DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of its characters. I also do not make any money from this.
WARNINGS: Yaoi (male x male), Yuri (female x female) adult topics, swearing, sexual scenes and violence
PAIRINGS I know of so far: (pairings will be added as they are mentioned in chapters)
Ron x Hermoine, Blaise x Cho, Neville x Cho, Saito x Draco
This has not been Beta'd.
'text' is thought
"text" is talking
Hidden Element
Chapter 39: Last piece of the puzzle
Elementals:
Ice and Void – Draco Malfoy
Fire – Pansy Parkinson
Earth – Blaise Zabini
Nature – Cho Chang
Light – Cherrie Everdeen (OC)
The Forgotten:
Electricity – Saito Blackstar (OC)
Animal – Carsly Hendricks (OC)
Shadow – Alakai Petrovski (OC)
Water - Yasmin DiAngelo
Wind - Miya Hendricks (OC)
"I am serious when I say I want nothing to do with war!" She whispered in a soft voice.
Cherrie Everdeen was not known for violence; on the contrary, she was very much a pacifist. She believed in sorting out problems orally, so when Draco had told her about the deal between him and Saito, she had thought their problems solved.
She had had no problem melding into her new life. Her mother had been of muggle origins, and her father wasn't one of those pure blood obsessed wizards. She knew what it felt like to live and breathe without magic, well...the normal kind of magic. Elements didn't count, it was...shall we say...part of her.
She curled a pale finger through almost white curly hair and bit a pale pink lip. Did they really have to fight? Wasn't the war over? Wasn't the situation contained?
"Cherrie...no one wants to start a war, but its something we have to do."
"Why? They seem to have stopped their dubious attitude, so why attack like a coward when their backs are to us?"
Blaise snorted and hitched up an eyebrow.
"They have their claws and fangs out to the world; you just want peace too much to notice it."
"And you don't?" She slammed her porcelain cup onto the table, a slight clatter moving its contents in ripples. Her blonde locks bellowed out with the force of standing up, the chair scraping backwards almost awkwardly.
The room was small, a tiny cottage with a roof slightly low, wooden beams and white walls. She preferred it that way. She had found it highly amusing when the tall red head complained about the short stature of the roof.
"Blaise, what good will be done by waging war? More blood shed! It will end up being another big war with countless casualties and innocents involved. Is that something you want?"
"I'm not sure you understand the consequences of not fighting." Pansy said softly, trying not to sound forceful.
"Sure, fighting will kill people, it's inevitable, but think about it properly Cher. Think about how many more people will die with us standing by idly. How many years will you sit by and do nothing? The radio will report it; you'll see it on the news. Sudden deaths, countless many, more than if you'd taken a stand, and the number will continue to rise because they can now literally get away with murder. Will you be ok with that Cherrie? Will you be ok watching the world crumble to the ground because of your own petty, selfish desires?"
She received a subtle kick in the leg under the table as she almost spat the last part at Cherrie. Said girl had started to back away a little until she could shift backwards in her chair no more, back pressed tightly to the frame and neck leaning slightly backwards.
Pansy had a way with words. She always started off so softly and gently, and for one gullible second, it seems she has all the patience in the world to talk things through clearly and calmly. However, Pansy is a creature fuelled by emotion, her own speech starts to pump her up, and her veins fill with fire. She gets geared up, and angry, or sad depending on the mood.
Pansy glares at Draco non-too-subtly, making certain everyone knows she's suffered for his rudeness.
"She means it in a nice way though..." Cho cuts through the silence, trying to make the youngest of the group feel comfortable once more.
Blaise slaps the palm of his hand over his face and chuckles minutely. Trust Cho to try and lighten the mood with something that doesn't reassure what so ever. All in all, she reinforced what Pansy said, and he genuinely thought she wasn't aware of it.
Cherrie smiled though, having picked up on the fact that Blaise was trying to keep in his laughter at the awkward situation. Funny, isn't it? When laughter was at its most unacceptable or discomfited, it was at its most contagious. She couldn't help but crack her own smile.
It didn't mean she was more at ease with Pansy, but she knew at least the others wouldn't rage at her like Pansy did. If only she knew that three of her present elemental peers could lash out at any opportunity. Blaise supposed it was good indeed that Cho had been the one to respond.
"I'm..." she slumped her shoulders slightly, fringe obscuring light grey, almost white eyes. "I'm not sure what the best option is. My head and my heart tell me different things. I want normal...I have normal! I can't just come back after this. It means relocation, another path in life to choose...another stupid choice to make!"
Hermoine laid a soft hand on a pure white turtle neck top, making Cherrie jump slightly, before relaxing at the smile the other had trained on her.
"It's natural. Changes are hard to take in. I also get that you're still young. You want to live a little, but in your own terms. You want to see the beauty of the world, make friends, and find love. Everyone wants it, especially to fit in. I also understand the position you've been put in. You were incredibly young when Dumbledore started training you, by then we'd already had encounters of the bad kind. We were accustomed to it, especially the other four in your group. This is pressure, the life or death kind. It's not easy to make, and no one should ever force you into such a decision...in normal circumstances
I'm not saying this to change your mind, that's up to you, but you have a gift Cherrie. You have a type of magic one can only dream of. However, you're not the only one. You know your gift and what you can do with it. Can you imagine someone exploiting such a gift on the general population? It's ok, if you don't want to join. Like I said, we can't force you, and no one should have to. You are capable of making your own decisions now."
The blonde stared at the brunette beside her for some time, studying her for the first time. She had known none of the others that came with the other elementals, she had been in a year far below theirs to know them. Well, everyone knew the golden trio, but in the sense of communication and knowing a person well enough to call them friend. She had nice cheekbones and soft looking skin. She sat composed; she wasn't tensed, yet not slouching from relaxation either. She looked comfortable, and like she knew everything there was to know about life, nothing could touch her.
"And what would you do?" Her voice came out smoothly, like she hadn't just been strained or criticised.
"Fight. It was something I was made for."
"Fight?" Cherrie smiled minutely, and Hermoine couldn't help but laugh at her sheepish reaction after she realised what tone had spilled out with that single word. Disbelief.
"I am like a nail, by myself, I look plain, I have my uses, but nothing fancy, nothing unique, special...well...nothing much. You throw in a few pieces of metal, meld me as part of a well oiled machine, and I shine. I work as part of a team. I have a function, and that function keeps my part of the machine afloat. But that's the thing about a machine. You need all the parts for it to work."
Her face tinted red as she got a variety of looks from her friends present at the humble house. Ginny's eyes were wide and tear filled, her hand clutching the table slightly at what she deemed a beautiful speech. Harry looked torn between bemused and thankful at what he was hearing. Ron looked at her with serious eyes that made her smile. He thought it was true, she could see it all.
She had never dated all that much...she had been preoccupied with other things. There had been a guy she liked down the street before she'd joined Hogwarts. They never talked much, but they had exchanged books every now and then. It had been romantic, yet she had been too shy to say anything, let alone look him in the eye. Besides, he'd had a girlfriend. At some point in time, she had to admit she'd been attracted to Harry. It was a small crush, one unfortunately induced by the fact he was a legendary figure she'd just read about in her first magical book: Hogwarts a History.
It wasn't something she was proud of, to think she had been attracted to his power and status before she had deemed him friend.
There had even been Krum, who had come along at the most convenient of times to make Ron jealous. No, that didn't sound right either... She had liked Krum. Not only was he a kind person contrary to his somewhat distant appearance, he came at a time when she had needed someone. A time she hated to remember, and a name that still irked her: Lavender.
But you knew you found someone when you could interpret their every move, knew what they were saying without a word. It was a communication only they could perceive. Special and mind blowing to know someone that well.
She had once thought what would have happened hadn't they come rescued her from the troll in their first year of Hogwarts. They never would have bonded, and she would have been miserable. She was sure of that much.
"What's your role?" The question brought her out of her own world, and she was happy to realise she had remained in control while her mind had wandered.
"My role?" she hummed slightly. She did a variety of things, but so did the others. There was not just one skill she had available in her arsenal. Where exactly could you place her?
"The mother." Draco sniggered as he answered for her. Hermoine turned to him with an offended look.
'Really? Out of all the things he could perceive her role as...the mother?' He held his hand up to stop her from talking and leaned his elbows on the table so Cherrie could see him better from where he sat obscured by Blaise.
"When you need advice, as a child, you tend to turn to a parent, in this case, Hermoine. This talk you're having? She's calmed you down from the first word. There's just something about her that you trust. She feels safe and familiar even though you've never met. She's undeniably loyal, she thinks of your safety above all else. The spells she learnt, she studied specifically to torment those who hurt the ones she loves, and to protect the ones she cherishes. All in our sake, she constantly learns more, reaches for more, so she can help, do anything that we ourselves can't.
She's the glue that holds this operation together, I'm sure if she weren't here we would be at each others throats more often than not. More importantly, she's here to teach.
She teaches you things she had to learn the hard way with a smile on her face. Runes, magical signature, anything you can imagine, she is a pool of wisdom, and she is willing to share. She is the team of experts you call in when the normal police don't work, she has the answers you can't find when the library is being unhelpful.
When she says she was made to fight, it means she was given the gift of being able to do anything in the world that average people can't do. She's like a frigging swiss army knife. You can't bundle her up us being one thing, which is why I say she's the mother of the group."
Hermoines mouth opened a little at first, but turned into a soft smile after thinking that the words were of a soft and kind nature. She didn't mind being 'mother' if he thought of her in that manner, she felt honoured. There was a resounding murmur and nods that spread across the table's occupants, that made her smile even more.
"Does this mean I can punish you when you're bad?" she grinned.
"Hahaha, no Hermoine...don't overdo it!" He beamed back.
"Are you part of this machine?" Cherrie asked softly, staring Draco in the eyes. He was taken aback by the question. Was he? If he said yes, did that mean he would leave everything behind he'd accomplished with Saito? Did that mean that the elementals had now decided to join forces with Hermoine and team...with Harry? Did they see it that way?
Carefully scanning the room, he saw most people had cast their eyes aside, as if they already knew the answer. One set of eyes regarded him with intense curiosity, however. Just out of reach, emerald green that radiated frost stared back at him, and his eyes remained frozen to his.
Harry didn't say anything. Didn't move his finger tip in thought, or cock his head like he always did in such situations. He was a relaxed statue, staring as if Draco could give him the answers by merely looking his way.
They did see it that way, didn't they? After all, they were on the edge of war, even though they hadn't done anything yet, they had before. What stopped them from doing it again...He thought about what would happen if he left Saito behind...would he nod in sadness, knowing it was what would happen all along? Would he fight it, try to win him back? Or would he unleash his dogs against the world for something that seemed like betrayal?
In the end, his thought pattern was on the same level as Cherries. He didn't want to fight. Not against new friends he'd made, not against Yasmin, or Saito. However, if left alone...would it really be alright? He'd met some of them, they were defiantly eager to attack. They were losing patience.
"Yes..." he said hesitantly, averting his eyes back to Cherries.
"I...I know it's hard to think about actually going out and killing someone, even fighting with someone, it's a scary thought. You have to be cold hearted not to think that way. No human wants to have blood on their hands. But...Whether I like it or not, I have been given something to prevent people from suffering. Rather I suffer, than many thousands more..."
Cherrie hummed once more, twirling a finger through her hair. She turned to look at Harry.
"It is hard." He added, raking his hand through raven locks.
"It was for me and still is. But Draco has the right idea. If I could stop people losing their lives all by myself, I wouldn't hesitate about it. And I didn't. Then again, I killed a guy I hated, you don't know these people. To kill a stranger is something different, you'll always be wondering if they were innocent or not. But we'll be there with you, all of the way. I had help; I wouldn't have been able to do it on my own. And you won't need to either. Remember? We're all a part of a well oiled machine."
She pursed her lips in thought, silence stretched on for what seemed like hours.
"I will, under the knowledge that you realise I'm not 100% for the idea. I won't fight unless I have to, and I'm staying right here to lead my normal life…..but when things get tough...I'll be there."
"That's all we wanted." Hermoine smiled comfortingly.