Disclaimer: I don't own KUROSHITSUJI or HARRY POTTER.
The last chapter was my shortest yet. This will be longer.
This chapter felt like it took forever to write. Partly it was research, partly it was rearranging the text along with some re-writes, and partly it was laziness. If some of you have sharp eyes and a good memory, then you should recognize a few quotes and paraphrases. For some reason I had lots of trouble getting this to read smooth and natural, you get what I mean right. Hope you all like it.
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Chapter 10
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The tall figure quickly drew the locks and turned to face the 4 children.
"Get upstairs quick. Get under the cloak and hide. I'll distract the Death Eaters."
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"Sir," the little blue haired boy with the eye-patch said, "thank you for helping us, but you don't need to worry. The Death Eaters are all gone." The boy smiled, "Are you a friend of Harry's?"
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The children watched the man closely. Aside from his flustered attitude, no doubt caused by his current panic, he had long stringy, wire-gray hair, a beard, and behind the dirty lenses of his small spectacles, his eyes were bright blue.
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"Eh, gone? Why would they be gone?" The tall man asked. "I heard all that noise and looked out the window and saw Death Eaters running around, then the dementors came and I knew someone was in for it. Then I saw a stag Patronus come charging out of the alley and down the street. Everyone knows that Harry Potter's Patronus is a stag. "
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"Really?" the boy commented, "I knew Harry was famous, but this level of popularity seems rather inconvenient."
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"I'm sure it is," the man replied, "especially at times like this. Not much business now, what with Hogsmeade under martial law and being run by Death Eaters. I'd just changed to turn in early for the night when I realized Harry must be here. Good thing I dressed quickly and found you kids before the Death Eaters did. What they'd do to you if you lot got caught doesn't bare think of. Now get upstairs and hide while I go out and distract them. They must have seen the Patronus, same as me, and you can bet they'll be here any second."
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Ciel, Hermione, Harry, and Ron realized that the man didn't know the Death Eaters had found them, but were already dead. He hadn't stepped outside and the pile of bodies wasn't immediately visible from the doorway since the corpses were further back, closer to the alley's entrance.
The young demon could tell that the trio of teen wizards were about to explain what had happened, and acted to beat them to it. Whoever this man was, he might be useful later and it wouldn't do to give his first potential contact in the Wizarding World a bad first impression of himself.
The little Earl shot a quelling glare at the young wizards that instantly halted any thought of speaking.
Ciel then grab onto the man's wrist and gazed up into the stranger's sky blue eyes with his own bright sapphire blue one.
"I told you, there's no need for worry. Sebastian is taking care of everything."
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The man tugged at his arm and was a little surprised at the strength of the boys hold on him. He stopped trying to pull away and calmed down a bit from his earlier panic, enough to finally listen to what the boy had been trying to say.
"Who's Sebastian, and for that matter, who are you?"
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"Please forgive my rudeness at the late introduction. I am Ciel Phantomhive. Sebastian is my butler and guardian. These three here," Ciel said, gesturing to Harry, Ronald, and Hermione, "have an important mission to complete and I decided to help them. As both my guardian and a responsible adult, Sebastian couldn't allow children to go alone into certain danger, so he came with us for the sake of protection. He's very skilled so there's no need for concern."
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"You're a posh one aren't you. Well, if this Sebastian is looking after you four then why isn't he here now? Oh, and I'm Aberforth, barman and owner of the Hog's Head Inn." Aberforth said, gesturing vaguely around at the hallway they were standing in with his free hand.
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Harry recognized the name and was startled into speaking.
"Aberforth? Wait, your Dumbledore's brother aren't you?"
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Ciel knew who Dumbledore was from Harry's earlier re-telling of events. The late Headmaster of the wizard's school, Hogwarts, and leader of the group that opposed Voldemort, the Order Of The Phoenix. He had made a strong impression on Harry and after hearing the boys' story Ciel had decided to view the man as his pawn's former master.
Ciel also knew, from his own experiences, that innkeeper's and barmen were useful people to know. They had a way of meeting interesting people and hearing all sorts of interesting things. This Aberforth would definitely be a useful person to know.
"It seems to me," Ciel remarked, "that we all have a lot to talk about. This hallway hardly seems like the best place to chat so why don't we follow Mister Aberforth's earlier suggestion and move this conversation upstairs?"
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(In An Upstairs Room)
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The room they were shown to was large, but comfortably cozy. It had one queen sized bed, a wooden table with three matching chairs, a cream upholstered sofa, polished coffee-table, and two comfortable looking upholstered chairs in the same cream color as the sofa.
The most notable thing though was the large portrait of a young girl that hung above the fireplace mantelpiece. The fire was the main source of light and warmth for the room, aside from a few flickering oil lamps scattered irregularly about.
The group arranged themselves around the sitting area near the fireplace.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat on the sofa.
Ciel chose the soft chair to their right, facing the fireplace.
The other cushioned chair on his right, facing the sofa, was left empty for their host. The low coffee-table in the middle of these seats was likewise bare.
Aberforth left to get them all something to drink before starting their little talk and as soon as the barman had left the room Ciel turned to the three wizards.
"I don't want you mentioning what you saw me do. Do not say anything to him or to anyone else that might make people think badly of me or my butler."
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"Why not?" asked Ronald. "It was bloody impressive the way you killed those Death Eaters and I don't think he'd mind what happened to them."
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"That is my point exactly." Ciel replied, "it was, indeed, 'bloody impressive' and if people know what I can do, how comfortable around me do you think they would be? They'd start to wonder what else I can do and how I acquired my skills. As a newcomer in the Wizarding World I can already be considered a suspicious person, especially with that Dark Idiot and his Death Eater minions running around and putting everyone on edge."
Ciel leaned forward and turned the focus of his attention to Harry, directing his next remarks at him.
"People are angry and afraid. They will want someone to blame their troubles on so that they will not have to deal with them themselves. Harry, you know what that's like right? I remember you telling me how everyone reacted when you, the prophesied hero & savior, tried to warn people that You-Know-Who had returned. Everyone was scared that it might be true and didn't want to believe you. The Ministry Of Magic and the media did the best they could to discredit and turn public opinion against you. In an instant you went from being the most admired boy in your entire magical society to being thought of as a liar and considered the most hated boy in your world. Even after everyone learned the truth no one wanted to be seen associating with you."
Leaning back again, he regarded them carefully, watching their reactions.
These three were close friends and he could see his words had struck home. They remembered how hard everything had been, for Harry and, by association as his friends, themselves.
"I don't want my début into your society to happen under a cloud of distrust. I'd like people to get to know me first, give me a fair chance, before deciding against me. Surely you can understand that? Besides, you all swore to keep my secrets. Revealing how scary and dangerous I am is a secret I want kept."
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The young wizards exchanged glances and nodded in agreement, but they had one question and Hermione was the first to voice it.
"What about the bodies? They'll be found sooner rather than later and then there'll be questions. If we can't talk about what you did then what are we supposed to say? It's not the sort of thing we can hide."
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The little Earl smiled.
"You don't need to say anything. Nothing at all; and if anyone asks, just say you don't know what happened."
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This time Harry was the one who replied.
"No one will believe that. As soon as someone sees all that blood and the sliced up bodies it will be obvious that something happened and that we were involved."
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The Earl just kept on smiling.
"That's where you're wrong. There won't be any bodies or blood. No bodies, no proof. Sebastian will be back soon. He'll clean up the mess, just like I ordered him to."
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The teenaged wizards were not reassured by this remark at all. Unease was writ large on their faces as they thought about what Ciel had said.
The way he'd said it gave them the feeling that Sebastian had done those sorts of things before, a lot.
Before they could think of anything to say, though, the door opened and Aberforth came in with a tray holding five large mugs of hot apple cider.
He set the tray on the coffee-table, picked one of the mugs for himself, and sat down in the remaining chair as the four youths each grabbed steaming mugs of their own.
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"Now," Aberforth demanded gruffly, looking from one to the other of them, "You bloody fools, what were you thinking coming here?"
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There was a moment of silence as the youths thought about what to say.
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Ciel felt the tingle of Sebastian's presence and knew that he had returned.
He glanced at the door and saw his butler enter, silent as a shadow, his eyes sparkling with more mischievous life and amusement then Ciel could remember seeing there in years. The smile gracing those thin lips was, for once, genuine.
The butler was clearly in a good mood. If he had been anyone else his amusement would have overcome his composure.
Of course, as a Phantomhive servant, Sebastian was expected to be above such things.
It was rather nice, though, to see the corners of the elder demons lips twitching. No doubt the dementors had wished for death long before it came.
The young demon mentally chuckled, it was good to have the old Sebastian back instead of the dreary automaton he'd become in recent years.
The butler moved to a suitably dark corner of the room, just out of range of the lamps. From there he could he could watch and lurk.
(Sebastian may deny it, but Ciel knew his butler loved to lurk. Eliciting uncomfortable reactions was one of Sebastian's favorite entertainments and lurking was one of the demons most effective methods.)
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Ciel turned his attention back to the matter at hand. He knew his butler would stay unobtrusively back behind him, just out of the dim lamp light, until a suitable moment came to make his presence known. There was no need to watch him.
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Just then Harry started to speak.
"We need to get into Hogwarts."
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"Don't be stupid, boy," said Aberforth, "the whole area is no better than a death trap where you're concerned. What you've got to do is get as far away from here as you can. It can't be done by night, you heard what happens if anyone moves outdoors during darkness: Caterwauling Charm's go off, they'll be onto you like fly's on fruit. Wait for daybreak when curfew lifts. Then you can put your Cloak back on and set out on foot. If you head up into the mountains you-"
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"We're not leaving," Harry interrupted. "We've got something important to do at the school."
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"Besides," added Ciel, "There's no way the five of us will fit under the cloak."
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"Five of you?" asked Aberforth.
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"Remember? I told you about Sebastian."
Ciel gestured and his butler stepped forward into the lamplight.
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Ron, thoroughly creeped out at Sebastian seeming to appear from nowhere, blurted, "Where'd he come from?"
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Ciel replied with just a hint of smugness.
"He returned just a few moments ago. I guess you just didn't notice."
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"But how'd he get in here without anyone seeing?" Ron persisted.
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"Hang on a moment now."
Aberforth said suspiciously, blue eyes glinting from over the rims of his spectacles as he tried to look down his nose at the newcomer from his seated position.
"So you're this boy's butler and guardian are you? What were you thinking letting these kids come here? How did you know to come here and where have you been anyway? Not much of a guardian, leaving kids alone out there."
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"To answer the questions, as a butler it is my job to quietly follow my master like a shadow and be as unnoticeable as the furniture. If I couldn't do that then what kind of butler would I be?"
"And I can assure you," added Ciel, smiling, "that Sebastian is simply one hell of a butler."
"It is a matter of aesthetics." The butler finished, once more smiling his bright, overly friendly smile. "On the other matter, how could I stop them? They were quite determined to come and I could not abandon My Master."
Then Ciel again took his turn in the conversation.
"As my butler, Sebastian will follow me anywhere."
"Indeed," Sebastian continued, "there is no place that My Lord can go that I cannot find him."
"He will never leave my side."
"I will accompany him anywhere, wherever he wishes me to follow."
"We will be together forever."
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"Does that satisfy you Sir?" Sebastian asked his young lords host, neatly avoiding having to answer the last part of the man's question. Then he bowed and enquired, "And please forgive the late introduction. I am Sebastian Michaelis, butler to the Phantomhive household. Who might you be Sir? I should like to thank you for your hospitality."
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"Heh! You two sure get along well."
Aberforth didn't stand or offer to shake hands. He just nodded his head in reply to the bow and answered sternly.
"I'm Aberforth Dumbledore, owner of the Hogs Head Inn. Just call me Aberforth. Can't say as I think much of you Mr. Michaelis. What kind guardian gives in so easily to dangerous demands from his ward? Your boys' parents can't possibly approve of his coming here. You should have locked him up; these three as well. Keeping kids safe is every adults responsibility."
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"Indeed Mr. Aberforth," Sebastian replied, "you are correct. However, My Lord's parents were killed quite some time ago and the young master is now the head of his family."
Sebastian then gave Aberforth a look tinged with irony.
"Also, had I made such an attempt they would only have plotted to come here without me. I thought it best that I accompany them incase my services should be need. I understand that they have undertaken an important mission. I highly doubt I could have said anything that would have changed their minds. And since My Master wishes to support Mr. Potter's endeavors there is nothing I can do about it."
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Harry chose that moment to interrupt.
He knew how adults could be. Time was running out and if he didn't do something they could end up arguing for hours.
"Please Aberforth, you don't understand. There isn't much time. We've got to get into the castle. Dumbledore – I mean, your brother Albus – wanted us to-"
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"My brother wanted a lot of things." Aberforth said.
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The firelight made the grimy lenses of Aberforth's glasses momentarily opaque, a bright flat white. Harry was briefly reminded of the eyes of a giant spider he had once seen in the Forbidden Forest that surrounded the castle-like school.
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"People," said Aberforth, "had a habit of getting hurt while he was carrying out his grand plans. You get away from this school, Potter, and out of the country if you can. Forget my brother and his clever schemes. He's gone where none of this can hurt him, and you don't owe him anything."
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"You don't understand," said Harry again.
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"Oh don't I?" said Aberforth quietly.
"You don't think I understand my own brother better than you?"
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"I didn't mean that," said Harry, whose brain felt sluggish with exhaustion and mental stress. "It's. . . he left me a job to do."
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"Did he now?" Aberforth inquired. "Nice job, I hope? Pleasant? Easy? Sort of thing you'd expect an unqualified wizard kid to be able to do without overstretching themselves?"
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Ron gave a rather grim laugh. Hermione was looking strained. Ciel and Sebastian just listened quietly with faces blanked of expression.
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"I-it's not easy, no," said Harry. "But I've got to –"
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"'Got to'? Why 'got to'? He's dead, isn't he?" Aberforth said harshly. "Let it go, boy, before you follow him! Save yourself!"
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"I can't."
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"Why not?"
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"I –-I …"
Harry was feeling overwhelmed. He could see Aberforth's point. After everything he and his friends had been through Harry wanted very much to agree with the barman and forget about this whole mess, but he knew that was impossible.
Deciding that defensiveness wouldn't accomplish anything he went on the attack instead.
"But your fighting too, you're in the Order Of The Phoenix -–"
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"I was," Aberforth interrupted. "The Order Of The Phoenix is finished. You-Know-Who's won, it's over, and anyone who's pretending deferent's kidding themselves. It'll never be safe for you here, Potter, so go abroad and go into hiding. Save yourself and best take these two with you." he said, gesturing at Ron and Hermione.
"I don't know about blue boy here," Said Aberforth, indicating Ciel, "but if he's not a known associate of yours he might be able to tough it out. You three can't."
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Ciel, offended at being thought of as a child and called 'boy,' decided to join the conversation. Speaking with no small amount of heated irritation, he said, "Do not call me 'boy.' There is absolutely nothing childish about me except my looks. I have suffered through a living hell that you, quite frankly cannot begin to imagine. I am not a child and I do not want to be treated as one."
He glared at Aberforth and then continued speaking in a somewhat calmer tone.
"While I am not a known acquaintance of either of these three, and we have only just met, I am lending them my support and assistance. That may not seem like much to you, but I have trained for many years on how to fight and Sebastian's combat skills are second to none. I am more than capable of protecting myself and you can be certain that I am intelligent enough not to ally with a lost cause. If all goes as expected then the Dark Idiot will be permanently dead by tomorrow, possibly sooner. That is the mission that we are undertaking. You can either help us or get out of our way."
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Harry couldn't help but be a little impressed by Ciel's speech. The authoritative way he spoke denied all possibility of failure and cut through any further discussions about running away.
Picking up where he'd left off, Harry said, "That's what I've been trying to tell you. There's away to defeat You-Know-Who once and for all. That's the job Dumbledore left me. It's got to be me, Dumbledore explained it all and—"
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"Oh, did he now?" asked Aberforth, turning his attention back to Harry. "And did he tell you everything, was he honest with you?"
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Harry wanted with all his heart to say 'Yes,' but somehow he just couldn't. Aberforth seemed to know what he was thinking.
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"I knew my brother. Albus Dumbledore learned secrecy at our mother's knee. Secrets and lies, that's how we grew up, and Albus… he was a natural."
The old man's eyes traveled to the painting of the girl over the mantelpiece. It was, Harry now realized, the only picture in the room. There were no pictures of Albus Dumbledore, nor of anyone else.
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"Aberforth?" asked Hermione a bit timidly. "The painting, that girl has the same eyes as your brother and you. Might she be –"
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"Yes," Aberforth interrupted tersely, "Not many people knew that we had any family other than our parents. But we had one other relative, a little sister named Ariana."
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Even by the golden-orange light of the fire it was clear that Hermione had blushed with embarrassment ant bringing up an obviously uncomfortable topic.
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"She thought the world of Albus, she did. Well, so did plenty of people, you lot to I expect."
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"Professor Dumbledore cared a lot about Harry," said Ron. "He helped Harry a lot, us too for that matter. He cared about people very much."
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"Did he now?" said Aberforth. "Funny thing how many of the people my brother cared very much about ended up in a worse state then if he'd left'em well alone."
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"That do you mean?" asked Ciel, curious to know more about the man who had had such a considerable effect on the denizens of Wizarding World.
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"When my sister was 6 years old she was attacked by muggle boys that had seen her doing magic. No witch or wizard can control their magic that young. She couldn't do magic tricks for them or show them how she did what she did, and when they started to get scared and angry with her she couldn't defend herself. They got carried away and messed her up bad. She never recovered."
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Hermione's eyes were huge in the firelight and Ron looked slightly sick. Harry, Ciel, and Sebastian simply sat and continued to listen. They sensed that there was a lot more to this story.
Aberforth stood up, tall as his late brother, and suddenly terrible in his anger and the intensity of his pain.
"It destroyed her, what they did. She was never right again. She wouldn't use magic, but she couldn't get rid of it; it turned inward and drove her mad, it exploded out of her when she couldn't control it, and at times she was strange and dangerous. But mostly she was sweet and scared and harmless."
He paused a moment to collect himself, then continued.
"Our father went after the ones that did it and attacked them. He got caught and locked up in Azkaban prison for it. He couldn't tell anyone why he'd done it because if the Ministry Of Magic ever found out about Ariana they'd consider her a threat to the International Statute Of Secrecy, what with her being unbalanced like she was and magic exploding out when she couldn't keep it in any longer. They'd have locked her up for the rest of her life at that special St. Mungo's Hospital of theirs."
He sighed and sat down.
"We had to keep her safe and quiet. We moved away and told everyone that she was ill. Mother, Albus, and me looked after her and tried to keep her calm and happy. I was her favorite, not Albus. I spent the most time with her and cared for her. He had other interests. He had ambitions, wanted to be one of the great wizards of the age. He'd sit in his room reading his books, counting his prizes, and keeping up on his correspondence with 'the most notable magical names of the day.'"
Aberforth sneered that last line like it was the most detestable thing he'd ever heard.
"Brilliant wizard that he was, he didn't want to be bothered with her. Family was never his priority."
He paused to pull off his small glasses, cleaning them on his sleeve. He stared down at the motions of his hands as if it was the most important thing in the world… or as if he couldn't bear to look anyone in the face in case he saw pity there.
"When Ariana was fourteen there was an accident. She lost control and mother died. The task of caring for her fell even harder onto us as the last of her family. It was a big come down for Mr. Brilliant. Can't go off traveling the world and winning prizes at school when you have to stay home to take care of a half mad sister and keep her from blowing up the house every other day. I said I didn't care about education and that I'd stay home to take care of her, that way he could go off and live the life he wanted."
Aberforth sighed and took a large sip from his mug of cider.
"Albus was my older brother and he felt some responsibility as the head of the family. He said education was important and that he'd take over for mother and I should finish school, Ha! What a disaster that was."
Bitterness laced every word.
"Oh things worked out ok for a few weeks. We both decided to take a month off after the funeral to think and get everything sorted out. Everything was fine… until he showed up."
Now a positively dangerous look crept over Aberforth's face.
"I take it you lot have heard of the dark wizard Grindelwald. Albus made quite the name for himself by defeating him, but what few know is that back in the day those two were close friends. Back then Albus was pleased to meet him, another genius boy, a magical and intellectual equal that was just as talented as himself. Taking care of Ariana took a back seat to all the plans they started to hatch. Scheming for power and glory, that's what they wanted. Planed to go looking for the legendary Hallows and to create a new Wizarding order. What did it matter if one young girl got neglected, Albus was working for the greater good."
He took a deep breath before continuing on. Anger, guilt, and shame passed across his face with every word.
"I couldn't stand it anymore and told them so. Whatever they wanted to do, they should either give it up or leave for good. Ariana couldn't be moved so there was no way Albus could travel and keep her hidden. Grindelwald didn't like that. He said that stupid boys shouldn't get in the way of his betters. Said that once they took over world, lead the wizards out of hiding, and taught the Muggles their place there'd be no need to keep her hidden away. The argument got heated. I pulled my wand and he pulled his. Albus pulled his wand and tried to stop us and before we knew it the three of us were dueling. All the lights and noise started to upset Ariana. I think she wanted to help but didn't know how. One thing lead to another and… I don't know which of us did it but suddenly she was dead."
There was a pause.
"Gone," croaked Aberforth. "My sweet little sister gone forever."
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"I'm so… I'm so sorry for what happened." Ron whispered
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"That must have been so awful." Commiserated Hermione.
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"Worst day of my life is what it was and you can guess what happened after that. Grindelwald ran, apparently he'd had some trouble with the law before and didn't want more. Albus was free at last, free of his burdensome sister and went off to be famous. I became a bar and innkeeper."
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"No," Harry said, "He was never free. I know because the night he died he drank a potion that drove him out of his mind and made him suffer through the worst torments of his life. The things he said, the way he cried, he relived that day. The day Gindelwald attacked his brother and he lost his sister. He thought he was back there. He was never free, Aberforth, and he really did care."
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Ron and Hermione stared at Harry. He'd never talked about what happened the day Dumbledore died, and he'd been so broken up about what happened that they didn't dare ask about it.
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Meanwhile, Aberforth seemed lost in thoughts of his own. After a long pause he said, "How can you be so sure about that, Potter? Albus may have had a guilty conscience about what happened back then, but don't be so confident about his 'caring' where others are concerned. 'For the greater good' was Albus's favorite saying. He didn't mind stepping on a few people if he thought the goal was worth the sacrifice. How can you be sure that my brother wasn't more interested in the greater good then he was in you? How do you know that you aren't dispensable, just like my little sister?"
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A shard of ice seemed to pierce Harry's heart at the thought.
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"I don't believe it," said Hermione. "Dumbledore loved Harry."
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"Why didn't he tell him to hide then?" demanded Aberforth. "Why didn't he say, 'Take care of yourself and survive, here's how' or if not hide, then to at least get him ready earlier on. He could have placed the boy with a wizard family and had him training in magic sooner. Even if he was too young to use his magic properly he could have still studied the books about it. Maybe done some survival or combat training. There's times when a good solid punch can be more effective than a wand. I've broken up enough drunken fights to know that. A little preparation might have made things a bit easier, isn't that right Potter?"
He gave Harry a piercing look.
"I heard you were raised by muggles. There's even a rumor that they were the worst sort of muggles, the type that hate and fear magic. Growing up in a place like that, not knowing why strange things kept happening around you, it can't have been pleasant. Is there any truth in that?"
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Harry looked away. He couldn't deny any of it.
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Aberforth nodded, "That's what I thought. Tell me, Potter, when he found out how bad it was for you back home did he ever try arranging for you to live elsewhere, with people that might actually like or support you?"
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Before Harry could think of an answer, Ciel spoke.
''All of this is irrelevant."
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Everyone turned to look at him. He'd been so still and quiet, and they'd been so caught up in the drama of Aberforth's words, that the little blue-haired boy had been temporarily forgotten.
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Ciel had listened carefully to everything that had been said and he felt that he now understood the situation.
"Whether or not your late brother was raising Harry to be a suitably loyal, but not too strongly self-reliant, pawn does not matter. If he really cared about Harry or planed to dispose of him if he ever outlived his usefulness, also does not matter. What occurred in the past cannot be changed and, as you say, your brother is dead. Nothing can change that. What matters is the present and the future."
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"Here now, don't you think you're being a bit harsh?" Said Ronald, fair skin flushed with anger. "Besides, you never even met Dumbledore. Until today you'd never even known us."
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"But that doesn't make my words any less true, distasteful though you find them." Ciel replied.
He turned his attention back to Aberforth and Harry.
"What is done is done. You can treasure or hate your memories. That is your choice. You can spend the rest of your life trying to guess the motives of a dead man. That is also your choice. Accept it and move forward. You chose your path and, right or wrong, Harry chose his. Events have been set in motion and Harry has a mission to complete. Right now Harry only has two choices: to fight or to die. If he is to fight, now is the time. This is his last, best, chance. There will be no other's. If he abandons this path and starts running, he will be running the rest of his life. That life will not be long and at the end he will die a coward's death, full of regrets, wishing he'd at least tried."
He fixed Aberforth with a cold, piercing stare.
"Harry will not run. There comes a time when, scared or not, you have to make a stand and fight. It is better than doing nothing and watching while all you love suffer and die. A life that is lived in fear cannot truly be called living. Is it right for one so young to get involved with such dangerous things? No it is not. But the world is cruel and the sacrifices that have already been made should not be wasted. This task is a thing that must be done. He has gone too far, been through too much, to turn back now."
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The boy's one eyed stare as he gazed at the old barman seemed to pierce him to the core. Aberforth felt as if his very soul was being examined, all his doubts and fears laid bare. It was not a good feeling.
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"Mr. Aberforth, a person who will not fight against an insane, murderous, would-be tyrant when he has the chance might as well roll over and die. Success or failure, this is the night that will decide it all. Will you help us or will you get out of our way and let us do what we have to do?"
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". . . "
"Fine, if you all feel this strongly about, I'll help you. There's only one safe way left into Hogwarts now. All the other entrances and secret passageways are being watched."
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"Thank you," said Harry.
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"Don't thank me," replied Aberforth. "I feel like I'm sending you to your deaths."
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"From the beginning I knew that could happen." Harry said, his voice calm and strong. "But that didn't mean I was going to give up. Listen to me Aberforth, before your brother died he found out You-Know-Who's weakness. The one certain way that he could be defeated once and for all and he passed that knowledge onto me. If I fight him, death is not a certainty. I have a chance to stop him. I'm prepared to do this or die trying."
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"Is it 'for the greater good,' Potter?"
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"No," interrupted Ciel. "It is because this is necessary. And I will thank you to stop throwing that repulsive phrase around. I detest it."
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"What's eating you?" Ron asked.
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Ciel glanced over at Ronald. Apparently the red-headed boy had gotten over some of his earlier fear of the little Earl, enough, in any case, to start talking to him normally. He doubted this calm attitude would last. However, there was no reason not to answer the freckle-faced boys' question.
"I dislike that phrase, and similar words to their affect, because only two types of people use them: hero's and hypocrites. A hero that speaks those types of words is usually going to throw their life away. A hypocrite will lie and use those types of words to justify what they do. I especially hate the later type. They will do anything, discredit and slaughter innocent families, kidnap and torture children, burn hundreds to death and cause the suffering of countless people, and all the while justifying their sins by saying 'it's for the greater good' when the truth is that they have a goal and will do anything to accomplish it. Most of them refuse to even admit the truth of their ambition to themselves."
Ciel sneered, remembering the insane angel that ruined his life over a century ago.
"A lot of them even relish the pain they cause and justify their actions all by saying that it's for the sake of a new clean world or for the great cause or, as is the case now, for the greater good. I bet the Dark Idiot has done all he did and justified himself and his followers in the same way. Speaking as the victim of just that sort of thinking, I believe that garbage of that sort should just admit the truth and accept the consequences."
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Ron now regretted asking. He'd just remembered the story that Ciel had told back at the mansion earlier that day.
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Aberforth remained fixed to his chair and gazed contemplatively at Ciel.
"It sounds," he said slowly as he rose from the chair and walked over to the fireplace, "as if you've had a rough time of it."
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Ciel's smile was without a trace of humor.
"The world is a cruel place, Mr. Aberforth, to those who cannot defend themselves. I have trained since then to ensure that that will never again be the case for me."
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Aberforth looked at them all a moment longer before turning to the portrait of Ariana.
"You know what to do," he said.
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At these words, the girl began to move. She smiled, turned, walked away, and vanished down a dark tunnel that seemed to have appeared behind her.
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"Er –- what -?"began Ron.
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"Remember what I told you," said Aberforth. "There's only one safe way to Hogwarts now and it's through here."
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"But what. . ." said Hermione, frowning up at the picture.
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A tiny white dot had had appeared at the end of the painted tunnel. As it grew larger they could see that it was Ariana returning. When she resumed her previous position on the portrait, the whole thing swung forward on the wall like a little door and the entrance to the real tunnel was revealed.
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Aberforth crossed the room over to the table, grabbed one of the sturdy wooden chairs, placed it next to mantelpiece, and turned to face his guests.
"I'll go first, you lot follow me."
He climbed up the chair then clambered up onto the mantel (which was apparently wider then it looked) and entered the tunnel.
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Ron and Hermione exchanged looks.
"I'll go next." Said Ron.
"Then me." Said Hermione.
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It was Harry's turn next. But as he started toward the chair he suddenly stopped and turned to Ciel.
"Things are going to get hectic soon and this might be my last chance to say it; so Ciel, thank you for everything."
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Looking a bit startled, Ciel said, "What?"
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"Thank you. Even though you really scared us back in that alley, if you hadn't been there we'd have died. You saved us. And a little while ago when you talked about choosing to treasure memories and not worrying about the motives of a dead man… thank you for that. Dumbledore meant a lot to me and I didn't want to doubt him anymore. Your words made me see that I don't have to. I can just treasure the man I knew and not worry about if it was the real him or not."
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"You're welcome Harry, although you don't have to thank me." Said Ciel, "I agreed to come with you and help back before we left my mansion."
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"No, you've been a big help." Harry said, "We couldn't have got this far without you. I also wanted to thank you for convincing Aberforth. I don't think there's anything I could have said that would have convinced him to help us."
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"I'm sure you would have found away. You're pretty determined to do this after all." Ciel said, smiling.
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"Maybe, maybe not. I just wanted to thank you."
Harry then climbed up onto the mantelpiece and entered the tunnel.
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Behind him, the two demons grinned, their eyes momentarily glowing red. Then they followed Harry into the tunnel, staying close behind him.
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And that's the end of the chapter.
Whoa! That was a long one. According to my computer, this is 22 pages long. Eeeek! It's longer then my last long chapter. Personally, I think that 6 to 10 pages is a good chapter length; but there was a lot to cover and no good place to end it sooner.
Those of you familiar with the book this chapter is based on might have noticed that I left some things out or changed a few other things. The reason is simple. I'm trying to keep my story simple. I saw no reason to bring up stuff that wouldn't be immediately relevant. So that stuff about the mirror, Dolby, Rita, the book, and a few other things got left out. If you want to know, then read the book or watch the movies. You can understand my story just fine without them (I hope).
Gah! I'm tired. It makes me cranky. Anyway, today is the second day of school for me. I'm writing before I have to leave. My writings going to slowdown even more, but I want you to know that I'm not giving up on this story. When I get a lot of reviews it makes me feel appreciated. It gives me the push I need to keep going, despite what other things I should be doing.
So, all of you, if you liked what you read, then please review.
Let me know if this has turned out as well as I'd hoped it would or if there's something that might make it even better.
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9/26/2012
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