When Reality Meets Coldness
January 2nd, 1990
Caspian-
The cold had seeped into his bones despite his coat and copious heating charms. Today was Ismerial’s funeral. They and a small gathering of her friends were in the family mausoleum. Friends…right. They didn’t deserve the title of friend any more than he did. Where were they when she needed them? He couldn’t have been the only one. Surely one of them had to have noticed her odd behavior. But the more he thought about it the more anger arose.
Ernie hadn’t relinquished the death grip he had on Caspian’s arm. The little boy was either really upset or really cold. His tiny form was shaking, his face buried in Caspian’s side. Sirius loomed like a concerned shadow to his right. They were waiting on the side for the other guests to say their piece. He’d had Lord Greengrass lead the ceremony. They had all prayed to Lady magic to welcome Ismerial with open arms. And to give her peace in the afterlife.
He wished they could leave already. Which sounded totally selfish, but it wasn’t for him. They had paid their respects, and now they were risking their health. As the hosting family they were expected to leave last. He really hoped Ernie wouldn’t get sick. Heating charms or not the weather was in the low 30s. Tradition was important…it was debatable as to whether it was worth one’s health. Feeling as if he were being watched. Caspian looked up and scanned the crowd. Until he saw Amelia who was holding hands with her niece Susan. Amelia nodded at him and moved her eyes back and forth.
An invitation to talk later? Perhaps they would finally know what happened.
Miss Owl (Foxx Lair)-
“He failed to kill him like we hoped.” Miss Owl said.
Which was sad because it would have been so much easier.
“It’s of no consequence. It wasn’t a complete loss in the long run. That idiot managed to keep McMillian out for a while. And if he’s out then so is Black. We stick to the plan manipulate if we can kill when we can’t. Destroy and remake the Ministry. My brother’s death won’t be for nothing! They will pay for their corruption and incompetence.” Mr. Fox replied, confidently.
Her Lord sipped at his glass of wine. Yes, all of the fallen will be avenged with time. And she couldn’t wait for the Ministry to suffer.
“On to the next target?” Miss Owl asked.
“Make it so…the games are tedious but well worth the effort.” Mr. Fox replied.
Amelia-
There were times when she really hated her job. And today was one of those days. On a day of mourning, she’d have to reveal the truth. Caspian was no shrinking violet by any means. But the man looked tired. His nephew was clinging to his arm. Tears frozen on his little cheeks. That boy was Susan’s age, and he had to lose both of his parents.
It was completely horrible, especially considering the circumstances why.
“Aunty can we go home soon it’s cold.” Susan whined.
Amelia cast another warming charm on her coat.
“Soon baby we have to visit one of my acquaintances. Then we’ll go home and have some hot chocolate.” Amelia said, reassuringly.
As everyone but the McMillians and Sirius left. They approached the small family unit.
“Caspian we’re sorry for your family’s loss. We need to talk and it's much too cold here.” Amelia said, grimacing.
Interrupting a grieving family went against all the manners she’d ever been taught. But everyone deserves to know what happened to their family. After the marble stone was secured to cover Ismerial. The group took a portkey to Caspian’s manor. It was the residence of several generations of McMillan’s. Despite this it couldn’t be called an ancestral home. She wasn’t entirely sure of the families’ origins.
Amelia and Susan waited while the others got Ernie situated. She had noticed that the little boy clung mostly to Caspian. But if not, he’d gravitate to Sirius. His eyes were alert looking around as if searching for something or someone.
“Amelia perhaps Susan would like to stay with Ernie and I for a snack?” Sirius asked.
“What kind of snack?” Susan asked, smiling.
“I’m not sure, Pearla?” Sirius asked.
The elf popped into existence a half a room away. She noticed Ernie back up into Caspian.
“I is sorry little master, Pearla not mean to scare youse. What do you need Mr. Black?” Pearla asked, her eyes big and sad.
The elf’s eyes never left Ernie’s half hidden form.
“What kind of snacks do we have for the kids?”
“I has mince pies, chocolate chip biscuits, madeleines, mini pumpkin cakes.” Pearla responded.
“Really! Can I have some?” Susan asked, looking at her.
“Yes, but don’t ruin your appetite.” Amelia replied, looking at her sternly.
She only wanted to ensure Susan would eat food with nutritional value. While cakes and cookies were all fine and good. And they filled you up if one were to indulge themselves. They had too much sugar. Susan as a growing child shouldn’t have too much of it. Susan’s whoop of triumph made Ernie flinch. That poor child obviously needed some kind of mind healing. She couldn’t blame him in the slightest.
If she had witnessed her father murder her mother. She’d be flinching at every little thing too. Sirius instructed Pearla to bring refreshments. He then managed to pry Ernie off of Caspian leaving the other man free. They both slipped out of the dining room and into a nearby sitting room. They sat down across from one another. After a few minutes of quiet the two were significantly warmer. The fire crackled in the fireplace in front of them.
“We finished questioning him and it’s brought about more questions than answers. That however is for me to investigate. The most pertinent information is the why. Archimedes has been harboring a great deal of jealousy towards you. Some of which he didn’t even realize until he’d been manipulated by another. Archimedes may have been fine handing the lordship to you back then. But he’s since regretted that decision. On top of that he’s been suspicious of your relationship with Ismerial. As well as a certain amount of jealousy for your relationship with Ernie. He felt like everyone preferred you over him. From what we’ve learned he’s been regularly meeting three individuals. They consistently wore cloaks and masks. One would think Archimedes would know better than to trust them. But they certainly twisted things around. For whatever reason they wanted Archimedes to be the McMillan lord. I suspect because he’s more easily influenced. We also realized that he really was unstable. I will inform the Wizengamot of this. For what little good it will do in the long run. But this incident alerted us to a possible group of terrorists. Given the situation the Minister agreed that this was better being heard by everyone. They need to know that there is a new threat out there.” Amelia finished.
Caspian looked ashen like the air had been sucked out of the room.
“One of the mind healers is a muggleborn. Who happens to be studying something called psychiatry? I believe it’s the non-magical equivalent of mind healing. I honestly don’t understand it very well. But Healer Simmons says he’s showing signs of paranoid schizophrenia. The symptoms include withdrawal from family/friends, decline in self-care, difficulty thinking clearly, extreme suspiciousness, seeing or hearing things that aren’t real, persistent or unusual thoughts or beliefs, hallucinations, self-harm, volatile aggression. Do any of these symptoms sound familiar?” Amelia asked, gently.
Caspian-
Still reeling from finding out what happened it was like being struck hearing that. Why hadn’t he noticed how far Archimedes had deteriorated? It certainly explained why his brother would even think he had an affair with Ismerial. They’d known each other from birth. Archimedes had been one of the first people to know that Caspian was gay. Twisted thoughts, beliefs, and delusions spurned on by other people’s manipulations. To make it so much worse…they didn’t need compulsions they turned Archimedes mind against him. He’d been vulnerable and they had taken advantage of it.
No wonder Archimedes was acting as he was. And poor Ismerial was just a casualty of Caspian’s inaction and ignorance. Why didn’t the magical world use knowledge from the muggles? They could still remain separate and still benefit from the knowledge.
“Hauntingly so. And if the magical world had just taken knowledge from the muggles. Archimedes wouldn’t have suffered as long as he did. Those monsters took advantage of his disturbed mind. Twisted until Archimedes became a shell of himself. An innocent woman is now dead. Did we even find out anything about the people who he was meeting?” Caspian asked, angrily.
He felt drained…gutted…angry….and yet tired. It was just so….so much.
“Unfortunately, as I said they used masks and cloaks. Archimedes didn’t recognize their voices. Neither did myself or the mind healer. The only things we know for sure is they have a problem with the Wizengamot. Which is next to nothing. We have no idea what their long-term goals are. Nor do we know how many are a part of their group. I thought it was bad when the Deatheaters could be anyone. Now we have them and these new people. I kept side eyeing my coworkers all of yesterday wondering if I really knew them.” Amelia admitted, looking uncomfortable.
Which was understanding the thought was unnerving in every way possible. A reality he himself would have to face upon returning to work.
“And there’s no defining features like the dark marks? I mean this new guy doesn’t have a way to mark followers?” Caspian asked, thoughtfully.
Amelia shook her head.
“If they are marked in some way Archimedes never saw it. This is also the first time we’ve heard of them. We don’t even know what their group name is either. Just cloaks and masks that resemble animals. We tried to get as much as we could. We took the memories from Archimedes. But they’ve yielded nothing. I’m sorry Caspian I wish we’d found more. But unless they show themselves again…we’re stuck waiting.” Amelia replied, scowling.
Nothing…. nothing to show….no one to punish…no justice. Merlin this was so fucked up! Even worse…what the hell was he going to tell Ernie? After some time and some mind healing Ernie would surely want to know why. Caspian never felt as helpless as he did now, except for the day Ismerial died.
Amelia decided to leave him there to his thoughts. Minutes later a droopy whining Padfoot joined him. He half-heartedly petted his dogified lover. Who changed back after several minutes of trying to cheer him up.
“What’d she say Cas?”
He told Sirius everything he’d been told.
Harry-
Harry wasn’t thrilled he’d started his day off weirdly. And by weird he meant waking up in Death’s lap. Which was made even weirder by them floating in air. They were hovering over some stretch of land. Which was near a volcano?
Seriously!?
So, then he asked his favorite weirdo what the hell was going on. And said weirdo said it was too good an opportunity to pass up.
“Death where even are we? And why was this too good to pass up?” Harry asked, irritated.
“Why we are hovering over what was once Pompeii. Since you’ve started gathering lost souls for me. I realized that through your intervention. I can retrieve souls from some of the more troublesome areas. I simply act as a magnet to draw the souls to you. And your rings contain then filter the souls so I can manipulate them. That bitch Fate and my annoying sister Life can’t say I’m breaking the rules. So, if you wake up somewhere weird, just go with it.” Death replied.
Harry huffed. That’s all fine and good but the entity could’ve just asked! Where did Death get off taking liberties with Harry’s body?
“You could’ve just asked, or I don’t know warned me? I don’t exactly like people manhandling me and just doing whatever with my body!” Harry said, annoyed.
Death laughed.
“That will be funny when you hit puberty!”
“I don’t see how this is amusing in any way I’m serious!” Harry said, glared crossly.
“No, your god-mutt is Sirius! You could always ask Percival like you did last time you wanted to know something!”
His face grew hot as he buried his face into Death’s cloak. He was an orphan with no real parental figures or role models. So of course, he was going to ask the one person he trusted the most! He always asked Percival a ton of questions. Including a rather embarrassing question after his first trip to Gringotts. After Percival and the goblins had warned against letting people have certain bodily items. Harry is nine for Merlin’s sake! So how the hell would he know what seamen is? It was a valid question that had turned into a mortifying lecture.
He could feel Death’s chest shake as the other suppressed his laughter.
“I mean honestly it could’ve been worse! You could’ve waited and asked me after we met.”
Harry snorted.
“Do you even know how humans’ mate?” Harry asked, sarcastically.
“Why little Master I thought you’d never ask!”
Harry ended up back to chest with Death. As the entity pulled out two little hand puppets. They looked like grim reapers but one had a pink bow on its hood.
“Now when one little reaper likes another little reaper….”
“Dear Merlin STOP!” Harry shouted, horrified.
Death sounded like he was choking on his own laughter. His face burned thank Merlin he wasn’t facing the entity directly. He instead focused on the floating orbs that seemingly rose from the ground.
“What happened here Death?” Harry asked, curiously.
“Well do you remember when I said natural disaster areas are off limits alone. That volcano is called Vesuvius. It erupted unexpectedly and it destroyed and killed everything in Pompeii. The problem with disaster areas is not just the destroyed environment. But the state of the souls after leaving the bodies. It all depends on how the people died as to whether the soul is damaged. There are a lot of areas like this that are littered with trapped souls, lost souls, and soul shreds. Or respectively wraiths, ghosts, and will o’ whisps. The freshly dead take top priority. So even large groupings of souls can go uncollected because fresher souls are dying in real time. Then as I said some souls fight being extracted. And others become lost because they either don’t want leave or they don’t know they’re dead. The souls retain the agony, grief, and anger of what happened to them. With such a large pocket of souls it can become a quarantine zone. If you encounter something like this alone you become at risk of possession, should they overwhelm you. I try to handle these areas myself. But I am but one being, I can only do so much on my own. Which is why you are so important.” Death replied, looking sadly down below.
“Important?” Harry asked.
“Yes, you aren’t just an anchor or a way to intervene with Fate. You’re balance…heart…and your soul in its purest form. Once your properly trained, the balance will return to this side of the veil and beyond. You’re the equivalent of a spiritual sword and shield. Once you complete your training Harry the things, you’ll be capable of…Well it takes a very special soul to not take advantage when power is presented. You’ve always denied your own capabilities and downright reject being my master in almost all timelines. Plato said that power is best given to those who do not seek it. I know you’d rather be normal…ordinary. But you were born to be extraordinary. Denying it won’t change anything and will bring you misery. As you’d be denying certain things about yourself that make you…you.” Death said.
He felt Death shift around in the air. He’d always wanted to be normal. Harry had been told his whole life that he was a freak. Normal…ordinary these were things he should be right? So then why did a part him bulk at the idea? Probably because deep down he knew Vernon was wrong. The man shouldn’t be his ideal for normal.
Annoyed with his thoughts Harry shifted a bit in Death’s lap. When he noticed a glint of silver. Digging in what apparently was a pocket. Which no one would ever know was there. Percival’s box was in his hand, he blinked surprised. He looked up at Death who sighed.
“I brought that with in case you woke up. These areas desperately need to be cleared of souls. I hope you don’t mind hanging out a while longer.”
Harry nodded as he carefully perched the box on his stomach. Flipping the lid open it wasn’t long before he saw Percival. From the looks of the background Percival was outside in his forest. He was bundled up in a coat Harry bought him. His cheeks were slightly red, and his hair was windswept.
“Morning Percival, what are you up to?” Harry asked, curiously.
Percival huffed.
“Went out to stretch my legs and Loki decided to come with. So I grabbed some of the niffler toys you sent through. I would say we were playing fetch, but it’s more like toss and keep.” Percival said, chuckling at an indignant squeak.
Harry smiled as Percival turned away angling the mirror he was using. Loki came into view. The little fuzzball was standing one paw on his hip, beady eyes glaring, and dare he say it the niffler version of a pout. Which only made Harry grin harder.
“He’s not thrilled I’m stopping our game and giving attention to you. Loki’s gotten a little on the spoiled side. Since we’ve been living in the trunk, he finally has space to play with me.” Percival explained.
“I’m not surprised, we love Loki, but it’s not a secret he prefers you. Now that I’m training more with Death. Death’s trying to get as much done as possible. Which means he can’t hang out with Loki any more than I can. Don’t worry though your best friend will be there for the both of you. You can’t tell me he doesn’t visit the trunk. Because I know Death does, I know you tell him things you won’t tell me. I get it I’m a kid and Death’s the world’s oldest adult. And Loki and him are chaos besties. You need a friend that isn’t me or a furball. Though benevolent entity…is kind of a high jump.” Harry teased.
Percival shook his head smiling.
“Oh, you know I have obscure tastes when it comes to choosing weird entities as friends” Percival deadpanned.
Harry laughed.
“So, what are you doing today?” Percival asked.
“Well, Sirius is at a funeral and keeping Caspian from going to pieces. I was going to wander the woods a bit. Maybe see if I can find a few scattered souls without Death. I figured I’d have to learn sometime how to find the souls by myself. But I kind of got kidnapped by Death and we’re hanging out in the air near a volcano. So I really don’t know what’s going on today. How about you?” Harry asked, smiling.
“Well, am getting fresh air and exploring the woods here in the trunk. My plans for a tiring Loki out are happening as we speak. I want to try that crafts room. It’s going to be a complete disaster. I haven’t indulged in my creative side since I was a teenager. But if Loki is napping hopefully, it will be less of a disaster.” Percival replied, dryly.
An outraged squeak sounded behind Percival. Percival turned the mirror to face Loki again. The fuzzy menace was now actively glaring at Percival. Harry giggled….it was too much.
“What is Death teaching him exactly? First Loki pouts and now he’s got angry glare going.” Percival asked, laughing.
“I try to not think about what the Chaos Duo does or thinks. It’s the only way I can hold on to my sanity. But I can tell you those poor house-elves are traumatized. I don’t know how or why, and I don’t want to know. Nope it’s better that way, plus I get plausible deniability should trouble come knocking.” Harry replied, cheekily.
Mr. Foxx-
He was heavily glamoured and not at all thrilled by the next target. It was hard finding pawns to use in his personal war. The Ministry had three factions living and breathing from within its walls. And he wasn’t talking about the light, dark, and neutral factions that split the Wizengamot. No, he was talking about the Deatheaters, the Order, and the Ministry. It was tricky business to figure out who to mess with.
The Deatheaters despite lacking a faction leader. Were still loyal to their fallen master. Though they chose to play by their own agendas at the moment. The Order while officially separated was larger than many would suspect. Foxx only believes this because Dumbledore has indoctrinated generations of students. Students that the old goat conveniently helped in one way or another. And debts whether they were magical or not were honored. So many people that would do anything Dumbledore would ask. Most would even do so without asking questions. The Order itself was relatively small, but it would be foolish to discount the others. For simplicity’s sake they were lumped together.
Which left his most hated enemy the Ministry. Full of paper pushing self-righteous buffoons. Fudge really did sell his role as head buffoon well. It was because of their continued ignorance, corruption, and stupidity that so many people suffered under their reign. Foxx himself had lost his brother Calimus to a bad Ministry raid. During the war it wasn’t uncommon for the Ministry to raid houses. They barely even justified it. They had been conveniently tipped off that his brother’s family was dark sympathizers. And that was all they said to justify the horror that unfolded that night.
Calimus, as anyone would be, was angry and had confronted the Aurors. Which had devolved drastically. His wife and daughter were in a corner of the room. They watched horrified as a frustrated Auror attacked Calimus. The hulking brute of an Auror had actually hit his brother like a muggle. Calimus reacted by drawing his wand. And the room had erupted into spell fire. When it was all said and done Calimus was dead, his wife was injured shielding their daughter Gabriella, Gabriella was not only injured but scarred. A stray dark curse had left a scar from her chin to her ear. It was a miracle she hadn’t lost that ear.
The despicable fuckers just left! They didn’t do anything to get them medical attention. Mr. Foxx had been too late. The Aurors commonly used wards when raiding. Anti-apparition, anti-portkey, and floo seals. He hadn’t been able to get to their house fast enough. It was he who had frantically apparated multiple times to St. Mungos. Those monsters had left innocent people for dead. The real kicker though, his family had never believed in any one branch of magic. He’d stayed with his sister-in-law and his niece Gabriella. He had waited for them to awaken while he stewed in his grief.
He'd held both of them as they all cried. And when none of them had been able to cry anymore. That was when the rage had set in. Oh, he’d tried to sue the Ministry for negligence and the wrongful death of Calimus. It shouldn’t have surprised him when the Ministry was found blameless. They argued that Calimus had acted in a threatening manner. That Calimus was the one to start the fight. Which wasn’t true! But it didn’t matter. So he’d tried to go after the Aurors who took part. They too had been found blameless acting in ‘self-defense’. It didn’t matter that his sister-in-law had witnessed everything. It was as if they’d been talking to walls.
Nobody listened and nobody cared. They were too focused on their damn war! There was no justice for Calimus, no justice for his sister-in-law, and no justice for little Gabriella who was only three years old. In the after math. They had met others like them. People who had been victimized in the war. People who had suffered and lost family despite not being involved. People who were just as angry and hurt as he was. They all supported one another banding together in their grief. And from its ashes Dark Illusions had been brought to life.
They had elected him as their leader. And his sister-in-law joined him as his second…she became Miss Owl.
Their goal was to purge the Ministry and remake it. So that the corruption would be gone. Their government was outdated and bias. It was time for a change; they needed a more sympathetic government to protect the people. All people…not just the rich lords that run the Wizengamot. Currently he was waiting on Mr. Carrius Appleby.
Appleby isn’t one of the original ruling lords. He was a half-blood that had invented a popular skin potion for women. He went on to buy a seat on the Wizengamot. Many pureblood lines had died off both from the war and inbreeding. Leaving empty family-owned seats. After a certain time period the seats went up for sale. They were exorbitantly expensive to obtain. They had to flip him to their side or ruin him. There was no other way to lessen the Wizengamot’s power. Ironically it was easier to target lords rather than Aurors. Make no mistake the Aurors would suffer too. He knew that a majority of these people weren’t involved in Calimus’s death.
Did that make them innocent or wholly blameless in the cases of his comrades? It didn’t truly matter sometimes sacrifices had to be made. Things had to change, so long as they supported the monsters. They were just as guilty. To cut out the rot isn’t always enough. Sometimes the whole tree had to be felled in order to save the orchard. They would do what it took to minimize the casualties. But like all political causes…it was inevitable.
His target walked by a portly brown-haired man with a beard. Unaware he was in danger Carrius Appleby whistled as he walked down Diagon Alley.
Harry-
Sunlight streamed through the clouds overhead. Harry was hiking through the woods. He had Death in his niffler form napping in his coat pocket. The entity was tired from their trip this morning. Death had ended up collecting a dense pocket of souls. Not just from Pompeii but from the surrounding area. Harry had to admit that seeing spiritual energy wafting into the air like thick purple miasma was terrifying. He couldn’t even see the ground!
Death had promised to take him to the edge of Bar Harbor soon. So Harry wouldn’t be in the thick of it. He had to get used to entering cities. He wouldn’t be able to attend school if he had panic attacks just from being overwhelmed. Death had confirmed that there were scattered souls still in the woods. Right before the entity drooped and fell asleep.
Harry wasn’t worried about being out here. He had the elder wand and the world’s most deadly rodent in his pockets. The snow was deep in some areas. The temperature while cold wasn’t overly so. The air was still from a lack of breeze. Which was strange given the proximity to the ocean. But what would he know about that? This was the first time Harry had lived near a forest let alone near a body of water. Shrugging his shoulders Harry reapplied a heating charm to himself. He could feel something strange hovering on the edges of his senses.
Harry had been actively following the strange anomaly. Which he had now caught up to. There hovering near a tree. A wispy purple orb fluttered helplessly. So he’d been right to follow his senses then. Harry stepped forward and stopped. A loud crack sounded, Harry backed up and fell. Breathing hard he looked forward. His legs were alarmingly transparent! Scrabbling back further he saw his legs become solid again. Confused Harry looked down to see an unimpressed Death staring at him.
“You might want to carry a walking stick when wandering. The snow tends to cover up dangers that would’ve been seen otherwise.” Death said, dryly.
Harry blinked and looked where he’d been standing. Was that a bear trap!!???
“Little master, are you okay?”
Harry focused on Death who had just saved him from certain agony.
“I’m just shocked is all. Your right a walking stick to probe the ground in front of me wouldn’t be remiss. Thanks for saving me I didn’t even see it.” Harry said, breathlessly.
“I imagine that Whisp over there wasn’t very observant either. This woodland wasn’t always a national park. It used to be entirely wild and unsettled. Left over hunting traps litter wooded areas like these. Caution is always wise, if you’d come out here alone. Well, you would’ve lived by calling for me or a house-elf. Others wouldn’t be so lucky.”
“So how did that one die then?” Harry asked, pointing at the Whisp.
“A no-maj who was an avid trapper. He had a heart attack while resetting his traps. He ended up falling on his own bear trap. The combination of heart issues and the shock from blood loss and pain. His body was found in the spring thaw. He’d died just as winter set in and buried him under snow. It’s a small miracle nothing ate his body.” Death said, nonchalantly.
Harry shuddered and carefully moved around the rusty sprung trap. He finally made it to where the Whisp hung in the air. He took his gloves off and extended hand with the Laqueum Quartz ring. The orb drew closer until it was absorbed by the ring.
“Sorry should’ve asked if you wanted a taste.” Harry said.
Death snorted.
“I’m not particularly hungry for any kind of sustenance. But much appreciated that you thought of my unique dietary needs.”
Yup he was still weirded out from the last time he’d witnessed that. Harry was almost tempted to ask if Death could taste souls without them being dead. Harry was strangely curious about what his soul must taste like. Were they all different? Did they say or do something in life that affects their ‘flavors’?
“Come on brat lets go back home.”