Stormseeker: Unwanted Destiny

Chapter 30: Triumph of Shadows

---

I wake abruptly, and open my eyes to see a wand pointed at my throat. I look up to see that it's Moody holding it, peering down at me, his glass eye swiveling about the room.

"Surrender at once and your friends will not be harmed," Moody says. "And don't even think about reaching for a wand."

"Gah!" I say. "How did you find me?"

"Locater ritual," Moody replies. "Would've done it sooner, but your former friends Sirius Black and Remus Lupin wouldn't allow me into your old house to find a hair sample."

I groan softly. "Don't tell me they believe this shit, too?"

"You've got quite a lot of people unhappy with you now, dark wizard," Moody says.

My mind races. How am I going to get out of this? I try Apparating away, but it's blocked, unsurprisingly. "Look, please don't hold anything against Dirk Cresswell for keeping me here. I hung a life debt over his head for it."

"You're the only one I'm after here today," Moody says. "Though if there were any evidence that your friends did anything more than get dragged along as accessories, you better believe I'd be after them, too."

Cassie and Gerard are stirring and reaching for their wands. Moody disarms them with a flick of his wand. I take advantage of the distraction to hurl lightning from my fingertips at him, but the electricity splashes off of Moody's shield harmlessly. Curses burn the air, and Cassie and Gerard's broken bodies hit the far wall. Moody tries to nail me with a Stunner, but I tumble out of the way.

I don't know how badly hurt they are, if they're even still alive. I'm not going to take the chance. I quickly force my Time Magic down to age myself away.

---

I wake to Moody's wand pointed at me. "Surrender now and your companions won't get hurt," Moody says. "And don't even think about grabbing your wand."

I hold up my hands in a gesture of surrender and come to my feet slowly. "I surrender," I say quietly.

Cassie and Gerard are starting to get up. Their wands are in their hands in the blink of an eye.

"Hold on," I say to them quickly. They lower their wands, but still look wary. "Listen, Moody. I will cooperate only if you let my friends go. Once I can be assured that they are safely away, I will go with you. Alright?"

"You know I'm not going to agree to that," Cassie says.

"Cassie, I appreciate your loyalty, but not right now," I say. "Just do it. Please. I'm not going to abandon you." I can't tell her outright in front of Moody that I can come up with a way out of this for myself if she and Gerard are safe.

"Fine," Moody says. "You two. Go. Now. And I don't want to hear about any trouble connected to either of you again."

Cassie gives me a long look, and then heads downstairs followed by Gerard. I breathe a soft sigh of relief once they're out of sight. We could have fought. We might have won, somehow, eventually. But I'm not going to take the chance of getting Stunned and having them hurt or dead because of it.

"You better not be planning something, Chelseer," Moody says.

"Why don't you just send me to Azkaban right now and save us both the trouble?" I say blandly.

"Oh, believe me, you'll get there," Moody says. "But there are procedures that must be followed through. Come on."

Moody takes my wand, and I follow along after him, down the stairs. Tonks is standing guard at the entrance to the house. I keep an eye out for any opportunity to make my escape. But between the two of them, I'm not going anywhere from here. Not without overcharging a Lightning Curse and risking destroying the Cresswell home in the process.

They sweep me away to the Ministry of Magic, and put me in some sort of holding cell. "You'll stay here and wait for your trial," Moody says. "And don't even think about trying to escape."

"It's a little ironic that you deride me for being a dark wizard, when you used a dark ritual to find me," I say.

"Using dark magic doesn't make someone a dark wizard," Moody says.

I test the limits of my cell. I'm held in behind heavy wards, as well as a physical barrier, and a small guard room. I don't think I'm getting out of this one. Moody is guarding me himself at the moment while Tonks went off to take care of other stuff.

"You see?" Moody says. "You're not getting out of it this time, dark wizard."

"So I made one too many mistakes," I say.

But what else could I have done? Found a way to give up sleep entirely? Put up better defenses? Moved around more, hidden better?

Not made enemies I couldn't deal with in the first place?

"And it's about time that you were finally brought to justice for all of your crimes," Moody says.

"Tell me, Moody," I say. "Why did you do this? Why did you become so fixated upon bringing me down, even when you had no evidence of any wrongdoing on my part?"

"I suspected something was off about you for quite some time," Moody says. "You played a very convincing act. But the pieces didn't always fit together. Everything didn't always add up. And you didn't always cover your tracks cleanly enough."

"I thought you were on my side, after Yaxley's death," I say. "I thought I'd convinced you, then."

"Yaxley was a Death Eater," Moody says. "I couldn't fault you for that, but things still didn't add up. The timeline was off, and then there was your conversations with your friends. I made nice for the time being to keep an eye out and try to collect more information, to piece things together. And the picture I wound up with was a damning one."

There's no Dementors around here, but there might as well be for all the despair pressing down on me at the moment.

---

It's almost a week before I'm finally brought in for trial. I haven't had any success in trying to get away, and they're definitely on their guard about bringing me into the courtroom. They give me three drops of Veratiserum, and put me to questioning with three Aurors at my back keeping wands trained on me.

"What is your name?" asks Moody. So they're letting him do the questioning, too? I'm so fucked.

"Lexen Chelseer," I reply. "Don't I get any legal representation?"

"I'm asking the questions here," Moody says.

"And I'm demanding to speak with a lawyer," I say. "Otherwise you might as well just not bother with this and throw me into Azkaban without a trial, like you did with Sirius Black."

"No one was willing to stand up for you, Lexen Chelseer," Moody says. "For all your crimes, you've alienated the entire wizarding world."

"Don't you people normally assign lawyers if needed?" I say.

"Enough," Moody says. "Where is Harry Potter?"

"Harry Potter is dead," I reply.

"And you murdered him, didn't you?" Moody presses.

"I did not," I say. "I've never even met him. He was dead at the age of five from falling down a staircase."

There are gasps from the courtroom. Moody scowls. That's clearly not the answer he was hoping for. "And what led to you pretending to be him?"

"Albus Dumbledore asked me to do it," I say. "And all just because I look a little like him. He didn't want to admit to the world that Harry Potter died on his watch. That he made a mistake. I didn't want to agree to it, myself. I didn't want to get dragged into this all again. I just wanted a chance to study in peace. I made some unreasonable demands of him before I would agree to it. I made him change the Hogwarts curriculum for my sake, or I wouldn't do it."

"Did you kill Albus Dumbledore?" Moody asks.

"Yes," I reply.

"Did you kill Gilderoy Lockhart?" Moody asks.

"Yes," I say.

"Was Tom Riddle really Lord Voldemort?" Moody asks.

"Yes," I reply, sighing.

More gasps. Moody gives a triumphant grin. That was more along the lines of what he wanted. "And did you serve Voldemort?"

"Yes," I say.

"Was Cassiopeia Black involved in this in any way?" Moody asks.

"No," I say. "And as I recall, she's not the one on trial here. Leave her out of this. She didn't want me getting involved with the Dark Lord, but I wound up dragging her along anyway."

"Who is Gerard Boltwood?" Moody asks.

"Gellert Grindelwald," I reply reflexively, and scowl at him. "He's not on trial here, either, damn it."

Expect no justice from the Ministry of Magic. They don't even follow their own procedures. These trials are a sham to appease the masses. They're no true attempt at getting at the truth and imposing fair punishment. Even if I probably do deserve it.

"Did he assist you in killing Lockhart?" Moody asks.

"He brought down the wards," I say. "I killed Lockhart. Cassie even begged me to stop when I used the Cruciatus Curse on him. Don't hold anything against her. She's been doing nothing but trying to keep me in check."

"So you admit to that, too," Moody says.

"How about I admit to using the Imperius Curse, too, for the trifecta?" I say. "I used it on Rabastan Lestrange."

There's no escape from here. But Azkaban? I'm pretty sure I can escape from Azkaban. Get this nonsense over with already.

"I think we've heard enough," the judge says. "Lexen Chelseer, for your crimes, you are hereby sentenced to lifelong imprisonment in Azkaban."

---

Overwhelming despair. A dark pit of depression so deep I can no longer remember the light. My cold, dank cell where I hear prisoners screaming and sobbing in the distance, and can always feel the Dementors pressing in upon me from all around.

Why did I ever entertain such a foolish thought that I could escape from this place? It's hopeless. I'm never going to get out of here.

"I'm blaming you for this, you know," Gerard says from the cell across from me.

"I deserve that," I say.

I take a deep breath. I've got to focus. I focus upon my Occlumency barriers in some hope of keeping the Dementors out. I bring up every happy thought that I can muster. I've never tried to cast a Patronus wandlessly, and I really don't think that I can manage it, given the difficulty I had in getting it to work in the first place. But I have to try.

The rainbow after the storm. All things will pass, in time. All strife will end. All troubles will fade. "Expecto Patronum," I cast. I think I see a faint, shimmering vapor emerge from my fingertips, but that's all. No silvery duck. No real barrier against the Dementors.

"You really think you're going to manage that?" Gerard says, barking bitter laughter. "You're a dark wizard. Only a Lord of the Light could hope to cast a wandless Patronus!"

"I had to try," I say, sighing. "I refuse to believe that we're going to be trapped here forever. This, too, shall pass."

"You've got more optimism here than I do," Gerard says. "Just you wait. The Dementors will suck that out of you, too."

And then, just when things are looking blackest, there's a light of hope outside my cell. The presence of the Dementors fades away, pushed back by radiant hope. A gleaming silver raven flies in and lights up the darkness.

"Cassie!" I exclaim.

"I'm here," Cassie says. "You didn't think I'd just leave you in here, did you? Here, I even brought your wand."

She passes it in through the bars, and I take it eagerly. She passes another wand over to Gerard.

The taste of pancakes. The rainbow after the storm. Falling in love with Tom. Falling in love with Cassie. Bonding with Tom. Tom's purification ritual. Cassie coming to save me. Seven happy memories. Seven lights in the darkness. "EXPECTO PATRONUM!"

Brilliant light erupts from the tip of my wand, and the wings of my duck Patronus flutter out, holding the Dementors at bay.

"Cassie..." Gerard says. "Have I mentioned I love you yet?"

"I thought you were gay, Grindelwald," Cassie says.

"Like a sister?" Gerard says, smirking.

I focus on the thought of freedom for all beings. "Alohomora!" My door opens, and I go across to Gerard's door as well. "Alohomora!"

"Let's get the hell out of here," Gerard says, grinning broadly.

The three of us make our way to the exit, the raven and duck flanking us and giving us a buffer against the Dementors. Their aura of despair can't break through our barriers.

"I brought your bag," Cassie says, handing it over to me.

"Thanks, Cassie," I say. "I owe you... well, everything. I thought I could escape on my own. But I underestimated the Dementors."

Cassie grins at me and says, "You can pay me back by showing me the multiverse. Come on, we need to get away from this island to get past the Anti-Apparation wards."

There's probably alarms going off somewhere heralding our escape, but for the moment, we've got a clear rocky coast ahead of us. We pile into the small boat and head for shore, leaving the raging, hungry Dementors behind us.

"Not to dismiss the rescue or anything, but where are we going from here?" Gerard asks.

"I hadn't really thought that far ahead," Cassie says. "I didn't think you'd want to be stuck in there for longer than necessary."

"But if they catch us now, they'll give us the Dementor's Kiss," I say.

"We need someplace to hide that they'll never be able to get at us," Gerard says. "And we'll need to be able to get to a node by Halloween."

"Which ones are available?" I ask.

"Hogwarts is built on one of the strongest ones in the area," Gerard says. "There's also Stonehenge and a few other places, of course, but they aren't likely to be unguarded on Halloween either."

"At least there's plenty of places to hide in Hogwarts," I say. My eyes widen as something suddenly dawns on me, and a grin spreads across my face. "The Chamber of Secrets."

"And you're a Parselmouth now!" Cassie says. "Brilliant!"

"Did I miss something?" Gerard asks.

"I gained the ability to speak Parseltongue when I bonded with Tom," I say. "The Chamber of Secrets is hidden below Hogwarts and can only be opened with Parseltongue."

"Great," Gerard says. "That just leaves us having to find a way to sneak into Hogwarts. Easy."

"Apparate to Hogsmeade once we're out of range of the wards," I say. "Meet up at the Shrieking Shack. I know some secret passages that'll get us inside. And I've got a way for us to avoid detection."

It's not just that the area around Azkaban is dark and oppressive, but it's actually night at the moment. We Apparate to Hogsmeade, trying to stay out of sight, and duck inside the Shrieking Shack.

"Nobody will bother us in here for the moment," I say. "There's a secret passage in here, but it doesn't go inside the school itself. It comes out at the Whomping Willow." I pull out the Marauder's Map and open it up. "I solemnly swear I am up to no good."

"Nice map," Gerard says. "Are there any passages that'll get us all the way inside?"

"The Honeydukes one is the best option, I think," I say, pointing and following it with a finger. "And the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets is here."

"In the girls' loo?" Gerard says, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah," I say. "I have no idea why, myself. Even Slytherin's painting didn't know why. It won't be long before they realize we've escaped from Azkaban. Let's move. We'll be safe once we're inside."

"We can worry about not starving later," Cassie says, smirking. "I did pack as much food as I could get my hands on on short notice, but I don't know if it'll last until Halloween."

We leave the Shrieking Shack and sneak into Honeydukes. Along the way, I pinch a pile of sweets, and leave galleons laying on the counter.

"You are the worst thief ever," Gerard whispers.

We make it to the secret passage without alerting anyone that we're sneaking around the sweet shop, and make our way up toward Hogwarts. I peer at the Marauder's Map along the way to make sure we won't run into anyone on our way in. To my surprise, I spot Moody's name patrolling the corridors.

"Moody's at Hogwarts," I murmur.

"What the hell is he doing there?" Gerard asks.

"Did he get another year as High Inquisitor?" Cassie asks.

"No idea," I say. "This will be... inconvenient. Cassie, stun me, please. I want to make sure we don't have to escape from Azkaban again."

Cassie points her wand at me and hits me with a red flash, and I'm out.

---

"Rennervate," Cassie says, bringing me back to consciousness. "We still need to be careful, though."

"Of course," I say. "Just, can't be too paranoid. I have no intention of getting you two killed."

"Quit worrying about us," Gerard says. "All we need to do is get to the Chamber of Secrets. But if you die, what's left for us?"

"Neither of us would have any sort of life if it weren't for you," Cassie says.

I rub the Resurrection Stone and summon up Tom's wraith. "What's going on?" Tom asks. "Where are you?"

"Secret passage leading into Hogwarts," I reply.

"Is it Halloween already?" Tom asks.

"No," I say. "But we're going to try to hide out in the Chamber of Secrets until then."

"Ah, good idea," Tom says. "Do you need me to open the entrance? No, you're a Parselmouth now, too."

"Moody's patrolling inside Hogwarts," I say.

"What this brat isn't mentioning is that I just rescued him and Grindelwald from Azkaban," Cassie says.

"You were sent to Azkaban?" Tom asks in alarm.

"Everything's gone wrong," I say. "All my secrets are laid out on the table. Everyone but you guys have turned against me."

"It's a veritable mess," Cassie says.

"Can we just kill Moody?" Gerard says. "We can ambush him and kill him. He'll never expect to see us here."

"Don't count on it," I say. "CONSTANT VIGILANCE!"

"I'll distract him if need be," Tom says.

I give a nod. "Thanks, Tom. We just need to make it to the Chamber. Invisibility or disillusionment won't help against Moody, so all we've got against him are our wits and skills. He's too strong to take on in a fair fight, with him with the Elder Wand."

"So we do an unfair fight," Gerard says. "Simple enough."

We come out of the passageway on the third floor. Now we just need to make it down two floors to the restroom where the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets is hidden. I lead the way, eyes fixed on the map to avoid running into Moody or anyone else that might be wandering about tonight.

Then, as we approach the girls' restroom, I spot Moody's dot heading in that direction as well. We're going to be intercepted in the corridor outside the restroom, at this rate. I duck inside a classroom and wait for him to pass. But he doesn't pass. He comes right up to the classroom door and stands outside.

"I know you're in there," Moody says through the door. "I heard you. Come on out now, and I might avoid giving you detention."

He thinks we're students out past curfew. That's still not helpful.

Then an idea strikes me, and I mutter, "Multicorfors," pointing my wand at Gerard's hair, turning him into a redhead. I quickly transfigure his clothing into a Hogwarts uniform, and give him a Gryffindor tie for good measure.

Tom's wraith takes the cue and slips into a wall. I hide in the cupboard at the far end of the room, and Cassie tucks away with me as well. It's a tight squeeze, and under other circumstances might even be pleasant.

"So, a first year out for a walk at night, huh?" Moody says. "Ten points from Gryffindor. Who are you, son?"

"Gordon Weasley," Gerard replies.

Cassie and I are practically holding our breaths, hoping that Moody doesn't realize we're here. Crash! My foot slipped, and I knocked over something. Fuck.

Moody stomps over to the closet and throws open the door. "And what have we here? Two sixth years snogging in a cupboard?"

I try to hide my face. He'll recognize my scars immediately. But he grabs me by the collar and hauls me out of the closet, looking straight at me.

"You!" Moody says, hurling me back against the wall and in a single motion, dodging a curse from behind that Gerard cast at him. "I should have known Azkaban wouldn't hold you. And known better than to let your friend off. You sprung him, didn't you, girl."

"Go!" I yell to Cassie and Gerard. "I'll follow!"

Cassie and Gerard make a break for the door, avoiding the curses Moody is throwing about. They make it out into the hallway.

"You're not getting away this time," Moody says, hurling curses at me with the Elder Wand.

I think of winter in my homeland. "Nevischio!" I shout in cold fury.

Daggers of ice rain down upon Moody, and while they can't penetrate his shields, the floor at his feet becomes very slippery. Moody barely keeps his footing. I take the opportunity to run for the door, darting out into the corridor and down the hallway toward the girls' restroom.

The way into the Chamber of Secrets is already open. Tom must have gotten it open for them. I dive inside and down the pipe. I hear Moody's footsteps racing behind me. I come out the far end to see Cassie and Gerard scrambling into the Chamber of Secrets past the big doors.

"Cover your eyes!" I yell to the two of them, running inside. I call out in Parseltongue, "Speak to me, Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwarts four!" I've heard the words before, but I didn't understand them, then. But now I remember what they were clearly.

The mouth of Salazar Slytherin's statue opens up, and the giant snake slithers out. I'm careful not to look directly at the creature too much. I haven't come this far just to accidentally force a full reset. Moody is right on my tail, and I have to move quick to dodge another curse from him.

"Kill him!" I command the basilisk.

Moody looks up at the basilisk in alarm, and he quickly averts his eyes as he realizes what he's looking at. He has no rooster here to save him, however. Moody stops attacking me and focuses upon the more immediate threat. As the serpent bears down upon him, he transfigures a rock on the floor into a rooster.

"Silencio!" I quickly cast before the rooster can crow.

The three of us take potshots at Moody with curses, trying to keep him distracted and wear him down. He can hardly keep up, and his shields are weakening. He turns to retreat, but the basilisk catches him in its teeth, sinking venomous fangs into his body.

I sink to the floor, panting softly. "Tom," I say. "Can you get the entrance closed?" Tom nods and drifts off.

"Well, that's one way to beat someone wielding the Elder Wand," Gerard says, impressed. "I certainly didn't see that coming."

"Good basilisk," I say, going over to stroke its scales appreciatively. "Very good indeed." I pick up the Elder Wand from where Moody dropped it.

Tom floats back in. "The entryway is secure. No one will be getting in here now."

"May I eat him, Master?" the basilisk hisses. "It has been so long since I have had a meal. So hungry."

"Let me search his possessions first, then you may eat him," I reply.

I strip Moody of any potential valuables without even really looking at them yet. The Elder Wand is the main thing I care even slightly about, but there might just be something else interesting here.

"Alright," I hiss to the basilisk. "Feast away, and then return to your hibernation. You have done well."

"My thanks, Master," the basilisk replies. It devours Moody's body, and then slithers back into the statue.

"That... was a little creepy," Cassie says.

"But at least we're safe," I say. "We're finally safe." I go over to embrace Cassie and move to give her a kiss.

Cassie holds up a hand and stops me, and waves her wand a bit, hitting us both with a Scourgify. "Better." Then she passionately kisses me.

We break off after a bit, and head into the library to look around and set up a living space.

"If we have to be stuck somewhere for over a month, at least it's someplace with a library like this," Gerard says. "Too bad that whole bookcase there is probably beyond help." He looks critically over the badly damaged books on the far wall.

Cassie takes my bag of holding and looks through the supplies we have. "With some charms, we can extend our food stores some."

"Failing all else, we can probably sneak out to the kitchens if need be," I say. "Nobody should have any idea that we're even down here."

"They'll realize Moody is missing," Tom says. "But, no evidence."

"So, Lexen," Gerard says. "You now have all three of the Deathly Hallows. You're the Master of Death. Feel any different?"

"Not really," I say, shrugging. "What does that even mean, anyway?"

"I have no idea," Gerard says. "You're the first one to have gotten them all."

"And I honestly don't care all that much," I say, chuckling.

---

Halloween finally arrives. And just as well, as our food stores are starting to run low. But all things considered, I couldn't be happier. Tom has been spending the last several weeks drilling us on how to handle the Soul Bonding ritual.

The hour of midnight strikes, and we begin the ritual. The runes we've carved along the floor glow brightly as we let our blood fill them. Demonic words echo through the Chamber of Secrets. Motes of energy fill the air, in blue, purple, and red. Blue seems to be the color of my own magical energy, I think. I never realized that before.

Gerard carefully handles the bonding between Cassie and me. Cassie shrieks loudly throughout the entire painful process. It hurts to see her in pain, but it has to be done. There's no help for it. It seems to be less painful for me, but perhaps I'm just more used to it. Or that I've simply killed more people than her.

When it's over, Cassie lies panting on the floor, and says, "Is it done? Did it work?"

"I think so," I say.

"It damned well better," Gerard says. "Because we're not done yet. It's my turn, now. You know, if for some reason this doesn't work, you'd better come and pull me out of Nurmengard anyway."

I chuckle softly. "Will do."

We set things up for the next ritual. There's no way that we'll want to hang around here until the Winter Solstice to get this done, although the air is still full of magical energy. I hope nothing goes wrong with attempting this ritual twice in one night.

Cassie stands aside, and Gerard and I get started, letting out our blood and chanting demonic words. I scream again in pain as the next bond is formed, our souls connected to one another, stronger than life, stronger than time. Gerard doesn't seem affected quite as strongly. He just winces, grits his teeth against it, and bears the pain. Tough bastard.

By the time it's done, I'm laying on the floor, exhausted, panting heavily. I think I can feel where the bonds have been placed, like bits grafted into my very soul, humming slightly with energy. It still hurts a little, a dull ache well beyond the physical senses.

"We should rest now," Gerard says. "That took a lot out of us."

"Yeah," I say quietly. "Yeah. I don't... I don't need to ask if it worked. I can feel it. I can feel you all, if I focus on it. All three of you." I can even tell that Cassie and Gerard are alive, and Tom is dead.

But not for long. The multiverse awaits, and I will no longer be alone. I have friends now, and together, we will see what's out there.