Hogwarts: Era of Darkness

The Yule Ball. I didn't understand the frustration and fear that some of my classmates showed as it got closer and closer. Isn't it just dancing and having fun? Where is the issue there?

"You are weird..." The others sighed as we sat at dinner in the Great Hall. People from our group converged around Quincy and me, joining the Slytherin table from all the other houses. At first, it garnered strange looks from others and even from the teachers, but as it happened every day, nobody spoke up against it.

"It's just dancing!" I repeated it for the hundredth time.

"Yes, before everyone else!" They retorted, looking at each other. "Quincy, what do you think?"

"Hm?" She looked up from her plate, too occupied by enjoying her dinner. "It will be my first ball to attend."

"No, we are asking if you are nervous or not!" The others questioned her again, but she just tilted her head, not getting their troubled looks. "I was made to practice dancing and whatnot when I was younger."

"Same." Some other girls chimed in, feeling just as confident.

"It isn't a big deal!" I chuckled, trying to calm them down, "First things first. It will be us, the champions, who will waltz in and start dancing before everybody. Nobody will start scrutinizing the others when the first dance finishes to see if they did it right! So why are you all so nervous? It should be us biting down our nails!"

After what we went through in the past years or just in the past month, dancing before everybody else sounded perfectly fine. A little release from all the troubles brewing in the background and a night where we don't deal with problems.

"I am more worried about making everyone laugh... My family is not the wealthiest, so I have an old-fashioned dress." said another boy, turning red in the face.

"It doesn't matter." I spoke up before he could feel bad about it, "So what if others can dress fancier? What matters is what is underneath it! So, we should just go naked- OW! Why?!" I moaned as Quincy elbowed me while the others began laughing.

"Don't be pervy. It is enough that the Rat is one."

"Oookaaaay!" I moaned playfully while Quincy looked at the guys from Gryffindor.

"Is he that bad in private, too? How are you handling him?" She asked, thinking about something.

"The Professor? He mostly latches himself onto the freshmen." One guy sighed, leaning closer, speaking more quietly. "He is the most unsecure teacher here, and his favorite pastime is making the young students praise him! So, as long as you compliment him, he looks the other way. What you can't get used to is him turning into a rat and sneaking up on you. When he feels like some secrets are being discussed, he always wants to learn about them. It is a hassle, but after years of dealing with it, we have become experts in avoiding being discovered!"

"Yep!" Another Gryffindor student nodded agreeingly, "It is like he trained us to how to avoid being detected when doing something undercover!"

While the others were laughing, I kept glancing at Quincy, knowing her question wasn't just thrown out randomly. When dinner ended and we returned to our rooms, I finally had a chance to ask her.

"What is it? Did something happen you didn't tell me yet?"

"Sirius and Regulus talked about him while I was locked up." She began while undressing and changing into her pajamas. I wanted to ask why she called her father Regulus but decided against it. Knowing all that I do now... yeah, I wouldn't call him 'father' either. "Supposedly, he was a friend of theirs, but he betrayed them."

"Hmmm? What I remember from what we were taught is that the Rat-man was supposed to be a double agent in the Order. He was the key to ambushing them and chasing Dumbledore out of Hogwarts."

"The brothers told a different story when they were trying to turn me." She continued, retelling me everything, "By their account, or Sirius's, the Professor was part of their group, called Marauders. It consisted of Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs."

"Wormtail..." I chuckled, and Quincy smiled at me as we sat down on our bed. "What lame names!"

"Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, Sirius Black, and James Potter. In this order. From what Sirius told me, this Potter guy was the leader in their group."

"Oh, I heard that name!" I nodded, remembering the stories I heard being retold occasionally, "They were one of the key families in the Order, yes? Staunch supporters of Dumbledore and the family who have chosen death instead of acknowledging HIM."

"They said more than that." She continued, holding my hand and looking into my eyes. "They told me that there was a prophecy! It foretold that a boy will be born who will be ordained by magic to destroy the Dark Lord. The prophecy said that Magic is Nature and always balances itself out. The boy was born... or, more specifically, boys."

"Twins?" I asked, but she shook her head.

"Two separate boys were born on the same date the prophecy foretold, and HE attacked both on the day Dumbledore fled the country!"

"I know that the Potters died, and it was what secured that day's victory..."

"Yes, but the second boy survived." She interjected before I could continue my thoughts, "I don't know if HE knows it, but Sirius told me that the prophecy is still coming true. The death of the Potters only made it even more genuine, and the chosen one is growing up to be a powerful wizard!"

"Heh! And they wanted to draw you over with this tale?" I grinned, but I couldn't help but slowly stop smiling because she remained just as serious.

"They told me because I know that boy. And you know him too!"

"I do?"

"It's Neville. Her parents and most of the Weasely family died to protect him as a baby."

"Damn!" I yelled with a sharp intake, thinking it through and realizing my Father was in on it probably before I was even born. He has been helping them for more than a decade! Why? I wanted to know, but I could not find out right now. All I could do is to trust him.

"I tried asking." Quincy continued after a brief pause, watching my changing expressions, reading my thoughts perfectly. "They didn't say why. But what I gathered is that they are not trusting your Father. He helps them, but he is... working for his own goal. That is what I feel."

"Um... That does sound like him... haah... this is a lot."

"It is. They wanted to convince me with this information that I needed to be on their side... but I am on your side! If you join them, I will follow... otherwise... no."

"No. Father told me once to follow my decisions and my feelings. I am not trusting them, period!"

"I knew you would say that!" She chuckled, leaning closer, kissing my lips as we lay back on our bed, hugging each other closely. "We will need to warn the others to avoid the Professor. The way Sirius and Regulus were talking about him, they would want to find him in the chaos and kill him. Anyone getting in their way would be in danger!"

"Mhm, then we will make sure they avoid him at all costs! Although, if the rumors are true, they won't hurt us, no? Isn't their overall motto exactly this? Being the 'good guys' and all that?"

"Are there any good guys?" She asked, and she remained very serious. "When Dumbledore interrogated me, he was kind and friendly, but there was no way to resist him. I don't know what spell he used, but I couldn't say no, nor could I lie to him. I told him everything, Conrad."

"It is fine!" I hugged her closer, knowing she was feeling guilty about it. "Don't worry about it! And yes... there are no good guys. I think there never was. Well, I could not be called one anyway after my first year!"

"Hehe... idiot..."

"Yep! That fits perfectly!" I chuckled, stroking her head, enjoying her sweet scent as we slipped into a deep sleep.

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

"I looked at everything and everybody. It didn't leak from us! Our side didn't pass information on to the kid. So, it had to come from outside or directly from the kid's head. What do we know about those options?" Alastor Moody asked, leaning on his walking stick, having a private meeting with Dumbledore and Nicolas Flamel somewhere below Hogsmeade.

"It could be the ritual you learned about, Albus." Flamel concluded, looking for answers to the possibility that Conrad and Quincy still remembered everything even after he ripped their memories out.

"I thought the same." The old wizard nodded, stroking his beard, "I couldn't force the child to reveal the proper ritual circle as it was drawn by the boy. But from what she managed to replicate from memory, it is ancient and dark. It is my conjecture that it's blood magic."

"Blood magic is nothing but a legend from ancient times!" Moody countered, knocking with his stick on the floor, "It may have existed, I will agree on that, but no texts remain that describe it, only words of mouth! It was already lost magic when Hogwarts was founded! Do you want to tell me a kid rediscovered it? In Hogwarts? Please, you were a Headmaster for longer than his father was a dream in his father's dreams! If it existed, you would have found it!"

"Hogwarts, and magic itself, has secrets that can only be discovered by those who are chosen to do so." Dumbledore answered, playing with his wand between his hands, looking at it with transfixed eyes.

"Chosen by whom?" Moody countered, and it was Flamel who answered his question.

"By fate. Countless alchemists looked for the Philosopher's Stone. Yet I brought it into reality when I was not even searching for it."

"It is futile to theorize!" Dumbledore added, coming out of his deep thinking, putting his wand away, "The kid has found something dangerous, and he is playing with fire that could burn down the world. We need to stop letting a second Tom appear before the first one is even vanquished! Flamel, can you help Charlie get into the scene of the Second Trial? We need to boost its effectiveness so the boy doesn't survive."

Nobody said anything at first, looking at Dumbledore and how quickly and easily he signed the death warrant of a young, promising child. The son of one of their key figures in the upcoming operation.

"Angus won't sit still." Moody whispered, being the first to speak up.

"It will trigger the battle." Dumbledore nodded, agreeing with him, "He will have no choice but to act. He came too far; he can't back out. Sacrifices must be made, and when evil is defeated, I am willing to take all the responsibility and appear before a court! But until then, we can't flinch! We must stand strong, or light never shines on the wizarding world ever again! This is for the Greater Good of all the wizards and witches!"

"I lived through countless muggle wars and eras." Flamel lamented with a sigh, "In their history, such things have happened way too many times."

"Speaking of muggles... this reminds me that you are still missing two students, yes?" Moody asked, turning his magical eye at him. "Any luck?"

"No." He shook his head, "I am sure that they are dead."

"Of course they are!" Moody scoffed, picking out a flask from his pocket and swinging it. "I'm just saying, start looking within your kids for clues!"

"They wouldn't betray us!" Flamel answered with a raised voice, trusting his students with all his heart.

"I am not saying that!" Moody shot back with an even stronger voice, starting to hobble towards the door of their dark room, "I am saying that they may have been compromised! If I would be allowed to leave this damned labyrinth before time, I would have already found the bodies of your boys!"

His parting words made Flamel flinch and planted a thought he could no longer chase out. It was something that spurred him to start investigating and look into the head of his chosen champions, finding something troubling...