BONDS
The only bond worth anything between human beings is their humanness...
Jesse Owens
Padma stood outside the Gryffindor common room, waiting. She tried her best to ignore the stares she got from some of the people either coming or going out of the common room. She did find it funny though when quite a few of them mistook her for her sister. It brought a nostalgic flood of memories for her – days spent running around the grounds of the estate and confusing her family. Only her Awa could tell them apart back then. Padma reflexively checked her bare wrist, forgetting that she did not actually have a watch. What was taking Parvati so long? Her head perked up as she heard voices, amongst them, her sister's distinct lilt.
"…and I told him that he should keep that toad of his in a cage. Honestly with how much it gets away – I don't want any slime in my clothes thank you very much." Lavender said, her hands waving in the air for emphasis.
"Padma." The bubbly blonde grinned as she spotted the Ravenclaw.
"What are you doing standing out here?" Parvati said, her eyes worriedly looking over her sister.
Padma held back a sigh. "I'm fine Parvati – and I've been out here waiting for you for ages."
"Did something happen?" Parvati made a discreet gesture.
Padma shrugged and held up her hands in front of her, "I still have all my fingers and toes." Parvati frowned while Lavender looked on bemused.
Padma decided to change the subject. "I actually was hoping to ask you about something – someone really."
"Who?" Parvati asked with a gleam of suspicion in her eyes.
"Granger." Padma said plainly.
Parvati and Lavender shared a look. Padma felt something in her chest twist when she noticed.
"I usually see her in the library most afternoons, like clockwork – except today. So I thought…" What had she thought, Padma asked herself.
She and Hermione were not friends. They were barely acquaintances. Sure, they exchanged greetings in the library when they bumped into each other, but other than classes, that was the extent of their interaction. A few times Padma had felt waves of negative energy from the girl directed towards her and Hadrian.
Jealousy and irritation would exude from the girl in waves; sually when Padma succeeded with a spell early or gave a better answer. Padma though had choked it up to nothing but a simple rivalry. The girl's emotions had barely gone very deep.
Yet there had been times, moments that Padma was sure the other girl had not even noticed herself, the girl would look in their direction and emote longing. The girl was lonely and Padma was ashamed to admit that she had only just now thought to do something.
"It's nice of you to care," Lavender said, drawing Padma from her thoughts.
"Hermione can be…" she searched around for a word, " difficult."
Padma had never known Lavender to be quite so diplomatic in her words. One only had to look at what had happened that morning to see other people's opinions on the bushy haired girl.
"I suppose you'll have more luck than we did." Parvati gave her sister a knowing look, her eyes firmly on the necklace that adorned Padma's neck.
"Hermione is having a good cry in the second-floor bathroom. Hasn't left all afternoon." Parvati informed her sister.
"Oh thanks, I should get going." Padma smiled, thankful and made to leave but a hand wrapped around her arm stopped her.
Padma felt a flash of naked emotion; curiosity, mischief and a whole host of things, before she clamped down her barriers. Quickly Padma jerked her hand out of the hold and turned to look at Lavender.
Lavender grinned sheepishly at her, "At least tell us why you Claws were all fidgeting this morning. Right Parv?"
Parvati met her sister's eyes before her gaze drifted to Padma's arm held close to her body protectively. Padma shook her head, the movement minute.
"Yea," Parvati answered distractedly.
"There are rumours about Hadrian flying around, who I might add you still haven't introduced me to. Why are you keeping him all to yourself?" Lavender continued, oblivious.
"I'm not his keeper!" Padma said irritated with the girl.
"Well that's not what people are saying, let me tell you…"
Padma finally managed to get away from her sister and Lavender. She quickly made her way to the second floor. It was quickly approaching dinnertime and the feast would start soon.
The girls' bathroom was empty, predictably, and Padma found herself walking in gingerly. The moment she got in, she heard sniffling.
"Hello?" Padma called out and immediately the sound stopped. Padma frowned and let her perception expand. She grimaced as she felt the shame and feelings of worthlessness from one of the stalls.
"Hermione?" She called out tentatively stepping forward. Silence.
"Hermione? Look I know you're in here. I just want to talk. It's me, Padma, from Ravenclaw." Padma repeated.
"Go away. I don't want to talk to anyone. I-I just want to be left alone." Hermione sobbed out.
Padma frowned, "I don't believe you…" she ignored the spike of irritation.
Walking forward, she got closer to the door of the stall, and hover before the door.
"Weasley doesn't know what he was talking about…" Padma reassured.
"He does though." Hermione's gruff voice cut Padma off. The voice sounded close, maybe Hermione was leaning against the door. "I don't have any friends – it's been weeks and…" Hermione's voice quivered and broke.
Padma swallowed the lump in her throat. "Hermione…" Padma moved closer, her hand resting on the door.
"It's like primary school all over again." Hermione's voice floated across the door, faint and tremulous.
Padma closed her eyes, holding back the tears. She wasn't meant to hear that; she didn't think Hermione had meant for her to.
"Hermione, I-I can be your friend. I want to…" Padma said breathless, pleading.
"Liar."
"No, no. I mean it." Padma spoke quickly. The urgency, the need in her own voice taking her by surprise. Something in her was compelling her, urging her to ease this one girl's pain.
Silence greeted her, and that made her anxious. Even her ability was not giving her much to sense. Padma was just about to call out to the other girl when she felt the door shudder. She moved away as the door opened and out stepped the other girl. Hermione looked a mess, her eyes red, and face splotchy. Her arms were crossed across her chest, holding her shoulders tight.
"Hello." Padma's voice cracked and she almost cringed.
Hermione though seemed to draw strength from that and offered up a tremulous smile, "Hi."
Padma smiled and the two stood there awkwardly, not sure what to do after such an emotionally charged conversation. Hermione sniffed; her nose scrunched up in distaste.
"What's…? Can you smell that?" Hermione asked, rubbing her irritated nose.
Padma could but more importantly she could feel it. Quickly, she turned to her new friend, her movements were frantic and frightened. Hermione immediately picked up on it.
"What's wrong?" Hermione asked nervously.
"Something's coming – we have to go. Right now!" Padma began pulling a confused and frightened Hermione towards the exit.
Something was wrong, they needed to get away, whatever Padma had felt, she knew it wasn't human. Not remotely; no person could project such wild rage like that, it wasn't natural. Before they could go a few steps, something large and smelly walked in.
Beady black eyes stared at the two girls, and rage gave way to confusion. Frantically, Padma backtracked, pushing Hermione back until the two hit the opposite wall. The beast let out a guttural grunt and shuffled forward. Hermione screamed.
Hadrian walked down the hall, his head bowed and thoughts far away. Once he and his professor/aunt had gotten back on school grounds the two had parted ways. She had headed to her office and had left him to make his way to the feast. Except, Hadrian didn't feel like going to the feast.
It was a celebration after all. What did he have to celebrate? The end of the war? He scoffed; what did he know of the war? A lot of people had died; that's what he knew. Including his parents. He could still see their gravestones, joined together by vines and flowers. Aunt Minnie had explained Samhain to him – honouring the dead, dwelling in the fond memories of those who had passed on, celebrating their lives.
He honestly did not feel like celebrating anything. Today was the day he had been orphaned after all. And so he wandered the halls, his ever faithful companion perched on his shoulder warbling softly, soothing his distressed heart.
He could feel exhaustion creeping up on him and inevitably his thoughts turned to his bed. Thoughts of sleep and his bed quickly led to thoughts of that morning. He grimaced. Another reason not to feel like celebrating.
"Hoot." Hedwig soothed, nibbling his ear fondly.
"I know girl, I know." He sighed, frustrated.
Trying his best not to let his thoughts wander down the depressing route he trudged on. He greeted the portraits that waved out to him. Some even wished him a happy Halloween – he ignored them. He turned a corner and recoiled.
The smell hit him like a physical force, he stumbled back and nearly gagged. Had something died here? He brought his arm up over his nose, hoping to ease the stench.
"Hoot." Hedwig's talons dug uncomfortably into his shoulder. She was tense.
"What is it?" He asked feeling her agitated emotions. His familiar ruffled her feathers, her feathers misting slightly. Hadrian feeling cautious made his way forward slower, keeping close to the wall. Then he heard the scream.
He was running before he knew what was happening. Hedwig was a white streak ahead of him and he pumped his legs faster. Adrenaline surging through his body, he burst through the doorway and immediately dove to the floor.
"Whoa!"
The large club went careening past his head, blowing his hair. He stumbled up, scrabbling to keep his footing on the wet floor. Quickly, he found his balance and looked up to take in the scene.
The first thing he noted was that it was large. The second was that it was trying to bat away Hedwig rather unsuccessfully. His familiar was just too fast for the large arms that were swinging around the large club. The third was that he recognised this creature – it had been a discussion of one of their previous classes, they had been shown pictures of the creature; but seeing it in reality was a whole different matter.
The troll – for that was what it was – was large, twelve feet tall and muscular. Its legs were large and rough like trees trunks, its feet large, flat and possessing two large toes. Its arms were long and powerful. Its grey skin looked rough, like hewn stone and had bits of moss and dirt clinging to it. Thankfully the troll was wearing rough clothes, put together from animal skin and pelts. A pair of screams alerted him to the other occupants of the room.
"Padma!"
His heart leapt into his throat; the troll swung at the two girls, the club singing as it split the air. The girls dived, splitting apart. The club crashed into the sinks, sending bits of rock and ceramic flying. A torrent of water burst from the ruined pipes, further flooding the room. The troll looked confused, staring at its club, expecting to see flattened girls under it.
Hadrian rushed forward and slid down to Padma who was closer to him. "Come on, we have to go."
The girl looked at him, eyes wide and uncomprehending. He gave her a shake, "Padma!"
"Hermione…" she stuttered out and wiped her wet hair from her face. "Where's Hermione?"
Hadrian looked up and saw the bushy haired Gryffindor crouched by the stalls, frozen and looking terrified. His eyes met hers across the room and he nodded.
"I'll get her, okay?" he gave her a firm nod an odd calm finding him.
Without waiting for an answer, he was heading for the other girl, straight towards the troll.
"Hey!" he called fearlessly.
The troll swung around, little eyes blinking at the small boy. It knew a challenge when it saw one. Grunting, it raised its club and let out a challenging roar, bits of rotten meat and spittle flying out. Hadrian stumbled a few steps back; the sound horrible enough to stagger him. He glimpsed Hermione, in the space afforded by the legs of the beast, clutching her ears, petrified. Finding his courage Hadrian raised his wand and gave it a forceful jab towards the troll.
"Illuminatos!"
A bright searing light leapt from his wand and struck the troll. Sounds, high pitched cracks and whines accompanied it. The troll screamed in pain, the sound rattling Hadrian's bones. The beast stumbled around blindly and seeing his chance, Hadrian dove forward between its legs and then was next to a gaping Hermione.
She seemed to be saying something but he didn't care enough to listen. He grabbed her and dragged her towards Padma who had finally regained her senses.
"We have to go. Before it gets its bearings." He instructed the two. Padma nodded throwing a furtive glance to the troll – it was bashing its head against the wooden stalls, turning them into splinters.
The trio quickly made their way to the door, stumbling and jumping over debris. Hadrian kept up a mantra, " Almost there, cmon. Almost…" Hedwig let out a sharp angry cry.
Hadrian threw himself down, pulling the girls with him. The large club went by with a great whoosh of air and crashed against the wall, cracking it – right above the doorway.
"No…" Padma chocked out. The three watched in horrified disbelief as with a deep rumble the doorway collapsed, sending up dust. Coughing and swiping away, the three got up and stared – their exit was blocked, behind a pile of stone. The three looked at each other, resigned, and turned as one to the troll. Hedwig was harassing the troll again – her sharp talons rending the beast's flesh.
"How do we get out now?" Hermione asked, eyes wide and fear and frustration clear in her voice. She looked a mess. Her hair was wet and muddy, it was clinging around her face. She had cuts and scrapes on her face and arms and her eyes were red.
Padma suspected that she herself didn't look any better. She glanced at Hadrian, under the grime, he was pale, his eyes flitting frantically around the room looking for an exit.
"What's the plan?" Padma turned to Hadrian but he didn't seem to hear her. She grabbed him.
"Focus – Hadrian. What's the plan?" he blinked at her and turned to look at the ruined doorway.
"Maybe we could transfigure it?" Hermione suggested, hesitant.
"Into what? Needles? That won't help." Padma scoffed. Hermione glared at the other girl testily.
"It's an idea, I don't see you thinking of anything." Hermione bit back angrily. Padma opened her mouth to retort but Hadrian cut her off.
"Levitation!" he called out snapping his fingers. The two girls stared at him confused and so he started to explain quickly.
"We move the stones, make enough space to get out."
"The troll won't just let us take the time to make an exit though." Hermione looked at the troll anxiously. She blinked in surprise as Hedwig called forth a hail storm to blow the troll back.
"We are going to need a distraction…" Padma said quickly, hiding her surprise at Hedwig's display. She would have time to freak out later.
"I'll distract it, you two work on the stones…" Hadrian quickly volunteered.
"No," Padma interjected. "Two of us. It will increase our chances." Padma's tone brook no argument.
Hadrian looked towards Hermione and she nodded shakily. Hermione watched Hadrian and Padma run screaming and throwing blasts of lights at the troll. Seeing that her friends had it well in hand, she squared her shoulders and turned to the stones; swish and flick.
The troll met their charge and roared out a challenge. It raised its fists up and brought them crashing down. The ground cracked, rock and water spraying outwards and the room trembled and shook. The two first years stumbled and fell, unbalanced. The troll took a menacing step forwards and Padma answered by throwing the same spell Hadrian had cast.
The troll shrieked, stumbling back. In sync the two first years separated and went on either side of it. Hadrian snapped his wand forward, lifting the stray pieces of wood and stone, flinging it at the troll. It did little damage against the toughened skin only serving to irritate the beast. It lumbered forward, intent on hitting the annoying boy. A spell hit it right on the side of the head – upon impact there was a high-pitched whistle and fizz. The troll flailed and roared in pain from the sonic attack.
Hadrian winced, even his ears were protesting Padma's spell choice. But it was working, the troll was on the backfoot. It was disoriented and kept looking between the two unsure on who to go for. It stomped its feet, sending water everywhere. Hadrian had an idea.
"Hedwig!" He pointed to the water. His familiar let out an answering cry, sharp and forceful. The room grew cold and their breaths misted and she spread her wings to their fullest, a thrum of pale eldritch energy gathered at her centre, glowing. The bird dived.
"Padma! Out of the water!" Hadrian shouted, scrambling up a loose toilet.
Spurred by the urgency in her friend's voice, she scrambled up and away, climbing up some debris. No sooner had she gotten to safety, did Hedwig land on the floor, mere feet from the troll. The troll blinked. Then the temperature dropped, drastically. Winter came in a blink, starting from Hedwig, the water rapidly froze.
Some instinct in the troll recognized the danger and it tried to get away, but it was too late. Padma watched fascinated as the water that was drenching the troll froze. The ice spreading out like hungry fingers of cold and frost. The ice encased the troll in a thick layer of ice, getting thinner until it reached its waist where it stopped. The trolls arms were stuck to its sides, unable to move.
"Hoot."
The tired sound made Padma look at the bird who had jut trapped the troll. Hadrian was already kneeling beside his tired looking familiar.
"You did good Hed." He praised, pride colouring his voice.
Good was an understatement, at least half of the bathroom floor, once flooded was now frozen, covered in inches of ice.
"How did she do that?" Padma stuttered out, watching her breath fog in front of her.
Hadrian grinned, his bright teeth a contrast to his dirty face. "I told you she wasn't some boring owl."
Padma couldn't help it, she giggled. The grunt of the troll made her jump in fright. Hadrian chuckled and she glared at him. She looked at the trapped troll, its lower half was stuck in ice, it wasn't getting out. All they had to do was finish up clearing the doorway.
"Guys? Is it over?" Hermione came jogging up, looking hopeful and relieved. "Yea, I think…." Padma began.
CRACK!
The three turned to the troll, it was glaring at them, its dark eyes baleful and angry. Its thick muscles bulged as it strained against its makeshift restraint. Cracks appeared in the ice, spiderwebbing.
"Shit, shit, shit." Hadrian looked around, but all he saw was stone and wood around them. An idea formed in his head, vague and dangerous. He stared down at his wand and the wood thrummed in his hand.
"I have an idea, keep it distracted." With that, he darted forward and away from them. His plan was crazy but it just might work. He could feel his blood pumping and surging through his body. All his senses going into overdrive.
He reached the first stone, "Please let this work."
He held his wand tight and willed his magic to strengthen it, warm it, heat it up. He dragged it against the stone and left a scorched trail. His movements frantic and jerking, he quickly wrote down the rune. If it was rougher than usual, he paid it no mind, he was on a time table. Quickly he moved to the next stone and scratched another rune there as quickly as he could.
In the background he heard the ice fail with an explosion of sound. Bits of ice and cold blew past him. He paid no mind to the scratches and tears from the ice, so focused was he.
Every time he wrote down a symbol with his wand, he could feel his magic trying to rush into it. But he held on to it firmly and kept it at bay, but the strain was taxing. His fingers were twitching and his arms were getting heavy. Trusting his companions, he focused on his task, keeping his breathing even and hand steady. The sounds of battle fell away into the background.
"Hermione!" Padma screamed; Hadrian looked up. There was a wet smack and something flew and tumbled onto the floor. The Gryffindor wasn't moving. The troll made to finish off the incapacitated girl.
"No!" Padma raised a hand and a pale dome of energy sprang up around the downed girl. Two meaty fists met the shield and there was a bell like gong and an explosion. The troll stumbled back, its hands blackened and scorched.
Padma was on her knees, panting and drenched in sweat. The troll looked at its ruined arms and then stared at Padma. Padma half stumbled, half crawled to her downed friend and stood over her protectively. The beast took a step towards them.
"No…" Padma called out weak but defiant.
Hadrian frantically continued to burn the rune into the stone, willing the process to go faster. I'm out of time! Padma stared at the troll, defiant and raised an arm. "Stop." she said weakly.
The troll grunted and took another step and Padma's resolve almost faltered but then she spoke again.
"I said, stop."
Her voice washed over the room, forceful in its presence, full of power and command. Hadrian felt his muscles lock up involuntarily. The room had gone quiet and Hadrian forced himself to look behind him and couldn't believe his eyes.
The troll was still; so still he couldn't tell if it were even alive anymore – burnt arms held to the side, one foot raised menacingly in the air and yet unmoving. Whatever Padma had done, the troll had taken the full brunt of. Padma had tamed the beast; robes torn, hair in disarray and her body cut and bruised, Padma had commanded a wild beast and it had impossibly obeyed. She was amazing!
"Hadrian!" He looked again his muscles suddenly back in his command and now he could see the strain.
She was shaking, her whole body trembling. Her chest was heaving, her breathes coming in large gulps. A trail of blood leaked out of her nose, dripping onto the ruined floor. Whatever she was doing, she could not hold forever. Luckily Hadrian had finished. He placed his hand on the rock, right on the rune Thurisaz – the rune of reactive force, directed force of destruction and defence. His magic, forcefully held back all this time shot into the runes eagerly.
The draw on his magic was enormous and for a fleeting moment his thoughts went to his first use of runes. Had he failed? Was this going to end in another explosion? He could feel that wellspring of energy inside him getting smaller and smaller. His vision blurred, spots of darkness flitting across his vision and still his magic was frawn away.
Then just as he wanted to panic, all the runes, linked during his inscribing, glowed with energy, his magic humming and sending the stones vibrating, their edges blurring. He blinked as his eyes refocused.
Padma dropped her hand, letting go of her strange hold on the troll. Before the beast could do anything, Padma took a step back, taking her out of the rough circle of glowing runes. Her eyes looked across the room and met Hadrian's. In that brief moment more than what mere words could convey passed between them. Padma fell back to the floor and he sprung his trap.
"fulgaris incarcerem! " he whispered.
The world burst into blinding light, accompanied by a thunderous boom; the air burned, heat licking at their skin and suddenly there was a gut-wrenching scream. Silence.
"….drian. Hadrian!" Someone was shaking him, waking him.
Go away!
He tried to bat the arms away, but everything felt far away and his arms were heavy and he felt warm and tired. The shaking continued.
"Shtap… Gerrof."
He blinked his eyes wearily and colours blurred together to form a vague shape he recognized. "Aunt Minnie…"
"Oh Hadrian, thank goodness."
Suddenly he was warm again and something was wrapped around him. What was this? Oh, she was hugging him. This was nice. With her help, he got up to his feet and looked around. The air was buzzing, hot and stifling. The smell of ozone and cooked meat filled his nostrils.
Padma was sitting down, looking on as professor Flitwick waved his wand above Hermione. She found his eyes and nodded. He let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding – Hermione was okay, just unconscious. He slumped, tension bleeding from his form. He suddenly felt so tired. He ignored his aunt's concerned eyes as he flopped down, leaning back on his arms.
Inevitably his eyes went to the troll, or what was left of it. The area his trap had activated in was blackened and smoking. The troll itself was a charred lump of flesh, bits of it still popping and hissing.
Professor Snape had a sour look on his face, though whether that was because of the smell or just his general disposition was anyone's guess. Another professor, a witch, much younger than McGonagall, was fretting around the charred mess, busy muttering and taking notes. Professor Snape turned to look at the deputy Headmistress and shook his head. Hadrian felt something twist in his gut. The troll was dead.
Dear mom and dad,
Sorry I didn't write last week, but school got a bit a hectic. The professors gave us a lot of homework; isn't that great? Oh it's so very exciting, the things we are learning. There is so much I don't know, that the world doesn't know. So much lost history. Wizards, it turns out are really good at keeping records. You wouldn't believe some of the things muggles have wrong. Its incredible. Even some maps are completely off. I don't know how they do it, but I intend to find out how the governments did it.
But now to the good news; it finally happened. I made friends, well it was just one at first, but now I have two. It just happened, rather unexpectedly. We were all working on an assignment about trolls, you see. And we got talking and found out that we worked really work well together. Both Padma and Hadrian (that's their names) are smart and Ravenclaws. They are nice, we have meals together and we read together. I'll tell you all about it when I get back for Christmas.
With love,
Hermione.
P.S The beautiful bird who was kind enough to carry my letter is Hedwig, she's Hadrian's familiar. She is not an owl, even if she looks like one.
Every few weeks the Hogwarts staff met and discussed how classes were going, various administrative duties and any other topics of interest. That morning, the meeting was quite obligatory, considering recent events. The atmosphere in the staffroom could reasonably be described as tense.
"That boy ought to be punished." Snape hissed, his expression sour, a sneer marring his face. "He has shown a complete disregard for school rules."
"You can't be serious Severus." Professor Flitwick said. His entire posture screaming protest and outrage. The short professor was standing on his chair. His moustache bristling.
"That boy saved his friends from a troll. A feat no other first year has ever boasted in Hogwarts history." The small professor challenged.
"He killed that troll…" the Hufflepuff head said pointedly.
A scoff sounded off to her right. A dark haired witch looked at her disbelievingly, "You want to hold that against him? Really? The thing was trying to kill them. Would you have preferred he ask it nicely? Offer it a cup of tea?"
"Enough Avery, you've made your point." Minerva's sharp voice cut off any further argument. She turned to the disgruntled potions master, "We will not be punishing any of the children. What does it say, if we punish our students for defending themselves?"
"Minerva makes a good point," the headmaster interjected. He was looking out the window – in the distance they could just make out some students flying on brooms, enjoying the morning sun. He continued, "The real issue is how a troll managed to get out of confinement and attack our students. Mr Quirrel?"
Professor Quirrel almost flinched when everyone looked at him. He swallowed audibly, and felt sweat collect on his brow.
Bowing his head apologetically he explained himself, "It is my fault, a lapse in judgement had me entrust the duty of securing the beast with my teaching assistant…"
"Of course you would shift the blame." Snape's voice cut in coldly, his dark eyes regarding the Defence professor with disdain.
"Severus." Dumbledore chided lightly. The headmaster looked at Quirrel his eyes appraising. "An investigation will be conducted and those responsible will be held accountable."
Quirrel inclined his head in acquiesce.
"Can we talk about the runes now?" the youngest person in the room said excitedly.
Professor Babbling, had brown frizzy hair and had only been teaching for the last five years. She was also more importantly the school's resident expert on Runes, teaching the subject to those students third year and up who were interested.
"I do admit a certain curiosity myself." Flitwick said, having finally sat down.
Dumbledore gestured for Babbling to take the floor. The young woman vibrated with excitement.
"It's brilliant really, what he did – yes its rough but still…" Babbling began, vibrating in her seat.
"Get on with it woman." Snape snapped.
Babbling blushed and then composed herself. "What he did was use the basic concept of a trap with runes and he weaponised it. That's not exactly new but the way he went about it…" she shook her head trying not to get too technical. "He used elder futhark to ground it and then overlaid it with Greek runes."
"Wouldn't that make it volatile? I thought the languages don't mix well." Professor Vector asked, joining the conversation.
"Yea, usually. But you can tweak them to work together. The fact that he managed it in that situation is incredible." Babbling was practically gushing.
"Both Greek and Futhark are good for channelling celestial energies, I think he used both to amplify the effect." Babbling continued to explain, checking her notes briefly.
"I should imagine. The boy summoned a storm of lightning in the middle of a room. Char boiled the unfortunate creature." Avery said with obvious approval. A few of the professors looked queasy at the imagery.
"I don't think he meant to do that." The runes professor interjected, looking thoughtful.
Seeing the questioning looks she explained, "Like I said, he took a basic trap; paralysis and tried to modify it, adding electricity for a bigger stunning effect. I mean he probably knows that troll hide is magically resistant and was banking on that. His math was off though, way off. It happens." She gave a careless shrug. "Thankfully, it didn't blow up in his face, that would have ended badly."
The various professors shared looks of worry and concern. They didn't want to imagine just how badly things could have gone.
"Obviously it would be better if you could take him under your wing." professor Sprout suggested.
"Oh yes give the boy even more reason to have an inflated sense of self." Snape commented scowling at the room in general.
Minerva sighed irritably at the potion master's attitude.
"Well I could try and teach him a few things over the weekend when I have the chance but with Mr Flamel coming soon…" Babbling explained.
"Time will be few and far between. I understand." The venerable headmaster smoothed. "I'm sure we can impress upon mister Potter not to actively experiment until he has some proper supervision." His eyes cut to Minerva, who nodded resolutely.
*
The troll incident was kept quiet by the staff; so obviously the whole school knew about it by the end of the week. Padma found the stares to be a nuisance, fidgeting under the scrutiny. Before this she had a been largely unknown, but overnight even seventh years knew her name. Was this how Hadrian felt most days?
Speaking of her friend, "Would you stop that." She threw him a glare and he smiled sheepishly.
"Sorry." He apologised.
They were in the library, waiting for Hermione and Neville. Hadrian feeling less than stimulated, had been tapping his wand against the table. The sound, Padma discovered, was annoying when she was trying to think.
"Are we going to talk about what happened?" Hadrian asked suddenly.
Padma sighed at the question. The aftermath had been a surreal experience for her. The room had been trashed, the floor broken, gouged and smoking; it had been littered with wood, stone and ceramic. Padma almost imagined that a bomb had gone off in that room.
If an explosion was the equivalent of three first years duking it out with an enraged and confused troll. She shuddered uncomfortably. The image of what remained of the troll crept into her mind. Blackened, charred remains. It had not struck her until afterwards but they had survived against a troll – they, well mostly Hadrian, had managed to kill it.
Professor Quirrell, their Defence teacher had, in class, stressed that the best way to deal with a troll at their age was to confuse it, with loud bangs and lights, and then to get the hell out of there. That's what they did, almost textbook, throwing around lights and sounds. The plan, if it could be called that, had been going well. Then it had gone from well to hell.
Yet here they were, the talk of the school, and they had come out of it unscathed, mostly. The image of Hermione's prone body had kept her up the past few nights. She turned to Hadrian; he was looking at her expectantly. They had not really had a chance to talk about it all.
"How did you do that, with the runes?" Padma pre-empted his question with her own.
"I told you that a dabbled." Hadrian shrugged looking at her confused.
Padma choked out a laugh of disbelief. She looked at him disbelieving. "Dabble…?" she asked, her hands gesticulating wildly, outraged. Hadrian looked at her bemused.
"That's not something that someone who dabbles can do. That was advanced magic." She explained
"No it wasn't?" he frowned at her. He couldn't understand what she was talking about. "Look all I did was take a simple trap, Absence of Movement, combined it with a paralysis cluster and then upped the power to…."
"I think you went a bit overboard on the power." She winced when Hadrian flinched, his complexion paling. She reached out and grabbed his hand. She gave him a gentle squeeze when he looked at her questioningly.
He let out a noisy breath of air before gathering his thoughts. "Absence of Movement can't hold a person for long, and a troll is just beyond it – but it was the first trap I ever made and I know it inside and out. So I used it – the paralysis sends a jolt of electricity, meant to lock up the victim's muscles. I guess it didn't mesh really well or maybe it did…" He ran a hand through his hair, frustrated.
"I admit I would never have tried something like that normally, not yet at least, but I had to do something. Right?" He looked at her, his green eyes beseeching.
"Right." She answered, giving him a firm nod. She believed that. If he had not, she had no idea if she or Hermione would have been okay.
She understood his desperation. Her eyes strayed to her fingers and she clenched them in remembrance. Her impromptu shield had worked for a time and yet it was taxing on her reserves and the troll was going to crush them; then that happened. Her magic had manifested in a way she had never imagined – fuelled by her desires and her desperation to save her friend, to save herself.
"What about you? How did you get the troll to stop?" he asked quietly, his green eyes sparking with curiosity.
She blinked at him, not knowing what to say. He took her silence to mean something else and he tried to explain.
"It looked like, well, like you commanded it. Like you were in control, holding it." His voice dropped a few octaves and had a disbelieving edge to it.
She had, she noted to herself, yet she could not utter the words. Padma felt her heart hammering in her chest. She stared down at the desk, following the trail of grain in the wood. She felt something swell in her belly, warming the tips of her fingers with nervous energy. It was frightening. She had dreaded this – had been expecting him to ask. In her mind she had run through this scenario a hundred times.
She had imagined saying something clever and witty, diffusing the situation. She had imagined fabricating an elaborate lie, cover up her secret. It had all worked in her mind, seemed so easy to stare into Hadrian's incredibly expressive eyes and just lie. A little lie, nothing serious and it wouldn't matter. But that would be the lie, this was serious, it would matter.
Hadrian was her friend, and in the deep corners of her mind she admitted to herself that he was quickly becoming – no, he was her best-friend.
After what had happened, did he not deserve to know? After that moment they had shared – terrified and exhausted she had trusted him, without any idea about his plan, she had placed not only her life but Hermione's life in his hands.
It was an indescribable feeling, freeing and terrifying, knowing that someone else held the thread of your life. She stared into his eyes and he met her gaze and held it. It was certainly reckless, what she was about to do, but no more reckless than trusting him to subdue a troll.
Her father and Awa had told her, warned her. People do not enjoy baring their soul, little one. Letting her thoughts fade to the back of her mind, she spoke.
"I'm an empath." She licked her suddenly dry lips, nervous.
Hadrian was looking at her, eyes dark, head tilted ever so slightly to one side. It was the same look he gave the professors, when they grabbed his attention with something he found particularly interesting.
She continued talking, before her resolve faltered, "I feel people, their emotions, their intent."
Hadrian's eyes widened, a question on his lips, but Padma cut him off, "Sometimes – sometimes if I concentrate enough, or if I'm touching someone, I can influence the emotions."
"What does that mean really? Influence?" Hadrian asked, he leaned towards her, his voice low and his brow scrunched in thought.
Padma wrung her hands, trying to figure out how to explain it. "It's not so easy to put into words. Emotions are like clouds, sometimes bursts of energy I think, but different somehow." Padma sighed irritated, not finding the proper words to convey what she felt, what she knew to be true.
It had been like this when she had been younger; feeling things that she could not truly grasp, she could not yet understand.
"There are spikes and ebbs and flows and…" she mimed with her hands, fingers twisting into shapes before she gave up. "When I feel them, I always get this impression that I can grab onto them, tweak them, push and pull."
"So if someone was irritated or annoyed. You could push them, stoke them to anger?" he asked, his mind grasping onto the idea.
She grimaced at the emotion he had chosen but she nodded nevertheless. "Yes, or calm them down. Though for some reason that's harder. Maybe because anger is a hot emotion…."
Hadrian looked at her, somewhat confused. "So the troll…?" he ventured.
"I was desperate, Hermione…." she faltered and he gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "I just wanted it to stop and I could feel it there, right in front of me. This mass of emotion and intent. So I just reached out," she raised her hand, forcefully grasping the air and making a tight fist.
"I just grabbed on tight, and told it to stop, and it did." Like a puppet with strings the troll had obeyed.
But she had not been a puppet master, she had felt the troll struggle under her will. Its will, its identity fighting her every step of the way; but she had held on, tightened the threads that had connected her to it. She had choked its will, dominated it and she felt horrible. She said none of this to Hadrian though, there was no reason for her to tell him how much more horrible she was.
Hadrian stayed silent, digesting what she had just told him. His emotions were a jumbled mess and Padma shied away from them. Padma expected Hadrian to look at her in horror. She had just told him that she could read him like a book and could to some extent influence what he felt. People did not like to know that they could lose control like that, especially because of someone pulling on their strings. Hadrian would soon leave, when he realised this. She was ready for the inevitable explosion from him. She cringed when he opened his mouth and said, "You are such a badass."
Wait, what? "What?" She raised her head so quickly her teeth rattled.
Hadrian was grinning at her, a vast contrast to what she had been expecting.
"It's cool. Like Hedwig's ice powers. She's not any plain bird and you're not just any plain witch." Hadrian nodded to himself as if he made any sense to Padma.
"You're not afraid?" Padma asked eventually. Slowly and tentatively she let her senses untangle, and reached for him. She was suprised by what she felt; acceptance pure and simple and a depth of fascination.
Hadrian looked at her surprised, his face scrunched up in thought. "Should I be? Nothing has really changed; you were an empath when we met and nothing happened."
"But what if I mess with your emotions?" she asked.
Hadrian looked at her seriously. "Would you?"
"What? No, I would never…" she protested
"Then it's okay." He shrugged carelessly.
The arrival of Hermione and Neville stopped any response she could have come up with.
"Hey guys." Hadrian offered them a wave, moving aside and letting Neville sit beside him.
Padma only managed a half sincere smile, distracted as she was, her mind still processing what Hadrian had said.
"I finally got a letter back from my parents…" Hermione was saying when Padma finally tuned into the conversation around her.
"What did they say?" Hadrian asked, leaning forward slightly, quill poised above his parchment.
Padma too turned questing eyes to her friend, curious. Hermione shrugged, affecting a careless air about her, though they could tell it was forced.
"It was just the usual. They are happy that I made friends though." She smiled tentatively and was answered by smiles in return. "I don't want to worry them, you know?" she chewed on her bottom lip.
"My father would freak out and make a big fuss, even though I'm perfectly fine; just a few bruises." Hermione said with fond exasperation.
Padma frowned. They had all escaped with light injuries including Hermione. The same one who had gotten a direct hit from a ton of raging troll.
"How did you manage that anyway? You should have had some broken bones at the very least…" Padma said disbelievingly. "Don't get me wrong, I'm glad, incredibly glad you, we, are all okay. But…" she trailed off unsure.
"Madam Pomfrey says I used Augmentation instinctively." Hermione explained, her eyes shining.
Padma nodded in understanding. Hadrian frowned, not understanding. "What's Augmentation?"
Surprisingly it was Neville who answered. "It's a type of internal magic, affects the body. You flush the body with magic, enhancing speed, reflexes and strength. Aurors are supposed to be really good at it." he blushed at the surprised eyes directed at him.
"You seem rather versed in the subject Neville." Padma observed.
"Well it's how my family figured out I was a wizard; my granduncle threw me from the window and well I bounced…" he ducked his head.
The two girls were looking at him in horror. Hadrian laughed.
"It's not funny." Padma glared at the dark-haired boy.
Hadrian chuckled then grinned at Neville, the shy boy offered a faint smile. "Imagine Neville being bouncy."
Hermione giggled at the image she conjured in her mind. She quickly stopped and glanced at Neville; afraid she had offended him. She need not have worried. Neville was blushing but he was also smiling. Taking the joke in stride.
"Um hello…" a voice said hesistantly.
Padma turned and saw Ron's slightly flushed face. She glanced back at Hermione; the other girl was stone faced, but Padma could feel her quickly spiking emotions. She swallowed back her initial response, pushing back against her anger.
"Ronald…" Padma relished his flinch. "I don't think you should be here…" She gave him a fierce glare and he shrunk back.
His eyes told the story, he was very uncomfortable and didn't want to be here either but he glanced at Hermione and found his resolve. Padma opened her mouth to say something else but Hermione beat her to it.
"What do you want?" Hermione's voice was rough and strained.
"Could we um talk in private?" Ron asked, motioning with his eyes.
"No." Hermione folded her arms across her chest, jutting out her chin.
Ron grit his teeth, clearly he had been hoping to do this away from prying eyes. But Hermione was not going to budge. Padma noticed Hadrian looking on confused; catching his attention she shook her head gently. Ron seemed to struggle for a moment before he spoke, his voice surprisingly steady.
"I was a big jerk the other day. I was angry and frustrated and I took it out on you. That wasn't right, it wasn't nice; those things I said…" he was rambling and he noticed. He took a deep breath before he spoke again, "I'm sorry."
There was a tense silence following his declaration. Ron fought the urge to scratch his nose; it felt itchy with all the staring.
"It's okay. Apology accepted." Hermione said quietly.
Ron seemed to visibly deflate in relief. His posture slackening, going into his customary slouch. He smiled nervously, "I um promise not to blow up again when you try to help me out."
Padma poked Hermione in the side prompting the girl; "I promise to try and not be so – forceful." Hermione glanced at Padma and the Indian girl shrugged carelessly.
Ron's smile turned into a grin and he nodded satisfied, "Right. I um I'll be seeing you." Without waiting for a response he left, dashing away; unmindful of the librarian who looked at him with such scorn.
"What was that all about?" Hadrian finally asked.
"Hermione turned Ron into an arse." Neville blurted out. Padma burst into giggles and Hermione ducked, her face flushing and a pleased smile stretching her lips. The librarian soon kicked them out.
Amelia stood in the observation room, staring down the obstacle course through the viewing window. Her expression as usual was stern, but her dark eyes shone with interest. She smirked when she saw one of the new recruits stumble and get blasted back by a trap. She remembered her own training, when she was just a fresh recruit. It felt like a lifetime ago, when she had been naïve and hopeful too. But the job had quickly taken care of those childish traits.
Still a part of her envied them, so bright eyed and hopeful, ready to change the world. She heard the door open behind her, and then someone was standing beside her.
"Shack." She acknowledged with a nod.
"Director."
She heard him shift, his cloak rustling.
"Tell me, what do you think of our new recruits?" she asked, her gave never leaving the training recruits.
Shacklebolt showed no surprise at the unexpected question, instead he peered down the course. There was no fear of being seen from below. The glass was one way and they were shrouded in shadow anyway. A fearsome grizzled man was barking orders at the recruits. His staff cracking hard against the ground, sending sparks and spells whizzing at his students. Shacklebolt winced internally, remembering his own training at the hand of the same man.
"Is he not being a tad excessive?" he asked; watching in fascination as the very floor shifted, turning into a swampy bog, trapping a few unfortunate recruits.
The director shrugged carelessly, "The man gets results."
There was no denying that, Shacklebolt conceded. Most of the current crop of Captains had been trained by the fearsome man, himself included.
A flash of pink caught his attention – one of the recruits, a slim girl with bubble-gum pink hair, was weaving through the course gracefully. She would pivot and spin on a dime, leaping and ducking, avoiding the everchanging obstacles in her way. Her goal – a flag stuck atop the mound at the end of the course. There was something abnormal about the way she was moving. He found himself leaning closer.
The girl was closer now; a conjured solid shield keeping the flames at bay as she powered forward. There was a sense of anticipation, her fellow recruits were cheering her on. Hoping one of them would finally beat the course their bastard of an instructor put them through. The man slammed his staff, causing the very air distort and a wave of force rolled toward her, ripping the floor apart. The girl kept running, a look of utmost concentration on her face. Before the wave was upon her, she threw away her shield, the motion turning her in a half-spin and then she blinked away with a crack and reappeared, meters away, her body completing her spin.
The wave was behind her and she grinned. Victory seemed assured – but then the man was there, his staff extended, jabbing at her legs. She tripped and fell into a roll. Before she could spring up, ropes snagged her form, winding tight against her. The ropes glowed, trapping her from shoulder to ankle. She fell with an oomph. Shacklebolt leaned back and let out a sigh. He had been rooting for her.
"She is gifted, but overconfident. She forgot the objective was to get past him." he said in slight recrimination.
"Overconfidence can be beaten out of her and Moody will certainly have her paranoid in no time." the director chuckled.
The two shared a smile. Moody was a gifted man, a resource the Auror Office could not quantify. But the man was eccentric, a quality that made him an excellent officer but had also had led to many lawsuits over the years.
"Her movements, there was something off about it…" Shacklebolt frowned.
Amelia chuckled at his expression. "I'm glad you noticed. Plus it's no surprise that you can barely remember her, even if you met her a year ago. She keeps changing her face." Her smile widened when Shacklebolt looked at her appraisingly.
"Is that an extension of her ability then?" he wondered aloud.
"No, but it is a creative use of it. She shifts her body weight around, not a lot mind you but just enough to matter." she explained.
Shacklebolt looked down at the field, specifically at the young woman. She was standing at attention as Moody lectured them. "That is impressive." he admitted.
"It is – it wasn't months ago of course. But she is dedicated. They all are." With a final glance at the recruits Amelia turned away, motioning Shacklebolt to follow her.
Her office may have been large but it was also spartan; a consequence of both her tastes and budget cuts. Shacklebolt settled himself on the chair across her desk. Amelia shuffled some papers and signed a few, while Shacklebolt waited patiently.
"So tell me, how goes the investigation?" Amelia finally asked, her hands steepled together, leaning forward.
"We managed to acquire some information from one of the runners. There seems to be a struggle to fill in the vacuum left by William's demise. While that's going on, nobody is really interested in keeping the usual order." he stated crsiply.
"Didn't they have an heir?" she frowned trying to recall.
"They did, but it turns out he wasn't first in line. The old bat had a child hidden somewhere. So the clans are split two ways, especially with how suspicious William's death was." Shacklebolt reported.
"They think it was an attempt to usurp power?" she asked leaning back. Shacklebolt nodded grimly.
"Do we?" her brow raised in question.
"We don't have enough evidence – but if you asked me, it fits with the profile we have on him." Shacklebolt offered.
"Even if we had the evidence, the Accords wouldn't let us interfere until it spilled over…" Amelia tapped her fingers on her desk, thinking.
The killings had started nearly a year ago; or perhaps it was better to say that the first body had been found back then. It had been a muggle and so they had not paid it much attention, it was out of their jurisdiction after all. Then a body had turned up in Knockturn Alley, not the most unusual of things to be honest, but the body's condition was. Arranged to mimic sleep, the body had been tucked between two buildings, the skin pale and grey and the body entirely drained of blood.
She was such a pretty thing too, that waitress, she thought sardonically. An investigation had revealed a trail, that went back to that first muggle, and led all the way to the mainland. All the bodies had showed similar characteristics; body with little to no blood at all, they were all left in alleys as if asleep and most importantly they were young and beautiful girls. It had not been hard to come to a simple conclusion; they had a freaking vampire with a fetish for beautiful girls off its leash and she just knew that it all had to do with the power struggle going on within the vampire clans.
"Fudge has been breathing down my neck about this. Not that I actually believe he cares about those victims – it has more to do with how his image will suffer if we can't provide any answers to the murders." She reached for her decanter and poured herself a glass.
She would have offered one to Shacklebolt but she knew he didn't drink on the job. She gulped down her drink and grimaced at the taste. Fudge was turning her into an alcoholic.
"Coordinate with your counterparts on the mainland. I want the net tightened, I want the son of the bitch sweating and paranoid." she ordered.
"Yes ma'am." He stood smoothly and offered a quick salute before departing.
Amelia shook her head; Shacklebolt was one of her most reliable Captains, the consummate professional, stolid on the job. Still, he could lighten up a bit, maybe share a drink with his stressed-out boss once in a while.
She glanced down at the reports on the recruits. Their training would be over in a couple of months soon and then they would be put under the direct command of a senior operative. She grinned as she looked at one file, Yea, this one will work quite nicely.
"Protego is the most basic and simplest protective shield you will learn. Offering decent protection from both physical and magical attacks, it is a handy tool for any young wizard…" Professor Quirrell's whiny voice filled the classroom.
Hadrian tried to concentrate but his headache seemed to ebb and flow with Quirrell's voice. His head throbbed, the pain flaring and digging into his scar.
"Hey." Padma's cool hand found his and he turned to her. She was looking at him concerned, her gaze flickered to his forehead. "You don't look so good." Rather than talk back, he only offered her a strained smile.
"Harry…" she whispered.
"Padma I'm fine, its nothing. Drop it." He ignored the look of hurt that flashed across her face briefly before she looked away.
He swallowed the tightness in his throat and tried to concentrate on the lesson. It was hard, what with his head pounding and Padma giving him concerned looks every once in a while. Thankfully the lesson was only a theory class and they weren't required to cast anything. Sooner than usual, Quirrell dismissed them. Thanking their luck, the students filed out of the classroom in a hurry, eager to enjoy the rest of the waning afternoon.
Padma and Hadrian quickly made their way to their dorms, to change out of their uniforms.
"I still think we should go see Madam Pomfrey," she said as they made their way down the stairs.
Hadrian sighed for what felt like the hundredth time. "Padma it was just a headache, how many of those have I had?"
"That's my point, you have them often enough. It could be serious." She countered.
"Well it's not, honestly I feel better already." He wasn't lying either. He had taken a quick shower and the water had done wonders for his pain. His headache was now a negligent throb that he barely paid mind to.
Outside the main doors they met up with Hermione and Neville. Neville looked relieved to see them.
"Was Hermione talking your ear off again Nev?" Hadrian grinned making both Neville and Hermione flush in embarrassment. Hermione shifted the large book she was cradling against her chest.
"What's the book for?" Padma asked curiously, tilting her head to read the title; A Compendium of the Magical Birds of Europe, 8th Edition.
Hermione glanced at Hadrian, shifting slightly. "Well, I have been researching. You said you don't know what species Hedwig is and she is clearly so much more than a simple messenger owl." She said quickly.
"Well you won't find anything in there, I already checked." Hadrian shrugged. Hermione looked disappointed.
"Really? I thought you said it didn't matter what bird she is." Padma pointed out. Hadrian adopted a sheepish look, pouting.
He kicked a pebble in front of him. "Well it doesn't, but Hedwig has been so smug ever since the whole troll incident. She knows what she is but she won't tell me."
Hermione looked bemused. "Tell? Hedwig can talk?"
Hadrian shook his head, "No, she can communicate. Sounds, impressions, feelings, images." He shrugged carelessly.
"I didn't know that we could communicate to birds like that…" Hermione brightened up, leaning forward.
"Its not we, Hermione," Neville interjected startling the girl. The quiet boy turned to Hadrian. "She's your familiar right?"
"Yea she is." Hadrian turned to a confused Hermione and explained. "Hedwig and I have this magical bond; that's how we communicate. Apparently it's fairly common among Magi."
He laughed then, "Before Professor McGonagall told me I used to think the other owls were just plain rude and didn't want to talk to me."
The other three laughed as well, even Hermione who was still somewhat coming to grips with the revelation. "So can anyone have a familiar?"
"Well yea, it takes years though – haven't you noticed a few of them in the dining hall?" Neville asked her.
"I thought those were pets?" she said unsure.
"Pets aren't allowed in the dining hall." Neville said.
"Oh."
*
Hagrid's cottage was down the slope from the school, near the forest. Hadrian expected to be welcomed by the large bloodhound Hagrid had, but the hut was oddly deserted. Padma peered in through the dirty window, trying to catch a glimpse of the inside.
"I don't see anyone in there," she said turning to her friends. "His bed is massive by the way." Padma observed, making Hermione giggle.
Neville scuffed his shoes on the path, sending pebbles tumbling down.
"He said he would be here. I have never known him to lie." Hadrian said disappointed. He had been looking forward to talking to the half-giant.
"Maybe something came up, some sort of emergency." Padma said hopefully.
"Yea maybe." Hadrian answered distractedly. What was that? Something had gone behind the cottage.
He plonked down from the steps and made his way around the cottage, ending up in Hagrid's vegetable garden. Massive cabbages and pumpkins greeted him but he ignored them. He peered into the dark tangle of trees ahead of him.
"Hadrian?"
"Did you guys see that?" he asked, glancing around, his wand slipping into his hand.
"See what?" Padma asked coming to stand level with him. Sweeping her gaze across the trees she saw nothing. The afternoon was turning quickly into evening, the shadows growing long and darker, making it hard to pick out things. Then something shifted. Someone gasped; the creature was beautiful.
"Unicorn." Hermione said breathlessly.
The unicorn was a soft fiery gold in the waning light, its eyes luminous. Hadrian took a step forward, that proved a mistake. The foal bolted, slipping into the forest seamlessly, its golden hooves sparking when they hit the ground. Hadrian was already running after the magical creature before he knew what he was doing.
"Guys wait!" Neville called out at his friends, the girls not far behind Hadrian. Neville glanced back, seeing the towers standing as sentinels in the darkening sky, he steeled his nerves and followed after his friends.
It never occurred to Hadrian, or the girls that they had just entered the Forbidden Forest. Chasing after the unicorn, as so many young witches and wizards had done before them, it was easy to forget. The foal kept just ahead of them, teasing the children into believing that they could catch it. Even Neville with his earlier misgivings soon got into it.
The sparks from its hooves lit the way and the children eagerly followed, going deeper and deeper into the forest. The terrain quickly changed, where before it was open and flat, the trees started to grow thicker, the roots twisting across the ground. Deeper they went and the sky grew darker and the air chillier.
Hadrian stopped, panting and breathless, his sides hurting. "Where did it go?" He turned and looked at the girls. Hermione was leaning against the trunk of a large gnarled tree, catching her breath. Padma was kneeling on the damp mossy ground uncaring of the dirt. Hadrian looked around for Neville; he expected the other boy to be flushed from their exertions, instead Neville's chubby face was pale.
"Neville what's wrong?" Hadrian asked, coming to stand beside the other boy.
"We shouldn't be here." Neville said fretfully, his eyes darting all over, his hands close to his body.
Hadrian finally gave 'here' a proper look. The trees loomed above them, their branches blanketing the sky, leaving them in gloom. A cold fog was curling around their legs, giving the twisting mass of roots below them an ominous feel. The air felt heavy, something was lurking in the shadows. Hadrian grew anxious. He had made a mistake, chasing after the unicorn. A stupid mistake.
The girls seemed to have realized it too, their eyes looked around trying to see past the shadows between the trees. Hadrian swallowed his suddenly dry throat. He looked at Neville, the Gryffindor gave him a helpless look. He opened his mouth to say something, what it was he didn't know, luckily a sound cut him off. It was muffled and pained.
The four shared a questioning look, none of them knew what it was. The sound came again, emanating from beyond a grove of trees in front of them. Hadrian nodded towards the trees before carefully moving forward. He was, thankfully, wearing his dragonhide boots today and they barely made a sound. The four creeped forwards, keeping low to the ground. The sounds were louder now; it sounded like pained whinnying. Was it the unicorn? Trapped in a bush maybe? They cleared the rise and was met with a gruesome sight. It was a unicorn, but not the one they had been chasing.
There on the ground lay a beautiful horse, its coat pure white and glowing softly, its hooves were golden and its mane the purest silver. Its pale horn gleamed against the dirt. It would have been enchanting, had the creature not been thrashing in pain, held down by a phantom with its head hovering over its neck.
The phantom was sucking noisily, blueish-silver liquid dribbling down its front, the unicorn's blood. The four watched in horror as the unicorn grew weaker, its blood drained by the greedy sucking. This was wrong, a fundamental injustice. Hadrian felt momentarily numb and then his scar flared, bursting into pain.
"Ah!" It felt like someone had taken a hot poker to his forehead and his vision went white. He stumbled blindly and slipped, tumbling down the rise, the knots in the roots scraping and scratching him. He crashed and stopped at the bottom, a tangle of cut and scratched up limbs, head throbbing. Disoriented and in pain he did not see the cloaked phantom rise and turn to him.
"Hadrian, run!" He heard someone shout as if from a great distance away.
There was a pounding in his ears, adding to the throb of his temple. He grit his teeth, his jaw numbing with pain as he forced his body to obey. His hands dug into the ground, nails scratching in the dirt as he pushed himself up and scrambled to his feet. He swayed momentarily before he turned finding himself face to face with a darkened cowl.
A gripping cold seized him, numbing him – he couldn't run, his legs frozen with fear. His scar flared up, sending white hot pain stabbing into his forehead. He crumpled; his vision darkening. The creature glided forward, a pale hand stretched forward, reaching out for him, blue veins standing out starkly against the translucent skin.
"No!" a bolt of magic came speeding toward the creature, the air burning in front of it. The creature turned its head and with a casual flick batted the bolt away. The bolt drilled into a tree with a crack, sending splinters everywhere. Padma looked pained. Hermione whimpered and Neville was shaking, his wand raised and gripping it so hard his knuckles turned white.
Hadrian wanted to shout at them, to yell at them, get away! But the only sound he managed was a pained gurgle. Before they could do anything, the creature gestured, sweeping and grand. The forest came alive – vines erupted from the ground, thick and strong, sending up bits of rock and earth flying. The vines lashed out, wrapping around the three would be rescuers. The kids fell, bound tight unable to move or talk, the vines going up all the way to their mouths, gagging them.
The creature turned to Hadrian – he whimpered. The pain in his scar burned any thought of magic from him. He couldn't even grasp the energy; couldn't muster up the concentration. His magic seemed to recoil from this being. All he could do was try to crawl away, his fingers digging into the damp earth, trying to pull himself from danger.
Help me!
The creature grabbed his leg. Its fingers were icy and the cold stabbed into him. Hadrian screamed and his leg burned. His skin sizzled, smoking and hot. The creature screamed, a horrible wail and let go. Its hand was shrivelled and badly burnt, the skin red and raw. Hadrian took deep gasping breaths; he was sweating and his chest and throat were burning. His leg had gone numb and he could barely move it. The phantom reared back, standing to its full height, arms raised. Hadrian could feel it, the energy building up – the air sparked, full of charge.
Fear made him desperate and he dug within himself and grasped his energy, hoping to protect himself. Then there was the sound like thunder and the earth rumbled and the trees crashed. The phantom turned to the trees just in time for something to crash into it. The creature was sent flying, it tumbled into the trees. Swiftly, like a puppet on strings it rose up and surveyed this new threat.
Centaurs, a dozen of them, were in the clearing or stalking the edge. Half horse, half human and over seven feet tall, wielding bows and spears, they were a fearsome sight. Deciding that discretion was the better part of valour, the creature retreated, slinking away into the shadows. The centaurs proceeded to cut the vines trapping the kids, freeing them.
Hadrian managed to scramble up to his feet, wincing when he put weight on his numbed leg. One centaur, blond with strikingly blue eyes approached him. Hadrian barely reached the shoulders of his horse half.
"Hadrian Potter." The centaur's voice was a deep baritone, calm and placid.
"You know me?" Hadrian managed to ask, his wand slipping into his hand. The centaur noticed but dismissed the action.
"I do. I am Firenze. We watched as you and your friends chased foolishly after the unicorn." the centaur calmly said. Hadrian shuffled uneasy. It had only been a few minutes and yet it felt like a lifetime ago.
"We must go." Firenze offered Hadrian his hand.
Hadrian looked at the large hand, it was rough and calloused. Hadrian looked at Padma, his gaze conveying his question. The empath's eyes met his and even in the dark he could see the golds of her iris. She nodded; it was barely imperceptible.
Hadrian took the hand and was hoisted up on Firenze's back. The other centaurs hissed, their faces darkening.
"Have you no shame! You would let this filth shame you!" A dark-haired centaur clomped forward, his bow drawn and his frame radiating anger and outrage.
"We do not have time for this, take the children." Firenze ordered.
"Oh you want us to shame ourselves too, you are a disgrace!" the other centaur looked ready to let loose an arrow at Firenze.
The other centaurs shifted, some moving closer to Firenze and the rest towards his rival. Hadrian gripped his wand tight, his magic vibrating in anticipation. His three friends had adopted a defensive position, their backs against each other. They were scared, but they would fight.
"Enough! I am chieftain and you will obey." His eyes were hard and unflinching, staring down the dissenters. Many could not meet his gaze and bowed their heads. The other centaur looked away, looking mulish. He stamped his hoof on the ground before turning and leaving. A few others followed him. Firenze looked down for a moment and Hadrian was tempted to ask what had just happened.
"Let us go." Three centaurs came forward and took the other three.
Travelling by centaur through the forest was vastly different than going by foot. It was faster, far much faster. The trees and underbrush were no obstacle to the forest dwellers. Hadrian could feel Firenze's powerful muscles pumping and coiling underneath him. He clung on, the wind whipping his hair and praying he wouldn't fall. There was no talking, the tense atmosphere making any attempt awkward, and even if they had wanted to, the wind would have stolen their words away.
In mere minutes they were at the edge of the forest and they disembarked. Hadrian felt wobbly, and Neville looked sick; at least he hadn't thrown up all over the centaur carrying him, it would have been quite rude. The girls looked fine surprisingly; Hermione was even grinning. The other centaurs quickly departed, saying nothing, leaving the four adventurers with Firenze.
"I-um-thanks. You saved us back there and…" Hadrian begun awkwardly but Firenze waved him off.
"It was nothing. We were happy to do it. We have been hunting that creature for many nights now, today was the closest we came." There was a note of frustration at the end there.
"Still thank you." Hadrian said sincerely.
"What was that creature? Was it some sort of vampire? Feeding off the unicorn like that." Hermione said, a shiver running through her at the memory.
"It is a leech," Firenze said with disgust. "To kill a unicorn, a creature so pure…" he shook his head, his blond curls tumbling. "Then to have the audacity to drink its very lifeblood – it is a crime, an evil."
"Why would it do that though?" Hermione pressed. Surprisingly the answer came from Padma.
"Unicorn blood is powerful, given freely, it can be used as a curative. It is a powerful ingredient in the most potent of healing potions." the dark skinned witch explained.
"You are right. Unicorn blood will keep even one that is on the brink, on the very verge of death alive. But to drink it as that creature has done, to defile such a thing." The centaur bowed his head saddened. "It invokes a curse, one lives a terrible life, a half-life, a cursed existence."
"But who would do something like that? You would have to have nothing to lose…" Neville said worriedly.
"…And everything to gain." Firenze finished for him and then turned to stare at Hadrian. A terrible thought visited him then and he felt bile rise up his throat.
"No…" he whispered desperately. But it made sense; his scar, how his magic had recoiled, the mark left on his leg, it all made terrible sense. His friends looked at him confused and worried. He paid them no mind, his attention on those blue eyes.
"It is as you suspect child." Firenze nodded solemnly.
Padma stepped forward and placed her hand on Hadrian's shoulder; he was shaking.
"Hadrian, what's wrong? Tell me…" the contact put into clarity his muddied emotions; horror and fear. Padma recoiled as if burnt. Even when they had been facing the troll Hadrian had never been this scared, this afraid.
"It was Voldemort." he whispered.
"Oh." Was Hermione's eloquent answer.
A/N Phew! That took a while. To the second guy who ever reviewed; Rain, that troll sequence, yea that's what your review inspired. It fed my muse and voila. Anyway, this is perhaps my first fully fleshed out fight/action sequence for this story. Please feel free to tell me how I did, where it made you cringe and whatnot. It will definitely help in the long run. Christmas is just around the corner so maybe this is an early xmas present, who knows. Maybe my muse will go into overdrive and I'll manage to churn out another chapter or two before the year is out. We will see.
Read, enjoy and please Review.
Edited 22-05-2024
Formatted the paragraphs and made changes to dialogue for better flow.