CHAPTER 16
|BREAKING NEWS|
The Hogwarts caretaker, Argus Filch, came into view leading Harry, Hermione, Ron, Ryan and Draco outside with a lantern in his hand.
“A pity they let the old punishments die.” He grumbled. “Was a time detention found you hanging by your thumbs in the dungeons. God, I miss the screaming.”
“How does he still work in a place with children?” Cathy questioned. Several other people nodded in agreement making the squib scowl at her.
“How do you still work here?” Ryan questioned.
Filch ignored the question and arrived in front of Hagrid’s hut. “You'll be serving detention with Hagrid tonight.” Cathy was with Hagrid who was drying his tears. Norbert was sleeping in the arms of the witch while Hagrid noted the arrival of Filch and the first years. “He's got a little job to do inside the Dark Forest. A sorry lot, this, Hagrid.”
“There, there, Hagrid.” Cathy said trying to console the half-giant.
“Aww poor man.” Marlene said.
“Good God, you're not still on about that bloody dragon, are you?” Filch asked in an annoyed tone.
“Norbert's going away.” Hagrid said in a sniffle.
“I’m sending him off to Romania to live in a colony.” Cathy explained.
“That's good, isn't it? He's with his own kind.” Hermione pointed.
Cathy nodded in agreement but Hagrid looked at her in dismay. “But what if he don't like Romania? What if the other dragons are mean to him? He's only a baby.”
“Seriously?” Regulus looked at Hagrid’s state in skepticism.
“I’ll make sure she’s settled in with a more pleasant dragon.” Cathy promised. “Not that she’ll need it.”
“She?” Ryan repeated.
“Yeah it’s a girl.” Cathy answered.
Ryan tilted his head to look under the dragon. “How can you tell?”
“How can you tell?” James asked.
Cathy turned to the right and showed them the scratches and burn marks on her blouse. “The females are a lot more vicious.”
“I guess we have to name her…Norbeta? Does that sound about right?” Ryan asked.
“I never even got to teach ‘er to fly.” Hagrid sobbed.
“For God's sake, pull yourself together. You're going into the Forest.” Filch told Hagrid. “Got to have your wits about you.”
“The Forest?” Draco piped up. “I thought that was a joke. We can't go in there. Students aren't allowed. And there are...” the sound of a wolf howling echoed in from the forest. “...werewolves.”
“There's more than werewolves in those trees.” Filch smiled grimly. “You can be sure of that. Mighty-night.”
“We pay to put our children with these people.” Fleamont said annoyed.
The caretaker walked back to the castle and left the students in the presence of Hagrid and Cathy.
“Don’t worry there aren’t any werewolves in there.” Cathy assured them “And if there are it’s not a full moon so you have nothing to worry about.”
“That’s assuring.” Harry said.
“I’ll be off then.” Cathy said. A red fold opened up next to her and she step through and it closed.
“Right.” Hagrid said. “Let's go.”
The five of them are scene walking through the woods and Hagrid stopped in front of a log on the ground. He knelt down and touched a slivery fluid that was smeared on the log. He picked it and frowned at the sight of the fluids on his fingers.
“Is that semen?” Evans asked Regulus.
“I hope not.”
“Hagrid, what is that?” Harry asked.
“What we're here for.” Hagrid answered. He turned to the students and showed them the silver fluid. “See that? That's unicorn blood, that is. I found one dead a few weeks ago. Now, this one's been hurt bad by something. So, it's our job to go and find the poor beast. Ron, Hermione, come with me.”
“Unicorn blood?” Peter looked concerned.
“Okay.” Ron said as he and Hermione moved to the giants’ side
“And, Harry, you'll go with Ryan and Malfoy.”
“Okay. Then I get Fang.” Draco stated.
“Fine. Just so you know, he's a bloody coward.” Hagrid informed them.
Fang whined as the three boys led the dog through the woods. They were far from the other group when Draco began to complain.
“Wait till my father hears about this. This is servant's stuff.”
“How well mannered.” James commented.
“If I didn't know better, I'd say you were scared.” Harry said.
“I'm not scared, Potter.” Draco replied snidely.
Ryan stopped all of a sudden when he heard a twig snap. “Do you hear that?” Ryan asked.
“What?” Harry asked.
Hagrid’s dog stopped and started to growl ahead.
“Come on, Fang.” Draco demanded from the dog.
“Scared!” Harry smirked.
Fang moved forward and stopped in front of a hooded figure. It was kneeling over a large white unicorn and its face was attached to the neck of the horned creature. Harry, Ryan and Draco all froze. Harry was the first to move as he rubbed his scar in pain.
“What the hell is that!” Sirius shouted.
Draco screamed in fear and ran away back the way he came. Fang was barking and growling along as he followed Draco. The hood figure stood up and when it spotted Harry and Ryan it stalked over to the two of them.
“Why aren’t they running away?” Peter questioned.
When he got closer and closer, yellow chaos magic in the form of lightening streaked all over Ryan’s body. It began to meet and form a large orb around his chest and when it popped it expelled a large wave of chaos magic all around them. The figure was immediately thrown away and flew deep into the dark forest.
“That. Was. Amazing.” Remus said in amazement.
“Whoa.” Harry looked to his cousin who was staring down and touching his chest. “How did you do that?”
“I don’t know.” Ryan breathed.
The sounds of hooves beating against the ground made the boys turn their attention to the centaur who had just arrived at the scene. He came to a stop in front of the boys and looked to them both in a worrying manner.
“Whoa! A centaur.” Mary said.
“Harry Potter, Orion Black, you both must leave.” The centaur said. “You are known to many creatures here. The Forest is not safe at this time. Especially for the pair of you.”
“What was that thing?” Harry enquired.
The centaur turned to the fallen unicorn and frowned in anger. “A monstrous creature. It is a terrible crime to slay a unicorn. Drinking its blood will keep you alive even if you are an inch from death. But at a terrible price. For you have slain something so pure that the moment the blood touches your lips, you will have a half-life. A cursed life.”
“That’s horrible.” Molly said.
“Who would choose such a life?”
“Can you think of no one?” the centaur questioned.
Harry was startled. “Do you mean to say that that thing that killed the unicorn that was drinking its blood, that was Voldemort?”
Most of the purebloods felt conflicted. In just one film they had learnt so many things about the wizard they had believed would be their salvation. After hearing about the many atrocities that he committed and now the state that he had been reduced to…most of them felt that the support that they had had for him diminishing.
“Do you know what is hidden in the school at this very moment?”
“The Philosopher's Stone.” Ryan realized.
At that moment a red fold opened up lighting up the forest briefly. When it vanished, Cathy was standing there.
“Oh, thank god, she’s there.” Euphemia said in relief that her grandsons were with her daughter.
“Mum.” Ryan breathed feeling safe.
“What happened?” Cathy asked.
“What do you mean?” Ryan enquired.
“I felt your magic.” Cathy answered. “I thought you were in danger. Oh, hello there Firenze!” The centaur bowed his head in respect to the arrived witch. “So what happened?”
“How did you feel me doing magic?” Ryan asked suspiciously.
Cathy walked over to her son and her nephew. “Chaos magic is alive. Sentient. My magic made me aware that yours felt threaten enough to defend you.”
“Chaos magic is sentient?” Regulus enquired to the girl next to him.
Cathy conjured a small orb of red chaos magic and twirled it between her fingers. “I never really noticed it before but I suppose that it is.”
“It was Voldemort.” Harry answered. “He was drinking unicorn blood.”
Cathy turned around and saw that image of the fallen unicorn. She walked over to it and knelt down. She placed her hand on the unicorns’ head and moved slowly to its nose. Very weakly, the unicorn managed to let out a small breath.
“The poor beast.” Hagrid wept a bit for the fallen creature.
“It’s still alive.” Cathy said. Red wisps of her magic came from her hand and gently touched the wounds of the magical beast. The wound began to mend and close. The unicorn let out a strong neigh began to stand up. Cathy stood up as well when the unicorn was on its feet.
“Amazing.” Fleamont said. Everyone else agreed with the Potter patriarch.
The unicorn whined happily and rubbed its head on Cathy’s face. “Your welcome.” Cathy smiled.
“Cool.” Harry breathed in awe.
“Yeah.” Ryan nodded also in awe of his mother.
“It really is.” Lily nodded.
The unicorn let out one more neigh before it ran off into the woods. “Thank you, Catherine.” Firenze said.
“Don’t mention it.” Cathy said.
The sound of Fang barking made the group look to see that Draco had returned with Hagrid’s group.
“Well at least we learnt not to trust a Malfoy in bad situations.” Sirius said gaining glares from Lucius Malfoy and his father.
“Harry! Ryan!” Ron exclaimed.
“Professor!” Hermione breathed in surprise.
“Ms. Granger.” Cathy nodded.
“Hello there, Firenze.” Hagrid greeted the centaur. “See you've met our young Mr. Potter and Cathy’s boy.”
“You all right there, Harry?” Ryan asked his cousin when he started to touch the scar on his forehead.
“That scar keeps burning whenever he’s near Snape, have you noticed?” James asked his friends.
“Harry Potter, Ryan Black this is where I leave you.” Firenze said. “You're safe now. Good luck.”
The scene changed to the Gryffindor common room where Ryan, Hermione, Harry and Ron were all sitting on the sofa around the fireplace.
“You mean, You-Know-Who is out there right now in the Forest?” Hermione asked.
“But he's weak.” Harry confirmed. “He's living off the unicorns. Don't you see? We had it wrong. Snape doesn't want the Stone for himself. He wants it for Voldemort. With the Elixir of Life, Voldemort will be strong again. He'll come back.”
Ron looked worried. “But if he comes back...you don't think he'll try to kill you, do you?”
“Of course, he would.” Kingsley Shacklebolt said.
“If he'd had the chance, he might have tried tonight.” Harry said looking at Ryan.
“You’re welcome.” Ryan smiled.
“And to think I've been worrying about my Potions final.” Ron murmured.
“Hang on a minute. We're forgetting one thing.” Hermione said. “Who is the only wizards Voldemort always feared? Your aunt and Dumbledore. As long as they’re around, Harry, you're safe. As long as They’re around, you can't be touched.”
The scene shifted again and this time it showed the group walking outside. Ryan and Harry looked very calm with Ron looking sick. Only Hermione looked pleased.
“I'd heard Hogwarts' final exams were frightful, but that was fun.” Hermione smiled.
“Well, I think that it’s clear that she’s the Moony of the group.” Sirius said getting laughs from his friends.
“Speak for yourself.” Ron said weakly.
“All right there, Harry?” Ryan said noticing that he was rubbing his forehead again.
“My scar. It keeps burning.” Harry told them.
“It's happened before.” Hermione pointed out.
“Not like this.”
“You should see the nurse.” Ron suggested.
“I think it's a warning. It means danger's coming.” Harry stopped and his friends stopped along with him. Harry looked over to Hagrid’s hut and saw the man sitting on the steps to his hut while playing a flute. A light lit up in Harry’s eyes. “Of course!”
Harry started to march over to Hagrid and the other three walked with him matching his pace. “What is it?”
“Isn't it odd that what Hagrid wants more than anything is a dragon and a stranger just happens to have one? How many people wander around with dragon eggs? Why didn't I see it before?” Harry said as they arrived in front of Harry.
“Merlin’s beard, he’s right!” Alice exclaimed.
“Hagrid, who gave you the egg? What did he look like?”
“I never saw his face.” Hagrid said. “He kept his hood up. You and this stranger must have talked. He wanted to know what sort of creatures I looked after. I said, ‘After Fluffy, a dragon's gonna be no problem’.”
“Was he interested in Fluffy?” Harry questioned.
“Of course he was interested. How often do you come across a three-headed dog? But I told him, ‘The trick with any beast is to know how to calm him.’ Take Fluffy, for example. Play him music and he falls straight to sleep.” Hagrid paused in shock at his words. “I shouldn't have told you that. Where are you going?”
“Oh, for god’s sake!” Lily exclaimed.
The four of them all ran through the halls of the school.
“Where are we going?” Ron asked.
“Aunt Cathy!” Harry said. “She’ll know what to do.”
“Wait!” Ryan said stopping all of them.
“What? What is it?” Harry asked.
“My mum’s gone.”
“Gone? What do you mean gone?” Harry questioned.
“It’s the afternoon. School hour’s over.”
“Do you know where her living quarters are?” Hermione asked.
“She doesn’t live on school grounds.” Ryan informed them.
“I thought all the professors live on campus.” Frank Longbottom said.
“What?”
“My sisters come home from school and daycare in the afternoon.” Ryan said. “She goes home after school hours are over.”
“Oh, she commutes between.” Euphemia understood. “It’s only right considering the other girls.”
“What about the headmaster?” Hermione suggested.
“Great idea. Anyone knows where his office is?” Ryan enquired.
“I know where we can go ask.” Harry said running over to Professor McGonagall’s classroom. “We have to see Dumbledore. Immediately!” Harry told the professor.
“I'm afraid he's not here.” Professor McGonagall said coldly. “He received an urgent owl from the Ministry of Magic and left.”
“She seems a bit mean.” Peter commented.
“Well Harry and his lot did lose Gryffindor two-hundred points in one night. So, I suppose that she’s entitled.” Fabian Prewett pointed out.
“He's gone? But this is important!” Harry declared. “This is about the Philosopher's Stone!”
Professor McGonagall’s face went white with shock. “How do you know--?”
“Someone's going to try and steal it.” Harry told her.
“I don't know how you know, but I assure you it is well protected.” The transfiguration professor stated. “Now would you go back to your dormitories? Quietly.”
“Seriously!” James exclaimed.
“Given all that they’ve done, can you really blame me?” Professor McGonagall asked. James didn’t respond.
The four of them were walking out of her classroom and into the corridors when Harry started talking.
“That was no stranger Hagrid met. It was Snape. Which means he knows how to get past Fluffy.” Harry said as a man cloaked in black robes came up behind them. “And with Dumbledore gone--"
“Good afternoon.” The four of them turned around and found that the potions master was looking down at them. “What would four young Gryffindors...be doing inside on a day like this?”
“Why does he keep creeping up like that?” James asked.
Hermione pipped up. “We were just--”
“You ought to be careful.” Snape cut her off. “People will think you're...” Snape saw the glare that Harry was giving him. “...up to something.”
“Why do talk like that, Sev?” Cathy asked.
“Like what?” Severus enquired.
“Emphasizing certain words.”
Severus leaned back to her and whispered in a low volume. “I used to have a speech impediment. Stressing certain words helps to prevent that.”
“Say no more.” Cathy said nodded and giving him a thumbs up.
“What’d he say?” James asked.
“Nothing.” Cathy replied.
Without another word, Snape strolled off at the direction of the staffroom.
“Now what do we do?” Ron questioned.
“We go down the trap door.” Harry said with a determined look on his face. “Tonight.”
The scene shifts back to the previous timeline with Cathy and Regulus at a table. She was drinking tea while Regulus was just sitting across from her not saying a word. Cathy put her cup down and looked at Regulus with a black look.
“And we back to this timeline.” Orion murmured.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Regulus asked breaking the silence.
“What is there to talk about?” Cathy countered.
“Maybe about the fact that you just found out something new about yourself.” Regulus said.
Cathy smiled weakly. “Ever since my parents died I’ve been finding out new things about me. This is just a fact that I have to throw on the pile of facts that I’ve discovered.”
What new things?” Cathy wondered. “What’s in that pile?”
Regulus nodded. “So are we going to talk about the fact that--”
“That I can bring a whole new species--”
“Not a new species. Just a more evolved one.” Regulus corrected.
“Ah yes.” Cathy nodded. “You better call the hospital and tell them to reserve a spot for me at the delivery room in nine months.”
“My mind never even went there.”
“Your mums’ sure did.” Cathy told him. “Though I can’t say I’m really all that surprised.”
“Yeah.” James nodded to Walburga’s embarrassment.
“Neither am I. What are you worried about?” Regulus asked.
Cathy looked down at her empty cup and sighed as she looked back up at Regulus.
“Did you know that when I was a little girl my parents knew about me being a chaos castor? The whole world did.”
“What?’ Fleamont and Euphemia looked at each other and James in confusion. Cathy sunk into her seat aware of what her future self was about to reveal to everyone.
“How?” Regulus asked.
“When I was born it was raining. There was thunder and lightning, the whole works.” Cathy said. “When I wasn’t even a day old, I stopped all the rain around me. All the water just stayed midair. A ten-mile radius from where I was, the rain was levitated. Took the ministry ages to clean up that incident.”
“This is when you were born?” Remus questioned. “Why doesn’t anyone know about this?”
“How have I never heard of this before? Like in a paper or a book?”
“I’m getting to that.” Cathy said. “When I was five or six there was a man who came into my house. My powers were getting stronger and my parents were trying to find a tutor to help me control my magic, I suppose. He was handsome and polite and nice. But…there was something wrong with him.”
“What do you mean?” Regulus enquired.
“It wasn’t the way he acted or the way he smelled or anything he did but I could tell that there was something off about this bloke.” Cathy said. “When my parents introduced me to him I read his mind. Back then I couldn’t control what I saw or heard but…”
“What did you see?”
“Horrible things.” Cathy said with a tremor. “Things that terrified me. He wanted to use me, use my power and he was going to do anything it took to make sure that I would obeyed him.”
“Why don’t we remember any of this?” Euphemia asked her husband.
“What happened next?”
“I’m not completely sure to be honest.” Cathy said. “I just remember wishing that he went away, that he never knew about my power. And the next thing I knew was that he was gone.”
“Where did he go?” Regulus asked.
Cathy shook her head. “I don’t know. But after that day no one knew about my power. My parents, my brother, our neighbors. Every single person just forgot. After that day I knew that if people knew about my power they’d be in danger. I lived with that for years. And now…now I find out that if I ever have children, I’d subject them to that.”
“Love.” Fleamont reached for his daughter and kissed her on the forehead.
“Not everyone is like that.” Regulus said. “There are good people who would help people like them, people like you. Me, Lily, your brother.”
“For every person like you there are people like them. People like him.” Cathy said sadly. She reached across the table and took Regulus’ hand into hers. “But I am grateful. Grateful that I met people like you, that I met you.”
The moment seemed really sweet and people watched silently as Cathy and Regulus held hands.
Before Regulus could respond Marius came into the room in a panic. “You two need to come see this!”
Regulus and Cathy stood up and followed Marius into the living room where Walburga was standing and staring into the television in shock. The two of them looked at the tv and were shocked to see the breaking news.
“As you can see,” the female reporter said as she pointed to the carnage behind her, “there is an attack of sorts happening here in the Westminster area of London. Witnesses report that their morning was disturbed by the shaking of the ground which they initially believed were earthquakes.”
“Westminster?” The Minister said in concern.
“What is this?” Cathy asked.
“Watch.” Marius instructed.
“We told that-wait wait!” The reporter looked behind her and pointed her camera man at a scene of two wizards battling with their wands out in the open. “Did you see that! I’m not sure what is happening but witnesses allege that a conflict between dozens of individuals has erupted. Individuals that seem to be using what we can only assume to be magic.”
“Oh my god.” Lily gasped at the sight of two wizards battling in front of a reporter.
“That’s the ministry.” Regulus realized.
Everyone looked at the damage that surrounded the two wizards and considered that the entire ministry could have been blown up.
“Voldemort.” Cathy stated. “He’s attacking the ministry.”
“With no regard to how much the muggle world is seeing.” Marius said.
“How far has this story spread?” Cathy asked. “Which news stations are reporting this?”
Marius picked up the remote and began to flip through the channels. Every one of them was headlining the battle at the ministry.
“All of them.” He answered.
“Oh my god.” Walburga placed her hand on her mouth in horror.
“This is horrific!” The Minister exclaimed.
“Indeed.” Dumbledore nodded.
“How could the Dark Lord disregard the statue of secrecy so blatantly.” Arthur said.
Most of the audience nodded in agreement. While there were those who believed themselves superior to muggles, they still agreed that the statue was necessary.
Cathy watched the fight between wizards being broadcasted and walked out of the room. Regulus realizing her departure followed her to the front door.
“Where are you’re going?” He questioned.
“Where do you think?” Cathy grabbed her coat off a coat rack and put it on.
“I’m coming with you.” Regulus stated. He grabbed his own coat and followed Cathy back to the living room.
Walburga looked to Cathy and her son. “Regulus--”
“Don’t try to talk me out of this mother, I’m going.”
“That’s not what I was going to say.” Walburga smiled. “I was going to say that I am coming with you.”
Walburga left to get her coat and left Regulus and Cathy alone. A fold opened up just as the Black matriarch returned.
“Good luck to you.” Marius said.