Disclaimer: See first chappie for details.
Warning: This chapter contains bad language.
A thumping, piercing pain across her forehead woke Theresa. She groaned and slowly opened her eyes. Bright sunlight glared into the room causing splotches of red, purple, and black to leap and swirl across her vision. Hissing loudly in pain, Theresa closed her eyes.
Theresa laid there battling back the crippling panic that prowled in her subconscious. Horrible memories fought to consume her mind, but she wouldn't let her treacherous mind win. Theresa would not let her teacher down. She would not abandon her brother. She would not let Cassius win.
She was the only one who knew of Cassius treachery. The bastard was the person who assassinated Chief Warlock Amaethon and his wife, sending her beloved homeland into inescapable chaos. Theresa had to return quickly to London before Cassius slithered his way into the Ministry and gains control of the country. Furthermore, she wanted to be the one to kill Cassius for the pain and humiliation he had caused her by sending her to the dark sweltering hell hole known as Uffern.
Recent memories from who knows how many days ago flooded her fragile mind. Angrily, Theresa balled her hands into tight fists, her long, sharp nails pressing painfully hard into her skin. How could she be so stupid? She almost had the murdering bastard, but just one tiny mistake ruin her chance and sent her to another region of hell. Now Cassius was safely back home while she was stuck in another plane of reality. Theresa wouldn't be in this mess if she didn't hesitant to kill Cassius when she had the chance and if that damn black haired stranger didn't get involved. Thinking of the idiot, where was the man?
Taking deep breaths and uncurling her hands, Theresa opened her eyes . Her eyes were immediately assaulted by colorful circles, but she forced herself to keep them open. When her eyes were used to the extremely bright room, she looked around the room. What she found made Theresa narrow her eyes and wrinkle her long, thin nose in disgust.
The room was a complete mess. Clothes were in bunches all over the floor, hiding away the grimy brown carpet that peek through in some spots. A battered, scratched-up dresser was in the corner with shirts and pants flowing out of it's drawers. The ugly dirt brown wallpaper was peeling off in long, narrow strips, revealing the hideous dark yellow walls behind them. Theresa felt trapped in the room because it was so small and crowded. The bed alone took up three fourth of the room up.
Not wanting to spend another minute in this dump, Theresa pushed herself up using both of her hands. She didn't rise two feet when her head hit something very solid. "Bloody Hell," Theresa snarled, falling back onto the bed. She groaned, rubbing her forehead in a circular motion. Her aching head now felt like it was being crushed between the teeth of a dragon.
Theresa glowered at the ceiling. There was nothing in sight, but she knew something was above her. She reached towards the filthy white plaster ceiling with a tired arm, grasping for the invisible thing that lurked in the air. Suddenly she felt a strange energy flow through her arm, first causing sharp pricks of pain to plague her arms then numbing it. Rippling into view, a pale blue see-through wall encaged the bed. Pulling back her arm, the wall shimmered out of sight.
Theresa let out a strange sound that resembled the growl of a furious cat. Theresa flexed her aching hand as she thought about what she should do next. Theresa hated the idea of being someone prisoner again. She had to break the barrier that surrounded her, but she wasn't sure how to destroy. The magical barricade was something she never seen before. Theresa wasn't an expert on the defensive forms of magic, but even she knew that this blue dome was different from most other magical barriers. The energy that surrendered her was very unstable unlike most magic used by witches and wizards. Just thinking that someone could shape this wild magic made Theresa 's mind reel. The barrier reminded her of lightening: unpredictable and deadly.
Theresa relaxed her stiff body, clearing her mind of the monstrous madness that threaten to take control of her mind. If she was going to get out of this foul brown room, she would have to focus.
Theresa made a mental list of the steps she would have to take to escape. First thing she would have to do is locate and retrieve her wand. Eyes skimming over the worn dresser and the fabric hills, she didn't see her wand anywhere. This didn't worry her. Theresa knew that the chances of her wand laying in eye sight was as likely as trolls learning how to do ballet. Whoever placed the barrier around her didn't want her leaving anytime soon. Lifting her hand carefully in the air , Theresa called out softly, " Accio wand."
Loud pounding came from the dresser, making Theresa wince. She glanced at the door, waiting for someone to barge inside and curse her. As the noise continue without irrupted from Theresa's unknown jailer, Theresa return her focus to her trapped wand. What could be keeping the drawer from opening? Was it stuck? Or was it magical locked?
"Desatre," she said, sitting up a little.
Nothing.
"Aprivele."
Still nothing.
"Rivela," she snapped. The drawer popped violently out of dresser and hit the floor with a thunderous "thump", flinging various of object out of it. Her wand zoomed out of it's prison and hit the invisible shield that guarded her. To Theresa's surprise, it pass through the barrier without any difficulty. The elegant, slim wand didn't even cause the blue barrier to ripple into appearance. Her wand smacked her aching forehead, rolled off and landed in her lap.
"I got my wand. What to do next?" Therese asked herself softly, picking up her wand. The familiar smooth wood between her fingers comforted the troubled woman. With her wand, nothing in this cruel world could break her.
"How am I going to break this bloody barrier?" Theresa murmured.
"Why don't you erase the fucking blood symbol thingy above your head, dumb ass."
Theresa head snapped up, silted eyes landing on the speaker. Perched on the end of the bed was a creature Theresa had never seen before. It looked like a ferret, but it was defiantly wasn't a ordinary ferret. The ferret- liked creature was as tall and long as a medium-size dog. It's glossy fur was a beautiful rich dark chocolate brown. The beast's paws, tummy, and large circular ears were a golden brown. Intelligent milk chocolate eyes stared into Theresa cold black ones.
"Did you say that?" Theresa demanded, staring at the beast in front of her in disbelief.
Rolling it's eyes, the creature said in a nasally voice," No, it was the fucking monster under the bed. He wants his mask back, hag."
"What did you say?"
"I didn't stutter, moron," it said. The creature scurried across the bed, making it shake violently. It leaped onto Theresa lap, knocking her against the wooden head board. The ferret creature tilted it's head , bright ,warm eyes scrutinized Theresa.
"Your one ugly broad. Where in the hell did Argos find you? The city morgue? Hell, I seen banshees with more color then you," the creature chattered, smiling at Theresa. She got a good glimpse of it's sharp teeth.
"Get off me, you foul, nasty rodent," Theresa hissed nastily, pointing her wand at the creature.
"Rodent?! I'm a jarvey, you stupid bitch," the jarvey snapped, letting out a furious hiss. The creature's lovely fur bristled, making it seem much larger then it really was. " What in the hell is your problem? I'm trying to help you get out and you insult me, you greasy haired, big nosed, waxy skin hag." Sticking it's pink tongue out at her, the jarvey ran across the bed and jumped off. Theresa heard the door closed.
Taking large breaths to calm herself down, Theresa thought about what it said. The horrible foul-mouthed creature mention something about a blood symbol. What was that? Theresa leaned back against the head board and peered up . On the top of the head board was a outline of a galleon-sized circle which made out of blood. Inside of the blood circle was a line and a symbol that resembled a wiggly upside down "y" which laid on top of the line which was also drawn in blood. Theresa shivered. She didn't want to think about the blood and where it came from.
"This must be it, but how do you get rid of it?" Theresa questioned herself.
"Take your stupid wand and erase it. For the love of Merlin, are you this fucking stupid all the time?"
To Theresa displeasure, the jarvey was back. Somehow it enter the room and got onto the bed without her noticing. This made Theresa very angry. How could she not notice the creature. It was freaking huge! And let's not forget annoyingly loud. Lounging on the bed curled up in a loose ball, jarvey yawned.
"What do you want, beast?" Theresa growled.
"Oghma," the jarvey said, glaring at her.
"What?"
The jarvey let out a dramatic sigh. "I have a name you know, hag. It's Oghma. Anyway, are you going to just sit there and collect dust or are you going to get the fuck out of here?
Theresa stared at Oghma the jarvey, unsure what to do. She didn't trust anyone, not even her brother who she loved deeply. She had been betrayed too many times in her life to be foolish enough to allow herself to place her fate into the hands of others. The javery or whatever the hell it was seemed like it was trying to help her, but it could be just an act. The creature was an obnoxious bully. It could be just messing around with her, trying to make her touch the symbol to harm her.
"Why are you helping me?" Theresa said.
"Because there's nothing else to do and it's fun to watch Argos freak," Oghma said, getting up. Unlike the last time, the brown creature cautiously walked across the bed in a wobbly motion and into her lap. Sitting on it's hunches, Oghma craned it's neck to look up at her. "Holy shit, you have a long neck. Was your mother a freaking giraffe or something?"
Frowning, Theresa said," What do you by "erasing?"
"Take the fucking tree limb and rub the blood off. It's not that hard to understand," Oghma said.
"Why can't I use me hand?"
"If you want to be knocked out again, go on right ahead and touch it."
Turning her upper half around, Theresa set the tip of her wand on top of the symbol. She began to attack the blood circle with hard strokes . Flakes of dry black blood flew off , getting all over Theresa. After the last piece of crusty blood was gone, Theresa return her glaze to Oghma. " Now what?"
"You leave," Oghma stated.
"Oh…That was easy."
"Well, Hewitt was the one who was in charge of making sure that you didn't leave and like always he did a piss poor job. Now if mutt face had gotten off his lazy ass and did it, you wouldn't be going anywhere," Oghma informed her, resting his large head on her knee.
"Mutt-face?"
"Argos."
"I see. And the barrier…? Why could you and my wand get through, but not me?" Theresa questioned the dozing creature.
Yawning, Oghma mumbled," I really don't know the whole magical principle behind it, but to put it in simple terms, that blood symbol was the thing that kept the shield up. It was your blood that was used for the foundation for spell or something like that. How your blood was drew on made the magic barrier sensitive to you, causing you not to be able to go through the barrier. Anything else can pass through the barrier without even knowing that it's there."
Eyes wide with horror, Theresa brought her arms out in front of her to inspect them for cuts. She was shock to find that she wasn't wearing her black dress, but a man- size black flannel pajama top that hung loosely on her boney frame. Lifting the covers, Theresa saw she was wearing matching bottoms. The idea of someone sliding a knife across her skin faded away as embarrassment and rage took it's place.
"How did I get dress in this?," Theresa growled.
"Jeez, hag, calm the hell down. Madame Durriken was the one who undressed you and cleaned you up."
Still frowning, Theresa pushed Oghma off her lap ( who wasn't to please with this and snapped at her fingers), pocketed her wand and threw the thick, brown blanket off of her. She got out of bed, using the head board for support. Her legs were weak and wobbly , but Theresa was sure she could walk. That was until she took her first step.
Taking one shakey step, her legs gave out. Theresa felled into one of the pile of dirty laundry face first. The smell of old sweat made her gag. She garbed a hold of the edge of the bed and somehow managed to pull herself off. Oghma was rolling on his back, making a loud, chattering noise that sounded like laughter.
"Shut-up!" Theresa hissed as she glanced at the door.
"Don't worry about someone coming to investigate the noise. Dumb ass also placed some kind of charm on the room so no noise can get in or out of the room," Oghma said. " To help you sleep without interruption."
Theresa tried again, this time taking small steps. She still ended up stumbling for the door. Opening the door just a tad, she said, "Is anyone near this room?"
Oghma soared off the bed and surprisingly landed gracefully on the floor without making much noise. " No, everyone on this floor is asleep. Hewitt, Madame Durriken, and Argos are in the kitchen, but you don't have to worry about them. Madame is yelling-I mean lecturing them again so they'll be busy for awhile," Oghma chuckled as he slipped past Theresa's legs and through the door. "Follow me, hag, if you want to get the hell out of here."
Theresa squeezed thought the thin opening and closed the door carefully behind her. The jarvey was waiting impatiently for her on the stair landing, it's large, bushy tail thumping the ground furiously. Seeing her, it scurried out of sight down the stairs. Reaching the stairs, Theresa worriedly looked downward. She wasn't sure if she could make it down the stairs without her legs giving out again and sending her tumbling.
"What in Merlin's name are you waiting for? Get your boney ass done here!" Oghma yelled at her in his squeaky voice, prancing around in a circle.
Narrowing her eyes at Oghma, Theresa tentatively step down. Taking the steps one at a time, Theresa slowly made her way down the steep and narrow stair case, never letting go of the rail. Oghma watched her, making snide remarks every time she took a step. By the time Theresa foot touched the carpeted floor, she was ready to strangle Oghma.
"The front door is this way." Oghma bounded off down the hall. Theresa found to her relief that the rest of the house wasn't filthy as the room she was placed in. The hall was spacious; at least six people could stand from wall to wall with out touching their neighbor. Outlined in white trim, the rosy pink walls somehow made Theresa feel peaceful and as if she was safe. This shocked her; Theresa hated the color pink. The soft, squishy pink carpet felt wonderful under her aching feet. Three smooth, new-looking white doors were located on her right and hanging in the middle of the wall on the other side was a large gold picture frame. Whatever called the portrait home couldn't be seen. Gold gas lanterns shone brightly on either side of the hall. Theresa was about to follow her new accomplice when the shriek of a very frustrated woman broke the comforting silence.
"What were you thinking!," the woman voiced thunder from behind Theresa. The woman's voice reminded Theresa of a very sharp flute trying to play a extremely high note. " You could have gotten both of you killed! Why didn't you call the Order, Argos? Or better yet, us? You know we're always ready to help you."
"Yeah, but at what cost to my freedom, Morrigan?" said the deep, harsh voice of the black haired man from the stone and marble chamber. " You know Wadjet would want something-"
"I wouldn't allow it," the woman snapped loudly, her annoying, high pitched voice making Theresa's ears ring.
Yeah, Orion," agreed another voice which sounded like a young boy. "We'll protect you from the snake-bitch."
"Hewitt! Language!"
"Sorry, mother," came the young voice sarcastic reply.
Theresa eyes brow arched in astonishment. Hewitt, the person who conjured up the barrier, was a boy? Thoughts of escaping forgotten, Theresa spun around and slinked down the hall towards the conversation. At the end of the pink hallway, a door was slightly opened. Carefully placing herself so she wouldn't be noticed, Theresa peeked through the slit.
Slumped at the beautiful oak table that dominated the room was the haggard stranger. One of his elbow propped on the arm of the chair, a lit cigarette dangling between his pale fingers. In the light, the lines on his thin face made his face appear to be skull-like. Eyes glowing with angry, the blacked hair man frowned causing crow's feet to appear at the corners of his lips and eyes.
Meeting his glare with one of her own was a woman that could only be described as roly-poly. Her body was built like a snowman: normal size head, medium size chest, large bottom. Hazel eyes peered down her small, round nose at the sulking man at the table. With a swish of her violet dress, she walked out of veiw.
Sitting across from the man called Argos was a red headed boy of thirteen. He had a lean, scrawny frame with large, innocent blue eyes that were the color of sky. Grinning, Hewitt took a sip from a flower printed tea cup.
"So what are you going to about the girl?" Theresa heard Morrigan demand.
Sighing loudly, Argos rubbed his forehead with his free hand. Closing his eyes, he said, " I don't know. Maybe send her to Hogwarts?" Theresa was intrigued by this statement. In her world, Hogwarts was reduced into ruins during the war.
"School is still in session. Beside, you know that many loyal followers of the Ministry now teach at Hogwarts. Ministry officials would be at Hogwarts, pestering poor Headmistress McGonagall faster then you can say " fire whiskey ," Morrigan scowled him. She marched back into theresa's sight. With one plump hand, she plucked Argos cigarette from out of his hand and threw it into the sink where Theresa could hear it sizzle.
Somehow the startled look on the man's face was the funniest thing Theresa had ever seen. Theresa had to bite her lip to keep herself from cracking up. Calming herself down with deep breaths, Theresa mind began to ponder about all the information she had learned. Hogwarts was still used as a school and the Headmistress of the school was Theresa's old stern transfiguration professor. In her world, Professor McGonagall was killed early in the war, executed as a traitor. Theresa wondered what was the relationship between the Headmistress and this odd threesome.
Morrigan dislike for the Ministry also was curious. If the Ministry was anything thing like the one in her world before the war, Theresa could understand the woman's feelings. Before the war, the Ministry was filled with corupted wizards and witches who didn't care about their fellow magic users. They allowed muggle-borns and half-breeds to polluate their world, destroying it. They were the ones who allowed muggles to take over the world, forcing the good citizens of the wizardly world to hide away in small towns.
"Hey!" Argos growled. "Why in the hell did you do that?"
"You already have a foul mouth, you don't need anymore help to dirty it," Morrigan said.
Hewitt snickered into his teacup.
Sending Hewitt a scowl which made him look shamefully at the ground, Morrigan said, " Any other ideas? She's not going to be unconscious forever, you know."
"I don't know. I'll let Minnie decided," he croaked, looking longingly at the sink that hid his cigarette from view.
Minnie? Did he mean Professor McGonagall, Theresa wondered in shock. Theresa couldn't think of anyone who was stupiest enough to nickname McGonagall "Minnie" and actually say it out loud.
"When are you going to see her?"
"Later today."
"Good because your new lady friend is standing outside the door. Invite her to join us for lunch. Merlin knows she could use a few good meals," Morrigan ordered Argos, summoning four bowls from a cupboard with a flick of her hand.
Theresa cringed away from the door as if it was on fire. How did the woman know she was there. Before she could flee down the hall towards freedom, the door swung open, revealing a grumpy-looking Argos. His bright gray eyes bored into her, sending a fiery sensation racing through her body. To Theresa horror, she couldn't make her body move.
"Well, you heard the woman. Come eat," he growled.
Second Chapter is completed. Yippe! This was a pain to write. It got deleted like five million times. Anyway review, review, review.