Chapter 5
There’s a chill in the air, a ghostly whisper urging him on, but there is no reason to rush; the door is right there, after all, and it’s not going anywhere. Distantly, footsteps walk up and down and a clock steadily tick-tick-ticks, reverberating like a haunting melody. The scent of ancient magic hangs think in the air, it’s metallic tang pulsating invitingly, it is powerful, he knows, and it will be his.
Below him, the tiles are cold and dark, as unyielding as his scales but they unfold for him and he glides, navigating this daunting labyrinth with grace. Symbols are etched in the stone, writhing with a life of their own that bore witness to centuries of secrets; secrets that are the prey to his predator, and the hunt has never been so exquisite.
Green flames flicker above, casting elongated shadows that dance elegantly on the stone, teasing the light. For a moment he is shroud in darkness, until an ethereal beacon shines down at him. He coils and twists, faster with each one, closer with each one.
The doorknob gleams and he can just about make out a-
Harry shoots up.
He is breathing heavily, sat in a puddle of his own sweat, he can hear the sound of the others snoring away through his closed curtains. The simple fact that he has two legs and two arms brings him a startling sense of relief and he allows himself to fall back with a groan. Pressing the heel of his palm against his tightly shut eyes, hard enough to see stars, he desperately tries to decipher the dream, but to no avail.
The dream - or was it a nightmare? - felt real. The vivid scenes evoking a feeling he didn’t quite understand from within him. It was something of a mix between satisfaction, desperation, longing and greed; he felt pulled by the mysterious door and it’s doorknob. Something sparked in him. He had seen something on the doorknob, a symbol carved into the curved, golden surface. He could just barely make it out, it looked, almost like some sort of-
Ron snored loudly and the epiphany evaded him.
~~~~~~~
Harry grinned from between Ron and Hermione, watching as his classmates huddled together, whispering to each other in anticipation. They were stood outside the new tower, waiting for their Professor to begin the DADA lesson. Apart from Remus, they hadn’t had any Professor’s who they actually felt like they’d learn anything from, and from the disappointment with Umbridge, everyone couldn’t wait to see how the new Professor does.
They had been told to only bring themselves and their wands, Hermione begrudgingly accepting the fact that the textbooks would only be used for the theory lessons, and were told to wait outside the tower early as the door will later not accept anyone who tried to enter late. It was a testament to everyone’s excitement that they were all stood waiting five minutes before the lesson was due to start.
Finally, a big an iron door with an arched top came into existence with a golden glow at the exact second the class started. The door opened inward on its own and Harry’s classmates rushed to enter, giggling all the while.
The first thing they could see was a long duelling stage across the middle of the room with chairs arranged so each one could face the stage on one side of it and Blackboards and a teachers desk on the other side. Around the open area, they could see multiple doors around the edges of the room with stairs behind them leading up to two more levels with the same doors, each level guarded by golden railings to allow for spectating down onto the stage.
Dean walked closer to the chairs and loudly proclaimed their names were written on a box on all the chairs, Harry separated from his friends to look for his name, which he found on the far left of the stage.
Carefully he opened his box and picked up a neatly folded robe, holding it out in front of him to inspect it. It was a duelling robe, plain black in colour and made out of a sturdy, high quality material. At first sight it was clearly too big for him but when he replaced his school robes for it, it shrunk to fit to him perfectly. Smiling he neatly folded his school robes into the box and blinked as the box vanished, as he sat he scanned the room, easily picking out his friends scattered throughout the room.
He scowled as he noticed Malfoy sat beside him, getting a sneer reminiscent to Snape’s but falling short of it in return, but before Malfoy could open his mouth to say anything a deep rumble came from above.
They snapped their heads to watch as a black panther leapt from the highest floor and landed gracefully onto the stage, a familiar blindfold covering it’s eyes. The panther prowled on the stage, hissing and snapping at them occasionally, sharp teeth glinting in the light. Slowly it stalked closer to the students, starting on the right and weaving between the chairs, sniffing the students and growling when anyone tried to pet it’s head. The closer it got to Harry the weirder he felt, he got his wand out, not pointing it at the panther just yet but ready to just in case.
A hand on his shoulder startled him from his eye contact with the panther.
“How disappointing.” A voice drawled from behind him, where he was still watching the panther. From the corner of his eye he could see Malfoy jump up, chair crashing harshly behind him as his wand pointed straight at the panther. “Aside from Mr. Potter here, all of you are dead… Can anyone hazard a guess why?” The hand was removed from his shoulder and the professor snapped his fingers close to his ears, the sound piercing the silence.
The panther shifted with the snap, body morphing into black particles which blew away, disappearing into thin air. The class was utterly still, the Professors steps echoing as he walked up onto the stage and faced them. Malfoy sat down, not meeting his eyes and instead glaring at the ground.
“You walk in, into unknown grounds, immediately wear something unfamiliar to you, you then allow a growling beast to get close and even attempt to pet it - unarmed. Why?” No one dared to answer. “Worse still, then, none of you seem to understand.”
Hermione slowly raised her hand and cleared her throat when the Professor nodded to her, “W-we assumed it was you, sir.”
“Why ever would you do that?”
“The blind…fold.” Hermione grimaced.
“The blindfold.” He repeated. “Tell me, Miss Granger, why that was a mistake.”
“It could have been anyone wearing the blindfold, we were wrong to assume it was you and conclude we were safe.”
With a final nod he took a step back and addressed the class, waiting until everyone sat up and looked up at him, noticing the change in his demeanour.
“Welcome to your fifth year of Defence Against the Dark Arts. I am sure you all have heard the speech about your Ordinary Wizarding Levels from your other Professors and I do hope you understand it’s importance. However, this class is not merely a requisite on your academic journey. It is a discipline that demands respect, focus, and an unwavering will. Here, your magical abilities, strength of character and determination will be tested. We will delve into advanced magical techniques and cultivate the art of strategic thinking. You will be pushed to your limits, and perhaps beyond, for only through challenge do we discover our true potential.
Your success is not measured solely by you ability to cast spells or memorise incantations. It is measured by your resilience in the face of adversity, your empathy for those who may be defenceless and your dedication to your principles.
Now, stand, take out your wands, and let us begin our lesson. Today, I will teach you the spell to reveal the presence of human beings: Homenum Revelio.”
As he said the incantation, a wave of blue shot out from him across the room, swirling around each of them and then behind them, revealing multiples copies of Professor Aurelianus.
Harry and his classmates spluttered, looking between the copies beside them and the original, or so they hoped, still standing on the duelling platform, watching over them.
His copy grinned, “Greetings, Mr Potter. Fret not, I am your Professor Aurelianus too, I assure you. Now, if you will point your wand to your right, I will direct your wand movement; there is another me hiding there, your task is to find it.”
He watched as the Professor carefully waved a stick and repeated the movement, carefully pronouncing the incantation. He groaned as nothing happened.
“That’s alright, let’s go again.” The Professor said and Harry steeled himself, raising his wand.
His second and third attempts were failures, but his fourth successfully revealed another Professor that goofily grinned, his hands forming two thumbs-up. Beside him, the first copy pinched the bridge of his nose, shaking his head disapprovingly but unable to hide the good-natured smile stretching onto his face. Harry chuckled and repeated the spell when the second copy disappeared again, this time it was in the middle of a hand stand and looked offended at having been interrupted.
As Harry continued practising the spell on the playful copy, the copy beside him congratulated him, occasionally pointing out mistakes and giving advise to improve his casting time.
“I was impressed you thought to be wary of the panther.” He said, “how did you come to that conclusion?”
“I- I’m not sure, Professor, it just didn’t… feel real or like an Animagus would.”
“Your magic is very instinctive, then?”
Besides them, Malfoy’s wand lets out the familiar wave of blue, his copy of Professor Aurelianus sipping tea with an air of profound contemplation.
“I suppose, yes.” Harry replies and repeats the incantation again, turning to see his own copy attempting to read an upside down book. “Professor Aurelianus, I noticed you don’t use a wand, how did you learn to do that?” The second copy disappeared and this time he had to try the spell at different places to find the copy walking back onto the stage.
He turned fully to face the first copy who brought his fist up between them and opened it, palm up, to hold a golden ball of fire that danced merrily, lighting up the Professors brown skin to glow a warm gold, the runes on his blindfold reflected the dance of the flames, making them look alive.
He smiled at Harry, “Rather, Mr Potter, I first learned wandless magic. I find that wands tend to limit me, you see.” He closed his fist and slowly started to vanish, “we’ll talk more on it later.”
From the stage the Professor clapped his hands together once and from it a shockwave passed over the entire room, changing the tower into a dense, dark forest, “Let’s play a game of hide and seek.” He grinned and disappeared leaving a door with a neon ‘exit’ sign behind.
~~~~~~~
“He’s not coming, is he?” Godric Gryffindor sniffed from where he was slumped in his portrait.
“No.” Rowena Ravenclaw said, turning the page of a book she had borrowed from another portrait.
“Nope!” Salazar Slytherin chuckled, watching as the other portraits argued amongst each other.
“I don’t think so, no.” Helga Hufflepuff sipped on her cup of tea, and then taking pity she said, “for what it’s worth, I don’t think he knows to come.”
“Currently, he doesn’t know much of anything.” Rowena looked up from her book, eyes sharp and hiding a speck of sadness.
“Nope.” Salazar echoed, more solemnly than before. “I dread the day he does; it will break his heart.”
Godric eyed his fellow founders and plastered a huge grin on his face, swiftly moving into Salazar’s portrait and wrapping an arm around the man’s shoulders, leaning in to watch the others with him, “Someone should tell Black.”
“I don’t think so, no.” Helga hid a smile against the rim of her tea cup.
Rowena openly giggled, “Someone should tell Dumbledore.”
~~~~~~~
Severus Snape silently walked into his room, finally able to sleep in his own bed now that Albus had been allowed back in his room. The castle had continued to send him small inconveniences, stubborn yet caring in a way that reminded him of it’s owner so much that his heart ached.
He thought back to his conversation with Granger; he wasn’t lying when he said he knew Martin would do anything he can to help in the fight against the Dark Lord nor was he lying when he said he was stopped from telling Martin everything when he thought about how he blocked his magic. Though, it wasn’t the whole truth to say that what little he might be able to do would not be worth it. Severus had spent all his free time in both the Hogwarts’ library and his own trying to learn more about the old religion, only to not be able to find anything on the subject. Finally, he had asked Albus, who had a far away look on his face when he said “In all my studies, I have never been able to solve this mystery. The one thing I do know, is that it is a… type of magic much stronger than any of us have any hope in practising.”
Severus was able to read between the lines, the magic of the old religion - the magic that Martin practices - is something that could turn the tide against the Dark Lord; and also something that Martin chose to block. Knowing Martin as he did he had no doubt that Martin had a reason as to why-
He froze, having caught sight of a strawberry - still as fresh as the day he picked it - sat innocently on his bedside table.
Merlin, what was he doing? Keeping something like this from Martin, who was he to decide what Martin knows or not? What was it Martin had said - ‘don’t you dare say I don’t care about Hogwarts or her students, if she has any need of me she knows how to get to me.’?
Severus sat on his bed staring at the strawberry, his thoughts racing. Severus would never block his magic, he would sooner die; Martin, who practised a magic more powerful than he could comprehend could not have possibly wanted to block his magic, it was clear in the way he interacts with Hogwarts that he loves magic. So he must have had a reason for blocking his magic. But still, he blocked it, supposedly willingly and he did everything he could to make sure that Hogwarts would be able to get to him if he was needed, he’d said as much, what was it the Grey Lady had said to bring him?
The Grey Lady.
She was his connection to Hogwarts.
Ghosts do not meddle in the affairs of mortals, Severus knew, but Martin trusted her to inform him and the other ghosts knew it too. Severus thought back to the day Martin appeared in Hogwarts. The Grey Lady never initiated any contact with Martin, only calling Martin when all the ghosts had cornered her, only telling him about Potter’s injury when St Nicholas had urged her to.
In his mind, he could hear Peeves cackling, Martin would be disappointed, he had been about to say.
Even without his magic, Martin had done everything he could to solve the problems presented to him. From Potter’s injury, to Umbridge, to the new DADA Professor and even that irksome child. Even without his magic, Martin Emrys is a force of nature.
Severus hurriedly stood up, he needed to talk to Martin.
Martin was easier to find than he expected, Hogwarts surely making it easier. Finally, he came to a stop, out of breath as he watched Martin casually sat on the edge of the wall of the astronomy tower, one leg dangling outside as he absentmindedly traced circles on the knee of the leg he had propped up, solemnly staring at the dragon on his tower.
“Why did you block your magic?” It took Severus a few seconds to realise that was his own voice asking the question. “I’m sorry.”
Martin did not so much as flinch at the sudden question, still staring at the dragon, Severus blinked, unsure if Martin had heard him but before he could repeat his apology Martin let out a soft sigh and Severus joined him to sit on the other side of the pillar Martin was leaning on, facing away from Martin.
“I shouldn’t have said those things, I didn’t mean any of it. I don’t thing your flower shop is pathetic, it’s my second home and I know you, Martin, you’ve always tried your best to help everyone. And I know that if you knew-”
“-But that’s the problem; I don’t know, do I? You implied that Hogwarts needed me - that the students needed me - and where was I? I have failed Hogwarts, Severus, and I have failed the students. That’s on me.”
“Martin, no-”
“-Why did I block my magic? The truth is - no matter how much I wish I could tell you, I can not. But even now, I do not regret it.” He stood up and tuned to Severus, holding a hand out to help him up, not letting go after. “You told me some time ago, that no matter what I had to tell you it would not change what you think of me. Understand this, Severus, I am old. Older than you think, older than the headmaster and much older than Hogwarts. This failure? That’s on me. But before I can fix it, I need to hear everything from Helena. I am sorry, Severus.”
Severus pulled his hand away from Martin, shaking his head as he looked between Martin’s deep blue eyes that were painted with heartache and desperation and plea. He dragged Martin to him, enveloping him in his arms and squeezing him tight, not paying any mind to Martin’s own bruising grip.
“I don’t understand.” Severus said against Martin’s stupid scarf as Martin wept into his neck, “not really, but, I trust you, Martin. That’s enough for me.”
Around them Hogwarts rejoiced.
The next evening, as they sat together in the staff room, Elliot leaned in to whisper to him, “Emrys seems happier.”
Severus had tensed when Elliot had sat next to him but was more than happy to talk with the potions with the man, he had just been telling him all about wolfsbane when Martin had walked in with a smiling Pomona. Pomona was a constant visitor in Martin’s gardens, occasionally pulling Martin by the ear through doors to tell him all about his own garden.
It was justifiable, Severus thought, remembering the delicious strawberry and all the exotic plants he had used for potions himself.
“Yes.” He said, smiling fondly at Martin who listened to Pomona patiently.
“I remember when he used to look at me like that, I hope I wasn’t so… excitable.”
“When did you meet, Martin?” Elliot turned to look at him and Severus cursed the blindfold, “It’s just… Martin told me he was old - really old.”
“He told you that?” Elliot smiled, “I remember the day clearly; I was four and so thirsty, Emrys looked then just as he does now, but more importantly, he had a bottle of water that I tried to kill him for. Long story short, he tricked me like one would a cat and let me inside his home. Since then he became someone I call dad. I call him Emrys now because I’m required to as Librarian and Disciple Aurelianus.”
“Dad?” Severus gasped out, “But-”
“I respect your relationship with him to tell you this much: Emrys is old, he’s never going to make the first move.” Severus sputtered noiselessly, “He’s hopeless; he’s had more children then partners, and more muggle partners then magical because as soon as they realise who he is they tend to-”
Just then Filius slammed the door open and stood there, gasping for breath and clutching some papers to his chest. His eyes raked the room and landed on Martin, a deep blush rushing to fill his face, looking as if he was a second away from fainting.
“Lord Emrys!” He squeaked and bowed down deeply.
“-act like that.” Elliot finished, shaking his head in amusement as he repeated himself. “Mother above, I hope I wasn’t so excitable.”
“Filius, please, stand straight, there’s no need for you to bow. They advanced your lessons quicker than I expected.”
“They only wanted to ensure I represented our kind properly in front of you, my Lord.” He straightened and practically ran up to Martin, holding out the papers eagerly. “The essay you asked for, my Lord.”
Martin raised an eyebrow and chuckled, good-naturedly accepting the essay and reading through it, Filius bouncing on his feet as he waited.
The rest of the staff eyed each other in confusion and mild amusement when Martin smiled at Filius after he read the paper, making Filius slightly swoon.
“A perfect paper, as expected, though quite embellishing.”
“Oh, not at all, Lord Emrys.” Filius said happily.
Martin chuckled, somehow managing to fit the paper into his pocket with a wink to Filius, “Tell me, what would you like as your reward for it.”
“Reward? Oh no, I did not do it for a reward, Lord Emrys, and I- I- I dare not ask!”
“Nonsense, this is a school is it not? A perfect paper such like that one deserves a reward, but you are not a student and mere house point will not be enough.” Martin smiled and asked again.
“Well… Perhaps… In my lessons, his majesty states that Emrys’ favour is the greatest gift one could hope to have. It is a gift that the Goblin kind have not earned yet, but… No, I should not have mentioned it, please forg-”
“The Goblin King teaches you himself? How curious - so be it. I, In the name of Emrys, grant the Goblin kind my favour through Filius Flitwick, so I say, so mote it be.”
Filius fell to his knees after a golden tendril of light encased his body, “A favour! Through me! My Lord Emrys, I do not deserve this.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, my friend.” Martin said as he knelt at Filius’ side, “though I do admit, you do not deserve to be trapped in the middle of this play of politics. Tell me, then, what your reward shall be.”
They watched in concern as Filius sobbed his eyes out, “I cannot possibly ask for more!”
Martin carefully pat his back, “think on it some more, Filius, let me know any time.”
Suddenly, Filius shot to his feet and fumbled for an awkward moment as he realised Martin was now kneeling at his feet before pumping himself up as saying much louder than needed, “My Lord Emrys, I feel more now than ever that it is my duty to tell you, as your right to know as the last Dragonlord, that the Bank of Gringotts abuse your kin.”
Martin jumped to his feet, straightening out his body to stand tall, a contrast to how he always slumps to make himself seem smaller than he is. Severus was sure, taller than Martin as he was, if he were to stand next to Martin now, Martin would appear much taller than he.
“Elaborate.” He whispered.
“There is a dragon in the bank that is kept in horrible conditions and forced to guard over one of the vaults. I do not know which vault and I’m not even supposed to know of it’s existence, I happened across it while lost one day.”
Their eyes followed as Martin restlessly paced the room, hands clenched at his side, his eyes danced across the room but for the first time Hogwarts did not have an answer for him.
Without stopping his pacing Martin nodded to himself, apparently having come to a decision, “Hogwarts, guide Helena to me. Filius, thank you for letting me know, you did well.”
Elliot gently brought Filius to sit in his seat, reassuring him all the while. They sat in silence as they waited for the Grey Lady, Martin continuously pacing. After what seemed like an hour, the ghost floated into the room through the wall.
“Lord Emrys, you called for me?”
Martin brought up a clenched fist letting blood drip from it as he spoke, “Helena, as you know, a slight against dragons is a slight against me.” The Grey Lady flinched and curled in on herself just enough that only Severus’ keen eyes spotted it, Elliot busy fussing over Filius beside him, Severus frowned and squinted his eyes before widening them in realisation - the first task of the Triwizard tournament. Below Martin his blood pooled and formed the shape of a small dragon that flew up to land on Martin’s shoulder, “I can’t let the Goblins be.” The Grey Lady closed her eyes and stood straighter when she opened them, “but before I can fix this, I need you to bring me an old friend.”
“I can not leave Hogwarts, my Lord.”
Martin smiled softly and the blood dragon swiftly flew around her, “you can when a piece of Hogwarts goes with you, it will also serve as a guide straight to her.”
“And my duties here, Emrys?”
“Hogwarts will wait for you and I am here should anything happen. There is no one I trust more with this, Helena, besides, you deserve some fresh air.”
“As you say, Lord Emrys, I will take my leave immediately.”
“Thank you, Helena.”
“Emrys.” Elliot said lowly as she left, “Is everything alright?”
“No, El, nothing is alright, I keep failing.” He said softly and Severus heart broke once more, “This, at least, is something I can solve.”
“How did you become a Dragonlord, I don’t remember you ever telling me and I’m sure everyone else is curious too.”
Martin blinked at them all, having forgotten they were there before he tiredly sat in an armchair that jumped into position, “You’ll never stop being curious of everything will you?” Elliot blushed at his dad’s teasing. “One can not simply become a Dragonlord; it is a gift passed down from father to son upon death. The day I came into my powers as a Dragonlord was one of the worst days of my life.”
“Even in your old age?” Elliot asked, lifting the mood enough for them all to chuckle, Severus more knowingly than the rest.
“What does it mean to be a Dragonlord exactly?” Albus asked, eyes twinkling in a way Severus had never seen on him before, like a child learning something they hold great passion for.
Severus smirked at the picture of Albus acting like a child in front of Martin who - Merlin, who is truly older than him.
Martin took some time to think, “To be a Dragonlord, is to first be their kin - they are mine, I am theirs. But more than that, a Dragonlord holds power over the dragons, they must answer my call and follow my command, in return, it is a Dragonlord’s duty to protect and guard them, to keep them safe above all. It is only a Dragonlord’s call that births a Great Dragon from an egg-”
Wilhelmina gasped in excitement, “Have you ever hatched an egg?”
Martin’s smile broadened, there was a soft look in his eyes, “Oh yes, many times. It never loses it’s beauty.”
“What’s the difference between a regular dragon and a Great Dragon?” Filius asked, finally calm.
“It is very similar to the differences between the Magic of the Old Religion and the Wand Magic of the New Religion. A Great Dragon is more intelligent, more powerful, more dangerous. They have The Sight, no matter how cloudy it can sometimes get, and they communicate like you and I, though they’d often pester me in my head.”
“Why haven’t I ever met one?” Elliot demanded.
Martin huffed a laugh, “Well, you’ll meet one when Helena gets back. She is, in fact, one of the oldest Great Dragons still in existence and a great friend of mine - Aithusa.”