Stormseeker: Unwanted Destiny

Chapter 16: The Chase

---

I've realized that I feel less guilty about murdering Dumbledore than I have about some incidental deaths that I for some reason thought I should have been able to prevent. Perhaps it's because I made the choice to kill him. But does this mean that I'm becoming a terrible person?

I settle into the routine of the new classes readily enough. I'm calm, and focused on learning. And yet, Quirrell's Muggle Studies classes are rapidly convincing me that Muggles are the greatest threat the wizarding world could possibly face, and that discovery is inevitable in less than a decade.

"Hey, Harry," Draco says at breakfast one morning. "Did you hear? I made the house Quidditch team! I'm Ravenclaw's new Seeker!"

"That's nice," I murmur absently, peering at the Daily Prophet with a frown. There's a story about a Muggleborn witch who barely escaped persecution by Muggles.

"Another one?" Draco says, looking over at the page. "They really should learn better than to go out among Muggles. That's just asking for trouble."

"Yeah..." I agree quietly.

Halloween leaves me dreading what horrible things might happen tonight, but it passes quietly enough. That only leaves me afraid that something terrible happened that I just don't know about. I'm nothing if not paranoid.

This term, Theatre Club is putting on a performance of Twelfth Night. At least this one of Shakespeare's plays isn't likely to mysteriously kill me just for mentioning its name. I still refuse to believe that Macbeth is really cursed.

---

This year, Valentine's day falls on a Tuesday, and there's a Hogsmeade weekend before then. I have no interest in going to Hogsmeade at the moment, however, and am curled up quietly in the nice, warm Ravenclaw common room, reading a book.

"Harry, are you coming to Hogsmeade?" Cassie asks.

"Nah," I say. "Go on ahead if you like."

Cassie pouts at me and leans close. "I was kind of hoping that you'd take me to Madam Puddifoot's."

"What would you want to go there?" I say.

Cassie looks at me as if I'm stupid. "Oh, come on, Harry. It'll be fun!"

"Alright, alright," I say reluctantly, putting away my book.

I let myself get hauled off to Hogsmeade and into Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop. I've never been in here before, and now that I'm in here, I can see why. I haven't seen so much pink in one place since seeing Gilderoy Lockhart's attempts at a Valentine's event. The decorations are quite gaudy and excessively frilly, and there are little cupids fluttering around dropping confetti randomly.

"If I wind up inadvertently consuming any confetti, I want a refund," I say.

Cassie giggles, and drags me over to a small table to sit. We're served tea in little cups with little pink flowers on them, and heart-shaped biscuits with pink icing on top.

"Isn't this lovely?" Cassie says, smiling broadly. "I've never been in here before, myself."

I give her a long, thoughtful look. She never married. She never even dated when she was in school. Maybe I should relax a little, myself. Take some time to live and experience things. I have all the time in the multiverse to learn. But I'll drive myself mad if I don't take a moment to breathe now and then.

"The tea and biscuits are pretty good," I admit, nibbling on another one.

"Harry," Cassie says. "This is the part where we put our elbows on the table, gaze in one another's eyes, and whisper sweet nothings to each other."

"Huh?" I say dumbly.

Cassie laughs aloud. "Never you mind, Harry. You just keep right on being your incorrigible self."

"If you say so," I say lightly.

I realize abruptly that I'm actually a fair bit taller than her now. Damn it, am I accidentally changing my age when I'm not paying attention again? I focus on being fourteen again, and lose a couple of inches. I glance about the room surreptitiously, hoping that nobody saw that.

Then Cassie orders a variety of tea that's actually pink. Or maybe more rose-colored. Whatever. You know. Dark pink. As I'm watching her sip the drink, I look over her shoulder and notice Tom Riddle is standing over in the corner of the shop, watching me intently. So, what, is he now playing the creepy stalker Headmaster with an inappropriate obsession with his students? This might be considerably more disturbing if we didn't both know that I'm not actually fourteen.

---

Another year gone by. It seems like it passed in the blink of an eye. I've been pretty relaxed, actually enjoying my studies. My Politics grade has improved. By next year, I might even manage an O in it, if I keep improving like this. It's been difficult to keep my Potions grade from slipping, but I've worked hard at it, and it has paid off.

The Weasley twins approach me on the day after exams are done. I'm laying out in the grass, enjoying the sunny day.

"Brother of mine, it seems to me like ickle Harrikins is too perfect," Fred says.

"Indeed," George agrees. "So quiet, such excellent grade, never gets in trouble."

"Methinks he's better at hiding it than us," Fred says with a mischievous grin.

"Oh, master of deception, could you impart upon us humble pranksters your secrets?" George says.

I snicker softly. "Why, what do you think I've been doing?"

"We have no idea," Fred says.

"That's what has us wondering," George says.

"Even we haven't been able to detect anything out of place about you," Fred says.

"But that can't be true," George says.

"Because we know you're not, shall we say, a normal, innocent little boy," Fred says.

I chuckle. "I'm getting pretty good at acting?"

"And covering things up, I imagine," George says.

"Theatre Club helps," I say. "So does Politics."

"I never understood the appeal of going to a class on Wizarding Politics taught by a Malfoy," Fred says.

"Not if you look at it that way," I say. "I looked at it as the fine art of convincing people to listen to me. Put the right spin on things, and you could get away with anything."

"When you put it that way, I almost wish that we'd taken it," George says.

"Tell you what," I say lightly. "If I ever travel back in time, and Hogwarts has a Politics class again, I'll recommend it to you."

"It's also impossible to ever tell if you're serious or not," Fred says.

"Yep, that's the point," I say. "Have you made any progress on that little project I gave you?"

"Some," George says. "It still needs work."

"We've managed some inferior versions," Fred says.

"I think we're still missing something important with it," George says.

"But we'll get there," Fred assures me.

---

Home again, and hopefully another quiet, peaceful summer at Caer Danas. What am I saying 'another'? Have I ever had a quiet, peaceful summer? I think I'll just be happy if nothing too disastrous happens over the course of the next couple months.

"How was school, kids?" Sirius asks. "Not boring you old folks too much?"

I snicker. "It's been pretty interesting, actually."

"I've been learning a lot in Wizarding Culture," Hermione says. "I never realized how many things I didn't know about the magical world!"

"The end of Politics was hilarious," Cassie says. "Professor Malfoy said that in order to earn our grade, we had to successfully convince him that we deserved it. And Harry just got up front and said, 'Because I know your secrets.' Malfoy didn't seem too convinced at first, but when Harry opened his mouth to start describing them, Malfoy hushed him pretty quick and gave him top marks."

"Hah!" Sirius says. "Good on you, Harry. Beating a Malfoy at his own game."

I grin. "So, what have you been up to, Sirius?"

"Eh, Order crap, mostly," Sirius says. "Mad-Eye's been getting even more paranoid than usual. He's even being suspicious of Headmaster Riddle, of all people."

"And trying to keep track of what Voldemort is up to is an effort in futility," Remus says. "Reports have him as being everywhere and nowhere. At least things have been quiet enough at Hogwarts. I'm just glad that he hasn't made any offensive moves against it after Dumbledore's death."

"Riddle's been doing a good job at it," I say. "Classes this past year were great."

"I never thought I'd wind up finding myself looking forward to Muggle Studies," Cassie says.

"Muggle Studies, huh?" Remus says. "Like what?"

"Did you know they went to the moon?" I say. "Without magic, even! That's amazing!"

"Oh, come on, now you're just putting me on," Sirius says.

"Totally not joking," I say.

"It's true," Hermione says.

"They did indeed," Remus says. "In fact, there's a movie supposed to be coming out about one of the lunar missions this year."

"Oh, can we go and see?" Cassie says brightly. "I've never been to see a Muggle movie before!"

"We'll see," Remus says.

When Hermione goes to put away her things in her room, Sirius smirks down at Cassie and says quietly, "You know, Cassie, if I didn't know you were really an octogenarian pureblood witch, I'd think you were actually an excitable fifteen year old half-blood girl."

"What can I say?" Cassie says. "I like getting into my roles."

---

When the letters for the next year at Hogwarts arrive, I decide to do my shopping incognito by myself, in a forty-year-old adult form. I need to be careful to make sure I look old enough, since my normal form is getting older and starting to creep closer to adulthood.

I stop at Gringotts first to withdraw some more money from my vault. Then, it's out to Flourish and Blotts to go through and collect the books I'll need for fifth year. I'm really looking forward to this. It's going to be mostly new material for me. I can't help but feel more than a little excited.

"Picking up school books for your son, sir?" says the witch at the counter.

"My nephew, actually," I say. "He'll be starting fifth year."

"I'm starting first year!" says a young blonde girl. I glance over and see that she's actually with Professor Sprout.

"Good day, Professor," I say. "Helping out a new Muggleborn?" I still hate that term.

"Indeed," Sprout says, looking me over absently. "Little Maggie here is so excited about learning magic."

"Well, I hope you make lots of friends at Hogwarts, Maggie," I say, smiling at the girl.

"Thanks, mister!" Maggie says.

I head out to pick up the rest of my supplies. Potions ingredients, parchment, some things for Ancient Runes and Arithmancy. Once I'm done with that, I decide to take a stroll down Knockturn Alley. See if there's anything there that might interest me at the moment. I browse the shops absently, looking at books that I might be starting to be able to understand.

As I'm heading out down the alley, I hear a vaguely familiar voice coming from between two buildings. "What are you going to do, you filthy little Mudblood? Scream for help? You can't even make a sound now, can you, hmm?"

In alarm, I look about to where the voice is coming from. There's a man in dark robes -- I think I recognize him as Yaxley. He's standing over the little girl I met in the bookshop, Maggie. She's bruised and bloody, her clothing torn, looking up at him in terror. Did she inadvertently get separated from Professor Sprout and wander in here by mistake?

"Now, don't struggle, little whelp," Yaxley says, cackling madly. "A Mudblood wench like yourself should feel honored to get some pureblood seed."

Rage boils up inside me. My wand is in my hand before I know it, pointed straight at Yaxley. I'm not about to even just give him a warning. This scum doesn't deserve to live. I focus all of my hate and shout, "Avada Kedavra!"

Yaxley barely has a chance to react before the blast of green light strikes him dead on. He falls to the ground, a look of shock frozen on his face.

"Maggie, are you alright?" I ask gently, approaching the girl.

Maggie is sobbing in terror. She curls up in a fetal position and says, "Go away! Leave me alone!"

"Maggie, I'm trying to help, I swear," I say. "I won't hurt you."

"Where's Professor Sprout?" Maggie says, shaking furiously.

"I don't know, but I can help you find her," I say. "I'll protect you. I'll make sure nobody else tries to hurt you."

"No!" Maggie exclaims. "I don't know you! I don't trust you! You might hurt me, too! Wizards are bad!"

"Maggie..." I begin.

Maggie scrambles to her feet and darts off before I can stop her, vanishing into the shadows of Knockturn Alley.

"Maggie!" I call out, afraid that she's only going to get herself into more trouble.

As I go to chase after her, however, I trip and fall flat on my face. I'm not normally this clumsy. What happened? Ah, a jinx. The sound of footsteps running up to me echoes through the alley. "Finite Incantatem," I mutter quickly.

"Halt!" says one of the three wizards approaching me, my blood running cold as I see them. "We're with the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. You're wanted for questioning. Turn over your wand. We've got Anti-Apparition Wards over this area, so don't even try to escape."

I think about this for a moment. I consider my chances of winning a three-on-one fight against adult wizard guards. I consider how likely it is to get off from casting an Unforgivable Curse, even against someone who clearly deserved it. They aren't called Unforgivable for no reason. Especially when no one is here to support my story anyway. However, I don't want to get into a fight I'm sure to lose. Neither does it seem at all pointful to kill myself over something like this.

I turn my wand around and offer it to the guard. He takes it and says, "Prior Incantato," which immediately reveals the incriminating spell. "You are under arrest for casting an Unforgivable Curse on a fellow human being." He snaps my pine wand in two, and I have to wince involuntarily at the sound. "What is your name?"

"My name?" I say, standing up and pulling out the Elder Wand in one movement. "My name is Darth Revan, Dark Lord of the Sith." A name I came up with on the spot, just because it sounded cool and a little like my father's alias. "Protego!" A magical shield springs into existence in front of me.

"What?" says the guard. "Get him!"

I still don't think I can win a fight with them, Elder Wand or no. So as they start flinging spells at me, I toss a few back to slow them down, and take off running. If I can get away from this Anti-Apparition field, I'll be able to make my escape. And... then what? What if they track down my wand and realize who it belonged to? I'll claim it was stolen or something, maybe. I'll think about how to get away with murder later. Right now, I should just focus on how to get away.

"Stop him!" shout the guards. The locals in Knockturn Alley steadfastly pretend not to see anything.

I dart through a twisting maze of alleyways, trying to lose them between the buildings. But then I make a wrong turn into a dead end. Just as I'm about to start panicking, looking around frantically, a voice nearby says, "Psst! In here! Quick!"

Not about to argue, I duck into the back door of a building, and nod in thanks to the old wizard. He closes it shut behind me and waves his wand over the door, locking it with a click.

"Not going to ask what you did to get the dogs on your tail," the old man says. "I can't hide you here, though. Cut through and try to make a break for it."

"I think I'll give them someone else to look for," I say. I will my Time Magic to make me even older, pushing my age up to eighty or so. It's very uncomfortable, and my bones keep aching even after it's done, but at least I'll be harder to recognize.

"Nice trick," says the old man. "It won't fool them, though."

"Worth a shot," I say.

I head out of the front of the shop and start to walk casually away, trying to avoid drawing any further attention to myself. I can hear guards coming up behind me, their boots scuffing against the rough cobblestones of Knockturn Alley.

"Is that him?" says one.

"Same robes, same wand," says another. "But he's older."

"Probably downed an Aging Potion to try to lose us," says the third. "Get him!"

So much for that idea. I pop some more spells at them and take off at a run. This obviously isn't working. I try to think of some way to escape. I don't really want to hurt them, but I will if I must. My spells are hardly managing to slow them down, however.

I focus my thoughts upon the harsh winter storms of my homeland, and shout, "Nevischio!"

A storm of sleet rains down upon the three guards. Ice forms over the ground, and they slip and fall. I take advantage of their even momentary distraction to dart off into another side alley. I run between two buildings, leap a small fence, and chance direction, trying to lose them.

Still can't Apparate. Is there anything I'm carrying in my bag of holding that might be able to help me here? Broomstick? Don't trust myself to fly well enough to evade them. Ah! Cloak of invisibility! I pull it out and drop it over myself, as well as let myself age back down to something more comfortable. With this, I'll be able to slip away readily, or at least hide out until they give up and go away.

"He went this way!" says one of the guards.

"He couldn't have gone far," says another.

"Wonder if he's hiding now," says the third.

"Homenum Revelio!"

"There he is! Trying to hide with an invisibility cloak?"

"Why can't you guys be this competent with actual Death Eaters?" I say, snorting softly and starting to run again.

I yank off my cloak with one hand and stuff it back into my bag unceremoniously. I throw back a few Stunners in their general direction, but fail at hitting anything. Actually, I just have to find myself laughing at the absurdity of it all.

"Completely barking mad," says one of them.

"Can't argue with that," I say, laughing back at them.

I aim an Energy Stream Curse at the ground, launching myself into the air. My shield flickers as it deflects a couple spells. I tumble in for a graceless landing on top of a roof, causing the old wound on my left leg to protest at all the abuse.

Alright, cloak is out, that didn't help. Business card? Portkey. I wonder if a portkey would work under this ward. Well, worth a shot. I put it in my mouth and use my free hand to rip it in half. I feel a familiar jerking sound from somewhere behind my navel, followed by relief as I'm swept away.

I land in a small room that looks suspiciously like some sort of interrogation cell. I spit out the half of a business card still in my mouth and look around. The door is locked, and there's a metal chair and a darkened window. I could probably get out of here readily enough if I really wanted to, with the help of the Elder Wand, but I'm not about to start to go blasting things just yet.

"Ah, do we have a guest?" says a man's voice, seemingly coming from nowhere. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Mr. Blair, wizarding attorney at law."

"I'm Lexen Chelseer," I say. "I was given a business card?" I hold up the torn half that I'm still holding.

"Yes, of course," says Blair's voice. "Would you kindly put your wand away?"

"Certainly," I say, sliding the Elder Wand into my holster. It's made for a shorter wand, however, and doesn't fit very well, so I put it away into my bag of holding until I get a chance to adjust the holster. I'm upset about losing my wand, and having to use this one will surely cause some problems for me, but I'm not willing to kill myself over that.

There's a click as the door unlocks. "Come on out. I hope you can understand my caution."

"I can understand paranoia quite well," I say, chuckling.

I head out through another room, and down a hallway. There are several doors, but one swings open, with lights inside. I go in, and find a middle-aged wizard in fine business robes seated a table.

"Welcome, Mr. Chelseer," Blair says. "Please, take a seat. Would you like something to drink?"

I realize suddenly that I'm very thirsty, almost compulsively so. Yes, I recognize this sensation from the party at the Malfoys' place. I take a seat and look at the offered cup of tea.

"So, what will be my poison?" I ask casually. "Truth, sleep, or death?"

"Heh, you're a shrewd one, are you," says Blair. "My master will be pleased. He has been getting rather frustrated with people who were obviously not in Slytherin for their cunning. The tea is dosed with a sleeping potion. I'm going to need to relocate you, but you can't know where you're going yet. Would you prefer to be Obliviated instead?"

I could just start this day over and none of this would have ever happened. I could have readily found and dealt with Yaxley beforehand. Maybe. At worst, I would have been able to be in the right place at the right time, and just made sure to get away before the guards arrived. But I don't like that train of thought. I don't like the idea of killing myself just because everything didn't go perfectly. It's a slippery slope that I would rather not start down. And I really don't want to abandon Cassie needlessly...

"No," I say. "I'll drink the tea. But I swear, if I wake up in Azkaban, I will come back and murder you personally."

Blair chuckles as I raise the cup to my mouth. "The Dark Lord does not waste resources. You'll be seeing him soon."

The sweet tea slides down my throat, and momentarily my head feels heavy, and my eyelids droop. I have to wonder if I'm not getting myself into something worse than what I just escaped from. No, I was bound for Azkaban without a doubt. There's no way that this could possibly be worse.