[A/N: WOW 144 favorites and 188 subscribers~! I'm glad that so many of you like it! To those who just subscribed to my story or 'favorite' my story, thank you all in the bottom of my heart! I'm glad that so many of you are still following me even though things in the story are progressing slowly. I have taken direct quotes from the movie and books, so credits to JK Rowling. As usual, the foreign languages in this story are translated from Google Translate so, please let me know if something seems off. If any of you have a fanfiction request, hit me up on PM! As always, please, comment, subscribe and favorite my story and stay tuned for the next chapter.]
[PS: As I am writing this, I have graduated from college and am now currently juggling through two jobs. One is more important then the other. But fear not, I won't let those tiring times deture me from writing. Just be warned that my chapter updates will be taking a little longer then usual until I can quit my least important job ^_^]
I=Italian M=Morse Code P=Parsel Tongue F=French R=Russian
Chapter 16
June 30th, Friday
"Ugh, thank Merlin we can stay in the shade." Pansy moaned under the shade of the massive umbrella. The gang had taken over the backyard at the Zabini house. "I know right?" Ginny pipped in from next to Diana. The girls were lounging in the pool chairs with their bikinis on while waiting for the boys to come out from the house. "Gin, who are you looking so hot for, huh?" Daphne asked with a knowing smile on her face while raising her eyebrows up and down. The red-head blushed bright red, causing some to giggle. Not in a bad way though. Ginny was wearing a cute red spaghetti strap high-waisted bikini set that showed enough of her cleavage but not too much that would make others raise their eyebrows.
"N-No one in particular." She said but everyone saw right through her. "Oh please, we saw you checking out Blaise earlier. You wish you were in there right now to watch him change, right?" Pansy smirked with a teasing voice. Ginny shot her a scathing look and proceeded to try to kick her off her lounge chair. "Oi, I'm not a peeping perv like you, Pans! Besides, I have seen you gawk at Neville whenever he comes back from Quidditch practice." The girls laughed as Pansy gave the red-head a feigned surprised look, her hand dramatically placed over her heart. "I'll have you know Gin, I was merely appreciating his body." Ginny coughed and spoke under her breath though she wasn't doing a good job hiding it. "Yeah, more like trying to look through his sweat-soaked clothes."
More laughter could be heard as Pansy proceeded to try to swat at the red-head with the lounge chair pillow. The door to the backyard opened as the boys stepped on to the patio, ready to go for a swim. Diana felt like all the air in her lungs became nonexistent at the moment her eyes were fixated on Draco. "Mmm...don't they look like delicious chocolate?" Ginny disrupted her thoughts with a slightly strained whisper. Diana looked over to see that all the girls, especially Pansy, was almost drooling before they snapped their mouth shut. "To think our Neville looks like that...damn, I should have looked sooner." The brown short-haired girl said. "You okay there, ladies?" Theo asked as the boys stopped in front of them, noticing the flustered looks on their faces.
"Y-Yes, we're fine. The weather is hotter then we thought." Ginny said with a quick smile as she started fanning herself with her hand as if she was emphasizing her point. The boys looked at each other and shrugged before taking a few steps to the waiting. Diana didn't notice that Draco had turned to look over at her briefly before turning his attention back around, a smirk playing with his lips. He noticed she barely made any eye contact with him since he and the boys stepped onto the patio. The boys dove head first into the cool water, causing waves to crash a little bit onto the patio.
*~*~*~*:*~*~*~*
"Is that a piercing on your lip, Blaise?" Pansy asked curiously as the gang took refuge at a table under the shade of an umbrella after a few hours of playing around in the pool. Indeed, the Italian got a lip piercing over the summer and it suited him well. It was a metal ring on his lower lip close to the corner of his mouth. No one had noticed it until now. The Italian gave them his trademark smirk as he wagged his eyebrows. "It looks good doesn't it? I can't wait to get a tattoo." The others chuckled at his remark. Daphne leaned in to whisper in his ear. "Your new look is making someone alittle thirsty." Blaise pulled away slightly to look at his friend to see what she was talking about.
Daphne made subtle motions towards someone across the table and he looked to see she was referring to Ginny. A smirk played with his lips as she saw the red-head was in her own little world, her eyes to the ground as she subconsciously played with the corner of her lower lip, the exact same spot his piercing was. Blaise noted the blush on her cheeks as her eyes wandered side to side like she was thinking of something intense. "Are you ok, Gin?" He asked her, his voice breaking her thoughts and the moment her eyes met with his, her cheeks turned a even brighter red. Not as red as her hair though. "Y-Yeah. I need to get going. My parents are waiting for me at home."
Her flustered departure was sudden but Blaise couldn't help but chuckle as she gave him a quick peck on the cheek but she could barely look into his eyes before her face erupted into blushes once again.
July 31st, Saturday
Diana looked curiously down at the dagger nestled nicely in a bed of tissue paper outside of Borgin & Burkes. "Tseremonial'nyy kinzhal?" (R) (A ceremonial dagger?) She asked as she looked over towards Stepan. "Eto ne prosto tseremonial'nyy kinzhal, printsessa. YA napolnil yego moshchnym zaklinaniyem, kotoroye svedet na net lyuboye zaklinaniye, kotoroye bylo nalozheno na vas, kak tol'ko kinzhal okazhetsya v vashey ruke." (R) (It's not just any ceremonial dagger, Princess. I got it infused with a powerful spell that will negate any spell that has been placed on you the moment the dagger is in your hand.) Tom explained as they walked through the busy street.
"Gde Severus? YA ne slyshal ot nego v techeniye dvukh nedel'." (R) (Where is Severus? I haven't heard from him in two weeks.) Diana asked as she saw a copy of last week's morning edition of the Daily Prophet get tramples on by countless pairs of feet. "Black has fallen off the face of the earth! Aurors are stunned!" "Severus otpravilsya v Kitay, chtoby sobrat' ostavshiyesya ingrediyenty dlya zel'ya, kotoroye nam nuzhno prigotovit'." (R) (Severus has gone to China to collect the remaining ingredients for the potion that we need to make.) Tom responded and Diana nodded her head. The ingredients needed for the potion are incredibly rare and none could be found in Wizarding London.
None could be found in the black markets of Knockturn Alley since there has been a strict ban placed in by the Ministry. "Khorosho, no yemu nuzhno bystro ikh nayti, inache on propustit srok." (R) (Fine but he needs to find them fast or else he will miss the deadline.) She said. The particular potion can only be made under the full moon and it must simmer for a month. "Ne bespokoysya Printsessa. On poyavitsya kak zaplanirovano." (R) (Don't worry. Princess. He will turn up as planned.)
*~*~*~*:*~*~*~*
The fireplace burst green and Severus stepped through within seconds into Tom's office, looking worn out. "Ah, Severus. I was beginning to worry that you wouldn't make it in time for the full moon tomorrow." The Dark Lord said lightly. The potion master scowled at the lack of confidence towards him. "I never break a promise, you know that Tom. I best get some rest. I will start on the potion tomorrow night."
August 23rd. Saturday
"Are you sure he will be here, Tom?" Severus asked as he, Lucius and his master walked up to the uninhabited Riddle House. "Of course, Severus. Crouch Jr. wouldn't miss the opportunity to please me if it means using it to stick it up to Bellatrix." Tom said, having no qualms making two of his supposed faithful servants battle it out with each other. He had no care for them like they thought he did. "Dad, what is this place?" (P) Diana asked behind the men. Amazingly, there were no muggles walking around to witness the strange way the girl was speaking. "Come here, Princess." (P) He said in a soft voice as he stopped walking, turning to look at her as he pulled his hand out for her to take.
She didn't say anything as she placed a small hand into his and they continued on walking towards the dark cherry wood front door. "This is where your so-called 'grandfather' lived, Princess." (P) He said with disdain in his voice as he opened the door, along squeak could be heard as the door swung open, giving them a good glimpse into the glossy floor. "Lucius?" Tom said and the man drew out his wand from his robe pocket and casted bright light to appear on the tip of his wand. They all stepped inside and closed the door behind them. From what Diana could see, nothing had layers of dust on them. Looked like someone has been taking care of the house after the Riddle family deaths.
"Shall we go upstairs, Tom? We can wait for the two there." Lucius asked. Tom didn't say anything as the group proceeded to go up the stairs, sneering when he saw pictures of his father hanging on the wall. "The only thing I should be grateful about is inheriting this squib's good looks." (P) He hissed more towards himself. They finally reached the upper floor and went to the closes room which had a fireplace. "Make up a fire, Severus." He said as he transformed three moth-eaten sofas into two leather wing-back chairs and a small leather sofa. Severus made a fire with the leftover wood that was left behind, giving the room an inviting orange glow.
Severus and Lucius took the leather chairs while the father-daughter duo sat on the couch. Not even ten minutes have passed when the fire burst into green and two uncloaked people stepped out. "My Lord." Crouch Jr. said in a gravely voice as he immediately got down on one knee in front of Tom while Wormtail moved to stand next to the couch. The man was roughly dressed and looked unkempt and Diana noticed that he frequently flicked his tongue to lick the corner of his lip. A tick he developed long ago? "Rise," Tom said in a commanding tone and the newcomer swiftly got back up on his feet, etiquette years spent in Azkaban didn't diminish.
"Has everything been accomplished on your end?" The Dark Lord asked. Crouch Jr. nodded. "Yes my Lord. My father didn't even suspect a thing." Tom nodded with a satisfied smirk on his face. He then turned his attention towards Pettigrew, causing the smaller man to quiver from the scrutinizing red eyes. "Wormtail, I want you to follow Crouch Jr. and help until he accomplishes his end of the plan. Do you understand?" Diana was amused when Wormtail flashed the other man a look before giving a low bow. "Yes, my Lord." He sniveled. The conversation was interrupted when the faintest groan of wooden floorboard could be heard as well as something heavy sliding across it. Nagini had come back from hunting.
"Did you have a good hunt, Nagini?" (P) Diana asked once the creature had slithered into the room and had slid up one of the chair legs of the sofa to curl up on her master's lap. "No, young mistress. Bunch of small rates everywhere. Not filling enough." (P) Diana couldn't help but smile at how pouty the snake sounded as the snake placed its head onto her lap. "Oh, and master, an old muggle is listening to us behind the door." (P) Nagini added before hissing in pleasure as two sets of hands gently stroked her head. "Gentlemen, it looks like we have a guest." He said as he turned his head to look at the slightly opened door. He couldn't see the old man but he assumes he was frozen at the sound of being discovered.
"Wormtail, where are your manners? Invite our guest in." Tom said, sounding amused as he slightly berates the smaller man. Nagini lifted her head up to look at her master. "May I eat him after you are done, master?" (P) Tom smirks as his finger tips lightly scratched her diamond shaped. "My apologies, my dear friend. This old man will not be your meal for tonight. I still need him for the ritual." (P)
*~*~*~*:*~*~*~*
The next morning, Little Hangleton learned that Frank Bryce, the Riddle House caretaker had mysteriously vanished last night. Without a trace in sight. Rumor has it that there have been strange activities happening at the home for years. Just like incident regarding the Riddle family all those years ago.
August 25th. Monday
"Merci Merlin, nous ne restons que dans ces tentes ce soir." (F) (Thank Merlin we are only staying in these tents for tonight.) Draco said with a sniff as a smell of cats enveloped their noses. The gang and their fathers have arrived at their tents to attend the final match for the Quidditch World Cup. Two tents have been assigned to the party; the adults taking one and the kids taking the other. The news of Ireland going to the finals overtook the Daily Prophet front page for weeks, covering the fact that Koldovstoretz will be joining the committee with Hogwarts, Beauxbaton, and Durmstrang.
*~*~*~*:*~*~*~*
Music and loud cheering could be heard from the packed-to-the-max Quidditch stadium. "Viens les enfants. Nous devons trouver nos places." (F) (Come children. We need to find our seats.) Lucius said as the men walked with the gang towards their seats which was towards the top of the stadium. The rounded the corner and walked into the Weasleys. "Ah, it is nice to see you, Author," Lucius said silkily, glancing down at the other man over his nose. Ginny flashed her friends a smile and a shy one towards Blaise. "Where are you going, Ivanov? I bet your seats are in the middle where everyone is crammed together like a bunch of sardines." Weasley sneered at Diana, earning a smack to the arm from his father.
"Enough, Ronald. I don't want you causing trouble here. Let's leave your sister's friends alone." The Weasley patriarch said in a warning tone as he placed his hand on his youngest son's shoulder to steer him away. "Yes, do keep away from us, Ronald. I hope the rain doesn't start raining on you." Draco sneered towards Weasley, causing the red-head to look like he wanted to charge at Draco for his remark. Stepan placed a hand on Diana's shoulder, bringing the rest of the gang's attention to him.
"Deti, my ne dolzhny teryat' dykhaniye, khvastayas' etim lyudyam." (R) (Come children, we mustn't waste out breath bragging to these people.) The gang gave Weasley a sneer before they turned around to leave. They were almost to their seats when they heard Fudge's booming voice over the cheering crowd. "Good evening! As Minister of Magic, it gives me great pleasure to welcome each and every one of you to the final of the four-hundred twenty-second Quidditch World Cup!"
*~*~*~*:*~*~*~*
Fans of the Irish could go on celebrating for hours with their win against the Bulgarians. The final score was 170-160. The gang's tent was relatively quiet since the boys were sulking, betting that the Bulgarians were going to win. It had fallen dark and the orange glow filled the tent from the campfires outside. Ginny had come to join them once the game was over. "Are you boys going to lay there and sulk all night?" Pansy asked, looking slightly disappointed since she wanted to use the time to be with Neville. "Of course." Theo huffed as he stared daggers up at the tent ceiling. "Krum made me lose the bet." He grumbled. The girls could barely contain their eyes from rolling as the rest of the boys groaned at the reminder.
"I told you not to bet on the Bulgarians," Ginny stated in a matter-of-fact tone, making the boys' sulking worse at her words. Suddenly, a loud explosion could be heard outside and people started screaming, shadows of people running past darted across the tent. "What in the words is going on?" Daphne asked with a frown just as a man screamed in pure terror a little ways away. "Death Eaters are coming! Run for your lives!" Everyone in the tent is on high alert now. Diana knows her father never planned an attack for tonight. Too many people around to successfully launch an attack. The gang was about to stand up to look outside when the Dark Lord popped his head in, his face in a deep scowl.
"Children, you need to run to the closest apparition point. I suspect Dumbledore is behind this. If anyone starts talking to you who aren't associated with us, do not respond and get away as fast as you can." Tom said it so quickly that she barely had time to react when he disappeared back outside. "Father!" Diana shouted and proceeded to step out of the tent to find him when a hand grabbed her arm to stop her. "Don't. If it is Dumbledore's doing, he will most likely pin it on your father and put a bigger target on all of us when we go to Hogwarts." Diana knew what Draco said made the most sense, but she couldn't help but fear for her father' and the urge to help.
"Come on, we need to leave," Blaise said in a calm voice but the gang knew he was getting antsy to get to safety. Without another word, the gang left the tent into the fray of panicking people. Everything was chaotic. Tents were either shredded to pieces or were on fire. Diana caught a glimpse of cloaked figures in obvious Death Eater masks marching through the fray of people, chanting incoherent words before she was dragged by Draco in the same direction as the rest of the people fleeing which was to the apparition point just behind the woods. Draco's hand never let go of hers as they ran into the practically pitch dark forest. They both yelped when they were suddenly yanked behind some trees.
They were about to draw their wands out to face a possible enemy when a wand came lit in front of them. "Putain Blaise! Avez-vous essayé de vous maudire la tête?!" (F) (Fuck, Blaise! Were you trying to get your head cursed off?!) Draco hissed angrily when he realized who grabbed them. "Chiudilo, Draco. Uno dei presunti Mangiamorte si stava nascondendo dietro gli alberi. Se voi due avevate continuato ad andare, lui avrebbe attaccato." (I) (Shut it, Draco. One of the supposed Death Eaters were hiding behind the trees up ahead. If you two had kept going, he would have attacked.) The Italian hissed back, the anxiety of the situation made him spew rapid Italian, none of which was helping the situation.
but they looked worn out none the less. Tom's eyes widened at the sight of his daughter running towards him before he looked slightly angry. He snagged her arm and started pulling her with him. "What are you doing here, Princess. I told you to run!" (P) The gang popped out from behind the trees and everyone ran towards the same direction as everyone else. Small explosions behind them could be heard. They made it to the other side of the forest to see the remaining people disappear with a port key, leaving the remaining port key left. It was an inconspicuous coffee cup like what muggle use. "The key that we came with is gone. We will have to take the chance and take this last one." Tom said as they all charged towards it.
All hands slapped on to the used coffee cup and they were all whisked away. Diana fell ungracefully on the ground just as she heard everyone fall around here. Grass. She quickly got up with the help of Draco. "Is everyone alright?" She asked as she helped Hermione up. She got soft responses and she was able to catch a quick glimpse of their surroundings. They were just on the outskirts of a large forest which sort of blended into the cloudless night sky. "One of us isn't," Tom said, sounding a little stressed as he knelt on the floor next to Lucius with Severus by his side. "Father!" Draco yelled as he quickly went to his father's side, kneeling down on the cool grass.
The man's face was contorted with pain, his jaw clenched tight to stop from screaming out as he clutched the left side of his chest, obvious blood seeping through his fingers. "I'm fine, Tom. Draco, you better not say any of this to your mother. You know how she gets when any of us get hurt." Everyone simply rolled their eyes. Typical Malfoy behavior. "You are clearly not okay, Lucius. Now, sit still or else I will have to restrain you." Tom said in a tone that left no room for arguments. Lucius relented and Severus used his wand to cut open the blonde's shirt, much to the blonde's discontent for ruining his favorite shirt, to see the extent of his injuries.
Everyone gasped when they saw the rather large slice on his skin that looked like it had nearly cut through his ribs. Severus immediately set to work, whispering something under his breath as he waved his wand over the wand. "Gde v mire my, otets?" (R) (Where in the world are we, father?) Diana asked in Russian just in case any of Dumbeldore's men or muggles are around as well bring everyone else to the situation since Lucius is well taken care of. "Bez ponyatiya. My dolzhny byt' kak minimum v pare minut ot goroda, osobenno yesli eto magglovskiy gorod." (R) (No idea. We must be at least a couple of minutes away from a town especially if it's a muggle town.) Tom said.
"Pourquoi vos enfants ne vont-ils pas voir s'il y a une ville à proximité? Nous ne pouvons pas transplaner aveuglément chez nous à moins de savoir où nous sommes." (F) (Why don't you children go to see if there is a town nearby? We can't blindly apparate back home unless we know where we are.) Severus suggested as he tended to Lucius' wounds. "Yes, sir." The gang said while Diana simply nodded her head. They took off their robes since they were wearing acceptable muggle-like attire underneath. They left the men and after a little bit of walking through the dark forest by wand light, they came across a road as well as a street sign. They walked up to the sigh and shinned their wands towards the sign to read.
"Ely? That is definitely muggle. There is no information about any wizard establishments there." Pansy commented. The gang was suddenly submerged with bright lights and a police car zoomed by to only stop a couple of feet away. "Shit. The muggle stopped. What are we going to do?" Blaise cursed under his breath as the police car started backing up towards the gang. "Leave the talking to me," Hermione said in a hushed voice just as the police car came to a stop next to them. The front passenger window rolled down and a middle-aged man looked at them with scrutinizing eyes. "What are you kids doing out here? Do you have any idea what time it is? Where are your parents?" The man asked with a barrage of questions.
The rest of the gang refrained from raising their eyebrows as Hermione smiled convincingly and tried to veer the man's attention to her. "Good evening, officer. We are just heading back home." She then pulled a sheepish appearance. "I asked my friends to come to accompany me for a short walk. I've been having an awful week and-" Suddenly, the radio crackled and a woman's voice could be heard. The police officer frowned before turning his attention back to the gang. "I'm letting you all off with a warning. Get back home." He said in a firm tone before reaching for something on his dashboard. Loud sirens blare through the night sky as he sped out of the area with blue lights flashing over the car. Hermione scoffs as she started walking back towards the spot they left the adults.
August 27th, Wednesday
Tom strolled into the main library, needing to find a specific book that he required information on. He skirted through the aisles of bookshelves and a table until he found the specific section the book should be in. It wasn't there. He frowned deeply. Who had the book? He turned around to leave the library to ask his children if they have seen that book when he saw the large pile of books on the table. A light smile appeared on his face when he saw the familiar book cover of Hogwarts: A History on top of the pile. He walked over and a pale hand reached out to open the book. A few pages flipped before the pale fingers stopped. A book underneath has caught his attention and the smile disappeared from his face. A book he knew all too well.
A deep furrow in his eyebrows as Tom grabbed a hold of the book and flipped it open. His hand automatically flipped the pages to a particular one. His eyes immediately skipped over the small texts to a particular paragraph. His eyes scanned over the words, expecting to read the same information he got all those years ago from the same book. All was the same until he hit halfway through the paragraph. His eyes quickly blazed in anger and confusion, the hand holding the book shaking with fury.
*~*~*~*:*~*~*~*
"Diana, you just got lucky with that, you cheater!" Draco shouted with annoyance as Diana turn out of a feigning trick she learned from the World Cup. She snickered and stuck her tongue out at the blonde male. "You sore loser. Let's go again." She said and both of them were about to go again when a window on the third floor of the Ivanov mansion suddenly exploded. It was the library. The two frowned with concern as they looked at each other before they flew down towards the ground and touch down quickly. "What happened, Scab?" Diana asked the house elf quickly as she and Draco stepped inside the mansion. The house elf looked worried as she kept up with her young mistress. "Scab don't know, young mistress. All Scab know is that Master Tom is in there."
Diana frowned even more and told the house elf to get everyone, floo call if it had to, as she and Draco rushed up the two large flights of stairs to get to the third floor. Her heart hammered as they finally arrived at the library. She opened the door without even knocking and saw her father's dark form sitting in a winged-back armchair, torn up paper from books loitered the french rug. "Father? What happened here? Is everything alright?" She asked calmly but worried as she stepped inside the library. Her body shivered as her father looked over at her with cold eyes before he averted his eyes over to the roaring fireplace. Not soon after, Stepan, Valentina, the gang, Lucius, and Severus came into the library. Their arrival didn't change Tom's behavior.
"Everything," Tom stated in a cold whisper as he stared daggers into the fire. "Everything that book taught me those years ago has all been a lie." He hissed as he dug his nails into the armrest of the chair. Everyone looked at each other, confused. "What do you mean, Tom? What book?" Severus took the moment to ask his irate master. Without even looking at his trusted advisor and friend, Tom silently held out an opened book that Diana recognized as the one she 'borrowed' from the library before she left Hogwarts for the summer. Severus took the book and looked down at the opened page. A frown crossed his face. "Horcruxes, Tom?"
"Read it out loud," Tom instructed and the potions master did as he was told to only slow down at the same spot as the dark lord did. Tom looked over at his friend. "You realized that too, didn't you Severus?"The potions master look more confused then Diana had ever known him. "But Tom, you and I both read from this same book numerous times. There have been no other copies. There is no way we both got the wrong information." Tom let out a cold laugh as he got out of the wing-back chair. his hands stuffed in his pant pockets so he would refrain from punching something out of pure anger. "No, we wouldn't, my dear friend. Not unless we both have been tricked by a certain enemy."
Diana couldn't take the cryptic words anymore. "Hello?! All of us are still here. We all would like an explanation." She snapped impatiently, bringing the two grown men to the crowd still in the library. "During my 6th year at Hogwarts, I learned of this method that would make me immortal," Tom stated as he moved to stand next to the fireplace, everyone else still standing where they were. "The Horcruxes, right?" Diana asked as Draco stood calmly next to her. Tom nodded and motioned towards the book that was still in Severus' hand. "Exactly. All the other books briefly mentioned this, but I wanted to learn more. This is where this book comes into play." He said.
"It says in order for me to reach immortality, I need to split my soul into six pieces." Everybody in the room winced at the mention of splitting one's soul. It sounded incredibly painful. "Each soul fragments need to have a vessel. I chose inanimate objects to house them and hid them well so no one except I could find them. But now," Tom's voice getting more deadly and venomous by the second as he stared at the book. If looks could kill, the book would be turned to a dusty pile by now. "Now, this blasted book is telling me something different. Why is that?" He hissed in a whisper, the roaring fire flaring wildly in the fireplace from the magic surge he was displaying.
No one dared asked if he was positive that the book he read all those years ago was truly written as he said. "Why does it say that in order for me to achieve immortality, I need to have a complete soul? Why does it say that splitting my soul into a piece would make me weaker?" As if Severus had just realized something, he took out his wand to see if any spell was surrounding the book to put him at ease. "Its no use, Severus. There is nothing casted on it. I even had Scab check it over." Not a voice could be heard until Diana spoke up in a whisper. "Dumbledore."
August 29th, Friday
The underground chamber was eerily silent except for the crackling of fire under the bubbling large cauldron. Tonight is the night to begin the ritual. "Are you sure there won't be any serious repercussions to his health?" Tom asked Severus for confirmation. The potions master made a curt nod. "Yes, but I will warn you again. Your strength will diminish by half when you reach your forties. Mingling with body acceleration potions will do that to a body." Heads nodded. "What will we be expecting?" Diana asked as she crossed her arms across her chest, already knowing the question but it was good to hear it again before everything goes down. Severus complied, feeling the nervousness getting high as the time got closer to midnight.
"Christopher, you will be placed in the cauldron after I present the sacrifice. You will be in there for seventy-two hours. I will warn you, you will be in immense pain. Every single cell in your body will be accelerated many times over. By the time Sunday night rolls around, you will have gained the body of a seventeen-year-old." Christopher nodded, nervousness still evident in his eyes. Their conversation got interrupted as a Death Eater quickly came up to them. "My lord, the time has arrived." Tom motioned for Severus to proceed with what he had to do.
"Bring the sacrifice here," Severus called out. Tom motioned for one of the Death Eaters to retrieve the sacrifice. As the Death Eater went to retrieve the sacrifice, Severus added the remaining ingredient. "Your friend has taken quite a liking to your brother." (P) Diana heard her father said next to her. Her eyes immediately scanned the chamber for that familiar brown hair and saw them standing close to one of the corners where they had a little bit of privacy.
*~*~*~*:*~*~*~*
"Are you sure you will be alright?" Hermione asked softly as she gazed up into his eyes. A small smile graced his lips, his hand itching to touch her face. "Yeah, I'll be alright. As long as I can see you at the end." Hermione couldn't help but blush. He always did had a way with words. "Son. It is time." Tom's voice interrupted the moment. Christopher nodded silently and turned to look down at Hermione when he felt light, warm kiss on his cheek. His eyes widened once he realized what happened and looked down the brunette to confirm what he felt only to realize that she had high-tailed it out of there with a soft red tint on her cheeks.
"Brother?" Diana's voice caught his attention and noticed everyone at attendance was waiting for him around the bubbling cauldron, their backs to the Death Eaters. "I'm coming." He said as he walked over to stand next to his father just as the Death Eater who was tasked with bringing the sacrifice came back with said sacrifice. It was the old Riddle House caretaker. The old man was wrapped tightly with rope while floating in the air next to the Death Eater. Anticipation level rose as the Death Eater laid the caretaker down on the floor before standing back in line with his fellow Death Eaters. "Enervate," Severus said and the old man's previously closed eyes fluttered open, confusion at first before fright took over.
"What the hell and I doing here? What do you want from me?" The old man's voice quivered. Tom didn't seem bothered by the questions as he looked down at the old figure, his eyes not menacing. "You are helping a good cause. Furthermore, you will be helping my son achieve a power boost." Severus began chanting once again over the bubbling cauldron, causing the flames underneath to flare brighter. Frank frantically looked over at the flames before looking back up at his captures. "What have I ever done anything to you lot?! I have done nothing!" Tom was silent as he looked thoughtfully at the old man. "True. You have done nothing to anger me. You have served my grandparents well."
Frank's eyes widened when said that. Of course! The resemblance was uncanny! The old man found himself floating up into the air again, his body magically flipped onto his stomach as he was slowly pulled towards the bubbling cauldron. Frank started praying, all hopes of getting out of there alive, just as Severus started chanting once again while pulling out a sheathed dagger from his robe pocket. Frank was never a religious man. Until now, that is. Beads of sweat dripped down his neck as he tried not to look down at his pending doom. Severus swiftly pulled the dagger from its sheath, it's silver blade gleaming brightly from the firelight just as he finished the chant.
Everyone in the room held their breath as the potions master slit the man's throat with the dagger without any warning, not even letting him finish his prayers. The crimson liquid flowed like a river from the mortal cut into the bubbling cauldron, essential to help Christopher age through ancient magic. The sunset orange-colored liquid in the cauldron had now turned a maroon red. A putrid smell immediately, worse than during the revival of the Dark Lord, filled the chamber. Severus left the corpse over the cauldron to drain the last of the blood as he motioned for Christopher to proceed with the next step. He nodded silently and swiftly took off his shirt. Diana noticed Hermione blush slightly next to her at the sight of his well-defined body but said nothing.
"Are you ready, Christopher?" Severus asked as he briefly looked down at his pocket watch. No time now. "Yes," Christopher said with determination. Severus gave a curt nod and pulled out a small vial from his robe pocket. "Drink this. This will start the transformation process. I added some painless potion but to be perfectly honest with you, it won't help you." Christopher scoffs as he took the vial from the older man. "Straight to the point." He took one last look at the ones he loved and trusted, he uncorked the vial and downed the contents down his throat in one go. His body went completely numb the moment it hit his stomach. The vial slipped from his slackened hands and he started going down, feeling the pain already.
Luckily, the grown men around him caught him just in time. Christopher started gasping and groaning in pain as the men carried him to the cauldron with much hesitation from Tom since his 'protective parent' mode started kicking in. Severus gave him an encouraging nod and the men lifted the young man into the bubbling putrid concoction. No one could see through the liquid the moment he disappeared underneath. The time was marked as those loved ones prayed that this potion would work since this is the first time anyone has ever seen it done for almost a hundred years.
August 31st, Sunday
"Diana, will you relax?" Draco asked incredulously as the female stirred nervously at her feet for the hundredth time that hour. "Sorry!" Diana almost shouted in a hushed voice as she forced herself to be still once again. "This hasn't been done in a long time and I'm worried that the potion won't work and will make him all weird!" Draco couldn't help but roll his eyes as he reached out grasp her hand, squeezing it to comfort him. "We will find out soon." He said, his facial features calm but his voice sounded nervous just as she was. It is nearing seventy-two hours and everyone, as well as the Death Eaters, had arrived to see their young master's new look.
Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. The time has finally arrived and as if on que, thick black smoke started emerging from the top of the liquid and started flowing over the rim of the cauldron like a waterfall. Everyone took step back while the Death Eaters took several, unsure if touching the black smoke would kill them on the spot. "What is going on, Severus? Is this supposed to happen?" Tom asked as he remained on guard as more smoke erupted from the liquid. "I don't know..." The potions master said, his mind traveling miles per minute to see if any of his research mentioned anything about black smoke. The cauldron suddenly cracked to pieces like it was broken from the inside.
Everybody gasped in shock as they scuttled away from the quickly flowing thick maroon liquid. "He is here," Diana said in a whisper as she saw something forming from the pile of broken cauldron pieces. Nervous chattering could be heard as everyone watched a human-like form completely covered in the maroon liquid stood up which started dropping to the floor in chunky globs. Piece by piece fell until Christopher was finally revealed, his eyes closed. The last piece of the liquid fell to the floor and as if it was last thing holding Chris up, his knees buckled. He would have fell face first if his father wasn't there to catch him. "Welcome back, son," Tom said to him as he heard Chris pant heavily, beads of sweat dripping down his skin as though he had been through a rigorous exercise.
Severus had mentioned that he would be weak from being in the liquid for seventy-two hours. "Yeah," Christopher said, his voice had gotten deeper. His tired eyes scanned over the familiar faces. None of them were the ones he wanted to see at the moment despite the fact he loved all of them. A familiar figure stepped up to him from the side. "Chris, how are you feeling?" There she was. He turned to look and his blue eyes met brown ones. "Hermione." He said softly and with whatever strength he had left, he moved his arm from his father's shoulder and took a shaky step towards her. As if all energy had left him, his legs gave out once again and his body fell into hers. "Chris!" Hermione squeaked out as she held on to him while her knees almost buckled, unsure of what to do.
"Chris!" Everyone exclaimed with worry as they rushed over to see what was wrong when they heard the light sounds of snoring. He couldn't fall asleep until he saw her face. He now had a body of a seventeen year old.
September 1st, Monday
"Are you sure, you will be okay traveling?" Diana asked. worried that her brother was still too tired to be traveling to Koldovstoretz for the new school year. Chris rolled his eyes as he stuffed his hands into his jacket pocket. All the adults left their kids with him since they were worried about their kids doing mischievous things. "Yeah, I'll be fine. Now, will you please stop worrying about me? The same goes for you, Hermione." The brunette flushed bright red at being called out by him and all words were drowned out as the train blew the warning whistle. "Alright, you guys, get on board." Everyone said their final goodbyes with him and they proceeded to board the train. "See you guys really soon." He said with a knowing smirk as they looked at him curiously.
*~*~*~*:*~*~*~*
Thunder could barely be heard through the stone walls of the castle as the beginning-of-the-school-year fear"Now that we are all settled in and sorted, I would like to make an announcement. This castle will not only be your home this year. But home to some very special guests as well. You see, Hogwarts has been chosen-" The headmaster stopped talking as Mr. Filtch interrupted him mid-sentence, the guy soaked to the bone with what would hope to be water. Students snickered as the caretaker ran off in a weird run after conversing with the old man. Peeves."So, Hogwarts has been chosen to host a legendary event. The Triwizard Tournament." Wide grins on excited face went all around the students.
"Now, for those of you who do not know, the Triwizard Tournament brings together three schools for a series of magical contests. From each school, a single student will be selected to compete." Students all around started whispering to each in excitement. Which one of them will be selected? "Now, let me be clear. If chosen, you stand alone. Trust me when I say, these contests are not for the faint-hearted. But more of that later. Now, allow me to introduce to you-" Suddenly the ceiling to the Great Hall turned dark with clouds and lightning rumbled behind them. Students started screaming in fright, ducking their heads to hopefully avoid being struck by lightning when a spell suddenly shot from behind the staff table, into the ceiling.
The ceiling quickly cleared and everything turned back to as it was just moments ago. Everybody turned their attention towards the front to hopefully see who casted that spell. A man with a scarred face emerged from the shadows that were produced from the back door, his magic fack eye whizzing in its socket as it locked on to some students for a split second. Hushed conversations could be heard as the unnamed man walked with a limp towards Dumbledore, a trail of water dripped behind him. "It's him. That's Mad-Eye Moody." Ginny said in a hushed surprised voice towards the gang. "My father said he would be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts this year." Theo frowned slightly with curiosity as he looked across the table at the red-head.
"Alastor Moody? The auror that has been off the grid since fourteen years ago?" Ginny nodded her head in confirmation. "That same one. Half of the cells in Azkaban are filled because of him." The gang looked towards the front of the Great Hall to see Dumbledore shaking hands with Moody in greeting. "My father says that he is supposedly mad as a hatter these days," Draco added in with a whisper as Mad-Eye limped to lean back against one of the fall walls, taking a small circular vial from his trench coat pocket. "I hope that isn't alcohol in there," Hermione said with a frown, already judging him as an incompetent professor. "As I was saying," Dumbledore continues like nothing had happened as he openly motioned towards Moody with an open hand.
"Allow me in introducing you to your new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Alastor Moody! Good luck, professor!"
September 4th, Thursday
"Alastor Moody." All the students in the classroom said nothing as Moody strolled side to side with his hands behind his back at the front of the classroom. He turned around to start writing on the chalkboard in a crude handwriting. "Ex Auror. Ministry of Malcontent and your New Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher." He then turned to look back at the students once again. "I'm here because Dumbledore asked me. End of story. Goodbye. The End. Any questions?" When no one said anything, he continued talking. "When it comes to the dark arts, I believe in a practical approach. But first, which one of you can tell me how many unforgivable curses there are?" Hermione was the only one who raised her hand.
"Three, sir." She stated simply as she folded her arms across her chest, wondering where he was going with this as he turned to write on the chalkboard once again. "And they are so named?" Hermione didn't even look unfazed as she continued explaining. "Because they are unforgivable, the use of any one of them will-" Moody cut her off as he furiously wrote on the chalkboard like he was remembering something from one of his assignments. "Will earn you a one-way ticket to Azkaban. Correct. Now, the Ministry says you are too young to see what these curses do. I say different!" Those in the classroom jumped from fright when he suddenly shouted with rage.
"You need to know what you are up against! You need to be prepared!" Moody walked around to another chalkboard to write on it. "You need to find another place to put your chewing gum beside the underside of your desk, Mr. Finnigan!" His statement shocked the class as nearly everyone turned to look at the Irish Gryffindor to see that he was at the process of pressing his chewed up wad of gum underneath his desk. He grumbled as he tried to subtlely place his wad up gum in his hand and tried to act as if nothing had happened. His housemates snickered and shook their heads as they turned their attention back to the front of the classroom.
"So, which curse shall we see first? Weasley!" Moody shouted as he moved to stand in front of Weasley's desk, causing the red-head to squeak with fright in his chair. "Yes?" Weasley said, looking like he wanted to pee his pants at that moment. "Stand!" The red-head shakingly stood up. "Give us a curse," Moody said gruffly and everyone was silent to see if he had one. "Well, my dad did tell me about one. The imperious curse." Moody nodded softly as his magical eye whizzed over Weasley's facial features. "Oh yeah...your father would know all about that. Gave the Ministry quite a bit of grief a few years ago. Perhaps this will show you why."
Students looked curiously as Mad-Eye turned to one of the tables at the front which had some live insect looking creatures inside tall glass containers. Diana watched curiously as their professor picked a crab looking spider into their hand. "Engorgio!" He said loudly and the insect grew two times its original size in his hand. "Imperio!" The insect jumped from his hand onto the desk Dean Thomas was sitting just as Moody waved his wand like he was controlling the insect with an invisible string. The other students laughed as Thomas was on the verge of freaking out as the insect crawled over his hand. "Don't worry, she is completely harmless."
Moody was cackling as he made the spider jump on to Daphne's shoulder, making the girl scream a little as she tried not to move less she was afraid it would bite her. He then made the insect fly through the air and land on to Weasley's head, making more people laugh as Weasely looked about ready to pass out. "Talented isn't she?" Moody asked with glee. "What shall I have her do next? Jump out the window?" With a flick of his hand, the insect sailed through the air and landed against a large glass lens with an audible smack. "Drown herself?" No one was laughing now as the insect dangled above a bucket of water, most likely leftover water from a leak during the term feast, high pitch speaks could be heard coming from the insect is it struggled to no touch the water.
The insect finally relaxed as it was made to gently sail through the air back into the safety of Moody's hand, bringing everyone's attention back to him. "Scores of witches and wizards have claimed that they only did You-Know-Who's bidding under the influence of the imperious curse." Diana huffed as she discreetly tapped on her ring. "... . / .. ... -. .-. - / - - - / -... .- -.. .-.-.-" (M) (He isn't too bad.) "But here is the rope. How do we sort out the liars?" Everyone looked at each other nervously as a few students raised their hand up. A lot of people knew this one. "Come on, up, up," Moody said gruffly in an encouraging way. More people put their hand up and his attention went to Neville.
"Longbottom is it?" Neville refrained from raising an eyebrow and he put on a blank look on his face. "Y-Yeah." He said as he slowly stood up from his chair. "Professor Sprout tells me you have ineptitude for Herbology." Neville nodded before speaking. "There is a one, sir. The cruciatus curse." Moody's face light up like a child on Christmas day. "Correct! Correct!" He motioned for Neville to come with him to the front and stand next to the table while the man placed the insect onto a petri dish. "Cruciatus!" Moody roared without warning and the insects started letting out high pitch squeaks as it curled and writhed in pain. A lot of people in the classroom was wincing and closing their eyes to block out the unsettling cries of pain.
The gang noticed Neville's body had tensed up as the pain cries from the insect continues. Neville had his eyes shut, his hands curled up into fists and clenched so tight, his nails dug into his palm. His parents are screaming in his head. Sweat started forming along his hairline as he tried to block out the screams. Pansy couldn't take it any longer and she shot up from her seat. "Stop! Can't you see, it's bothering him!" Her voice broke through the intense situation and Moody moved his wand away from the writhing insect, clearing his throat like he was just in a trance. Pansy quickly left her chair and hurried over to Neville.
Pansy gave Moody a scathing glare as she gently gripped Neville's arm to guide him away, the professor not reacting as he carried the weakly twitching insect onto Thomas' desk. "Now, that leaves the Killing Curse." No one wanted to move, let alone breath as Mad-Eye pointed his wand at the weak inset. "Avada Kedavra!" A flash of green light consumed the insect, the entire illuminated by said light for just a split second. Eyes blinked for a few seconds or until they could stop seeing green and saw the insect had been flipped on to its back, it's thin legs curled in towards its body.
*~*~*~*:*~*~*~*
"Pensez-vous que Moody est vraiment fou?" (F) (Do you think Moody is really crazy?) Draco asked Diana as the gang was gathered in the Slytherin common room right after dinner. Those who weren't part of the group minded their own business. This was a group you don't want to mess with. Not if you want to anger the Dark Lord as well. Diana scoffed as she looked at her comrades. "Konechno, on sumasshedshiy. Kakoy avror nebrezhno ispolnil by neprostitel'nyye proklyatiya gruppe detey?" (R) (Of course he is crazy. What auror would haphazardly perform the unforgivable curses to a bunch of kids?) The others nodded in agreement.
"È una mossa che ti porterà alla fine della carriera, a meno che tu non sia amico di Silente. Può far sparire tutte le voci." (I) (It's a career-ending move unless you are friends with Dumbledore. He can make all rumors disappear.)