Hey everyone,
So this chapter is going to start only a few minutes after the last one ended, yet I am going to make a slight change to what I said would happen. Why? Because I kind of forgot what advice Dumbledore wanted to give Harry and because I want to put Harry's natural Guardian Ability to good use.
Let's go,
Venquine1990
Chapter 12
Fearful Objects And Warnings
26th of December 1995
Study Room, Grimmauld Place
Harry's POV
"I knew! I knew it, I knew it, I just knew it." Granger starts to gloat as Ron and Mrs. Weasley help me downstairs, all of the fear that Pitch was trying to force onto me having hit me only after he left and yet her superior tone and the self-satisfied grin on her face help me push that away and replace it with fury as I glare at her and snarl:
"Granger, no one likes a lying know-it-all. You don't know what is going on and you don't have any facts of how I came to feel the way I did when my friends helped me in here, so don't gloat when you have nothing to gloat about." The girl looks shocked and glares at me, yet I turn my back to her and focus on my required target.
I move over to where the Guardians are standing together and Jack says: "I am really regretting giving her the ability to see me." And I retort: "I kind of wish you had the power to do the opposite, preferably about me, but that's not why I'm here." To this Tooth asks: "Why are you down here? Your dad send you up to bed to rest."
I sigh and then utter the three words that bring my sense of fear back to full force: "I met Pitch." And instantly they all gasp and Bunny moves forward, strongly grabbing my shoulders as he asks: "You sure? Where? What did he want? Did he do anything?" Yet then Tooth, showing amazing strength, pulls him back and says:
"Easy there, Bunny, give him some space. He's scared enough as it is." At this Bunny nods and then Jack asks: "What can you tell us?" To this I shrug and say: "Just what I just said. I went up to go to bed, but noticed something wrong the minute my hand touched the doorknob and my senses went on high alert when I saw Ron was missing."
The group nods and Tooth says: "He wanted to stay up to wait for you and support you, but he and the others – well, most of them – understood that you had gone through too much and needed your rest." I nod and say: "Well, I made it look as if I was obvious, but then proved him I was onto him and that made him show himself."
"He was hiding in the shadows, wasn't he? He likes to do that." I nod and say: "He didn't stay that long, but I do think I managed to impress him, at least somewhat. He tried to suppress my natural ability with his own and thought I needed North to be strong, but I proved him wrong. However, he – he also told me something – terrifying."
At this Jack gently and with comfort to his touch grabs my shoulders and Tooth looks worried as he asks: "What did he tell you, Harry?" And I look them each in the eye, trying to convey how worried this has me before I say: "Pitch isn't working for Voldemort – it's the other way around. Voldemort is working for Pitch."
They all look shocked, yet then Jack curses and says: "Of course, that makes perfect sense. This Voldemort person is only mortal whereas Pitch is an immortal being, a sentient embodiment of human nature and some of their quirks. And this Voldemort seems to install a lot of fear with people, of course Pitch would use him.
Relying on and helping that man grow in reputation will make him stronger than he was ever before. Even moreso than when he managed to make all those kids stop believing in us." At this I ask: "Do you think – is it possible that – that Pitch played on Fudge's fear for Voldemort, to make him so adamant not to believe me?"
"That sure sounds like something Pitch would do." Bunny growls, yet then I gasp as I have been trying to push my actual ability further and further through the house, wanting to cleanse it if only to make me feel better, yet I gasp: "He – he – he – he – Pitch! He's – he's still – he's downstairs. He's still inside the house!"
Everyone looks shocked and Dumbledore, who apparently came with us and now walks forward asks: "Where is he, Harry? Where is Pitch?" And I motion for the left back corner as I say: "Somewhere down there. He – he seems to have found this – this tiny corner to hide in." Yet to this Tooth turns dark and says:
"That – that's not Pitch, Harry." I turn to her and she says: "Like you, I've been trying to use my senses and my abilities to make this place more – livable. I sensed that horrible presence some time ago, but because we were all so busy on getting Sirius freed, did I keep quiet. It's just, I can hear several voices down there."
"Memories?" Jack asks and Tooth nods as she says: "Most of them, yes. But one of them isn't. It – it's just a voice and – and it keeps repeating one sentence." She then looks from me to Dumbledore who is standing behind me as she fearfully says: "Give me your heart." Which troubles Dumbledore and scares me as I say:
"That must be the object that I am sensing. The same one that is emitting that aura of fear and pain." At this the Headmaster nods and then turns to the Guardians as he says: "Please lead the way. Kingsley and I will follow and the others can follow us. The more eyes, the faster we will find this horrid object."
"And even if we find it, then what? What is it going to change? What is any of this going to change?" Lupin suddenly asks snidely, yet at this the twins start to speak one after the other: "Let's see, Sirius is free.""Harry has his family back.""The world believes him again.""And Umbridge has been forced out of Hogwarts."
To which, before they can do anything, Ron smirks and says: "I'd say plenty has changed." And then da-James delivers the finishing blow as he says: "Not to mention that both my new little brother and I found out who our true friends are." And the werewolf cringes back before we ignore him as we all head downstairs.
Jack and Bunny are at the front, Jack having his cane in a defensive stance and Bunny holding one boomerang above his head while having his other hand on the other boomerang that is still in a holster at his side. Tooth and Sandy are both floating right behind the two and Dumbledore and Kingsley are behind them, both of them wands in hand.
Sirius is behind them and in front of James, Lily and me and Mrs. – mum and Uncle Arthur are behind us, their own kids behind them. Like this we move from the study room down to the kitchen/basement and there both Tooth and I turn to a dark, dingy looking cupboard that is opposite of the pantry as she says: "It's – it's in there."
Yet to this Sirius frowns and sighs: "Well, that's not surprising." We all look at him and he says: "That's Kreacher's bedroom. I can only assume that the object is something he stole from us when we tried to get rid of it. I really need to find that little bugger. Find it and give him a stern talking to about his actions."
"Sirius, don't you –." Granger then tries, actually trying to storm into the room, yet the twins stop her and Lily actually glares at her as she says: "Sirius' house, his rules. End of discussion, you stubborn little girl." And the fact that mum of all people is talking down on her seems to really shock Hermione into silence.
Jack then looks at Bunny who nods and throws one of his boomerang, hitting the door in such a way it springs open. He catches it and Jack looks at Tooth, who flies up a little and over to the door, stopping at various points in front of the cupboard before she flies back and says: "It's the locket, the one in the center of that pile."
At this Jack nods and then turns to Sandy who swishes and twirls his hands around, causing for a stream of golden dust to appear between and around them before, through his movement guiding it, it moves to the cupboard, inside it and takes hold of the locket like a hook. It lifts it up and moves it to lie down on the table.
Yet the magic of the locket seems to reach Sandy through the sand as he winces and loses his focus, causing for the locket to fall on the table. And as it clangs down, do I feel a horribly painful twitch hitting my scar. And while my scar has been hurting for weeks, does this make me hiss and reach for it out of instinctive pain.
Everyone looks at me, but I shake my head and say: "I'm fine. Just a twitch of pain. Nothing unusual." Yet neither of my new siblings seem to believe me as mum asks: "Are you sure?" And I nod before I say: "I do, but – I don't think it's safe for me to be here. With that thing out in the open, its magic is as strong as Pitch's was.
It's really trying to suppress my ability right now and it – it's weakening me just trying to keep it up and strong." At this the others nod and Sirius says: "James, Lily, take Harry out of here." Yet as my siblings take me away, do I notice something. The green emeralds that are on the front of the locket are shaped like an S, like a serpent.
Instantly I realize why this thing has such a horrible ability and where it came from. I turn to Ron and say: "Ron, take Ginny out of here. She doesn't have to be here with such a thing, not a second time." And instantly my best friend gets what I mean and says: "Come on, Ginny. Harry's right. Not again, never again."
The girl whitens and nods, her face showing how horrified she is at the knowledge that she is this close to such an item. I then look at Dumbledore, but the man nods the second he notices this and I sigh in relief, feeling utterly thankful that the man instantly knows what my best friend and I are talking about.
Yet while Ron and Dumbledore do, does Granger yet again prove that she is becoming the absolute opposite of what she was once called. "What on earth are you talking about? We've never –." Yet Ginny seems to also get what I am talking about and with tears in her eyes, she turns on the girl and fearfully shouts:
"SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP, YOU –!" But Ron grabs her and hisses: "Don't waste your breath, Gin-Gin. The girl doesn't deserve it." And while Granger splutters at this, does Dumbledore say: "Molly, Arthur, please take Mss. Granger out of here and enlighten her. Also, see if you can teach her the value of speaking in code."
And Mrs. Weasley proves that she is just as done with the girl as her daughter as she roughly grabs the girl's arm and hisses: "You just don't know when to keep your opinion to yourself, do you young lady?" And Granger actually turns to Mr. Weasley, yet the man glares at him and says: "Perhaps you should return to your family."
And only then do I remember that Granger came to London because she was worried about the healing man and later for me. "Yet in less than a week, her whole character took a 180 turn for the worst." And while I really hate this, do I let James and Lily guide me, feeling glad beyond words that others are taking out the danger this time.
Jack's POV
"Are we sure that girl didn't get affected by that crazy bitch that Kingsley arrested?" Bunny asks and Dumbledore says: "Dolores did answer positive when she was questioned. I think a visit to Madam Pomfrey will be required before we send the girl home. Hopefully being cleansed will make her see the errors of her ways.
Though I worry for Remus as well." This confuses me and I turn to the ancient man as he says: "Dolores admitted that she was aware of Harry's guard and enchanted her door against them. I fear these spells might just be affected Remus more than any other as he was more often on guard duty than the others."
At this I nod and Tooth says: "Oh, I really hope you're right. To see Harry's brother and sister so at odds with their old friend; it's just so demoralizing." And because I know what demoralization can do to my friends, do I turn to the Headmaster and say: "Make sure he gets checked. And keep others like him away from us."
The man looks shocked and I explain what happened last time Pitch was in power, when he worked his hardest to make sure my friends would no longer be believed in. "Not being believed in or having very low assurance can cause us huge problems, both personal and even physical. And Harry is still too young a Guardian."
Dumbledore nods and Kingsley says: "I'll take over Remus' role as guard. I don't think anyone will argue me taking my role as Godfather seriously in a way like that. Though I can't stay silent and to the background, Albus. It caused too much trouble before and it will send a negative message to the masses that we can't have."
The man nods and says: "Discuss this with Harry the minute you and the others are done with the ritual. Now, let's make sure Sirius can start preparing for his ritual." And we all nod as I say: "I'll freeze it. Bunny, open the thing the way you opened that cupboard. Headmaster, Kingsley, strike it however you like."
And while both Kingsley and Dumbledore raise their wands, do I smirk as Sandy makes a huge axe out of sand, which I know from experience has the actual density and power of a true killer weapon and I slightly change the grip on my staff, focusing my power to move through it before slamming it into the table.
Frost grows onto the table and encases it, turning the dark brown oaken wood icy white and causing it to shine with the brightness of fresh snow. Yet when the frost reaches the locket, do I grunt as the power of the object actually resists me and forces me to use more power than I thought I would need to get this done.
I lift my staff, swing it swift circles above my head, cause for frost and flakes of snow to appear inside the circle I create with my twists and then slam the staff onto the table with double the power, causing for a much stronger wave of ice to shoot through the table, causing cracks to appear at some points and icicle spears at others.
And while I still feel some resistance, does my power overwhelm the defenses of the locket, causing it to become fully frozen. Yet as my ice covers the last gem, do I feel the power increasing in intensity and I grunt: "Bunny, guys, hurry. This thing is a lot stronger than I thought. It's fighting my powers even now. It – it might break through."
And while this causes Bunny and Tooth be the most concerned does Bunny take his special stance, proving he is going to full power in his throw. Yet then he jumps and with one end of his boomerang in hand does he slam the other end straight into the part of the locket where the closing mechanism is located, with horrible results.
The defensive ability of the locket intensifies and lets out a burst of dark energy. And this breaks through my ice and sends icicle spears everywhere, along with a wave of dark energy that blasts both Bunny and me backwards. We both slam against different parts of the room and grunt as we sag down, me wincing in pain as I land.
I then use my cane and Bunny an erected bit of a cupboard to get back to our feet and I say: "That thing really is strong. I – I can't think of anyway we can destroy it. Not if we can't even open it." And Dumbledore makes the situation worse as he says: "And it would seem that the only way to open it is through Parsletongue, Dark magic."
Yet then Kingsley steps forward and says: "Parsletongue might be considered Dark in England, but not in certain other countries. And luckily enough, I decided to visit one of those countries in the year before I started practicing to become an Auror. Get ready everyone." And instantly all of us take a defensive stance once again.
"Haijarasiett." Kingsley says, his voice almost like a whisper and the i's, j's and s's sounding like he's extending their tone. And instantly the locket opens and a huge cloud of dark energy erects from it, shooting up to the ceiling and gathering there, growing in strength and size with horrifying speed and ferocity.
"DESTROY IT! DESTROY IT NOW! IT'S SEARCHING FOR A HEART!" At this we all try to reach for it, but the cloud drops down and a dark wind blows from the center of the room, preventing us all from getting close. I try to call on the wind that has always allowed me to fly, yet it seems unable to find me here.
Yet then suddenly, to the shock of us all, do I hear a familiar voice yell and a small frame with bright green eyes rushes past us all, the room losing the depressing, scary atmosphere that was growing in strength alongside the cloud and the wind as he rushes past and the next second I fall over, landing on my staff and face.
I shake my head and look up, my eyes wide when I see Harry glowing with an aura that makes me feel strong and self-assured and who has a gorgeous silver sword with rubies at the hilt in his hands, the tip of which has pierced through both the locket and the table and is just inches above the cobble stone basement floor.
"Harry, how did you?""I didn't want to, but Fawkes appeared and when he had the sword in his claws, I just – I just knew. Instantly afterwards, I felt that horrible aura increase in strength and the pain in my scar intensified so much I almost fainted. But Fawkes sang, I felt my strength return and – and I knew I – I only had – one chance."
And with that does the boy faint, falling across the sword and with his left hand lying on one side of it and his head on the other, his lips slightly parted. Yet I quickly use a bit of frosty wind to blow him away from it as an inky black substance is slowly flowing out of the locket and was almost past his parted lips.
"That boy has way too much endurance for his own good." Sirius then mumbles, returning to the room with the rest of those who had left it, bar Granger and Dumbledore says: "Put him to bed, Sirius. It's time we focus on the good things, like the ritual you and the others will perform tomorrow." And at this Sirius smiles.
He then turns to my partners in crime and me and asks: "Can I count on you guys to keep Pitch away from him? You know, while he sleeps?" At this we all nod, yet then Tooth gasps and we turn to her. She is whiter than my fresh caused snow and is pointing a trembling finger to a part of the table that is still covered in my frost.
"Look, it – it's Manny. He – he's trying to tell us something." She whimpers and I realize that, like Harry, things have become a little too much for the precious, caring fairy. We all look at the spot where a bit of moonlight is shown on the table, forming a rough-looking circle and having several shadows moving across it.
Yet while it's obvious that the powerful being is trying to tell us something, can I just not get what the rough shadows are supposed to represent and so I hit the table with another wave of ice, smoothing out the surface. And instantly the vision that the powerful deity is trying to show us becomes as clear as the crystals made by my powers.
A man with long hair and an aristocratic look to him has two teens standing behind him, one a male with messy hair the other a female with long flowy hair. The two have their hands on his shoulders and are looking at a messy haired teen on the other side that seems to draw power from them standing together.
The teen on the other side starts to rise from the ground and is obviously becoming magically stronger. Yet then the man steps forward and seems to change into some kind of dog. Instantly some kind of collar appears around the dog's neck and seems to even strangle him a little. Yet that is not the worst.
The two teens behind the man merge together and become a very familiar, very disgusting being that aims a commanding finger at the floating teen that is lowering itself to the ground. And as this happens, does the dog jump the teen and actually bite and tear at him, yet the teen seems physically unhurt by all this.
Everyone looks horrified at this and Bunny asks: "Okay, anyone an idea what that means?" And while Lily, James, Sirius and Albus all seem to get it, are they too horrified and disturbed by what they saw to speak. And as Manny's light leaves the room, does it seem as if Pitch's power envelops the entire room, eclipsing it in a powerful sense of fear.
What just happened?
Well, to be honest, this was a bout of sudden inspiration that hit me just before I started writing this chapter. And while I planned for this to be explained by Harry, did I not plan for him to be the one to destroy the locket, so I decided to leave it at that little cliffhanger. So yeah, things are looking pretty grim for the new Potter family.
Next chapter: Harry wakes up and remembers what he did before he fainted. Yet when he comes down for breakfast, he finds out that more happened after he passed out. How is he going to respond to the message left by the one who helped him survive the night he lost his parents? Will he get what the warning means?
We'll see, won't we?
Venquine1990
PS. Sorry not sorry for the cliffie. It needs to happen sometime, if only to keep this story interesting.
