Purpose

~ Chapter 37: Secrets Revealed ~

Snape, Sirius, Remus and Fenix had gathered in the courtyard due to a request from Aldren. The wind was howling loudly around them and they had to wonder why the elf had asked them to assemble at such a place, given that there were much comfortable and warmer rooms available inside the castle. The Fire Master was happy however. She always felt at home under the sky, no matter how unfriendly the conditions or the environments were. She had more than once thought that even if she was stranded in the deep ocean alone-- she had a slight phobia on that-- she would feel happy that she was under the protection of the sky. Earlier that evening, Fenix had noticed that they had not been paying attention to the Death Eaters that had been locked up in the complex shields of Harry's and hers.

"Has anyone seen to their needs?" She had pitched her voice loudly so that she could be heard clearly in the Hall. The students exchanged glances with each other because they had completely forgotten about them. The Headmaster looked sheepishly at her when she started to frown and a small groan came out of McGonagall's mouth.

"Well... I certainly do not wish to be accused of murdering them... by neglect..." Fenix stood up and shot a disappointed look at the Headmaster.

Dean, Draco, Harry, Hermione, Montague, Ron, Seamus, Susan, Warrington got up from where they had been seating and Fenix's company followed suit. The Fire Master preceded them to the antechamber and had already cast another bigger shield about the spherical shield containing the infiltrates. Much to her relief-- Susan seemed disappointed that they had not been starved to death-- the infiltrates were in good health as they had been fed with food and water provided by either the house-elves or Fenix's Elementals. Apparently, the infiltrates were weakened by something and she raised her right eyebrow when Krill reported they had tried to subdue a house-elf, and they did not receive the answer they wanted to receive. Hermione noted with an amused smile that their robes had ended up in tatters. Everything seemed to be in order and Fenix cast the original spherical shield back on.

Aldren was sitting on a pavement, watching them calmly with his peculiar violet eyes. : We would be communicating this way, : the elf spoke up as they settled themselves on the pavement.

: But why here? : Fenix asked curiously. The elf just shrugged, not bothering to answer her inquiry.

: So what is it that you wish to talk about? : Snape asked, carefully gathering his robe before sitting down beside Fenix, who was sitting on Remus's lap. Harry's godfather opted to lean against a pillar, watching the company from a higher standpoint.

: Actually, there is something I would like to ask you... : The violet-eyed elf was staring intensely at the werewolf. Fenix could tell by the slight tension of Remus's arms that he was uncomfortable by the elf's close scrutiny.

: What? : Remus questioned him, his mindvoice sounding as bland as possible.

: What did you give Harry for his birthday? : the elf asked, still staring unwaveringly at the werewolf. All eyes now were on Remus, with Fenix squirming on his lap to look up and give him a quizzical look, her eyes full of curiosity.

: I gave him two things actually. One was a magical quill, and the other was what the founder of Slytherin had given it to me on the night I was left to pack off my trunk after I had taught Defence during Harry's third year. : He quickly raised a hand to stave off the questions that seemed to bubble inside everyone, Sirius especially. : He told me to present it to Harry once Voldemort had made himself known to the community. So I had to wait until Harry's birthday this year. It seemed like the best time for me to give him the gift. : He shrugged, not really seeing where the conversation was going.

: What else did he tell you to do? And what is the gift? : Sirius pestered his best friend.

: I think it was a light green crystal, about this big-- : He made a shape with both of his palms, then continued. : But it held one feather of some kind that I was not able to identify. Not owls... nor was it from a phoenix... Fawkes's kind that is... : he said hastily when Fenix gave him a sidelong look and gave a crooked grin at his swift explanation. : The only clue he gave me was that he said Harry would find out the crystal's uses when the time is ripe. So I have absolutely no clue when it would be. :

: That means the founder absolutely has to approach him then... otherwise I don't think that Harry would take the crystal out anytime soon, : Fenix observed and the Potions Master agreed at her observation.

: Then tell Harry to take the crystal out of wherever he had kept it... hopefully he had brought it with him... and to carry it at all times, : Aldren suggested, but Sirius did not seem to be too happy with the news. The elf looked at him, his eyes showing that he was baffled.

: First of all, can we trust the founder? He's just a ghost, isn't he? And I thought he was the one who had issued the order to Voldemort to rear the forbidden drake... : Sirius's mindvoice was filled with doubt, and they sympathized with his concerns.

: Do you trust me, bro? : the Fire Master suddenly asked, and Sirius nodded immediately. : Then take my word that Salazar Slytherin means no harm to your godson. The founder is just ensuring that Time would take on the path that it is supposed to take in the future. :

Four of the males stared at the small woman sitting comfortably on her partner's lap, seemingly unconcerned about the business with the founder. Her oathbrother took a deep breath then questioned her in a mindvoice so sober that was so intense that she had to wince. : Why are you so sure about that? :

: Let's just say that the real facts about the Slytherin founder, 'The Greatest of Hogwarts Four', : she made a face at that particular phrase, :-- are actually not so accurate. He did believe in the nonsense about pureblooded students and all, but was not as fanatically desiring to really perpetuate general murder on the Muggle-born students, : she answered with a small, sad smile. That seemed to multiply their questions and they bombarded her spontaneously.

She gave each of them a sour look. : Why in hell are you asking me those questions? : She frowned at them. : That's his personal business! You can't really expect me to eavesdrop when he had that fight with the founder of Gryffindor? Who was-- or maybe is-- his best friend? : she asked, her mindvoice portraying her disdain at her companions. Somewhat to her surprise, Snape was looking at her with a horrified expression.

"What?" she asked, sounding very annoyed.

"Do you mean you were... there?" His voice was hushed and was almost drowned by the strong wind.

"None of your business," she snapped out and they fell silent in the courtyard, with only the wind filling up the tranquillity.

**********

Thursday, 8^th November. Nearing the completion of repair works.

"Montague!" Warrington managed to hold off a slab of brick from hitting an unprotected Quidditch captain. "Put a goddamn visible shield!" he yelled out in anger. "You're giving me a heart attack every time that happens!"

"All right!" Montague took a moment to cast a shield about himself, one that was reflecting his dark mood. It was understandable for he had not volunteered to rebuild the wing that had been destroyed by the giants. The School was practically racing against time to get the castle back to its original form. Aberforth and the house-elves were smiling with satisfaction as the castle regained its magical strength and whenever a student took a time to rest and stare blankly at the exterior of the castle, they could not help but feel awed by the aura of determination that the castle was emitting."Nagger..." Montague muttered under his breath and carefully levitated a huge square brick to where the house-elves indicated.

"What did you say?" Warrington turned his head slightly to look at his friend.

"Nothing!" Montague shouted, his brows creasing as he struggled to remain his control on levitating the heavy stone.

"Let go!" a hovering house-elf shouted to the boy and Montague released his will.

That was what the Headmaster had instructed the students and so half of them were helping in rebuilding the last bit of the castle, while the other half were practicing the Unbreakable Charm under Flitwick and McGonagall's supervision. A selected number of students, along with Charlie and Kingsley, were going around testing the supposedly 'unbreakable' objects with various spellworks. It was near to lunchtime when McGonagall called for a halt and the students collapsed to get their breaths back. All too soon, she called them up again and this time she conjured up a huge hourglass and placed it at the direct center of the Hall.

"Now, you will practice your charm on this fragile glass. I will be dividing you to groups of seven for if the hourglass takes much more than it can, it could possibly explode, so keep your shields up," Professor Flitwick piped up, looking sternly at the students. They sighed and the Head of Ravenclaw House began dividing the students up, with Harry, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, a Hufflepuff by the name of Juliana Kleutz, Jude Howell and surprisingly, Ron's older brother Charlie. It took a bit of time before they were all grouped and McGonagall began to call a name randomly for the group to practice with the huge hourglass.

**********

Inside the Forbidden Forest...

Fenix, Remus, Sirius, Snape and his godson were going in into the Forest with seven of the elves to scout. The Potions Master had objected at the idea of bringing Draco along but Fenix shook her head stubbornly, so he kept a tight rein on his temper and crept right along with the rest of the group, trying to figure out what she was up to.

They had spent most of their night yesterday studying Hagrid's map of Hogwarts and they had concurred in agreement that all steps should be taken into consideration if they should come across the centaurs.

"They are gettin' less friendly each day," Hagrid had told them with a slight frown. "I don't think bringin' the boy is a good idea."

According to their plan, they would divide themselves into four groups and try to cover as much ground as possible. Their main objectives were to get a feeling of the Forest, to find out the likeliest places where the giants could easily penetrate into the Forest and then to set traps, specifically for the giants. Fenix, Snape and Draco had Jumped several acres into the areas where the giants had crossed over to get to the castle. The trail was not exactly hard to spot for fallen trees were everywhere and she winced at the total destruction of the landscape. Her group was at their last checkpoint. A slight rumble from somewhere ahead of the group caused all of them to flatten themselves against the trees still available and tried to make themselves invisible.

: It's all right, : Snape spoke up. : It's just a Ford Anglia. :

: And why on earth was a car running about the Forest? :

: Ask Ron. Anyway, the car won't be causing us problems although it has gone feral, : Draco said indifferently. She motioned her two companions to remain silent and she stared at the flash of cyan among the gaps of trees and focused her attention at casting trip lines and bindings all over the area. She then gave a nod to Snape and Draco to cast the Specific Charm about the area. There was a slight tingle in the air and Remus's company appeared beside her.

: How is it going? : Cadriel asked, and the three gave the thumbs-up sign just as Sirius's and Cyfel's group appeared.

Although the twelve people had covered the Forest with ease, the Forest was still the territory of the centaurs and other creatures. The elves might be silent but the centaurs too were masters at sneaking and their ease at surrounding the humans and the elves proved that. The sudden air that had seemed peaceful a moment ago became an eerie silence.

The scouts knew that something was wrong, and Fenix and the elves circled the humans protectively, and just in time as a circle of arrows descended on them in all directions. A protective ring of Fire eliminated the arrows and the centaurs closed in on them. The forms of Fenix and Draco were pulsating with their own Fire, acting almost like a Defensive Charge. The elves did not draw out their weapons and watched the centaurs coolly.

"Who are you?" Bane still had an arrow sighted on his longbow. He was directing the question at Fenix.

"What does the truth matter to you?" Fenix replied as icily as she was feeling somewhat irritated. "Trivialities are none of your concern to your kind, isn't that right?"

"I see that the shunned one had been talking to you," Magorian spoke up, his voice cold. Fenix gave a chilling smile and the blue fire in her eyes flickered steadily.

"There is no need for me to hear Firenze's words. I've been around long enough to know about your kind," the Fire Master answered, stressing her words in sarcasm.

"What impudence!" Bane hissed. "And you have brought the Unclean with you..." his eyes swept over to the elves, to their catlike eyes and sharp, pointed ears.

"Wrong term. We are the Daonhe Sidhe," Cadriel, the Warrior and Elven mage corrected calmly, and smiled with satisfaction as the centaurs' expression changed from unfriendly to disbelief. "I see you recognized the term. We are not as gone as you might think," he answered the centaurs' unspoken question.

"You smell strange to me, woman," Magorian addressed her, still armed with his bow, setting aside at the knowledge that their betters were still alive and thriving. "So you are not human after all." Remus's eyes narrowed dangerously at the subtle insult.

"The ones who only care about the future and trundles along toward it, are too small-minded to understand what I am," the Fire Master said almost in arrogance. "What? Can't your gifts tell you what I am?" She was quaking with disappointment inside. The millennia of separation between the two species that she had interacted frequently in her lives had drastically changed their thinking. While the Elves then were proud of their longevity, and the centaurs were shunned for they were magically bred by them, the Elves had shed their moments of arrogance and paid careful attention to the worlds they lived in, thus eventually making space for the centaurs to live as their own species. The centaurs now seemed to bask in their superiority at having seen the Future opened up before them and in their arrogance, the knowledge of the Past was forgotten.

: Fenix, : Snape's mindvoice was filled with disapproval, thinking that she was being tactless.

The centaurs were enraged and loosed their arrows again. Wings flared out as the Fire Master changed into the Phoenix. The arrows disappeared in the maelstrom of Fire. Gasps of shock and disbelief came out from the band of centaurs. "It could not be," Bane whispered, his eyes taking on the brilliance of her Flames.

"Our fight is not with you. Stay out of sight from the giants and Voldemort's followers. And keep away from the trappings." The silver blue eyes stared at the leader. The centaurs silently edged away from the protective Phoenix to join their bandleader. The Phoenix closed her eyes and the centaurs disappeared into the depths of the Forbidden Forest.

All the time during the verbal exchange, the Slytherin had been watching her carefully. Fenix was angry but did not let her Fire go out of control the way he did. Draco noticed one flaw he had. If Voldemort had been cleverer that fateful night, he and his followers could have avoided his burst of Fire completely, since his Fire was visible to the naked eye. There was nothing that could be taken for a signal when Fenix emerged in her brilliant form. Something stirred inside him as he watched Fenix taking a fraction of time to mold herself. That's it! She simply imagined the form in her mind and her Fire simply took on its shape, and since it was the best of forms to choose, the Fire acts on its own by default. Draco stared at her wings protecting them. It had no feather-like structures; they were mainly made of fire. So why does it not burn me? He trailed his fingers across the flames.

Her aura was not quite gone as they Jumped back to an area that was within sight of the castle. The company was silent as they walked slowly from the Forest. Snape kept giving her covert glances; his eyes were full of awe, while Remus held her hand, giving a smile full of wonder and warmth every single time she looked back at his face. Only Sirius and the elves acted as if nothing interesting had happened out there. Draco however, wore a contemplative look as they walked back. When he finally turned around to look at her, she gave him a slow wink.

: I knew you were going to teach me that! : Draco triumphed and Snape winced a little at his godson's exuberance. A lot of things fell together and resounded with an audible click as Draco knew how to keep his Fire in control, how to make it look like that his Fire was flickering at a constant state and how to transform himself. He knew that all the skills and weaknesses he needed to know about his form would come on the instant when he took his form. I wonder when she'll allow me to experiment! The Slytherin was feeling so excited and temporarily forgotten that his stomach was complaining that Fenix had a hard time to control the happiness bubbling out of her.

**********

Back to the group practicing their Charms...

The process of testing each group on the hourglass was slow going and by the time the instructors were satisfied with their progress, it was already one in the afternoon and Ron's stomach made a really loud protest. The hourglass disappeared and the students breathed a giant sigh of relief.

McGonagall cleared her throat to regain the hungry students' attention. "After lunch, with the same groups, I will send you to different locations of the castle. Since you won't be able to cast a spell outside the lower western part of the castle-- unless there is an unregistered Animagus here that could turn him or herself into a fish-- you will do it by entering the Chamber of Secrets..." Several gasps can be heard. Harry narrowed his eyes in speculation when the Transfiguration teacher gave him a direct glance, then he suppressed a gasp when he felt euphoria from Draco traveling through their oathbond.

Hermione gave her friend an interested look but he shook his head slightly. There were several loud groans coming from the Entrance Hall, and the students who had undergone free labor for most of the morning trudged into the Great Hall tiredly. Warrington sprawled over on the floor where the Slytherins usually gathered and was soon joined by Montague and several others. "You would have thought the clouds would at least screen the sun!"

"If you ask me, I would tell you that today is a weird autumn morning," Lee yelled out in agreement, as he fanned his face.

"Lunch would be served shortly, so be good girls and boys and wash your hands," a voice belonging to a Sylph rang out in the Hall clearly. Some of the students looked indignantly around them for the source of the patronizing voice.

By now, the students were all sprawled carelessly around the big Hall when the scouts came back from their brief mission. Fenix blinked her eyes in surprise, seeing the exhausted faces of the students. "What in the name of Taliesin happened to you?"

"We can assure you it was nothing exciting..." Montague groaned.

**********

They were all resting after lunch and Harry's group waited impatiently for McGonagall to reach their group and assign them to a place, although Hermione told Harry confidently that they would be sent down to the Chamber. A brief flicker caught her attention and she quickly grabbed Harry's right hand just as Alamanda was doing to Draco's. The girl did so when she felt a strange contour as she lazily caressed his palm.

"What is this?" both girls exclaimed at once but emerging from two different places. Harry just gave a shrug while Draco smiled mysteriously.

"What have you got there, Manda?" Hermione asked the Slytherin girl, suddenly feeling suspicious. It couldn't be as crazy as what I'm thinking right? Harry couldn't have sworn a blood oath with Draco! Right? The sudden smiles that were on Sirius, Snape and Harry's face made her turn doubtful.

"It's a star!"

"Harry!" Hermione looked at her friend in shock. Ron was frowning at his girlfriend because he had no idea what the sudden excitement was about. His frown deepened when he saw a six-pointed star etched on his best friend's palm. That looks familiar, like Sirius's... He quickly jerked his head around to the Slytherins then felt his eyes widened and his mouth dropped in shock.

"You must have gone bloody mental, Harry!" His voice was horrified.

Hermione could not seem to contain her shock. Harry's star was unlike Fenix's and Sirius's. Their star was an upright five-pointed one, to display that they were the users of White Magic. But what was on the palms of Harry and Draco was an identical 'Mogen David'. Hermione found the star apt for her friends for they were both Magi. There was a deeper meaning to those stars than anyone else could guess, however. All Hermione could tell her friends-- including the bearers--was that now Harry's life was intertwined with Draco's to bring a more meaningful future to the wizarding world. Both of them would tread on the same sacred path toward their destiny and they would not be doing it alone.

Harry looked at his oathbrother and cocked his head to a side as Draco commented that Hermione's theory of the star was quite accurate. : How is that I'm having the feeling that you are still hiding something from me? : Harry's suspicions carried over to the Slytherin.

: Why would I do that? : his oathbrother asked innocently.

: Probably for the fun of seeing me suffer, : Harry muttered his answer.

: If you already know the answer then why are you wasting your energy asking me? : Draco said loftily, and Harry could not resist taking a leaf out of Fenix's book by sending a sharp burst of energy down the mind-link. That ended up with Draco wincing from the mindslap. The rest of them, including McGonagall, had to come to terms that the two former enemies had suddenly become brothers. Draco's gang was staring stupidly at their leader while Alamanda was happily kissing him on his cheek.

McGonagall finally came up to Hermione and informed the young girl that her team would be going down to the Chamber. "You are lucky that, that part of the castle is the easiest to charm." McGonagall however did not explain why and left Hermione's group abruptly, leaving the group to stare at the Transfigurations teacher in puzzlement.