Parts (71-72)
VI
Chapter 19
A New Age
Part 1: Mourning Comes
Rojer stalked very unhappily through the halls at the St Mungo's hospital with his crippled leg very much paining him, glaring at everyone who dared cross his line of sight. He didn't like being woken up and he didn't like hospitals, reminded him too much of the 'experiments' the Nazis had done to him and more recently of Rayan's ill health. He found both thoughts equally uncomfortable, sooner he found this stupid Alaric guy the better. It was too early in the day to be dealing with all this soul crap, he just wanted to go back to sleep.
He came to a halt outside of the private room that he'd been told the Minister was in, least he thought so. It was also too early to have to read English, it was a stupid languages. Languages were stupid in general, he didn't see why the world couldn't just pick a language and stick to it - like the birds had - instead of having to learn a million other ones, no one ever bothered to learn his language.
He didn't bother to knock before going in, he'd been told the men was unconscious so hadn't thought he'd get a reply anyway. He just wanted to get this over and done with. He was annoyed to find the Minister wasn't actually alone, there was a woman sitting by his bedside. Urgh, why did people always have to be in the way?
"Go away," Rojer told her irritably as he stalked around to the other side of the sleeping man, thanks to the Eye of the Thestral potion recognizing the wizard's magic was looking malformed and small. Something the woman lacked completely, she was a muggle.
"Who are you?" the woman questioned, seeming to share his mixture of fear and irritability.
"Who are you?" Rojer countered.
"My name is Claudia, I'm a friend of his," she provided and looked at him expectantly.
"Well good for you, I wish to save his soul so go away now. You are in way."
"Save his soul? What?" Claudia wondered in confusion.
"Just go," Rojer complained at her with a roll of his eyes, he couldn't be bothered to explain it, "Wait outside of the door, go to the toilet room, I do not care but just go away for the minute so I can help him."
"Well... Um... Ok- Okay, I'll just... wait outside then," Claudia stammered out, standing and Rojer gestured to the door without bothering to look at her because looking at people made him feel nervous.
"Buh-bye," Rojer offered as she left, hearing the door click shut behind her.
Rojer sighed and rubbed his eyes tiredly before taking out the container he'd put Alaric's Magic in, he opened it and dumped it out into the air. Since souls existed mostly on another plane of existence, gravity didn't really effect it do it just hovered there usefully.
He took out his wand, tracing the alchemical symbol for soul to focus his magic and allow him access to it so he could levitate the soul segment towards the chunk still in Alaric's soul. He shifted the angle like it were a puzzle piece so it would slot back in as seamlessly as possible, Alaric's body arched and he gasped as the magic rejoined but Rojer ignored it as he focused on restoring the soul. Naturally, the soul tried to repair itself but lacked the ability to do so properly. He focused his magic, helping the soul restore itself to minimize the scarring as much as possible.
"There, your soul is has been restored," Rojer commented when he was done, pocketing his wand and turning to leave while Alaric just lay there breathing heavily, "Have a good life."
"Wait! What did- I feel- You- You saved my soul..? The magic..?" Alaric stammered out as he sat up, staring after him and still looking quite ill but Rojer figured it likely had a secondary cause since he was improved from being catatonic anyway.
"Yes, I already say this," Rojer stated irritably and went to leave again.
"Wait!" Alaric cried once more and Rojer rolled his eyes in annoyance again, couldn't he be allowed to leave in peace? He'd only restored his soul, "How did you even do that? Who are you? How can I thank me?"
"With Alchemy, I am a Alchemist and if you have want to thank me then leave me alone," Rojer answered in annoyance and Alaric seemed to consider this.
"That's all you want?" Alaric wondered and Rojer considered this for s moment before outright denying it as he thought of protecting Scorpius, he didn't seem to understand what he'd done. Aside from the immorality of it, and the danger to his own life, he could potentially go to jail for it if it was found out.
"Scorpius Malfoy and Antonius Ashain stopped this Shadow Master from destroying all of Londyn, unless they have camed back," Rojer stated and saw admittedly well veiled surprise flickering in the man's eyes, "Leave them alone. Do not have the Ministry people to question and hassle them, just leave them. The truth is theirs not yours, leave them alone. This is what I want."
"Okay, I'll make sure the Aurors don't question them," Alaric agreed cautiously, Rojer inclined his head in acknowledgement before heading for the door and opening it, "Thank you."
Rojer pretended he hadn't heard as he left, he never knew what you were supposed to say to that.
"Molly?" Tobias Latimer called as he knocked on the door to her room, eager to tell her the good news, "Can I come in?"
"Yeah," Molly confirmed and he went in, seeing her sitting cross-legged on her bed holding a crystal ball.
"Scorpius is okay," Latimer told her, deciding to just put her out of her misery, "He and Antonius turned up in Hogwarts, we don't know the details but he's alright. Varanian still thinks they were involved in the Shadow Master's attack, must've been gone by the time we got there though. Wyatt says he could've Thestral'd away, or he just realized the anti-apparation wards were broken faster than we did and apparated but the point is he's alright."
"Except he's not," Molly said with a scowl, shaking her head, "Scorpius is not okay."
"But he is back in Hogwarts, its-"
"Being back in Hogwarts doesn't make him okay," Molly insisted, looking saddened, "I guess at least it means he isn't the one who died which is good but… I still have a bad feeling, I still know that something isn't right with."
"Maybe you're just being paranoid," Latimer offered as he went over to sit on the bed beside, "It's been a tough few days trying to find him, we're all stressed and haven't had much sleep. Maybe it's just Corin you're getting death vibes from or the fact that Scorpius has an injured shoulder even if it's not life threatening."
"I don't think so. I know crap sometimes, comes with being a Seer," Molly pointed and rubbed her eyes, she hadn't slept much since Scorpius had gone missing a few days ago. Well none of them had much really, she tended to look tired even before that though, "We don't know what happened yet, someone died and something is wrong with Scorpius."
"There was no bodies."
"There was no Scorpius either."
"Well sleep on it, maybe your mind is just shot because you're tired," Latimer offered trying to be comforting as he clapped her on the shoulder and stood to go let her rest, get a nap himself, "If there's anything wrong with him then I'm sure Marigold will catch it and fix him up, Scorpius will be fine."
"Maybe," Molly muttered and Latimer turned to leave, unsure of what else he could say and he did genuinely think this was the kind of thing she just needed to sleep on.
"Just get some sleep, Molly."
"Yeah because sleep is fun," Molly muttered unhappily, causing him to pause in leaving to look at his friend with concern.
"You aren't still getting those nightmares about Leebin, are you? He was saved… Sort of."
"Sort of…" Molly said and sighed once more as she turned to him, biting her lip with a look of somewhat guilt, "Okay Lat, I kind of… left out a bit of those nightmares."
"Well that's… okay?" Latimer offered, thrown off by her look of guilt, "You're not obligated to tell me everything about your dreams."
"I feel like I should tell you this though," Molly admitted and Latimer leaned back against the wall to listen, "The dreams weren't always about Leebin, they were about me being tortured by my father's killer. I think I kept seeing him because we'll share a similar fate, that we'd both be tortured and in the end we'd both tell the Shadows in the end."
"Not all your dreams are Seer dreams, there's no reason to assume it'll happen. If anything its less likely to happen, seeing those horrible things happening to him it's natural for you to start thinking about yourself being in the same situation. I think."
"I don't think so," Molly said with a shake of her head, "I'm going to be captured and I'm going to betray us."
"Well maybe we can stop it-"
"Maybe we can but I really doubt it. The reason I'm telling you is because when it does happen-"
"If it does happen," Latimer corrected, he was trying very hard to be optimistic.
"If it does happen then, it's important that you don't tell Scorpius," Molly told him seriously, "If you do he'll come after me but he can't do that, he has better things to do. He needs to stay in Hogwarts not waste time coming for me."
"Like what?" Latimer wondered in confusion, "A minute ago you thought there was something wrong with him."
"There is something wrong with him," Molly insisted anxiously, "But he needs to complete his last year of Hogwarts, as long as he's there the Blood Rune protection is still in place and the Shadow Master can't attack with the full force of their army and won't be able to take Hogwarts. If he leaves Hogwarts will fall."
"Well he'll have to leave at some point."
"I know but I only know what I'm seeing now and this is it. So when I get captured, don't let him know alright?"
"Alright," Latimer agreed with a heavy sigh, mostly just to satisfy her, "But we're not just going to let you get taken, the future can be changed if what you saw is even the future. And when the war ends without you being tortured, you owe me a burger."
"Well I hope you're right, I'd love to be wrong for once," Molly offered with a sad smile, "Night Lat."
Atticus Ashain apparated onto the once familiar street, heaving a sigh as he approached the once familiar door and knocked firmly. He heard sounds of movement from inside before the door opened a crack, held by a chain before it was unlatched and opened completely. He was now standing face to face with his ex-wife, Skye.
"Well thank you for not teleporting in or destroying my door," Skye commented neutrally and he resisted the urge to correct her that it was called apparating, he really didn't care anymore and just wanted to get this over with.
"I just came to tell you that Antonius is safe now," Atticus told her, seeing her eyes widen in surprise before her face softened in relief, "He's home and he's going to be alright, one of his kidnappers is dead and the other is in the wind. I thought you had the right to know."
"Thank you, I'm glad to hear that," Skye said gratefully, letting out a relieved breath before peering around him, looking slightly confused, "Where is he? And Cassia?"
"I didn't bring them," Atticus admitted, slightly surprised, "Why? Did you want to see them?"
"Yeah," Skye muttered and shifted uncomfortably, "I wanted… wanted to apologize."
"Well I didn't bring them," Atticus confirmed and decided pointing out neither child wanting to see her right now unnecessary.
"I've been thinking about things a lot lately and… and I was wrong, I shouldn't have tried to run from magic or from my family. I want to be part of their lives again, of your life, I want us to be a family again," Skye told him and leaned forward as if to kiss him, he recoiled and pushed her away gently which seemed to surprise her, "Am I moving too fast? Don't you want this?"
"No, Skye! No I don't," Atticus said firmly, somewhat surprised himself by how much he meant it, "I don't love you anymore, you broke my heart and you broke our children's hearts. I know I screwed up too, I know I've been at fault and for that I'm sorry but it doesn't change anything. You left me, you left our kids crying in the street and you sold Antonius out to psychos who wanted to destroy his soul. Do you even get that, Skye? Our son could've died, our ten year old son. I can't forgive you and I don't love you, I certainly don't want to be with you. It's up to the kids if they want to see you anymore or right now but I'm not leaving you alone with them after last time and after last time, I wouldn't get my hopes up because you've hurt them real bad and it'll take time for them to forgive you."
"But I-"
"I really don't care anymore," Atticus cut her off truthfully, stepping away as she looked upset, "Goodbye Skye."
On that note, he disapparated. He didn't want to see her anymore and if that made him a horrible person then he'd just have to be a horrible person, he just couldn't. Maybe a year ago he'd have jumped for joy and taken her back with open arms but he couldn't do that now, he was finally over her. He knew he was pretty far from perfect and knew he was hardly a great or even a good father but he'd never sold his kids out and he'd never turned his back on them - nor would he ever - which was more than he could say for Skye. He didn't even remember why he loved her in the first place, because she'd looked at him twice? Well he didn't care anymore, love was stupid and only existed in stories, certainly not for Ashains. Family was real though, family was what mattered and he'd happily die alone for the sake of his children's wellbeing.
He sighed as he paced around the rubble of his childhood home, waiting on the second person he wanted to see that night. He was still anxious to get back to Hogwarts though, he was trying to overcome his paranoia over letting his children leave his sight but he still didn't like to be gone for long. He heard a crack and spun readily to see his brother.
"What's up? What's wrong?" Brutus questioned immediately, looking rather concerned.
"Antonius told me what you did," Atticus pointed out as he approached the Shadow, mustering as much of a smile as I could, "I just… I wanted to thank you for keeping your promise and bringing my son home safely."
"Of course I did, I promised didn't I?" Brutus stated and Atticus held out his hand.
"Still, thank you."
"Anytime," Brutus muttered as he took his hand, Atticus pulled him into a hug which seemed to clearly surprise Brutus before he hugged him back, "Family is still important to me, you know?"
"I know," Atticus confirmed as he pulled away, "Makes me wonder why you're even doing this, look me in the eye and tell me you're actually glad you didn't end up taking London. Come on, just stop, Harry would pardon you in a second for all the information you have. You and your kids could have a fresh start and this war could end."
"I'm just glad the woman I love and my nephew got out of there alive, it doesn't change my beliefs or the side I'm on," Brutus told him firmly and shifted uncomfortably, "I'll see you, Atty."
"Bye," Atticus muttered as Brutus disapparated in the blink of an eye, he sighed sadly.
The next few days passed for Scorpius in a strange kind of blur, thankfully Marigold thought rest was superior to having to talk much about what happened and gave him something to help him sleep. He slept in a blissful void until the next day, upon awakening finding Martha sleeping in the bed beside him. He was glad she'd gotten back to Hogwarts alright, he hadn't exactly had a chance to make sure she made it back with Brutus. He didn't have a chance to ask her how it had gone with the Scepter as she was out cold, she'd been found beaten up and unconscious on the streets of London according to Marigold. She hadn't woken up yet.
His friends visited him of course, bearing terrible news. He didn't remember who had told him first but Corin was dead, so was Florian and while he wouldn't mourn the latter the deaths were apparently connected somehow. He was promised more details when he got out of the Hospital Wing just as he needed to fill them in as well, Marigold hovering around didn't make for the most ideal environment to talk. He kept expecting to be questioned about what had happened but he found himself left alone, he was surprised but glad as he'd much rather wallow in his thoughts. Corin's death came as a shock, he had thought his friends were all safe and sound. On top of Calderon's… temporary state of death, it hurt even though he hadn't been as close to Corin as some of the others. Orous and Vern had to take their OWLs while mourning Corin, who would never get to take his. Scorpius felt pretty miserable about it all, not made any better by being stuck confined to a hospital bed.
"When can I leave?" Scorpius complained of Marigold after a few days, "I feel fine."
"I just want to keep an eye on your shoulder," Marigold insisted, gesturing to Scorpius' arm which was still in a sling. It was the one Calderon had zapped, his burns had been healed but not that, "I don't know what spell it was and it doesn't respond well to healing magic, the best case scenario is you walk away with some nasty scarring and the worst is that I can't repair the underlying muscle damage even slightly so you lose some mobility and function in that arm. If you're fine with that then you can go, if you do want to still be able to use your arm properly then stop complaining. I can't heal you if you're not here."
"Fine," Scorpius sighed heavily and Marigold nodded in satisfaction before retreating back to his office with his arms full of healing books.
"Am I back in Hogwarts?" Martha mumbled sleepily and Scorpius glanced at her in shock, seeing her eyes flickering open weakly for the first time since she'd been brought back.
"Yeah," Scorpius confirmed and her cloudy gray eyes gravitated towards him, she attempted a weak smile, "How are you feeling?"
"Tired. And kind of like someone lit my brain on fire."
"You've been unconscious for days."
"I have?" Martha wondered in surprise and he nodded, "Huh, well it doesn't feel like that."
"What even happened to you? Did you destroy the Scepter?"
"Jack/One attacked me but I still managed to toss the Scepter into the Veil, it's gone now."
"Good," Scorpius breathed a sigh of relief that it was indeed destroyed, at least it wasn't a complete waste. Martha had actually been doing something useful while he'd been failing miserably, she'd really came through for them, "Thank you, Martha, really you were great those few days and I don't think I could've done it without you."
"It was nothing," Martha gave a half shrug, "Least I could do considering I tried to kill you and all, besides this is what soldiers do."
"So why did-"
"You're awake!" Marigold exclaimed as he left his office, catching sight of Martha and whipping out his wand to fuss over her, "Do you remember what happened?"
"No, I have no idea…" Martha lied rather convincingly and Scorpius looked away, knowing they couldn't talk with Marigold there.
"Goodnight," Brutus whispered to the half-sleeping toddlers, kissing each on the forehead and tucking them each in turn.
"Is Mama gon say g'nigh?" Omega wondered sleepily and Brutus tensed slightly as he finished tucking in the younger of the twins.
"Maybe later, she's very busy."
"I like when Mama an' Dada se'g'night," Lazarus added as Brutus started tucking him in instead.
"Mama and Dada like when they say goodnight to you too," Brutus assured them, feeling somewhat bad for the times one or both of them were too busy and making a mental note to try talking to Sal again because spending all her time staring at her dead twin was unhealthy and bad in pretty much every way, "Sleep tight."
"Nigh night," the boys chorused with yawns as he left them, closing the door behind him.
"Bed soon for you too, okay?" Brutus commented to Vathan as he strode back into the living area where his ward was playing with some stuffed animals.
"Okay," Vathan nodded as Brutus made to walk by him, "Hey Brutus?"
"Yes?" Brutus wondered and paused to glance at the five year old orphan, already suspecting what he was going to say.
"Did they find my brother yet?"
"Not yet," Brutus admitted reluctantly and the boy sighed sadly, he put his hand gently on the child's shoulder, "Hey, they're still looking."
"They've been looking forever," Vathan pointed out unhappily, "You know I'm not stupid, Brutus, if Oathan died then just tell me he died. I hate to not know."
"He's not dead, I'd tell you if he was."
"But I heard Florian is dead."
"He is then after he died the Aurors took him and when we tried to get him back… He got away," Brutus offered and Vathan looked at him with an expression rather like his father, somewhere between puzzlement and askance, "We don't know what happened either, anyone there was either dead or asleep at the time so we can't ask them where Oathan went or what happened to him."
"If you don't know what happened then maybe he is dead?" Vathan wondered, his eyes watering.
"Maybe but its very unlikely," Brutus assured him and knelt to the boy's level, causing Vathan to shift his gaze back to him, "Vathan, when you look for someone you don't stop until you find them. Dead or alive, he's not dead until I see a body. What is with you thinking him being dead anyway?"
"I'm scared if we don't find him when we take England he'll be killed by accident," Vathan told him quietly, "I know the Inferis are an important part of our army and the consequest of the world but I don't like them and I don't want Oathan to end up like of thems."
"He won't. I promise," Brutus said seriously and Vathan nodded before hugging him, he hugged the boy back tightly.
"Thank Brutus," Vathan offered as he pulled away, giving him a faint smile, "You are really great to me."
"You're a good kid," Brutus clapped him on the shoulder, "And I expect you to be in bed by the time I get back, if you're still awake you may get a story."
"Okay," Vathan smiled which Brutus returned before summoning a Specter to transport him to Sal.
Of all the land they controlled, Sal was hanging out in a small cave with gritty brown walls. In the center on a pedestal of rock lay Tommy's body, encased in magical crystal that prevented decay. Brutus couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness every time he saw him, he had liked the kid. Sal was sitting on a ledge of rock in the corner just as she was all of the time except for the brief periods of time he convinced her to leave to do things like sleep, her knees hugged up to her chest and her bagged eyes staring at her twin brother's body.
"Sal?" Brutus prompted as he approached her, her eyes rolled to him briefly to acknowledge his presence but she didn't move. He debated how to go about it this time, "Your sons miss you, you know? It'd be great if you went to say goodnight to them."
"Tell them I'll be there soon," Sal brushed it off, "Just- Just after Tommy wakes up, I've told you before Brutus that I need to be here for when he wakes up."
"Sal, it's been weeks," Brutus said gently as he reached her, sitting down beside her, "I don't think he's going to wake up."
"He will," Sal insisted through gritted teeth, "I know he will, if I can do it so can he."
"He's dead."
"Yeah well so was I but I got better," Sal snapped, throwing him a dark look, "And I was dead. I know I was, I was in a field – and it looked a lot the one that I first saw the sheep in – except it was white, I even thought I saw Tommy for a second but then he was gone. I knew I wasn't alive anymore, there was a light and no shadows and I couldn't feel the Specters connected to me anymore. I tried to go towards the light I felt as if a hand was grabbing me, stopping me from going and it pulled me back. Then I was back outside London, I saw you cradling my corpse and I panicked for a second because I didn't want to be a ghost and I don't get why I would be because I'm not scared to die, I wasn't afraid of the light but then the tugging feeling pulled me back into my body and I was alive, I could breathe and feel the cold, that pain from my wounds. Pain does actually let you know you're alive. I was straight up dead, Brutus, if I could come back from it then so can Tommy."
"Maybe he can't, maybe whatever reason you had for reviving applied only to you."
"Well it wasn't bloody divine intervention like Cel thinks, I'm not an angel."
"I didn't say it was but it could still be something that only applied to you not him, you did live a good chunk of your life without him," Brutus pointed out, "Your injuries were pretty much exactly the same as his minus fatal damage to his heart, I figure you had the same but it just healed and you came back but he didn't."
"I healed his heart!" Sal protested, "I don't know why he's not coming back."
"Because he's dead.
"Well I don't want him to be dead!" Sal cried and lightning flashed around the room, Brutus wasn't fazed though as he had lived around for a long time by this point. Instead he put his arm around her.
"I know," Brutus whispered gently and started rubbing soothing circles onto her back as she started crying and buried her head into his shoulder, it started raining and the room shook along with the lightning but he did his best to ignore that as he held her close.
"I don't even know why, Brutus," Sal sobbed while the room stopped shaking but the rain started changing colors, "He was always more powerful than me, why did I come back but not him? Why did he even do that?! For the freaking Scepter I don't even need that much anymore and could recreate from having my ancestor's notes?!"
"I don't know," Brutus offered, deciding it was unnecessary to point out it was probably to stop her from taking over the world, "But I do know you can't sit around staring at his body, you need to let him go and let him have a proper burial."
"NO! I'm not letting him go!" Sal yelled determinedly, causing the world to tremble again while Brutus panicked at having said the wrong thing and upset her again, "What if he tries to revive and his body is gone or buried and-"
"Okay so don't bury him but don't watch him constantly!" Brutus protested desperately and the shaking ceased once more, "Destroying your health isn't helping him, you have a husband and two sons who love you and worry about you."
"I do?" Sal wondered and hugged him tighter, seemingly making an effort to quell her magic and after a minute the lightning and quake stopped but the color-changing rain remained, "Can't make that rain stop, sorry."
"I don't mind, I still love you," Brutus offered holding her closer and ignoring the fact he was getting soaked, her death had really terrified him and he was still just relieved she was alive. As he had told his brother, he was just glad she and Antonius were alright but unfortunately Tommy hadn't been so lucky, "Tommy wouldn't mind, he used to like the rain. And colors."
"He did," Sal sniffed and the rain intensified a bit but she did seem to be calming down, he stroked her damp hair lovingly and realized he missed the smell of her perfume, "Did you really just call yourself my husband just now? Usually you just say I don't understand marriage and declaring ourselves married is not how it works."
"Well it's not but I don't care about that," Brutus admitted, "Besides we run like ten countries now, you are the law on that stuff."
"I do need to run those countries," Sal mused as if she was only just remembering that now, "And take the rest of the world, the longer I wait the longer the rest of the world has to conspire against us, the US already want to launch missile strikes against us. Even if he wanted me to die, I don't think Tommy would've wanted the rest if the innocent people in my lands to die from said attacks."
"Yeah," Brutus mumbled, still feeling rather indifferent at best to the conquering the rest of the world plan, "But just focus on yourself for now, you need to start eating and sleeping again - let's not push this immortality thing – and see our kids."
"I love our kids," Sal said as she pulled away cautiously, wiping the tears from our eyes and glancing at her brother's body, "If we can have another kid, we're naming him Tommy. Or Tommya I guess if we have a girl, I actually like that. If we have a girl who doesn't die- Do you think Lazarus and Omega inherited my immortality? Or just one? Neither?"
"I don't know and it's not something I want to test," Brutus stated seriously and Sal nodded in agreement, still not looking away from Tommy. He squeezed her hand gently, "Come on, if we hurry you can say goodnight to them. They'd like that."
"Okay," Sal muttered with a nod, "But- But have someone stay here? Someone trustworthy, you know, in case he wakes up I don't want him to be alone."
"I'll get it done, just come home now."
"Alright."
Part 2: No Place Like Home
Despite taking much longer then him to wake up, Martha was actually released sooner than Scorpius as she didn't have any more serious injuries like he did. He was finally released though albeit under strict orders about his arm which was kept in sling still, he also had to return frequently for Marigold to check on it. As it was his wand arm, Scorpius was limited in what he could do in his classes which were winding down for the year anyway and Care of Magical Creatures was cancelled completely as Professor Hagrid was in no state to teach in his grief over his son. Corin's body had been taken to France though so his mother could bury him, Scorpius thought he'd like that. He always gone on about how beautiful Beauxbatons was and all, he'd only preferred Hogwarts because it was where his friends were.
As Orous and Vern were taking their OWLs that week, Scorpius waited until the weekend before gathering them up to fill each other in the happenings to try not mess them up anymore than they already were taking the tests so soon after Corin's death. So he gathered up Albus, Abby, Rose, Michael, Maurice, Orous, Vern, Antonius – along with his dog, Hope - and Cassia to the Room That Doesn't Exist, he also invited Martha to join them as she had her side of the story to tell as well and she was part of this. Despite having told his friends this beforehand, there were some glares directed her way from the others although no one said anything.
He filled them in on what had happened on his end first, leaving out only about Calderon's soul being latched to his and that entire conversation with Rojer after Antonius passed out because he didn't feel like sharing that or dealing with their reactions, he also didn't go into detail about saving Leebin because that seemed too personal and unnecessary. Martha told them about her conflict with Jack, Antonius hesitantly talked about his abduction – much to Cassia's anger upon hearing of Skye's involvement – seeming rather ashamed about it all and finally the others - least those who'd been there – recounted events with Florian leading to Corin's death and the aftermath where Potter planned the evacuation.
"Wait, what about Oathan then?" Martha asked in confusion when they were done, clearly having expected him to be mentioned post-arrest, "Didn't your Gray take him?"
"What would we want with that psychotic brat?" Maurice spat bitterly.
"You did murder his father right in front of him," Orous pointed out, "He tried to kill you in revenge not because he was a crazed psychopath. Least as far as I could tell."
"What, are you on his side now? He murdered our friend!"
"I never said I was on his side, just that he's not as bad as you make him out to be," Orous said defensively but tiredly, "Neither of you should've tried for revenge."
"Then what happened to him?" Martha wondered, looking even more confused.
"I guess the Ministry still has him?" Scorpius offered uncertainly, not sure what they'd do with a four year old killer.
"They lost him according to the papers, the Aurors transporting him during the evacuation were redirected and ambushed. They found them unconscious with two dead Soul Eaters… one was my half-sister, Viola. There was no sign of Oathan," Martha explained and his friends' faces seemed to indicate they knew this already, "It was an isolated place and Oathan is so young, he couldn't go far alone so they would've found him if he was on foot or tracked where he went with the Floo Network if he used that but they didn't. The Ministry don't have him, the Soul Eaters don't as they wouldn't have left the bodies, it happened while Jack/One was occupied so I thought Gray must've, if they don't then… what happened to him?"
"Who knows? Who cares?" Maurice complained disinterestedly and rubbed at the black bags beneath his eyes.
"But he's your family?"
"Having the same deadbeat mother makes him our blood but that doesn't make him our family," Orous stated rather surprisingly and very bitterly, "Family doesn't start or end with blood. I don't wish him ill but I don't want anything to do with him."
"He did murder Corin," Rose added testily, "Crazed psycho Shadow people like you may be fine excusing the killing of our friends – if you even know what they are – but normal people aren't."
"Each to their own," Martha said quietly and neutrally with a shrug, apparently deciding to just stay quiet.
"And Calderon's dead too," Abby mused, looking both sad and concerned, "How are we supposed to beat someone who can't die? Especially if someone as powerful as poor Calderon couldn't do it."
"He- She must've made a Horcrux," Vern corrected himself, "We know they can be made accidentally, we can find it and destroy it."
"It's not a Horcrux," Martha said with a shake of her head and Rose looked ready to object before seeing Maurice incline his head in reluctant agreement with her, "They don't work like that, they don't revive that person's body."
"Then what did cause it?"
"I don't know."
"Well we don't have to kill her if she can't die," Cassia decided as if the answer was obvious, "We can just lock her up in a super security prison forever instead, they even have a potion that stops your magic now."
"Yeah, we can still win," Vern confirmed, sounding more optimistic.
"Yeah, we just need to figure out how to take down a slightly less than all-powerful immortal psychopath after we get through their massive army of course," Albus pointed out cheerfully.
"Don't be so pessimistic," Abby complained, giving him a scowl from the opposite side of the room.
"You make it sound so easy!" Vern joked.
"I'm sorry," Antonius apologized guiltily, hanging his head and looking like he was fighting off tears, "I'm really sorry. I really thought the plan could work, I didn't think Calderon would- would die and I- I never meant for any of you to get hurt, I don't blame you if you hate-"
"It's okay," Albus offered and clapped the younger boy on the shoulder while giving him a faint kind smile, "I mean yeah, you done did dumb to believe that psycho but we forgive you because we're friends. Don't do it again though or we will kill you, we're allowed since you're of Hogwarts age now and all. It's not like you tried to murder us."
"His birthday isn't until July," Cassia pointed out while Martha averted her eyes sadly.
"Practically of Hogwarts age and all," Albus corrected, keeping his arm around the boy's shoulders comfortingly as Antonius wiped his eyes and smiled at him weakly.
"Well if that's all…" Maurice muttered before letting go of his necklace and heading for the exit, others started trickling out too, Scorpius couldn't help but notice the absence of a very tall part-giant amongst them.
"And this, Cres, is the house that Mummy grew up in," Dom commented to her infant son bundled up in her arms, pointing out Shell Cottage to him even though he was too young to understand and sadly thinking of better days in the cottage. Cres gurgled in reply and wrapped his tiny little hands around her finger, she smiled lovingly at him and kissed his head gently, "You're so perfect, I don't know how Grandpa Bill can not love you. He doesn't even have to put up with you when you're being a cranky puss and crying all night."
Cres gurgled once more, looking up at her innocently with those chestnut eyes identical to his dad and pretty much every other Ashain she'd met. She sighed, cuddling him close as she approached the door of her childhood home. In truth she wasn't a hundred percent sure why she was bothering and she'd promised herself this was the last time she was going to try to repair the relationship with her dad because she couldn't force this and really she tired of trying. She knocked on the door and waited, hearing sounds from inside before it opened revealing her father. His red hair was graying now, the scars from Greyback only making him look older and tireder, he didn't look like he'd shaved in a while – or even left the house, he was just wearing a bathrobe – and his eyes were red as if he'd been crying.
"What do you want?" her dad croaked, not screaming at her for once but not looking happy either as his drifted to Cres and took on a dark glint.
"Just to talk," Dom told him quietly, glad that he didn't slam the door in her face immediately.
"Did you leave him?" her dad asked, the word dripping in disgust.
"No."
"Well my wife is dead, my dad is dead, three of my brothers are dead and my son… my little boy is dead," he said quietly, a silent tear sliding down from the corner of his eye as his voice cracked slightly, "I don't feel like talking."
"Then just listen," Dom insisted and caught his eye, trying to think of how best to say what she wanted to say, "This is my son, Cres, he's only two and a half months old so he can't do that much yet but he smiled for the first time the other day and he loves when you dangle things over him, as you'll remember I'm a terrible singer but he likes that lullaby Mum used to sing us when we were little if Aurelius sings it. Still have no idea what it means since its French but its soothing, he doesn't speak any language so it doesn't matter to Cres anyway"
"So?"
"So you have a really great grandson and I'd love for you to know him, for him to know you. People are dying, people we love. Don't you think now is the time to stick together not drive each other apart?" Dom said quietly and his expression remained blank but his eyes drifted to the baby, "One of us could realistically very well die and I don't want the last time we spoke to have been in anger, I love you Dad and it would mean the world to me if you could let us back into your life, even a little."
"I do love you, Dom," he said finally and equally quietly as his eyes shifted back to her, "But I can't accept this, I can't accept him. I don't want anything to do with it."
"Your loss," Dom stated, making an effort to keep her voice firm.
She turned around and walked away, hoping childishly that he'd call after her and change her mind but he didn't. Of course he didn't. She hugged her son tighter and disapparated, returning back to the cottage she lived in with Aurelius. She was momentarily distracted from the depressing relationship with her father in surprise at Aurelius being outside, wand out and eyes darting around.
"What's up?" Dom wondered in confusion as she approached, he scowled but lowered his wand.
"I saw a house-elf leaving Cres' room," Aurelius admitted, still looking around.
"A house-elf?" Dom repeated dubiously, "Why would a house-elf be in Cres' room? Shadows don't use them."
"I know but I swear I saw one, looked just like one of the ones that served my father."
"Are you sure?" Dom questioned as she reached him, he fidgeted nervously, "Because we're pretty sure they died in the explosion, none ever showed up."
"I thought I was sure," Aurelius stated, rubbing his eyes briefly, "But I lost sight of it when I followed it outside, it ignored me when I called after it but then they always did ignore me anyway."
"Well I don't see any and I don't think it's likely there was one," Dom admitted and handed Cres over to him, "I'll do a quick sweep of the house anyway and reinforce the protective enchantments if it'll make you better, though?"
"Okay," Aurelius agreed and cuddled their son while she went back inside.
Dom did a sweep of the house, magically using revealing charms – including ones that detected house-elves – as well as looking around but saw no sign of them. Cres' room was perfectly in order too, no dark enchantments or things left behind or anything. She was mindful of the fact Aurelius been mixing up a supply of healing potions all day as well as being up with Cres his half the night, they had a system of each being on baby duty half the night to try ensure they both got some pockets of rest. Some still wasn't the best sometimes though. Regardless she didn't want to take each any chances or blow off Aurelius' concerns, even if she thought it more likely he was half-asleep and seeing things in the evening light.
"Anything?" Aurelius asked anxiously after a minute when he wondered back into the house with Cres who was looking sleepy, she shook her head, "Probably just nothing then."
"Probably," Dom confirmed but went outside to reinforce the protective enchantments anyway, returning inside where Aurelius was putting Cres down for sleep.
"Anything?"
"Still nothing," Dom reaffirmed, "And it'll stay that way, nothing's getting past those enchantments I just boosted."
"Okay," Aurelius breathed a sigh of relief and she put a comforting hand on his arm, his line of thought apparently shifting as he calmed down, "How'd it go?"
"How'd you think?" Dom tried to scoff but ended up choking on a sob instead, Aurelius' expression softened in sympathy and he put his arms around her gently. She clung to him tightly back, taking comfort in his presence as she cried into his shoulder, "It shouldn't be this hard."
The final few weeks passed surprisingly uneventfully after all that, classes seemed dull – only having one arm might've contributed to that, although he was glad to see Antonius in Defense Against the Dark Arts - and muted, his friends were generally quieter than usual – Maurice seeming the worst off as he barely contributed to conversations and didn't always bother to listen to them at all – in their grief and even the Shadows did nothing newsworthy. Muggle countries wanted to launch an offensive, the US was desperate to launch missile strike at them apparently but the magical community was against it as they still viewed it as a magical matter however the Shadows themselves did nothing. No further attacks, no new invasions. Silence. The atmosphere in the school remained too tense for people to truly relax and enjoy the sunshine as they rolled into the final week of the school year, the shadows loomed overhead.
"And this is it, you are done for the Alchemy of the year," Rojer told them as he concluded the final class of the year, seeming in better spirits than usual and actually smiling as he gestured to the door that opened on command, "Buh-bye."
"Bye Rojer, have a great summer!" Knight offered cheerfully, others adding their well wishes as they headed off.
"Hey Scorpius, can I have talk to you for a second?" Rojer asked as Scorpius tried to slip away with the admittedly small crowd, he'd been avoiding him after the Calderon conversation but realistically he had expected this conversation for a while.
"Okay," Scorpius sighed and waited behind, Rojer losing his smile and closing the door after the others left, "I know what this is about and I haven't changed my mind, I'm not going to let Calderon die, I'm going to lose anyone else."
"He's already dead."
"Not as long as I have his soul, if his sister can come back then so can he," Scorpius insisted - he thought he had a good chance, if the Shadow Master expected her twin to revive she'd be keeping his body safe - stubbornly, expecting more a fight from Rojer but the Alchemist merely shrugged.
"Fine. I will not have waste of my words to try to convince you because I cannot force you but this is the wrong and you still have the time for now so when you have realize that, I will still try to save you of this," Rojer told him seriously as he opened the door once more, "If not then the both of your souls shall be destroy themselves. This is your choice."
"Well… Thank you," Scorpius offered in grateful surprise, turning to leave before thinking of something just after he left the doorway and glanced back, "Hey Rojer, you don't have any idea what caused the Shadow Master to revive like that do you?"
"Why do you have think I know of everything? I am not the same as my father, this is not the fight of mine," Rojer complained testily and slammed the door between them, "Buh-Bye, Skorpios. I'll have see you next year maybe."
"Bye Rojer, thanks for everything."
"Knock knock?" James offered uncertainly as he rapped on Stephan's oddly already open door, Carver's brother was the only real friend he had right now.
He'd been having a hard time since Carver's death, he hadn't even had Leebin to cheer him up because the worthless idiot had gone insane. He knew Leebin was obviously a weak coward but still, to go insane? What kind of pathetic excuse for a counsellor went insane? He'd at least had things to distract him when he was doing work for the Shadows but for some unknown reason everything seemed to have slowly ground to a halt recently, all the focus was on rebuilding and order and all boring crap like that not the conquering and the fun stuff. Left to his own thoughts, he found himself rather lonely. He'd wanted to talk to Stephan about it but was wondering if the man was even here now the door was open, however his worries were quickly sated as Stephan walked in from another room.
"Ah James, what can I do for you?" Stephan wondered pleasantly enough as he deposited the bag he'd had slung over his shoulder onto the couch, he zipped it up with a scowl but James still noted it was filled with clothes, "Which idiot slave forgot to zip the freaking bag? It's packing 101."
"You going somewhere?" James wondered in confusion.
"England. Got to pick up my little sister, Hogwarts year is ending."
"Oh right, the one who's probably a traitor that you need to kill if she is?" James inquired, recalling vaguely him mentioning it before and Stephan nodded in confirmation. He sighed, "You're lucky, I can't even see my family."
"Why not?" Stephan questioned, sounding genuinely puzzled.
"Err because I'm in a different country because I'm a wanted criminal and all since I'm a Shadow now, they'd never accept me," James explained unhappily, "I don't see why they're so stubborn about this, is it not obvious our world is better?"
"You know what James? Maybe you should see them," Stephan offered, James could only blink in surprise.
"I… should?"
"Absolutely," Stephan announced with a nod of certainty as he folded his arms, "You've been going on lately about them, I think you should see them and try to convince them how our way is clearly the best way. They're not stupid, if they love you then they'll turn to our side and if not you'll know they hate you and are too far gone to save, they're not even worth saving then. After all if they don't love you then clearly they're bad to not love their own family despite a differing opinion, you're strong enough to fight your way out if you have to so why not? Wouldn't you rather know for sure where you stand?"
"I… I suppose so," James admitted, he hadn't thought it was even possible to be allowed return to England to see them and he was still wanted and all, "But I'm not sure."
"Well, decide by tonight because I'm leaving then but in the meantime I have a slave to kill for their failure."
Hufflepuff won the House Cup that year as the Headmaster Weedy Larry announced after a rather dull speech about Hogwarts or something, Scorpius found himself zoning out in boredom. He did notice there was no mention of Corin though so they had their own private toast to their friend, it still seemed weird for him to not be there. After an admittedly good End of Year Feast – although Hogwarts food was pretty much always good – they trudged back up to the dormitories for the final time that year, Michael helping him - due to his arm still in a sling – and Albus pack up their trunks for tomorrow.
"You know, Michael, since we won't be in Hogwarts over the summer I won't have to worry about Marigold," Scorpius pointed out after the other two roommates were asleep, almost excited at the prospect of being able to help his friend finally, "I could just come over to you as a Thestral on the full moon to be there with you."
"Look, this Remus Lupin bloke sounds like a decent guy but I'm not him," Michael insisted testily, "Hanging around me with the full moon isn't going to make any better. Besides, John has enchantments all around his house and how do you expect to get there with your arm out of commission?"
"Marigold's just being paranoid," Scorpius brushed it off, scowling at his arm, "It feels fine, one night of use is not going to-"
"Don't you dare. As an aspiring Healer, I refuse to let you ignore your health like that."
"So weird to think that after we only have one year left before we're looking for jobs and doing careers and grown up stuff like that," Albus commented thoughtfully, leaning back lazily onto his bed, "You know, if the Shadows don't kill us all first. And can I just say how glad I am that Pentakel won't be here next year? Even though I still don't know what to do about Abby not liking me back."
"I told you not to tell her how you felt. And how many times do I have to tell you to pair your socks? It would make packing so much faster."
"Yes, Mother. And can I just say, you seem awfully cynical today," Albus teased to which Michael tossed a bundle of socks at him that hit him in the face, "Hey!"
"Talk to your mother like that again and I'm going to ground you into the middle of next week," Michael chided and smiled faintly as Albus laughed, Scorpius was oddly reminded of First Year when they had a pillow fight and just had fun like normal kids. Those moments seemed to be dying out.
"What about when I'm allowed to take my sling off?" Scorpius pressed as Albus had to start pairing his socks, Michael rolled his eyes.
"I'll think about it you stop hassling me. Now get to bed, you're done."
Scorpius did as bid, his friends following suit not long after. The next morning went by quickly, they had breakfast and then – after saying goodbye to the Ashains first, he was making more of an effort to keep up with Antonius and Cassia – it was off to the carriages and the train ride back home with the compartment feeling somewhat lonely with just him, Albus, Rose, Orous and Lily as he'd opted to bring his girlfriend. The others were in the prefect compartment and Corin of course, was dead. There seemed to be less every year, he looked forward to next year when Antonius would be joining them and in fact they started taking bets on what house he – and by extension moved on to other younger kids they knew like Cassia, Sol or Michael's sister would get – would get to pass the time and keep their mind off the absent seat.
All too soon the Hogwarts Express was pulling up into the station and everyone started trickling away, he started saying farewell to his friends. Cade waved over Orous and Maurice first, Vern spotted Mrs Potter so Scorpius said goodbye to him and Albus, as a rarity Rose's mother was picking her kids up herself so Scorpius also waved her off, when Abby was done snogging Sequoia goodbye – which he was kind of glad Albus had left to miss – she bade him goodbye and went off with her younger brother to their mother leaving just him and Michael until his friend gave a groan of dislike upon spotting John.
"You know, maybe he's not so bad…?" Scorpius offered uncertainly, he had saved his family and all but only got a murderous glare from Michael so instead he gave his friend a one-armed hug, "Take care yourself, okay? No drinking and think about I said."
"Think about what I said about John's protective enchantments," Michael pointed out as he pulled away before deciding to apparently part on better terms as he patted him on the shoulder with a smile, "Try have a good summer, hope your arm's alright."
"Bye," Scorpius said as Michael headed over to John, leaving him to wait alone until he spotted Martha standing a few feet away also waiting. He went over to her, "Hey."
"Oh hey," Martha greeted him in surprise and hastily stood up straighter, brushing her hand through her hair quickly as if to make it look nicer, "How's the arm?"
"Not too bad, Marigold's paranoid," Scorpius answered with a shrug, "How's your head?"
"Better. Thankfully, I'll need all the strength I can get."
"Why?" Scorpius wondered curiously and Martha glanced around as if to make sure they were alone enough to tell him.
"Because the Shadows think I'm a traitor remember? My eldest brother is picking me up and he's going to test me," Martha explained quickly, "He'll use Legilimency to try prove that, if I can't use Occlumency well enough to hide my memories of betrayal from him then he'll kill me."
"That seems… pretty… dark," Scorpius stumbled out with a scowl, looking around even though he had no idea what said brother looked like, "Is he any good at Legilimency?"
"Yep."
"Martha, I know this is kind of last minute but if you want I could try get you to Gray," Scorpius offered, dropping his voice to a whisper, "They could protect you so you wouldn't have to… do that."
"If I run they'll know I'm a traitor," Martha pointed out, looking slightly conflicted for a moment before shaking her head, "No, I'm afraid to face this."
"But you could die."
"So could a lot of people, if I run I'll be limited by the Trace and not much use but if I go I have a chance of still being useful. I'd rather take the chance," Martha told him seriously, "I'm not afraid to die for what I believe in, I knew the risks."
"You're twelve, it's not your responsibility to stop the war," Scorpius insisted, feeling rather bad for her now.
"That didn't stop you, did it?" Martha countered with a weak smile, "Look, Scorpius, I've been raised to be a soldier, it's what I am as much as I'd like to be more than that. It's my fate to fight in this war and I have to be as useful as possible, that's what soldiers do. The only choice I have is what side to fight for, I've made my decision so if I die, I die. My life was always expendable."
"Your life is not expendable."
"Please," Martha scoffed, looking almost amused, "When I die I'll get no funeral, I'll be buried forgotten in a shallow unmarked mass government grave whether it's the Soul Eaters one like my dad or the Ministry's one like my brother, uncle and sister, assuming I'm not turned into an Inferi anyway."
"You don't have to-"
"Too late, there he is," Martha interrupted, jerking her head and Scorpius turned to see a gangly young man looking around the platform. He had a rather square jaw, dark grubby hair and coal-colored eyes that had an unmistakably dark glint to them but he nonetheless held himself with an air of quiet confidence, power.
"He's just hanging out here with Aurors around?" Scorpius wondered in surprise, thinking he'd had more time.
"Why not?" Martha shrugged, "He's not a known Shadow, they don't know who he is."
"Damn."
"Goodbye Scorpius," Martha said quietly, opening and closing her mouth a few times as if wanting to say something more before ultimately just giving him a smile, "I hope this isn't the last time we meet but if it is… I- I'm glad that I met you."
"Good luck," Scorpius offered, not sure what to say or do nor quite managing to return the smile as she headed off towards her brother who surprisingly hugged her.
"Scorpius!" a voice called.
He jolted in surprise, spinning and catching sight of his parents. He threw them a wave of acknowledgement before looking back for Martha, she and her brother – Stephan, he thought it was – had already vanished into the crowd. Well that solved that, he supposed. He was distracted once more by something grabbing his leg, he looked down to see his younger brother happily beaming up at him. He crouched down and pulled the toddler into a tight one-armed hug, grateful his family at least were basically okay.
James broke the enchantments protecting his former home rather easily thanks to his Soul Eater training, nervously entering and going about the place. It felt weird to be back, it felt like forever since he'd been there. He walked around aimlessly, finding it looking surprisingly unchanged and even his room was intact not handed off to the Dursley brat. It made him feel pleasantly hopeful, if they hadn't handed off his room then maybe they did care about him, maybe they still had a chance after all. He returned to the kitchen, knowing after returning from Hogwarts it tended to be the first port of call. Then he just had to wait, idly fingering Leebin's wedding ring that he still wore. He considered it a trophy of sorts, a memento.
He looked up as he heard the front door opening, followed by the familiar voices of his family – least his mum and siblings - plus Vern. He scowled, they had the nerve to sound happy, laughing about something. How could they be happy while he was gone? Were they happy because he was gone? Didn't they care about him at all?! He felt rage boiling up from inside him even before the four of them walked into the kitchen with him, they all froze as the joy left their faces in an instant. His mum looked like she wanted to cry, Vern's expression twisted darkly while his siblings didn't seem to know how to feel.
"What?" James spat at them angrily, "Not pleased to see your beloved lost family member?"
"You're a Shadow," Vern said darkly and raised his wand at him, recovering faster than the Potters apparently, "Put down your wand, we're going to contact the Ministry and you're going to be arrested."
"Vern!" his mum hissed and grabbed the teen's arm, pulling it down, "We're going to hear him out first. Why are you here, James?"
"Am I not welcome in my own home anymore?" James demanded.
"You've done some bad things."
"What? I've never done anything bad!" James insisted angrily, his family looked at him like he'd gone mad, "It's not my fault Louis died, he picked the wrong side and chose to get in the way when I was avenging my friend. It's not my fault Leebin was so weak he went mad, he deserved to suffer, everyone I've hurt deserved what they got. And the Soul Eaters aren't bad, I used to think they were too but they're not. It's better in their world, I want you to see that."
"You're sick, James! The Shadows are evil! Those people didn't deserve it! Those things are your fault!"
"Shut up, Vern!" James snapped and slashed his wand with a non-verbal Acutus Curse
It caught his cousin across the throat, Vern fell back spluttering and choking out blood as it spilled from his neck. Albus shrieked and caught Vern as he fell, cradling the dying teen as he knelt. Lily's face drained of all color as she put her hands over her mouth, tears did actually spill from his mother's eyes as she took out her wand – although didn't point it at him - and repositioned herself in front of the teenagers as if ready to protect them.
"Maybe now he's silenced, you'll listen to what I have to say," James stated stubbornly, feeling no remorse as Vern clearly had it coming.
"Hold on, Vern, hold on!" Albus sobbed in terror, bundling Vern's shirt up to try press it against the wound on his neck to try stem the bleeding, "Hold on, you hear me? Hold on, hold on, don't die, don't die."
"What have you done, James?" Lily asked of him tearfully.
"Gotten rid of the blight on our family," James told her the blatantly obvious, "He's a Dursley, he was never welcome in our family after how his scumbag family treated Dad, he was never really part of our family. Now come on, Lily, can't you see the world is better if we don't allow terrible people to taint it? The Soul Eaters will bring about a better world."
"Don't listen to him, Vern, don't you listen. You're family now, we love you," Albus continued crying over Vern as the boy went limp and the light left his emerald eyes as they met his cousin's, "Vern! No, Vern! NO!"
"Get out, James, get out," his mum said while Lily slowly shook her head, her tone sorrowful but undeniably firm.
"You're turning on your own son?" James wondered feeling incredibly hurt before the roaring rage tried to drown it out, she raised her wand to him.
She raised her wand to her own child. He was right all along, his family didn't love him. She was bad, she was a terrible mother. He slashed his wand at her in rage with another Acuta, she countered with her own slash and the sparks flew as their spells collided. She cast a pitiful Disarming Charm at him, he deflected it with a quick Shield Charm and in a fluid motion jabbed his wand at the ceiling to break it.
"FINE!" James screamed in anger as the roof above the others started collapse, Lily and his mum hastily aimed their wands up to try stabilize it. He didn't care, he was already casting flames all around with Fiendfyre so they couldn't put it out, "I TRIED TO HELP YOU PEOPLE! I TRIED TO BE A GOOD SON! BUT IF YOU DON'T WANT MY HELP THEN YOU CAN ALL STAY HERE! YOU CAN ALL DIE! DIE IN THE FIRE LIKE THE TRAITORS YOU ARE! AND NOT TRAITORS TO THEM, YOU BETRAYED ME!"
James turned away as the tears fell from his eyes, he cast an anti-apparation spell and continued filling his childhood home with flames. He heard them screaming for his help behind him but it was too late, it was too late now. Of course they'd want his help when it was this or death, he walked away and didn't look back even when he reached the street. He disapparated, still feeling the heat from the flames on his back.
Andreas Webb rushed through the halls of the Training Tower, hoping he wasn't too late. He skidded to a halt outside the door, barging in without a second thought. It was hardly the best plan in the world but there wasn't another way he could get into the room, he couldn't do anything if he wasn't there. Martha was sitting on a chair, Stephan stood facing her with his wand aimed at her.
"No! Don't kill her!" Andreas gasped in panic, whipping his wand out but Stephan was faster – possibly because his wand was already drawn – and swiped it through the air. Andreas was thrown violently into a nearby bookshelf, crashing painfully through a table that broke from the force he was flung into and books toppled down onto him that had been displaced when he was knocked into them.
"Calm down, both of you!" Stephan complained and Andreas groaned as he raised his head, seeing Stephan pushing Martha back onto the chair as if she'd gone to run to him. Their brother raised his hand and Andreas' wand – lying amongst the fallen books – flew to his hand, "I haven't judged her mind yet, Andreas, I wasn't trying to kill her and if I have to then you should hardly defend a traitor."
"Oh right," Andreas mumbled as he pulled himself into a sitting position, still sore from being thrown.
While he had admittedly thought Stephan was simply killing her and foolishly jumped the wand, his brother didn't always stick to his word and regardless he'd wanted to get her away. All things considered, he was pretty sure she was a traitor so would killed. And he didn't want to lose anyone else, dammit.
"Are you alright?" Martha asked of him worriedly and Andreas nodded even though he felt rather batter now.
"Okay, judging time," Stephan announced, seeing them calmer and jabbed his wand at Martha who immediately gasped in pain.
Andreas stupidly had his wand taken from him, he had the books scattered around him now however. When Stephan declared her guilty, he could throw some at him to distract his brother and with any luck Martha wouldn't be so mentally wiped from the inquisition to disarm him. If she was, hopefully the distraction would be enough to summon his wand back and Imperise her to help or run. If not, they were screwed because there was no way he'd be able to defeat Stephan alone, even holding him off for a little while was useless if Martha was incapable of fleeing. He didn't think Stephan would kill him for treachery just for helping his sister but he'd certainly kill Martha for her serious betrayal.
He supposed he could try distracting Stephan but he'd rather the Legilimency be over with, didn't want to accidentally screw up their minds somehow by severing it unexpectedly. Stephan didn't do Legilimency gently, his style was to be as violently intrusive as possible so the pain would throw them off. He watched uncomfortably, seeing his half-sister's face twisting in pain as she gripped the arms of the chair. He gripped two books in readiness as discretely as possible, just waiting for it to be over. Finally Stephan stepped back, blinking in shock and dropping his wand while Martha slumped into her seat gasping for breath.
"You're innocent," Stephan said in surprise, clearly not having expected this outcome and in truth, neither had Andreas.
He was sure she and Carver – not Viola, he was quite sure her incompetence was the only reason her selfish psychopathy went unnoticed – were in on Pyrrhus' insane scheme to turn against the Soul Eaters. Unless Martha had just tricked Stephan into believing her innocent, he let go of the books and glanced at his sister as she raised her head back to look at Stephan. He knew she was more talented than she let on but… No, could she really best Stephan?
"I told you," Martha muttered quietly while Stephan finally seemed to recover, holding himself up straighter again.
"Well I'm glad," Stephan decided, his eyes flicking between the two of them before a smile slipped onto his face, "But I think both of you have suffered from clearly influence outside of the Soul Eaters, we need to get you back on track. It's high time both of you take the Test."
Great, Andreas thought to himself bitterly as Martha's eyes widened in horror, now we're both going to die.
Cade Knox scrubbed at the dishes solemnly, it was supposed to be Orous' turn but he didn't feel like forcing his son to do chores after everything he'd been through lately. The loss of his closest friend had hit the boy hard, he'd almost lost another friend and his girlfriend as well but their family 'house-elf' called Kreacher had 'apparated' them out before they burned by 'Fiendfyre' which was good. He was also quite proud of being able to actually understand that sentence, he wouldn't always have. Still, Vern had died beforehand and the twins were devastated especially so soon after losing their other friend. War was not a good situation to be in.
"Cade honey, get in here!" Tabitha called from the other room, she was his girlfriend and they had recently celebrated their one year anniversary.
He was extremely conflicted about it, things were going well with them and they wanted to move in together but since it was a decision that very much effected the twins too he wanted to make sure she and them all got along okay which was difficult when they were at Hogwarts so much of the year. In the wake of the deaths it was incredibly out of place to try force her on them but if she did live with them she'd be around them when they were grieving anyway, considering how accustomed they were to spending so much time together it was all strange and mean to just cut her out of his life completely – as he had initially after Vern's death - for the summer so… he thought her still being just around sometimes was kind of the best and fairest thing he could do right now. He thought.
"Cade seriously! Orous too!" Tabitha yelled once more, startling him from the train of thought he'd veered off into, "You should all see this!"
"I'm coming!" Cade offered.
He hastily drying his hands and almost tripping over one of the unhelpfully positioned dogs to go into the front room as Orous also ambled unhappily in. She and Maurice – and Noelle the dog - were both on the couch, the deaf wizard unusually focused on the television set with a look of intense concentration and his necklace gripped in his strange black hand. Tabitha simply pointed to the screen when they looked at her in askance, he and Orous walked over to see.
It looked like a news report before it switched, changing to a different location like an in the field report except it hardly seemed official as there was some obvious dirt and smudges from fingerprints around the edge like the camera lens hadn't been cleaned. It showed a fairly beautiful woman maybe in her late thirties or maybe pushing early fortie, she was thin and had dark black wavy hair trailing to her shoulders and dark brown eyes set in a rather pale face. She was dressed all in black, from her boots to her pants to her shirt and her cloak which was fastened by a silver serpent clasp. She stood on dirt ground but the overcast sky behind her gave no indication of where she was, she didn't look like a reporter though.
"Is it working yet?" the woman questioned impatiently, looking off to the side clearly at someone.
"Yes! Yes, it's live now," a male off-screen voice provided frantically, his voice having a slight accent.
"Good," the woman announced and looked back, adding quietly, "And it's the circle bit I need to look at, right?"
"Yes, Master, the circle."
"Alright," the woman said before clearing her throat and looking directly into the camera with her dark eyes, her expression one of extreme seriousness, "Hello world, my name is Salazia Riddle. I am the daughter of the Dark Lord Voldemort and Bellatrix Lestrange of the House of Black, heir to my namesake Salazar Slytherin and descendant of the infamous Herpo the Foul. Many of you watching probably have no idea what any of those things mean but you will know what this means, I am the leader of the Soul Eaters you often call the Shadows because I am the Shadow Master. As the future leader of the world I have decided it is about time I step out of the shadows to bring this world into a new age. I can speak to you using muggle technology and I make no effort to hide myself now nor my location, do your worst.
"Many of you are no doubt wondering what in the world a 'muggle' is, many of you also likely think I quite mad but all shall become clear. A 'muggle' is what the majority of you probably are, it's what we call a non-magical person. You've no doubt heard of magic and no doubt dismissed it as nonexistent but it very much is, there's an entire world of magic hiding in plain sight because all the wizards and witches of the world were long since driven into hiding from the mass of muggles. You drove my ancestors into hiding, your actions drove them to keep our world both hidden and separate from ours not like how it was millennia ago. You forced them into the shadows and now I bring us all into the light.
"If you think I'm crazy then look to your governments, every world leader on the planet is aware of the magical world, every one is in contact with the respective magical leader of said country. They all know, they all keep it from you and all are more concerned with keeping this secret then stopping me, they cared more for that then even trying to stop any of the ten countries I conquered from falling under my rule. They call me evil but I'm being more honest with you then any of your previous leaders have ever been with you, world leaders are either corrupt or fools like that," the woman recounted before smiling, waving her hand and the camera spun to take in a shot of the sky where streaks of missiles were approaching, "I am the most powerful witch the world has ever seen, I can't even die apparently but if you want to try blow me up America then go ahead. I aim this at a select group of individuals who make the mistake of thinking I'm powerless without a certain Scepter."
The Shadow Master twirled her hands through the air and Cade watched in shock as all the missiles in the sky started turning around slowly, every single one, before she flicked her hand and they all started shooting off back the way they'd came. More missiles started appearing but she continued sending them back, after a few minutes they stopped coming. On the screen miniature windows started popping up along the bottom and side of the screen, each one showing news reports of American cities – New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington DC – being assaulted by hails of missiles. The Shadow Master turned back to the camera.
"If you don't know, I just sent them back to the country they came from because you're next America, I can't have people trying to blow up my people," the Shadow Master told them casually and gestured, making the camera rise off the ground more. He realized she'd been standing on a raised portion of ground as below were thousands upon thousands of rotting corpses that were all snarling menacingly, she casually strolled back into view, "They're called Inferi, not zombies by the way but they are the dead that I control. There are so many casualties in the way I have to take over countries, this is but a fraction of them but I do put all the dead to good use. To all world leaders, I offer communications if you wish to discuss the circumstances of your surrender if not I will take your country by force. To all the people in the world, I will accept anyone who wishes to join me but know you will have to comply with my rules. Welcome people both magical, muggles and all half-breeds because this separation is no longer acceptable as no one should have to live in the shadows, today a new age dawns us all."
She swirled her hand once more, causing a fiery azure skeletal snake symbol to form. It coiled itself into a random shape with its head central and fanged mouth hanging open with its forked tongue flickering at them, Cade recognized it as the Shadows' symbol. It jumped at the camera and the screen cut to black.