Chapter Six – The Fallen One

Filius sighed and let his head drop onto his desk that was covered by books. This wasn't an unusual scene for the Ravenclaw Head of House. However, what was unusual was the types of books that were covering the desk. They were stories of demons, angels, death, and anything that could possibly pertain to what had been possessing Harry.

Filius knew that he wasn't the only one who was searching for an answer as to what was happening to Harry. Everyone who had been in the Hospital Wing that afternoon and was witness to the possession of Harry was searching for an answer. Well, that was everyone, but Albus Dumbledore who seemed to be pretending that it had never happened.

Filius yelped in shock when a strong gust of wind blew, knocking over all but one of the books on his desk and blowing out most of the candles, causing Filius to have to cover his eyes. When the wind died down, Filius opened his eyes and gasped in shock. Someone in a dark cloak was standing before him. He quickly relit all of the candles. The figure was gone. Filius blinked in shock, had he just imagined the cloaked figure? Filius groaned and leaned back in his seat while rubbing his temples. Maybe he had spent too many nights pouring over all of these books of angels and demons.

Filius opened his eyes and groaned again as he saw all of the books that had been blown off the desk. The students would be arriving in a few hours, he needed to get ready for the feast and make sure that he had everything prepared for the first day of lessons, and now he needed to clean up this mess. With another sigh, Filius straightened up, intending to get up and get ready; however, the words on the page of the only book left on his desk caught his attention.

The Fallen One

No one truly knows where the legend began. Some say it started after the Archangel Lucifer was banished from the realm we all know as Heaven. Some say that it was planned from the very beginning, before the Archangel Lucifer's banishment. All anyone truly knows is that it starts the same way.

The Archangel Lucifer; the Banished Angel, the Banished one, the Devil; was not the one known as the Fallen Angel. No, that title was given to another. The Angel that was given that title held no other before, nor were they an Archangel like the Archangel Michael and his brothers Gabriel, Raphael, and Azrael. No, they were a normal Angel that had been caught up in the war.

The Archangel Lucifer, angry at being banished and still rebellious against his Father, decided to get back at his Father and attack the precious Man that his Father wished for his Angels and his Archangels to bow to and warship. The Archangel Lucifer slipped into the realm of Man and began to taint the garden that Man roamed.

The Father sent the Archangel Michael to stop the taint. The Archangel Michael and his Angels flew to the realm of Man in an attempt to save Man from the taint. But the Archangel Michael, being an Archangel, brought chaos and havoc to Man's mind, allowing the taint to spread.

And though the Archangel Michael was able to push the Archangel Lucifer into a realm created from a third of the realm of Heaven, a realm we now know as Hell, the taint was still spreading throughout the realm of Man. The Father understood that it was his Archangel Michael that was helping the taint spread, though not willingly. The Archangel Lucifer knew the power of Archangels, he knew that their power caused chaos and havoc to Man's weak mind. He knew that their power released greed and lust in Man, and he used it against his Father and the Archangels.

The taint changed Man for good, and the Father knew that; however, he still wished to get rid of the taint. The Father called for the angel that would be known as the Fallen Angel. The Father gave this angel the job of getting rid of the taint anyway that the angel could. With permission to leave the realm of Heaven, the Angel flew to the realm of Man, knowing that from the realm of Hell, the Archangel Lucifer and his Angels were watching him, waiting to see what the Angel would do to stop the taint.

The Archangel Lucifer believed there was nothing his Father nor his Archangels and Angels could do to stop the taint. But the Angel had a plan, a plan that would surely get rid of the taint; however, it could come with a great sacrifice on the Angel's part. And, without fear or regret, the Angel opened himself up to the taint and absorbed it into him, becoming one with it. This angered the Archangel Lucifer.

With the realm of Man safe from the taint, the Angel tried to return back to the realm of Heaven but was denied. The Angel turned to the Archangel Lucifer and his Angels but was denied entrance to the realm of hell. The Angel was leaking taint from his very soul. In a desperate attempt to keep the taint away from Man, the Angel used the Energy and Power the taint was giving him and created his own realm, a realm we see every day, a realm that is an echo of the realm of Man: A realm of Shadows.

In thanks to the sacrifice of the Angel, the Angel was given a new title and job from the Father: The Title of the Fallen Angel, and the job of keeping balance in the realm of Man. The Fallen Angel makes sure that Light and Dark are in balance with each other, to keep Life and Death balanced. The Fallen Angel escorts the souls too tainted by the Archangel Lucifer to the realm of Hell's gate, and the pure, untainted souls to the realm of Heaven's gate. The Fallen Angel decides where the souls that are equal parts pure and tainted goes by reading their timelines to see how they lived.

And, just as the Archangel Lucifer's name has changed over the years, so has the Fallen Angel's name. The Fallen One, The Lord of Shadows, Father Time, Yin and Yang, the Boogie Man, Death, the Grim Reaper. No matter what you call him, it all remains the same.

Filius gasped. It couldn't be that simple, right? He reread the passage again, focusing on the names given to the Fallen Angel. It explained everything, the reason Harry was getting nose bleeds every time he was being possessed, the 'my realm' and the 'this Harry' comments. It made sense, well, except for the reason as to why Harry. He needed to show the others his discovery.

~Keep Me In Your Memories~

Filius watched everyone's reaction carefully, especially Severus's. It hadn't escaped Filius's attention that the man had begun to treat Harry as his son. Though the man hid it well, and if Filius had not been so observant as he was he might have never noticed. It didn't shock Filius how quick Severus was to start fathering Harry, the man was very kind and loving and was very protective of what he deemed as his. Filius figured that it was because of Severus's abusive past that made the man how he was, and maybe that was also why Severus was drawn to Harry the way he was.

It wasn't common knowledge that Severus came from an abusive and broken home; however, it was common knowledge that he had been bullied and basically tortured by James Potter and Sirius Black when they were in school. Those who did know about his home life were either told by the man himself (Minerva) or had been observed (Filius). And that was why Filius was observing Severus closely as the man let his mind shifted through the information Filius had just told him and everyone else.

"I don't see how this really explains everything." Minerva stated quietly, as if afraid to speak too loud, least her words be overheard by some unseen being.

"The Fallen One has his own realm, and that explains the 'my realm' comment." Filius explained pointing out the part in the passage to prove him right.

"Yes, but so does this Archangel Lucifer." Minerva said.

"No, he doesn't." Severus said shifting in his seat so that he could reach out to pull the book closer to him. "If you read, it is stated that the Archangel Lucifer was given a third of the realm of Heaven, a realm that was created by the Father. The Archangel Lucifer didn't create the realm of Hell, he was given it. Which means that the realm of Hell still technically belongs to the person who created the realm it came from: the Father. But the Fallen One created his Realm of Shadows, he wasn't given it. Which means that the Realm of Shadows is his." Filius watched as Severus skimmed over the passage before flicking his eyes towards him. "What I want to hear is the connection you made to the 'this Harry' comment."

"I had a feeling you would." Filius said with a small smile as he gently took the book back from Severus to point at the name 'Father Time'. "As you can see right here, the Fallen One is also called Father Time." He looked at everyone in the room, as if he were given a lecture to his students. "This led me to believed that the being that possessed Harry didn't mean this one Harry out of multiple Harrys of multiple realms, but as in this one Harry out of multiple Harrys from different periods of Time." Filius paused to let that sink in as he looked each and every one of them in the eye. "But now the main question is: Why Harry?"

~Keep Me in Your Memories~

The end of summer vacation came quickly after the fight at Flourish and Blotts, and Harry had noticed that the atmosphere in the Burrow had changed. The Burrow was still loud and messy, but there seemed to be a darkness hanging around the Burrow. A darkness that made everyone very awkward around each other. Harry couldn't wait to go back to Hogwarts and away from this awkwardness brought on by that darkness. Though, part of Harry did wonder where the darkness came from. What was causing it?

On their last evening, Mrs. Weasley conjured up a sumptuous dinner (that included all of Harry and Haiden's favorite things) that ended with, as Haiden claimed, a mouthwatering treacle pudding. Fred and George rounded the evening with a display of Filibuster Fireworks; they filled the kitchen with red and blue stars that bounced from ceiling to wall for at least an hour. Then it was time for a last mug of hot chocolate and bed.

The next morning it seemed to take most of the Weasleys a long time to get started. Everyone was up at dawn, Harry's and the Weasley Twins' trunks were packed and by the front door (only because Harry made them pack early). However, there still seamed a great deal left to do.

Harry found a place in a dark corner and watched, out of the way, as Mrs. Weasley dashed about in a bad mood looking for spare socks and quills. People kept colliding on the stairs, half-dressed with bits of toast in their hands. Mr. Weasley nearly broke his neck, tripping over a stray chicken as he crossed the yard carrying Ginny's trunk to the car.

Harry couldn't see how nine people, seven large trunks, three owls, a cat, and a rat were going to fit into one small Ford Anglia, at least not without the special features that Mr. Weasley had added. "Not a word to Molly." Mr. Weasley whispered to Harry (who had felt it would be safer hiding outside by the car) as he opened the trunk and showed Harry how it had been magically expanded so that the luggage fit easily.

An hour later, Harry sighed in relief as he sat on Fred and George's laps, they were finally leaving for the station. Mrs. Weasley glanced into the back seat, where Haiden, Ron, Fred, George, and Percy were all sitting comfortably side by side with Harry on the Twins' laps, his head not even touching the ceiling.

"Muggles do know more than we give them credit for, don't they?" She and Ginny got into the front seat, which had been stretched so that it resembled a park bench. "I mean, you'd never know it was this roomy from the outside, would you?" Harry smiled knowingly at her as Mr. Weasley started up the engine and they trundled out of the yard. Harry saw Haiden turn back to look at the house.

"Wait!" George suddenly cried as they started off, they stopped and George weaseled his way out of the car to grab his Filibuster Fireworks, and they were off again. But only for five minutes because Fred had left his broomstick. It wasn't until they had almost reached the highway when Ginny remembered that she had left her diary. By the time she had made her way back into the car, they were running very late, and tempers were running high.

Mr. Weasley glanced at his watch and then at his wife. "Molly, dear–"

"No, Arthur–"

"No one would see – this little button here is an Invisibility Booster I installed – that'd get us up in the air – then we fly above the clouds. We'd be there in ten minutes, and no one would be any the wiser–"

"I said no, Arthur, not in broad daylight."

They reached King's Cross at a quarter to eleven. Mr. Weasley dashed across the road to get trolleys for their trunks, and they all hurried into the station.

"Percy first." Mrs. Weasley said, looking nervously at the clock overhead, which showed they had only five minutes to disappear casually through the barrier. Percy strode briskly forward and vanished. Mr. Weasley went next; Fred, George, and Harry followed. Once on the other side of the barrier, Harry and the Weasley Twins quickly made their way to the Hogwarts Express and tried to find a compartment.

It wasn't until the train had started pulling out of the station did they find an empty compartment at the very end of the train. Harry helped the Weasley Twins put the trunks in the compartment before going to open Loki's cage. In the middle of opening the cage, Harry got the sensation of someone watching him and looked around. No one was watching him. However, the feeling grew stronger. At Loki's angry cry, Harry quickly opened the cage and missed catching Loki when he dashed out of the cage and onto the train through the open compartment.

Harry knew that he should go after his cat before he caused trouble, but the feeling of being watched grew. It terrified him. He didn't want to leave the safety of the older Twins. Harry backed away from the door and sat on Fred's lap, burying his head into Fred's shoulder.

"You all right, Kitten?" George asked, and Harry wordlessly nodded his head.