Outsider Chronicles: Dark Eclipse
The First Year is over and Leo is already working to right wrongs. However, darkness is beginning to stir, and not just at Hogwarts. As Leo gets more powerful, his nature as an Outsider begins to take effect and worlds are drawn together. Add in some family drama and reveals and Leos migraines are only going to get worse. Sequel to Black Zodiac
And welcome to the final chapter of this Book! Nothing more to say but, enjoy!
Chapter 14
Our arrival in the Hospital Wing caused quite the commotion. Apparently, since we had gone down into the Chamber, some bright spark had realized that more students that just Luna were missing and triggered a massive search. Our sudden appearance nearly gave Pomfrey a heart attack, but she quickly proved her worth by dragging us all to beds by our ear (placing me next to Holly's for some reason) and giving us a once over, healing the minor injuries we had sustained. She healed the cuts I had received from falling stone while dodging the Basilisk with a wave of her wand and assigned Luna and Ginny bed rest to recover from their Magical Exhaustion, before moving onto Ron, who was nearly completely drained of magic and needed more treatment.
It was at that moment that the Hospital Wing doors slammed open to emit the Weasleys, Mr Lovegood, my mother and a very, very angry looking Sirius Black. Mrs Weasley immediately ran to her children's side and started sobbing, with her husband following, while Mr Lovegood walked over to his daughter where they started talking about something that I had no doubt would go straight over anyone else's head and make them think the family was crazy, while Mum and Sirius approached me.
"Whats got you so angry Sirius?" I asked.
"Dumbledore," he growled, "The old bastard didn't think it was worth notifying me that Holly had been petrified. Hell, I don't think he told any of the parents."
"Speaking of, what happened with Dumbledore?" I asked, "I thought he was supposed to be arrested at some point this year?"
"It took longer to build the case than we thought," said Mum, "There was far more dirt we had to shovel than we ever dreamed. Madam Bones was actually on her way to arrest Dumbledore when Lucius beat us to it and had him fired by the Board. The manipulative old man is currently sitting in a cell in the DMLE gaol awaiting trial."
"Think we can make it stick?" I asked.
"After this debacle? Most definitely," said Sirius, "Most of Dumbledores supporters have children in school and will not be happy that he kept the fact that something was attacking students from them."
"Wait till they find out it was a Basilisk," I said with a snicker.
Mum and Sirius froze.
"I'm sorry, did you just say Basilisk?" asked Mum.
"Yeah, its dead now though," I said, completely missing the warning signs, "Me and Ginny managed to kill it."
"YOU WHAT?!"
Aw crap.
After receiving a scolding that made my ears ring for nearly half an hour after it was over, Madam Pomfrey came over and gave me a Dreamless Sleep potion with orders to get some sleep and replenish my magical reserves which, although don't drained like Luna and Ginnys, were rather low. While I didn't exactly want to go to sleep, the look Mum was giving me told me that I had better do as I was told or she'd do something horrible to me. I grabbed the potion, gulped it down and vanished into dreamland.
The next day I woke to see Ginny awake and sat up, staring down at a sword shaped hairpin with a thoughtful look on her face.
"Morning Ginny," I said with a yawn.
"Oh, morning Leo," she mumbled.
"Whats up?" I asked, "You seem down."
"Well, I guess I don't know what to make of what happened in the Chamber," said Ginny, "I mean, as cool as all that power is, I don't really know how to handle all these extra memories. I don't know if I'm Ginny Weasley, Hogwarts Student or Ifrit Mars, the Knight of Nova."
"Does it really matter?" I asked curiously, "I mean, from what I remember, you two are pretty much the same person."
Ginnys head snapped up.
"You remember too?"
"Not everything," I said, "And I probably won't until I regain my full power, but I do remember bits and pieces and I can tell you, with 100% certainty that you are no different whether you're Ginny Weasley or Ifrit Mars."
Ginny was quiet for a moment, before she nodded and smiled at me.
"Thanks Leo," she said.
"Thats what friends are for Firefly," I said with a smirk as Ginny scowled at me.
"I suggest that you brace yourselves," said Luna, "Shes coming."
Before I could ask who Luna was talking about, the doors opened and Molly Weasley entered the Wing.
"GINNY!"
"Ow my poor ears!" I groaned as I tried to stop the ringing that Molly's extremely loud voice had caused and glared at Luna, who was removing earplugs, "A little more warning next time please."
Luna just stuck her tongue out at me while Ginny glared at the two of us over her mother's shoulder as she was crushed by her mother's hug.
"Oh thank goodness you're alright!" gushed Molly, "But what were you thinking young lady? Going off on your own with a Slytherin like that?!"
I blinked. What the bloody hell does my house have to do with anything? And I'm in Ravenclaw damn it!
"Leos in Ravenclaw Mother," said Ginny, her voice holding an edge of irritation, "And why wouldn't I want to help my friends?"
Molly gave a disdainful sniff.
"Yes, but hes a Malfoy," she said, "You really shouldn't associate with people like that Ginny, I'm disappointed in you."
Why that conceited bitch! What kind of person bases their entire opinion of someone based on their family name, especially one that they no longer use! And I can hear you! Ginny scowled and shoved her mother away.
"How dare you!" she snapped, "Dad taught us all to get to know someone before making judgements, otherwise we're no better than those Purebloods who assume that everyone is below them!"
"Now see here young lady!" began Molly.
"No Mother, I will not sit here and let you insult my friend," snapped Ginny.
"Well said Miss Weasley," said Madam Pomfrey from the door to her office, "Molly, if your going to insult my patients, I suggest that you leave."
Ginny blushed while Mrs Weasley went red, her jaw working, before she turned and marched out. Madam Pomfrey nodded to me, before moving over to Ginny and waving her wand over her. After a moment, she frowned and repeated the movement, only to apparently get the same result. The matron let out a sigh and shot a glare at me.
"Mr Black, are you and your friends trying to give me an aneurysm?" she asked.
"Why, whats wrong?" asked Ginny, looking worried.
"Oh, theres nothing wrong with you Miss Weasley," said Pomfrey, "In fact, its just the opposite. It seems that you had a Block on your core that was thinning out your magic. Congratulations, you are now the fourth Warmage in Hogwarts."
Ginny blinked.
"Huh?"
A quick explanation of exactly what being a Warmage meant later, Pomfrey let Ginny and I leave, stating that we were perfectly healthy. As we made our way through the halls towards the Great Hall where dinner was currently going on, I glanced at my friend and saw she looked troubled.
"Penny for your thoughts?" I asked.
"Huh? Oh, I guess I just have a lot to think about," said Ginny, "I mean, finding out I had a block on me kinda makes me worried. Who the hell could have put something like that on me? I mean, I was born at Home, not at St Mungos, so it would have to be someone my parents trusted and you heard what Madam Pomfrey said about Blocks like that one."
I nodded. Basically, Blocks are designed to help keep cases of Accidental Magic to a minimum, but aren't meant to be left on after the age of Eleven. If they are and aren't removed before the subject turns 13, which is the next big surge for the Core, it can cause irreparable damage to the Core. In extreme cases, it can even cause the Core to self destruct, injuring the subject badly and causing them to permanently lose the ability to use magic.
"Well, its gone now," I said, "And Pomfrey was able to get a reading of the Magical Signature, so we should be able to figure out who's responsible and if anyone else has similar Blocks. Don't worry about it, just focus on the now and get your magic back under control. Trust me, Dense Magic really throws your control off and, if you want to avoid some nasty accidents next year, I'd suggest getting an early start."
Ginny nodded as we turned the corner and entered the Great Hall, before separating and heading to our respective tables, just as Mcgonagall stood and called for silence.
"Good morning everyone," she said, "I'm sure all of you are wondering about what happened last night and it is my duty to inform you. Late last night, the Heir kidnapped a student from the halls for reasons unknown and took her into the Chamber. While we teachers, much to our shame, were preparing to evacuate the school rather than attempting to locate the girl, two students took it upon themselves to do what we could not and located the entrance to the Chamber, kill the monster, defeat the Heir and save the kidnapped girl, returning safely to the Hospital Wing. These students will both receive a special award for services to the school and 1000 House points each for their bravery and dedication to their friends."
The Gryffindor and Ravenclaw point Hourglasses both rattled to life as the gems that counted the points shot up with the number of points given as the entire school erupted into shouts and cheers. It took a few minutes and numerous explosions from Mcgonagall's wand to quiet everyone.
"In addition, Madam Pomfrey and Professor Sprout have informed me that the Mandrake draught will be ready by the end of the week. In light of this, and the events of the past year, all Exams except OWLs and NEWTs have been canceled!"
Once again, the hall was filled with shouts of joy and complaints from the Fifth and Seventh years, although they were surprisingly few of the latter as they all knew how important those exams were.
The next week practically crawled past for me as I waited for the announcement that the Mandrake Draught was done. The week had been incredibly hard on me, especially since I had regained some of the memories of my time as Leonus, which only made seeing Hollys petrified form that much more difficult. Of course, to make matters worse for me, I somehow kept finding myself at the Hospital Wing whenever I got lost in thought which, thanks to the new memories being rammed into my head, was quite often. That brings me to today, the Saturday after the Chamber incident, once again finding myself stood outside of the Hospital Wing. I let out a sigh, before pushing the door open and stepping inside.
"Back again Mr Black?" asked Pomfrey, not looking up from the bed she was stood over.
"My feet keep leading me back here," I said, crossing the ward and flopping down in the seat between Hermione and Holly's beds.
"Clearly," said Pomfrey, "Actually, you're right on time."
She straightened and walked over to me, handing me a vial of purple potion.
"Wait, is this..?"
"The Mandrake Extract."
"You mean..?" I started.
"We can finally cure these poor souls," she said, indicating to the petrified students, "I've already administered it to the others, these two are the last ones."
She indicated to the other beds where the other Basilisk victims were stirring.
"Just pour it into her mouth. It should go down on its own."
I nodded and did as I was told while Madam Pomfrey treated Hermione, before retaking my seat and taking Hollys hand.
"How long does it take?" I asked.
"Just give it a moment," said Pomfrey, her amusement clear in her tone.
At that moment, I felt Hollys cold, stonelike hand twitch as warmth ran back into it. She inhaled deeply, as if waking from a deep sleep ass she blinked and slowly looked around.
"What…"
She let out a gasp and sat bolt upright, looking around wildly, before her gaze fell on me.
"Leo, its a Basilisk!" she exclaimed, "Slytherins Monster, its a…!"
I cut her off by grabbing her in a tight hug, ignoring her rambling.
"Gods, I've missed you," I said as tears ran down my cheeks.
"Leo, what…" said Holly, surprise clear in her tone, "Why are you crying?"
I pulled back from the hug, wiping my eyes.
"Nothing, I'm just happy to see you again," I said, "And you don't need to worry about the Basilisk, its been dealt with."
"D-dealt with?" asked Holly, her eyes widening, "How? How long have I been out?"
"Only a week," I said, "But a lots happened in that time."
I quickly filled Holly in on everything that had been going on, minus the memories regained by Ginny and I. That could wait for later.
"Leo," said Holly quietly, making me look over at her.
She had a hand pressed against her abdomen and a strange look on her face, as if trying to remember something at the very edge of her memory.
"I-I feel like their was something I asked you to keep for me, something important," she said, "But for some reason I can't remember what it was…"
On second thoughts, maybe it wouldn't have to wait.
"I remember," I said, "You told me to return it when we next saw each other… Harlequin."
Hollys eyes widened as her head snapped around to face me, just in time for our lips to meet. It was an extremely bizarre experience as I didn't really have that much experience with the opposite sex in either life and yet the feel of Hollys lips against my own felt like meeting on old friend once again and felt exactly like I remembered them, only without the taste of blood. It didn't really help that the moment our lips touched, both of our bodies let out a huge burst of magic that manifested as a lightshow around us, focusing around our still clasped hands. The kiss was short and chaist, ending almost as soon as it began as Holly pulled back with a gasp, looking into my eyes with her own glimmering emeralds. With one look I could tell that I had dislodged more than a few memories.
Holly slowly reached out and ran her fingers over my cheek, a smile slowly growing on her face.
"See, I told you," she whispered, "Didn't I say we'd see each other again?"
I snorted.
"Guess I should know better than to bet against you."
"Well its about bloody time you two!" said a familiar voice.
We turned and saw that Ginny had arrived at some point while we were distracted and was now grinning widely at us while Madam Pomfrey looked a little annoyed and Hermione, who was now sitting up, seemed torn between grinning and glaring. Holly rolled her eyes at our friends antics, her grip tightening on my hand as she returned the smile.
A quick checkup from Pomfrey later and the Basilisk victims were allowed to leave, Holly still holding my hand as she hadn't let go the entire time. Holly, Ginny, Hermione and I made our way through the halls, heading for the Library so Hermione could lessen her studying withdrawal symptoms, when I suddenly became aware that something was nearby. I stiffened slightly as I felt the presence wash over me, before relaxing slightly when I recognized it was the same presence I had felt in the RoR at Christmas.
"Hey guys, can you give me a sec?" I asked, "I just need to nip to the loo."
The girls nodded and left, Holly leaving me with a peck on the cheek. I quickly ducked into a nearby empty classroom and glanced around.
"Alright, I know you want to talk to me Dad," I said, "I'm here."
The shadows in the room swirled slightly and took a vaguely human shape, but not enough to make out any details.
"I think you already know what it is I need to ask of you," said the God, his voice flat and monotone.
"I'm guessing that you mean I need to go and help Percy with something, right?" I asked, not bothering to act stupid since it was clear that my Father knew about my knowledge.
"Correct."
"And what do we get out of this?" I asked, "Aside from knowing who our Godly Parents are that is?"
"Another Warrior in the fight against the Darkness. It is returning, the Darkness that threatens all and it is far more powerful than last time. You know this however, don't you?"
"I guess so," I said, "But the question is, how do you? I mean, even being a God shouldn't give you that insight or I'd already have been dragged to Olympus."
"Who do you think it was that returned you to this world?" said the God, "And, although your previous world was devoid of the Supernatural, I am the same in whatever world you go to."
My eyes widened.
"Wait, are you..?" I started, but Father cut across me.
"Later, for now you should hurry. Your mate is waiting for you. I approve by the way, as does her Mother."
I blushed bright red at that, not entirely sure what to make of that, especially since I was pretty sure that the God was normally pretty stoic.
"T-thanks I suppose," I said.
I felt something pat me on the shoulder, before the Godly presence vanished, leaving me alone. I let out a sigh and slumped against the closed door.
"Its going to be a loooong summer," I muttered.
AND DONE! Thats the end of Dark Eclipse! The next story will be focused on the first Percy Jackson arc, the Lightning Thief! I hope you liked this chapter and this story!
So, with whats been revealed here, think you can guess exactly who Leos dear old dad is?
Before I sign off, I feel as if I should inform you all that I want to take a short break from this series to work on some other ideas, but I'll definitely be back! Have no fear. Until next time, peace!