Prophecy

Rising winds

Alexander Evans noted two things as he entered Manticore Hall. All of the leaders were missing, and the remaining Manticores were gathering in small groups. They had the slightly guilty looks of children caught with one hand in the cookie jar, but under that was spreading anger. He quickened his stride as he crossed the Hall to the hidden door that concealed the Lab where Manticore practiced the Magics and practices that were not taught at Hogwarts. He opened the door and nearly collided with James.

James was pacing up and down the warded corridor that separated the various areas of the lab from each other and didn't even see Alexander come in. Alexander watched James, recognizing the signs of James battling his temper. He walked into the Library section of the room, and grinned at the group gathered there. "Did somebody tell James that the Mountain Cats aren't in the play-offs again?" Alexander was referring to an American Quidditch team that James followed avidly. Melissa handed him a copy of the Daily Prophet, and pointed out the article silently.

A few seconds of reading brought Alexander to Minister Fudge's quote, and he read it three times as his mind processed all the implications of the statement.

"The Ministry of Magic has taken note of the remarkable results of the fledgling Fraternal Order of Manticore results in both the OWLs and the NEWTs. While it is early to tell, the results posted so far are quite interesting. The Ministry is going to be studying the Order this year, to decide if they have any methods that would be of use to the schools of the world in general."

Alexander closed his eyes and thought quickly. Manticore had gotten away with the deception of an Educational Society only because all the adults in Hogwarts were in on the deception, and hadn't said anything. Any outside wizards that spent more than a day or two with the Manticores was going to notice something was up, and would figure out that the Manticores were being trained in War Magic in less than a week. That would not be a good thing at this stage. They had to have at least another year, possibly two before Manticore would be strong enough to survive without any Ministry help, and despite Ministry interference.

James came back to the library and sat in the chair Tiffany was sitting in. They looked at each other for the briefest second, and then James turned to the group. "We have to control this at the school. My father has some plans that would make our task a lot harder, if it becomes necessary for him to get involved, and I'd rather stay in the shadows another year or two anyway." He considered what he'd just said and amended it slightly. "Actually, I would prefer to stay in the shadows until our first assault on the Patient Child's forces."

Ron Stone looked up, regarding James curiously, and with a trace of apprehension in his eyes. "Pardon me, but did you just say that there are things you wound rather not do to protect Manticore? What exactly is your father planning, than makes you hesitate?"

Alexander knew about his brother's plans, and he quite agreed with Tiffany. "So, how do we contain the problem here?" Ron Stone subsided as Alexander changed the subject slightly, turning his mind to the problem at hand, while making a mental note to ask Jerrick about it later.

Rose was thinking the problem through, and applying her Sight to each of the possibilities, and Lisa's quicker mind allowed her to start summing the scenarios first. "Best case, we could induct the entire team into Manticore, and stop worrying about it. Next best case, we can get the leader of the group to join us, and allow that person to control what his group says or reports."

James and Rose had been talking over their private link, and now Tiffany started vocalizing what the twins were thinking. "The first thing we're going to need is the names of the team, and then we can set Jerrick on them. If we can use them, well and good. If not, we'll have to result to other methods. I would prefer to keep our reputation straight, but bribery is rarely reported, unless they get caught with the money."

The rest of the group was used to this, and started discussing possibilities based on the information coming from the twins. Mercy had a quill and parchment out, jotting notes as the group talked. Alexander watched quietly as he thought over the broader picture. The kids were only worried about how this would affect Manticore, but Alexander was the focal point of information from the adults working throughout Europe, and he had to consider who might be in danger of discovery.

He wrote some notes as he watched the Manticores working through all the possibilities that Rose and James were throwing out. Alexander was trying to figure out which people he'd have to warn right away and which ones could be warned later, if it looked like Manticore was going to be exposed.

Alexander watched as the leaders of Manticore decided how they would deal with the problem. James's suggestion that simply removing the root of the problem, by discrediting Minister Fudge was met with smiles, until the rest of the group figured out that he was serious. They persuaded him that doing anything like that might be extreme at this point.

The meeting broke up about an hour later, and the various leaders went off to their teams to inform them of the problem and what the leaders had decided.

James and Rose went to Chimera's table with Tiffany. Rose sat in her window as James and Tiffany went to their favorite loveseat. "James, how long can we hold your father off?" Tiffany was frowning slightly as she thought about the contingency plans in James's head.

"I don't know, Greeneyes. A lot of it will be how well Manticore stays ahead of the situation, and how far undercover we stay." James was thinking hard, talking with Tiffany and Rose at the same time. Rose was writing a letter to their father, informing him of what Manticore was doing and telling him to hold off on doing anything until they had the names of the research team.

James finished the discussions with the two girls and turned to watch the Manticores. The team leaders had told them all what was going on, and James was mildly surprised to find them relaxed. "Why are they so calm?" he asked Tiffany.

"They trust you, James. You'll take care of them."

James closed his eyes. "What are we going to do when I fail? When one of them gets hurt, because they trusted me?" James had been taught as well as a veteran of thirty years of Muggle and Wizard wars could do, and he knew very well that only in stories do the good guys win without anybody getting hurt.

"James, they understand the risks as well as you do, and they understand that you are going to do everything in your power to protect them. All you have to do is your best." Tiffany told him.

James was unconvinced, but allowed Tiffany to have the last word as he began looking over the files Jerrick was building on the first year students. Most of them were rather boring, as most people come from average families that don't hold a lot of interest for intelligence gatherers.

He did spend some time reading the younger Draco's file though. While he had already seen the file Jerrick had on Lisa, and much of this information was the same, he was looking for anything new. He looked over at Lisa, and sent her a thought. "Lisa, what do you think of your brother? Is he worth saving?"

Lisa looked up from her book and stared at James. "He's a human being, James. Of course he is worth saving."

"Do you remember the story Rose and I told you about why we altered the Twinbond in the first place?" James asked. "Would you say that person was worth saving?"

Lisa frowned as she thought about the story behind the Twins' changing the bond so it would carry words and thoughts, rather than emotions. "Maybe he wasn't, but my brother is not that bad yet. We can save him." Lisa looked at James with a somber expression. "You're not going to interfere, are you?"

"No. I want him to be on our side for your sake at least."

James and Lisa talked for a few more minutes, until Rose interrupted them to have Lisa read her pages in the book. James turned back to the paperwork that any organization creates and skimmed through it. Most of it was simple, requests for expendable supplies and the like, but one or two were more important, like the list of Manticore's next of kin. James was folding that list and putting it safely away when he became aware that the Hall was very quiet.

He looked up to see Rose smiling at him. "James, Brother Mine, I have decided that we're going to show Manticore how to play properly. So get up, and prepare to have your ... tush handed to you."

James was already rising. He stood in front of Rose and grinned at her. "Have you been working on a potion with Emma?"

Rose blinked at the strange question. "No, why?"

James smirked at Rose, as he slipped out of his robes, revealing the Manticore uniform underneath them. "I just thought maybe some potion fumes would explain where you got the delusion that you could beat me."

Rose was slipping her robes off as she replied. "So I'm stoned, am I?" she said. "You might be right." She mused. "You have size, height and weight, but then, I have something you don't."

James looked sharply at Rose as she made the last statement. Her voice and emotions had changed as she spoke. He had barely registered the change when she jumped on him, reaching for that spot on his lower ribs that was so sensitive. He caught her hands and pushed her off him, as a thought from Tiffany made him pause.

Tiffany was reading a scroll that Rose had handed her just as she challenged James, and Tiffany was just finishing it. James turned to look at his Soulbonded as she made her decision, and jumped on his back.

Rose redoubled her struggles as Tiffany joined her. "I told you I had something you didn't. I have allies."

The two girls buried James in a giggling pile. Rose knew every ticklish spot on James, and since Tiffany could feel what tickled him the most, she knew them as well. Between laughing and trying to fend off four hands, James was losing until he got Tiffany's head in his hands and kissed her. While he kissed her, he deliberately flooded their Soulbond with what he felt for Tiffany. Tiffany pulled back. "That's cheating, James" sheaccused.

"All's fair in love and war, and this game appears to be both." James grinned as he held Rose off.

"Really? Then this should be fair also," Tiffany said. She bent down and kissed James, running her hands over his chest. James lost Rose's hands, and Rose took advantage of his distraction to get his ribs on both sides.

James jerked as her fingers found the most sensitive spot under his ribs, and jerked, trying to twist away from Rose's fingers. In doing so, he hit Tiffany in the nose with his forehead, sending a wave of pain through both their noses. Tiffany and James stopped, and Rose stopped a second later as the Twinbond told her what had happened.

Tiffany was holding her nose, and blood was starting to leak out from between her fingers, which was only to be expected, but the blood coming from James's nose caught them all by surprise.

Melissa was already moving toward them, and she used her Healing talent to stop the flow from Tiffany's nose while she looked at James. "A little earlier than I had expected, but a good sign."

"Excuse me? You expected this?" asked James as he pinched his nose to stop the bleeding.

"Of course," Melissa said calmly, as she finished with Tiffany, and moved over to James. "It happens to all Soulbonded in their third or fourth year, and is the last physical sign that your Soulbond is complete. Maybe this will calm you down some."

"Are you trying to tell me that every time I get hurt, Tiffany is going to get hurt the same way?"

"James is going to get every injury I get?"

Melissa blinked as both of them flooded her link with questions at the same time, and answered them both as she finished Healing James. "Exactly. Your bodies are now completely in tune with each other, and anything that happens to one of you will happen to the other."

"Melissa, please tell me I'm not going to start bleeding once a month." Tiffany choked as she thought about James's question, and James was staring at Melissa, waiting for her answer.

Melissa smiled, as she pulled out her notebook and started writing more notes on the Soulbond. "Actually, I don't know. None of the research goes into that level of detail, and it has been a matter of debate in the family for some time now. I'm so glad I get to settle the debate once and for all."

James and Tiffany looked at each other, and Tiffany was torn between sympathy for her other half, and amusement at his rising panic as he tried to remember how long it had been since Tiffany's last time. "James, don't worry about it, you've got nine or ten days before you can do anything about it anyway."

"Greeneyes, in case you haven't noticed, I am not built to do that. I am just a little concerned about where I am going to start bleeding from, if I do." James sighed, as he rubbed his eyes. "I wish Elric and Cassandra would make another of those after death appearances to talk to us, instead of just leaving cryptic books behind. Or at least leave their diary behind. These side effects of the Soulbond would be easier to deal with if I knew they were coming."

Tiffany moved over and sat in the loveseat with James. Leaning her head on his shoulder, she began soothing him. They relaxed, discussing this new facet of the bond as Tiffany got James to sit in front of her so she could brush his hair.

The days passed, and James was unable to hide his relief when it turned out that he would not be bleeding once a month, an event that gave no small amusement to the rest of Chimera.

As November turned into December, Albus Dumbledore brought the names of the Ministry people that would be showing up after the winter holidays. Jerrick started more of his files, and started finding out everything they could about the five people Minister Fudge was sending.

Emma and Hangeld were working in the Lab on the first Saturday in December, trying another of Emma's endless experiments when something unexpected happened. Hangeld was cutting some roots for their potion while Emma set up the small cauldron they would be using for the experiment, and barely noticed when Emma picked up her wand to light the fire under the cauldron.

"Incendio" Emma said, pointing her wand at the cauldron, just as she'd done a hundred times before. She blinked when nothing happened, and tried again. When the cauldron didn't light again, she checked to make sure she had her wand, and not someone else's first. Then she set her wand down and checked the cauldron for one of the prank disks that were starting to show up all over the school as the Green Flower line became popular. When she didn't find anything, she stood back and regarded the cauldron irritably. "Why won't you burn?" she asked it. As she spoke the word burn, a tingle ran down her arm and the cauldron ignited.

Emma froze, staring at the cauldron and her wand, which was still lying next to the cauldron, while she thought about what had just happened. Everyone knew that controlled magic without a wand was simply not possible, but something had just happened.

"Are you ready for the roots?" asked Hangeld, moving up behind her, and breaking her concentration.

Emma shook her head, and looked at him. She picked up her wand and looked at the potion list she was working from. "Not yet, we have to bring the first two to a slow simmer first."

Emma and Hangeld spend another two hours on the potion, and since Emma's wand worked normally on the few occasions when she used it, she gradually forgot the strange event. They actually managed to finish the experiment without any accidents, and trooped down to Hagrid's cabin to see if he would allow them to try it on a couple of the animals he had.

Hagrid listened to their request and then looked at the potion bottle Emma was carrying dubiously. "You want to dose one of my beasties with one of your experiments?" he asked, scratching his head. "I don't know about that. I've heard a lot of stories about your experiments, and I'd rather not let you turn one of my friends into something else."

Emma blushed, but spoke up quickly. "The potion only lasts a couple of hours, and it's very harmless. All it's supposed to do is calm an animal down, and reduce it to one quarter of its normal size. It's supposed to be an aid in moving Dragons and other large creatures that can be aggressive."

Hangeld smiled at his father, adding his say. "You can be there the entire time, and if anything goes wrong, we'll fix it before dinner."

Hagrid looked toward the ceiling. "Maybe so, but the only animals here right now are small enough as is, and none of them are very emotional."

Hangeld grinned at his father, and lowered his voice. "Father, I know better than that. I know about your pens in the forest."

Hagrid flushed and looked at Emma. "I suppose you know about them as well?"

Emma shrugged. "Hangeld might have mentioned something about it, but since I'm not allowed in the forest, it wouldn't matter to me, now would it?" She looked around, and then smiled impishly at Hagrid. "Besides, my father is convinced that you have populated the entire forest with," Emma chewed on her bottom lip, thinking about the names she was looking for, "Blast bottom skinks, or something like that anyway."

Hagrid looked puzzled for a minute and then smiled. "Your father meant the Blast-Ended Skrewts. No, there aren't any of those in the Forest." Hagrid looked wistful for a minute. "I wish there were, I've thought of a couple of tricks to teach them."

Hagrid finally agreed to let them dose one of the animals, and led them into the forest behind his cabin. They walked a short distance into the forest, and Hagrid led them into a grove. Inside the grove were several pens made of large logs and stones. Most of them were empty, but ominous roars and growls were coming from a couple of them.

Hagrid stopped in front of one of them, and smiled as the beast inside hurled itself against the wall of the pen, causing it to shake. "I've been needing to get into Flower's pen for a few days, but she's a bit irritable right now, and I haven't been able to."

Emma listened to the roars from the pen and turned to Hagrid. "Flower?" she said, making the name a question.

Hagrid smiled, as he pulled a large slab of meat from the bag he had been carrying. "Aye, and the wee girl is one of the finest Manticores I've ever had the pleasure of seeing."

Emma blinked, and then grinned. "You have a real Manticore in there?"

"Aye, and don't you be telling that Yank of yours. He'd be trying to train the poor girl for this war of ours, and she's a peaceful beastie most of the time. Right now she's just in heat, and can't get any relief." Hagrid stared at Emma and Hangeld until they agreed not to tell James about the Manticore. He made a cut in the meat and Emma poured the potion in the cavity. Hagrid threw the meat over the fence, and they settled down to wait as a loud chomp and chewing sounds told them that the bait had been taken.

They didn't have to wait long. The growls from the pen began lower and less angry sounding, and in just a few minutes, they settled down into a low purr. Hagrid opened the pen cautiously, and peered inside. He smiled, and looked back at the two students. "If you want to see her, she seems calm enough."

Emma got up and looked inside the enclosure. She looked at the Manticore and back at Hagrid. "Did the potion's shrinking effect fail? I thought a Manticore was only the size of a horse." The Manticore inside the pen was just a little smaller than a horse.

Hagrid smiled as he walked over and began scratching the Manticore's back between the wings, an action that caused Flower to spread her wings out and lower her head to the ground, allowing Hagrid better access. "Aye, it worked. Didn't I say she was one of the finest Manticores I'd ever seen?"

Hagrid regarded Flower carefully. "Although, I don't think she's a quarter of her normal size. It looks more like a third."

Emma nodded, already making notes about the potion. "Would you check her over and tell me if you find anything wrong with her please?"

Emma made notes while Hangeld helped his father carefully move the Manticore's paws and wings so that Hagrid could touch and probe various places on the animal. Emma looked up as Hagrid's voice became a bit concerned, and watched in bemusement as Hagrid put his arm in the Manticore's mouth nearly to the elbow. "She's very dry. I think this potion of yours dehydrates her a bit."

Hagrid finished his examination and went to the stone walled cave he had built in the pen. "I've got a couple of things to do here, watch Flower while I work."

Emma nodded absently, as she tried to figure out why the potion was dehydrating the animal. Hangeld stayed by the animal, talking to her in a low voice while he scratched between the wings as he'd seen his father doing.

It was about an hour later when the peaceful scene was broken suddenly. Hangeld had been grooming the Manticore's wings, and in moving around her, he stepped on her slowly twitching tail.

Flower took exception to that, and showed her displeasure with an instinctive attack. Her tail ended in an oblong ball, and it had a number of quills in it. When Hangeld stepped on her tail, she snarled and released three of them at the source of her pain.

Hangeld groaned in pain, and Emma felt a dim pain as the Chimera link relayed what was happening. She looked up as Hangeld looked down, and both of them saw the three quills buried in Hangeld's thigh. Emma watched in horror as Hangeld staggered and fell over.