Warning Signs
AN: This chapter was pretty much written by Kageno Tenshi herself. YAY! That's also the reason it took so long to get up. But it's nine pages in Word, which is nice.
Disclaimer: The Tenshi and Ms. Lange are based on real people, please don't take their personalities and stuff without permission. We'd really hate to have to hunt you down and kick your ass. Also, we don't own HP and co. They belong to J.K. Rowling and Warner Brothers. Also Scholastic. Yeah.
It was early—too early, as Nicole would have graciously stated. She laughed at the image of her friend crawling out of the Gryffindor dorms with barely enough time to make it to class. She wasn't a morning person—that was for sure.
Robin pulled back the curtain from her bed, stealthily getting out and walking to her dresser. She pulled out a flannel shirt and threw it on over the pants and camisole she had worn to sleep.
A sudden moan sounded from the girl in the neighboring bed.
"Shut up," she growled, glaring at the curtain. "As if Draco were that flexible. Stop dreaming, already."
She walked deftly through the dark dorm room, her sandals making quiet thuds on the floor. She hated this time of day. Everyone was always so loud; she couldn't sleep, not with an entire school of dreams running through her head.
She looked around the empty common room. The fire had long turned to ashes, and the house elves had come and gone.
The Slytherin dorms could be so very lonely, at this hour.
The whole school was lonely.
She thought back to the images she had seen in her mind before forcing herself into consciousness.
A fire red angel dancing with Nicole through the snowfall. A nightmare of mirrors and phantom chasers.
Her friends were asleep.
Of course they were asleep. It was 4:30 in the morning, what else would any normal sane person be doing?
Her eyes were caught by a brightly colored flyer pinned to the notice board. She laughed as she read it. It was Hogsmeade day, was it? She had completely forgotten.
She shrugged, walking out of the dorms and to the entrance hall.
It was today, already, and Hogsmeade had to have a lot more action than Hogwarts.
A pair of eyes followed the little dark girl as she walked defiantly out of the building.
"Where is she going?" Remus muttered. His eyes narrowed suspiciously in her direction.
He didn't know what to make of her. Nicole and Riley seemed okay; they were social, did well in their classes, acted just like normal teens. Robin, on the other hand, avoided other students unless Riley and Nicole were with her. She was intelligent, but got horrible grades, as if she didn't care about them. And, she was always so... cold, so distant.
He worried about her. Of all the Tenshi, she was the only one he never trusted. He was a dark creature; he could sense darkness. Even if it hadn't been for the incident on the train, all those months ago, he would have sensed it.
The fact that one of the beings he was supposed to trust with the fate of the world was practically radiating an evil aura did not sit well with him.
He looked around the empty hall. No one around. He needed to tell someone what he was doing, but...
He looked back to where the dark Tenshi had let the door slam quietly behind her.
He couldn't afford to lose her.
He walked swiftly down the stairs and out the door.
Hogsmeade wasn't that far from the school. She could have apparated, no problem, but early morning walks were always good to clear your head, so she walked the thirty minute trek.
It was nice, out here in the country. A bit chilly, this far north, this early, but that didn't really bother her. It was quiet, which was all that mattered. No clamoring images of random input. No moans of fantasy partners. No screams of terror.
She hated those, the most. Nightmares always bothered her. She always wondered if, perhaps, the person was having them because she happened to be watching. Would the nightmares leave if she wasn't there? Her morbid fascination always convinced her to stay and watch--just to see if they went away, anyways.
They never did.
She'd seen many nightmares in her life. So many that they were starting to become more familiar than the dreams of love or happy endings. She identified with nightmares much more; the fear in them always seemed so much more tangible than the sweet words of devotion in the lovers' dreams.
She thought of Nicole, then. Her dreams were different, somehow. Perhaps because she was a Tenshi? It probably had to do with her infinite capability to love. If she had been a normal human being, her dreams would be just as hollow.
Robin wished for such honesty.
Riley's dreams were hollow. But, Riley hid from herself more than anyone else, so it made sense that she wouldn't dream honestly. His nightmares were enigmas to her. Beneath the surface, however, she really knew what they meant; she just couldn't bring herself to face it.
Robin could relate with that.
She looked at her right hand, the leather glove with its insignias and binding spells etched into it firmly in place.
"You're your own worst enemy," she muttered, holding her hand up against the starlit sky. It was a new moon and clear as Heaven. This was her favorite kind of night. She smiled as her hand found Virgo.
The virgin, doomed to forever be alone. Well, she did choose to be alone.
Perhaps that was best for everyone involved.
Her eyes widened suddenly as a dark aura swept over her.
"Damnit!" she muttered, taking a fighting stance in the direction of the darkness. "Got careless, Robin. Got careless..."
She tensed as an image appeared on the path before her. Her eyes widened, her jaw dropped.
"Professor Lupin?"
Lupin sighed, gratefully. She was walking down the path to Hogsmeade. At least he knew where she was heading, although it didn't really sooth his worries, much. Why was she going there this early, and what was she planning once she got there? There were shady characters in Hogsmeade; sadly, she'd fit right in.
His wolf eyes saw her before she noticed him. Staring into the night sky, her hand raised as if she couldn't pull it down.
"You're your own worst enemy."
Her voice was so different. She sounded almost... fragile...
He stepped forward before he had even stopped to consider his actions.
She reacted automatically to his presence. The Robin he was used to was back, defensive, ready to strike at any moment, her entire body tensed up like a snake.
"Professor Lupin?" she demanded.
He smiled disarmingly down at her, waving a noncommittal hello. "How are you, Miss Goodfellow?" He asked. His voice was far too chipper for five in the morning. "Going to Hogsmeade, are you?"
She settled down just the slightest, still eyeing him warily.
'She doesn't trust me any more than I trust her," he thought, suddenly. Stupid of him not to notice that before.
"Yes, I am, Professor Lupin. Are you headed in the same direction?" she asked, her voice taking on the polite cover she always applied to teachers.
Lupin narrowed his eyes at her. She was hiding from him. He hadn't noticed before how her personality shifted according to the situation. She could be fiercely protective with the other Tenshi, jovial with a select few students, downright distant with most of the staff and other students, and always on the verge of a fight with, again, a select few.
Nights like these were meant for introspection, he supposed.
"Yes, I am," he answered, walking up to her as far as propriety allowed. "You're out pretty early. Were you that anxious for your trip to begin? You couldn't even wait for the rest of the class?"
Her eyes shifted to the woods around them. 'Can't look me in the eye, eh?' Remus thought, his eyes maintaining the facade.
"I couldn't sleep. I needed out of the school," she stated matter-of-factly.
"Students aren't allowed off school grounds without teacher consent."
She smiled at him, a feral grin that reminded him of a cat about to pounce. "What are you gonna do, Professor? Take away points? Expel me? You know damn well I don't give a rat's ass about the stupid school rules." She turned from him and continued to walk towards Hogsmeade. "I can take care of myself."
He was dumbfounded for a moment. Take care of herself?
"That's stupid, Goodfellow," he said, catching up with her short strides easily. "What about Riley and Nicole? Can you go without them?"
She stopped, staring down at her hand, then up at the stars.
"They don't need me."
"They... what?" Her voice was distant, again. It had that... fragile quality back. As if she could break right there before his eyes. He was slightly put off by her sudden humanity.
She turned her eyes to the stars, again. "The Tenshi revolve around a cycle of three, you know. Dawn, day, and dusk. White, gray, and black." She turned her head, slightly, locking her dark eyes with his. "We're fighting against the evils of this world, yet we, ourselves, contain evil within our core." She looked back down at her hand, flexing her fist compulsively. "Maybe that's why we've never been truly successful. All those times we've narrowly pushed back the darkness, only to be reborn, again, to fight, again... Maybe..." Her voice shrunk to a whisper, her fist shook before her. "Maybe we must defeat the evil within ourselves, too. Maybe that's the only way to finally finish this battle."
He reached out to her. "Miss Goodfellow..."
She went tense, suddenly, back into attack mode. He felt the sudden chill in the air, too late.
His eyes clouded over in pain, a huge golden orb hung above him in the sky, and he couldn't escape, he couldn't get to safety. He had no control. He was a dangerous, feral beast.
'Someone shoot me, please... Shoot me...'
And, then it was gone. The pain suddenly left his body. He looked up to see Robin standing before him, protecting him, a dark flame emitting from her right hand, the glove held in her left.
He lifted his head, turning it to survey the situation. There were dementors all around them. It was so dark, and his eyes were still clouded from his encounter with their dark power, making it difficult to discern their flowing bodies from the shadows of the forest.
He stood shakily, lifting his wand as he tried to clear his mind of the horror of the dementors. He needed a patronus. He needed happy thoughts.
He needed fairy dust.
"What are y'all doing here?" she demanded.
This was the protector Robin Goodfellow, Remus realized. Should he be relieved?
The sibilant voice of the dementor reached his ear like a scream of agony. "We've come to place a visit with you, young -Tenshi-."
It seemed to get amusement from the label and Robin didn't seem too pleased with that. The flame on her fist grew darker and brighter all at once and began to slowly crawl up her arm like a vine.
Remus put a gentle hand on her shoulder. She was his student. He couldn't let her come into danger. "Go back to the school, Miss Goodfellow. I'll take care of them."
She pushed his hand away, abruptly, walking forward towards the leader of the dementors.
"Stay out of this, Professor." She turned her defiant eyes directly on the dementor in charge. "What if I refuse to share in your company?"
He felt cold overwhelm him, again. The pain was on the verge of his vision, but lingered, throbbing dully in the back of his mind. The cold, skeletal hand on his throat tightened.
Robin glared at the dementor, the flame growing steadily.
"We only require that you listen," it practically purred, its voice scraping harshly in his head.
"I will listen, and then you will release him. Understood?"
The darkness around them laughed lightly.
"Listen well, then, for I will only tell you once." It floated forward until it was right before the small Tenshi. "Our master recognizes you. He recognizes your power. He recognizes your dark soul. He requests that you return to his services. He asks for his dragon to return to him."
Remus couldn't believe what he was hearing. She was an enemy. He was beginning to trust her, to see her as an ally. She -was- an enemy.
She laughed a low, callous laugh that sent chills down his already frozen spine.
"Tell your boss that I've found where I belong."
"With the Tenshi?" The voice came from behind them. Robin turned to face it, and he saw her eyes widen, her face fill with disbelief.
"Tom..." Her voice quivered; she really did look as if she would break.
"My dear dragon..." His voice was low, controlled, laced with power. "You said yourself, that you never belonged with those two. They were so bright, they hurt your eyes. Even now..." He could hear the voice reach out to her, and she reacted as if its owner were before her, as if he was there, reaching out his hand for her to take. "Even now, they scorn you and your dark nature. You know you will never belong with them, my dragon."
She sunk to the ground, suddenly, completely enveloped by the blinding black flame.
He heard it, just barely a whisper breathed across a galaxy of silence. But, it held power. The power of a single word.
"No... NO!" She was yelling, now, the flames shooting out at the dementor she had spoken to before. "NO! I will not listen to your lies, you hear! Tom is dead. Your master killed him. Even if I didn't have absolute faith in my friends, I would still kill every single one of you, just for my revenge!"
The dementor screamed in the sudden burst of pain, and then suddenly vanished, along with all the other dementors.
Remus's thoughts were cleared. He stared, transfixed by the black flames surrounding the small form before him. They disturbed him more as much as the dementors.
He reached forward to take hold of her shoulder, again.
"Robin..."
She turned, too quickly for him to see, and he was suddenly lifted into the air, surrounded by the same flames that covered her, a tight force gripping his throat. He looked down in her eyes, only to be met with two blank black orbs.
"Robin..." he choked, struggling against her hold. "Robin, it's me... I'm a friend... Please."
His vision was fading to black. His windpipe felt like it would be crushed. And, then he was on the ground, a firm hand supporting him and helping him breath.
He looked up and met Sirius's worried blue eyes.
"Sirius? Where's Robin?" He looked frantically around, but couldn't see her anywhere.
"Shhh... Riley and Nicole took her. Calm down and try to breath. You were freezing, just a moment ago." He rubbed circle into his back as he tried to force him to remain seated.
"What? Riley and Nicole took her? Where?"
Sirius looked off into the distance, the worry never leaving his eyes. "I don't know... We found you... She had you in some sort of grip... You were surrounded with... fire, or something... Riley said something about her losing control. They tackled her and Apperated out of here. I couldn't tell you where they were going. Presumably to settle her down..." He forced Remus to look him in the eyes. "What did she do to you? You were nearly blue, almost frozen. Is she the enemy, like we feared?"
"No." Remus pushed away Sirius's frantic hands, struggling to his feet. "No, I don't think she's the enemy. But... But, the situation has become much more complicated."
Sirius put his arm around Remus's shoulders, supporting him as they started walking back to Hogwarts. "Don't worry," his deep, calm voice resonated, dispelling all that was left of the cold darkness just as the sun began to rise in the east. "Riley and Nicole will take care of her."
Nicole sat up in bed, gasping and shivering. She got out and went to Riley's bed. "Riley. Riley, wake up."
"What is it?" Riley mumbled, as Nicole shook her.
"It's Robin. I don't know where she's at, but it's cold. She's cold and...and..." Nicole broke off. Riley looked at her.
"Get your robe on, now. We're going to find her." Nicole nodded and did as she was told.
They ran out of the girls room and ran out of the common room. Sirius, who had been sleeping as Padfoot outside the portrait, woke up as the girls rushed past him. He chased after them until they lead him to where Remus...
Quickly transforming, Sirius gasped as he saw Robin choking Remus. The two Tenshi ran to Robin and Apperated her away from Remus. Sirius quickly ran up to Remus and helped stabilize him.
Snape clutched his left forearm as the Dark Mark began to burn. Voldemort was calling. He cursed under his breath and quickly moved to his fireplace. He tossed Floo Powder in and flooed to Hogsmeade. Once he tumbled out, in a somewhat dignified manner, he left The Three Broomsticks and Apperated.
He was in the same building he was in last time, only all the other Death Eaters were there as well. He put his mask on and moved into the circle. When the circle was complete, he bowed with the others towards Voldemort.
"My Lord." He murmured with the others.
"My faithful Death Eaters, It seems that the mission to retrieve the one known as Hoshino Tenshi as failed. The Dementors have failed me and I sincerely believe that you, my loyal Death Eaters won't make the same mistake. You will target members of the Order of the Phoenix. If they are busy protecting themselves, then they won't pay attention to the Tenshi. Then at Christmas time, you will bring the Tenshi to me, alive if possible. No failure will be tolerated." His red eyes flashed as he looked at his followers.
They bowed and murmured all the appropriate responses and vanished.
The others vanished. Snape approached Voldemort and kneeled. "Master, I have news. I know what the Tenshi fear."
"Rise Severus. Tell me, what do they fear? What are their weaknesses?" Voldemort hissed.
"Kageno Tenshi fears that her friends will leave her alone. Hoshino Tenshi fears her powers. Kosetsuno Tenshi, she fears the lustful thoughts of men. Those are their fears, My Lord, their weaknesses."
"Which one is in your house?"
"The one known as Kageno Tenshi, Sire."
"Earn her trust. Turn her to our side. Try to break apart the loyalty of the Tenshi."
"Yes, My Lord." Snape bowed, then Apperated away.
The Tenshi appeared in an empty field behind the Three Broomsticks. Robin lashed out at Riley with her power. Riley flew through the air into a tree, where her head cracked, and she slumped down, unconscious. Robin then turned to Nicole and began to choke her, flames of power reaching out and surrounding the young Gryffindor.
"Robin, please. It's me, Nicole." Nicole pleaded, trying desperately to breathe.
Robin shook her head and sent more power towards Nicole. Nicole gasped and finally passed out. Her power spent, Robin finally entered back into reality to see a figure in black kneeling down by Nicole.
"You're lucky she's alive, Miss Goodfellow." Snape said.
"How, where did you come from?"
"That is none of your business. I must check on Miss Devon. Then we will head back up to the school, where I will be informing the headmaster of what has transpired here."
"I don't even know what happened here." Robin whispered as she looked at Riley's limp body.
Snape levitated the bodies and started off towards Hogwarts with Robin following, trying to remember what happened.