Rebirth

Rebirth

Chapter 6: Jigsaw Puzzles

"ELEKTRA!"

Professor Ventura was furious. This was something very rare, and it always resulted in wreckage, which was why Professor Coleraine and the Headmistress tried to accompany her fast pacing.

"Well, if it isn't Djanira!" smiled Elektra as the three professors entered her classroom, where she was analyzing an astronomical chart. "What do I owe the honor of your visit?"

"You know very well why!" Ventura shouted. "What have you done to my students?"

"Now, now, Djanira," continued Elektra, as if the other was a child asking for candy. "They're my students as well, you know. You can't claim possession."

"Don't joke, Elektra. They're my house students, my responsibility! Why did you have to do it?"

"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh yes, you do. What can you tell me about a jar of youngberry juice that has been mixed with the Draught of the Living Dead?"

"Oh, that? Well, I needed an excuse to keep the children here for the holidays. What better way than telling the parents that the children are ill?"

"You had no right!"

"Oh, yes I had," the centaur smiled, staring coldly at the angered woman before her. "Something is coming, and I need to be sure that they are prepared."

"You know I don't approve of this."

"It makes no difference to me. You may be the head of the Avis house, but Edra is the headmistress, and she gave me permission to do whatever was necessary to keep them here."

Infuriated, Ventura turned to the young girl. "You did what?"

"I wasn't expecting this!" she replied.

"I'm sure Professor Penumbra acted in good faith," Coleraine then spoke, "and I'm sure Elektra measured all possibilities before choosing this one, so why not forget it, and instead try to repair the damage that resulted from it?"

"What damage?" Finally, Elektra removed her eyes from the chart. She wasn't expecting anything wrong to occur. If she had planned it, nothing could go wrong.

"It seems like one Goa student has also drank the potion, and was rushed to the hospital wing with the Avises."

"Oh, really?" Elektra sighed with relief and returned her attention to the chart. "I thought it was something serious."

"It is serious!" snapped Ventura. "What are you going to do about it?"

"Have you ever heard of antidotes, Djanira?" Elektra was almost laughing at her despair. "We'll just wake her up, send her back with the others, and say that she was the only one who had managed to recover so far."

"And now we can blame it all on food poisoning," smiled Coleraine.

"I'm so glad you find this amusing, Hector," spat Ventura.

"My dear professor, the damage is done. I've told you that already."

Someone coughed in a very "may-I-have-your-attention-please" manner. It was only then that the other three realized that Elektra was not alone. A tall, red-haired man was sitting on top of Irina's table, holding an Astronomy book.

"Finally you realize I exist!" he joked.

"Mr. Zagalo," the headmistress greeted.

"Professor Penumbra, let me tell you that I don't blame you the least for allowing Elektra to do such a thing to my daughter."

"You don't?" Ventura asked, incredulous.

"No, and I'll tell you why, my dear professor: you keep forgetting about the Asterlyth. It has attacked - in Egypt, I'm aware of that, thank you," he added, as Professor Penumbra was going to complain, "- and they'll be preferred victims. And their families are also in danger."

"What do you mean? Apart from your daughter's case, they're all first-generation -"

"You forget about siblings," he interrupted. "I know one of the girls has a younger brother, and that the mother of another is expecting a child, but apart from that, the families will still be in danger if it decides to search for the children."

"And what do you suggest?"

"We need to hide the other parents."

"But we can't tell them the truth. It would terrify them."

"Yes, I know. But we have to remove them to a safe place."

"You're not suggesting kidnapping, are you?" Ventura asked.

"That is exactly what I mean."

Speechless, Ventura sat on a chair. This was running out of control. The others, however, seemed to be in silent agreement to what Dulce's father had just said.

"Do whatever is necessary, Rodrigo," said Elektra, staring defiantly at the troubled professor.

"Mr. Zagalo, one question," Coleraine suddenly called. "Have you found it?"

"Yes, exactly where Lockhart said. I collected all I could manage, and sent it to Hogwarts. Professor Snape says the potion will be ready around Christmas."

"Good. As soon as it's ready, I'll go there."

***

Coleraine got off the horseless chariot and took an appreciative look around. Each time he was there, he found Hogwarts even more beautiful and impressive.

After a while, his practical side took charge and he moved forward to the main entrance. However, the vision of an approaching cloaked figure made him stop.

"Well, well... dementors," he smiled, and turned in the direction of the creature. Although desperate for nourishment, it stopped in surprise to see his "prey" advancing.

Then, a sound came out of it: a strange hiss, very similar to a human cry of agony, which increased with every step taken by Coleraine, who seemed completely unaffected, if not radiating with happiness.

When only a few feet of distance were separating the two, the hiss became unbearably pained, and the dementor retreated while making bizarre contortions.

"I don't understand why people don't like dementors," Coleraine said to himself. "They're hilarious."

And then he returned to the castle's main entrance.

***

She looked at her hands. They were bleeding again, and feathers were sprouting from the cuts.

"You still don't know what is required of you," said the raven-haired lady.

"No."

"I wish I could tell you. You must get ready."

"Ready for what?"

"For this." And with a wave of her hand, the snakes that had once surrounded the block of stone returned, but this time they headed towards Geno, who tried to escape.

"You can't run, Genoveva," the lady said in a sad tone, "and you will be unable to resist unless you're ready."

More cuts... More feathers... Instinctively, Geno tried to jump, in an attempt to fly, but fell face down onto the floor, and her body covered by the snakes.

She screamed.

***

The door to Albus Dumbledore's office opened, and a man dressed entirely in black stepped in.

Coleraine, who was sitting beside the headmaster, stood up, face to face with this man. If it wasn't for the difference of hair and the fact that only Coleraine had a beard, anybody stepping into the office at that moment could swear that the image before them was that of a man in front of a mirror.

"Hector," greeted the man coldly.

"Severus," replied Coleraine, in the same expressionless tone.

"Glad you could join us, Severus," greeted Dumbledore merrily. "Tell me, is the potion ready?"

"It's cooling, Headmaster. It has been brewing, but is still too hot to be carried."

"I'll wait, then," said Coleraine, sitting down again. Severus Snape did the same, choosing an armchair next to a bizarre-looking bookshelf.

"Now where were we?" asked Dumbledore. "Ah yes, I believe you wanted to ask me something, Hector?"

"Yes, sir." A slight smile crosses Coleraine's face. "Could you please tell me if Lockhart had any project in mind during the time he spent here as a teacher?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Just curious."

"I think he was developing a new book about one of his... erm... feats. Which one, he didn't reveal, since he wanted to keep it a secret."

"Not that we'd really be interested in it," Snape added. Coleraine smiled.

"Now that's your error. If you could have had some time and patience to put up with his nonsense, you could have spotted some true events."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, when did you realize he knew about the Iapetus, and the formula?"

"When he published his autobiography, of course," Snape replied. "We asked him endless times where the Iapetus could be found, but he only replied that he would develop the story in a book of its own."

"Too bad you didn't know..." Coleraine said, gazing mockingly at the Potions master. "It could have saved you all that saliva if you had just told him what the formula was for."

"Why should he know? He'd probably call the newspapers, trying to attract all the attention to himself as the man who brought a Quidditch champion back to life."

"Oh, but he wouldn't." He adjusted his seat so that he could look directly into Dumbledore's eyes and still manage to be seen by Snape. "You see, we were told by Professor Sampaio that Julia Cassidy is the person who appears more strongly to his mind when the memory-retrieving sessions are successful. In fact, he had strong recollections of her even before the treatment began."

Dumbledore's quill fell from his hand. Snape's eyes widened.

***

Gilderoy Lockhart had spent the entire day locked up in his room, searching through his bags and chests. He read all of his books and was now checking newspaper cuttings and interviews in an attempt to trigger lost memories.

So far it had been a complete failure. He was now certain that everything was a lie, and that he had created a fantasy life for himself, though he couldn't explain why. Perhaps to look more interesting for his fans? Somehow he had the feeling that that this answer was only part of the truth.

His autobiography was the one that had confused him the most. It has a really tear-jerking "rags to riches" childhood tale, which went against what those "memory sessions" with wrinkled Professor Sampaio revealed. The man from the books was only a description of how he wished his real father could have been. And he couldn't remember any female figure who he could compare to his "book" mother.

And then there was the girl. A few months before, when he woke up in a dark place being kicked by a red-haired boy, the only thing he could remember was that girl's face. During the time he spent at the Hogwarts hospital wing before he was sent to Ingarnal, other aspects of the girl came into his mind, mostly in his dreams: her laughter, the way she twitched her nose... He didn't know who she was, but he was sure he would do anything for her.

But for some reason he couldn't find anything about her in his books - not even a tiny reference hidden somewhere. It was like she didn't exist, except in his imagination.

Then one day, during a session, he remembered her name and said it out loud. Professor Ventura, the tall lady with the bizarre hats, was present on that occasion and reacted very strangely. She called Professor Coleraine after the session and the two of them began to question him about some sort of herb he had mentioned in his autobiography. From the interrogation, he learned that the girl was real, and that she needed that information to survive.

In a session some time later, he discovered the location of the herb, which he revealed to Ventura. He also had a new vision of the girl, this time screaming at him in fury and brandishing a club. If only he knew what he had done...

He browsed through another scrapbook. The lack of real information was really annoying him. He was facing a jigsaw puzzle, and the pieces didn't seem to match.

Then, right at the very bottom of the chest, he found a red leather-bound book, which he opened with the despairing feeling that nothing could be found. However, as his eyes set on the very first page, his heart leapt.

This was a photo album, and the person smiling at him this time was not another Lockhart, but her: Julia Cassidy. Dressed in green Quidditch robes with two yellow Ks, she was holding a broom and smiling merrily. Her hair was all messed up, in a confusion of ginger curls, but at that moment, to Lockhart, it seemed like the most beautiful vision in the world.

As he turned the pages, he was greeted by more smiling Julias. He studied each of them attentively, as if trying to memorize each expression, each pose... As he gazed into her eyes, he realized why he had stated that lilac was his favorite color.

Then, he stopped at a photo where she was accompanied by a young man he didn't recognize, but who looked strangely familiar. After a careful look, he realized it was himself.

Instinctively, and in the absence of a mirror, he grabbed one of the newspaper cuttings and compared the "before" and "after". The "after" was an image of perfection, with spotless robes and every lock of hair in a carefully chosen place, and he was displaying his trademark smile. In the "before", on the other hand, he looked almost as careless as his photo companion, and his smile was shy and embarrassed, particularly when Julia began to tickle him.

However, the difference that troubled Lockhart the most was the eyes: the "after" was smiling more broadly, but the "before" was the one who had real happiness reflected in his gaze.

Disturbed, he dropped the album and the cutting. After a while, he picked up the album again, opened it to a random page, and found a single picture of Julia. As he gazed deeply into her eyes, new memories surfaced and flashed in his mind. And then he realized why she was angry in that vision he had had.

They had a fight. He didn't know why, but it must have been something really serious, because she was yelling at him, with tears in her eyes. She left and went to her family's home, and never returned.

It was all clear to him now. He had been devastated, blaming himself for her death. The blame would later give place to self-pity, which in turn...

As the realization of his transformation became clear, the sound of Coleraine's voice began to echo in his mind.

"She's alive."

***

"Professor, could I talk to you for a moment, please?"

Edra Penumbra raised her eyes from the book she was reading, and welcomed Ventura with a nod.

"What are you reading?" the Flying teacher asked, as she sat down.

"Nothing important," Penumbra said, turning the book around for her to see. "Just something about the influence of Dark Magic on the disappearance of Sebastian the Desired."

"He was the king when Ingarnal... the first Ingarnal opened, wasn't he?"

"Yes... But something tells me you haven't come here to talk about history, or were you? What brings you here, Professor?"

"I just needed to ask you something."

"It's about those children, isn't it?"

"Are you aware that they haven't woken up yet?"

"Yes."

"But wasn't Elektra supposed to be training them, after all the risks she took to keep them here?"

"Shouldn't you be asking her this question?"

"She stopped talking to me. It seems like I'm 'disturbing the training process.'"

"I see. Is that why you've turned to me?"

"She respects you. And she has the consideration to explain things to you. As for me, she says it's none of my business."

"I see."

"Please, Professor. I need to know. I need to be reassured of the children's safety."

"I know. Elektra doesn't understand your responsibilities. Or that, unlike centaurs, people care." She sighed. "Very well... I don't know exactly what her intentions are, but she is training them, in a way... They are being given dream-controlling potions."

"You mean she's manipulating their minds? Brainwashing?"

"I don't think so. It looks like she's just giving them information. She says the brain assimilates things more effectively this way. I believe she has been doing this ever since the school year began."

"But that's cruelty!" Ventura was getting angry again. "I know the future looks grim, but manipulating young children this way is just..." She trailed off. Anger and frustration were disturbing her speech.

"I know you were trained differently when you were a student," Professor Penumbra began, "but you were only one, while there are five of them. There's also this urgency about the Asterlyth, which I personally find absurd, and the future events that are foreseen from this. Luckily, the relation between the Asterlyth and the rise of a Dark era has never been made public, or there would be chaos." She sighed. "And there's also the fact that Elektra has used this method when she trained Coleraine, and was successful."

"Coleraine..." Ventura paused. "That's another thing I'm afraid: that the children might become like him."

"What's the problem with him?"

"I respect him, and find him a good, trusting friend, but he scares me. Sometimes he seems... soulless."

"He's the best soldier you could ever find."

"That's it. He's a soldier, a fighter, but that's it. He's almost as cold as Elektra."

"You're being too dramatic."

"Am I?" Her expression went somber. "I don't get you, Professor. You dislike their methods as much as I do, yet you obey them as if you don't have a choice, even though you're the headmistress. Why?"

"You wouldn't understand."

"Try me."

Penumbra sighed. After a long pause, during which she analyzed Ventura's eyes as if in search of something, she spoke. "Dumbledore helped me when I thought I was beyond help. He set my life straight, and gave me a chance to live again."

"What do you mean?" For some reason, Ventura had the impression she was not going to like the answer.

"I can't tell you," Penumbra replied in an almost inaudible voice, rubbing her left arm.

***

Here's the formula," said Snape, holding a large glass phial. "This is to be dissolved into one hundred times its volume in mercury, after which the statue must be immersed in the resulting solution."

"Very well," Coleraine replied, grabbing the phial. "You know, it's a pity I haven't had the chance to greet professor Lupin."

"He is indisposed."

"Yes, I'm aware of his 'indisposition'. And the students?"

"Only six of them are here this Christmas."

"What a pity," joked Coleraine. "They appear not to be smitten by your natural charm."

"They're scared of Sirius Black."

"Yet Potter stayed."

"He is safer here."

"Oh yes, very safe, from what I was told."

"Enough, Hector."

"Don't act like the older brother now, Severus," said Coleraine. "You're a bit too old for that."

And with this, he crossed the door. Snape didn't move for a while, but then turned and went back to his office, his black eyes narrowed.

***

Geno woke up, and realized that there were no snakes, and that her body was free from any injury or feathers. However, she was not on her bedroom.

Opening her eyes, she realized that she was laying on soft grass, and that water was running from a source nearby, creating a brook that escaped through the window...

The window???

She looked up and saw a ceiling. It was then that she noticed that this was a garden inside a large room, and that the water ran to the outside through an extremely large window. However, there seemed to be no doors.

Next to her were the other Avises, who were also waking up. All five of them were wearing what looked like dragon skin, instead of their Ingarnal uniform.

Then she noticed the painting on the wall opposite the window. It was the Lady again, but this time much bigger. On the bottom of the frame a name was engraved:

GWENDOLYN GRYFFINDOR