Vega had spent the better part of his Christmas Day wondering what his father had gotten him. He was clearly waiting for a chance to get away from his mother, but he had no idea what the present could possibly be. He knew his father wouldn't give him anything overtly dangerous, but that's about the only thing he could think of that it could be that might make his mother have kittens. That or a pet of some kind. He didn't want to have a pet, though. Looking after the two owls was enough of a chore.
After dinner, Vega had retreated to his room to really dig into his candy supply. Idly chewing at the end of a candy cane, he spent a good hour pondering what the devil his last present could be. He knew his father was a Parselmouth, but he hadn't really displayed any signs of being one, too, so it couldn't possibly be a snake. About the only Parseltongue that Vega knew was a few particular swear words that his father had used when he had cracked his thumb with a hammer one year while putting up a portrait.
"Not gonna sleep tonight," he muttered, biting a piece of the candy cane off as it started getting too sharp. "If the candy doesn't do it, dad's present will..."
It was just after ten that night that the door to his room opened. Harry, looking slightly nervous, quickly slipped into his room, a wrapped box in one hand. He walked over and sat on the edge of his son's bed, handing the gift over. When Vega took it, Harry scanned the sweets and grabbed a sugar quill. "Bad habits never die." He said around the end of the feather.
"Mum know you're in here?" Vega asked, tearing the wrapping paper off of the rectangular object.
"Yeah, but I said I was gonna give you a pep talk about how things've been at Hogwarts. Not... exactly a lie, I suppose. But not quite the truth, either." Harry said.
"Would it kill you to make sense, dad?"
"Nah. S'more fun being vague. Drives everyone up the wall."
Rolling his eyes, Vega tore the rest of the paper away from the gift, revealing a thick tome that looked to be rather old. Opening it to a random page somewhere near the middle, Vega saw that it was a spell book of some sort. There were moving images of spells being performed, along with lengthy descriptions of the theory, the execution, and when the best times to use them would be. Vega frowned for a moment before looking back up to his father. "This is your handwriting."
"Yeah. Just after we got out of school, Nym suggested I write things down to clear my head, so to speak. Bought the book in Knockturn Alley. There's a way to set a password on it so that only those who know it can open the book up. With what I have in there, it's safest that way. Right now, it's still open, since I wanted you to be the one to choose the password." Harry explained, pulling the sugar quill from his mouth. "Every spell I've ever used, every creature I've ever fought against or alongside, all the stuff I've researched or outright created... all of it is in those pages. I was hoping to give it to you a few years down the road; that danger wouldn't come back to Hogwarts once you and the twins got there."
Vega quickly flipped through the pages, all of which were completely filled. In addition to the normal pictures and text, Harry had hastily scribbled notes along the edges of the pages. Things he had forgotten and later remembered, addendums to things previously written, and new information he had come across. "Dad, I appreciate it and all, but... all of this looks like stuff I wouldn't be able to use for a few years..."
"Page 152." Harry said, nodding to the book.
Blinking, Vega searched for the page in question. At the top of the page was another moving picture. This one showed a wizard casting the spell at a couch. For a moment, nothing seemed to happen. Then, suddenly, spikes shot out in all directions from within. "Wait, this is that..."
"Yeah. The Cruentus Via. That's what you used when you and the twins were attacked. I found that in another book and added it, since it looked useful. Lotta stuff I've never actually used, but thought might be useful in here, too. There's a stronger version of it, too. Now that one I doubt you'd be able to do for a good while, just due to the magic needed." Harry said. Pausing for a moment, he reached out and put a hand on Vega's shoulders. "I won't ask you to promise not to use these on living things. Things change. People change. The inevitable could occur, and when it does, I just want you to be as prepared as you can be. Trouble came looking for me the entire time I was at that school, and it probably is going to do the same to you. There's no way to avoid it."
Closing the book, Vega stared down at the cover. "So I'm going to have to figure out what's been attacking people? That doesn't seem fair."
"Yeah. Few things at Hogwarts are, in the long run. I wish it didn't have to be this way. It's been bothering me since I came in with the Aurors. Hopefully, Wolf and I will be able to stop the cultists before they can do anything else. One year of this nonsense is more than enough for anyone, especially at your age. But if we can't, this book will help teach you in my absence. I can't be on Hogwarts grounds all the time, even if I want to. There are bigger things at play, and if they figure out some way to bring Voldemort back out of the Void, I'm going to need to be ready, alright?"
"I know..." Vega said, blowing out a sigh. "Comes with the territory, huh? Being your kid and all."
"Unfortunately." Harry said, ruffling Vega's hair and smiling crookedly. "You've gone to the Pit, right? You can practice down in the training room. Anything that looks useful, try it out when you've got the chance. I'll be using my down time to try and figure out what could be in the school. It hasn't been the same yet. I'm just wondering if it can change its shape. That narrows down the search by quite a bit. I've dog-eared a few of the pages with stuff that might be useful, in that case. And hey, it goes without saying, but make sure your mother never sees you with that thing. Like I said, she'd probably flay us alive if she knew I was passing the grimoire on. I've got a second made up to look like the first that I'm going to keep writing in to throw her off the trail."
"Decidedly sneaky of you, dad." Vega said. "No wonder I'm in Slytherin."
"Yeah, well, being sneaky is fun. Getting caught, not so much, but being sneaky is fun." Harry said, standing up. "Look over it. Your mother shouldn't come bothering you this late. I'll just tell her you got pretty sleepy during our talk. I know it's hard out there, Vega. But I know you're as stubborn as Nym and I are, too."
"I know... and I know you can't be there all the time. You work on the loonies trying to bring Voldemort back, I guess me, Vivi, and Hyde will work at figuring out what's at the school. If nothing else, we can report to McGonagall to see what she thinks. Have you talked to her at all since your visit to Hogwarts?" Asked Vega.
"Just once, but not much came of it, I'm afraid." Harry said, shaking his head and walking back to the door. "If I find anything out, I'll be sure to send you a letter or something, though. You do the same, okay? If you or the twins find out anything, let me know after you let Minerva know. I'm not busy all the time. Hopefully if one of us can work this out, one of us can also stop it."
Vega snorted. "Yeah. Why do I think I'm gonna be the one getting the short end of that straw?"
"Fate has it in for us, boyo." Harry said, grinning. "Try not to stay up too long, alright? And be sure to tuck the grimoire into your trunk before you go to sleep. Put it in with your school books. Oh! And when you want to set the password, just tap the cover three times and say whatever you want the password to be. Best to wait until you get back to school for that, though, yeah?"
Vega nodded, and his father smiled before ducking out out into the hall, still sucking at the sugar quill he had swiped. Vega looked back down at the book in his hands, and opened it up once more. He slowly scanned through the pages, noting the ones with a bent corner. He would give it a better read once he was back at the school, when he could put a password on it and leave it in the Pit. Despite how he had joked around with his father about it, the thought of being the one to go after whatever was hiding the school terrified him. Sure, it would be cool to figure out what it was. He was sure, at the very least, letting McGonagall know would net Slytherin a boatload of points.
Sighing, he swung his legs over the edge of the bed and knelt by his trunk, popping it open and moving some of his school books around to make room for the grimoire. It was way too late to be thinking seriously about heavy-duty magic like what was in the book. And his father was pretty long-winded in his writing when he wanted to be. And he clearly wanted to be in this case. He wanted there to be no margin of error when someone else tried to use the spells. He went out of his way to note little nuances with incantations and wand movements. As he got back into bed and set his sweets off on his night stand, he smirked slightly. All that detail wasn't a bad thing. It would, indeed, help him work things out easier.
Sliding under his blanket, Vega stared up at the ceiling.
"...I hate being right."
oOoOoOoOoOoOo
"Wake up, we're almost back!"
Vega jerked to one side, his neck letting out a sharp crack. Clamping a hand up to the spot, he bit back a peal of colorful language. Turning his head slowly, he glared at Viola Malfoy, who was wincing back at him. Across the compartment, Hydrus was shaking his head and sighing, muttering about how he told his sister that wasn't the best way to do it. Scowling, Vega turned his glare to the passing scenery, idly rubbing at his aching neck. "Thanks, Vivi. Wasn't planning on turning my head to the left much any time soon, anyway."
"Sorry!" Apologized Viola. "You okay? You kinda twisted in a weird angle there..."
"Nothing a good night's rest won't fix, probably." Vega said, sighing.
"You sure you're alright?" Viola asked. "You've been pretty quiet the whole trip back to school. And not just 'cause you were sleeping for most of it..."
"I'm fine. Reality's setting in, that's all. We're probably going to have to go after whatever's attacking people. Or at least, we'll have to probably figure out what's causing the attacks." Vega explained.
"Our parents said similar things to us a few nights back." Hydrus admitted.
"Mum said 'nothing can ever be easy for the Potters or the Malfoys.' Looks like she was right. Doesn't look like anyone else is stepping up to the plate. And since people think we're all somehow involved anyway..." Viola trailed off.
"Got something from dad. Had to hide it from mum... probably be best not to mention it to your parents, either. Come back to the Pit with me tonight and I'll show you. I need to set the password on the damn thing, anyway. The last thing I need is for someone else to get ahold of it. Been tense ever since I left the house..." Vega admitted, sighing as he sat upright properly.
"What is it?" Asked Hydrus.
"Grimoire." Vega said, shrugging. "List of spells and stuff that dad made. I haven't had much of a chance to look through it. Said that mum wouldn't be very happy if she knew he'd passed it on to me. Kinda want to give that one spell a try. Y'know, the one I used against those idiot Hufflepuffs. It's in there. It and some stronger version I didn't look at, apparently."
Wincing again, Viola said, "Something stronger? The one you used kinda turned that one kid's arm into a pincushion, right? Just... uh... from the inside out?"
"Something like that. No idea what the stronger version could be. Dad pretty much said there's no way I'd be able to use that one. But... getting good at the one I've already used seems pretty good. I mean, I've already cast it once, so that means I have the ability, right?" Vega asked.
"To be fair," Hydrus began, "the first time you used it was under severe duress. Things can happen in such situations that might not be possible otherwise."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Hyde." Vega said, drolly. "Really helps my self esteem."
"Merely trying to keep you from getting your hopes up." Hydrus said, raising his hands defensively. "If you can cast it, then fine. If not, you shouldn't take it too hard. You'll just have to practice. That is what that spare room is for, is it not?"
"Yeah. And I'm gonna be using it a fair bit, from what dad said. I really hope he catches whoever let the monster into the school. One year of this is more than enough for me. Wish we could've at least gotten one year of normalcy before this stuff started..." Vega said, glancing back out the window. They were almost at Hogsmeade from what he could see.
"Alright, less depressing talk." Viola stated. "Betting pool's open. What do you boys think the over-under is on Eskander and Alven being a couple is? And what're the odds on Carmichael getting jealous eventually?"
"This again?" Muttered Hydrus, sounding exhausted.
"'Again?'" Vega asked.
"She's been pestering me for the majority of the holidays on whether I think Eskander has a girlfriend or not. I couldn't care less either way." Hydrus said, giving his twin a withering look.
Viola was returning the look, and stuck her tongue out before looking back to Vega. "I'm serious! With how she hugged him before we all left, you'd think something had happened! I'm gonna be keeping my eyes on them tonight! Sure as heck beats worrying about the monster in the school."
"Guess she has a point on that last one, at least." Vega said. "...I dunno. They never really showed any signs of it before that day, right? Maybe it was just a hug. Eskander was hanging back at school for the holidays, wasn't he?"
"Yup." Viola said. "I guess it could be that, but that's so boring! Man, you guys are no fun at all."
"And you're too excitable." Hydrus declared. "I do hope you won't go pestering any of them about this."
"Of course I won't! I do have some sense of decorum, ya know. Just because you took all that huffy stuff dad tried ingraining in us to heart doesn't mean I have to, too." Viola said, crossing her arms.
"I'm not getting into this argument with you." Hydrus said, raising an eyebrow.
"Good. Because you'd lose."
Sighing, Hydrus finally turned his own attention out the window. The Hogwarts Express was starting to slow down at long last, and movement could be heard throughout the train as people began to extract themselves from their seats, changing and gathering their things. When the train had come to a full stop, the three got up and, after stretching a bit, left their compartment to head for the horseless carriages that would transport them back up to the castle.
"Why is it so much colder here?" Viola whimpered as they stepped out into the crisp night air. "And why the hell do us girls have to be stuck in skirts even in winter?"
"Because you look cuter that way, probably. Plus if everyone wore pants, it might be harder to tell the boys from the girls." Vega said.
"Speaking from experience?" Asked Viola, grinning at Vega, who ducked his head and blushed.
"That only happened once, and shut up." Vega mumbled. "So what if someone mistook me for a girl?"
Cackling, Viola threw an arm around Vega and pulled him into a hug, despite his vocal complaints. Hydrus kept his distance and maintained his silence, not wanting to step into that whirlwind so late in the day. The three boarded an empty carriage, with Viola letting out a sigh of relief at the temporary escape from the winter's bite.
"Looks kinda ominous at night, doesn't it?" Vega asked, glancing out a window.
"I suppose it was made to be." Hydrus said.
"It doesn't seem that big from the inside." Viola said. "Wonder how many hidden spots there really are in that place. I'm pretty sure you can't even get into most of those towers..."
"Probably for good reason." Hydrus said. "People might fall over the edges. Broken bones and the like are easily handled magically. Death, not so much."
"Well, that brought a morbid taste back to the conversation." Viola said, dryly. "Right, no more death or monsters or anything. Just food and a possible love triangle!"
"The food I'll gladly think about." Vega said, his stomach growling. "I've barely eaten at all today. You can stare at the Ravenclaws all you want. I'll probably be wolfing down half the food at the table."
"We aren't carrying you back to the dungeons." Hydrus said.
"I'm not gonna eat myself into a coma!" Vega said, rolling his eyes at his friend.
"Three Christmases ago." Hydrus stated.
"That doesn't count. I'd been sick for almost two weeks prior!" Vega argued. "I hadn't had a big meal the entire time!"
"Yes, and Viola and I ended up having to help you to the nearest couch so you could try and sleep it off. As I recall, you groaned about how your stomach was going to burst and that you were just shy of dying." Hydrus said.
"It wasn't very smart to eat that much after not having a proper meal for so long." Viola added. "Your body wasn't used to having food in it again..."
"Yeah, yeah, I make stupid decisions when I'm hungry. God, what is it with you two tonight? Stop teasing me!"
"Aw, but it's so much fun!" Cooed Viola, ruffling Vega's hair and quickly dodging the swat she knew would come.
"I hope your legs get eaten up by mosquitoes when we get back out." Groused Vega, folding his arms and slumping down in his seat.
Snorting slightly, Hydrus pondered aloud, "Sugar runs in her bloodstream. If any bug tried drinking it, they'd die from shock."
"Blood's all gone. Long since replaced by cherry-flavored syrup." Viola agreed. "Mosquitoes would want nothing to do with it. Also, you're both jerks."
When the carriages stopped, Vega and the twins hopped out, rushing up to the castle as quickly as they could. The Entrance Hall was charmed to keep warm, for which the returning students were very grateful. With a stretch, Viola promptly pointed towards the Great Hall, declared that all food within should be wary of her grasp, and proceeded to drag the two boys behind her into it. Pouting when she saw the food wasn't already there, she chose instead to scan the Ravenclaw table.
"He isn't here yet..." She said, keeping her voice low. "Neither are those two girls."
"They'll turn up eventually." Hydrus said.
"Man, and here I wanted something to do until the food arrived..."
Vega leaned against the table and turned his head to watch students trickling in. Some looked happy to be back, some looked nervous at the prospect, and some simply were glad that they wouldn't have to go back out into the cold. As the Great Hall filled, Valerie Carmichael and Samantha Alven finally showed up, with no Lapis Eskander in sight. They both looked around the room for him for a moment before having a quick, hushed conversation. Samantha shrugged, and pulled her friend over to the Ravenclaw table, where they sat and stared towards the doors, as well.
"Huh." Vega said, knowing Viola was looking where he was. "Well, that just raises more questions than it answers. They seem to be pretty cool with each other, so... whatever happened in their group obviously hasn't soured anything."
"They look pretty worried. Think Eskander's okay?"
"Dunno why he wouldn't be. I guess he could've been attacked, but they probably would've been up to the Hospital Wing or whatever if that was the case..." Vega said.
"He'd better show up. Now I'm really curious." Viola said. "Probably just being fashionably late or something."
"Think so?"
"Wouldn't bet money on it, but I'd say so, yeah."
Hydrus rolled his eyes as his sister and best friend kept an eagle-eyed stare aimed towards the lone entrance to the room. He presumed, of course, that McGonagall wasn't hiding Eskander away in the small side room. Though now that the image was in his mind, he couldn't bite back a small smirk at the notion. Everyone assembled, the headmistress stepped out for a moment before parading the Ravenclaw boy back into the room.
"Oh god..." Viola said, sucking in a sharp breath. "What happened to him?"
Blinking, Hydrus turned his attention back to what was actually going on. He first glanced at his twin, then turned to look where she was looking. Lapis Eskander had finally entered, though the boy who had just slipped into the room seemed nothing like the one he remembered. Lapis had huge bags under his eyes, and his hair was decidedly messy, as though he had been trying rather unsuccessfully to get some much-needed sleep. His robes were disheveled, and he was dragging his feet as he walked. Almost at once, his friends were at his side, looking alarmed and asking questions as they helped him to the Ravenclaw table.
"Looks like something's been keeping him up." Vega said, looking rather alarmed himself. "And from how those two reacted, this was news to them, too."
"He's really pale... I wonder if he just got sick over the holidays." Viola said, frowning. "Or maybe the monster did show up again, and he managed to escape from it. I know that'd keep me awake at night."
"Whatever's wrong, I'm sure those two will help fix it." Hydrus said.
McGonagall's voice rang out through the Great Hall at that moment, bringing the students to attention. Glancing around at the students for a moment, she began, "I would like to welcome you all back and hope your holidays have been..."
"Jolly!" Piped Flitwick suddenly.
Casting aside a weary look at the happy little professor, McGonagall cleared her throat and continued, "'Jolly.' I'm sure most of you are wondering the same thing, so let me address that first - there have not been any more appearances by our mysterious new resident over the holidays. We've gone out almost every day, spending hours scouring the castle while the better part of you were at home, and we have, unfortunately, turned up nothing more than we had previously. Whether this means the creature has simply found a way out, or if it's just biding its time, I regretfully do not know. But just because there have been no attacks is no reason to let your guard down. Take care in going to and from classes, and try to always travel in a group if at all possible. And I would also avoid taking secret passages to save time. We have no way of knowing where this thing might show up again, if at all. I wish your return to Hogwarts could be met with better news than this, but I'm afraid that is simply not the case. That said, try not to let it be an all-consuming worry. We are still investigating what it might be, and I've had discussions with a few colleagues regarding the situation which has shed some light on where to narrow the search down to.
"Professor Tadyggbo will be going over these possible creatures in his classes over the next two weeks. If there is still something in our school, then the best course of action is to be prepared for it should it decide to mobilize again. Since it is clearly intent on eluding us, the next strategy is to arm you with the knowledge of how to handle it should you be forced to. I would like to state that I do not want any of you to willingly engage this creature. It has wounded two students, and they were quite lucky that their injuries were not life-threatening. It is clearly capable of inflicting severe wounds, and it has proven to be very fast. I want you to be able to defend yourselves from it - I don't want anyone going looking for it." She finished, casting a very knowing look towards Vega's end of the Slytherin table. "Now then, as I'm sure some of you are eagerly awaiting... let us eat."
And with that, food appeared on the House tables, causing noise to finally break out in the silent room. McGonagall's speech had brought the mood of the room down a fair bit, and it took some time before the chatter grew to a normal pitch. Viola had already loaded her plate full and had started eating, but Vega looked rather annoyed.
"Did you see that? She looked right at us. I don't wanna go look for the bloody thing!" He groused, stabbing at a slice of apple pie.
"Yes, well, you can't blame her for being wary of the whole situation." Hydrus said, reaching for a bowl of pasta. "She's probably well aware that trouble will come for us, or we'll go for it."
"Why the heck would I go looking for something that would want to kill me?" Vega asked. "Ugh... man, I'm gonna punch dad next time I see him, passing on his awful luck..."
"Could be worse." Said Viola, around a mouthful of food. "'Least we don't look like Eskander."
Vega looked back over to the Ravenclaw table. Lapis wasn't eating, and neither were his friends, who seemed more concerned with his well-being than with getting a good meal. He had his arms crossed on the table, and his head was lowered. The girls were rubbing at his back and were talking quietly to him. "Maybe he is sick. Wonder why he dragged himself all the way out here. He's got an ego, but I don't think he's the type to willingly spread an illness around."
"No telling with him." Viola said. "I'll try and catch one of them after Potions tomorrow if he isn't around."
"You're not eating much." Hydrus observed, looking at Vega.
"You can thank McGonagall for that." Vega muttered, glaring at his half-eaten pie wedge. "I really want to go move dad's gift down to the Pit. I don't want that thing in the dungeons."
"Why not?"
"Makes me nervous." Vega said, looking up at Hydrus. "...Think I'd be okay slipping out? Dinner isn't going to go on very long. She's gonna wanna get everyone moved to their common rooms. I may stay down in the Pit tonight. If I hurry, I'll be able to get to the dungeons and back to the Pit before the prefects start leading people out."
"We'll come with you." Hydrus said, causing Viola to whine around a chicken wing.
"No, you won't. Look, she already thinks we're probably gonna be up to something. If I left, you could always just say my stomach was upset and I went to lay down or something. It wouldn't be a complete lie. My stomach's in knots right now. But if all three of us get up and leave, she'd probably come and personally drag us back in here." Vega said. "Cover for me if she asks?"
"I'd rather not. Viola could stay behind and field any questions she asks. The excuse would be simple enough. You aren't feeling good, as you suggested, and I'm going along to make sure nothing attacks you on your way back to bed." Hydrus said.
"I appreciate it, Hyde, but I'll be fine. I'm fast enough that I'd be able to outrun whatever it is, I'm sure. Hell, I could probably duck into an alcove and it'd run right by me. I guess being small has advantages sometimes, huh?" Vega said, trying to sound cheery.
Hydrus scowled, leaning forward. "Potter, I'm not going to force you to let me tag along, but I don't like this. It's been too long since the last attack and, as I'm sure you're well aware, we all seem to have rather poor luck when it comes to things like this!"
"You haven't gotten this grumpy before, why pick now to?" Asked Vega, sounding irritated. "Look, if you're that worried, just come by the Pit tonight. We'll camp out or something. I'll be fine! If it comes to it, I can just open dad's book and..."
"And find a spell you can use while running from an unknown creature? Potter, don't be stupid." Hydrus said.
"Hyde, I'm moving the book. You're staying here so we can at least try not to get McGonagall mad at us. Hell, I can come back here after I drop off the book if you're going to act like a pillock all night."
Sighing, Hydrus shook his head. "I'm clearly not gaining any ground, am I? Fine, go. But if you don't hurry, I'm coming after you to make sure you get back here."
"Fine! God, how do you deal with him all the time, Vivi?" Vega asked, getting up and storming away from the table. He made sure, despite his anger, to hunch over a little and keep an arm across his stomach, since he was sure the staff was watching him. Once he was out of the Great Hall, he drew he wand and fell into a sprint. Despite all his bravado, Hogwarts was scary at night. Especially when no one else was around to fill the silence. And, thanks to Hydrus, now he was paranoid about getting jumped by something on his trek down to the Slytherin common room.
"Stupid Hyde. It's a good thing he's cute, because his personality's never gonna win anyone over." He muttered, slowing down a bit when he got near the entrance to the common room. Tucking his wand in his back pocket, he was in and out of there in mere minutes, the Grimoire tucked under his arm. The first thing he wanted to do was to seal the book up. Pulling his wand out, he paused in a deserted hallway long enough to tap the book three times and whisper, "Quadrivium." The book seemed to let out a faint hissing sound. Vega tried to pry the book open after that, to no avail. Smiling, he tucked it back under his arm and continued on his way, feeling a lot better about the situation. Now, even if someone else ran into the Grimoire, they wouldn't be able to open it.
Idly spinning his wand in his hand as he walked, Vega started wondering about Lapis Eskander and his unknown affliction. It had been awhile since Vega had gotten sick, but he knew all too well how much a flu over Christmas could suck. He was hoping Lapis was on the recovery and only looked the part. With a sigh, he mumbled, "Better hurry up or Hyde'll make good on his 'promise.'"
Speeding up slightly, Vega had just rounded the corner when a voice called out to him. Wincing, he stopped where he stood and glanced over his shoulder.
"Aw, come on, I went as fast as I could..." He sighed, turning and walking toward the familiar face. At least, he figured, he would have someone to talk to on the now rather short trip to the Pit and back to the Great Hall.
oOoOoOoOoOoOo
Author's Notes: Faith and begorah, another chapter! And we've now hit the point where things are finally picking up and I'm wanting to write again! A combination of writer's block and the ungodly heat of the summer (seriously, it's hit 115F with the heat index this last week) have made me not want to do anything. But I've made myself sit down and push through it. Hopefully the writing doesn't suffer too much for it. For anyone keeping up with both stories, Changing Fate's next chapter is also almost done (at the time of this writing, I'm just trying to tie chapter 3 up).
So, Vega and the twins are finally back at school, something's going on with Lapis, and the monster's keeping itself hidden. But why? Ah, that's the real question, isn't it? Oh, I have an answer. And it's good and creepy to think about. But we'll get to that in due time. Hopefully it won't take forever for my slacker ass to write chapter 12! It's been one I've wanted to do, so it shouldn't be. I'll probably get going on it later today, actually. We're also roughly halfway done with book 1 at this point, give or take! It's a sad state of affairs that this was started well over a year ago and I'm only halfway done. The summer doldrums have gotten the better of me, I suppose.
In any case, things are gonna pick up next chapter. Not all is as it seems to be, and Vega finally gets an idea of what's lurking around Hogwarts! Until then, everyone. Until then.
Post-edit addition: I'm terrible at this. After Vega got up to go after the grimoire, I kept referring to Ravenclaw Tower instead of the dungeons! I had to change that all out on the fly, so it might read a little clunky. I guess after seven books of Harry and friends being Ravenclaws, it's hard to change old habits. I think I got all the references, anyway. If any remain, and this goes for future chapters, please just mentally replace them as you read and throw me a message so I can change them, yeah? Oi...