Chapter 13: Ghost of the Past
Beta Reading by: Rosamanelle
Harry realized that all around him is darkness, a long, narrow, corridor which he had no recollection of ever existing laid down before him, trying again and again to run toward the end which he could never reach…
However, it's not the case this time, as a door came into view after so long, flying open when he's but a few steps from it, revealing a strange, circular room with countless doors lining the walls…
But before he can decide which path to take, he was plunged into darkness once more, this time, screams can be heard. No matter how much he covered his ears, no matter where he turned, no matter what how hard he begged, vocally or not, it wouldn't stop, the scream of his mother continued to torture him from the inside out as a chilling, dark laughter accompanied it, as if enjoying the torment it inflicted on those he held dear…
And before he couldn't take it anymore, everything went white, so bright that he has to close his eyes…
Once he assumed it's safe to look again, he found himself staring at the ceiling, inhaling familiar scent of drugs and potions, telling him where he was without the need to look around, or the need for the nurse to speak to him a few moments later.
"Ah, Mr. Potter, you're finally awake; we were really worried about you." Madam Pomfrey rushed to the boy's side when she noticed his consciousness, a trolley filled with various potions and… quite laughably, considering this's infirmary, chocolates resting near his bed while she took out her wand and began muttering some kind of spell above him.
The process took a few minutes, in which Harry lay still on his bed, his strength gone, unable to move a limb. His head aches when he tries to recall what had happened to land him in the infirmary like this.
As she finished her checkup, Madam Pomfrey sighed in relief and stated, "Thank Merlin that you're fine, you looked the worst compared to everyone here when they first brought you back here, with that many Dementors, and in close proximity too! I thought that you'd be out for week before you regained consciousness, but it seems I was wrong… you're awake in just a few hours!"
The name of those monsters sparked his memories in an instant, his emerald eyes widening as he remember what happened when he was out, despite knowing from Madam Pomfrey that he took the worst of it - meaning that no one was fatally hurt from their effects - he still couldn't help but jolt into sitting position, causing the school nurse to frantically push down on him, trying to get him to lay down, but he has more important matters. "Madam Pomfrey, what happened after the match? How are the students?"
Of course, he isn't going to impress the school nurse anytime soon, as she overwhelmed his still recovering strength and push him back onto his bed, scolding him with her 'angry mother' voice. "My dear, when I said you're better than we thought, I didn't say that you're allowed to get out of bed! You're going to sleep here tonight as well so we can make sure that you're really fine."
Harry was left with no arguments as he grudgingly lay down on his bed again, but before he can turn his head away, Madam Pomfrey decided to shove a chocolate bar down his throat first. "Eat it, Mr. Potter. You already missed your dinner after such energetic outdoor activity. I know that this can't compare to normal food, but after that Dementor's attack, it's the best…"
Harry wasn't sure if there were any activities during the Quidditch match that needed energy, apart from trying to grip your broom and/or throwing a ball around the field, because, to be honest, after the brutal training sessions with Aisha during Defend Against the Dark Arts, Harry was sure that most students could've thought the same thing, that Quidditch was light work compared to DADA. But he chose not to complain to Madam Pomfrey and munched on a bar of chocolate quietly instead, because, as long as he's the patient, there's nothing stopping her, mere quarreling or protesting is just a nuisance, making no effect on her decision to release him.
Once the last bit of chocolate was swallowed, he demanded to know what happened after he fell unconscious in the Quidditch Pitch, to which Madam Pomfrey responded with a growl of anger. "Yes, Dementors. Whoever holds their leash holds it loosely… very loosely…" She scowled. "…It's incredibly lucky that Professor Aisha was capable of dealing with them appropriately while the other teachers had their hands full with protecting students in the stadium, else you and your teammates wouldn't be here…" She motioned at one of many beds lining the infirmary. Harry could identify a soundly asleep Quidditch Captain, Angelina Johnson, and sighed in relief. Thank goodness no one was hurt.
At first, Harry thought that his elder sister drove the Dementors away using Patronus Charm, however, some of the school healer's words didn't add up, so he asked, "What do you mean by dealing with them 'appropriately', Madam Pomfrey?"
The healer hesitated, not that she didn't want to tell him the news, she's simply unsure of how to say it. Cautiously, she replied. "She… used a spell that the Wizarding World has never seen, she fired lightning out of her hands and 'killed' those Dementors in one shot, that's what these students and other teachers told me."
Harry, however, seemed to accept the fact better than Madam Pomfrey first thought, because he had seen said spell during the attack on Little Whinging before, and know that his Sister somehow developed a fondness for sparks and high voltage, nothing to worry about…
Well, until his slowed down brain completely processed the information that is…
Emerald eyes opened wide as he struggled to get out of his bed, but as always, Madam Pomfrey seemed to have Sixth Sense when it came to one of her patient misbehaving while under her care, as she rapidly approached his bed and push him down yet again. "Not now, Mr. Potter, I can tell you what I can, but you need to rest, so I'm not going to let you get up yet."
As he lay on his bed, he frantically asked her "What will happen to Si… Professor Aisha? She used a non-recognizable spell in front of everyone like that…"
Madam Pomfrey saw the worried look in his eyes, which surprised her a bit, as it's not a normal student's worried for their teacher in those eyes, but it's not the worry of a lover, either. Madam Pomfrey had been school healer for many years, since the beginning of the First Wizarding War even! She saw all kinds of students, those who are lovesick, homesick, stressed out due to overwhelming homework and schoolwork, a school's laughing stock, she saw them all… over and over to the point that it's easy for her to determine what her patients are worried about with just one quick glance…
Harry saw this new Professor as his sibling…
Now Madam Pomfrey was puzzled, as she's quite sure that Harry didn't have any biological siblings, so the only conclusion is that this Aisha girl somehow garnered his respect enough for him to considered her one, but when did that happened? Madam Pomfrey has no idea, as it's not possible to build up such high amount of trust in the small time frame that she becomes teacher at Hogwarts at all.
However… the aged school healer looked towards the windows out into the night, when she thought about it, that's nothing she should worry about, as this Aisha has even more pressing matter to address, namely mild symptoms of PTSD[1], although Dumbledore assured her that nothing critical would affect her work (As it's his duty to inform Madam Pomfrey or Professor Snape if one of their fellow staff members need special healthcare, like poor Professor Lupin), but it's still there and requires attention, especially after today. The incident might bring whatever memories buried in Aisha's mind back up, if the story the students and McGonagall told her is true, she'd stood closer than the rest to the Dementors during the attack to rescue Harry. Even though she's fine for now, she's guaranteed to have a nightmare tonight as the Dementor's curse has yet to completely dispel.
In fact, she's already given the girl credit for standing up close to such large horde of them without fainting outright. If she can endure that much, then she can pass through whatever nightmare the curse will bring up without much hassle, but of course, it'd be unbecoming of healer if she let this go unattended…
Just the same as letting this child be worried sick about his sister...
Thus, before going out to address another problem, Madam Pomfrey decided to ease the mind of the raven-haired teenage boy by saying, "What are you thinking about, Mr. Potter? In the school grounds, it's the safety of children that we prioritize. As long as her action saved you and your friends, then I fail to see why all of you cannot testify for her actions. Most importantly, when Dumbledore got word of what happened a mere half an hour after you fainted, he practically dropped his meeting and rushed back here, so I'm sure that he'll do everything in his power to testify for her and hopefully find the one behind this incident…" Her last words were filled with venom, before she shifted back to normal tone to soothe the tension once more "…so don't worry too much…"
That seemed to calm Harry down a little, the frown on his face gone, although his emerald eyes still had a tint of worry, he nodded and slowly closed his eyes, rolling over his bed and going to sleep.
"Good boy…" Madam Pomfrey whispered to no one in particular as she carefully inspected each and every bed in infirmary for the last time, before she extinguished the lanterns so they wouldn't disturb the sleeping patients. Leaving the infirmary behind, she decided to visit certain purple haired teacher…
But on second thought, she glanced back at her work post worriedly; leaving this place for too long isn't a good idea when she thought more about what happened so far. It was obvious that those Dementors specifically targeted the Boy who Lived. There was no telling what would happen if she left him and the rest of her patients by themselves, especially the boy who seem to dragged himself into trouble with every step he took…
Letting out a sigh of frustration, Madam Pomfrey took rapid steps toward the dungeon; it seems she has to send someone else to check on the Professor of questionable mental state in the end…
Of course, he's the one who helped her with Lupin's conditions two years ago despite their… rivalry of some sort, and Dumbledore vouched for him when he first joined the ranks of teachers after the first Wizarding War. Even though he longed for the Defense position for many years, the Potion Professor was someone Madam Pomfrey trusted with the healthcare of everyone in this school, should she not be available… and she's sure that just a simple talk or issuing a potion isn't going to cause any problems.
After all, that man is a professional when it came to his work, and he won't let some petty personal problem get in the way…
In his spacious office, filled with portraits of the past Headmasters of Hogwarts, Dumbledore sat tiredly on his desk as he rolled one last parchment, tying it to his phoenix's leg while whispering "This's the last one for today, Fawkes, thank you for your hard work…"
The Immortal bird let out a noise of acknowledgement before engulfing itself in flame, vanishing from the room moments later, leaving the old Headmaster alone with snoring portraits, hoping that Sirius would still be up and watching over the headquarters to receive the news and relay it to the other members inside the Ministry as soon as possible when they came back to report at base.
'Things have taken an unexpected turn lately…' Dumbledore thought, his eyes flashing a shade of anger for a moment when he looked at the Daily Prophet, which has Fudge's face printed on it, in all these years he always thought that Fudge was a fool in some aspects, but also the most competent and a good leader, one who could fill in when Bartemius Crouch resigned from the post. He has been put on because Dumbledore refused to take the mantle of Minister, and now he was paying the price for refusing it…
He never once thought that the paranoid man would go so far as to do THIS!
All fourteen Quidditch players, Slytherin and Gryffindor alike, needed to be closely watched by Madam Pomfrey and probably stay in bed until Monday. Dozens of students had been confined in the infirmary, unable to endure such an experience, and an exhausted Madam Hooch. Although she got back up to rest in her own quarters, she probably won't teach flying class for a week. It's a miracle that no one got a kiss from those monsters…
This was the worst possible nightmare for the aged Wizard, topped by only Voldermort's atrocities during the last war, and his own failure to realise many of his own faults before the long ignored reality of the world decided to crumble his foolhardy dream around him, resulting in a great loss that would never be to replaced, a wound that will never heal, scarring him forever…
This will be another scar in his mind… It was all his fault for not taking action to prevent it, believing that Fudge won't go so far to harm him or young Harry… regardless of the uncontrollable nature of those foul creatures, nor the safety of innocent bystanders, the whole teaching staff watching Quidditch be damned. If not for the quick action by that girl he picked up they would be dead, but her actions will be sure to damn her in a political mess in the near future as a price of being too kind. He couldn't begin to imagine what kind of horror he would find when he returned to the school.
Popping another Lemon Drop into his mouth to calm himself down, Dumbledore slumped back on his chair, his hand stroking his beard while contemplating his next move, no longer doubting that Fudge will take advantage of this botched attempt at Harry's life to discredit him even more, after all, if he's willing to go as far as trying to kill a boy to preserve a status quo, what prevented him from lying and deceiving the masses?
And he had another teacher to thank, for her actions have saved his precious students, despite knowing full well what would entail for taking such desperate measures. He'll make sure Harry and his sister will get away from whatever the Ministry's contingency planned to enact... It's something that only he can do anyway…
Meanwhile, in the quarters that should belong to the Defense Against the Dark Art teacher, Dolores Jane Umbridge is currently pacing around the room, gritting her teeth in frustration and fear of what is about to come from her superior after they heard of her failure… Which would be very soon, as those loose lipped students sent their owls back to inform their parents. Ungrateful kids, never knowing what's at stake for the stability of their Magical World!
Yes, a failure of epic proportion! Even if there's no evidence to trace back to her as the letter was sent in secret, the Ministry's reputation will be in shambles tomorrow, no matter how they try to spin their excuses to the masses. Saying that it was rogue Dementors from Azkaban that assaulted Hogwarts would mean they're not controlling them properly, saying its wild Dementors not under their jurisdiction would make people question how they let such creatures run loose without any way to track them.
The Toad Lady turned around and threw a quill, not a Blood Quill, of course, against a wall, splattering black ink on the cold stone to vent her frustration about how miscalculating the threat level of one little girl from the non-Wizarding Society that Dumbledore posted as teacher ended up ruining her plan like this!
Slumping down in a couch, Umbridge poured herself coffee and drank it in one go, looking at some parchment lying on her desk on the opposite side of the office, reminding her that a bigger storm is about to hit the Ministry full force, since Fudge already proclaimed in courts full of people, authority, and influential members of their society alike, that there're no rogue Dementors out there and that the Ministry has full control of them. This will be the biggest blow to their reputation. No amount of pressure will be able to stop Daily Prophet from reporting it! There's no way she can blame the security of Hogwarts for letting them in, as it stands, their testimony now worked against her. Dumbledore can defend his lack of defensive measure by pointing to their claim, and there's no escaping this one no matter how hard she thought of a way out…
Still, as she glanced at the parchment while sluggishly pulling herself up from the couch; there must be some way to salvage this situation and maintain a reputation in Fudge's eyes, that she can put Dumbledore and his Golden Boy in place. Some way to show Fudge that she isn't done yet…
As the light of candle on her desk flickered with the wind blowing in from opened window, Umbridge stared at it for a few seconds, a certain image from earlier incidents flashing in her mind along with reports from the investigation team sent to Little Whinging in August, then she contemplated what she just saw today…
Realization hit her in that instant as she grinned mischievously; this may be useful against Dumbledore as fine material to kick him out of the Hogwarts, along with Potter and that slip of a girl that is the Defense teacher on the basis of taking in a girl that's practicing Dark Arts and using the Dark Arts respectively! Despite the fact that she doesn't know what kind of spell Aisha used, as long as it's extremely deviated from the Wizarding World magic and very dangerous, like what she saw, then it still is a fine accusation that'll guaranteed land them in Azkaban, provided that she could find the evidence to accuse them first…
The memories from students in the entire stadium sounded tempting, but it's too shaky and unreliable, during chaos of Dementor's attack, and on open ground like that she'd just claim that she was trying to cast something to chase the Dementors away, but nature seemed to be playful and struck first with lightning. Even when Umbridge herself saw it all from above, she would've still thought it was normal lightning, if not because of those sparks flying around Aisha when she 'chanted' the spell in silence.
So, Umbridge sat down at her desk, thinking of how to get Aisha to expose her practice of this so-called 'Dark Magic' to the Wizarding world, as using Vetriserum or a Legilimency spell is risky. Umbridge couldn't brew one without asking for ingredients from Professor Snape, which will surely alert Dumbledore that something's up. Stealing with the invisible cloak was out, as she'll not stoop so low as being a thief. As for Legilimency, well, Umbridge was not proficient in that art, and doesn't know how strong the mental defense she would face is, so that option is out too.
Getting Aurors to arrest her is also not a good idea, that bloody Madam Bones will surely skin her alive if she tried her luck without hard evidence after the recent fiasco with Blood Quill, Fudge only barely able to bail her out. She was all alone in this endeavor.
What about influencing some freelancer?
She thought for a bit before sighing in irritation, as much as she loathed being associated with 'that woman' for being a nuisance to the Ministry – years of sprouting rumors, discrediting them at every turn, so much that the Inquisitor was sure that she's almost as bad as Potter – but she's very damn good at her work, since no one ever dismissed the rumors she started at all, because there're always 'partial truths' that they public thought were secrets included in her articles, exposing them to the world.
Although she dropped off the radar since last year, after trying to undermine the Boy Who Lived, Umbridge's not sure what happened to her. Using her influence as an Undersecretary of the Ministry, finding the woman and getting her to cooperate with the Ministry's will is almost guaranteed.
After all, the enemies of your enemies are friends, according to the old saying, aren't they?
The main staircase of Hogwarts is in chaos as stairways move back and forth, up and down, from floor to floor at a set of pattern that's hard to remember, as if to transport people from one place to another, despite that it's in midnight when no students will use it to get anywhere in the castle, as the enchantment on the magical staircase ordered it to always operate whenever there're any person close by, no matter how few of them.
Tonight, since most teachers are resting due to the stress of combating a horde of Dementors during the day, the patrol that is supposed to check the castle during curfew is unsurprisingly very light, and with only ghosts and portraits keeping temporary watch, as requested by the Headmaster, as well as Filch the caretaker with his cat Mrs. Norris… there're few people who will use staircase at all, making the atmosphere even creepier.
This doesn't bother Severus Snape the slightest, he already got used to them a long ago, from since he was a student, and so he let the stairway ascend, taking him towards his destination, requested by Madam Pomfrey, to check on the one who saved all the students from a fate far worse than death out of paranoia – and sense of duty.
It wasn't normally his duty to check on patients, of course. Snape clicked his tongue irritably at the healer's train of thought, but, as he's the second most knowledgeable person in the healing arts (Even though mostly through potions, but you get the point) and the most knowledgeable in known Dark Arts in this entire school, there're no way he can avoid this request…
As the staircase came to a stop at the third floor, the Potions Professor walked down the empty hallway, and soon he's standing next to a door leading to a small room where their Defense Professor resides.
He knocked on the door and waited for a few moments, before walking inside when no one responded, after all, it's not like he has any impure thoughts about the girl, nor he wish her harm. If anything, she just saved his godson, Draco Malfoy, thus he owed her one, even if she doesn't know that yet.
That… and something about her intrigued him…
Pushing those thoughts aside, he closed the door and looked around in darkness, before spotting the girl whom Madam Pomfrey sent him to look after slouching on a couch which was turned into a makeshift bed, if the blanket was any indication. And judging by the trails of water seeping from her closed eyes that has yet to stop, it seemed that the healer's fear isn't unfounded…
She's surely having a nightmare…
Now, a part of Snape wanted nothing but to shove a sleeping potion down the girl's throat, but as he learned from Dumbledore about her vague past, she'd become the equivalent of a soldier since age 12. Trying to force the liquid in the tiny bottle in his pocket down her throat isn't a good idea anymore, what if her body reacted by instinct if someone got close and attacked him? He gulped at the image of a dozen Dementors getting fried by lightning that afternoon, well; he doesn't want to find out what she'll do in a state of unconsciousness.
Another part of him is curious of her past, he knows that Dumbledore hadn't lied to him when he told him that he couldn't catch any glimpses of what happened in her past due to her strong mental defense, but Snape knew more about Legilimency, he knew that human's mind will be at its weakest during sleep, and even more vulnerable if they're relieving a nightmare from the past.
But to use this magic in these conditions has its downside as well, namely, the user will only get to see the nightmare that the target person is currently having. They cannot weave through their mind to see other memories, like when using Legilimens on a conscious target at all. Not even Voldermort can bypass this restriction; else the first Wizarding War would've caused much more damage than it already did!
Still, as Snape looked at the purple haired girl again when she squirmed in her 'bed,' probably because of the nightmare, this's the best opportunity to gain insight on what happened to her, she's capable, but… as someone who has grasped psychology like Snape and Dumbledore, they could easily point out that she's broken on the inside, but she hid it so well even McGonagall cannot find anything wrong with her. And if his theory is correct, that Potter may be one of the last things that kept her sanity intact, judging by the angry face she made when she fried those monsters, it was also filled with terror, the fear of losing someone dear to her…
He could try to get the girl to talk when she's in the mood, however he doubted that such an event would come to pass anytime soon, and he certainly did not want any time bomb ticking in Hogwarts, even if he's a Death Eater, even if he's a spy, he still has to protect the students…
Thus, without further hesitation, Snape cast Legilimency and peered into the psyche of Aisha…
The reaction was instant.
Hundreds of thousands of images rushed into his mind like a broken dam, all he could make sense from the images that rushed through was blood, mangle corpses and body parts, burning forests, ruins of city, skies painted red as a giant construction burned like the sun crashing down, along with the people on board, falling into the woods.
Then the image shifted, and he heard roar of wild creatures ring in his skull as some kind of creature he couldn't describe, never before seen, rushed forwards from a broken gate of a city wall, swarming through the urban area like a wildfire through the forest during summer, a war horn blown in the distance as he watched in horror at citizens haplessly fleeing the onslaught, explosions everywhere, shouts, screams echoing… and then he had enough…
Snape stumble backwards uncontrollably as he pulled back his mind and canceled the Legilimency, his legs shaking. He was used to violence, yes, but not to this degree, genocide of a whole city that made Voldermort's small village purge during his heyday puny in comparison, a large scale battle dwarfing any battles in the first Wizarding War. To tell the truth, he was shaken…
And then he tripped, his hand flying around wildly, trying to regain balance as it hit something metallic behind him, a humming sound of a machine filling the air as whatever contraption he just used to regain his balance started up.
Snape's eyes widened in shock, whirling around and staring at the large metallic block behind him beginning to unfold into some sort of projector. This entire piece screamed technology, that much he knew, but how could it work in Hogwarts, where the magic field constantly interfered with such things from functioning?
No matter, the machine flared to life, a light shooting out from its glass panels, filling the air with color and noise, which made Snape cover his eyes for a moment, before slowly reopening them and looking at the image…
It was ruins of large city, with architecture from the Medieval Age, white spires and towers that once littered the area crumbled into wrecks, burnt-out buildings on every corner he could see, trails of smoke rising from the mountains far away from the city, and there's a large street in the center leading to what Snape could describe as a palace or castle so huge that it put Hogwarts to shame, even if some of its buildings, towers and spires were crumbled, burnt or in ruin, they still couldn't completely shadow its full glory in the slightest.
Despite the depressing scenery, people on both sides of the street (Well, Snape could call them people perhaps, as some of them were not even human! There was a dog-man, a cat-man, even walrus!), the focus of the image, were cheering and celebrating as a small carriage, pulling by two perfectly normal horses, escorted on both sides by troops dressed in navy blue, equipped with some sort of rod and sword, obviously magic users, passed by, heading towards the palace in the distance.
However, what caught his attention was that he couldn't recognize what the crowds were saying at all, they're using language completely foreign to him. Although it has some trace of Russian, Snape was sure, nay, completely certain that it wasn't, thanks to the lessons from when he was still associated with Karkaroff during the first Wizarding War.
That means, whatever the place is, it wasn't Russia…
And then, when the holo-image focused on the crowds, his eyes widened as he look st some of the flags hanging on the lampposts lining up the street. Aside from the symbol of whatever this country was, some of the flags had a familiar face smiling back at him…
They were Aisha's portraits, but he noticed, as he look between the holo-projector and the 'real' Aisha currently sleeping on the couch, that she looked younger in the image, not to mention that she looked… for the lack of a better word… brighter… than she is now.
That would explain why the crowds were shouting "Ghale Aisha!" in addition to "Ghale Hemeleon!"[2] whenever the carriage rolled by. It seemed to be some sort of praise… and that would mean he had a pretty good idea of who was in said carriage.
The image shifted once more when the carriage rolled past guards at the front gate of palace and out of sight, this time it took place in a meeting hall that matched the size of palace he saw earlier, as well as the state of the city. It was slightly worn out, but the bright music and clapping diminished those.
At the center of the hall stood a hooded figure clad in a white and royal blue robe decorated with golden jewelry, peering at the distant gate. On the other end, people in elaborate dresses of various designs stood around, forming a half circle around her as the guards that dressed just like those Snape saw accompanying the carriage earlier standing at the front, alongside seven people who, with the exception of a black haired man with claws and redhead woman carrying a huge sword as tall as herself, looked around their teens, yet dressed in obvious colorful combat wear, weapons strapped to their backs.
Looks like they were waiting for someone, Snape thought…
The gate flung open, revealing a younger version of Aisha, heading towards the hooded figure in the center. She was dressed in a similar dress as she is now, except for the absence of the purple symbol on her white jacket, the lack of the golden emblem adorning her huge pink ribbon tying her jacket, and she carried a wooden rod instead of the fine steel rod she currently possessed.
And most importantly, the hardened look in her eyes was almost identical to one she usually shows when glaring down some idiots in her class at Hogwarts, only they have black marks under them, as if she was crying hard for some time before this event happened…
The girl stopped in front of the hooded figure, as the spokesperson declared something that Snape couldn't understand. The hooded figure then reached to their pocket, pulling out the gold emblem and reaching for Aisha's ribbon to hook it, likely a reward of her service to the one on the seat of power.
But before the figure could do so, Aisha's hand shot up in front his/her hands, the girl proceeding to say something, likely demanding something before shaking her head, as if refusing such a reward.
The figure in the hood spoke for the first time. It was woman's voice, so beautiful and sincere that Snape felt it could calm almost anyone down, however, Aisha in the image stood firm, hissing angrily and still refusing the… now Snape was certain… her promotion to some rank in her society… she pointed across the hall, toward the distant ruins, saying something he didn't understand…
"Enjoying yourself are you, Professor?" The mature voice of the purple haired girl in the hologram echoed in the small room. He whipped his head around and confronted the current Aisha, who was just one step away! Her still watery eyes narrowed down, as if to examine him, frowning, her hands folded in front of her, as if to maintain the expression of being angry, had it not been for her calm, almost Zen-like breathing, he would've thought she was truly mad at him.
But nonetheless, he invaded her personal space, thus Snape quickly apologized. "I'm sorry for entering without permission, but Madam Pomfrey demanded that you need medical attention after confronting that many Dementors…"
The girl stared at him for a while, before the hologram behind them suddenly played the sound of crowds cheering as Aisha finally, or rather, grudgingly, accepted the emblem and slowly walked out of the hall. It was then that Aisha stepped past Professor Snape and hit a button, which made the image stay still, her gaze falling upon seven figures clad in distinctive clothing among the crowds almost longingly.
The next few minutes were silent. Snape wasn't sure what to do next, but observed the young girl in front of him. Legilimency never crossed his mind, as she's already awake and thus prepared. The girl spoke again, addressing him. "Professor Dumbledore told me that you're his most trusted person in the school, and that you're Voldermort's double agent. Is that correct?"
Snape stiffened a little; his hand gripped his wand inside his pocket without knowing, before replying. "Perhaps, but I cannot see what it has to do with the recent events. And I suggest that you rest, after confronting that many Dementors… Even after you killed them, their power will still continue to affect your mind for a while. It'll wear off in a day or two…"
Aisha made a grunting noise of acknowledgement, before shaking her head. "I doubt I'll get any sleep tonight, those… nightmares of mine seem intensify…" She let out a sigh. "I thought I already made up for it after that day, but as those Dementors demonstrated… I haven't really…" She chuckled bitterly.
"You shouldn't concern yourself with them; it is their nature to feast upon fear by bringing out the darkest moment of one's life…" Snape assured her. "As I said, after a day or two you'll be back to normal."
"Raven…" Aisha suddenly interrupted Snape with some completely random word, causing him to stop and look at the girl, who is currently starring at the hologram of a dark skinned, black haired man with orange eyes, his left arm replaced by a menace looking metallic claw, in long black coat that's standing amongst the crowd.
"Professor Aisha…" Snape called out hesitantly, but it seems she is reminiscing of her past, and from his experience, it better to let them speak out rather than intervene, so that the pent up negative emotions can be vented.
Considering the girl's close proximity to the Dementors when rescuing his students today, and how she suddenly spoke of the past, as she's likely has a homesickness stimulated by their foul influence, he thought this was the best cure, better than his sleeping potion which could only delay the inevitable in a patient with serious case of PTSD and homesickness like her.
"That's the man's name…" Aisha continued, motioned at the image and moved away, as if to let Snape see him. "…He's like big brothers to all of us… along with Rena…" She pointed at a green haired girl in formal clothing, a bow on her back who smiled gently at Aisha, who's walking away in the image projected.
"She looks… as young as you…" Snape commented, as if to encourage her to spill it all out, better now than let her be in distressed in front of Umbridge.
"That's her looks, and how she acts… I wouldn't be surprised if you think that…" Aisha replied offhandedly "…and that's Ara Haan." She motioned to the black haired girl who had one of the most decorated spears Snape ever saw slung across her back. "…Eve… She worked her way into becoming an Empress, revived her fallen kingdom years after this scene…" She pointed at a pale, silver-haired girl in a white and gold dress, flanked on both sides by two servants, a butler and a maid in white…
"…Chung Seiker, Knight of Senace… The kingdom this event takes place…" Then she looked at the blonde effeminate young boy in white and blue armor that look so heavy Snape wondered how the boy was able to move while wearing it at all. "Elesis… the wandering Red Knight…" She pointed at a redheaded girl in red ball gown with giant sword as big as herself. "And Elsword…" She now looked at another spiky redheaded boy next to the redheaded girl, carrying sword that's just as big, adorned in full plate armor, as if they were brother and sister.
Snape was speechless, well; he was already surprised because of the implication when she told him about Eve. Saying that they resided in one country is one thing, but if that girl actually built another Kingdom, as she implied, this means that where Aisha came from is surely a big place, not to mention those animal-humans he saw lining up the road…
Seeing that the girl still lingered on the redhead boy, Snape couldn't help but ask. "Is he your boyfriend?"
Aisha's cheeks flushed pink for a moment, before turning off the projector, letting the room fall as she snapped her fingers to ignite the fireplace, answering while whirling around to face the Potions Professor, staring at him inquisitively. "So, you notice my feelings with just a few seconds of observation… or is it because you used Legilimency on me when I was still out?"
There's no point in denying, as she already knows of the existence of mind reading magic, and he knows, just by her piercing gaze, that his guilt has already shown on his face, no point in denying it anymore. Thus he sidestepped it. "It is home sickness, then, that attacked you in a dream…"
His statement seemed correct, as the girl's lip stiffened, her purple eyes staring into his black ones, as if daring him to say something more, daring him to question her, and somehow, he couldn't resist and did just that moments later. Even he's not sure why he did it. "But it was a happy memory, isn't it, that woman in robes… seemed to be in a high position of your society. Wasn't this the greatest moment of your life?"
Aisha's eyes twitched, clenching her teeth together, becoming a sign that made Snape realize that he just pushed the girl's 'berserk button.' He backed away from her; hand gripped his wand in his pocket, prepared to cast a stunning charm to knock her out…
But it was all in vain. Even though he was a duelist during his prime, it was a long time before becoming a teacher, and the lack of practice had mellowed his skill. He couldn't react in time to stop the girl from grabbing his face with her palm, despite that there's no indication of her movement or usage of magic at all!
'Fast!' was all he could think before trying his best to defuse the situation. "Professor Aisha, calm yourself! I'm trying to help you."
"I doubt that any comforting words of yours will do me any good, Professor Severus Snape…" Aisha whispered softly while pushing the man two heads taller and more muscular than her back into a wall. Struggle as he might, Snape couldn't break out from her grip. 'Is this the result of her 'reinforcement spell'? I can't shake her off even if I'm taller than her!'
As his wand came out of his pocket, tendrils of blue light suddenly appeared and wrapped around his wrists, preventing it from casting any spells as Aisha continued where she left off, fury in her eyes. "…After all, you can only speculate about what happened to me, correct?"
"I… saw… some of it…" Snape choked his words out, admitting the truth, causing her to loosen her grip on his face, drawing her hand back so he could speak more clearly. "Legilimency… when used on a sleeping target, the user will only see what he's dreaming about, or nothing at all if they're already in a deep sleep…" He brushed the greasy hair that fell down in his face away. "I saw your nightmare, even if it was fragmented. I have to admit… I never saw anything so brutal. What age were you when it happened, anyway?"
Aisha backed away a bit, breathing in and out slowly as if to calm herself down, her eyes closed as her right hand touched her forehead, muttering. "Relieving my memories for someone to see?… I guess that for a Voldermort's spy, this would be priceless to take to him?"
"I will not say a word, Professor Aisha…" Snape's eyes narrowed with conviction, recalling his past when he sees that she still doesn't believe him. "I promised to someone to keep Harry Potter safe, even if I hate his guts for being an exact copy of his father for the past four years!" He then turned around, not wanting the girl half his age to see him seething, struggling between telling the truth or just stopping there and leaving the room, but he continued. "Seeing that he cared for you enough to tone his 'father side' down a bit, I think he'll be devastated if you are to be harmed…"
He breathed loudly, before turning back to face the girl again. "…if the Dark Lord were to harm you, I think that no one will be able to stop him from dropping out of school just to get revenge… I cannot and will not allow that… please understand…"
Even if his logic was strange, the meaning behind his words was genuine, and Aisha slowly paced around her room with her arm crossed behind her back, considering his words, before she sat down behind her desk and faced the Potion Professor, hands clasped under her chin as she peered into his black eyes. "You have to see it yourself to understand what happened to me…"
Snape hesitate a little, before asking in emotionless tone. "You already trust me?"
"Even if you always hated him and punished his mistakes for so long, you still do it justly without making up excuses, and never leave him in a life-threatening situation when you have the power to prevent it… Dumbledore already told me that, and it coincided with Harry's half of the story as well…" Aisha reasoned. "And you know that leaking my secret to Voldermort will result in deliberately putting him in danger again, so I can at least trust you with this…"
She paused as her form seems to glowed faint blue, her eyes radiating a purple aura as she continued. "Peer into my memory, Professor, and you'll understand."
There was no indication that her mental defense had been dropped around the parts of her memories she wanted him to see – well, it's not something that is visible to naked eye in the first place, but he saw it in her eyes, that she allowed him to invade her mind and peer into it, thus he raised his wand up, pointing at the girl at the desk while calmly uttering the spell. "Legilimens!"
Snape found himself standing at a dockyard next to a vast ocean; behind him he saw a giant spire piercing up from the ground which he recognized from the holographic projector back in Aisha's room earlier. But unlike the cheery atmosphere in that image, there was invisible pressure all around him, dark clouds formed by smoke rising from the ground seemingly more intense, as if it threatened to blot out the sun, drowning this city in eternal darkness. There was no laughter, no singing, not even the slightest sign of life around the dock, save for the two who're standing some distance away from him…
When Snape walked closer to them, he saw that the first one is an old man with a brown beard, brown hair that tied in a bun behind his head, a lean figure dressed in a blue robe that managed to scream 'magic!' all over, despite being quite plain, unlike the twinkling or sparkles that most in the Wizarding community loved to add to their dress of choice. His piercing gaze conveyed wisdom and experience unlike anyone Snape had ever seen before, sans Dumbledore, which was amplified even more by a big book he strapped to his hip.
Next to the old man was a girl. Snape recognized her instantly, despite being a head shorter than the current Aisha, clad in a short-sleeved dress with poofy pants that reached only to her knees, white socks and purple shoes, hair tied up in a bun to match the old man [3], still with the eyes of curiosity and happiness a normal teenaged girl should have. This girl was definitely Aisha…
They stood silently, not a word exchange between the two, making the mind invader wonder what this memory would serve to explain about the girl's situation.
As if on cue, a rumbling sound was heard from the distant ocean and came closer. At first, Snape saw nothing, but once he look up above, his jaw hung open. Two large flying Blue Galleons that put Durmstrang's, the ones that came to Hogwarts last year, to shame, broadsides bristling with cannons of all sizes, some large enough to put half dozen of men in like a shotgun shell, slowly descending down to the water, wind blowing hard around the two individual as the flying ships touched down, forming waves that crashed against the pier.
Once they dropped the anchors, huge stairs extended from the hull, reaching the piers they docked with, hundreds of crew members slowly walking down, forming ranks next to the young Aisha and the old man.
It was then that they spoke their first words, Aisha complaining to the old man next to her, despite it being in a Russian-like language, Snape somehow understood it all, meaning that the owner of this memory is helping him at the moment.
'Her mental ability is incredibly competent…' The Potions Professor mused while paying attention to the events unfolding before him.
"Just two ships…" the 'young' Aisha muttered grimly, happiness fading from her eyes as she glanced towards the crews assembled around them. "…and only youngsters and old men as our crew…"
"I'll take the old men along with one ship, little Aisha…" the elder man spoke, while patting the girl's head, making her pout.
"Please stop treating me like that, Master." She asked politely. "Our situation isn't looking good at all, and yet you still tease me like when I first become your apprentice?"
'So, this is her mentor in the art of magic...' Snape thought. 'But I don't see the poin–… ah…'
The mentor spoke, this time his voice was dead serious as he explained to his apprentice. "Our forces have been spread thin. There's no one to spare for us anymore. I think you should already know that from your friends, no?"
"But it's underwhelming when thinking about what we're going to do!" Aisha pointed out the flaws in their plan. "Besides, although it's very important, this mission isn't that urgent, we should wait for a little longer before striking against them!"
"Time is of the essence…" Her mentor replies, arms crossed, adamant to her protests. "Not that your reasoning isn't sound, my young apprentice, but as of now, the probability of success isn't as low as you might think. They know that we can't spare any forces to deal a strike deep into their territory, so they wouldn't see this coming…"
"If you say so… Master…" Aisha hesitated before backing down, but that doesn't stop her from glancing at the crew assembled there as if to judge their worth.
Awkward silence reigned over the dockyard, young crewmen looking at each other nervously while the older ones are uncomfortably silent.
That is, until one man broke it by singing a song. While the language is still alien to him, Snape, who knew that this's just one of Aisha's memories, understood it completely…
"In the field of our noble home, where the blue flower blossomed…"
Aisha's eyes widen in surprise. Of what, Snape didn't know, but when he glanced at her mentor, the old man now sporting a grin on his face as more young crewmen joined the chorus.
"Come, sing a song of hope…"
Now the mentor has joined in, along with the old men that formed the crew of the first ship. And then…
"May the god's grace be with us…"
Finally, Aisha smiles a little, before joining them, the whole dock shaken by the song they sing, preparing them for the battle that's to come.
"Ghale Hemeleon, hail to the freedom of our home!" [4]
The scene changed again, and this time, Snape found himself flying just below the dark clouds spanning the sky as far as he can see, on board one of the ships… Aisha's ship, to be exact.
Before he could scan the surroundings, the ship was violently rocked by an explosion on the starboard side, ripping a hole into the hull, pieces of debris flying everywhere. One of them surged past through his spectral body and smashed one of the youngsters into a paste of blood and gore, all before his eyes!
"Crew, stay calm! Don't panic and return fire!"
Aisha's voice, or the younger version of her in the memory, boomed on the deck via loudspeakers. When Potions Professor turned around, he saw the girl in question currently holding her staff, pointed over the edge of the boat alongside other witches and wizard soldiers, also holding staffs as tall as themselves in their hands pointing outwards, blue, red, green, and yellow magic circles of various sizes forming along the starboard as casters gathered magic energy and fired their spells back at the opposition in the form of colorful light beams, ball of flames, or ice.
Turning around to see what they're shooting at, Snape nearly fell on the floor in fear, despite thinking that nothing in the world would frighten him anymore. There, a few hundred meters away from the ship, among dozens of huge tornadoes whirling around as if to protect it, was a massive floating fortress with hundreds cannons of various sizes firing at them from along its walls and towers. It made the flying battleship looks puny in comparison.
And mere fifty meters in front of the ship, is another ship which is in much worse condition than theirs, almost the whole starboard was annihilated, parts of its bridge on fire, mainmast crumbled in flame. It was a miracle that it still floated, and the old crewmen still hurled their magic bolts toward the sky fortress in defiance…
All the bolts connected with a blue transparent shield on the fortress, causing no visible damage.
Aisha collapsed on the floor, breathing heavily, sweat covering her face after her last barrage of fireballs failed to penetrate the fortress's shield. The ship shook violently again when another counter fire from the opposition blasted another mainmast out of the ship, sending it towards the ground below, along with dozens of crew members who were disintegrated by the blast.
The barrage of spells from the other ship does no good as well. The fortress is still undamaged, desperate looks on all crew members, some even collapsing in a crying wreck on the ruined deck, while some officers tried in vain to raise their fighting spirit…
Aisha got back up shakily, her hands clamped around her staff as a support while she coughed up blood, a magic circle appearing in the air next to her, showing an image of her mentor who's on the other ship, his face covered in sweat, blood dripping from his mouth from overusing his magic in the earlier attack, even his breathing is hard. He's already at his limit.
"Master, we cannot take that fortress down with our current forces. We must retreat!" Aisha wasted no time calling out to the old man. "The fortress will take weeks to reach Hamel, we can prepare before we can mount an assault again! Even you are already exhausted and cannot cast magic anymore, what's the point of persisting here?"
Her mentor said nothing as explosion occurred in the background, throwing more men who plummeted to their death. He shook his head. "I have to complete this mission Aisha; I promised those back at home that I will do this to give them hope!"
"They don't exact the death penalty for failure, we can come back again Master, please!" Aisha begs, but her pleas fall on deaf ears as his eyes peer into Aisha with a cold, steely gaze.
"No, a man… nay… those with power have their honor to uphold, Aisha. To never break promise, is part of my honor…!"
"How can you expect to uphold your honor when we cannot do anything?!" Aisha pointed, clearly distressed, at the undamaged fortress. "Direct assault is a mistake and… you…" Her voice was drowned out, as if she was not willing to speak against her own mentor. But it wass more than enough for Snape to guess what had happened during the planning stage of the campaign.
'She probably protested against her mentor once…' Snape thought grimly, as he also realized how dire the situation was. 'This is probably her nightmare.'
Suddenly, the transmission from her mentor's ship was cut, as the battered flying battleship in front of Aisha's raised its speed, charging toward the fortress despite losing all of its mainmasts…
It rammed into the fortress full force, right at the center where the gate are supposed to be, the bow crackling from the impact with the shield protecting the fortress, Somehow, the ship got through and stayed there, creating a hole in their defense and sending the defenders into panic to the point of stop attacking altogether.
The image in the magic circle fizzled back to life once more, as the old man, now looking worse as flame erupted around him, ordered Aisha. "Aisha, from the analysis we did earlier, if everyone aboard your ship fires spells through my ship, it'll hit right at the Dark El crystal core, triggering a chain explosion strong enough to take out this fortress! My ship has created a weak spot in their shield now, so use it!"
Aisha took a step away from the communication magic, her feet trembling and shook her head in denial, prompting her mentor to shout once again "What are you waiting for? Cast your magic, use everything you've got and hit through my ship now!"
"But you'll die!" Aisha protested, tears falling from her eyes, as she never once thought that she had to kill her own mentor like this. "You cannot use any more spells, even teleporting out will kill you!"
"There's no other way to destroy it, except for shooting the spells through me, Aisha! Do it!"
Seeing that the girl still hesitated, the old man spoke bitterly once more. "It was my mistake, Aisha… I underestimated our enemies, along with our intelligence. I'm arrogant to think that I can take this fortress on with just you, me and two battleships. Now I must pay for it."
"Everyone makes mistakes, Master…" Aisha begged, but was cut short by her mentor again.
"If I retreat, how can I face my own subordinates, who put all their faith into me and died for my failure in the afterlife? How can I live to face their families?" The old man now had tears streaking down his cheek as he addressed his one and only apprentice. "My dream is for a world where we don't have to sacrifice young men and women to fight off demons… A world where everyone can coexist, even Nasods like your friend…" He paused. "And we cannot outrun their forces, the only way for you to escape is to destroy this fortress and use the chaos to escape, so do it now!"
Now the surviving magic users on Aisha's ship gathered on the deck, looking at their second-in-command, a bawling, teenage Aisha, awaiting orders.
Finally the girl wiped her tears away, gripped her staff tightly, pointing it towards the distant fortress, trying her best to ignore the image of her mentor via the communication magic. She shouted out her orders. "Prepare your strongest spell! Target…" Her hand clenched around her staff so hard it started to creak. "Fleet Flagship, Wing of El!"
Magic circles of various colors and symbols flared to life all over the deck of ruined battleship, pulsating with power, Aisha's being the biggest and brightest of all, even the caster herself seemed to glow purple as she concentrated her power in her spell.
Her mentor looked much calmer now, accepting this development and commented on his apprentice as if nothing happened "You seem to use Dark Magic well, not succumbing to its temptation. Despite that, you pursue the Path of Nature. That mean you're already closer to the truth than I once thought…"
Aisha said nothing as the circle grew wider and reached its apex at around four times her height, the rest of her remaining mages reporting that their spells were ready to fire.
"My time is done, Aisha. I should've listened to you back at the port…" The old man spoke for the last time. "My apprentice, remember that Nature is your partner, not your slave… You've come further in this path, further than anyone has ever walked. Farewell…"
As the transmission ended Aisha issued orders. "Fire!"
Flashes of bright light enveloped the deck entirely. Snape felt that he had overstayed the welcome of the host, as his mind was pushed back towards reality once again…
Snape blinked twice, discovering that he was back in Aisha's quarters once more. He slumped onto the floor, panting heavily, tired from what he just saw.
"Are you alright, Professor?" Aisha leaned over the edge of her desk, her voice laced with concern.
"I… will be fine…" Snape rubbed his forehead while slowly stand up, but can't help but ask, despite how obvious the outcome was. "What happened afterwards?"
Aisha slumped back in her seat, not caring to help the Potions Professor get to the couch in order to rest, replying quietly. "I fell unconscious afterwards, but not before seeing that fortress turn into the biggest fireball I have ever seen…" She closed her eyes. "…Two hundred and fifty young men, magic users and normal crewmen on my ship died… The Wing of El, on the other hand… All four hundred and forty four hands lost… All because I couldn't convince my own teacher to not attack with this weakened force!" She slammed her fist into her desk angrily, causing it to crack. "All this wouldn't have happened if I wasn't so ignorant of the coming war until it became like this, and stopped it before it escalated! But what I got out of this was a promotion to my teacher's place, the scene you saw earlier!"
Snape wasn't sure how to comfort the girl anymore, as even during the dark days of the Wizarding War, no child had to take up such a huge responsibility at such young age like this, not to mention that she was forced to killed her own mentor to save her crew from certain annihilation. There's no way he can understand her completely anymore.
But before Snape can speak, another voice made himself known to the two, as the elderly man stepped forward from the door, which suddenly flung open.
"I see that you lost your mentor, your troops, and companions from the past. I'll not lie to you and say that it was not your fault. It was a choice of saving a few or sacrificing a few to save many… It has never been easy, and I cannot say that I can understand you. In the first Wizarding War, even with Voldermort's reign of terror, we never once deliberately sacrificed people for the sake of victory like you did."
Both Professors turned and looked at the Headmaster of Hogwarts who walked into the room with shock. They didn't expect him to come here at this hour, not after the fiasco that Ministry threw at them this afternoon. Aisha seemed to regain her composure faster as she addressed the elderly Professor with a calm and controlled tone. "How much did you see, Professor Dumbledore?"
"What I saw started with the memory of you singing a song with the recruits to lift their spirits…" The aged Headmaster replied casually, as if nothing ever happened, yet in his twinkling eyes, there was concern for the purple haired girl. "I wished to understand more about what drove you to become what you are right now, especially your concern with young Harry, who you consider your brother."
He paused for a bit before asking. "You're concerned that the Wizarding War will escalate to the point of your memories, no?"
"Are you not?" Aisha asked back.
Dumbledore sighed tiredly. "I never once imagined it'd go that way, my dear…"
"Then you should start considering it and make moves to prevent it." Aisha shot up from her seat, eyes blazing with fury at the optimism of Dumbledore. "Not only with Voldermort, but also the Ministry. After this event, it should be clear what they truly care for… certainly not the lives of their own spawn."
Dumbledore's eyebrows twitched, before his shoulder visibly sagged in defeat, much to the surprise of Professor Snape. "You're right, but we're playing a dangerous game now. I cannot resign from my position, as that will give Voldermort free reign and our Order will be shattered, but if I keep the position…"
"You shouldn't worry much, Professor…" Snape quickly defended his Headmaster. "The Dark Lord did not make any moves lately except for that… thing… and I'm sure that after this failure, the Ministry will be in a very tight spot for a very long time."
Aisha's expression seemed to soften at the Professor's reasoning, as she too, was caught up in anger and wanted to vent it out on someone after having nightmares induced by those creatures. But now, she can think it clearly, and slowly let out a sigh of relief and apologized to other Professors. "Thank you. I'm feeling better now. Sorry for making such a fuss, Professor Snape…" She bowed to him.
The Potions Professor looked emotionless, nodding and asked; "Do you need any calming draught before sleeping?"
Aisha quickly replied. "I don't need it… Just a bad memory from the past, coupled with that… incident…"
"I see. We'll be taking our leave, then…" Dumbledore concluded, moving towards the door along with Professor Snape, but before they departed, he turned back to address Aisha one last time. "As you know, tomorrow is the weekend, so don't push yourself and rest properly. If you feel worse, let Madam Pomfrey know as soon as possible. You should know, in times like this I cannot afford one of my staff to fall ill, can I?"
With that, Dumbledore and Snape left her room for good, leaving Aisha alone in once more. She walked to her couch, waving her hand to call up a wind to dust it off, before falling down on it like a puppet without strings.
"Good night…" She said to herself, her eyes closed shut. Soon, Aisha drifted into a dreamless sleep. Nightmares no longer bothered her.
Author's Note
[1] Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
[2] Guess where this came from.
[3] It's when she's High Mage, well, anyone who played the game should know this already, why I had to point this out, I had no idea.
[4] This one is a reference to Movie Battle of the Bulge, the scene where the recruits singing "Panzerlied", while the Lyric is a slight modification of "Praise Be our Eternal Glory" from Space Battleship Yamato 2199/Star Blazers 2199. You can look both up on Youtube.
As for the scene in Aisha's flashback, that's quite a bit of Shout Out to certain animation, it premeir decades ago, yet its video still on Youtube for us to see, I'll leave it at that and have you guy guess which one.
The Mentor is based on the one-shot picture during Aisha's introduction scene, if you played the game and not keep pressing "Esc" during the intro then you'll see him, although his face past his lip was hidden.
I'm sorry for the lack of update, but as you see, I'm not that well-verse in this kind of drama, especially the case like this, if you spotted anything out of place, please tell me.
So, what do you think about this backstory? Is it ok? Or is it a bit too much? I think that the next chapter may be lighter a bit, just may be...