The Warren, the Green Message and the Things We Must Do
Theo and Jamie are the last two to arrive-Theo had been helping Jamie sort through the potion’s stock room of latest deliveries while simultaneously explaining what each one was. They made it through the twelve uses of Dragon’s Blood when the floor opened up underneath them.
They barely had time to scream, much less drop the vials; both of them rolling out with several vials following them.
Marcus had been overseeing the first years in flight when the tunnel opened up under his feet as he disappeared down into the earth.
He could still hear their screams and calls for Madam Hooch.
This, he mused, was not going to look good on his resume.
Pansy had been in her dorm, when a small fairy, affectionately named Pan-Pan, had come by with a tooth-a molar and before the two of them knew it, they were on their way to the Warren. Pan-Pan squealed in fear, hiding in Pansy’s hair.
Blaise had been attempting to fly-he’d seen Sandy do it, it should be a no brainer. Except, he wasn’t flying and the ground was rushing up to meet him except instead of becoming front page news on the Daily Prophet, Blaise fell right into a tunnel.
The bottle of dream sand opened up and put him right to sleep, sliding all the way down as he napped.
Draco had not been happy-he couldn’t take a step in his dorm without walking into another toy! There still wasn’t enough! He didn’t have enough time!
While Draco was mulling over how many more remote control cars he needed-because they were increasingly popular this year-he failed to notice the tunnel which opened up under his feet until he fell, several toys falling with him.
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“Not bad, Dray,” Marcus said, picking up the brightly colored race car, “never took you for the creative type.”
“A Malfoy is capable of anything, now give me that-before your grubby fingers smudge the paint!” Malfoy scoffed, snatching the race car out of Marcus’ hands, his eyes critically moving over every inch of the toy.
“Are you alright?” Pansy asked, helping Jamie up.
“Yea, I’m alright, just worried about the vials.”
Jamie had been surprisingly well adjusted at Hogwarts although Pansy knew he was worried about his mother and sister. Severus had been working on reversing whatever Pitch had done, since none of the American wizards hadn’t known what to do, they placed the entire town under a muggle repelling charms and hid the entire town, erasing it from the map.
The nightmare infused humans couldn’t escape and no one could get in.
Pansy knew that for now, Jamie had no choice but to adapt. Until they could destroy Pitch once and for all. Or at least make him invisible.
“Yea, Theo was telling me all about the uses of dragon’s blood and how it reacts to griffin claws-did you know that there are thirteen different types of griffins?!”
Blaise woke up, his face in a rather soft patch of grass, grinning as he saw the Warren once more.
“Looks overgrown?” He yawned.
“Yea, needs ta be weeded and worked on, ‘fore I can start the googies,” Harry answered, watching as everyone turned around towards him.
“Harry!”
“You’re okay?!”
The group of Slytherins rushed towards him, which Harry allowed, never once raising his vines up towards them as they enveloped him in a group hug.
“Acting like Gryffindors are we?”
Severus calmly walked up behind them, his potion’s robes discarded, leaving him in a white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up and his usual slacks. Harry was wearing loose cargos, sitting low on his hips and a loose white shirt, both of them were stained with dirt.
“What on earth have you been doing?! You look worse than a house elf!” Draco immediately began fussing, whipping his wand out, banishing dirt and grass from Harry’s hair and clothes. Once he was done, he looked far cleaner than he had been and his hair was neater for the most part.
“We’ve been cleanin’ out ma home-it’s pretty bad. Some o’ the walls caved in,” Harry shrugged, trying not to think about his Da’s room which had been caved in, leaving more mess. The other Pookas had tried to keep the Warren as stable as possible, but the Bunnymund magic had been strong. They could only do so much.
“Need some help?” Marcus stepped forwards, his school robes already over his arm.
“Not yet, but was hopin’ ta talk ta ya,”
The Slytherins gathered around the youngest Bunnymund.
“I…we aren’ the Guardians, I know that,' ' Harry took a deep breath, leaning against Severus for support, “thin’ is they need us. Dray, ye got wha? Half a ye-“
Draco shook his head, muttering that it was more like a quarter of the year and he’d already run out of room as it was. Blaise stood by, nodding-he had to wear his trainers rather than his Italian leather shoes. He didn’t want them scoffed up.
“Pansy?”
“I…need more space. The teeth keep coming and I can’t stop!”
Jamie patted her back, holding her even as she cried. Harry groaned, “We need help,”
Severus nodded tightly. Glancing at his Slytherins, realistically they were just children-who still needed training and their cores hadn’t settled yet. It would take a miracle and Severus said as much.
“You are all in over your heads,” he stated plainly, “how could they expect you to do this?”
“Because they knew who they were entrusting,” Jamie said stoutly. Ever since he’d heard who the Guardians had picked, he’d been researching every single piece of lord he could find. Harry had the advantage of growing up with Aster, but the others came from Wizarding families. The lore they had was more like familial history-it was what the muggles based their own fables on! He’d been more than impressed when he found Draco pouring over woodworking books, crafting books and despite his best efforts, all of Hogwarts had seen the owl orders of muggle craft supplies and paints.
They’d all seen Pansy and the fairies and how lovingly she crafted each box for every person’s memories. Pansy absolutely loved them-the memories. He’d caught her late at night, smiling through the tears as the happy laugh of a child filled the room.
Blaise had been the quickest one to adjust, moving his work space into the astronomy tower as he allowed the sand to flow into the night winds. It was difficult to reach every child, but Jamie had seen the results. Everyone at the castle was sleeping better.
They’d been worried about Harry, who ate the bare minimum because Severus kept glaring at him during meal times. Oftentimes, Harry would simply leave before being summoned back by Severus, who led the boy away from the Great Hall to continue dinner in their rooms.
Theo had been worried as well-he’d seen the way Harry would meditate at night, only to have cacti grow. He’d watched as Harry sighed, making his way back to the castle, never noticing the young spring grasses which sprouted up as he walked away.
Theo, like the others, knew that Harry was afraid of losing his Bunnymund magick. Thankfully, that hadn’t been the case-Harry’s magick had been changing.
The Bunnymund magick was different from the other Pooka they’d met. The Bunnymunds were the first ones-the oldest family of that race and the ones that had been personally entrusted with the Hope of the people.
Theo had tried to find any sort of information about the mysterious object, but he’d fallen short. His father hadn’t had much luck either, neither had Daphne or her fiancé. Not even the not-so-Gryffindor Princess, Hermione had found anything out.
It had, surprisingly, been Narcisa who had found the information needed. Lucius had delivered it to Severus during their Friday Night Poker game. Four hours and a few gallons short later, Severus called them into his office.
“The Hope of the People is not a magickal object, but the actual hope of every single muggle and magickal being on this planet. It is a collection of all the hope which has ever existed and it is substituting for your heart at the moment,”
“You don’t have a heart?!”
Before Harry could answer, Severus quieted them down with a glare, before continuing, “He very much still possess his heart, however this is acting as his heart for now,” Severus crossed over towards the desk where he’d kept the magickal x rays he’d asked Poppy to do. The X-rays floated in front of the group, backlight showing the egg-shaped orb which now resided where Harry’s heart had been. As far as they had seen, the orb had no threat to Harry’s life or his magic. In fact, the orb seemed to make his magic stronger and Severus knew that it would only be a matter of time until he’d no longer need his wand.
“So what’s the plan?” Marcus asked, itching to work anywhere.
Harry smirked, tapped the group, “Buckle up mates!”
Blaise, Draco and Pansy had no time to react as they fell into the Earth, tumbling towards their destinations.
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Severus scanned the horizon carefully, feeling a familiar yet unknown pull. He knew that Harry and the others felt it too-even Jamie who had become sensitive to magick since he’d begun as his apprentice or whatever cover Tom had devised for him.
“Ye ca’ come out!” Harry called, waiting for the other male.
“Wow, so there is some truth about Bunnymund’s and their hearing!”
Neville Longbottom rose up from the ground, blossoming like a rapidly growing bush. Harry cocked an eyebrow at the male’s entrance, but said nothing. He simply waited as Neville made himself comfortable.
Marcus, Theo, Jamie stood slack jawed at the male. Neville, eternally youthful and skin a tinted green, like new growth, smiled at them. Neville Longbottom looked as if he’d never died; he was alive.
Harry cleared his throat, “Guys, this is Neville, he’s gonna help us out,”
“Help how?”
“Destroy Pitch, forever.”
Severus raised an eyebrow, silently asking for more. Neville answered, “Pitch can be killed, we just have to make him human,”
“A human?”
Neville nodded, “Pitch isn’t like the others; he’s not from here. He’s like Sandy and Aster. He’s like Emily Jane and he can be killed, permanently.”
The group came closer, sitting in the soft grasses, giving Neville his space to talk, “the prophecy Luna gave you it’s the start of the whole thing. The key to Pitch’s humanity is there. The green grows dark, those who swore protection of the light will fall and darkness and war will fester the earth.”
Continuing, “Don’t you see it’s already happened? Pitch was a general for the light, he’s already gone dark, he was a sacrifice. Emily Jane has been bitter, she’s already a green gone dark!”
“And the war? The one which will fester the earth?”
“You have time to prepare, Bunnymund,” Neville stood to leave, before turning once again, “What will you sacrifice for the Hope of the People?”
Harry took a step forwards, anger flashing in his eyes, “what are ye talkin’ about?!”
Neville seemed unfazed, “How do you think your dad got it? Why do you have it now? The Hope of the People is earned when there’s a sacrifice made-an unselfish sacrifice,”
“Wh-“
“Your grandmother was the holder of the Hope of the People like her father before her and his before that and upon her death, it passed to Aster and in his sacrifice, you have it. So I’ll ask you again, what will you sacrifice for the Hope of the People?”
Nevill left in a swirling mass of greenery, leaving the strange group to their thoughts. Unconsciously, Harry’s hand drifted to the pulsating orb residing in his chest.