A/N
This chapter will be at a more sedate pace, mostly conversations and first impressions.
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Is this your Circle?
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Hogwarts – Hospital Wing
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He woke up with a start. Cullen needed a few moments to comprehend that he wasn't in the Fade anymore. I'm home again, he sighed with relief as he sank back into his soft pillow, only to instantly jump up again. He closed his eyes and his mood deflated. No, I'm not home. I'm somewhere far away. I'm farther away from home than should be possible, with no way of return. I'll never see her again.
For a while he succumbed to self-pity – something he had rarely allowed himself to feel, express or show in the past. It only stopped as he felt a tiny, cool hand grip his own and softly pressing it. He opened his eyes, his brown eyes meeting Luna's pale grey ones, showing no small amount of concern while her smile was openly supportive.
"Hello Sir Cullen."
"Hello Apprentice Luna." He sat up and even allowed Luna to help him, not something he would have done on any other day. "And it's Ser Cullen or Templar Cullen," he corrected absent-mindedly. He watched her as she pushed a cushion behind his back and tried to gauge her. Despite the last experiences of the past, foremost Uldred's betrayal, he felt himself unable not to trust her. His training told him not to believe appearances, but his heart told him that this girl had no false bone in her body. "Or simply Cullen for you," for the first time he showed a small smile of his own. "I can't exactly insist on formalities after you tried to save me."
"Okay, Cullen it is then," her smile became that dazzling one he had seen once before. He shouldn't be happy to be here. He should wish to get home as soon as possible. However, he couldn't help himself: he wanted to stay here for a while, here in this bed. Blushing deeply he looked down. He wore some kind of nightdress. At least he was covered. It was still unacceptable to be in bed with a young woman around. His older sister had married at fifteen. He remembered the day vividly and wondered if Luna was already engaged. Where did that thought come from? He scolded himself.
"Madam Pomfrey switched your clothes," Luna explained with her sing-song voice, while fiddling with a tablet. She put it down on his lap and poured some weird juice into a glass. He eyed the glass warily.
Luna bent forward, pointed with her finger to come closer and whispered: "don't drink it. It's pure poison." As she noticed his slightly shocked expression, Luna started to giggle, snitched the glass and started to drink, only to open her eyes wide seconds later. She clutched her chest over her heart and slowly sank to the ground with a low moan. Flabbergasted Cullen watched her. For a while Luna was lying on the ground with closed eyes. Only then did she open one of them and grinned.
"You're weird, Apprentice Luna," Cullen commented as she stood up again and poured him another glass of juice.
"I've heard that from time to time," Luna commented, her good humour gone. "They call me Looney," she whispered a tad sad.
"I would never do that," Cullen shook his head. He had earned his own share of ridicule back at the Circle, mostly because the other squires didn't understand his dedication and zeal. "You're weird in a good way."
Luna's good mood instantly returned. She pointed to the glass: "drink."
Cullen obeyed but frowned as he noticed the taste. "Is this pumpkin?"
Luna nodded: "don't you like it?"
"It a bit… peculiar," he tried to be polite, his grimace betraying him after another sip.
Luna grinned. "Would you like some apple juice instead?"
"Oh yes, please" his enthusiasm prompted another giggle.
"Winky?" For a moment Cullen watched her in wonder as Luna called someone. Winky? Who's Winky? His wonder turned into horror as the tiny house elf appeared. "Miss Luna called? What can…"
"DEMON!" Cullen's yell rolled through the Hospital Wing, stirring everyone from their sleep. With consternation Luna watched Cullen jump from the bed and just wanted to warn him that his nightdress had a slit at the back and that he was mooning her when Cullen fetched his sword and unsheathed it. Winky froze, her eyes wide open, as Cullen jumped her, the weapon raised to put her down. Only Luna's hasty intervention saved her life.
"No!" Her sing-sang voice was gone as she jumped between the house-elf and the Templar, sword-wearing hand raised.
"Sep aside," Cullen ordered. "It's a Demon." In Cullen's mind there was no other explanation. He had never seen a creature like this and her sudden appearance out of thin air only proved that he was right.
"Cullen, stop," Luna actually put a hand on his sword arm, never thinking that she could be endangering herself. Cullen would never harm her, she was certain. "You frighten her."
Cullen blinked. He allowed Luna to push his arm down. "I… I frighten her?" He asked slightly mesmerized by the sight of a tiny creature hiding behind a not much bigger girl. There was no malevolence in the creature's eyes, only pure terror. Cullen felt actually bad. How had he erred so much? "She…" it's a she? "She is not a Demon?"
"Winky is a house elf. And Winky is my friend." Luna actually glared him down now, putting her other hand around the trembling elf. Like Hermione felt protective towards her, so did Luna around Winky. She had met the house elf one night, drinking and singing badly but very sadly. Winky had felt all alone without someone to care about and Luna had started to bond with her.
"A house elf?" He eyed the creature suspiciously. "You mean a city elf? She's not big enough to be an elf." He looked closely. "She has their pointy ears however."
"No, Winky is a house elf. She serves the inhabitants of Hogwarts. Most house elves serve a single family, but not her."
Hogwarts – Cullen remembered that someone called this place Hogwarts. It was apparently Luna's Circle. So, this was a kind of magical servant. Perhaps she was something like a magical construct. "Is she… you know: magically created?"
"No, silly," Luna relaxed. "She has a family, parents, siblings…" Luna turned around. "That reminds me: you never spoke of your family. Have you got siblings, Winky?" She tried to distract the terrified elf.
Winky struggled to break her eyes away from the frightening man. "Winky has younger sister, Miss Luna."
Luna turned around again to Cullen: "See? Winky has a sister. No demon, not created; breathing, serving, friendly house elf." Her tone was not amused and slightly scolding. Feeling like a little boy about to get an earful, Cullen's ear tips blazed. He looked down to his sword as if asking: what's this? Where did I get this? Hastily he re-sheathed the sword and mumbled. "I'm sorry, Winky. I didn't want to frighten you. You scared me a bit."
Winky actually grinned now and puffed her tiny chest. Never before had she scared someone.
"Is he forgiven, Winky?" Luna asked softly. Winky nodded eagerly, her long ears shaking violently.
"You're forgiven, Cullen," Luna stated calmly. "We won't see a repeat of this ever again, I hope," she added in her best Minerva McGonagall imitation. Hermione would have been proud.
I've still got much to learn about this place, Cullen realized.
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On the way to Albus' office
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Where are their Templars? Cullen wondered while he followed the boy towards the Headmaster's office.
The arrival at this place had been weird enough, via… how did they call it? Floo. Stepping into a fireplace and leave another one mile away was certainly not something he had expected as he ordered that haggard man to "lead the way". However, he had been too occupied with the injured girl and closely watched the healer doing her job. Madam Poppy Pomfrey – he already liked her. She was a no-nonsense woman and apparently very competent in her job. After doing everything to heal the girl – Cullen had been fascinated how fast the wound closed – he had allowed her to examine him. Not, that he really needed it, but the exhaustion of the last weeks was catching up. He hadn't been able to really recover from the time in the Circle tower while he stayed in the Fade.
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Flashback
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"I presume your fast acting rescued the girl," Madam Pomfrey stated calmly. "In any case it prevented her wound to cause a permanent scar."
"That's good, isn't it?" Cullen reciprocated. He had only done his duty. "Girls back home don't like scars. I don't assume that's different here. And this would have been a big one."
Poppy smiled: "you're right. She wouldn't have liked it, despite Miss Granger not being your usual girlie girl."
So she's not too occupied with her appearance, Cullen mused. It could be expected with all of her friends thinking of her as their big sister. "Why was she there in the first place, she and her friends? Teenagers shouldn't be fighting." Not that it had stopped Uldred from killing most of the children at the tower.
"No, they shouldn't," Poppy agreed, for a moment smiling at the young man. "But that's a question you should ask Headmaster Dumbledore… after a good night's rest." She pushed him down on his bed and dampened the light, not willing to see reason. To his own surprise, it needed only a few moments for sleep to catch him.
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End Flashback
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And now he was following the boy – Luna had called him Harry Potter. This place was far bigger than the Circle at home. There were many windows and more than once Cullen had admired the view. A lake was out there – but only near the castle, not surrounding it like a prison wall – and in the background he saw a deep green forest encroaching the whole area. More than once they met students on their way, students that most often stopped and openly gawked at him. So far he had seen only children between ten-eleven and seventeen-eighteen at most. No adults, no guards, no full-fledged mages. It was very weird.
Cullen glanced around. He felt like being followed since his arrival. It was something that could be expected to happen. Certainly the headmaster didn't trust him enough to allow him uncontrolled presence at his school. It would be careless to do so. Whoever shadowed him was apparently magically hidden as he wasn't able to detect him. Still he got the feeling, and the raised hackles stayed.
Luna was left behind in the Hospital Wing, watching over Hermione and the red-haired boy – Ron Weasley, brother of Ginny Weasley, he remembered. He was now wearing his armour without the breastplate, greaves and bracers – padded underwear and chainmail mostly – as well as his belt with dagger and sword. Cullen felt a bit incomplete without breastplate and shield, but it had been his compromise with Luna. She had tried to explain that nobody wore armour around here. What are their Templars wearing?
"Liquorice," Harry said to the stone gargoyle guarding the entrance and it moved aside, prompting Cullen to frown – for the thirty-eight time this morning.
I hope this headmaster has some answers for me.
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Albus' office
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"Lemon drop?" Albus asked with a twinkle in his eyes.
"No, thank you, Sir," Cullen didn't like sweets very much and he knew better than to accept something from an unknown mage. It was difficult to differentiate with all the magic in this room, but his sense told him that there was something odd about the cup of sweets. Dumbledore's frown proved him right as he stopped Harry's hand from accepting one.
"I hope you recovered a bit from your ordeal?" What do you know about my ordeal? Cullen wondered, narrowing his eyes a bit. The presence of the phoenix was an assuring sign, but so far he didn't trust the man. Like Poppy reminded him of Healer Wynne, so did Albus Dumbledore in a less positive way remind him of First Enchanter Irving: more of a politician than a mage. And there was still this fifth presence. It was stronger now than before in the corridors. Was someone watching them hidden under an invisibility spell? But why? It didn't make sense right now.
"I'm alright, Sir," Cullen calmly responded. He looked around. "I only wonder… shouldn't the Commander of your Circle's Templars be here as well? I'm more his duty than yours, I assume."
"Ah, Templar," Albus nodded with a thoughtful smile. "I already heard about that part." I wonder how and where. "You see: some things are a bit different here."
Cullen stiffened for a moment. "Different? How different?" Had they experienced something like his home Circle? Had they got rid of their Templar detachment?
"As I understood in your home country Templars watch over mages, am I correct?"
"We guard and protect them, yes," Cullen nodded. He omitted the part of controlling their lives as he had the impression Dumbledore wouldn't like that tiny part.
"We have a similar force here. They're called Aurors. However they're wizards too and usually stay at the Ministry."
"The Ministry was that place where we met?" Albus nodded. Cullen pondered about this bit of information. "And they aren't staying here? None of them?"
"No," Albus smiled a tad condescendingly.
"Mages watching mages? And that works?"
"Rarely," Harry snickered, uttering his first word since their arrival. Albus' glare didn't stop him. He felt angry since he nearly had to watch his godfather die. Like Cullen he had no small amount of questions. Like Cullen he wanted answers. Unlike Cullen however, he wasn't willing to be patient and polite – not anymore, not today.
"They won't accept that Voldemort returned and is gathering his forces to wrack havoc. They aren't protecting Muggleborns but instead squander their time calling me a fame-seeking liar. They even sent that horrid bitch to Hogwarts."
"Madam Umbridge," Albus nodded gravely, while Cullen tried to make sense of Harry's words. It could easily have been Qunari. "The Aurors found her at the edge of the forest. It wasn't nice to leave her at the Centaurs' mercy. I'll have to speak with Miss Granger about it."
"Hermione did the right thing. Umbridge was a horrid woman," Harry harrumphed. "She used blood quills on us." He bared his forearm and Cullen noticed a faint lettering "I shall not lie". The aura of blood magic was palpable.
Cullen grabbed his hand, an expression of loath and disgust on his face. "This is the work of this Umbridge?"
"Madam Umbridge," Albus corrected. "She has been a Professor at Hogwarts this year. We have been at odds."
"Has she been imprisoned for this?" Cullen asked with forced calmness, while he examined the lettering, Harry closely watching him. Cullen had the sudden impression that Harry was unused to someone standing up for him like this, for his right. It infuriated him.
"It's not this easy…"
"Why not?" Harry and Cullen growled at the same time, staring in each other's eyes for a moment. "This is blood magic," Cullen continued with barely constrained anger. "She has to be punished and her belongings searched. It can be expected that she has more of those… blood quills." He calmed a bit and explained to Harry: "someone should have healed this months ago. I'm not certain that I can help you now. It's too ingrained after all those weeks."
Harry shrugged, not too happy but equally not too disappointed. "There are worse things. It would still be nice to get rid of it. Hermione did what she could back then."
"You should have gone to Madam Pomfrey," Cullen scolded softly.
"Hermione said the same," Harry smiled sadly.
"She seems to be a wise girl."
"The best," Harry sighed. "She told me not to go to the Ministry, you know?"
Cullen nodded gravely. Albus however messed up the situation with his next words: "yes, you shouldn't have gone. You should have stayed at Hogwarts, Harry." There was a hint of falsehood in his voice.
"I would have," Harry growled "if I had known about the prophecy." Albus tried to stop him with a glance towards Cullen, but Harry was on a roll. "You never spoke with me last year. You allowed that bitch to unhorse you and to bully us. I wasn't allowed to speak with Sirius. Professor McGonagall wasn't able or willing to help us. How should I have known that Sirius was safe? How should I have known that Voldemort only wanted to lure me into the Ministry to lay his dirty hands on the prophecy?"
"Harry, this isn't the time…"
"This is exactly the time," Harry yelled, half standing up. "What is so damned important about that blasted prophecy? Sirius nearly died if not for Cullen's arrival. Hermione nearly died. She would have been marred for the rest of her life without Cullen's magic." He didn't see Cullen's grimace. It's certainly not magic, Cullen pouted silently. Normally he would have stopped the boy and enforced peace. Irving certainly would never allow a mere student to behave like this. Harry however apparently wasn't your of-the-rack student and this prophecy aroused Cullen's interest, especially if it had been the cause of endangering Hermione… and Luna.
"Harry, perhaps we could later speak about this," again he glanced towards Cullen but startled as Harry slammed his hand on the table. Cullen had to suppress a grin. No more dodging questions, Headmaster. Answers, we want answers.
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On their way back
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"Don't you want to scold me for destroying Dumbledore's office?" Harry asked, still fuming. After a long discussion – and some serious bashing of the old man and his office – they had left the room.
Cullen shrugged. "You certainly have a bit of a temper problem, but I understand why you've been angry. He should have told you sooner."
Cullen's voice was surprisingly soft and caring. It reminded Harry much of Charlie or Bill Weasley, the two boys that had been his closest to big brothers in the past. His mind was still racing about everything Albus had told him: the prophecy, the reason of Voldemort going after him, why his parents had died. And Cullen was right: he should have known earlier.
Albus reasoning was… weird, to say the slightest. I wanted you to have a real childhood. Harry noticed Cullen's reaction when he threw a few "anecdotes" about his life at Privet Drive 4 in Albus' face, about his aunt's hate towards magic and his life under the cupboard. Cullen hadn't been happy, that for sure. Harry however concentrated on Albus and his urge to slam his fist into the old man's nose.
"Why didn't he tell me? If I had known… if I had any idea that Voldemort could WANT me to go there… it was a trap and I fell for it." He laughed without humour. "Hermione said I had a hero-complex. She was right."
Cullen nodded slowly. "Apparently she knows you well – and others too. It seems this Voldemort knew how you would react – and how the others around you would react."
Harry looked up slightly puzzled.
"Your friends: would you have gone without them?"
Harry shrugged. "I'm not sure. Perhaps… yes, I think."
"And would you have been able to reach that Hall of Prophecies?"
Harry pondered about that. The hall had been protected by magic and that door-riddle. Would he have been able to solve that? He slowly shook his head: "I don't think so."
"Luna told me those… how do you call them? Death Eaters?" Harry nodded and Cullen continued. "They blackmailed you with the lives of your friends. I don't know you very well but you seem to be someone who couldn't be forced to do something with endangering your own life. It had to be the life of your friends. My conclusion: Voldemort knew that you would try to rescue your godfather and he knew that your friends would accompany you. And he expected – quite correctly – that none of the adults would be willing or able to assist you – or stop you." It had been a point of incredible annoyance to Cullen that none of the teachers had stopped or aided the boy. The boy seemed to trust his head of the house, this Professor McGonagall. After the stories he heard this morning, Cullen wasn't certain that he shared the feeling.
"Seems right to me," Harry agreed. Slowly he felt his rage – no, not disappear, but covered by a thin sheet of cool control. It was still there but not violently flaring.
"How does he know you so well?"
"Snape, I think." Harry answered cautiously, not fully convinced.
"Who's Snape?"
"My potions teacher," Harry explained his disgust clearly audible and visible. "He's head of house Slytherin and was Voldemort's follower in the past. Headmaster Dumbledore trusts him but…"
"You don't?"
"Not completely," Harry sighed. "I know that he knew my parents. My father and he hated each other. I think that's the reason he hates me too. From the first day he had been after me. However, more than once he helped me. I'm simply not certain on whose side he really is and what he is forced to tell Voldemort to protect himself."
"Makes sense that he often speaks to him about you," Cullen calmly agreed. "He certainly has to be very careful running on the fence. Any other options?" He glanced at Harry's head "perhaps this scar of yours?"
"You noticed that, didn't you?" Harry again laughed his humourless laugh. "I got it as a toddler. Voldemort killed my parents and tried to kill me. Somehow the spell backfired. His body was destroyed until his return one year ago and I was left with this scar. It somehow connects us. I dream about him and I think I saw those visions about Sirius because of this connection. Perhaps he is able to… I don't know… watch me or at least feel me. I'm able to feel him too, sometimes, mostly when he has strong emotions."
That sounded awful like blood magic. He could feel the unnaturalness of the scar and wondered – not for the first time – why the headmaster did nothing about it. "You should learn meditation. It helps to clear your mind, to control your emotions and to block mental intrusions."
"Sounds much like Occlumency," Harry shrugged. "Snape tried to teach me last year, Dumbledore demanded it. We didn't get far."
"With the feelings this Snape and you have towards each other, it is a stupid idea to have him teach you." Harry completely supported that. "You have to trust your teacher or at least feel respect and tolerance towards him."
"You tell me," Harry snickered. He glanced towards the young man. "It sounds like you know something about it. Could you teach me?"
Cullen stopped and stared at him, pondering about the question for a while before he nodded slowly: "if you really want, yes. I think your headmaster is irresponsible in allowing children to fight this war, but with things as they are, you could certainly use it."
"I really want it," Harry said with determination in his voice, a determination that shouldn't be in the voice of a fifteen-year-old. "My friends nearly died because of me."
"You should speak with them," Cullen stated strongly. "They're not especially happy with you at the moment – not because you fell for the trap but how you handled the mess." Harry winced. "Ginny feared you judged the prophecy to be more valuable than the life of your friends; and Neville… you chose revenge and followed that mad woman instead of assuring first that Hermione would survive." Harry paled but had no words to answer the accusations. He had acted like Sirius did all those years ago, chasing Pettigrew instead of assuring that Harry had a good childhood. Sirius was in part responsible for his time at Privet Drive. I should have got Hermione to Madam Pomfrey instead of playing the hero.
"Your friends followed you. They thought you to be wrong about the whole matter but they nevertheless decided to go with you. They have a right to ask that you act responsible. Taking risks is good and well, but acting with a cool head is better. You didn't know the content of the prophecy and so you made a decision, a difficult decision. You chose the warrior's path when they wanted to see you to act as a friend. I can't and won't decide if you made the right choice, but you should explain it to them. They will understand." After a moment he added: "and speak with Hermione. Don't shy away because you feel responsible for her injury. You're not. It was her decision to be your friend. I don't expect her to regret it, but she will be hurt if you dodge her now." Cullen hoped that he interpreted Luna's stories correctly, however fantastic they sounded – rescue from a troll in first year and all.
"Okay," Harry whispered with a slightly hoarse voice. "I'll try."
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Great Hall
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They had collected Ginny and Neville from the Hospital Wing and were on their way to the Great Hall. While Harry was speaking with his friends – Hermione and Ron were still sleeping under Luna's vigil – Cullen was mulling over Dumbledore. Things were really different here. They hadn't spoken much about Cullen's home and how he got here but Cullen had the impression the old man knew far more about those things than should be expected. Perhaps others from Thedas had been here in the past. He had dashed any hopes of Cullen of ever returning. Again Cullen didn't trust him in the matter and decided that he would try to get other opinions first. For the moment they had decided not to tell others were he came from. Not that it really helped. Too many on both sides had seen him arrive.
The headmaster tried to learn more about Cullen's abilities – the story of him deflecting that spell with his shield apparently impressed him. And he obviously wanted to hire him or something. He wants another weapon in his arsenal, Cullen decided with a sneer. He knew this kind of leader, seeing only tools and chess pieces in their men. He had no respect for their kind.
He didn't understand this war. In a way it was like at home only the other way round. In Thedas mages were watched closely. Everybody expected them to turn into raving mad murderers any moment, believed that every mage was a hidden blood mage and demon conspirator. Too bad Uldred proved them right. However, it was a war between mages and non-mages. Here wizard fought wizard because of how long the gift of magic had been in their family. In Thedas, a girl like Hermione Granger, born to "normal" people but with magic in her blood, would have been despised by her own family and neighbours because of her talent. Here she was despised because her parents didn't share her talent. Weird, really weird, Cullen mused.
They entered the Great Hall and all talking stopped. Cullen wasn't certain if he or Harry caused more interested looks and glares, but their little group certainly caught much attention. The sensation of being here was disturbing. This world's magic was different to the one he had known before. Hogwarts had apparently been created on a crossroad of several ley lines. It was nearly as magical as the Circle Tower. However, there wasn't the same amount of magic within this new world it seemed. The border between this world and the Fade was thicker, the amount of magic spilling over thinner. His night had been calmer with dreams far less vivid.
On the other hand, every student – or adult – had more magic on their own. Poppy called it their magical core. It felt like a big vial of Lyrium enclosed in their bodies. He wasn't certain how his abilities would react to these changes. As he noticed a blond guy walking towards Harry, he had the feeling that he soon would find out.
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"POTTER!"
The hall was full of students and nearly a dozen adults were sitting at the staff table. Still, nobody interrupted this fight. Nobody moved to stop them. It was unbelievable. Nothing like this would be allowed to happen at the Circle tower. Cullen could nearly hear the heavy footsteps of Templars rushing in to quell the disruption.
"What it is, Malfoy?" Harry responded calmly. His hand was on his wand, his knuckles white, but he did a fabulous job of controlling his temper. Malfoy? Wasn't that the name of the Death Eaters' leader at the Ministry? Actually he looked much like the blond man leading them.
Another glance at the staff table: nobody moved. Only the smallest one tried to intervene, to be stopped by the headmaster. That must be this Professor Flitwick Luna told about. She adored her head of house Ravenclaw. Perhaps I should speak with him within the next days. He at least seems to care. If nothing else he wanted to tell him about the bullying Luna had experienced from her own housemates in the past, a bullying that lasted until she got friends among the Gryffindors. A stern looking woman asked the headmaster something before leaning back and watching the exchange with a frown, while a man with long, greasy-looking hairs, actually sneered. Potions, Cullen realized. He knew the signs, how hair reacted to endless hours around potion fumes. Back at the Circle, most potioneers quickly learned to cut their hair very short. Most of them were Tranquils anyway, their lack of emotion not allowing them to take pride in a flowing mane.
Cullen didn't like the situation one bit. It felt like one of those power plays he had been forced to watch back at home. Gregoire and Irving would push around their chess pieces to get an edge in their power play or to simply humiliate the other. There had been rumours about First Enchanter Irving not stopping blood mage Jowan's flight attempt in time, because he wanted to see not only a mage but a church member too standing in the dock. In the end, Jowan had been able to flee successfully, while Lily, a young sister of the church madly in love with Jowan, had been sentenced to Aeonar. Lily never knew about Jowan's blood magic, his pact with demons. She was simply a young woman struggling between love and faith. Cullen had pleaded for leniency, but Gregoire didn't listen. Until now Cullen was certain that Gregoire only had been too angry about losing that "game" to see reason. And a young woman had to pay the price.
Now Cullen felt watched again, this time by the headmaster. He wants to see how Harry and I handle the matter. So far Harry did well in Cullen's opinion, obviously not in Dumbledore's. The other staff members were watching them closely too, as could be expected. However, he still felt something else, an invisible presence gauging him. He was reminded of that day when he had to stand guard over her at her harrowing. It was her last trial before she became a full-fledged mage, but it was his trial too, the last test that he was able to fulfil his duty, even if it meant to kill her.
"It's your fault my father is in Azkaban, Potter. You'll pay for that."
"He attacked us, Malfoy," Harry answered calmly, his controlled reaction surprising his friends more than a bit. "He attacked my friends and would have killed us."
"Who would miss a bunch of Mudbloods and Blood-Traitors?" Draco Malfoy sneered.
Cullen didn't know these terms but they didn't sound good. For a moment Harry wanted to go for his wand, but a single shake of Cullen's head stopped him. Draco noticed the exchanged, whirled around and smirked. "Yeah, listen to the squib. Perhaps they'll allow you to help him clean the floors together with Filch."
"In my home country it's actually the mage apprentices like you that get to clean the floors as punishment," Cullen blandly responded. He didn't want to be like this but the blond git was getting on his nerves. It was obvious why Harry hated the boy. "Naturally that's only for smaller infractions. More serious ones get you some days in the dungeon or twenty lashes with the whip." You wouldn't be so haughty after that.
Draco looked flabbergasted and slightly shocked, while Harry grinned. "Filch would love to do that, I think," Neville tossed in with an equally broad grin.
"How dare you, filthy squib." There was that word again. Poppy had explained that Cullen was – theoretically and technically – a squib. Something about measuring the strength of his power core, she had explained after the examination. He had a magical core bigger than Muggles, how they called non-mages here, but not nearly strong enough to cast spells. She had no answer to the question how he was able to use his Templar skills or what made them different from spells. Cullen intended to spend some time solving those questions in the near future. The time in the Fade had somehow changed him. He felt far stronger than before. Especially his senses had extended and intensified. Cullen was now able to feel all kind of things around him – things like that bit of dark magic on the arm of that greasy-haired professor. Why was he allowed around the students with this mark on his soul?
"Calm down, Apprentice Malfoy. Return to your table and behave like it would be appropriate for a man of your age and uprising." Cullen didn't expect the man to obey without grumbling, but certainly he didn't expect him to be this stupid. Was it the company of those two gorillas at his sides? Was it the presence of his house-mates that he wanted to play the strong guy? Whatever the reason of his reaction, it was a very stupid one in Cullen's eyes. However, in his favour he had to say that Malfoy didn't know about his opponent's abilities. He only saw a squib with a big knife.
The blond boy lashed out with his wand – he must have hidden it in his sleeve, the coward – and yelled "Stupefy!"
Ginny wanted to jump in between, but was stopped cold as Neville grabbed her. The stunning spell hit Cullen in the chest. Something blue flared and the Templar didn't even budge. Malfoy frowned, staring at the weird man in wonder and waiting for any kind of reaction, hopefully simply toggling to the ground. His eyes widened in an amusing way as Cullen simply turned half around and asked Ginny: "what's with you girls here and your urge to protect me?" There was far more wondering and sympathy in his voice than actual criticism.
"You should have known better, Ginny," Neville half-whispered with a grin "after Luna's attempt at tackling him."
"Expelliarmus!" Harry had used the moment of stunned surprise to go for his own wand and disarm Malfoy. This only prompted gorilla one and gorilla two to lift their own wands. This was fast expanding into a full-grown battle, Cullen realized. In a second Ginny and Neville would jump at Harry's side, there was no doubt. Meanwhile Draco was reaching for his boot, expectedly to pull a second wand. This had to stop now.
"Andraste's peace!" Cullen bellowed and made a gesture like hitting an anvil with a smith hammer. A sphere of light burst from his hand and enveloped all six teenagers. It somehow shocked them, stunned them and left them slightly drained. Only Harry was left standing, all others were on their knees, shaking their heads in confusion about the weird experience. Cullen felt a tad guilty about doing this to Harry and his friends too, but they had to learn to control their temper as well. And regretfully the Templars at the Circle never learnt how to differentiate between mages within the scope of their abilities. Perhaps I should train to do so, Cullen mused. With the differences in magic it should be possible to use my powers and exempt Harry.
"There won't be any more fighting. This is your last warning." Cullen had been careful to use only a tiny amount of his enhanced powers. He knew they would only be stunned for a few seconds and the draining effect wouldn't last long.
Only now did the teachers react and come running, the greasy haired one in the lead. None of them however was close enough to stop Malfoy from committing his next idiocy. Apparently he felt humiliated in front of his house-mates and his pride commanded him to extract revenge. He actually pulled his spare wand and, still kneeling on the ground, pointed it towards Cullen: "Messor…"
Cullen felt the dark energy gathering around Malfoy's wand and saw the look of concern on Greasy's face. He jumped into action. In one swift motion he drew his sword and cut through the wand. Suddenly Malfoy had only a pitiable stump in his hand, emitting only harmless sparks. His eyes followed the tip of the sword as Cullen pointed it towards Malfoy's nose. It was actually quite funny to watch Malfoy contort his eyes as he stared at the frightening blade.
"Feel the Maker's wrath."
This time it wasn't possible not to see the blue light gathering around Cullen before it exploded, followed the length of his sword and smashed into the boy. Malfoy was blasted away and landed on the ground in a heap, deeply unconscious.
"What have you done?" Snape snarled, moving to raise his own wand.
"Don't," Cullen stopped him. His voice was cold as ice and most onlookers felt a shudder. "Stand back, Blood Mage." Snape's eyes widened. "I don't know why the Headmaster allows a disgusting creature of darkness like you to stay here, but listen and listen closely: draw your wand on me or those under my protection and I will cut you down like a rabid dog." He meant every word of it. It wasn't only the bit of magic on his arm that troubled Cullen. There was a whole aura of dark magic around the man. He had used dark magic and far more often than once. Perhaps he had some explanations, reasons why "he simply had to use it". They always had. They were always lying – to him or to themselves. Even with the best of intentions, this kind of magic sooner or later tainted the soul.
"Now, now," Albus arrived at last, showing his best twinkle and grandfatherly face. For a moment Cullen shared Harry's urge to punch him in the face. "There is no reason to be hasty." He gestured towards Snape, who puffed his chest and tried to appear haughty and unmoved by Cullen's words. "Professor Snape has my complete trust."
"Then you're either careless or simply stupid." Cullen commented, prompting some snickers, the loudest one from Harry. At least he isn't dark himself, Cullen mused. It would have been the third possible explanation for this trust bullshit, but he didn't feel the same dark aura around the headmaster. The phoenix would have left him otherwise, too. That's something at least, Cullen sighed.
Dumbledore frowned, but let the matter rest for now. Instead he waved his wand over the unconscious boy and asked, his expression completely flabbergasted for once: "His magical core is dampened. It's like magical exhaustion but far more complete. It looks like you turned him into a squib." It was half a statement, half a question and certainly appropriate to cause a round of pure horror from everyone. Cullen actually saw some of the teachers and many students shrink back from him. Only Harry and a few other Gryffindors grinned, obviously happy about the change. Cullen glared at him. The boy still had much to learn.
"It is only temporarily," he more or less soothed the headmaster's concern. Dumbledore opened his mouth, certainly to ask how long the condition would last. Cullen however had no answer to that question, not with the changes. Actually he was interested in the answer himself. However, he had more important things to do right now. With the bulk of the students present as well as most staff members, he had to do something about this open fighting – and the lack of activities among the teachers. They hadn't Templars – or Aurors – at Hogwarts, but now they had him. Legally it wasn't his duty to enforce peace, but his conscience told otherwise. He couldn't live with himself, knowing that he did nothing to improve the situation. He had seen one Circle being torn apart by inner fighting. He wouldn't stand another one.
"There won't be any more fighting in the corridors and halls of Hogwarts," he calmly announced with a clear voice. "This is a place of living and learning. In a few days all of you will return to your families for the summer break." The concept had actually stunned Cullen into silence for a few minutes and Luna had to swear that she wasn't telling a fib as she spoke about it. "Until then you will behave, restrain from cursing and bad-mouthing other students only because they or their parents don't share the opinion of your family. Everybody who draws a wand in rage or malice to hurt another student will be punished. War has no place at Hogwarts."
Cullen didn't know it but his words easily reached the last corner of the hall. He felt however someone nodding to his words. The invisible presence was smiling on him, content that someone was standing up to enforce peace in these halls. The reactions from the houses were quite different. Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff seemed to be content, especially about the learning in peace part. The Slytherins sneered at him and apparently felt the urge to fight him on this, while the Gryffindors – being stubborn and feisty on their own – showed a wait and see attitude due to Harry's presence at his side.
"And how do you expect to enforce this?" Snape sneered; now back to his usual haughtiness, he only voiced what was on every Slytherin's mind. No, not on everyone's, he had to differentiate. He saw a few among them, mostly girls, who actually nodded to Cullen's words.
"Try me," Cullen responded calmly with a hint of threat in his voice. He would certainly not back down, especially not from this man, headmaster's trust or not – a headmaster who just looked very unhappy. I assume he's regretting now that he ever allowed me to stay.
Snape looked down. He was vicious and knew he was an experienced duellist. However, it was impossible to gauge this man's abilities. He certainly felt no urge to lose his magic, even if only for a few hours. So he stayed with idle sneers for now: "and who gave you the right to make this kind of demands? Who do you think you are? Who made you Hogwarts' peacekeeper?"
"I did."
.
A/N
So Cullen sees his duty (for now) in keeping peace and doing the teachers' job. You certainly suspects who is willing to support Cullen.
Next time: more Luna, more Harry and the start of a summer of changes.