It's like they say, after sun comes always rain It's like they say
Maybe I'm just too scared to depend on this
Maybe it's a passing thing, the fact that it
has never been better
February 4, 2019 4:40 AM, Saturday
Vampire Council's Mansion, England
"So Voldemort is sort of like a vampire then, he lives by taking the lives of others," I mumbled aloud, "That means when he uses the killing curse on someone it's like he's taking their soul, almost like a Dementor."
Alden nodded in agreement. "It would seem that way, but he is a thousand times worse then any Dementor. Dementor's are dark creatures but they cannot expand their forces, they cannot speak in any normal tongue and they cannot charm others to their side. Voldemort, on the other hand, can do all of those things and more."
"Then he can never die?" I asked anxiously.
"There must be a way to destroy him," Thina urged, "Your father must be the key, the prophecy…"
"The prophecy could be wrong," Gwydion broke in ominously.
Druce interrupted with a growl. "If he had a way then why wouldn't he have destroyed the Dark Lord when he had the chance? We all thought that he did but now the monster is back."
"That is a good question," Alden agreed, "Why did Mr. Potter not destroy the Dark Lord when he had the chance?"
The five vampires turned to me and I suddenly felt intimidated by their stares. It was obvious they expected me to have an answer. "I don't know," I stated truthfully, but a thought suddenly struck me and it escaped before I could stop myself. "Oriel," I stammered.
"Who?" Ophelia questioned in confusion.
"Voldemort's daughter," Alden replied.
"And my mother," I added confidently. All but Alden looked shocked at the revelation and his demeanor instantly reminded me of Dumbledore.
"So you think Harry didn't kill the Dark Lord because Oriel asked him not to?" Thina asked hesitantly.
"Your master is dead," I replied simply and Nagini let out a sound that was a cross between a hiss and a chuckle.
"My Master lives," the snake replied and I shook my head furiously, "It is true. I can feel him even now."
"Where is he then?" I asked curiously.
"I do not know," Nagini replied sadly, "But I know he will return."
"My father defeated him."
"You are right," the snake agreed, much to my surprise, "Harry Potter defeated my Master, but defeated and killed are two entirely different things. There are worse fates then death. It was the one thing Harry Potter understood yet my Master did not."
"There are fates worse then death," I interrupted, "My father changed Voldemort into the thing he hated most, a muggle."
"So the Dark Lord has no magic then," Ophelia added happily.
Alden shook his head sadly. "His magic may be gone but he is just as dangerous as ever. Perhaps even more so…"
"How so?" Thina questioned in a curious tone.
"The world holds no use for a magicless Dark Lord," Alden replied gravely, "Thousands of souls live within him as well as the souls of his ancestors. Some cry out for vengeance, some for power and some for death."
"You fear he will choose death," Gwydion interjected. Alden did not answer but the worried expression on his face was answer enough.
"Wouldn't that be a good thing?" Ophelia questioned hesitantly, "If he died, I mean…"
"You are the beginning," the snake said softly, "The beginning of the end."
"The end of what?"
"Everything."
"The beginning of the end," I mumbled softly.
Druce cocked his head to once side. "What was that?"
"We must remember," Alden interrupted, "as long as there are souls in the world the Dark Lord will never die. He exists as the world exists."
Gwydion's eyes widened in surprise. "In order to die the world…"
"Would have to die first," I said, finishing the vampire's dark theory. "Without his magic how can he destroy the world?"
A loud bang suddenly drew our attention to the door. Khalida paused in the doorway for a moment before stepping forward, allowing the door to close silently behind her. "There are other ways," she stated as she strode toward the council table.
"Miss List!" Thina exclaimed, "This is a council meeting. How dare you…"
Khalida's stern glare cut Thina off in mid-sentence. I wondered what could have possibly happened to have Khalida so worked up. "I have information for the council," Khalida responded soberly.
Alden gave Khalida a curious look. "And what information would that be?"
"The Dark Lord wishes to use Jenny to destroy the world," Khalida explained, "Well, not exactly Jenny herself, but the magic she holds inside her."
"Magic!" I exclaimed loudly.
Khalida turned to me, her expression downcast and serious. "There are things that I have not told you, things I wish I still would not have to tell you, but you need to know."
A rush of anger tore through my body and I jumped up suddenly from my chair. The council members flinched as the chair I had been sitting on crashed to the floor. Khalida's eyes met mine but she didn't turn away from my accusing glare, which made me even angrier.
"Then tell me!" I shouted, "Tell me everything! Tell me the truth! Everyone's telling me so many things that I don't know who to believe anymore! Why does everyone seem to know more about me then I do!"
The weight of everything that had happened seemed to fall on me at that moment and my knees quickly buckled. I barely felt any pain as I hit the floor and any statements from the council were soon drowned out by the sound of sobbing. A strong arm made its way around my shoulders and I was pulled close to Khalida's chest. The absence of a heartbeat bothered me. How I wished I was back at home, in my father's arms, hearing the familiar thump-thump of his heart.
"I'm sorry," Khalida stated as the slowly rubbed my back, "I was trying to protect you. I never wanted this for you. If I would have known what the consequences were going to be, I would have…"
"Consequences for what?" I asked with a sniff.
Khalida didn't answer. Instead she helped me off the floor and back onto my chair. I never noticed that she'd even touched the chair. A glance back at the council revealed Gwydion quickly stashing a wand into one arm of his robe.
"When Gilgamesh ran away to America he took Oriel with him," Khalida stated as she began to pace back and forth in front of the council. "He expressed a wish to have a child with Oriel but after what happened to their first son he knew it wasn't a good idea."
"What happened?" Ophelia asked.
A pained look crossed Khalida's face. "He died."
"She killed him," I sneered, "Oriel murdered her son because he wasn't what she wanted."
"Not true," Khalida responded quickly, "Everything you've heard about what happened to Thomas is untrue. Yes, Oriel did drown him, but not because of any contract or because he had no scar. Oriel didn't want to lose her father. She loved Voldemort."
"But why would she lose him?" Gwydion questioned.
"It's in the Riddle's blood," Khalida explained, "We all know what the Dark Lord is…what he does…"
"Thomas would have killed his father eventually," Alden interrupted knowingly, "He would have absorbed his soul. If Thomas would have been a muggle then Oriel wouldn't have had to worry but since Thomas was a wizard he could have used the Avada Kedavra curse on his father as soon as he was taught how."
Khalida nodded in agreement. "So you can see, there was no way that Harry and Oriel would be able to have a child together. With Harry's magic they would be guaranteed a wizard or witch and past events would repeat themselves once again. Charles Smith was the one who came up with the idea to create a child without the need of a man or woman."
"Impossible!" Thina exclaimed.
"Not impossible, just very improbable," Khalida corrected, "Think of all the things that magic can do. A wizard or witch can move from one place to another merely by thought alone. They can transfigure a mouse into a quill and back again. And the more powerful wizards and witches can even conjure an object out of thin air."
"So you're saying I was conjured out of thin air?" I asked disbelievingly.
Khalida shook her head. "Of course not. There was much more to your creation then that. It took potions and spells and…"
Her voice trailed off but I knew what was next. "And two drops of blood." The council members shouted in outrage. Except Alden of course, he remained completely calm, regarding me with an expression of curiosity. The way he looked at me reminded me of the way someone would stare at a science experiment or a…freak.
My face scrunched up in discomfort and I closed my eyes as tightly as I could. The muscles in my arms and legs began to twitch and jerk as my magic seemed to wrap itself around my entire body. A light appeared behind my eyelids and I found myself wondering where it would lead me to.
"I don't want to be here," I whispered, "I want to go home. I want my Dad and I want to go home."
A picture of the home I shared with my father suddenly appeared in my mind as I continued to repeat my mantra. The voices in the room began to fall away and the vision of my home became clearer in my mind. Walls straightened, I could hear the dog barking and something soft and warm was lying on top of me.
"Jenny!" a voice shouted, "Are you coming down for breakfast or do you expect to get it in bed!"
That voice! My eyes flew open but quickly fell shut once again. A bright light was shining right in my eyes. It took me a few moments to realize that it was sunlight. Once I did, I was up on my feet immediately. A pain shot through my head as my brain attempted to come to terms with my surroundings.
"Jenny!" the voice shouted once more. This time it was accompanied by the sound of feet walking up a set of stairs. "Jenny, are you awake?"
I quickly glanced around the room. A bed sat in the corner covered with a dark green blanket. My bed, I thought excitedly. And my dresser too! And a wardrobe off to the side filled with my clothes! A loud creak off to my left caught me off guard. Without thinking I dove behind the bed, an expelliarmus on the tip of my tongue.
"What in the world has gotten into you this morning?" the intruder questioned in a confused tone. Very slowly I peaked out from behind my bed.
"Dad?" I squeaked, "Is that you?"
"No, its Dracula," he replied sarcastically, "You better get downstairs for breakfast before I suck the yokes out of your eggs." I jumped out over the bed and tackled him so hard it sent us both falling to the floor. "What in the world's gotten into you?"
"It was all a bad dream," I laughed, "Just a bad dream."
A strong arm enveloped me and I sighed as I heard the familiar thump of my father's heart. "O honey, there's no need to be afraid of bad dreams," he stated comfortingly, "Especially when there's a monster on the loose."
"A monster?" I questioned hesitantly.
"Sure," he replied with an evil smirk, "The tickle monster!"
"I'm too old for the tickle monster," I shot back, "I'm an adult now."
"Well excuse me," he stated, allowing his Surrey accent to come through full force, "Shall we have a spot of tea then?" He began to push himself off the floor but I held him back.
"Can we just stay like this for awhile?" I questioned pitifully.
"Sure we can honey," he replied in a worried tone, "That must have been some dream. You don't usually let me hug you for more than five seconds at a time. Mind telling me about it?"
"It seemed to last forever."
"They always seem to," he agreed with a nod.
"You died," I stated, leaving out any information on the cause of his death, "and then I found out you were a wizard. I went to England and met your old friends. There were vampires and these things called Dementors. You had this teacher named Snape and he was really mean, but not really, because he was nice underneath. And then there was the headmaster of Hogwarts that was your old school. His name was Dumbledore and he seemed to know everything but then I found out he only knew everything because he traveled through time and he wasn't Dumbledore at all…"
"Slow down," he interrupted, "Let's go downstairs. Then you can tell me all about your dream while we have breakfast." I nodded in agreement and we headed downstairs.
The house looked just like I remembered it. Everything was just where it should be and my father looked just like I remembered him looking the last time I saw him, the night that he…died. But he didn't really die; it was all a dream, a very long dream.
"So what else happened in this dream?" He asked as he buttered his toast. "Did you ride on a broomstick and have a magic wand?"
"Yeah!" I replied excitedly, "And I met goblins! Then I was on the run from the AWG, that's the American Wizarding Government."
"They had their own government?"
I nodded furiously. "Yes, but their president was a bad guy. There was also an evil wizard named Voldemort after me and he was mom's dad, so he was really my grandfather. Well, not really, but it's hard to explain. I also fell in…"
"Fell in what?" he asked curiously.
"Fell in love," I replied as I blushed sheepishly.
One eyebrow rose questioningly. "And who was this fine gentleman you gave your heart to?"
"His name is Draco Malfoy," I explained sadly, "You went to school with him."
"You fell in love with a man as old as your father!"
"Well, it was complicated!" I exclaimed defensively.
My father put on his best angry expression. "I certainly hope it didn't go too far."
"Dad!"
"I'm just messing with you. Go on."
"I just can't believe none of it was real. It seemed so real."
"That's how dreams are hon," my father replied as he unfolded the morning paper.
The newspaper hid his face just up to his eyes and it was then that I noticed something strange. Something seemed to be missing, but I couldn't figure out what it was. I continued to study him as he read the paper. He suddenly reached out for his orange juice and that's when I realized what was wrong.
"Your scar," I stammered as I pushed my chair away from the table.
"What was that?" he replied nonchalantly, lifting his newspaper once more.
"What happened to your scar?"
He lowered his paper and gave me a questioning look. "What scar?"
"The scar on your forehead," I replied as I made my way around the table to stand next to him, "The one shaped like a lightning bolt."
"I don't know what you're talking about…" he began but was cut off by the sound of the front door opening and closing.
"I smell breakfast!" a woman's voice shouted happily.
My father winked at me conspiratorially. "Too bad it's all gone! It was good too, wasn't it Jenny? A proper English breakfast, none of that Count Chocola crud you're mother's so fond of."
"Mother?" I questioned disbelievingly.
A woman stepped through the doorway into the kitchen, her face one that I had only seen in photographs. "It's Count Chocula dear. One would think that you would know that considering we've been married for almost twenty years now. Jenny, could you help your grandpa with the groceries. You know he'll never let me or your father help him but he can never refuse his favorite granddaughter."
"Only granddaughter," my father snorted derisively.
The woman shot a glare at my father. "Stop that."
"You know Jenny had a nightmare," my father commented offhandedly, "You and I were both dead and your father was an evil wizard. Not too far off if you ask me."
"It's probably from all those stupid science fiction shows the two of you watch," the woman replied, seemingly unfazed by my father's comment, "Remember the Big Foot nightmares when she was ten."
"Hey, those weren't my fault. She could have heard about Big Foot anywhere."
My mother nodded in agreement. "That's right, but no one else told her that they had Big Foot trapped in the basement, waiting for the proper authorities to come and cart him off."
"Could have been Big Foot…" he replied, giving the newspaper a loud rustle.
"It was a raccoon. Jenny, go help your grandpa."
I nodded my head dumbly and walked out of the kitchen in a daze. There was no way of knowing what I was going to find next. Besides that, my brain was too caught up in the image of my mother walking into the kitchen alive and well, to deal with much else. It wouldn't surprise me at that point to find the Dark Lord himself attempting to juggle three bags of groceries just outside the front door.
The door opened to reveal a man hunched over, picking two boxes of Count Chocula cereal off the welcome mat. He looked up at me as I bent down to help him.
He greeted me with a sly grin. "Hello Jenny."
I dropped the cereal into the paper bag by his feet and offered him a grin of my own. "Hello Voldemort."
dSz
dSz
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Wow, it's been awhile! Sorry everyone but things have been crazy lately. I moved to a new place, didn't have internet for quite awhile and then had a bad case of writer's block. But now I'm back and ready to get some work done. I don't know if anyone is still even reading this but the next couple chapters are going to be a bit strange (as if the others haven't been?). Okay, stranger then usual. But stick with me, I'm telling you...it will make sense in the end. I promise.