Chapter 9
The three Mages were sitting in the Common Room, all alone in silence, with nothing but a roaring fire for comfort.
Harry and Ron had woken from their sleep at the exact same time, both with an unsettling feeling in their stomach.
Harry could block out Voldemort most of the time, but that evening Harry felt the Dark Lord go from extreme happiness and excitement, to something totally different, fear.
After deciding that neither of them would be able to go back to sleep, Ron and Harry ventured down into the Common Room. Five minutes into their chess game, Hermione came down, with expression of worry clearly written across her face.
"We should talk to Solarea tomorrow," Hermione said breaking the silence while curling up next to Harry on the sofa.
"Yeah, I'm not buying this whole Mage thing." Ron said.
"What do you mean?" Harry asked.
"I don't know," Ron felt he needed to move around while he worked out what was going on in his head, "I mean, we were Wizards, now we're Mages. But why? Why us? Solarea has been acting as if it is nothing to worry about."
"Sounds like this has been bugging you for a while now," Hermione pointed out.
"Don't get me wrong, learning to use wandless magic and everything else has been really wicked. But Harry, you survived the Death Curse and it turned out that there was a prophesy hanging over you on that one. I don't think something big as us being Mages goes without a prophesy hanging over us as well." Ron explained.
"He does have a point."
"Alright, so we'll talk to Aunt Sol tomorrow." Harry said, trying to put Ron at ease.
*
"Everyone?"
"Except for these two," Solarea said as they settled Tavion and Cara into their own bed in the hospital wing.
"How is she in shock, if she passed out just like me?" Severus asked.
Solarea looked over at Cara, "Cara here is an untrained muggle born witch. Tavion however, is muggle. What saved her was her sight; I believe she saw her village fall dead."
"What caused this atrocity?" Madison asked with concern.
"Its best if I explain only once." Solarea said calmly, but it seemed as if she could snap at any moment. "I meant what I said before Severus, no longer are you a spy for the Order. You can never go back."
Madison looked to her brother for some sort of explanation. Severus just scowled and looked away. Madison hit him on the arm, "You don't have to look so glum about, at least this will save my nerves wondering if you're ok or dead because you got caught."
"What am I suppose to do now? Sit around and brew potions?"
"You can live your life. Find your self a woman for crying out loud. `What am I suppose to do?'" Severus's statement obviously infuriated her. "You can help the rest of your Slytherins as well."
"What do you mean?"
"I've done my job, and now you can do it." Madison told him, like no one would ever speak to him. "Truthfully I just sick of Pansy Parkinson liking like she would kill me the second she could. Though Draco said she probably would try."
"Draco?"
"Yeah, he's on our side." Madison told Severus.
"You know he has probably mastered the technique of bullshiting." Severus reminded her.
"True, but I doubt that he could bull his way under the influence of Veritaserum." Madison said in a sing-song tone dangling a half empty bottle of the serum in his face.
"Are you going to leave?" Severus asked curtly.
Madison could tell that he liked having her around, "Actually I though I could offer my skills at kicking Sirius's butt at practical defense."
"That's a good idea," Solarea said, "Soon enough I won't be able to."
"Good, then it's settled."
*
Draco watched as Madison exited the Hospital Wing; she immediately sought him out.
"What's happened?" Draco asked.
"I don't know," Madison replied as they hurried along the hallway, "There's to be an emergency Order meeting and I've been asked to assemble the Gryffindor Dream Team."
"I guess I'll head back to Slytherin then." Draco said stopping to take a different direction.
"Nonsense," Madison stopped him, "I've already spoken with Professor Snape. You will attend the meet under my sponsorship. I trust you, Snape trusts me and Dumbledore trusts him. Just get over you fear of what other people think of you."
"I'm not afraid."
"One mention of Harry Potter or any of his friend and you go running the other way. Be a man and grow a backbone. After tonight you will be officially be a member of the light." Madison told him.
Draco just stood there speechless.
"Let's go already," Madison urged as she sped off again.
"I always wondered what the Gryffindor Common Room looks like," Draco commented as they climbed the stairs.
"I always heard it's the Hufflepuffs that have all the fun." Madison replied.
Madison and Draco finally arrived at the Fat Lady's portrait. "Password?" The Fat Lady asked.
"Moldy shorts," Madison responded. The Fat Lady was somewhat surprised that a pair of Slytherin actually had the password. Madison was about to tell Draco to stay put when she saw that Harry, Ron and Hermione where already awake.
"What the bloody hell are you doing here?" Ron exclaimed as jumped up from where he sat, his fingers crackling with magic.
"Relax Ron, he's with me." Madison tried to assure him.
"Is that supposed to make me feel better?"
"I'm on your side," Draco told him.
"Liked we'd believe you." Hermione said.
"I would not have told him the truth about who I am, and why I am here, if I hadn't either, put him under the influence of Veritaserum, or gotten him really drunk." Madison told them, "Thankfully it didn't require a drop of alcohol. Look I'm not asking you to like Draco, just don't give him a hard time."
"It's hardly us whose been giving him a hard time." Hermione said bitterly.
"I'm not looking for your approval," Draco snapped, "Yes, I've made some mistakes, but I can't change the past."
"I came to come get you three for an emergency Order meeting." Madison explained calmly, "Draco is only here because I wouldn't let him skulk back to the Common Room. My job was to find any Slytherins who didn't want to follow Voldemort, and I've found one. You'll have to except it. Now go and get dressed, the meeting will be in the Great Hall. I have to go wake up Charlie and Lena."
"I forget sometimes that you're old enough to be our mother." Harry noted with a smirk.
"Oh shut up!"
*
Many grumpy people were gathered in the Great Hall. A lot of people had been awakened from their sleep for this meeting. They waited in a solemn quiet. Many assumed that the meeting had been called because Snape had some important information that could not wait until a decent hour, however they would only be partially right.
Instead of Dumbledore starting the meeting as usual, Solarea took the floor.
"This war has taken a drastic change, for the worse. Tonight, Voldemort has done something idiotically stupid. He had released a Being from his prison. He's been trapped there for about ten thousand years now." The room remained silent, "His name is Vinarin and like me, he is a god. In fact he is my brother."
There were a few gasped of surprise.
"Why would You-Know-Who do such a thing," someone asked.
"I'm not sure. It doesn't sound like something Voldemort would do. But the fact is, is that Voldemort is no longer in control."
"But you could kill this Vinarin guy, right?" Mad-Eye Moody asked.
"And he can kill her." Sirius stated. Solarea looked at Sirius and saw that he understood the severity of the situation. For the first time there was a possibility that he could lose her, forever, and the baby.
"I thought that I could just trap him, a prison he could not escape. I won't make that mistake again. This time I will kill him, I have to. Too many people have died already." Solarea said solemnly.
"What has happened?" Harry asked.
"Vinarin's prison was protected by the last tribe of Amazons. When he escaped, the magic that was released killed anything non-magical in its path." Solarea told them.
"The Amazons are extinct?" Lena asked.
"Two survived, the Queen's daughter and sister. Though Tavion is barely hanging on." Solarea explained.
"How did Cara survive?" Harry asked.
"She is a witch, but the Queen refused to have her taught."
"What about Snape?" Someone asked, "He's supposed to be our spy. Why weren't we informed of this sooner?"
"I hadn't been called in over a month," Severus explained, "From what I heard, no Death Eater had been called. The only one who seemed to know what was going on was some Mage called Rene."
"I knew something was up with that man." Solarea muttered.
"Who is he?" Lena asked.
"Rene is on the Council."
"He is deceiving the Council?"
"Yes."
"I have to warn them." Lena stated.
"What?" Charlie exclaimed.
"It is my duty as the Elemental Mage. I cannot let him have a seat on the Council whilst he serves the devil himself." Lena declared.
"When will you go?" Solarea asked.
"As soon as possible. Today in fact." Lena replied.
"I'll go with her," Charlie volunteered.
Lena looked at her fiancé, "You can't."
"Why not?" Charlie seemed almost hurt.
"Because you are a Wizard." Lena simply replied.
"So?"
"Charlie, for Lena to go and confront a member of Council is one thing. But to bring a Wizard to the Mage Lands when they aren't welcome, both you a Lena would be imprisoned." Solarea explained.
"The Mages who created these laws were pompous, arrogant buttheads. And for some reason it hasn't changed." Lena said.
With that nothing more could really be said and the meeting ended.
*
"I really wish I could take you with me." Lena said as she packed some food and water in a sack.
"Yes, well, we don't want to offend them with a mere Wizard in their presence." Charlie said with a sarcastic sting in his tone.
"Those darn Mages," Lena said playfully as she continued packing. "I should be back in a couple of days," she said as she fastened her bright red traveling cloak around her.
"Days?" Charlie asked confused.
"I'm traveling via portal, and I can only create a portal to a place where I have been. Since I've only been to the capital city once, I barely remember it so I am going to the place I use to live. Let's just say that it'll take some time to travel." Lena explained.
"I think my Mum has got her suspicions about us." Charlie said as he looked out the window.
"Why do you say that?" Lena asked rechecking her pack.
"My Mum and Dad are headed this way." He answered.
"Well it's too bad that I have to leave."
"Oh, you're a mean one."
"Yes, but you love me anyway," Lena said lovingly, "I'll make the portal outside, so I'll at least say hi."
Charlie and Lena went out the door as Molly and Arthur were about to knock.
"Ah, thought we would drop by before we went home." Arthur told them. Molly looked like she was anticipating very good news.
"Sorry, you caught me on the go. I really must get going." Lena apologized. She then walked just outside the cottage, nodded her head slightly with her eyes closed, put her hand in front of her and swept them back as if parting a certain. Purple light emitted from the portal that opened.
"You're not going to leave a poor woman hanging are you?" Molly asked.
"21st of December, Charlie will tell you everything, won't you Charlie" Lena declared.
"Yes dear," Charlie grumbled, and then Lena blew him a kiss and went through the portal.
"When did you ask her, son?" Arthur asked.
"Start of term," Charlie replied as the portal closed up.
"Start of term?" Molly frazzled, "You hear that Arthur, start of term. And when were you going to tell us, when we got our invitation?" Molly paused, "You're not going to elope are you?"
"Of course not Mum, Lena's had everything planned for years now."
*
Solarea was teaching History of Magic while Lena was away, and she didn't know what Sirius was doing, yet Madison found herself agreeing to teach the Defense classes Vampire 101. Her first class ironically was the Gryffindor/Slytherin 7th year class. So she ditched the school uniform and let down her hair, propped up her feet on the teacher's desk and began the task of filing her nails.
"I wish I brought a camera," Madison looked up to see Pansy was in with a smug look on her face, "That way I could keep the image of the Professor's face when she walks in and finds you like that. She's going to make you run labs like crazy."
Madison ignored her and continued what she was doing until everyone was present.
"Professor Solarea and Mr. Black are busy doing something else, so they asked me to tell you what I know." She got up and went to the blackboard and wrote `Vampires' on it.
"And how do you know so much about it?" Pansy asked.
"You mean for the exception of the people who already knew before term started that only one of you managed to discover my good acting skills?" Madison said in a mock disbelief. The class was silent, "Well allow me to introduce myself; my name is Madison Prince, and you've had a vampire sleeping in the Slytherin dorms for the last month."
A/N: I know some of you want more Harry and I promise to do that soon. Please review, I like to hear back from my readers.
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