Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters and story affiliations mentioned in this fan fiction all belong to JK Rowling and legal associations. I own nothing of it nor am I profiting from it now and planning too in the future in any way. The only exception of profit is to my self for literary improvement.
Author to Reader Note: I sincerely apologize for the wait but now my midterms are over I should be able to post sooner.
I still very much beg for reviews.
I'll be introducing a timeline. According to book 2 CoS, Tom Riddle was at Hogwarts around fifty years ago and I don't believe that James and Lily were nearly fifty years old when Harry was born. Suggesting to me that Voldemort began his dwelling into Dark power before James and Lily were at Hogwarts. So I am taking liberty in saying that Harry's parents were in their late twenties upon Harry's birth giving a near 20-year gap between Harry's parents being at Hogwarts and Voldemort leaving the school.
I want to say a head of time this is not my favorite chapter. It didn't seem to flow as well as I wanted it too but it's mostly to introduce a few new bits of information.
Revised 5/13/03
Harry Potter and the Turmoil Within
Chapter 9
The Beacon in the Void
The gates of Hogwarts...
It felt less welcoming to Harry then before…
Mr. Weasley opened the Gates with his wand with a few taps to the lock and mumbled words. He stepped through along with his wife. Ron made to follow with Harry beside him but realized Harry wasn't moving.
"What's the matter Harry," asked Hermione from behind.
Ron turned to look at Harry and noticed the apprehensive thought upon his face.
"It's Hogwarts," joked Ron, "we're early but we'll get choice seats at the Great Hall."
Harry lowered his head, looking at the ground and the apprehension in his look growing even more intense.
Ron stole a confused glance at Hermione. Both didn't know what to say, Harry wasn't answering and it had never been a difficulty to get Harry to come to Hogwarts, he always wants to come.
"Every year I've come here, something bad happens and people get hurt… and each year gets worse."
Harry spoke his worry but it didn't help him to move. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had stopped up ahead to see why they were not being followed. Mrs. Weasley began to walk back but her husband stopped her with a few unheard words and a touch to her arm. She didn't look pleased about stopping but did so. At the gates, Ron and Hermione were trying desperately to say something but the truth was Harry was right. Each year a new danger came to Hogwarts and each year was more dangerous.
Hermione wanted to find something that could help and Ron was about to grab Harry to drag him onto the grounds.
A hand came to rest on Harry shoulder and Harry turned around at the tugging hand. Hermione and Ron moved to be next to him to hear what Daken had to say.
"Not by your choice... bad things have happened every year at Hogwarts… there has always been something with a reason to bring a fight to here and there have always been those caught in it… luckily there have always been those to resist, "reassured Daken.
Before letting Harry go he added, "You never knew how the Marauders were created… well I'll tell you this much for now, it wasn't just for pranks… they dealt with their dark challenges as well."
Harry turned back and with some trepidation, slowly walked on. Ron and Hermione stuck close to his sides, just in case. No one said a word as they approached the castle.
As they reached the main entrance, the doors opened and revealed Professor McGonagall.
"Molly, Arthur so nice to see you again, "happily greeted Professor McGonagall, "Hermione, Ron and Harry I'm glad you came at our request."
The three students just stared at her; she had never greeted them with their first names let alone hardly ever spoke them."
She must have realized their reaction because she responded; "The school year has not started yet so I am not your professor for now."
"Hello Professor… Ms. McGonagall…" replied Ron awkwardly.
"Hello to you all," said McGonagall," How are you doing Harry?"
The question was said with such sincerity Harry had hardly ever heard from her before that he wasn't sure how to answer.
"A bit more of sleep would be nice with less buildings falling on me," chuckled Harry.
"Quite so Harry," smiled McGonagall and then to everyone, "Dumbledore is at the Ministry finishing some start of term details. He's asked if you'd wait in his office… Oh and Ms. Granger I will need to see you in my office after the Start of Term feast."
"Yes ma'am," replied Hermione.
McGonagall led them into Hogwarts and through the interconnecting halls of the castle. The Weasley parents made comments followed with some giggles as they pass corridors and classrooms, reminiscing of the past.
Harry had memories that surfaced during the course of their travel to the Headmaster's office. Every few moments they passed an area he knew well.
The entrance hall when Peeves the Poltergeist pelted them with icy cold water balloons…
The place where Malfoy was turned into a bouncing white ferret from the imposter, Moody...
The corridor to the girls' bathroom, which became the battleground of the mountain troll…
The wall where he heard the Basilisk for the first time…
The landing where Justin was found after the basilisk attack…
The hallway where Malfoy boasted his knowledge of Sirius Black…
The doorway where Cho was grief stricken after the tournament…
The stairway where he had told Cedric of the dragons…
So many memories of people been hurt or where he had been dragged into danger…
-It'll never end, - thought Harry as they passed the infamous, to him, stairway, -As long as I keep going more will get hurt… -
He didn't have much more time to dwell on it as McGonagall had stopped in front of the statue to the Headmaster's office.
"Sugar bugs," stated the professor.
The statue wiggled a moment and then began to slide to reveal the secret entrance. Harry followed the others up the winding staircase into the awaiting office.
Dumbledore's office was much the same as the many times Harry had been there. Portraits of past Headmasters and Headmistresses of Hogwarts still littered the walls of the office amongst the many cupboards and shelves of strange magical objects. The only additive was that in preparation for this meeting more plush chairs had been added to the room and unless he was mistaken, the room itself had been enlarged for the extra people. A fire was burning brightly in the fireplace.
Fawkes was perched on the desk, chirping and rustling its feathers every so often. Fawkes chirped quite loudly when Harry entered the room and he moved to give the Phoenix a scratch to its chin but he was stopped when the bird changed its posture. Daken had entered the room and the Fawkes went completely silent. Its eyes narrowed and the whole body went rigid except for the head, which followed Daken's every move. All Harry could deduce was that Fawkes didn't like Daken and that made his own suspicions of the mysterious wizard even stronger.
Harry stared at Daken examining him closely for once to see why Fawkes had such strong disliked. Daken was still dressed in a casual suit but colors of dark blue and tan now. He still wore a cloak with an inner lining of violet. Daken's hair was a familiar blonde that Harry knew he had seen before. It was Daken's eyes that Harry became truly suspicious of. They were the color of fine silver. Otherwise nothing else seemed out of the ordinary.
"Please have a seat, the Headmaster should be back at any moment," said McGonagall waving towards the chairs.
As the seats began to fill, Daken decided stand by the window and Harry decided to ask about Fawkes.
"Why doesn't Fawkes like you?"
Daken looked them both over, with a grin and replied, "Phoenixes' have trouble with certain kinds... of people."
Harry was going to ask further on the subject but the door opened and Dumbledore entered.
There was flurry of greetings between everyone before Dumbledore ushered everyone into having a seat. Daken remained by the window and Fawkes didn't even acknowledge Dumbledore's presence never moving its eyes away from Daken.
Harry sat in the furthest corner from everyone, as did Ron. Comments were being exchanged amongst the adults. Harry found himself not paying attention to anything but one person. He was watching Hermione on the other side of the room. She was saying a few things to Professor McGonagall and Dumbledore.
Harry heard nothing of words, just gazed as the firelight dance on Hermione's form.
He couldn't take his eyes off her, the scene was enchanting and he felt a strong desire growing. He wanted to be closer to her, alone with her. He wanted…
"Harry!"
Harry shook himself back into reality as heard his name announced loudly.
He blushed as he looked at Dumbledore who was looking at Harry with an odd and somewhat knowing grin.
"Yes sir," replied Harry?
Dumbledore sat examining Harry with his twinkling eyes, his hands folded on the desk and his brow raised with questioning thought.
"I was asking how you were doing," asked Dumbledore, his voice implying more questions than he was saying.
Harry sat stunned for a second.
-That was weird, - Harry asked himself, -Why am I thinking about Hermione? -
"I'm fine sir," answered Harry, "I was just thinking about… some things."
"Indeed," replied Dumbledore.
Harry became instantly uncomfortable. Everyone was looking at him and it was apparent that Dumbledore probably knew Harry's thoughts. An idea Harry was certainly not fond of and even less that all the focus was on him now.
Fortunately Daken dissolved the awkward moment, with unexpected help from Fawkes, when he made to remark on Harry's inattentiveness.
"Much too young for serious thinking," jokingly began Daken as moved towards Harry.
Fawkes had other ideas of Daken's approach though.
The phoenix unleashed a loud screech at Daken and spread its wings in a threatening manner. All the while its whole body ignited in flames.
Daken stared grimly at the bird, a severe dislike in his look but a reluctance to act in his posture.
Instead Daken spoke, "I thought you said Fawkes would be okay with this arrangement?"
Dumbledore replied lightly, "He hasn't attacked you but he seems to be protective of Harry… Give him time he will see past all."
Daken backed away slowly towards his initial position by the window. Fawkes calmed down and chirped once or twice from Dumbledore calming strokes. Yet again Fawkes would not stop watching Daken who in turn looked rather unpleased at the bird's reactions.
A silence followed but Hermione broke it.
"Why did you want to meet with us," asked Hermione?
Dumbledore answered, "A new threat has come to Hogwarts."
"What is Voldemort up to this time," retorted Ron," Out to kill Harry maybe."
Dumbledore looked hard at Ron for a moment and then continued to tell an explanation, "No… Not this time… This time a dangerous wizard known as Malleck has threatened this school."
Ron and Hermione exchanged a quick look of surprise. Since when we're they told a head of time like this.
Harry gave his own reply in asking, "Another Barty Crouch Jr. I take it?"
"No… Malleck is not a supporter of Voldemort rather his opponent," answered Dumbledore, "But in his time Malleck was the most fear dark wizard before falling from power."
Harry was confused and let it be known, "Then what does he want with me? I understand I'm supposed to be responsible for the defeat of one evil wizard?"
Daken turned from facing the window and answered for Dumbledore, "You didn't defeat Malleck but Voldemort did."
"So what does this have to do with me, he should go after Voldemort," pointed out Harry.
Dumbledore stood and walked towards the fireplace answering, "Malleck has a unique view on the steps towards empowerment… Voldemort defeated him and you defeated Voldemort… His sense of things leads him to the idea that defeating the victor of Voldemort will entitle him again."
"Sounds like another nut to me," said Ron with a tone of humor.
"Don't take Malleck likely," snapped Daken darkly," Crazy yes but vicious crazy… Voldemort and Malleck are complete opposites in their desires… Voldemort wants power, domination and control… Malleck cares nothing for any of that… "
Ron shifted uncomfortably and Daken continued.
"Malleck is a man of chaos and he loves it… He murders people for thrill of watching their life drain away and a once warm soul becomes a cold carcass… He doesn't use the Death curse… Malleck uses whatever magic is slow and painful… He lives, breathes and dines in the chaotic hells he inflicts upon people."
Mrs. Weasley was silently panicking but her shaking gave away her feelings. Mr. Weasley was comforting her as best as he could. Hermione was rubbing her hands together nervously, looking off to the side thinking. Professor McGonagall had her lips pursed so hard they had disappeared. Dumbledore stared quietly at the fire. Ron was obviously angry from the scowl on his face. Daken was really upset and Harry wasn't sure how to take all this in.
"So why are you telling us all this," asked Hermione?
Professor McGonagall stood up.
"You three have gotten yourselves into the mix a number of times and no matter what we have tried to prevent it… So we decided it best to simply inform you now and hopefully work together this time"
Dumbledore spoke up with a somber voice, "Malleck wants to best you Harry and we don't know how… We know he was responsible for the fall of the Museum from a specific mark left behind at the scene… Malleck has taken dangerous talismans from the Museum and we fear he plans to use them here… As Daken said Malleck enjoys chaos, so I fear he wants to challenge us or namely Harry to gain what he wants."
"What were these talismans," asked Hermione pretending she had not heard before.
Surprisingly Mr. Weasley spoke, "Oh I was given a list…Ah here we go"
He pulled a parchment from his pocket, stood up and began to read.
The items believe stolen are;
Colossus Orb
This item enables the witch or wizard to amplify the strength and effect of their spells. It was created from elemental magic, specifically the element of lightning.
Hetan Stone
This item is known only for creating earthquakes that begin and continue, reaching severe intensity quickly.
Niomia Necklace
A powerful control device that can implant the desires, memories and more into a victim making them do or believe anything.
Keock Jewel
A jewel believed to be a torture device as it is capable of creating endless rings of flame that cannot be put out by usual means. However these flames do not kill the intended by burning but seals the victims in an intense radius of heat.
Geraus Ring
Nothing is well known of this item as it was only recently acquired. All that is known is a recent but partial translation. 'Body of flesh and bone, shall be as stone.'
Venarus Blade
Believe to the most dangerous loss of the Museum. It makes the handler immune to most magic. The blade of the sword is tempered so that it is always laced with venom, which deals devastating damaging to anything it touches. History records that anyone not of the Venarus family will be poisoned by the blade leading to eventual death.
"Well that's what is missing and the research is continuing," finished Mr. Weasley.
"Each dangerous in their own right," stated Dumbledore.
Daken responded, "I'm curious about the Geraus Ring… Body of flesh and bone shall be as stone… Sounds very much like an entrapment talisman… Turns a person to stone I wonder?"
Dumbledore shifted his glance to Daken, "And what of Venarus?"
Daken grinned cynically and stated grimly, "My grandfather died to put that damn thing into a hidden place only to have those ministry fools put it in a museum… Now there is one only power that exists to defeat Venarus but there is no one who can wield it because no heir was ever born… The one who uses Venarus will die with it… along with anybody wounded by it."
"Perhaps," replied Dumbledore, "Well you know much of what we know now. I ask each of you to be willing to help us by informing the staff of any suspicious things. You can move among the students and can hear things we cannot. In turn we will alert each of you to any new information we gather. Do we agree?"
Ron, Hermione and the Weasley adults agreed immediately.
Daken gave a quick nod
However Harry had other thoughts.
"I won't promise anything," stated Harry," But I will watch for trouble and report it if I can."
Dumbledore gave a final nod and a glance to Professor McGonagall signaling the end of their meeting.
Everyone began saying his or her goodbyes. Mrs. Weasley gave each of the kids a hug and encouraging whispers to each. Whatever she said to Hermione made her blush and Ron grinned at his mum's words to him.
During her embrace to Harry she whispered, "Remember Harry you are a part this family too. Don't go at it alone, let us help you."
Daken went with the Weasleys to see them off the grounds. Professor McGonagall ushered the students to follow her out. Hermione and Ron stepped out with McGonagall and Harry followed last but was stopped by Dumbledore just he had his back to him with one step out the door.
"Harry I will not claim to understand what you're feeling but I do know that if you keep burying your emotions they will return with explosive consequences… In short, don't hold back your emotions or an unwelcome part of you may be released"
Harry didn't reply but continued on out of the office and down the stairs.
Once through the hidden entrance Harry found Ron waiting for him.
"Where's Hermione and Professor McGonagall," inquired Harry?
"Professor said she had to talk to the Hermione alone about something," answered Ron with a shrug, "We're supposed to go to the Great Hall and wait."
"Actually Ron, I'd rather get some more sleep so I'm going to go to the dorm and I'll come to the feast later."
"I'll meet up with Daken then," replied Ron.
Harry looked at his friend and warned, "Be careful around him Ron. He may be a family friend but he's hiding something serious."
Ron gave Harry an interesting grin but he nodded in agreement.
Harry went off to the dorm and Ron went down the hall. He didn't have any trouble getting into the tower as the Fat Lady let him in easily. Harry climbed into the boys 5th year dormitory and collapsed onto a bed.
-Alone at last, - thought Harry before falling into a dreamless sleep.
Time past by as Harry slept on. The Hogwarts Express arrived at Hogsmeade as it had done the past fours years and the many years before.
The new students crossed over the lake with the boats and were awed by the giant squid in the water. The later year students were taken to the awaiting castle in the usual style of the horseless carriages. The new students were greeted at the entrance and led into the Great Hall among the already seated students to be sorted. Professor McGonagall read off the list of names and the Sorting hat did its task. Students took their places and McGonagall called them all to attention.
Dumbledore stood to make is announcements and call forth the feast.
Students chatted and ate heartily, while the Professors spoke among themselves. Daken was sitting beside Professor McGonagall speaking very little and eating practically nothing but drinking heavily.
"Hermione did you notice Hagrid isn't here," said Ron realizing the empty seat," I wonder who brought the new students over?"
"I don't know," answered Hermione and added a question of her own," When did Harry say he would come to the feast?"
"He said later but if he misses it we can take something up to him… Or maybe Dobby is force feeding him again," answered Ron with a snicker.
"Maybe, I just don't like the idea of him alone without us right now," added Hermione.
They continued their meal and chatted casually with other students. That continued until Neville spoke up louder than anyone else.
"Does anybody here that," asked Neville?
"Hear what…" began Ron but he was cut off.
A deep buzzing sound like bees began to fill the room. The light from the torches were dimming and the bewitched ceiling vanished leaving only the arching rooftop.
Students were noticing the effects and worry began to grow.
Ron and Hermione looked at each other and had the same answer to the questions.
Malleck
Daken stood up quickly and shouted to Dumbledore, "It's a void spell!"
Dumbledore stood quickly angrily announcing loudly, "Prefects lead all students to the dormitories now!"
Unfortunately the timing was late, as the doors to the Great Hall slammed shut before any of the students could move out.
Ron ran up to the doors and was joined by Daken.
"We don't have much time, when the spell finishes we'll be helpless," spoke Daken quickly.
Ron grabbed hold of the handle of one door and began to pull. He strained hard but to no avail. There was a sound of straining metal and the handle broke off.
"What is the counter spell," yelled Ron pulling out his own wand!
"There isn't one known," spoke Dumbledore as he appeared behind them, "It seals the room and nullifies any magic within. Since the doors are sealed and the torches are fading, then the spell is in effect and we can do nothing but try to find a way to break out."
As expected, all the torches became extinguished and darkness consumed the room. Worry became panic and fear was accompanied by cries and screams.
"Well I'll say this about Malleck," growled Ron," He doesn't loaf about."
The small group could only rely on their voices to keep an idea of their position.
"Dumbledore, I can't be in here for much longer, there is too much fear and too many… people," spoke Daken with worry clearly in his voice.
At that moment a thundering boom of wood cracking was heard from the Great Hall doors.
Everyone went silent.
Another thundering boom came again and more followed, each sooner and louder than the next.
Daken whispered cautiously, "Sounds like a mountain troll…whatever it is its powerful and we're sitting ducks…"
"We shall handle as best as we can," stated Dumbledore plainly.
The bombarding sounds of cracking wood stopped and were replaced by a loud hissing followed by a large red glow in the center of the doors.
People backed away as steam hissed from the glow.
"Ron if you make it out of this and I don't please tell Harry…" began Hermione.
"Tell him your-self," snapped Ron, "I plan to win this even without a wand."
An explosive blast smashed through the door creating an opening.
The bright light from the hall blinded those nearest but the eyes focused enough to see a figure step through…
"Somebody want to tell me what the bloody hell is going on," said the figure?
"Harry," said Ron?
"Who did you expect?"
Hermione's eyes came into focus and she could see Harry Potter standing in the hole made in the doors. Sweat covered his face and his breathing was hard but there he was standing in the flooding light from the hall, which had broken the void spell.
Students cheered and quickly filed out of the Great Hall through Harry's opening. He and Ron stood on either side with other Professors helping students through.
Hermione realized that she had to make a very serious decision if she was going to help her friends through this. A choice that she knew Professor McGonagall would not like but it had to be done. So she moved to help them further having made her choice.
Daken and Dumbledore stood further back watching the students leave.
"You know what that looked like to me," asked Daken, "With the hole and this room?
"Yes," answered Dumbledore, "Like a Beacon in the Void."
Next Chapter
Bite of the Badger