Of Wizards, Akuma, and Exorcists
Eighteen: In the Hogwarts Library...
Disclaimers: I do not own any D. Gray-Man or Harry Potter characters/settings. They rightfully belong to Mr. Hoshino (D. Gray-Man) and Ms. Rowling (Harry Potter). Also, some conversations between the Harry Potter characters are direct quotes from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and that also does not belong to me!
"Look, Allen! Here it is: The Clan of the Noah," Lavi said proudly as he held up an old, leather book. "It was pretty easy, neh?"
Allen nodded, looking up form where he was reading Magical Creatures and How To Nurture Them. "At first I wondered why this was in this section," he said when Lavi sent him a confused look, as the subject of the book obviously had nothing to do with what they were supposed to be looking for. "I think this was put in this section after the Sirius Black case, the last time it was checked out, it was by Hagrid two years ago, and it's no wonder why- see?"
Lavi leaned over Allen's shoulder and read: 'Each and every creature listed in this book has a Ministry of Magic Classification of XXX or more'...What's this?"
"It's a list of magical creatures," Allen said, "and it's probably where Hagrid got ideas for his lessons during his first year, and it was put into the restricted section, chained to the shelf, after his Hippogriff lesson (I heard that from one of the paintings). I guess the Ministry of Magic didn't want anyone finding and taking in any of these creatures for pets. It says here that creatures with a M.O.M. Classification of over XXX is considered dangerous and deadly."
"Nice," Lavi said, stretching out the word. "It's got dragons in here too!"
"Harry told me Hagrid tried to play mom to a baby Norwegian Ridgeback in their first year at Hogwarts," Allen said with a shrug.
"No matter this book was put into the Restricted Section," Lavi said, glancing at the small stack of books Allen had next to him. "A History of Great Wizards?" he asked.
"'Great' as in 'evil,' apparently," the boy replied. "It had several wizards that sounded like lunatics or devils- I wonder why my master's not in there..."
"Because he's not exactly a wizard, isn't it?"
"The book was written by quite a person as well. He explained very enthusiastically, in detail, how all of the bad wizards plotted to destroy humanity- and some of them happened to be similar to what Voldemort's followers, the Death Eaters, had been doing. That's probably why it was put in here."
"At first glance the book looks so innocent," Lavi muttered. "It reminds me of you."
"What? Why?" Allen squeaked.
"Never mind. What bothers me, though, is why Umbridge just listened to Dumbledore last night," Lavi said, and sat down.
"Oh, about letting us stay in this castle?" Allen asked, shutting the book.
"Yep."
"Don't you remember what Sirius said the other night?"
"Yes, about how they're scared of Dumbledore making his own private army, right?" Lavi said, folding his arms and leaning on the table they were sitting at. "But Allen, don't you think Umbridge's not insisting we get kicked out of here goes against the Minister's fear? If Dumbledore himself went out of his way to keep us in this castle after we made such a ruckus in his school, after a whole class nearly got killed by some explosion that we were obviously involved with, I think that's, like, the biggest hint for the Ministry. It should have been obvious that we could possibly be the trump card in Dumbledore's so-called army, and Umbridge would probably have called in the Minister right then and there. So why didn't she?"
"Now that you tell me...it is strange, isn't it?"
"Don't you think we should tell Dumbledore about this? Komui, too?"
Allen leaned his head on the table, closing his eyes in thought. "No, Lavi, I don't think so," he answered slowly. "I'm sure they've both noticed it by now, and besides, worrying about it is not going to help us a bit- it's not like Umbridge is not determined to try kicking us out of this castle with any lame excuse. Even if we wonder and rack our brains about it, it's not going to lessen the threat we have looming over us at all."
Lavi shuffled in his seat, and Allen heard him make a stack out of the books on the table. "Alright," the red haired boy said, although he sounded unconvinced. "We won't tell Dumbledore, not yet. Even though I have no idea why."
Allen smiled. "Thanks, Lavi."
"Heh, sure."
Hours passed by rather dully as Allen and Lavi read through the- possibly- useful books they'd found. The Clan of the Noah didn't have any information that they hadn't already heard of, except for a hint about the existence of a "Noah's Ark." Magical Stones and Crystals: How They May Affect the World had fifteen pages on the Innocence and Dark Matter, but, like the book on the Noahs, didn't have any news. While Allen reread the Noah, cover to cover, for something they may have missed, Lavi yawned as he flipped through Magical Stones and Crystals.
"Lavi, please be more serious about this!" Allen said, looking put down. "It's important work!"
"Yeah, yeah I know," Lavi said dismissively, "but rereading something has never been part of my lifestyle. I could read or hear something and remember it precisely, I didn't ever have to read the same book again." He absentmindedly flipped a page and started reading a section on something called the Sorcerer's Stone. Couldn't people think of any better names, honestly...
"The Sorcerer's Stone is said to have been created in the fourteenth century by alchemist Nicolas Flamel...An extraordinary and very powerful magical item, the Stone could transform metal into gold and produce the Elixir of Life, a potion that allowed the drinker to live indefinitely as long as they kept drinking it...Mr. Flamel celebrated his six hundreth twenty-fifth birthday," he read. "Heh, a stone that could make someone live forever...sounds like Innocence, don't it, Allen?"
"Yes, very much, like Lala's case," the boy replied, appearing uninterested, "but it's not an Innocence, it was destroyed by Dumbledore and Nicolas Flamel four years ago."
"Where did you hear that-?"
"From Ginny-"
"You've been talking to Ron's sister?" Lavi gasped, looked shocked.
Allen returned a confused face. "Is something wrong, Lavi?"
"No- I mean, yes- I mean, Ron's sister!"
"Yes, and she's also Fred and George's sister as well as one of the people who're on our side," Allen said.
"How popular could you get?" Lavi whined.
"Huh?" Allen put down his book and looked at his friend, who was looking back at him with big, surprised green eyes. "What are you talking about, Lavi?"
"You mean you didn't notice, half the girls in Gryffindor have their eyes on you!" Lavi said accusingly. "You and Harry, you're both really famous throughout the school- and Lenalee too, with the boys."
For some reason, Allen felt the temperature in the library rise, and he looked down at his book again. "I doubt it," he said flatly, although he remembered vaguely the whispers and pointed fingers from his classmates, particularly from the girls. Lenalee, he remembered, sometimes posititioned herself between the boys during classes and meals and had always ignored the attempted eye contact from the boys.
"So you've been talking to Ginny Weasley?" Lavi asked once more.
"Yes," Allen repeated. "Several times during the year already, as friends, of course."
"About what?"
Allen snapped the book shut and placed it in front of Lavi. "I don't think Ginny would appreciate me telling anyone, so that would be a closed subject, Lavi," he said with a sigh. "Why don't we get back to talking about the Sorcerer's Stone?"
"Oh, right," the boy said, blinking. He looked at his book once again. "So the Sorcerer's Stone could make the Elixir of Life, sustaining a person's life forever...but it was destroyed four years ago?"
Allen nodded. "Dumbledore and Nicolas Flamel had destroyed it, and Flamel, along with his wife, perished not too long afterwards because the Stone was sustaining their lives," he explained.
"But the Innocence..?"
"As far as I know, only the Noahs and the Millenium Earl could destroy it," Allen said. "I saw how powerful Dark Matter is when the Count Tyki Mikk crushed mine right in front of my eyes." He made a face, then shuddered.
"You didn't have to go that far," Lavi said, looking at Allen sympathetically, "if it affects you so much."
The white-haired boy slapped his forehead and shook his head. "I've seen worse, trust me," he muttered. "Anyway, so the Sorcerer's Stone can't be an Innocence, as strange as its powers are."
"So no need to rack my brains about that," Lavi said, turning to another page in the book. "Not that I would, I still treasure my hair."
"What about your hair?" a voice asked suddenly, making the two boys jump.
Lavi nearly fell out of his chair. "Lenalee!" he exclaimed, clutching the front of his shirt and gasping dramatically. "You nearly gave me a heart attack," he wheezed.
The female Exorcist smiled at the boy and looked around them. About ten books were scattered around the boys, some open, some closed, and a fat book was lying on the floor by Lavi's foot with something golden sticking out from under it pages. "What's that, Lavi?" Lenalee asked.
"Huh? Oh, I think it's Timcanpy. He was flying around until about an hour ago, and then he disappeared. Maybe he got stuck under the book I dropped."
"Get him out!" Allen gasped.
"I was wondering how you two were doing," Lenalee said. "I was surprised when the two of you never came down for lunch or dinner, especially you, Allen."
It was then that Allen came to notice his growling stomach. "Oh, yeah, I guess it slipped our minds," he muttered, then sighed. "Now that I'm aware of it, I'm starving."
"Fred and George went to fetch you something from the kitchen," Lenalee assured.
Lavi dangled Timcanpy by his tail, and the heavy book the golem was stuck under was held in his other hand. "Wasn't anyone wondering where Allen went?" he asked snidely.
"Lavi-"
"Ginny asked me where he was," Lenalee answered, cutting through Allen's protesting. "Some other girls, too."
Allen glared at his red-haired companion as the latter whistled and grinned. "What time is it now?" he asked.
"Oh, nearly ten," Lenalee replied, trailing off slightly. Then suddenly, her eyes lit up. "Oh, Allen? Hermione asked me if you could maybe help her make this medicine for Harry."
"Medicine?" Allen repeated, confused.
"He's having detention with Umbridge right now, and..."
His hand. Allen widened his eyes as surprise hit him. "You know about his hand, Lenalee?" he asked. Lavi looked between the two of them with confusion plastered on his face.
"Am I missing something here?" the boy asked. Allen and Lenalee both sent him pointed looks, the kind that the Exorcists (especially sharp-minded ones who realized things at the last minute) were professionals at doing. We'll explain later, was the message behind those looks. Whipping out their wands, Allen and Lenalee made quick work of the books strewn on and around the table, keeping only the ones they needed, which Allen'd pointed out and held onto.
"I'm hoping she has murtlap tentacles," Allen said to Timcanpy as the little golem hid himself into his master's hood.
"We have to hurry," Lenalee said as the three of them said good night to a half-asleep Madam Pince. "It's completely past curfew, and I heard rumors that Umbridge patrols the halls."
"I don't think she'll be around tonight," Lavi pointed out, "since she's obviously in her office with Harry for his detention."
The halls were, in fact, void of any sign that Dolores Umbridge was patrolling them. The Exorcists safely returned to the Gryffindor common room where Hermione and Ron were deep in conversation.
"I'm telling you Hermione, that's barking mad-"
"But if we don't do anything, we'll all be completely defenseless against You-Know-Who-"
"You-Know-Who won't attack Hogwarts, Dumbledore's here-"
"We can't be so sure of it with the Ministry interfering-"
"But it's Dumbledore we're talking about here-"
"Still, Ron, you can't underestimate your enemy...-"
"Lenalee!" Ron said, looking up as said girl, Allen, and Lavi sat down in the chair across from him and Hermione.
"The spent the whole day in the library's restricted section," Lenalee explained, glancing at the boys, who flushed.
Hermione handed Allen and Lavi each a plate laden with food. "Maybe it won't be enough for Allen, but that was all Fred and George could carry without dropping any," she said. She didn't have to wait two minuntes before Allen's plate was squeaky clean, and she looked glad about it too.
Allen, with a bit of sauce stuck to his face, said with a serious face, "Hermione, do you have any murtlap tentacles?"
"Oh, yes, of course..."
-------------------
A dark, dark room with floating, errie candles. A long table seating a variety of faces: thin, long, round, square, mischievious, bored, excited, grouchy, smiling, and so on, so forth. None of them looked like one another, more or less, they looked like strangers- with a couple things in common. The unaturally dark color of their skin, and the cross-shaped scars that ran across their foreheads. These characteristics were enough evidence for the ones who knew their existence to know that they were all a part of one family. These people's genes came from the world's first apostle: Noah.
This was the Clan of the Noah.
"Hey! Earl!" said one, a young girl, leaning back in her chair and smirking at the shadow at the end of the table, someone fat with a tall hat. "Millenium Earl! When are we going to get on the move? Come on, I'm bo-ored! I want to see Allen!"
"Mistress Road!" an umbrella with the head of a jack-o-lantern squeaked in alarm. "You are being rude to the Master Earl-lero!"
"The Earl won't get mad at me, Lero," Road Kamelot laughed merrily, "will you?"
"Never mind that," a teenage boy said, shaking with mirth and pulling on another boy's long blond hair. "What's bothering me is why we aren't going after the Exorcists."
"Hee hee," the blond one shrieked with laughter. "The Earl's gone easy on the Exorcists, hee hee!" he said.
"I really don't think that's what he's doing," a man said, staring off into the dark room with a look of utter uninterest. "I just want to know what, exactly, we're all doing here, gathered around this gloomy dinner table watching sugar-tooth complain about what's sweet and what's not."
"My name isn't sugar-tooth, it's Skin Bolic!" corrected a scowling, large man, swallowing a spoonful of ice cream. "It's sweet..."
"Surely it wasn't for a nice, sweet family reunion, was it?" the other man, Tyki Mikk, asked boredly.
"An important meeting," Road suggested. "I'm right, aren't I, Earl?"
"What?" one of the teenagers exclaimed happily, yanking once again on the blond one's hair. "You mean we're finally going to get a role in this so far boring play?"
The Millenium Earl peered at the boy through his round spectacles, his permanent grin never faltering. "Yes," he answered simply, politely. "You will all be sent on your missions soon, my dear, beloved family."
The teenagers cheered and shrieked. "Be glad, Jasdero!" the first one exclaimed, pointing a gun at the blond. "We'll get to kill!"
"Kill, kill, hee hee!" the one named Jasdero wheezed excitedly, pointing a gun back at the other. "We'll have fun, won't we, David?"
"Is there any Innocence there, other than the Exorcists'?" Tyki Mikk asked.
"Most likely."
"When's our first mission? Who's going?"
"It's a secret."
"What's it going to be about, and where?"
"Making more Akumas in London, Tyki-pon," the Earl answered. "You'll soon know when and who will be doing that."
Hello! This is the author (obvious, but hehe...)
First off, thank you so much for reading this far! The story is far from over, so there will be a lot more chapters coming along the way.
Secondly, it's my deepest regret that I took so long to post this chapter; I edited the structure of it a lot, but I'm glad with the way it turned out, and that I finally got in a bit of the Noahs as well. Most of the information about the characters in here (like Allen's Innocence once getting destroyed) is not made up. I guess the timeline for D. Gray-Man is messed up a bit, going ahead and then coming back, so it might be a little strange for some D. Gray-Man readers, so I will apologize to those who are disappointed.