Hogwarts: Era of Darkness

Following Fleur was making me nervous. Was I afraid of her? No... it wasn't that... something else was pricking at my nerves, like an invisible enemy that lurked within the trees.

"Be careful!" As we walked past a massive spiderweb hanging between two trees, she spoke to me, "This is already their territory, and day they exist underground but still dangerous!"

"I know. I read all that is to them! I was planning to find the entrance to one of their hidey-holes and send down flames, forcing them out."

"Mhm, similair plan here." She nodded, flashing a flask in her hand. "We use this. Pour it down, watch them come and kill all!"

"What is it?" I asked, but somehow I already knew. A simple glance, a smell, even if it was sealed perfectly... I was sure of her answer.

"Basilisk blood."

I wanted to ask how she got their hands on it... but I knew that it would be futile. She wouldn't tell me or simply lie. I would do the same in her shoes! Was it from... our basilisk? Its corpse did disappear... but no, that wouldn't be possible! If that was the case, then that would mean we had a traitor amongst us. Who? The Headmaster? Yeah, sure... not a chance. That would not be possible!

"Scared?" She smiled, looking back over her shoulder, "Blood can't hurt you."

"No, I am not scared; I was just wondering where you got something so dangerous and so rare."

"Our school ancient and rich. Ingredients is what we lack not!"

"Sure."

I was not in the mood to start a verbal argument, not when we were in the spiders' territory. I watched as she led me to the entrance of a hole covered with leaves and sticks... clever little beasts. The moment she pulled out the cork, I felt the ground shaking a little, and I could hear dozens of legs scampering below us.

It took less than a minute when the first dog-sized spider emerged and was hit by an exploding spell from Fleur's wand, killing it. I didn't hesitate or hold back, attacking in tandem with her as more and more spiders emerged from underground, screeching and wailing. They didn't look at us or attack us as they were trying to escape, doing everything in their power to get as far away as possible.

It was... a complete massacre. I was now glad Conrad didn't come; if they reacted this to a little bit of blood, his presence would have made it impossible to slay so many of them and have an easy shot at extracting their venom... they would be gone before meeting them!

"Quick! Blood will soon fade; we must hurry!"

Fleur said hurriedly while lowering her wand, flicking her long hair as she rushed forward and began to expertly extract the venom from their nasty, slimy mouths... I was a bit surprised to see her work so efficiently and without making a fuss. I expected her to be more... pissy about it. But she was right. I didn't wait for a second reminder and chose to do the same, but in a way, I could keep one eye on her. It was still a competition, and she could turn against me at any moment...

"...!" Just as I thought about it, I heard it... I knew I couldn't trust her! I could hear steps coming towards us, they were fast, animal-like... yet she didn't look worried when hearing it, no... she looked... confused? Especially when I finally noticed the two dogs coming out from the woods, one black and one grey, turning their heads back and forth, watching us.

"..."

What was weird was that Fleur remained calm and collected, looking at me once and then at the dogs. Something was not right... she wasn't raising her wand or preparing any spells... and the dogs were also strange. The intelligence in their eyes was almost... human-like...

"Ah!" It clicked immediately. These were animagi! I think they also knew, I realized as they changed forms, turning into people whom I vaguely felt familiar with. Were they... the same people as-

"What you doing?" Fleur asked, breaking my thought process as I started backing away, holding my wand, and pointing it at them.

"Making sure that everything is fine." The one who was the black dog answered, watching his compatriot whose eye was transfixed on me. It was... a weird and uncomfortable feeling.

"Bad idea. Now what we do with her?"

Fleur complained, making me realize they were working together... Were they from the Order?! But that would mean that Conrad's Father-

"We can't kill!" She added quickly, but... What?! I felt my legs tremble for a moment... if they wanted to kill me, I wouldn't be able to defeat three people...

"Of course not!" Snapped the man who previously appeared as a grey dog. "She is my daughter!"

"..."

It wasn't just me who fell silent... but Fleur too. I couldn't believe my ears... was that my Father? That... vagrant-looking man with a sunken face and greasy hair? I would have thought he was a bum! But... those eyes. I remember watching the family photos many times back home. I remember those eyes... then the other one must be Sirius, my Uncle. Damn it... what are they doing here?!

"Does Dumbledore know?" Fleur asked, and the name alone made everyone shudder, and now I was sure. These were all members of the Order, and they had already infiltrated us! But what really troubled me was that I am sure they were hiding in our village! I saw them! Did Conrad know about it? Or... Did his Father know about it? He had to! No way they would have remained hidden if not for him!

"Quincy..."

The way he said my name made my legs shake even more as I raised my wand at him... but I couldn't stop it from trembling between my fingers.

"To you, it's Miss Anguine!" I answered, trying my hardest not to let my voice break.

"My ass you are! You are a Black, like us!" He snapped at me while I saw Sirius place a hand on his shoulder.

"We are not here to hurt you." My uncle continued in a much calmer and friendlier voice, "We were worried about you, so we just came to make sure you are not injured!"

"I don't believe you!" was my firm answer, and I even looked at Fleur, who took a step back, signaling she wanted nothing to do with this.

"Quincy... listen, dad came because-"

"You are not my dad!" Even I was surprised by the strength of my voice when I shot a furious glare at him, and I could see the surprise and pain in his face... in his eyes. Good... good! I hoped it hurt a lot because I know how it feels! "Don't you dare call me by my name and call yourself my father when you were nowhere to be seen in my life until now!"

"I-"

"The moment you abandoned me, you gave up the right to call me your daughter! So go away... Regulus Black!"

"We understand what you feel," Sirius continued as my supposed 'father' was left speechless and frozen in place. "But we are not your enemy! We are here to help you!"

"Help me? Hah! Great joke! I'm not falling for that! Just wait until I get back... then-"

"Angus Anguine is part of the Order of the Phoenix." Sirius continued, and it was now he who interrupted me. "You have to trust us... You two were still too young to be inducted, but now that all comes down to this... this is too dangerous for you! You must come with us, or you will be in grave danger!"

"Yes!" My so-called 'father' finally found his voice again, but I would have been happier if he had just never talked to me... never again! "Big things will happen, and it isn't safe for you! You must come with us! Quincy!"

"Don't call me by my name! And I am not going anywhere! Not without Conrad!"

"For-"

"He will join us later." Sirius interrupted him, but I somehow had a feeling I knew what Regulus Black wanted to say to me... I could hear his unfinished words in my head.

"I don't believe you. No deal!" There was no time to hesitate. Before any of them could react, I jumped and turned into my owl form in mid-air. I was already close to the canopy of the trees when I heard a shout... then I felt a slight pain spreading through my back, and everything went dark...

...
....
......

It was shocking when Quincy turned into an owl, as no one thought she would be an animagus... It was not just a surprise for the Black brothers but also evoked a strange feeling, making them proud of Quincy deep within their hearts. Still, they just couldn't let her go... but none of them were ready to cast any spells.

"Stupefy!" Shouted Fleur in the end, aiming perfectly and hitting Quincy's small form, who transformed back into a human in mid-air just so Regulus could catch her before hitting the ground.

"Are you trying to kill my daughter?!" He roared at the young woman, holding the unconscious Quincy.

"Je ne suis pas maléfique.¹I am not evil." She replied with a dark look, clearly unsatisfied with Regulus... no, she was furious with him. "La punition viendra plus tard... pour l'instant... partez! Avant que les ennuis ne nous trouvent!²Punishment will come later... for now... leave! Before trouble comes and finds us!" She didn't wait for their answer and hurried away, continuing to curse in French, making Sirius twitch his mouth while walking up to his younger brother.

"She is right... come! We need to hurry and disappear! I will make our trail disappear, and if she wakes up before we get back in our hiding hole, it will be trouble for real!"

"Tsk... yeah... okay, let's go! At least I got her back! She will be safe from now on and won't have to worry about caching a stray spell!" Regulus murmured, watching his daughter's face, almost feeling like he could cry.

"What about the kid?" Sirius asked, looking towards where Hogwarts was.

"Who cares? He is a Death Eater! Let him rot along with his kind!"

"Were you not one, too?"

"I brought the first Horcrux to Dumbledore... I couldn't have done it without it. If not for me, we wouldn't have known what he did! He? He killed when he was only 12!" He countered sharply, but Sirius wasn't having it right now.

"You weren't any better and didn't know what you had! It needed Horace's confirmation to make sure!"

"I-"

"I know!" He raised his voice as the two brothers began leaving, "I am not saying you didn't provide great help to defeat the Dark Lord... but don't forget that everyone makes mistakes! And that kid is just that... a kid. Quincy loves him..."

"She is simply brainwashed as she didn't know better! Drop it! Let's go! She will see the light soon enough!"

"Yeah..." Sirius sighed, shaking his head, thinking silently, "Ironic as we live underground... but I hope you are right, little brother."