Parts (50-53)
VI
Chapter 13
Tortured Souls
Part 1: The Day Before Tomorrow
Carver kind of wished he hadn't decided to speak to James first, by the sounds of it his initial thought that James had just beaten Leebin seemed to be inaccurate. James seemed quite proud and happy to discuss the torture techniques he'd learned, as well as things he'd done to Leebin. He was quite disturbed and concerned, James was a good person but he had a dark streak. He would've hoped being forced to torture someone would make James sympathize with his victim, not revel in unchecked sadism relishing Leebin's pain. He wished he could say it was all the Shadows warping James' mind but… well he would be lying if he said that, they may have helped but weren't solely responsible. He could only hope once he was away from them, it would diminish James' drive to hurt. He didn't think wearing Leebin's wedding ring as a 'trophy' was a good sign.
Feeling more anxious then he had before, Carver was still glad when he had finally exhausted conversation with James and was allowed to see Leebin. He'd been taken to the basement of a farmhouse they'd acquired for such things, the isolation of farm buildings were why they made for good Shadow bases. He heard Leebin's screams before he saw him, descending into the dim gloom to find a Soul Eater lazily cruciating him. Thankfully he stopped when they entered and Carver had to do a double take, for a minute he thought Leebin was an Inferi. The toll the torture had taken on his health was immediately noticeable.
Leebin was curled up in a ball naked facing away from them, he was gaunt and skeletal with every bone shape of his emaciated frame visible. It made it more obvious his bones were damaged, outright broken or misshapen because they didn't even allow him a simple spell to heal them to prolong his pain, some were actually jutting out of his skin the break was so bad. That was another thing: skin. He didn't look pale anymore, he was literally black and blue with some shades of purple or yellow, every inch of flesh Carver could see was bruised. And the flesh itself had been brutalized, the closer he got to him the more obvious it was that he was a mess of fresh wounds melding in with scar tissue.
He had lines from cuts, welts from whips, holes from stabbing instruments or drilling things, patches of varying degrees of burns, jagged areas his flesh had been ripped and bloody places where the flesh had been peeled away completely or thinner areas where it must've started to been regrown magically, some spaces looked an absolute mess which he'd guess was where James had decided to use a grater. All overlapping leaving his body a broken mess, Carver noticed nails and hooks still protruding from his body as well. He wanted to throw up he was so sickened and cry just out of sympathy, he glanced at James who was smiling as his eyes rolled lecherously over Leebin. Was James really so delusional he didn't see what he'd done?
"Here he is, the pretty boy," James announced happily and casually kicked his victim in passing, Leebin whimpered.
"Can I talk to him alone?" Carver asked as he forced himself to swallow his bile, still wanting to gag and the smell didn't help. James looked at him questioningly, "It's personal, okay?"
"Okay, just don't take too long," James said and gestured for the other man to leave, the unhappy looking Healer remained while the Soul Eater left without question. James started to leave as well before pausing to look back at him, "Or if you do then talk and torture, he can't get too much of a reprieve or it'll undo all the work I've done to break him."
"Got it," Carver agreed and James nodded in satisfaction as he left, not that Carver had any intention of doing so. Quite the opposite, he had the overwhelming desire to save Leebin now, it was the Healer he turned to though, "And you, out. Privacy includes being away from you."
"I have to stay in case he is hurt too badly and needs to be healed," the Healer protested.
"Well you don't need to worry about that right now, beat it, take a toilet break or something," Carver insisted determinedly and the Healer eyed him suspiciously but left regardless.
Carver took a deep breath now that he was finally alone and finished crossing the distance to Leebin, only seeing more abuse. The soles of his feet were a bloody mess, most of his toes severed, cut in half or if they were intact they were without fingernails. It killed any thought of helping Leebin to escape right now, he doubted the man could stand with his injures let alone walk. His hands were similarly mutilated, there were more of them but they had the added bonus of several being wrenched violently to different angles almost certainly leaving them currently unusable. He wasn't bound surprisingly or maybe not, Leebin wasn't going anywhere in the state he was in. Sadly Carver crouched by him.
Even Leebin's neck bore marks as if strangled and an older scar that looked like werewolf damage, he lip was split while his face in general was blotchy and swollen from bruises albeit not as bad as the rest of his body but the skin still had an unhealthy grayish tinge. He was no longer wearing glasses but had scars on his eyelids and around the eye area, his eyes were heavily bagged from exhaustion as he hadn't slept since his capture even as they used potions to ensure it didn't kill him but it wouldn't ease the extreme discomfort. They really were keeping him just barely alive, every line on his face was engraved in pain. His hair was longer since he'd last seen him, it was a tangled mess matted with grime and blood, he also had the beginnings of a beard. He was shaking, either from cold, fear or the residual effects of the Cruciatus Curse Carver didn't know. He seemed to force his scared eyes back open as best he could to look at him, they were bloodshot.
"C-Carver?" Leebin rasped weakly in a hoarse voice, Carver tried to smile comfortingly but couldn't muster it. He still felt like breaking down crying on behalf of Leebin.
"Are you thirsty?" Carver asked as he conjured a canteen that he started filling with water, recalling he was also dehydrated and figuring it could help account for Leebin's voice. Leebin made a small motion with his head that Carver wasn't sure was an attempt to nod or shake his head, he flinched fearfully when Carver tried to offer it him, "It's not filled with scalding water, really, I'm not going to hurt you."
Leebin continued to eye him warily so Carver poured a little on his face to prove it, Leebin relaxed very slightly but still looked fearful. Carver helped him into a sitting position as gently as possible – failing miserably considering how much Leebin cringed in pain – and allowed Leebin to lean against him weakly so he could put the canteen to his mouth, Leebin gulped it down readily with a flicker of refreshment on his face.
"Th-Thank you," Leebin said weakly and Carver refilled it, Leebin started drinking gratefully once more and trying – and failing – to raise his broken hands to help hold it.
"I didn't hurt you, did I?" Carver wondered worriedly as Leebin finished a second canteen, Carver filled it wordlessly to let him have as much as possible. Water was the least he could do but also the best, he didn't know too much about healing spells.
"Everything… hurts," Leebin admitted and Carver put the canteen to his lips again.
"I'm sorry, really," Carver stated truthfully and tried to work up the courage to get to his point since he didn't know much time he had, "There's actually something I wanted to talk to you about."
"Carver, I'm only just barely managing to keep my own mind intact right now," Leebin insisted, sounding a bit more like his old self as he finished the next canteen, "I can't help you."
"Look, I'm not really a Shadow. I'm just pretending so I can help my uncle evade capture and keep an eye on them," Carver continued anyway as he started refilling the canteen again, "This is the short version because I don't know how much time we have. My uncle is Pyrrhus Florian, he has a plan to stop the Shadow Master and I'm kind of helping him with it."
"Okay," Leebin muttered disinterestedly as he started on the water again.
"But the thing is it would result in Antonius Ashain dying. Ashylos' wand the third piece of the Scepter survived and came into Antonius' possession, it's bound to him now which gives him a connection to the rest of the Scepter. He'll be able to summon it from the Shadow Master so we can destroy it, strip her of that power so Calderon will be able to defeat her. But to make sure she can't interfere, we need to add extra magic to Antonius' soul through Jack/One the merged soul of a muggle and a Specter who can do it but they can't see Antonius' soul because it's broken so they won't be able to remove it. Antonius will die if it can't be removed so if we go through with the plan then he'll die. So there's my dilemma, is it worth one child's life to stop the Shadow Master and end the war?"
"Carver, you don't need external validation here. You need to look inside yourself, only you know where your own moral boundaries lie," Leebin told him as he finished the canteen and his head lolled weakly.
"Well what would you do?" Carver questioned desperately.
"I'm not you," Leebin insisted tiredly and Carver sighed, "I'm sorry, this is a decision that only you can make."
"Alright, well can you at least tell me where Calderon is so I can get to him first?" Carver asked and to his surprise, Leebin burst out laughing. A bitter, joyless and empty laugh.
"No! Do you know how many times I've been asked that question?!"
"I'm not a Shadow, okay? I need to find him and wouldn't you rather it be me than them?" Carver said desperately, Leebin looked thoughtful for a minute and his eyes – that Carver wasn't even sure he could see out of with the damage - drifted off to an empty patch of floor before looking back.
"My dead father doesn't think I should tell you," Leebin stated and inclined his head slightly in the direction of the empty space, very much alarming Carver.
"No, Leebin you need to be sane."
"I've been tortured a lot, okay?" Leebin whimpered tearfully, "I told you I'm barely keeping it together, pain isn't healthy for the mind."
"I know but its okay, I'm going to help you," Carver told him truthfully, "Whether you tell me or not, I promise I'll get you out of here."
"You really want to help me?" Leebin wondered to which Carver nodded, "Kill me."
"What?!" Carver burst out in shock, alarmed for the second time in the conversation.
"Kill me," Leebin repeated firmly, sounding every bit as serious and desperate that Carver hoped he wasn't.
"No, come on. You don't have to die," Carver insisted, hurt and horrified at the thought of Leebin being reduced to begging for death, "They'll fix you right up in St Mungo's and you can go home to your family."
"My family?" Leebin repeated, sounding rather surprised and looked thoughtful for a minute before seemingly shaking his head of it, blinking back tears, "Please kill me, death would be a kindness."
"I'm not killing you!" Carver protested, only feeling more determined to save him while Leebin hung his head sadly, "I'll get the Aurors to come for you, I can't help you now because I'd never get away with it but I can get them to help. Just have to warn them about Cel being a Shadow and you have to warn them too?"
"Warn them?" Leebin wondered weakly, looking back up in confusion.
"The Shadow Master's going to attack England on June 6th this year, that's why they're moving more people here ready. Warn the Ministry, if they have any sense they'll try make precautions. And while we're on the subject, the Shadow Master is not Calderon but his twin. His twin sister, the Shadow Master's a woman and Brutus Ashain is her lover."
"Why are you telling me this?" Leebin questioned in a raspier tone and Carver went to refill the canteen again while a plan started forming in his mind.
"So you can pass it along, the good guys are sorely lacking in knowledge," Carver said truthfully while Leebin watched him with an unreadable expression, "And if you could not tell them you heard it directly for me then it would probably be better for my health, they'll kill me if they find out I'm a traitor. Do you understand?"
"I understand."
"Good. Now will you please tell me where Calderon is?" Carver pleaded, catching Leebin's eye in the hope he'd see he was genuine, "If you do that than I can get to him first and it won't matter if you tell the Shadows, in fact I encourage it so they'll stop torturing you but they won't kill you until it's confirmed so it's a window of opportunity to save you."
"I don't want Calderon or the Aurors to be killed," Leebin muttered as Carver helped him to drink the water again.
"I won't harm them, I don't want them killed either," Carver said truthfully, "If I know where he is then it's a matter of sneaking in and getting him out that way. Please, Leebin, this way everyone wins but the Shadows. Don't you want this to stop?"
"Yes," Leebin whimpered as he stopped drinking for a moment, looking very much like he was wrestling with the decision before taking a deep breathe, "Alright, my uncle owns a muggle farmhouse that's been in the family unused for a long time, that's where they put Calderon. It's in-"
"What are you doing?!" James' voice barked abruptly, Leebin flinched in fear as a look of terror crossed his face while Carver turned to see James standing disapprovingly at the top of the stairs, "I said not long or to torture him if you do. He's not being tortured, you're giving him water! And I bet it's not the scalding kind! Cruci-"
"NO!" Carver yelled more forcefully then he'd intended as he jumped up and grabbed James' wrist before he could complete the spell to torture Leebin, James had an expression of utter surprise, "If you're going to hurt him then you're not going to do it in my presence."
"Why?"
"Why?! Jay, listen to yourself!" Carver protested and jabbed his finger at Leebin, who'd crumpled back to the ground and attempted to curl his broken body back into the fetal position with limited success, "And look at him!"
"I do, he's still handsome," James insisted with a lecherous glace at Leebin and Carver seriously considered smacking him across the face for the off chance it would knock some sense into him.
"He's not handsome, he's broken, he barely even looks human now. And you did that, you did that to an innocent person, a good person, someone we know, someone who tried to help us."
"He left-"
"He was fired for something that had nothing to do with him!" Carver cut James off, "And even if he did, he wouldn't deserve to be treated like this. No one does. Are you really so far gone you think its right? Its justified? Not even that but to enjoy it?! To enjoy inflicting that much pain on another human being. What is wrong with you?! I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy."
"What is wrong with me? What is wrong with you?!" James shot back, looking very much offended, "You used to enjoy this stuff, and it's just a more extreme version of pranking people."
"No its not, dammit!" Carver snapped, "And we didn't prank, we bullied. We were bullies, what we did was wrong. I was having a lousy life and I was angry, so angry I took it out on other people. And it was wrong and I feel horrible, I hate who I was and what I did. I can't change what I did but I can change how I act now and I'm not being involved in torturing an innocent man, other people aren't slabs of meat to abuse at your will. They have thoughts and feelings and minds of their own, how can you not feel sympathy or empathy?"
"Because Leebin deserves it, there's nothing wrong with what I'm doing. He's the enemy, he's less then human," James reiterated, glaring at him darkly, "And I think you should go now."
"Gladly," Carver growled as he stalked off, hating he could do nothing as Leebin's screams echoed after him.
He'd save him soon though, plus though Leebin may not have given him the exact location but an uncle's farm he could work with quite easily. Tracking down the uncle and getting the information should only take a day or so, with any luck they could find Calderon by tomorrow and he'd find a way tell the Aurors there where Leebin was since he knew they'd be non-Shadow ones.
Scorpius woke up the next day as usual and headed downstairs, however he was surprised to see the very welcome sight of Myriam Leebin. The dark-haired dainty woman was looking rather tied and had a jagged scar going from her right palm up into her wrist, seeming to continue beyond the sleeve. Otherwise she seemed unhurt though, a bit more frail then before maybe but he supposed when she was recovering it was expected. Maurene with her, the little girl perched close to her as she quietly dipped pieces of toast into egg to eat. The toddlers and his parents were also there, his father alone looking unhappy while Lysel was smiling from ear to ear in absolute delight as he excitedly rambled about his time with the Malfoys.
"Good morning," Scorpius greeted them with a smile as he sat down, "Glad to see you two back on your feet."
"Thank you," Myriam offered as she returned his smile, Scorpius was genuinely glad they were okay as well as because he could finally ask about the farmhouse. When they were alone anyway.
"Uncle Hogan says you're welcome," Maurene pointed out and Myriam seemed to try not to scowl, only half-succeeding.
"Well don't listen too much to him, sweetie. He's a bitter man."
"I know, Mummy, you said before," Maurene nodded while Scorpius started putting food onto his own plate as he tried to figure out how he could get Myriam alone since she'd undoubtedly want to spend time with her children.
"When's Daddy be home?" Lysel asked innocently and Myriam froze along with those collectively older than ten, "Then us all is backed."
"Uncle Hogan says Daddy's probably dead by now or soon will be."
"What dead?" Sol questioned curiously.
"Who wants to see a Quidditch game?" his father blurted out immediately as an obvious attempt to change the subject, it actually worked on the little ones though. Scorpius didn't think they really understood the concept yet slightly to at all. He thought his father regretted his decision now though as he'd roped himself to a Quidditch game for the three kids.
Scorpius actually went with them instead of staying home, he didn't see the point in going over to Varanian unless he got the address which he needed to get from Myriam who was going. It proved to be fruitless however, he didn't get a chance to talk to her the entire excruciatingly long game between the Wimbourne Wasps and the Chudley Cannons much to the children's excitement.
When they returned home he still found himself struggling to get Myriam alone, her children hung off her like glue and his mother was often talking to her. At least hanging around the women put distance between he and his father, who kept making attempts to speak to him. He didn't get his chance until the kids were put to bed as Myriam was staying for a few days, she seemed mostly okay but moved somewhat slowly and seemed to struggle a bit when she had to bend or straighten like when sitting down or standing after she'd been sitting. When the kids were sleeping, he only had to worry about his mother since his father was off… somewhere and thankfully she needed to use the bathroom.
"Finally," Scorpius couldn't help but utter in relief, Myriam gave him a knowing look.
"So what did you want to talk to me about?" Myriam asked of him, much to his surprise.
"I- Wait you know?"
"I figure there's a reason you've been hanging around me almost as much as my children," Myriam shrugged it off and Scorpius took a breath, opting to go for the truth after she'd helped the previous year in Hogsmeade.
"Well, you know how your husband was taken?" Scorpius began and Myriam tensed, her expression darkening but she nodded, "He knows where Calderon is being kept, they took him to find out."
"Is he okay?" Myriam asked worriedly and Molly's words on him having his skin peeled off came to mind, maybe not the whole truth. He could spare her the gory details.
"I don't know, I know why he was taken and that he's still alive and likely being kept abroad but that's pretty much it. I think Calderon's being held in his uncle's farmhouse, maybe it volunteered it or something."
"That sounds like something Flan would do," Myriam admitted sadly.
"Right so I erm… I'd really rather like the location so Gray can check it out, save him being prisoner because he's not the Shadow Master and stop the Shadows getting him because I erm… well, Leeb- Flan would probably err… tell them at some point," Scorpius stammered out awkwardly and Myriam looked at him for a long moment, seemingly struggling with what she wanted to say.
"Do… Do you think Gray could save…?"
"I-I- I don't- I mean they're trying but they're also trying to find Calderon and Antonius Ashain, he's a ten year old child but erm… it's not easy," Scorpius offered uselessly, not sure what to say. He did want Leebin saved, there was just other things happening as well.
"Alright, I'll tell you it's in- I'll tell you tomorrow," Myriam started to say but changed her mind mid-sentence as his mother walked back in, Scorpius sighed again. Tomorrow it would have to be.
Part 2: A Clan Gathering
"Aw he's adorable," Abby was saying as she cooed over the baby, Dom's son little Crescentius Arthur Ashain was nestled comfortably in his great-grandmother's arms as far as Albus could tell.
The Weasley family and friends were having a Easter – even though Easter Tuesday wasn't really a thing – plus baby meeting gathering at the Burrow, hence why Albus was watching his oldest friend coo over his Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor's new half-brother which was also Albus' cousin. Somehow he thought the professor would be about as pleased as Uncle Bill was, Albus still would have loved to point it out and ask for special treatment if only Antonius wasn't still missing and all. Scorpius wasn't the only one to notice their teacher looked a wreck, Albus could notice things too. Although right now he found he kept noticing Abby more than anything else.
Damn Vern and his crazy theories that he liked Abby just because he'd known her forever and she was really great, she was kind and funny and clever enough because not everyone needed to be a freaking genius and Pentakel was all wrong for her. He could see that, not because he was jealous or overprotective, because he actually knew her and could see she needed someone better. It was nuts to think he liked her, sure he supposed she was pretty in a sister way. Sure she had skin so perfect it looked like she was glowing and pearly white teeth, they were a little crooked and he didn't know why Uncle Neville had never bothered to fix them but somehow he was glad because… because it was just part of who she was. And she was fine how she was, she didn't need to change and she didn't need Pentakel.
"Damn straight he's adorable, my nephew is totally the cutest baby," Louis stated playfully as he tossed back his blond hair – drawing Albus back to the conversation and making him wish he had hair like that, Louis never had trouble getting girlfriends after all - and threw Freddie a smirk, "In the whole family. Charla and Vale are toddlers before you try to disagree."
"He's only the cutest because he's the only baby in the family currently, just wait until my second child arrives next month," Freddie countered and rubbed his long-term girlfriend Caitlin's heavily pregnant stomach, "Then there'll be a new King or Queen of cuteness in town."
"No way."
"Yes way, new trumps old."
"But you forget, my little nephew is part-Veela," Louis insisted confidently, "So he's automatically more adorable then all regular human babies like yours."
"Part-Veela? Please," Freddie scoffed, "He's only like a millionth part-Veela, so barely it that it doesn't even affect him."
"I disagree."
"Wanna bet on it?"
"Absolutely!"
"Are you two seriously betting over which baby will be cuter?" Caitlin wondered of them in disbelief, Albus was forced to agree with the ludicrously of how dumb that sounded.
"Yeah," the two cousins said in unison, Caitlin shook her head at them and moved Freddie's hand away.
"I'm dating a lunatic. Well you two do that, I have to go pee," Caitlin sighed as she moved Freddie's hand off her as she made to stand while her boyfriend looked slightly guilty, turning back to them briefly though, "Oh and for the record, in a cuteness contest my kids are always going to smash any others out of the park Veela or not so there you go."
"Love you, sweetheart," Freddie called after his girlfriend as she went off to the bathroom before turning back to Louis with a smirk, "And that's why I love her."
"Because she indulges your insanity?" Louis queried of his cousin with a raised eyebrow, Freddie's smile only widened.
"Exactly! There's lots of smart, beautiful women out there with a good sense of humor but the trick is to find the one who can put up with you despite knowing your faults and who you love her too much to care about hers, now that girl is the One and only. And for me, that is Caitlin and we're going to spend the rest of our hopefully not too short lives together."
"Well that does tend to happen when you knock them up," Louis smirked while Albus pondered those words and Freddie tried to whack his arm but Louis ducked, laughing.
"Shut up! That was one time!"
"Two times!"
"The second time was on purpose!" Freddie insisted, apparently giving up and just folding his arms, "And being parents is awesome, we're so great how could our kids not be? Which is why I have complete confidence in number two beating Cres on the cuteness scale."
"Well your daughter's trying to eat a lamp," Louis pointed out and gestured to behind Freddie.
"My daughter is not trying to eat a lamp," Freddie scoffed but turned to check anyway, seeing the two year old was indeed trying to eat a lamp and he immediately bolted for her, "Sweetheart, don't eat that!"
Albus and Louis both laughed in amusement before Louis shook his head and went back over to their grandmother, wanting to hold the baby again. Leaving Albus with his confused thoughts about Abby once more, he cared a lot about her certainly but did he like her in a romantic way? It was certainly different to how he felt about Grozda and he was sure Grozda her been true love so that meant he couldn't like Abby that way… Not unless Grozda hadn't been true love in which case he supposed Abby could be but in that case how was he even supposed to tell if his ability to contemplate romantic relationships clearly sucked?
"You know if you keep staring at Abby you're going to weird her out," Vern commented as he came to stand by him, Albus realized his eyes had subconsciously drifted from the baby back to Abby talking to Rose and angrily threw a glare to Vern instead.
"I wasn't looking. And it's your fault anyway," Albus complained at him, "If you hadn't said what you had before then I wouldn't even be thinking about this."
"If I was wrong then why are you still thinking about it months later?"
"Because you suck."
"You're just jealous," Vern stated with an amused smile.
"In your dreams, Dursley," Albus scoffed and quickly averted his eyes.
His father was one of the most famous heroes of magical times, he'd saved the freaking world from Voldemort and then the son noted for looking so much like his dad was… Albus, who couldn't even get an Outstanding on his best subject and even training quadruple hard as everyone else still only got him to being passably mediocre at Quidditch whereas everyone else in his family just seemed to have this inherent natural talent that was lost to him. Even Vern, his muggleborn cousin managed to surpass him, he even managed to make Prefect which was a feat no Potter had accomplished so far and he had a girlfriend and he'd proven himself brave enough in the past to stand up to the Shadows even at the risk of death. Of course he was jealous, Vern was more like his dad then he'd ever be. Not that he was going to admit that.
"What's up?" Lily queried as she wandered over to them munching on some cake she seemed to have picked up from somewhere. Where was the cake? He wanted cake.
"What's up with you?" Albus questioned, "And more importantly, where did you get the cake?"
"Well Lys was going on and on about girls he has a crush on so I went to try talk to Lucy but she's being a weirdo so… now I'm here."
Albus glanced around, quickly finding his squib cousin slinking around like a dark shadow in the room without a hint of cheer on her face. He felt bad for her, she'd lost her mum, found out she was a squib, lost her dad, an assortment of other family members most recently their grandfather, it was no wonder she seemed withdrawn. Most of the family was actually there to welcome the new Weasley, Albus really admired that about his family, which despite all the deaths they still held strong together despite whatever splintering there was.
His widowed grandmother was there of course as it was her home, his mother, Uncle George and Aunt Hermione were there without their spouses as well. His father was working, his Uncle Ron… was apparently a Shadow along with his own brother James – Albus still wasn't sure he bought either of them had gone dark side - and Aunt Angelina just wasn't around much since divorcing his uncle. Dom was there of course with the newborn Crescentius, her husband was not though as he was getting some rest since he was looking a little 'gray' from tiredness from the baby which Albus had taken as code for something Gray related. He, Lily and Vern where there of course, Rose and Hugo, Roxy and Freddie along with his heavily pregnant girlfriend Caitlin and their two year old daughter, Charla.
Lucy was there, Molly was still avoiding the family to avoid questions since she was living and working with Varanian. The widowed Cel was also there with his odd son, Vale who was sitting quietly clutching a toy car. The married couple Victoire and Teddy both had to work unfortunately, his grandmother Andromeda was there though as was Louis with his own girlfriend and fellow Auror Eudoxia "Doxy" Holt. Uncle Neville and Aunt Hannah were there as well with their youngest children Abby and August, Heather having not been bothered to return from her exotic job apparently – foolish in Albus' opinion, didn't she notice how fast the countries were dropping? – as well was Aunt Luna and Uncle Rolf with their twin sons Lorcan and Lysander. Everyone else in the family not there was dead except for the grandfather of the new baby, Uncle Bill hadn't shown up yet.
"Poor girl," Vern offered sadly as his emerald eyes drifted to Lucy, "I remember when I first met her, she was all excited to think she was going to Hogwarts while I dreaded it."
"Still dread it?" Albus wondered curiously.
"I'm dreading OWLs, the rest I'm okay with it. Looking forward to Quidditch and the next Hogsmeade trip, Olivia and I are doing something special."
"You looking forward to OWLs next year, Lils?"
"Nah, not when I have such clever friends to help me through it," Lily shrugged it off as she started licking the icing off the cake, "Thing I'd be dreading is the advice sessions, like I'm supposed to know what to do when I grow up. I haven't even had a favorite subject since Flying stopped after First Year."
"What do you want to do by the way, Vern?"
"Orous and I want to do what Leebin does," Vern offered hesitantly, "Be a counsellor or wizard psychologist or a Psych Healer, whatever it's officially called in the magical world."
"Why the hell would you want to do that?" Albus scoffed, angrily thinking of the bitch counsellor who'd helped drive his friend to suicide or what douche Rutherford had been. He missed Latimer, he wrote to him quite frequently and sent him sweets to try make sure he knew he still mattered – he was afraid of him killing himself still - but it wasn't the same as seeing him around, "It's the stupidest profession, it's not even a real profession and it did more harm than good."
"When done right it can be useful," Vern insisted determinedly, "Look I'm a prefect and I take my job seriously, part of that is looking out for the First Years. Do you know many of them are afraid because of the war? Do you know how many have lost people in Shadow attacks? Do you know many have actually been the victim of Shadow attacks? Then there's normal school problems, do you even know how many of them feel stressed because of the upcoming exams? Do you know how many are being bullied?"
"Geez, Vern, you make your house sound like it's a wreck."
"Obviously not everyone has problems like that – and I'm sure it's the same for other houses - but for those that do, it might help them to have someone who they could talk to and get support from since Hogwarts doesn't do it and the wizarding world is kind of blind to these things. And that's just in Hogwarts, adults can have problems as well," Vern continued sounding rather passionate while Albus remained unconvinced, "The counsellors before who were more focused on helping then their ulterior motives actually did help like Leebin, when done right it can help people. That's what I want to do, help people with their problems."
"Pretty much any job is more helpful to people than that, it's a dumb waste of time."
"You're just biased," Vern scoffed as he made to move away, "I'm going to get some cake."
"I want cake. Where is the cake?" Albus demanded of his sister as she finished off hers and Vern gave no indication of hearing him.
"I'm not telling you, you just called my boyfriend's dreams a dumb waste of time since he wants the same as Vern and all," Lily insisted as she started licking the crumbs off her fingers, Albus scowled at her, "Why aren't you hanging out with Abby and Rose anyway?"
"If I tell you will you tell me where the cake is?"
"Maybe."
"Abby and I are kind of… talking less because of her dumb boyfriend, Rose is with her so… I'm not," Albus offered, it was basically the truth since she was quite annoyed about his comments before about long distance to try make Pentakel show his dark ready-to-abandon-her side but that had failed. He also felt awkward around her when trying to figure out if he liked her but he decided to leave that part out.
"Seriously, Al? Geez," Lily complained, rolling her eyes behind her glasses, "You barely talk to me anymore because you're annoyed I have a boyfriend and now you're barely talking to Abby anymore because she has a boyfriend? People date, get over it."
"It's not the same thing," Albus protested as Lily started to walk away, with a pang he realized that he was right. It wasn't the same thing. The question was, was it because he liked Orous whereas Pentakel was a stupid jerk face or because he was protective over his little sister whereas he liked Abby romantically himself? He also realized something else, "Hey! You didn't tell me where the cake was!"
"You could try looking, you know?" Louis pointed out, pausing in passing by with his baby nephew who was sleepily sucking on a rainbow-colored pacifier, "Food doesn't just magically float over to you even in the magical world."
"I would never have guessed," Lucy stated and they both jumped, noticing she'd managed to sneak up on them. Gone was the excitable little girl she'd been, her body had filled out with puberty and she'd grown to be tall which both made her look older. She had the typical Weasley red hair and freckles, her eyes were a muddy brown like her mother's had been.
"I-"
"Louis, we have to go now. We have to change shifts soon, we don't want to be late and let down Harry Potter," Doxy cut him off as she came over, she was quite pretty while freckles with bouncy brown hair and pale brown eyes to match.
"Okay, okay I'm going. Let me finish handing off Cres and saying bye to my sister," Louis insisted and continued walking over to Dom with Doxy, the latter looking relieved as if failing his father was the worst thing in the world. You got used to it.
"Do you ever wonder if it hurts a baby more to feel pain then an adult?" Lucy asked of him, taking Albus by surprise as she watched the newborn with shadows dancing darkly in her eyes, "Their souls are so fresh and pure, their little minds have never experienced anything. Do you think it would hurt more for those bright, untouched souls to be shredded and torn?"
"I don't know, that's a really horrible thought," Albus said, feeling disconcerted by the way she watched Crescentius being handed back to his mother.
"Maybe," Lucy admitted, a flicker of sadness crossing her face before it blanked again as she looked to him, "Do you think Cres would deserve it though? Why should he get to have a nice bright ball of magic in his baby soul while I didn't?"
"Of course he doesn't deserve it, he's a baby. I'm sorry you're a squib but that doesn't mean magic people should have their souls destroyed, okay?!" Albus snapped at her, Lucy looked at him for a moment before laughing.
"I'm just kidding, Al, lighten up. It's called dark humor."
"You lighten up," Albus muttered as Lucy walked off to go be creepy someone else, maybe Vern should try counseling her.
"Bill," one of the adults gasped and Albus spun in shock once more to see Uncle Bill had arrived, his scars making his expression even more menacing as his blue eyes narrowed darkly on his grandson as if he was something vile and abhorrent. He then turned on his heel to leave.
"Wait, Dad!" Dom cried and rushed after him desperately, he turned back to her with his expression still contorted with anger as it rested on the baby she held in her arms, "Dad, please, just-just stay, please. Meet you grandson, his name is Cres-"
"I DON'T CARE WHAT ITS NAME IS!" Uncle Bill roared and anyone who hadn't noticed his arrival fell silent, he was trembling from rage but seemed to be trying to calm himself. Dom recoiled slightly and the baby stirred from the noise, "It's his child, it's all his, it looks just like him. That monster. That man I hate more than anyone on this Earth, the one who's destroying your life and you don't even realize it, he forced you to bear his child."
"He's my child too and don't you dare talk that way about my baby!" Dom shot back as her expression twisted to match his, angry tears flying from her eyes while Crescentius started whining unhappily because of the disruption, "He's my son, can't you suck up your foolish beliefs for five seconds and be a normal grandparent?! You're the only one he's got!"
"Never! I will never acknowledge that monster's child, I will never care about that thing!" Uncle Bill yelled, causing Crescentius to start crying as he started to storm off.
"You're being ridiculous, Dad!" Louis called after him, causing the elder man to pause once more while, "Whatever issues you have with Aurelius, that's not on Cres. He's a baby, he didn't do anything wrong and he doesn't deserve this hate."
"How can you take his side?! Your mother would be rolling in her grave if she knew!"
"Yes she would be but it would be for your actions that she's rolling for!" Louis shouted looking upset himself, very much making Uncle Bill look taken aback, "Mum would never turn her back on her family, on her innocent infant only grandson! She'd give Aurelius a chance because she was a fair person who didn't care about looks or age and as soon as she saw that baby she'd have scooped him out of Dom's arm to cradle him excitedly, smothered him with kisses and proclaimed 'isn't he ze cutest?' because that's who she was. You're lying to yourself if you believe any differently."
"Don't you dare speak about your mother like that!" Uncle Bill snapped, blinking back tears, "I'm disappointed in you, Louis. I'm ashamed to call the both of you my children and I'll never call that thing my grandson."
On that note, Uncle Bill stalked out and disapparated with a loud crack that only made the baby cry harder while Dom tried to sooth him. Louis wiped his eyes and put his arm around his sister comfortingly, his girlfriend walked over to him and took his hand gently with a sympathetic expression.
"I know, I know I'm going," Louis assured her even though she hadn't said anything not did she look like she'd been about to, he kissed his little nephew on the forehead, "Bye little buddy, I'll talk to you after my shift, okay?"
"Okay, thank you," Dom nodded and gave him a weak smile as Louis also left with Doxy after a brief farewell to everyone else. The lingering silence remained though, Uncle Bill certainly knew how to ruin the mood. Albus found his eyes drifting back to Abby though and mentally kicked himself.
James was furious, he was hurt Carver could be so mean to him which made him furious. He was dealing with his anger naturally by taking it out on Leebin, he hoped Carver would be pleased with himself over that. How could his best friend turn on him like that? There was nothing wrong with James, it was obviously Carver. Leebin did deserve it and he was doing a necessary service for the Shadows, wasn't it just a bonus if he enjoyed every second? It wasn't his fault if it was just natural to feel good when he heard Leebin screaming or begging for mercy, to feel powerful, to feel superior, to feel strong, to feel better than everyone else. He thought anyone who didn't feel that way when torturing was a liar or incapable of emotion, it was just a normal thing not exclusive to him.
He paused to catch his breath for a minute, he'd been using a spell to whip Leebin. He was better than Leebin in every possible way and Carver was wrong, he wasn't a person really. He was nothing, James owned him which gave him the right to do whatever he bloody well pleased. He fingered Leebin's wedding ring that he now wore, he considered it a trophy, a symbol of everything he'd taken from Leebin. Leebin was lying on his front crying like the pathetic albeit attractive sack of flesh he was, sometimes they hung him up to whip him but James preferred Leebin to be beneath him. He kicked Leebin the face, hearing a crack to indicate the nose breaking again before stomping down on the side of his head. He pressed his foot down hard, wanting to his boot print engraved on the traitor's handsome face and decided to keep his foot there while continuing the whipping. Leebin screaming as every violent lash tore into his already raw back.
"Stop, please!" Leebin sobbed and James smiled to himself, he always felt aroused when Leebin begged him to stop. He didn't stop, of course, "I'll ell you! I'll ell you da locaion jus stob! Please, please stob."
James did actually stop them, so surprised he wasn't sure he'd imagined it. He moved his foot off Leebin's face and crouched, Leebin flinched fearfully. He still wasn't really sure whether Leebin was capable of seeing anymore, he gestured for Siberius the Healer to come over and heal Leebin's nose so he could understand him more clearly.
"What did you say?" James demanded of him as he shooed Siberius back to his corner when he was done, oblivious to the man's hate-filled glares by now.
"I'll tell you what you want to know," Leebin croaked with a face full of shame as tears leaking from his eyes, "I'll tell you, just stop hurting me. Please stop hurting me, I can't- I can't take it anymore."
"Huh, good to know," James said, feeling incredibly triumphant to have broken him as he stood and slashed his wand again. He smiled as it elicited another scream from Leebin.
"What are you doing?! He said he'd tell you!" Siberius yelled at him angrily as James mercilessly continued his assault.
"I heard," James insisted with a disinterested shrug as his focus was on Leebin, "I'm just not done with my torture session yet, he can tell me when I'm done."
"You're one cruel son of a bitch, you know that?"
Part 3: The Farmhouse
Scorpius was excited to awaken the next morning and true to her word, Myriam gave him the address where his cousin was likely being held. The second he could get away from his family, he did go to the hideout to tell Varanian. Helpfully, the man in question he wanted was standing outside scowling at a circle of scorched earth around him.
"What's wrong?" Scorpius questioned in momentary distraction.
"I'm trying to invent a spell to weaponize Patronuses more to use against One and the Specters to kill them not simply repel," Varanian explained.
"Cool. What's the incantation?"
"There's a reason I said trying not succeeding," Varanian insisted somewhat testily, apparently not keen on talking about his failure before seeming to notice him properly, "Did you get the address?"
"Yep!" Scorpius confirmed, his excitement resurging as he pulled the paper from his pocket to show to Varanian who quickly read it, "So what now? Do we go in? Do we storm the place? Do we sneak in? Can I help?"
"We don't do anything until I scout it out so I know what we're dealing with, if it's even the right place. You're welcome to wait around, I'll be back and then think up a plan of action."
"Great," Scorpius agreed as he headed off and disapparated, Scorpius sighed heavily. Why was it easy for everyone else in the world to apparate except for him?
He headed inside to wait, happy to find Molly and Latimer sitting at the kitchen table talking. It made him realize how long it had been since he'd seen his friend, Tobias Latimer was in Molly's year so had graduated and also started working for Gray full time. He was looking well or as well as Latimer tended to look, a bad strain of Dragon Pox as a child had left his flesh pockmarked and a fight with a werewolf had left his face slashed horizontally by the claws, it was really quite a miracle it had missed his reddish-brown eyes. His dark hair had grown longer than it had been last year but not as long as when Scorpius had first known him, Latimer smiled in greeting.
"Hey Scor, long time no see," Latimer offered as Scorpius sat with them, giving Molly a peck on the cheek in greeting. She was looking rather tired, he rubbed her shoulder gently.
"How are you doing? I haven't seen you," Scorpius asked of him with genuine interest.
"Alright, learning Gray stuff mostly. I have my own place rather than living here like Varanian, Annie, Molly, Roman, Wyatt and my dad so I'm not around as much. How are you?"
"Been better. Might've just found a lead on Calderon though," Scorpius said and noticed Molly looking as if she was about to drift off, "You okay, Mol?"
"Did you say Mal or Mol?" Molly wondered in surprise.
"Mol. Like short for Molly."
"Oh right. I'm just tired, sorry. What's your lead?" Molly shrugged it off and Scorpius started quickly filling them in on what he had found out about Leebin's farm until Molly gasped abruptly, her eyes snapping shut but twitching and she grabbed onto the table for support as her breathing started accelerating.
"Molly?" Scorpius and Latimer both questioned worriedly, she slapped the table as if to tell them she heard him.
"You're right and you're wrong but it doesn't really matter, I see death and destruction, chaos reigning under a pitch black sky. You're there with Varanian, he laments they were too late- Martha, you wish you'd taken Martha with you on the last trip to Hogsmeade- she's the only one who might be able to help," Molly told them and her body started to shake, her eyelids twitching more violently, "Vengeance should not be wrought because the death it will sow is not what was sought, blood will spill blood but Death cannot claim all of his kills, no one will be fine when souls intertwine."
"What?" Latimer started to wonder but Molly fell back off her chair, they both scrambled for her but Scorpius was faster.
"Molly? Are you okay?" Scorpius asked worriedly, she stirred and sat up sleepily before starting to fall back but he caught her, "Molly?"
"What happened?" Molly wondered as leaned against him weakly as her eyes fluttered shut again, "Oh, how I hate being a Seer. I'll be okay, I just need to… to rest a bit."
They helped Molly up and got her up to her room, she fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. Scorpius stayed by her side worriedly but Latimer tugged at his arm, leading him out and back downstairs.
"She'll rest better if you're not hovering there, we can tell Annie and make sure she's okay," Latimer explained and came to a halt, Scorpius was surprised to see Varanian had returned already and was talking to Wyatt, "Was it the right place?"
"I believe so, it's riddled with protective enchantments," Varanian told them readily, "I had Aurelius fly over as an eagle and he saw Aurors guarding the farmhouse, the Aurors we know are guarding Calderon."
"So what's the plan? Can I do anything?" Scorpius questioned desperately.
"Actually, yes. You're still an animagus, right?"
"Yes."
"Then you can come, because animagi become an animal it's hard to detect and can get to the farmhouse without triggering the enchantments," Varanian explained, "Since we don't really get into a fight with these Aurors we know to be non-Shadows, we want to try to sneak in to get Calderon then sneak out."
"Guess I can't come then?" Latimer wondered.
"No, maybe next time."
"Make sure Molly's okay," Scorpius offered, still concerned for her.
"What happened to Molly?" Wyatt inquired with a scowl of worry.
"Some Seer episode."
"She say anything interesting?"
"I don't know, maybe," Scorpius shrugged it off, he'd been too worried about her to think much of what she'd actually said, "She said-"
"We can worry about it later, I want to get this done while Hal's still on his shift," Varanian cut him off, "Come on."
Carver had passed Leebin's along to his uncle, he didn't know how – nor did he want to know – how Jack/One had gotten the information but he had managed to find out what muggle building still belonged to the Leebin. There was only one, a farmhouse and he'd gotten the address. Leebin had been telling the truth it seemed, the place had a myriad of protective enchantments around it and flying over as a moth had confirmed the presence of six Aurors guarding it. All that was left was to decide on a plan of action before the Shadows showed up, Carver had no idea when that would be but it could be anywhere between now and never.
"There are only six of them," Jack/One commented thoughtfully, "I can just shift in and kill them all."
"Shift?" Pyrrhus queried, his uncle seemed quite dejected since forcibly amputating Maurice Rivers' hand.
"What? My ability to teleport deserves a better name then… oh yeah, nothing. Because it doesn't have one."
"I don't like it," Carver spoke up, remembering what he'd said to Leebin, "They're good people, they don't deserve to die just for doing their job."
"Since was life about giving people what they deserve?" Jack/One scoffed, looking rather amused at the thought.
"I agree with Carver," Pyrrhus spoke up tearing his tired violently violet eyes away from the distant farmhouse shape and back behind the incline they were using for cover, "Your… shifting may be able to get past the anti-apparation wards but once you show up, it'll still be detected. They'll know he areas been compromised and when that happens, there's nothing to stop them sending in a flood of Aurors and getting Calderon out before we can get to him. No, it's best we do this quietly."
"Thank you," Carver breathed a sigh of relief.
"Why don't you go back and guard the kids? Make sure Antonius is still unconscious," Pyrrhus said to the man who had once been human, Jack/One stared at him disapprovingly for a long moment and Carver was sure he'd object but he finally vanished into the shadows. Pyrrhus sighed, "I hate that guy."
"Then why keep using him?"
"Because we need him to add the extra magic to Antonius' soul, duh."
"What I mean is what- I mean why do we have to do that?" Carver babbled out nervously, Leebin's words had soaked into his mind and Pyrrhus looked at him as if he'd lost his mind. He opened his mouth but Carver continued first, "I mean know why but… Well I have doubts about the plan and I think you do too. Antonius is just a kid and if we go through with it, we're dooming him to an agonizing death and the loss of his very soul."
"What's one life for-"
"A life is a life, Pyrrhus," Carver insisted, "How would you feel if it was Oathan being killed for the sake of the world?"
"Oathan is the world to me, if he dies then there's no point in saving it."
"Exactly, Antonius has people who love him too and you can't say Atticus is just pretending to be nice and secretly hates his son because you've spent enough time with the boy to know Atticus has never been cruel or abusive to him," Carver pushed and Pyrrhus averted his eyes, "Antonius is innocent, he deserves to be protected. Don't you feel like innocent children deserve to be protected?"
"Yes," Pyrrhus snapped firmly.
"If you think about it logically one for the world sounds rational but in my heart I know it's wrong and I think you know it too," Carver said with a heavy sigh, thinking again of Leebin's words. He was right, "You're not a Soul Eater soldier anymore, it's up to you to choose your own path and draw the lines for your own morals. Do you really want Oathan's future built on the soul of an innocent boy? It's not like there's a way to save Antonius."
"I've been looking."
"Have you found anything?"
"Well no."
"Then my point stands!" Carver insisted and Pyrrhus sighed.
"I don't want to kill Antonius but if we don't then what, Carver?" Pyrrhus demanded of him, "Its fine for you but I'm a fugitive, they'll never stop hunting me and trying to take my son away from me. Oathan deserves a better life than this, a life I can't give him while Shadows roam."
"I don't know, I just know its wrong," Carver admitted and Pyrrhus shook his head.
"At any rate, now is not the time to discuss it. I'm going to fly in and find where Calderon is, work on breaking the enchantments and alert me when you do then I can transform back into a human and disapparate with him before they have time to run to him."
"Okay," Carver agreed and Pyrrhus transformed into a moth, flying towards the farmhouse while Carver got to work breaking the enchantments.
Scorpius left the hideout with Varanian and Wyatt, hurrying to the edge of the protected land before Varanian disapparated with them both. It was so easy, it happened in the blink of an eye. Why did Scorpius keep failing at it?
They reappeared in a place so similar that Scorpius could almost have believed they hadn't moved at all, it was the countryside with rolling green hills all around with patches of trees, hedges and little dirt tracks. It looked maybe more rich with plant life but less memorable and less wooded then Varanian's area, he couldn't see the farmhouse from where they were but they were in a patch of trees. Considering the protective enchantments, they were probably as close as they get safely get. A bird swooped down and transformed back into Aurelius Ashain before Scorpius could properly take it in.
"There's still six on guard duty, Hal says to hurry because Louis and Doxy are coming to change shifts soon," Aurelius blurted out, his expression more anxious than usual, "Can I go now?"
"We haven't even started yet!" Varanian protested and Aurelius sighed.
"I've just been separated from Dom for so long, she just had a baby. She should be resting, is she staying off her meet enough at this gathering? She likes to be active but she needs to be taking it easy and I worry that she's trying to do everything while taking care of the baby and exhausting herself, is she getting enough to eat and drin-"
"You've been separated for like an hour."
"Well an hour is a long time," Aurelius protested, only looking more anxious, "A lot can happen in an hour, I should be with her. And what if her father shows up and upsets her? She shouldn't be stressed out right now and-"
"Aurelius," Varanian cut off the elder man's babbling once more and Aurelius glanced at him.
"Yes?"
"Shut up."
"Okay," Aurelius bobbed his head in agreement as he twiddled his hands nervously, Varanian opened his mouth to speak but Aurelius started babbling again, "And what about my son? I need to be there for Cres, what if he misses me? What if he thinks I've abandoned him? What if he thinks I don't love him anymore? Is he alright? What if he's scared by all the people? What if he's not feeling well? What if-"
"Aurelius!" Varanian barked once more, glaring at him as Aurelius stopped to glance at him again.
"Yes?"
"Shut up!" Varanian snapped at him, "The sooner we do this, the sooner you can go back to your family and obsessively worry but for now focus and be silent."
"They'll be fine," Wyatt added comfortingly to Aurelius who nodded unhappily.
"So the plan is all three of you turn animagus, Aurelius flies over carrying Wyatt and he drops you over the farmhouse. Wyatt glides in and searches the place for Calderon, he alerts Aurelius who alerts Hal who then retrieves Calderon and takes him outside where Scorpius is waiting. Scorpius then flies him back here, Aurelius also carries Wyatt back here so we can apparate him back to the base. While you guys do that, I break these enchantments so they'll think someone broke in to get Calderon and will be less likely to realize animagi were involved. Got it?"
There was a chorus of muttering and nods before the three animagi transformed while Varanian set to work on breaking the enchantments. Aurelius picked up Wyatt in his talons before taking off, Scorpius thought it would be less conspicuous if he stayed on the ground since Aurors of all people were likely to have seen death.
'Follow me from the ground,' Aurelius cawed at him and Scorpius found himself capable of understanding.
He nodded his head and started to gallop after the eagle, feeling rather awkward as he hadn't transformed for a while and it took a bit of time to get used to being in a different shape. The farmhouse came into view quickly, it looked very old and grubby with some of the windows missing glass. Scorpius knew from experience it could be nicer inside thanks to magic or even disguised to look like that but somehow he doubted it, he didn't think Hogan was that generous and it was a muggle dwelling or had been.
There was also a stable area attached to it which was what Aurelius made a beeline for, Scorpius followed and almost froze when he noticed an Auror walking around but relaxed upon recognizing Hal. Hal Davies was on their side after all, Varanian had likely already discussed the plan with him as he didn't seem surprised to see a Thestral and very deliberately ignored the Thestral heading into the stable. The Davies were family friends so Scorpius knew the older Hal, who was actually still a white soul it seemed.
"Go into that furthest corner and lie down, it's out of sight from the pathway we do our rounds of the building. Be quiet until you hear from one of us because other Aurors will be walking around and remember not to transform back to a human or you'll trigger the enchantments," Hal whispered and didn't bother waiting to see if obeyed as he hurried on by, presumably needing to keep up appearances lest the other Aurors become suspicious.
Scorpius did as told, attempting to find a comfortable position that was less likely to be seen. He flicked his Thestral eyes around, trying to see anything useful and caught a glimpse of a flying lizard before he drifted out of sight. Then nothing.
There was a painful silence as Scorpius lay there, seconds seeming to drag by as he listened to his heartbeat which sounded slower and more irregular as a Thestral for some reason. He waited and froze when he heard footsteps, what sounded like Louis Weasley's voice grumbling about his father to a voice that might've been his sister Victoire Lupin but they receded out of sight. He supposed Hal had warned him of other Aurors walking around.
'He's not here,' a voice cawed and Scorpius practically jumped, spinning his neck as he noticed Aurelius landing on the wall nearby with Wyatt back in his claws.
'What do you mean he's not here?' Scorpius questioned in confusion.
'I searched the whole place but its empty,' Wyatt insisted and Scorpius felt his heart sink to his hooves, 'Either Leebin already cracked and the Shadows took him already without the Aurors knowing, the Aurors moved him themselves and are just using this as a decoy, he managed to escape or I'm missing something but I don't think I am. The inside shows signs of usage but not recently, I don't think anyone's been inside in months. I don't know what happened but I know Calderon's not here now.'
'Dammit.'
'I know now let's get out of here, being held in an eagle's talons is not as comfortable as it sounds and it doesn't even sound very comfortable.'
'Sorry,' Aurelius cawed apologetically but didn't move as there were more footsteps, forcing them to wait a minute for them to pass, 'Alright, follow me again.'
Aurelius took off and Scorpius scrambled up on his four spindly legs to follow, racing back the way they'd come after the eagle. They didn't take the most direct route but rather going through as many of the tree thickets as possible, likely for coverage before they reached Varanian just as the sounds of an alarm started echoing from behind them. Varanian lowered the wand he'd been waving in surprise while the three transformed back.
"That was weird," Varanian said half to himself as he scowled, "It was almost as if I wasn't the only one working on them, "Those enchantments broke far faster and easier than I was expecting…"
"You just don't know your own power," Wyatt brushed it off and the metamorphmagi turned his attention to them.
"Where's Calderon?"
"I don't know but he's not there."
"Dammit," Varanian swore and rubbed his eyes, clearly sharing Scorpius' disappointment, "Well we can't worry about what happened to him now, we have to go."
He grabbed Scorpius, disapparating while the other two followed suit.
Carver jolted in shock as air erupted with the sound of alarm, he looked at his wand then at the alarm. He frowned, he'd hardly call breaking protective enchantments were hardly his strong point and they hadn't exactly been weakly done so why had they broken so easily? He was so distracted by his surprise he didn't notice Pyrrhus until he transformed back into a man beside him with his face twisted in a scowl.
"I thought the plan was-"
"Calderon's not there," Pyrrhus cut him off, looking rather irate.
"Are you sur-"
"Of course I'm sure! No one's been in there in months, they probably moved him the second Leebin was captured and kept this place as a decoy. That bloody Minister isn't as stupid as they give him credit for."
"Crap," Carver sighed heavily, Leebin's months of torture had all been in vain and Calderon was still locked away for no reason.
"Not the word I'd use," Pyrrhus pointed out testily, "Anyway we should get in touch soon but for now I should get back and you should get back to the Shadows before they worry, the Aurors will be here any second searching."
"Okay, I'll see you," Carver nodded and Pyrrhus turned on his heel, disapparating with a loud crack.
Carver readied to do the same before freezing as figures in dark robes emblazoned with the skeletal snake symbol that was the Shadow Mark, the Shadows had arrived. On the plus side, the Aurors would chalk the disturbance up to them but on the other side… it was bad. It would turn into a bloodbath and all for a man who wasn't even there, guilt twisted at his heart. And what if Leebin had caved because he'd told him too? He'd said the Aurors would not be hurt. Unless… Carver could just tell them he wasn't there, try get them to retreat.
"Hey!" Carver yelled and desperately as he rushed towards the Shadows but they didn't hear him over the sound of the alarms and then it was too late.
The six Aurors had taken up position guarding the front door while reinforcements had already arrived from behind the Shadows to take the from behind, the still arriving Shadows were still appearing so it didn't have as much impact as it should've – it still had enough for cloaked bodies to be scattered across the ground - and both were on more even footing. Now he just needed to find out which of the generically masked figures was leading the charge and get them to retreat, he observed for a second through the flash of spellfire shooting through the air and noticed one of the masked figures gesturing to a majority and yelling something Carver was too far away to hear.
It seemed to be orders for them to deal with the reinforcements while the rest of them advanced on the farmhouse still, it must have had its own set of protective enchantments on it as the spells were bouncing off it and leaving the battered building unharmed. He dove towards them, weaving his way through crossfire he was trapped in, ducking and dodging while throwing up shields left and right. He wasn't going to fight, he wouldn't be forgiven a second time for attacking the Shadows like he had for the attack on Hogwarts and he refused to harm the Aurors, he'd told Leebin and besides they were just good people trying to do the right thing just like he was. Except the ones who were Shadows.
"Hey!" Carver cried once more as he reached the one he thought was leading, "You need to call a retreat!"
"Carver?! What are you doing here?!" a painfully familiar voice gasped in shock and Carver tore off the mask in surprise to see James.
Part 4: Those Without Hope
"What am I doing here?! Why are you leading them?!" Carver shot out in shock.
"What? Why I shouldn't I be leading them? I've had some training and Stephan has faith that my leadership abilities will rival that of my father's," James told him rather proudly and Carver resisted rolling his eyes very hard, "Besides it was me who broke Leebin and got the location, why shouldn't I find Calderon too?"
"Because he's not here," Carver stated firmly while they both ducked a spell quickly, James frowned and he realized he needed to invent some excuse for his being there. With a sad pang he realizing just how much he didn't trust his best friend anymore, "Leebin told me the location yesterday because you know being nice to people can pay off but I was so mad at you that I didn't say, I checked it out myself and the building's empty. Hasn't been used in months, they probably moved Calderon as soon as Leebin was taken. They just left this place guarded as a decoy and a trap to kill some Shadows."
"Are you sure?"
"Of course I'm sure! Why would I lie? Don't you trust me?!" Carver demanded of him in frustration while James just stared, "People are dying James and three of those Aurors guarding those doors are your family, you have to fight through them and all you'll find is an empty building. It's all for nothing, it's all in vain, is that what you want?!"
"Are you sur-"
"I'M SURE!" Carver screamed at him before being distracted as someone else called his name.
He spun, spotting a Shadow over James' shoulder closer to the farmhouse wielding his sister's wand who had paused to look at him. Foolishly as a bulking Auror with a comically small wand send a barrage of stunners at her, Carver jabbed his wand at her to send her to the ground to suck below them as he raced towards Viola. Behind him he was relieved to hear James calling for a retreat, he waved his wand and caused the earth to rise up as a wall to take the pummeling from the spells fired at his sister while she was getting to her feet. He reached her faster and hauled her to her feet as the earth wall exploded, he noticed she was already sporting a myriad of cuts and a nasty burn. She just couldn't keep up with the rest of them, being spoiled through the training had caused her to walk out with none of the superior talents they gained for their lost childhood.
"Carver, why are you-"
"Get out! Get of here right now!" Carver barked at her as he shoved her away, not wanting her to be anywhere the fighting because he knew it would get her killed.
She backed away in surprise but nonetheless vanished with a Specter as were other retreating Soul Eaters, the numbers were thinning now but both Auror and Shadow bodies were sprawled on the ground as crimson tainted the viridian hills. He ducked instinctively, and quite correctly as it dodged another stunner from the bulky Auror, while turning back to the battle. The Auror screamed and crumpled in a heap as a vicious jet of purple struck him, clutching at his body from whatever internal damage the curse did. He had to do a double take when he noticed James was the caster, a hint of a sadistic smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
Carver averted his eyes sadly, wondering what had become of his friend. It was a good thing because his eyes had drifted back to the farmhouse, some Shadows must have snuck in the back as they were leaving now and catching the remaining Aurors off-guard. A young Auror who Carver thought had been a Slytherin prefect for a while was struck in the back by some explosive spell, he screamed in pain as he was flung aside. The Aurors quickly divided, Teddy and Victoire turning to take on the intruders while Louis and the remaining woman went to take on the few Shadows still outside.
Carver lurched towards them instinctively to help, slamming up a shield to protect Victoire from a black spell fired at her while she tried to hit them with a stunner. It didn't go unnoticed by Teddy who had to quickly dive out of the way to try avoid a fatal jet of green, he succeeded but lost his standing position. Carver slashed his wand through the air and yanked it, putting extreme focus into tearing the Shadows' wands from their grasp. They gasped in shock as their wands turned on them, a few tried to run but it didn't matter as Carver sent Killing Curses to end them all while Victoire turned back to check on the outer battle that was sounding quiet.
Hopefully, they were still enough in the farmhouse and obscured enough that the credit for those few deaths would go to the Lupins. He heard gasps, catching a glimpse of Victoire almost dropping her wand in surprise as she and Louis laid eyes on their cousin. James was still there and Carver had stupidly unmasked him, crap. He stopped to offer Teddy a hand, helping him to get back to his feet. The metamorphmagus gave him a grateful smile that Carver started to return weakly before pain exploded through him, ripping through his back, his insides and out his chest as a scarlet spray filled his own vision.
James was shocked to see Carver at the farmhouse and rather offended that he seemed to doubt his leadership ability, he didn't have much time to think about it though as he was still in the middle of a battle. Carver tore away from him before they say much more on the subject, rushing over to save one of the weaker Shadows. James reluctantly called for a retreat, he'd had some of them come up on the farmhouse from the other side so if by any chance Carver was wrong then they should be able to get Calderon anyway.
James knew he should leave as well, especially since Carver had pulled off his mask that had since been lost in the chaos of battle but… well he couldn't just leave without his friend. If Carver was sneaking around here by himself then he couldn't be sure he'd obey the retreat and he didn't want Carver to be killed or captured by Aurors even if he was mad at him. Bitterly he recalled his time as a prisoner of the Aurors, he shot a spell at the bulky Auror giving Carver trouble that made acid eat through your internal organs. He was satisfied when the Auror went down and resisted the urge to smile to himself as he fondly recalled using it on Leebin, he hoped he'd still be able to torture him when all this was over.
His team from the farmhouse seemed to be trying to attack the Aurors from behind, the last few guarding the place and took down a boy James was sure had been a scumbag Slytherin. With a jolt of panic, James realized three of them were his family: Teddy, Victoire and Louis. James made to call out to order them not to hurt them but the words caught in his throat, torn between wanting to protect them and his loyalty to the Soul Eaters. Should he even help them? They hadn't helped him in his time of need. Thankfully Carver also must've recognized them as he ran in to protect them, Teddy and Victoire turned to face the farmhouse team while Louis and the female Auror attacked the retreating Shadows.
"Aren't you coming?" one of the Soul Eaters hissed at him, distracting him from the farmhouse.
"Soon as I get Carver," James promised.
He quickly deflected a spell one of the Aurors from behind had cast, cowardly bastard trying to hit someone when their back was turned. The retreating Shadows did mean the backup Aurors would be there soon enough, some were staying seemingly not willing to leave without their leader which made his chest with a bit of pride. Or he supposed they could just be waiting for a good opportunity, not wanting to be caught by a curse while leaving. James violently slashed him with Acuta and sent him to the ground spluttering blood, the Soul Eater silenced him with a Killing Curse.
He heard a gasp and spun back to the farmhouse, Louis and Victoire had seen him. Their jaws dropped and Victoire almost dropped her wand in shock, it seemed his secret was out but they made no move to attack him so he could probably still leave unscathed. He knew he should feel more concerned than he did but… well he wasn't ashamed of his allegiance. Carver was helping Teddy to his feet, at least his family was alive and his Shadows must've retreated. Just as James took a spit second to relax, the female Auror turned on Carver.
Time to slow as she jabbed her wand violently at his back in panic, Carver's perfect body lurched in the air. He screamed in pain as blood erupted from his back and chest as if he'd just been stabbed clean through. James could only watch him fall helplessly, shock consuming all sound and thought. Carver fell onto his chest and he didn't get up, tears filled his eyes as grief tore through his insides. Dead. Carver was dead.
"You killed him," James said accusingly to the female Auror, ignoring his family calling his name as his gaze focused on her murderously. Grief boiled into anger and every fiber of his body started to tremble with rage, "You killed him! YOU KILLED MY BEST FRIEND!"
"Ja-"
"AVADA KEDAVRA!"
James jabbed his wand at the female Auror, his aim straight and steady. For the first time, a jet of death left his wand and luminous green filled his vision while the rush of power drowned his ears. This time it happened too fast. The female Auror was taken too off-guard to react but Louis wasn't, he threw himself in front of Carver's killer. James' curse struck his cousin and Louis' corpse thumped lifelessly to the ground, his eyes locking sightlessly with his own. James staggered back in shock, in horror at what he'd done.
He'd killed his cousin. He'd killed his own cousin. The female Auror threw herself at his body, sobbing and James could only step back in a daze as he didn't feel capable of taking his eyes off what he'd done. He felt one of his Soul Eaters clap their hand on his shoulder and the Specters took them away.
Carver cried out in pain as he fell back to the grass with a soft thud, he tried to breathe but blood spluttered out instead. He felt a fear like none other he'd experienced so far sending a cold chill through him, this couldn't be it. He couldn't die, he didn't want to die. Not now, not like this. He still had so much to do, he had to save Leebin and Antonius and stop the war, stop the Shadow Master, help his family. He had so much to do, this couldn't be it.
"Healers are on their way," Teddy offered as he crouched beside him, looking concerned while Carver tried to focus through the pain, "Try to hold on, okay?"
"L-Leebin's-s… a-at a f-farm n-near W-With-Witheridge…" Carver choked out and gripped Teddy's hand to stop him going to stand as he was reacting to… whatever was happening out there, "M-Med-Meadow D-Downs… S-S-Sav-Save h-him pl-pl-please… I pr-pr- I promised… H-Hur-Hurry…"
"Okay," Teddy promised gently and Carver tried to tell him more, to tell him all he knew, to pass on his knowledge but he choked out more blood. It hurt to even try, "Save your strength, Healers are coming."
Carver would've nodded if he'd risk movement, his vison was failing him and squeezed Teddy's hand tightly to assure himself he was there. He wouldn't last until the Healers got there though, he could feel himself fading. He felt tears pricking his eyes pathetically, he didn't want to die. He wanted to live, he had so much to live for. There was still so much to do, so much to fix, so much to make right. Everything was unfinished. He'd failed.
He didn't want to die, at least couldn't he see his family again? All million of his siblings, try connect with his mother one last time. Whoever had said dying was like falling asleep - that it was peaceful - had lied to him. It hurt. It hurt to die. Why was he even dying? What had he even done to deserve this? He'd been bad in the past he knew but he'd been trying. He'd tried to do the right thing, he tried to be a better person. Didn't that matter? Didn't that count for something? Nothing he ever did had even mattered at all.
"I-I tr-tried…" Carver sobbed brokenly with his last breath, his voice fading away as he died.
James staggered down the steps, still feeling raw from the loss of Carver and Louis. Craving the solitude away from the rest of the Soul Eaters, except for the one person he still wanted to speak to. It was strange finding the room so empty but once they got the location there was no point in continuing to torture him so no torturer or Healer was necessary, they'd be shipped back to… wherever the hell they came from.
He glanced at Leebin, he'd been left alone and for the first time since his capture he was able to rest. Thinking of what Carver had said to him and Leebin, he truly looked. He could've been an Inferi or a corpse, his skin was completely discolored from bruises. James approached, Leebin's emaciated frame was coiled protectively in the fetal position or as much as his broken limbs could allow. James sat beside him and ran his hand over the mutilated flesh gently, a map of the wounds James had caused or had told others to do.
James didn't find himself repulsed however and still attracted to him, on the contrary actually he was quite satisfied by the damage he'd inflicted and liked the texture. He didn't feel a flicker of guilt or a shred of remorse, he didn't understand why he should. Leebin had brought this upon himself, he deserved it and could've stopped it at any time by cooperating anyway. James was in the right here, he knew he was. He ran his hand through Leebin's hair which made him scowl, now that did bother him. It was no longer soft as he preferred but filthy, a tangled mess matted with dirt and blood. He liked Leebin's ear though, the pieces he'd cut out around the edges made it feel like a kind of jagged star.
He moved his hand away, flicking his eyes to Leebin's face but the man hadn't stirred. He was still alive, his gentle breaths were rattily but exhaustion continued to claim him. James felt a spark of anger flicker back inside him, Leebin was sleeping while his best friend and cousin had died, died because he was so much of a coward he'd told them where Calderon was except Calderon wasn't even there! He tried very hard to snuff out that spark though, he wanted to talk to Leebin and Carver… Carver had wanted him to be nicer to his prisoner. James forced himself to swallow his rage and withdrew the canteen he'd proud, quickly charming some water to fill it. Normal, non-scalding refreshing water like what Carver had given him.
"Leebin?" James prompted but the man didn't move, James took his shoulder gently and shook it, "Leebin? Wake up."
Leebin continued to ignore him and James felt another jolt of anger, he was being nice to Leebin and was being ignored? He stood up and angrily kicked at Leebin's already broken ribs, Leebin startled awake then in panic and pain.
"WAKE UP!" James roared at him and Leebin quailed in terror, "I'm trying to be nice to you, you ungrateful son of a bitch!"
"I'm sorry?" Leebin croaked in confusion and James took a deep breath to try calm himself before sitting back down.
"Do you want some water?" James offered and lifted the canteen, Leebin flinched fearfully, "Its regular water, it's not going to scald you."
"N-No," Leebin quivered, raised his head just enough to shake it which infuriated James to no end.
"I'm trying to be nice to you, take the water!"
James raged grabbed Leebin's hair and yanked it roughly, lifting his head better so he could shove the nozzle of the canteen into his mouth to force the water down his throat. Leebin choked on the water but James didn't stop until it was all gone, he smacked him in the face with the metallic container before throwing the spluttering Leebin back to the ground.
"When I'm trying to be nice to you, you let me be nice to you dammit!" James spat at him angrily, "I could be cruel to you know?! I have every right to be angry with you for telling me the location!"
"You're mad I told you what you wanted to know?" Leebin mused, flicking his bloodshot eyes in his direction with a lack of understanding clear in his expression.
"Yes! Because we went there and Carver was killed! He was killed, Leebin! Dead! I watched my best friend die!" James screamed at him, tears flying wildly from his eyes and Leebin did have the decency to look saddened by the news, "And that's on you! You and that bitch who murdered him! So I could be mean to you but I'm not because Carver didn't want that so stop being so damn difficult!"
"What do you actually want from me?" Leebin croaked, looking at a loss and James took another breath, fingering Leebin's wedding ring.
"After Carver… After Carver died, I tried to avenge him," James admitted, forcing the surreal words out and biting back more tears, "I fired the Killing Curse for the first time at her but my cousin… my cousin jumped in the way, he saved her, that woman. But he got struck by the curse instead. I killed my own cousin, I killed Louis. And I feel terrible, really, I never wanted him to get hurt let alone dead. I never had anything against Louis. But… another part of me feels like it was justified, I mean it's not my fault that he got in the way, how was I ever supposed to predict that or stop that? And maybe it's his fault anyway for being on the wrong side.
"It has made me think a lot about my family right now. Most of them are on the wrong side and I'm a Soul Eater, I want the world to change, I want the Shadow Master. But they don't and I don't think many of them are going to change, if they are against us then… well maybe they deserve to die. The Soul Eaters have killed some of my family already and I kind of feel it's justified, they could kill more and I'd feel it's justified still. If they're not going to be part of the new world then they shouldn't get to live in it, it's sad but it's true and it makes me feel bad. So then there's the other part of me again that wonders whether the Shadows are right after all, is it really worth the new world if my family has to die? But then it's not like my family ever really care about me anyway, the Soul Eaters make me feel like I belong. It's been brought to my attention though that I might not always think about things clearly, would my family care if I turned back to their side? Carver said he was a Shadow but… I don't know, I don't think he is-" James forced down a sob as he had to correct himself, "Was into their beliefs as much as he said he was. And he died trying to help them."
"I don't know, Leebin, I really don't know. I don't know what to think or what to do or who to turn to, I don't even know what's right or wrong or if I'm bad or good for killing my cousin. I don't know and it scares me," James explained and sighed as he glanced at Leebin, "And I know you wouldn't know that because you're nothing but I just wanted to know… Do you remember before? Do you remember when you first captured and… and you said there was still hope for me?"
"I remember," Leebin admitted.
"Do you still think that there's hope for me?" James queried and to his surprise Leebin laughed, an empty, bitter, joyless laugh.
"You ask me that after everything you've done to me?!" Leebin questioned of him as if it dumbfounded him.
"Well, yes."
"No, James, I don't think there's any hope for you! You're a monster, you're a sick, twisted bastard and I hope you die!" Leebin yelled at him, his voice cracking at the end as if he knew he'd pay for saying it and he was right.
"CRUCIO!" James cried furiously as he leapt to his feet and jabbed his wand at Leebin who again became a target for his anger, how dare he say that to him?! "CRUCIO! CRUCIO! CRUCIO! CRUCIO! CRUCIO!"
Leebin screamed as his broken body contorted aggravating his physical injuries. James was glad, he hoped it hurt, he wanted it to hurt. Leebin's screaming intensified as James willed unbearable agony upon him, watching his body twisting painfully without remorse.
"CRUCIO! CRUCIO! CRUCIO! CRUCIO! CRUCIO!"
Without warning James felt his wand ripped from his fingers, it flew back and clattered onto the ground. James spun to the doorway in shock, his eyes only widening further when he saw Harry Potter was the one standing there with a handful of Aurors behind him. Apparently they'd found their location. His own father had disarmed him, he saw a tear roll down his father's face and the hurt in his eyes which caused anger to tear at his heard again. Why could his father just never be proud of him? James summoned his wand to his hand with wandless magic and disapparated, there was no hope for him here. He'd burned that bridge.