DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and
owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to
Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros.,
Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is
intended.
((Thank- you all you loyal readers who are still with me, and all you new ones as well. This is the sequel to THE DARKEST HOURS, which I just finished recently. CAUTION: Contains a lot of angst and depression. However, I hope this plot is an improvement from my last fic. I made this chapter especially long.))
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"Now I will tell you what I've done for you
50 thousand tears I've cried
Screaming deceiving and bleeding for you
and you still won't hear me" -Evanescence
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The lake lapped up against the sand with the ripples the great squid sent. A cold winter breeze blew across the lakes surface, which was reflecting the clear blue sky. Only a few fluffy white clouds scattered across the perfect blue sky, the sun lighting the school grounds, dead with the winter.
An Order meeting had just ended, and Hermione and Ron were seated side by side, backs leaning against a tree trunk.
Ron looked at Hermione with concern. Harry had died a month ago, and she'd barely said a word since. She hardly ate, the only food she ever consumed was that which her brother Chrome forced upon her. Now she looked off into nothingness, her face looking as though in deep concentration.
Ron himself had moved back into the Burrow for a while, feeling as though family would be the best cure for his depression. It could be said that he and Cho were on a break. To be quite honest, he had no idea where his heart lay anymore, or if he even had one. The decisive loss of his best friend was not like those years he had been missing. All that time Ron had suspected that Harry was alive somewhere. Now he knew that Harry was dead, and he felt hollow, as if a piece of him had been erased. Harry would never be he best man at his wedding, the god father of his kids. They would never spend Saturday afternoons watching Quidditch matches, or wave goodbye to their kids from Platform 9 ¾.
This thinking was getting him nowhere and he knew it. He shook his head clear, and turned to Hermione. To his surprise she suddenly began to speak.
"The night before the mission I came out here with Harry. We traded gifts for Christmas. He gave me this ring."
"You were engaged?" Ron blurted out.
"No. It was a promise, that he would always be with me. We weren't going to get engaged just before the mission, when. well things could happen." She finished lamely. "But I don't think he is."
"Is what?" Ron asked, confused.
"With me. I feel so alone."
Ron had no words of consolation. Voice cracking, he recited his own memory. "I told him to take care, to come back. He told me he would, and that I was the only brother he had. He didn't come back though."
They returned to silence, a heavy silence filled by two broken promises.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "But if a man could be alone, let him look at the stars." -Emerson ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Regulus Leo woke up knowing only his name and his purpose. He had no past, he had no future. He only had the stars, his ever lasting commanders. He stood up from his bed, his youthful frame suffering none of the normal aches and pains of waking in the morning. He felt no fatigue, and merely crossed the dark and elaborately furnished room, taking no notice to his surroundings.
He reached out and unclasped the window shutters. He pulled them open to reveal a dark valley, filled with old and beautiful trees, silent under the night sky. He focused his attention to the sky, a dark blue hue untainted by the toxins of man. Bright points of light speckled the sky, and a large full moon sat lazily in the distance, bringing shape and contrast to the valley below.
The room in which Regulus Leo stood in was underground, a hidden mansion known as the House of the Heavens. The window was a portal to the valley of immortality, a place in which only Sorcerers of the Stars could visit and could gaze upon. For that was their purpose, to live as immortals, resistant to only the most powerful of ancient magic, to serve the will of their constellation, for good or bad.
There was no question in Regulus Leo's mind as he gazed upon the constellation of Leo the Lion. He knew what it wanted, and he had such unyielding control over ancient magic that he could bid its will, and he would do so without question. He was merely a servant, a tool. The constellations knew what they wanted, each having separate motives, and their will would be done.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hermione locked the door to the flat behind her and tossed the keys down on the table.
"Your home" Chrome said, his back to her as he watched the television.
"Yes, you know, you could still go to the Order meetings. I'm sure we'll need your help again soon enough."
"Not likely." He responded. "From what I've gathered, Dumbledore is going to be training you all on the use of ancient magic soon. Ancient magic is older than that law which makes you lose your powers if you attack Muggles. You won't be needing my help then."
"We still may." Hermione said absently, sitting on the couch and pretending to watch the movie. In reality she was feeling a terrible guilt gnaw at her. She had seen Dumbledore many times since Harry's death, and yet she could not bring herself to apologize for the terrible things she had said to him that day. She should have just been grateful that the powerful and kindly wizard had survived to lead them on. She had never truly believed in the things she told him.
"I'm going up to my room." She said in a depressed tone, which Chrome failed to noticed. He just nodded as she passed, not tearing his eyes away from the screen. He had never been particularly empathetic.
Hermione closed her bedroom door behind her, and slowly flicked on the lights. She walked over to her closet and rolled the door open. Inside the first thing to greet her eyes was the dragon skin jacket Harry was given on Christmas. He had been wearing it when he died, and it was given to her along with other positions he wasn't to be buried with. That included his wand, which she next found in a long slender box. The wand had many memories for her, especially from back at Hogwarts, where he still used it before he learned ancient wandless magic. Soon Dumbledore would be teaching them to use some of the same magic to give them more of an advantage against muggles.
As she sorted thru the closet, she came upon a picture frame, and upon pulling it out she saw that it was the picture Fred and George had given her from Christmas. She studied it for a while, trying to figure out what it was, but it was entirely undistinguishable to her. It looked somewhat like a shallow golden pot with no handle and a cover that didn't look like it could come off. It had intricate designs on it, and with closer inspection she saw that they were stars engraved into the surface. She didn't have the faintest notion as to what thing damned thing did, but she was slowly resolving to find out.
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There was a knock on the door which interrupted Chrome from his television watching. He grabbed the remote and clicked the program he was watching off. He walked to the door and opened it to see a red headed girl he recognized as Ginny Weasley standing on the other side.
"Hi Chrome." She said as he opened the door.
"Hi- uh Ginny. Want to come in?"
"No, I'd much rather stand here all day." She teased, brushing by him to get inside. "Is Hermione home?" She asked, concern obvious in her eyes.
"Yeah, she's in her room. Best not disturb her though, I think she likes to be alone there."
"I understand." Ginny said with a nod. "Today's a Hogsmede day for us Hogwarts students, so I thought I'd come visit while I have the chance. Also, my mom wanted me to invite her to Easter dinner. I know it's a ways off still, but my mother likes to get things prepared ahead of time. So, if you could just tell her she's invited, I'd appreciate that."
"Sure" Chrome replied.
"Oh yes, and you're invited to of course."
Chrome smiled a bit. "Thanks."
"Seeing as you don't seem particularly talkative I suppose I best be on my way." Ginny said, refastening her cloak.
"Oh, okay. I just don't have a lot to say, that's all. Oh wait, before you go, do you know where this place is?" He pulled a gift certificate out of his pocket that was to a magical tattoo shop, a gift from Hermione on Christmas.
Ginny laughed. "Are you really going to get a tattoo?"
"Yes, why not? I already have a few. See, here and here." He pointed to his arms to prove his point.
"I'll show you where right now if you don't have anything else to do."
He nodded and quickly grabbed his jacket off a hanger in the hallway, following Ginny out the door.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Solitude was my only consolation- deep, dark, deathlike solitude." -Mary Shelley ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
She was considering ending it all. The time was perfect, Chrome had just gone out and she wasn't expecting any visitors. All she needed was to put together a simple potion and in one sip she would be gone. All the pain and anguish that filled her life would be behind her, and she would be in a restful slumber. She would see Harry again.
But could she really do it? Could she make Ron, her best friend, suffer two catastrophic losses, only a month apart? She also needed to consider her parents. They had no idea what was going on. They thought she was happily training to become a medi wizard. They didn't know of any Lord Voldemort, and all they knew of the famous Harry Potter was that he was their daughter's best friend who'd gone missing. She'd been so busy that she hadn't even had time to tell them of his return, or the change in her relationship with him. Her parents knew nothing of the dangers in the wizard world, and she'd intentionally kept it that way- she had no desire for them to make her leave it.
Now so much had changed, she had to at least let them know. It may be her final farewell, but it was better then nothing. She walked over to the phone and picked it up. She quickly dialed her parent's number, and waited as it rang.
"Hello?" Said the small sweet sounding voice of her mother, instantly making Hermione feel guilty for not calling in so long, and for the suicidal thoughts in her head.
"Mom? It's me, Hermione."
"Oh Hermione! I'm so glad to hear from you, your father and I were growing concerned, we haven't heard from you in two months!"
"The phone works both ways." Hermione replied, sagging down into the plush arm chair that greeted her weary body like a cloud from heaven.
"Don't be snippy! How are you?"
"How am I?" Hermione thought, contemplating an answer. "Lets see, a major mission I was a part of- one that could save the world- failed. I had the perfect man, brave, loving admirable and talented- then he was murdered. Now I want to commit suicide."
"I've been better" She finally responded.
"Why? What's wrong?" Her mother asked, the alarm clearly heard in her tone.
"I don't really want to talk about it right now, can I come over this evening?"
"Of course! Both me and your father have absolutely nothing to do, and we've both missed you sorely."
Hermione felt the guilt churn in her stomach once more. "Okay, I'll be over in about an hour. The fire place is still connected to the floo network right?"
"Yes, if you must come that way. I have to confess, it does make a tad nervous."
"It's just faster mom, and nothing will go wrong. I'll see you in an hour then."
With that they hung up and Hermione went to get cleaned up.
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"Where were you?" Hermione asked Chrome as she fiddled through one of the kitchen drawers.
"Ginny Weasley came by to invite you to Easter dinner, and then she showed me where that tattoo shop is." Chrome replied, taking his jacket off and hanging it up.
"Did you get one?" She asked absently, now slamming the drawer shut, unsuccessful in her quest.
"No, I can't decide what I want as a design. Are you going somewhere?"
"Uh- yeah." She replied, still seeming distracted. "I'm going over my parents."
"Oh." He said shortly, suddenly looking tense. "Why?"
"Because some people actually visit their parents!" She snapped, immediately regretting it upon seeing his hurt look, nearly shielded but not quite. "I'm sorry Chrome, I didn't mean that. I'm just." She paused to take a deep breath, suddenly feeling shaky "feeling stressed. I'm going over to tell them about everything that's been going on."
"Everything?" Chrome asked, looking as though he didn't think it was such a good idea.
"Hopefully" she said with a small smile.
"Well, I'll go too. I have nothing else to do anyways."
"You don't have to do that Chrome. Just relax. I'll probably stay the night there."
He nodded, his face serious but impossible to read. "Have fun" he added.
She snorted at the thought, and then found the floo powder which she was searching for, it having been on the table in front of her the whole time. She went over to the fire place which had been recently connected so she wouldn't have to use the fire place at Fred and George's joke shop. In a roar of green flames she was gone, leaving a very useless feeling Chrome behind.
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Ron felt the wind whipping through his hair as he flew another loop around his yard. Flying had always cleared Ron's mind in the past, but now all it did was remind him of Harry. He could remember Harry catching Neville's rememberall, Harry catching the snitch in his mouth, Harry beating Draco Malfoy, Harry's excitement at the Quidditch World Cup, Harry flying past the dragon. it just went on and on. Ron tried to shake the memory from his mind, but it was persistant.
Finally he touched back on ground and was balancing his broom on his shoulder when he heard someone move behind him. He quickly dropped the broom and spun around, wand drawn.
Instead of seeing a death eater he saw Cho Chang standing there.
"Oh- hi Cho" he said awkwardly.
He could see pity for him in Cho's eyes. She could see the war wounds he had suffered from the many battles he had fought, and the blatant paranoia in his eyes that had resulted.
"Hello Ron. How are you?" She asked him, wringing her hands nervously.
"As good as can be expected I suppose."
"That bad huh?" She teased lightly. "All Quidditch leagues have officially been suspended until further notice."
Ron's eyes widened and he sputtered, unable to form coherent words.
"I just received the news, and you were the only one I could think to go to."
"I'm really sorry to hear that." Ron said, embracing her in an awkward hug.
"I know you are." She said with a little nod.
"Would you like to." Just then Ron's words were interrupted by a loud crack of wood.
"DOWN!" He shouted, tackling Cho onto the ground with him. He drew his hand and motioned for Cho to do the same.
It wasn't just paranoia this time, for a moment later a dark cloaked figure stepped into the yard and aimed its wand at Ron. Ron was quicker and was able to petrify his attacker before it could launch an assault.
Ron soon realized that his parents had run outside with Bill, who was visiting, and they all waited for further attack. When none came Ron got to his feet and slowly made his way to the fallen body. Cho grabbed his arm to stop him, but he just took her hand and gave it a little squeeze of reassurance before pressing forward.
He pulled the mask off of the attacker to see that it was a young girl, probably just graduated from whatever school she had attended. He her hand she clutched a roll of parchment which he pried loose for her grip. As soon as he did so she disappeared.
"What?!" Ron exclaimed in astonishment.
"She must've just been sent to deliver that message. What does it say?" Bill inquired, concern etched onto his features.
Ron unrolled the parchment and read:
TELL YOUR PATHETIC DUMBLEDORE HIS TIME IS UP.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "I don't know why fortune smiles on some and lets the rest go free." -Eagles ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hermione had eaten dinner with her parents and they told her all about the new computer they had just purchased and how it crashed the first day they had it. The conversation lasted the entire meal, and they found themselves in the living room soon after.
"Oh dear, we've been talking about ourselves the whole time." Mrs. Granger laughed. "What's been up with you dear? How's medi wizard training?"
"I haven't been going to classes anymore." Hermione told them, her voice stiff and expressionless.
"What?! Why not?" Mr. Granger demanded.
"I think I'd better start from the beginning" Hermione replied, and with a deep breath she did just that.
She began by telling them about how there was an evil wizard by the name of Lord Voldemort, and how he had nearly been defeated by a baby. She continued to illustrate for them how that baby had grown up to become her best friend, and then how Voldemort had come to power after numerous failed attempts.
Her parents had many comments along the way, such as:
"You were in that sort of danger?!"
"We thought you had been ill, we had no idea of your being petrified!"
Most importantly was a question her father asked when she had completed everything up to the rise of Voldemort. He leaned back in his chair and asked:
"This Harry Potter was a best friend of yours? The one you always talked about?"
She felt her resolve crumbling. "Why does this have to be so difficult?" She thought desperately.
"Yes" she whispered, "he was."
Her mother seeing the tears in her daughter's eyes went to her side and wrapped her arms around her. "He was the one who went missing those years back." Mrs. Granger told her husband, thinking that was the cause of her daughter's pain as it had been for so long.
"He came back." Hermione said softly, almost as though to herself.
Mrs. Granger looked suddenly very surprised, and leaned back to look at her distressed child.
"What's the problem than dear?" Her befuddled mother inquired.
"He's been murdered."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "If you were busy being glad, and cheering people who are sad, although your heart would ache a bit, you'd soon forget to notice it." -"If You Were." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chrome had somehow found himself walking the pitch black path to Hogwarts that night. He found himself unsure of what else to do, and so he headed down the path, lacking in all light but that provided by the full moon and the stars. It was cold by the time he reached the building he felt as stiff as a log. He traveled the corridors to where he knew the office of Albus Dumbledore to be. He arrived at the statue and stood there, unsure of what to do next. He didn't even know the password, and wasn't sure if he'd use it if he did.
Just then the statue sprang to life and gave him passageway to a staircase. Confused he decided to press forward.
He arrived at Dumbledore's office door and slowly opened it.
"Come in, come in." He heard from the other side, and he soon saw that the voice belonged to none other than Albus Dumbledore. The old man looked pale and more aged than ever. There was no twinkle in his eyes, and his hands were shaky. He no longer looked like the strong and admirable commander he had once been.
"I've been expecting you." Dumbledore said.
"Is that so?" Chrome asked with surprise.
"Yes, I knew you'd become restless soon and come to me."
Chrome nodded. "I can't help it, I haven't been doing anything! I have other projects I could be working on, I did my part here."
"Above and beyond the call of duty" Dumbledore agreed with a nod, allowing his eyes to linger on Chrome's stomach where he had taken a bullet during the mission.
"You have no more use for me being here, and I'm not being any help. to anyone."
Dumbledore gave a small smile of understanding. "I wouldn't say we won't have further use for you. After all, you did prove to be drastically useful once already. However, I do not think that that is the issue we are discussing right now. You haven't been able to be helpful to your sister, is that your concern?"
"Half sister" Chrome mumbled. "I suppose."
"It will be difficult my dear boy. I don't suspect she'll ever be the same." He seemed to lose his voice for a moment. "But your presence alone is more than you think. I believe you should still wait before you move on."
Chrome resolved to do just that. But as to what he was waiting for, he didn't know.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"The disc of immortality holds the key, find the disc and bring it to me." The constellation of Leo the Lion sang to Regulus Leo.
He nodded and closed the shutters, turning back to his dark room, long shadows stretching across the floor as a low golden fire crackled and spat in the fire place. Regulus took a seat in a plush blood red chair and leaned forward, resting his head on his hands.
He focused his eyes on the dancing flames of the fire place and thought only about the disc of immortality.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hermione focused her eyed on the flames of her parent's fireplace and thought only about Harry. How could she not? Everything that had occurred brought the memories spilling back into her mind, and she felt unwanted tears trickle down her cheeks.
After she had told her parents Harry had been murdered, they seemed dazed and unsure how to react. A dreaded silence filled the room, and Hermione hated it, she hated the silence. She wished it would stop pressing in on her, stop forcing her to confront her pain. The silence would be the death of her.
She closed her eyes and a tear squeezed out, briefly catching in her dark eyelashes and then descending down her softly tanned cheek.
When Harry had been living she had burned memories of him into her mind, forced herself not to forget certain moments of her short tenure spent by his side, as more than just a friend. She could remember being at Gryffindor Manor as the snow fell, ambushing one another with snow balls and then resting against him as they let the cold wet droplets cover them on that dark snowy night. She remembered him giving her the ring on Christmas, how warm and comfortable he had felt as the leaned into him, how secure and happy he made her. For a man who could be so dark and sinister he had certainly lit up her world. That's because he was Harry Potter, and the world could stop on him and ruin him all it wanted but he'd keep giving.
"Murdered?" Her mother finally squeaked, seeking solace in her husband's arms. "By whom?"
"Voldemort." Hermione answered, feeling a blinding hate behind those very words. He had caused misery for them all, and more misery was sure to come.
"This maniac is still alive?" Her father questioned with a bewildered tone.
"Yes" Hermione responded, feeling the pain within welling up to an all time high.
"Then you're still in danger!" Her father exclaimed, suddenly standing up.
"The whole world is in danger." She responded, her eyes flashing with anger and malice.
"No. that can't be true. We'd have heard something about it." Hermione's mother protested.
"But you have! Over the past couple years, those unexplained terrorist attacks!"
"Those aren't unexplained dear." Her father responded in a patronizing voice. "Various organizations have owed up to the attacks!"
"Don't be so naïve!" Hermione gasped, "Of course they have, they always do! Every fanatic and lunatic on the planet wants to take claim for everything and anything they feel supports their cause! But I'll tell you the truth, the honest truth is that Voldemort is on the rise to power and soon nobody will by safe. Wizards and Muggles alike."
"Don't be a fool then, get out of the line of fire Hermione!" Her father urged. "You don't have to brave about this! We can run away if this is so drastic, we can hide in another country. The United States should be safe; it's a whole other continent away from this lunatic. Your mother and I can set up out dentist practice just as easily there. You already know what happens when people stand up to him. They've been murdered!"
Hermione shot up and glared at him eye to eye. "So what, I should just back down! I will not- I cannot! He has taken so much from the world, and if I die trying to stop him from taking more, so be it. At least I will have tried."
Her mother was in tears. "But this isn't necessary Hermione! This isn't your war, let others fight it."
Hermione heard a vase explode into a thousand pieces. The window panes rattled with her fury. "Not my war?! How can this not be! I have lost friends to this war already, it threatens to consume those I have left remaining. Ron, my best friend, is fighting in this war. His whole family, practically a second family to me, is fighting. Those I admire most, Dumbledore, McGonagall, Lupin- they are all putting their lives on the line for this war!" Hermione turned and looked at her father. "Your son, my brother, is fighting in this war. Harry fought in this war. He'd been fighting since he was eleven. And I love him." Her voice broke and she began to feel dizzy. "I loved him. How can I back down when everything that is and was good in this world remains in the balance of this war?"
((And so, ASHES OF THE PHOENIX has begun. Please review, I really appreciate feed back, especially in the early stages))
((Thank- you all you loyal readers who are still with me, and all you new ones as well. This is the sequel to THE DARKEST HOURS, which I just finished recently. CAUTION: Contains a lot of angst and depression. However, I hope this plot is an improvement from my last fic. I made this chapter especially long.))
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"Now I will tell you what I've done for you
50 thousand tears I've cried
Screaming deceiving and bleeding for you
and you still won't hear me" -Evanescence
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The lake lapped up against the sand with the ripples the great squid sent. A cold winter breeze blew across the lakes surface, which was reflecting the clear blue sky. Only a few fluffy white clouds scattered across the perfect blue sky, the sun lighting the school grounds, dead with the winter.
An Order meeting had just ended, and Hermione and Ron were seated side by side, backs leaning against a tree trunk.
Ron looked at Hermione with concern. Harry had died a month ago, and she'd barely said a word since. She hardly ate, the only food she ever consumed was that which her brother Chrome forced upon her. Now she looked off into nothingness, her face looking as though in deep concentration.
Ron himself had moved back into the Burrow for a while, feeling as though family would be the best cure for his depression. It could be said that he and Cho were on a break. To be quite honest, he had no idea where his heart lay anymore, or if he even had one. The decisive loss of his best friend was not like those years he had been missing. All that time Ron had suspected that Harry was alive somewhere. Now he knew that Harry was dead, and he felt hollow, as if a piece of him had been erased. Harry would never be he best man at his wedding, the god father of his kids. They would never spend Saturday afternoons watching Quidditch matches, or wave goodbye to their kids from Platform 9 ¾.
This thinking was getting him nowhere and he knew it. He shook his head clear, and turned to Hermione. To his surprise she suddenly began to speak.
"The night before the mission I came out here with Harry. We traded gifts for Christmas. He gave me this ring."
"You were engaged?" Ron blurted out.
"No. It was a promise, that he would always be with me. We weren't going to get engaged just before the mission, when. well things could happen." She finished lamely. "But I don't think he is."
"Is what?" Ron asked, confused.
"With me. I feel so alone."
Ron had no words of consolation. Voice cracking, he recited his own memory. "I told him to take care, to come back. He told me he would, and that I was the only brother he had. He didn't come back though."
They returned to silence, a heavy silence filled by two broken promises.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "But if a man could be alone, let him look at the stars." -Emerson ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Regulus Leo woke up knowing only his name and his purpose. He had no past, he had no future. He only had the stars, his ever lasting commanders. He stood up from his bed, his youthful frame suffering none of the normal aches and pains of waking in the morning. He felt no fatigue, and merely crossed the dark and elaborately furnished room, taking no notice to his surroundings.
He reached out and unclasped the window shutters. He pulled them open to reveal a dark valley, filled with old and beautiful trees, silent under the night sky. He focused his attention to the sky, a dark blue hue untainted by the toxins of man. Bright points of light speckled the sky, and a large full moon sat lazily in the distance, bringing shape and contrast to the valley below.
The room in which Regulus Leo stood in was underground, a hidden mansion known as the House of the Heavens. The window was a portal to the valley of immortality, a place in which only Sorcerers of the Stars could visit and could gaze upon. For that was their purpose, to live as immortals, resistant to only the most powerful of ancient magic, to serve the will of their constellation, for good or bad.
There was no question in Regulus Leo's mind as he gazed upon the constellation of Leo the Lion. He knew what it wanted, and he had such unyielding control over ancient magic that he could bid its will, and he would do so without question. He was merely a servant, a tool. The constellations knew what they wanted, each having separate motives, and their will would be done.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hermione locked the door to the flat behind her and tossed the keys down on the table.
"Your home" Chrome said, his back to her as he watched the television.
"Yes, you know, you could still go to the Order meetings. I'm sure we'll need your help again soon enough."
"Not likely." He responded. "From what I've gathered, Dumbledore is going to be training you all on the use of ancient magic soon. Ancient magic is older than that law which makes you lose your powers if you attack Muggles. You won't be needing my help then."
"We still may." Hermione said absently, sitting on the couch and pretending to watch the movie. In reality she was feeling a terrible guilt gnaw at her. She had seen Dumbledore many times since Harry's death, and yet she could not bring herself to apologize for the terrible things she had said to him that day. She should have just been grateful that the powerful and kindly wizard had survived to lead them on. She had never truly believed in the things she told him.
"I'm going up to my room." She said in a depressed tone, which Chrome failed to noticed. He just nodded as she passed, not tearing his eyes away from the screen. He had never been particularly empathetic.
Hermione closed her bedroom door behind her, and slowly flicked on the lights. She walked over to her closet and rolled the door open. Inside the first thing to greet her eyes was the dragon skin jacket Harry was given on Christmas. He had been wearing it when he died, and it was given to her along with other positions he wasn't to be buried with. That included his wand, which she next found in a long slender box. The wand had many memories for her, especially from back at Hogwarts, where he still used it before he learned ancient wandless magic. Soon Dumbledore would be teaching them to use some of the same magic to give them more of an advantage against muggles.
As she sorted thru the closet, she came upon a picture frame, and upon pulling it out she saw that it was the picture Fred and George had given her from Christmas. She studied it for a while, trying to figure out what it was, but it was entirely undistinguishable to her. It looked somewhat like a shallow golden pot with no handle and a cover that didn't look like it could come off. It had intricate designs on it, and with closer inspection she saw that they were stars engraved into the surface. She didn't have the faintest notion as to what thing damned thing did, but she was slowly resolving to find out.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There was a knock on the door which interrupted Chrome from his television watching. He grabbed the remote and clicked the program he was watching off. He walked to the door and opened it to see a red headed girl he recognized as Ginny Weasley standing on the other side.
"Hi Chrome." She said as he opened the door.
"Hi- uh Ginny. Want to come in?"
"No, I'd much rather stand here all day." She teased, brushing by him to get inside. "Is Hermione home?" She asked, concern obvious in her eyes.
"Yeah, she's in her room. Best not disturb her though, I think she likes to be alone there."
"I understand." Ginny said with a nod. "Today's a Hogsmede day for us Hogwarts students, so I thought I'd come visit while I have the chance. Also, my mom wanted me to invite her to Easter dinner. I know it's a ways off still, but my mother likes to get things prepared ahead of time. So, if you could just tell her she's invited, I'd appreciate that."
"Sure" Chrome replied.
"Oh yes, and you're invited to of course."
Chrome smiled a bit. "Thanks."
"Seeing as you don't seem particularly talkative I suppose I best be on my way." Ginny said, refastening her cloak.
"Oh, okay. I just don't have a lot to say, that's all. Oh wait, before you go, do you know where this place is?" He pulled a gift certificate out of his pocket that was to a magical tattoo shop, a gift from Hermione on Christmas.
Ginny laughed. "Are you really going to get a tattoo?"
"Yes, why not? I already have a few. See, here and here." He pointed to his arms to prove his point.
"I'll show you where right now if you don't have anything else to do."
He nodded and quickly grabbed his jacket off a hanger in the hallway, following Ginny out the door.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Solitude was my only consolation- deep, dark, deathlike solitude." -Mary Shelley ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
She was considering ending it all. The time was perfect, Chrome had just gone out and she wasn't expecting any visitors. All she needed was to put together a simple potion and in one sip she would be gone. All the pain and anguish that filled her life would be behind her, and she would be in a restful slumber. She would see Harry again.
But could she really do it? Could she make Ron, her best friend, suffer two catastrophic losses, only a month apart? She also needed to consider her parents. They had no idea what was going on. They thought she was happily training to become a medi wizard. They didn't know of any Lord Voldemort, and all they knew of the famous Harry Potter was that he was their daughter's best friend who'd gone missing. She'd been so busy that she hadn't even had time to tell them of his return, or the change in her relationship with him. Her parents knew nothing of the dangers in the wizard world, and she'd intentionally kept it that way- she had no desire for them to make her leave it.
Now so much had changed, she had to at least let them know. It may be her final farewell, but it was better then nothing. She walked over to the phone and picked it up. She quickly dialed her parent's number, and waited as it rang.
"Hello?" Said the small sweet sounding voice of her mother, instantly making Hermione feel guilty for not calling in so long, and for the suicidal thoughts in her head.
"Mom? It's me, Hermione."
"Oh Hermione! I'm so glad to hear from you, your father and I were growing concerned, we haven't heard from you in two months!"
"The phone works both ways." Hermione replied, sagging down into the plush arm chair that greeted her weary body like a cloud from heaven.
"Don't be snippy! How are you?"
"How am I?" Hermione thought, contemplating an answer. "Lets see, a major mission I was a part of- one that could save the world- failed. I had the perfect man, brave, loving admirable and talented- then he was murdered. Now I want to commit suicide."
"I've been better" She finally responded.
"Why? What's wrong?" Her mother asked, the alarm clearly heard in her tone.
"I don't really want to talk about it right now, can I come over this evening?"
"Of course! Both me and your father have absolutely nothing to do, and we've both missed you sorely."
Hermione felt the guilt churn in her stomach once more. "Okay, I'll be over in about an hour. The fire place is still connected to the floo network right?"
"Yes, if you must come that way. I have to confess, it does make a tad nervous."
"It's just faster mom, and nothing will go wrong. I'll see you in an hour then."
With that they hung up and Hermione went to get cleaned up.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Where were you?" Hermione asked Chrome as she fiddled through one of the kitchen drawers.
"Ginny Weasley came by to invite you to Easter dinner, and then she showed me where that tattoo shop is." Chrome replied, taking his jacket off and hanging it up.
"Did you get one?" She asked absently, now slamming the drawer shut, unsuccessful in her quest.
"No, I can't decide what I want as a design. Are you going somewhere?"
"Uh- yeah." She replied, still seeming distracted. "I'm going over my parents."
"Oh." He said shortly, suddenly looking tense. "Why?"
"Because some people actually visit their parents!" She snapped, immediately regretting it upon seeing his hurt look, nearly shielded but not quite. "I'm sorry Chrome, I didn't mean that. I'm just." She paused to take a deep breath, suddenly feeling shaky "feeling stressed. I'm going over to tell them about everything that's been going on."
"Everything?" Chrome asked, looking as though he didn't think it was such a good idea.
"Hopefully" she said with a small smile.
"Well, I'll go too. I have nothing else to do anyways."
"You don't have to do that Chrome. Just relax. I'll probably stay the night there."
He nodded, his face serious but impossible to read. "Have fun" he added.
She snorted at the thought, and then found the floo powder which she was searching for, it having been on the table in front of her the whole time. She went over to the fire place which had been recently connected so she wouldn't have to use the fire place at Fred and George's joke shop. In a roar of green flames she was gone, leaving a very useless feeling Chrome behind.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ron felt the wind whipping through his hair as he flew another loop around his yard. Flying had always cleared Ron's mind in the past, but now all it did was remind him of Harry. He could remember Harry catching Neville's rememberall, Harry catching the snitch in his mouth, Harry beating Draco Malfoy, Harry's excitement at the Quidditch World Cup, Harry flying past the dragon. it just went on and on. Ron tried to shake the memory from his mind, but it was persistant.
Finally he touched back on ground and was balancing his broom on his shoulder when he heard someone move behind him. He quickly dropped the broom and spun around, wand drawn.
Instead of seeing a death eater he saw Cho Chang standing there.
"Oh- hi Cho" he said awkwardly.
He could see pity for him in Cho's eyes. She could see the war wounds he had suffered from the many battles he had fought, and the blatant paranoia in his eyes that had resulted.
"Hello Ron. How are you?" She asked him, wringing her hands nervously.
"As good as can be expected I suppose."
"That bad huh?" She teased lightly. "All Quidditch leagues have officially been suspended until further notice."
Ron's eyes widened and he sputtered, unable to form coherent words.
"I just received the news, and you were the only one I could think to go to."
"I'm really sorry to hear that." Ron said, embracing her in an awkward hug.
"I know you are." She said with a little nod.
"Would you like to." Just then Ron's words were interrupted by a loud crack of wood.
"DOWN!" He shouted, tackling Cho onto the ground with him. He drew his hand and motioned for Cho to do the same.
It wasn't just paranoia this time, for a moment later a dark cloaked figure stepped into the yard and aimed its wand at Ron. Ron was quicker and was able to petrify his attacker before it could launch an assault.
Ron soon realized that his parents had run outside with Bill, who was visiting, and they all waited for further attack. When none came Ron got to his feet and slowly made his way to the fallen body. Cho grabbed his arm to stop him, but he just took her hand and gave it a little squeeze of reassurance before pressing forward.
He pulled the mask off of the attacker to see that it was a young girl, probably just graduated from whatever school she had attended. He her hand she clutched a roll of parchment which he pried loose for her grip. As soon as he did so she disappeared.
"What?!" Ron exclaimed in astonishment.
"She must've just been sent to deliver that message. What does it say?" Bill inquired, concern etched onto his features.
Ron unrolled the parchment and read:
TELL YOUR PATHETIC DUMBLEDORE HIS TIME IS UP.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "I don't know why fortune smiles on some and lets the rest go free." -Eagles ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hermione had eaten dinner with her parents and they told her all about the new computer they had just purchased and how it crashed the first day they had it. The conversation lasted the entire meal, and they found themselves in the living room soon after.
"Oh dear, we've been talking about ourselves the whole time." Mrs. Granger laughed. "What's been up with you dear? How's medi wizard training?"
"I haven't been going to classes anymore." Hermione told them, her voice stiff and expressionless.
"What?! Why not?" Mr. Granger demanded.
"I think I'd better start from the beginning" Hermione replied, and with a deep breath she did just that.
She began by telling them about how there was an evil wizard by the name of Lord Voldemort, and how he had nearly been defeated by a baby. She continued to illustrate for them how that baby had grown up to become her best friend, and then how Voldemort had come to power after numerous failed attempts.
Her parents had many comments along the way, such as:
"You were in that sort of danger?!"
"We thought you had been ill, we had no idea of your being petrified!"
Most importantly was a question her father asked when she had completed everything up to the rise of Voldemort. He leaned back in his chair and asked:
"This Harry Potter was a best friend of yours? The one you always talked about?"
She felt her resolve crumbling. "Why does this have to be so difficult?" She thought desperately.
"Yes" she whispered, "he was."
Her mother seeing the tears in her daughter's eyes went to her side and wrapped her arms around her. "He was the one who went missing those years back." Mrs. Granger told her husband, thinking that was the cause of her daughter's pain as it had been for so long.
"He came back." Hermione said softly, almost as though to herself.
Mrs. Granger looked suddenly very surprised, and leaned back to look at her distressed child.
"What's the problem than dear?" Her befuddled mother inquired.
"He's been murdered."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "If you were busy being glad, and cheering people who are sad, although your heart would ache a bit, you'd soon forget to notice it." -"If You Were." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chrome had somehow found himself walking the pitch black path to Hogwarts that night. He found himself unsure of what else to do, and so he headed down the path, lacking in all light but that provided by the full moon and the stars. It was cold by the time he reached the building he felt as stiff as a log. He traveled the corridors to where he knew the office of Albus Dumbledore to be. He arrived at the statue and stood there, unsure of what to do next. He didn't even know the password, and wasn't sure if he'd use it if he did.
Just then the statue sprang to life and gave him passageway to a staircase. Confused he decided to press forward.
He arrived at Dumbledore's office door and slowly opened it.
"Come in, come in." He heard from the other side, and he soon saw that the voice belonged to none other than Albus Dumbledore. The old man looked pale and more aged than ever. There was no twinkle in his eyes, and his hands were shaky. He no longer looked like the strong and admirable commander he had once been.
"I've been expecting you." Dumbledore said.
"Is that so?" Chrome asked with surprise.
"Yes, I knew you'd become restless soon and come to me."
Chrome nodded. "I can't help it, I haven't been doing anything! I have other projects I could be working on, I did my part here."
"Above and beyond the call of duty" Dumbledore agreed with a nod, allowing his eyes to linger on Chrome's stomach where he had taken a bullet during the mission.
"You have no more use for me being here, and I'm not being any help. to anyone."
Dumbledore gave a small smile of understanding. "I wouldn't say we won't have further use for you. After all, you did prove to be drastically useful once already. However, I do not think that that is the issue we are discussing right now. You haven't been able to be helpful to your sister, is that your concern?"
"Half sister" Chrome mumbled. "I suppose."
"It will be difficult my dear boy. I don't suspect she'll ever be the same." He seemed to lose his voice for a moment. "But your presence alone is more than you think. I believe you should still wait before you move on."
Chrome resolved to do just that. But as to what he was waiting for, he didn't know.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"The disc of immortality holds the key, find the disc and bring it to me." The constellation of Leo the Lion sang to Regulus Leo.
He nodded and closed the shutters, turning back to his dark room, long shadows stretching across the floor as a low golden fire crackled and spat in the fire place. Regulus took a seat in a plush blood red chair and leaned forward, resting his head on his hands.
He focused his eyes on the dancing flames of the fire place and thought only about the disc of immortality.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hermione focused her eyed on the flames of her parent's fireplace and thought only about Harry. How could she not? Everything that had occurred brought the memories spilling back into her mind, and she felt unwanted tears trickle down her cheeks.
After she had told her parents Harry had been murdered, they seemed dazed and unsure how to react. A dreaded silence filled the room, and Hermione hated it, she hated the silence. She wished it would stop pressing in on her, stop forcing her to confront her pain. The silence would be the death of her.
She closed her eyes and a tear squeezed out, briefly catching in her dark eyelashes and then descending down her softly tanned cheek.
When Harry had been living she had burned memories of him into her mind, forced herself not to forget certain moments of her short tenure spent by his side, as more than just a friend. She could remember being at Gryffindor Manor as the snow fell, ambushing one another with snow balls and then resting against him as they let the cold wet droplets cover them on that dark snowy night. She remembered him giving her the ring on Christmas, how warm and comfortable he had felt as the leaned into him, how secure and happy he made her. For a man who could be so dark and sinister he had certainly lit up her world. That's because he was Harry Potter, and the world could stop on him and ruin him all it wanted but he'd keep giving.
"Murdered?" Her mother finally squeaked, seeking solace in her husband's arms. "By whom?"
"Voldemort." Hermione answered, feeling a blinding hate behind those very words. He had caused misery for them all, and more misery was sure to come.
"This maniac is still alive?" Her father questioned with a bewildered tone.
"Yes" Hermione responded, feeling the pain within welling up to an all time high.
"Then you're still in danger!" Her father exclaimed, suddenly standing up.
"The whole world is in danger." She responded, her eyes flashing with anger and malice.
"No. that can't be true. We'd have heard something about it." Hermione's mother protested.
"But you have! Over the past couple years, those unexplained terrorist attacks!"
"Those aren't unexplained dear." Her father responded in a patronizing voice. "Various organizations have owed up to the attacks!"
"Don't be so naïve!" Hermione gasped, "Of course they have, they always do! Every fanatic and lunatic on the planet wants to take claim for everything and anything they feel supports their cause! But I'll tell you the truth, the honest truth is that Voldemort is on the rise to power and soon nobody will by safe. Wizards and Muggles alike."
"Don't be a fool then, get out of the line of fire Hermione!" Her father urged. "You don't have to brave about this! We can run away if this is so drastic, we can hide in another country. The United States should be safe; it's a whole other continent away from this lunatic. Your mother and I can set up out dentist practice just as easily there. You already know what happens when people stand up to him. They've been murdered!"
Hermione shot up and glared at him eye to eye. "So what, I should just back down! I will not- I cannot! He has taken so much from the world, and if I die trying to stop him from taking more, so be it. At least I will have tried."
Her mother was in tears. "But this isn't necessary Hermione! This isn't your war, let others fight it."
Hermione heard a vase explode into a thousand pieces. The window panes rattled with her fury. "Not my war?! How can this not be! I have lost friends to this war already, it threatens to consume those I have left remaining. Ron, my best friend, is fighting in this war. His whole family, practically a second family to me, is fighting. Those I admire most, Dumbledore, McGonagall, Lupin- they are all putting their lives on the line for this war!" Hermione turned and looked at her father. "Your son, my brother, is fighting in this war. Harry fought in this war. He'd been fighting since he was eleven. And I love him." Her voice broke and she began to feel dizzy. "I loved him. How can I back down when everything that is and was good in this world remains in the balance of this war?"
((And so, ASHES OF THE PHOENIX has begun. Please review, I really appreciate feed back, especially in the early stages))