Destiny

The Mist and the Mausoleum

Chapter 10

As November passed and December approached, Harry saw many of the things Destiny had said would happen, come to pass.

The day after Destiny left, Draco Malfoy- with Destiny's permission- began telling everyone what she was. The school was shocked, but when they remembered her as the kind, friendly, funny girl they had all loved, most accepted her- or would at the very least not show open hostility- even if some didn't. Only about half of the students showed any disgust or fear. Harry was actually glad to have Draco around to deal with the problems that ensued from the fear.

What fear Malfoy couldn't stop, Remus Lupin tried to dispel. Lupin had taken to doing lessons on Dark Creatures and Necromancy, to try and show that anyone could go to the Dark Side; that just because they were branded with the title, it didn't make them bad. Some were accepting to this line of thinking; many were not.

The Order of the Phoenix was a different story though. Most refused to believe that a Necromancer who had been approached by Voldemort himself, would actually turn down such an offer.

The only good thing about Destiny being gone was that Sirius was getting more and more protective of his missing daughter and was likely to explode at anyone who had a bad word to say about her.

All in all, Harry missed Destiny more than he wanted to admit. The old saying had been proven true though: distance really did make the heart grow fonder...

*****

Overhead, a full moon rose high over the trees. In the distance, howls could be heard from the wolves that ruled this land after dark. In a cemetery that had long since stopped being taken care of, the mist had begun to rise. To any muggle that passed by, it would look like a scene from a horror movie.

In the center of the cemetery, among the tombstones and mausoleums stood a cloaked, hooded figure. The figure stood with its arms out stretched to its sides, looking for all the world as if it had turned to stone. With a sudden movement, the figure brought its arms together and clapped its hands in front of itself. A bolt of lightning flashed out of the sky and hit the ground directly in front of it. Within seconds, the sound of tortured screams rose into the air. Then the cemetery, in the quiet forest, began to run with blood.

By the next morning, the only reminder of the night before was a small, burnt scar on the ground...

*****

As the owl post arrived on a bright, cold morning in mid December, everyone was expecting nothing out of the ordinary.

When an owl carrying a Daily Prophet for Harry arrived, he paid the owl, sent it on its way and dropped the newspaper onto the table. Ron immediately reached over and grabbed it. Harry quickly looked up when he heard Ron gasp.

Grabbing the newspaper from Ron, Harry expected to see more reports of Death Eater related killings. Though not a killing, Harry was not disappointed. On the front page was a picture of a cemetery and the headline, 'Dark Magic in Graveyard'.

Quickly scanning the article, he read about how lightning had struck the ground out of a clear sky. Aurors had found the place covered in Dark Magic that very few had the power to wield.

Realizing what had caused it, Harry looked up at the head table. He was unsurprised when he saw Dumbledore and Lupin approaching him.

"Harry? I need a moment with you in my office," Dumbledore said.

Giving a hurried goodbye to his friends, Harry followed them. In the Headmasters office, Harry asked about the paper.

Looking grave, Dumbledore stated, "The magic that was used is indeed Dark Magic. It can only be wielded by a certain species... a type of magic that only exists once every few hundred years. Necromancy... Harry," he said leaning forward at his desk while giving him an intense look, "did Destiny give you any hints as to what she was planning to do?"

Thinking hard, Harry finally answered. "She said she was going to raise an army." Seeing the look of horror on their faces, he asked confusedly, "What?"

Ignoring him, Lupin turned to Dumbledore. "She's going to start drawing the attention of the Ministry to herself if she keeps this up. It's the second time this week that this has happened." Pausing for a second to think, Lupin continued, "We need to find her before the Ministry does."

"How do you propose we find her? She has managed to get clear across the country in forty- eight hours time. She could be anywhere."

With a tired sigh, Lupin slid into a chair and rubbed his eyes in defeat. "I know. She's like Sirius-"

"Meaning she can probably hide just as well as he can."

"They'll have people watching the cemeteries for her."

"I'm not so worried about that as I am about this army. She could easily raise a bunch of zombies by accident... We need to talk with her or, at the very least, figure out how she's traveling so fast."

"Zombies?" Harry asked. "Why would she raise zombies?"

Jolting in surprise as if he had forgotten Harry was there, Lupin said, "Necromancy is one of the most difficult branches of magic to control. That is the reason why people fear those who have the ability."

"I don't get it," Harry stated.

"If they can control that magic, they are among the most powerful beings in the world. People fear that they will go to the Dark Side to learn that control."

"Persecuting them is why so many go bad!"

"Yes," Lupin whispered, "I know. We're very lucky that she was able to remain innocent for so long."

"... What do you think Voldemort will do to her if he finds her first?"

Looking suddenly very old, Dumbledore said, "Let us hope that it won't come to that." With that, he turned his attention to Lupin. "We must find her at once."

*****

In the dark room, a rat skittered across the ground. The torch- light threw eerie shadows against the wall.

"Wormtail, what news have you brought to me?" an evil voice hissed.

Shaking, the rat quickly transformed into a man.

"Master, the Necromancer has been attracting the attention of the Ministry."

"Excellent. If she keeps it up, she'll do more harm than good to her cause, and will have no choice but to join me or die at the Ministry's hands. Do you know where she intends to go next?"

Feeling the terror mounting within him, Wormtail squeaked, "No, my Lord."

With a growl, the voice hissed, "Well find out before nightfall."

As Pettigrew turned to hurry from the room, the Cruciatus Curse suddenly hit him from behind.

"I didn't say you could leave," Lord Voldemort hissed.

*****

As the black cloaked figure hurried through the gray mist, it looked around.

Nothing. That's where it was. A reality where the nothingness could drive one to insanity... if the person was still alive. If life had already abandoned the soul- which was the main way to reach this world of shadows- then it had to keep searching or become lost for all eternity. This gray world was the Ghost Roads- the roads of the dead.

Hurrying along- careful not to wonder from the path- the figure turned and hissed at the spirits that were closing in with the hope of being freed. "Stay back! You're dead and you must continue your journey to your final resting-place. Be gone!"

Not looking to see if they would listen, the figure turned and hurried to the only slit of light in this dull, colorless world, and stepped through into the night.

*****

"Albus!" Remus called as he ran into the Order of the Phoenix meeting.

"You're late Remus," Dumbledore replied with a twinkle in his eyes.

"I know! I was checking something and I believe I have found it! I know where Destiny will be tonight!"

"Where?" Sirius asked, suddenly interested.

Looking at Harry apologetically, Remus said, "Godric Hollow Cemetery. I've been able to track the energy to Lily and James's graves. I believe that they are the next graves on her list-"

When Sirius heard this, his face turned red and he bellowed, "My kid would not turn them into zombies! Her of all people knows what 'respect for the dead' means!"

"Um... Guys?" Harry said tentatively. "If we want to catch her before she leaves, I suggest we hurry."

Nodding, Dumbledore replied, "You'll leave now."

*****

Feeling slightly nauseous after having just taken the portkey to Godric Hollow Cemetery, Harry climbed to his feet from where he'd landed on the street. Brushing himself off, he turned to where Lupin and Sirius had just apparated. Seeing them, Harry took a deep breath, headed towards the gate, and pushed it open.

"There's no one here-" Hearing the gate slam shut behind them, he spun around. "... Or I could be wrong..."

In the middle of the cemetery, a fire flared up and immediately turned green.

"She's around here somewhere," Remus whispered. "I can feel her..."

As they moved closer to the fire, they all jumped when a voice suddenly spoke from behind them.

"Well, well, well. What have we here?"

Spinning around, Harry didn't see anything.

"Where is she?"

"Up." Looking up, he saw her sitting on top of a mausoleum. "Welcome to my home. Don't get many visitors around these parts. What brings you here?"

Ignoring her questions, Harry answered with one of his own. "How did you get up there?"

Hopping to her feet, she raised her arms and said mysteriously, "Flew..." Turning, she walked to the center of the crypt and disappeared. Hearing the creaking of the door, they headed around to the other side. Destiny was just shutting the door as they reached her side. "What brings you to my home?"

"Your home?" Sirius asked incredulously.

"Yes," Destiny said as she waved her hand, causing the flames to shoot up to the size of a bonfire. "I live here, in this crypt. I've been staying here since I left Hogwarts. Now-" pausing to make sure they were listening, she repeated her earlier question. "Why are you here? I told Harry I'd be back when the time was right."

"We heard about your nightly spells and thought we should tell you that the Ministry is on to you. As is Voldemort," Remus said carefully. "He's quite eager to hear your response to his question. He doesn't like that you keep eluding him."

"Riddle will just have to learn to live with disappointment. As for the Ministry, I'm NOT afraid of them in the least. They may be on to me, but they'll never catch me. Only those I let find me, can." Looking suddenly very powerful, she asked in a tone that made it clear it wasn't a question, "So, what you want to know now is, what exactly have I been up to. Am I right, or am I right?" Not waiting for them to answer, she turned and headed back towards her 'home'. Waving for them to follow, she walked into the dark crypt.

The room looked just as he had imagined it would.

There were a few torches on the walls, lots of spider webs and dust everywhere. The room had a slight rotting smell, and Harry knew that someone fresh was in one of the two stone caskets that were up against the walls.

"You live in here?" Harry asked, appalled.

"No," she replied with a smile. "The rotting smell would probably make me sick if I stayed long enough. Oh, that smell, by the way, is just a spell to make people think twice about entering here."

"So, where do you stay?" Remus asked, clearly desperate to get away from the horrible stench.

Grinning mysteriously, Destiny said, "I'll show you." Walking to a casket, she glanced at them over her shoulder. "All is not as it appears..." Reaching over, she shoved one of the stone lids out of the way.

Stone steps appeared in the casket, going down under the ground.

Smirking at their astonishment, she climbed in and started down the stairs, lighting her wand as she went. It was pitch black except for the small amount of light their wands threw off.

Just when Harry thought they were never going reach the end of the stairs, they stepped onto solid ground. As soon their feet touched the floor, light appeared everywhere.

"Welcome," Destiny whispered with a smile, "to The Sanctuary of the Necromancer."

And indeed it was a perfect sanctuary.

The stone floor was lined with a red carpet that stretched from one end of the hallway to the other. The corridor was lit with strange sphere shaped balls of light that floated in mid air. They didn't seem to be running on electricity, gas, or fire. They just were.

Leading them past several doors, Destiny opened a door at the far end of the hallway.

"Whoa..." Sirius muttered in amazement when he saw the room.

It was the most beautiful room any of them had ever seen.

The floor was made of stone but had a large hand woven rug in the center. It was red- as the theme seemed to be based- and depicted a stone angel with its arms held up from its sides. It was a picture of a grave stone.

'How apt,' Harry thought with a flicker of amusement.

There were thousands of candles around the room- from the beautiful chandelier to the elaborate candle stick holders that were on the wall. There was a large antique bed with a canopy, a vanity, several other mirrors, a desk, and two amours.

All in all, it looked like the room of a romantic setting... or a really rich, spoiled girls bedroom.

"You like?" Destiny asked, grinning at their expressions.

"How did you find this place?" Sirius asked in awe.

"It's my birth right. This is the place where Necromancers always went when they needed to escape from the real world. No one can enter this place without my consent and while I'm here, I can't be traced- by any spell. The crypt will appear in any cemetery that I wish it to, though I usually just leave it in the same place unless I move to a new country. Nobody will ever even know it wasn't originally there. Convenient or what?"

"So, is this where you've been hiding?" Sirius asked after about a minute of silence.

"I wasn't hiding."

"Alright," Remus said, "enough of that. Now, what were you doing in the cemeteries?"

"Calling for help." Seeing their confused looks, she said, "Would you like to come with me tonight? I'm calling someone I guarantee you know."

"Sure!" Harry exclaimed, eager to be able to spend some time with her- even if she did live in a creepy tomb.

Smiling at him with her usual happy- go- lucky smile, she said, "I'll be right back then."

As soon as she was gone, Sirius exclaimed, "I want to leave! This place is giving me the heebie- geebies!"

"Heebie- geebies?" Remus asked with a snort of laughter. "It's not that bad. It could be worse. She could be doing ritual animal sacrifices."

Snickering silently, Harry put on a look of horror and shrieked, "There's a dead bunny on the bed!"

"Where?" Sirius shouted, jumping up from where he had sat down on the bed.

Harry immediately doubled over with laughter at Sirius' high- pitched scream.

"Oh! You should have seen you faces! And that scream! You could break glass at that pitch!"

That wasn't funny!" Remus exclaimed, massaging the ear that Sirius had screamed in.

*****

When Destiny walked in five minutes later, she sighed.

'They're all like little kids!' she thought exasperated. "A-hem! What are you doing?"

"Nothing!" Harry replied innocently.

After giving him a suspicious look, she started to explain what would happen that night.

"We're going to be traveling in a way I'm sure you've never even heard of. You are not- I repeat NOT- aloud to apparate where we are headed. Apparation can be detected and we must be gone before anyone even realizes we were there. We'll be traveling by the Ghost Roads."

"The roads of the dead?" Remus asked with surprise- and a hint of fear. "I had assumed it was just a myth!"

"A lot of things are more than myths, you know. Anyway, you must understand that while we are on the roads, I'm in charge. You ignore this rule, you'll wish you were dead. It's bad enough to become lost on the Ghost Roads when you're dead; it's horrific if you're alive. DON'T leave the roads for ANY reason. If someone wonders off, I'LL go get him. Stay close together, the spirits may try to pull you off-"

"WHAT?" Sirius exclaimed.

"Oh, yeah... Um... The spirits will try to force you to help them escape and will pull you off with them if they can- and that can be fatal." Seeing their horrified faces, she snapped, "We'll hold hands. Happy?"

"Extremely!" Sirius chirped.

"Big baby," she muttered.

"I am NOT! I just don't feel like being shredded by dead things today! Can you really blame me?"

"Whatever." Tossing them the cloaks she had retrieved for them, she said, "Take these cloaks and let's go. Keep the hoods up. If we're seen, we don't want to be recognized."

Concentrating hard on where she wanted to go, Destiny reached out her hand and slashed an opening in the air. She could see the shiver of fear that ran through her companions when they heard the lost wailing sound that came from the black rip in reality.

"Well?" she said impatiently. "Let's move out!"

Reaching up, she pulled her hood up so her face was lost in shadows and walked onto the Ghost Roads.