Dumbledore. We'll be going now."
"Harry..." The boy turned to the portrait. "Many things will happen before you reach your goal, but do not lose heart."
"Never, professor. I will never lose heart, no matter what."
Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Severus bid farewell to the wizard in the portrait before leaving. As they came out of the gargoyle Minerva noticed only the three teens that she still considered her students and smiled as she knew Severus was under the invisibility cloak. She spoke to them: "Good luck. I believe that the light will prevail." They waved at the Headmistress and after a glance at the Marauder's map they sped to the Owlery first.
XxXxX
Petunia Dursley was hanging some clothes outside when a brown barn owl descended towards her. She quickly left the basket and took the note strapped to the owl's leg. She smiled in understanding as she read:
The paperboy will come to your door.
Have a broom ready in case you have to hit him.
Petunia could figure that her nephew needed his broom, but at the same time was worried about how he had to disguise the note. She decided to fetch the broom from Harry's room and have it ready close to the entrance for when he came.
Thanks to the people that took their time to review.