FicWad

Disclaimer: If you recognize it, then it might well belong to J.K.R or to some of her affiliates. Or to some random people out there. I only claim my OC:s and plot.

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Chapter two: Kheiron's Past



Sirius Black was breathing heavily as he lay on the rocky coast. He was hungry, tired, cold and wet. He was feeling incredibly weak. There was hardly any strength remaining in his body. Swim from the island of Azkaban had taken nearly all of the little strength he had still possessed.


But he couldn't give up yet; there was something he had to do. I must not fail again... I have already failed them once...


Sirius Black had escaped from the wizarding prison of Azkaban. He was actually the first, and most likely the last person to ever escape from that terrible, cold place. Still even his escape was not yet complete, because he was still inside Azkaban's large anti-Apparation wards.


Slowly he stood up. Only few miles more... I must do this... Step by step... I must not give up...


Why I was so stupid... I shouldn't have gone after that rat. I should have spoken with Dumbledore... I should have taken care of Harry. Because of me he was given to his terrible muggle relatives. Because me he was abducted... My fault... My responsibility.


Never had he been so shocked as when he had read the Prophet two days ago...


*


Marvin Fletchley was having a bad day. It was his turn to check the prisoners in Azkaban. He hated this place. Dementor's are terrible creatures. No wonder that most prisoners here are completely unhinged.


"Now... Who's next?" he muttered to himself as he checked his notes. Sirius Black. That bastard, who betrayed Potters in addition of killing Pettigrew and a bunch of unlucky muggles.


As he arrived to Black's cell, he was shocked. Sirius Black looked nearly normal... Well, as normal as anyone who had spend decade in a cold cell could look.


"If you have read that paper, could you give it to me?"


Now he Marvin was even more shocked. He even acts normal... spooky. "Uh... sure."


Sirius started to red the daily prophet, not paying any more attention to the ministry official. Marvin on the other hand was staring Black unbelieving. It its like he is merely bored.


After minute or so of silence, Marvin was staring to get goosebumps. "Well... I will go now as you obviously are all right."


"Yeah, yeah," Sirius said not lifting his gaze from the paper. Marvin was still staring Black like he had grown a second head.


As soon as Marvin had turned into another corridor he heard Sirius yelling:


"WHAT! WHAT THE HELL HAS HAPPENED TO HIM!"


"Some bad news, eh?" Marvin muttered to himself, not bothering to go back and see why Black was suddenly yelling.


*


Ten years old Harry Potter was panting heavily. His three assailants were shooting curse after curse towards him. He was constantly on the move, dodging wildly. Harry was struggling to keep his shield up. I can't keep this up for long anymore...


With a swift sidestep Harry avoided a stunner, only to see that two bludgeoning curse was sailing through the room towards him. Oh shit!


Harry sidestepped the first curse and his wand made familiar sweep as he yelled, "Protego!"


But it was too late and the second bludgeoning curse hit him straight into his chest with such strength that all air was blasted out of his lungs. Harry was slammed to the cold stone floor, where he rolled few meters before his momentum ended. He lost his grip of his wand, and it flew to the other side of the room. In other words; he was helpless.


As Harry was gathering his breath, his assailants surrounded him. Bastards.


Harry looked one of his assailants ruefully. "You know, Kheiron, that you are a sadist."


"Hmmph... That was only a bludgeoning curse. We don't use any spells that would cause permanent damage or exceeding pain."


"Exceeding pain, my arse," Harry muttered under his breath.


"If you wish, I can set your arse on fire," a young, blonde woman standing beside him stated happily as a small flame appeared on the tip of her left index finger.


"Very funny, Ama," Harry said to the young Pyromagus. I wish that I would have an ability that cool. But no, instead I am a Parselmouth. And that's pretty useless ability. The only thing I can use it, is to talk to Kheiron's mother's picture. Though she has useful information, she's constantly nagging that I am 'only' a half-blood, which means that the information is usually not worth it.


"Actually, at least I think that my granddaughter's joke was funny," said the fourth person in the room.


"Whatever, Glaucia. Whatever."


Suddenly a balding, middle-aged man appeared with a distinguee cracking sound. The man was obviously very exited about something.


"Mr. Wood, has something happened?" Kheiron asked sounding annoyed. "You know that they could trace your Apparation here."


"Yeah right... Why would anyone want to follow me? Besides, isn't this place warded against all tracking charms?"


"He's right," Ama agreed. "You are just being paranoid, as usual, Kheiron."


"And they aren't even searching for us anymore," Harry joined in the conversation. "For all they know, you died in Azkaban over fifty years ago. And I am quite sure that they think I was killed by the remaining Death Eaters."


"Are you all against me?" Kheiron asked looking around for support. Unsurprisingly he found none.


"Most likely, yes," Glaucia said with a little smile playing on her lips.


"Very well then," Kheiron snorted and turned towards Thomas Wood. "Why did you came here in the first place?"


"Sirius Black has escaped from Azkaban."


"What?" came the collective reply.


"Indeed, he is the first person to ever escape from Azkaban," the man said, rubbing his chin. "I really wonder how he did it.


Kheiron looked thoughtful. "It matters not how he did it. All that matters is what he is going to do. If he is going back to Voldemort, we might be able to follow him to Voldemort's hideaway. And then destroy them both."


"Kheiron, who is this Sirius Black fellow? Is he a Death Eater?" Harry asked.


Kheiron looked at him for few seconds before answering. "Yes. Actually he was the one who betrayed your parents to Voldemort."


"He did?" Harry asked dangerously, his eyes narrowing. He didn't know what to make of this information. He had never really met his parents, so he felt no real love towards them. But they had still been his parents and they had died protecting him. Not to mention that he had been forced to live four long years with the Dursleys.


Kheiron snapped his fingers and a heartbeat later his house-elf, Iason, appeared with soft pop.


"What do you want? You interrupted my napping." The house-elf was obviously some-what annoyed. Harry paid it no attention. He had got used to this elf's peculiar habits ages ago. No, this elf acts normally, Harry thought with a smile creeping to his lips. It is the other elves who act peculiar.


"I want you to summon everyone in the Cabal of the Chimaera here," said Kheiron, who was starting to look as annoyed as the elf.


The small elf shrugged his shoulders and sighed heavily, before he disappeared without another complaint.


"Glaucia, go to the Ministry and find out what they know." The old woman nodded and Disapparated.


"Amaterasu, go to the Hogwarts and find out what Dumbledore knows about this. And please, be careful."


"Don't call me that," Ama snapped, clearly annoyed, before she too vanished. Her disappearance, however was accompanied by a burst of flames. Harry could clearly smell something burning, which was quite interesting as nothing had really burned. At least he had always thought that their flames were completely magical. Or did Pyromagus abilities work by conjuring burning matter?


Kheiron was watching Harry intensively. "And Harry. We need to talk." It's time to tell him about his destiny.


Harry grimaced. Nothing good ever followed the phrase 'we need to talk'.


*


Harry had always wondered why Kheiron had always emphasised his combat training. Now he knew the reason. He had thought that Kheiron would use his skill in some elaborate and illegal schemes to gain something that strikes his fancy.


Now he knew better. The true reason for his duelling training was that he was sort-of destined to kill or be killed by Voldemort. He had no doubt that Kheiron would profit from Voldemort's death.


Now when Harry really thought it, Kheiron would probably even profit from his death. It was after all very hard lose when you played in both sides...


Kheiron was really something. He had never met other people like his mentor... and it was probably the best for it to stay that way. Kheiron always said that he was a Dark wizard, but Harry had his doubts. Weren't Dark wizards supposed to be power hungry schemers? Kheiron definitely was a schemer, but he seemed to be contend in what he had. The only thing he seemed to crave for was peace. Peace for himself.


Voldemort on the other hand craved for world domination. And I am the lucky one who has to end his rise for power once again, this time for good.


"What did he say to you?"


Harry turned towards the sound. "So. Back already, Ama?" Harry said, lifting his gaze to study his fellow student. For some reason, that he wasn't aware of, she had been expelled from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry little over two years ago. She had somehow ended up as Kheiron's other student. Not that he complained. It was nice to have some company other than old but young looking Dark wizard and that Dark wizard's nut-case house-elf. "I thought you would be still spying in Hogwarts."


"Headmaster wasn't at Hogwarts, Harry. There was no point of risking detection by staying there any more time. Even with an invisibility cloak, silencing charms and smell-killer charm it is far too risky for my tastes."


"I suppose you are right."


Ama grinned seductively. "I am always right... And do you think I wouldn't notice that you are deliberately avoiding my question?"


"Um... No," Harry said with sigh.


"So are you going to tell me?"


"No," Harry said with full-blown smirk. "But I will show you something interesting that I found some time ago."


"Follow me to the library on the second floor," he said and Disapparated, not bothering to walk around.


Ama blinked and vanished with swirling flames.


*


Kheiron watched flames in his study's fireplace. The flames were illuminating the room with dim reddish light. Shadows were dancing on walls. He had much to think. Too much.


He took long gulp from the glass of wine he was holding. Kheiron was spinning the dark liquid in circles around the wineglass.


He was finding it hard to clear his mind, so he decided to perform his usual exercise to calm down.


He closed his eyes and concentrated. Slowly wine started to rise out of his glass forming a perfect sphere. The sphere was glimmering in soft light, reflecting the flames in fireplace like a bloodstone.


Wandless Mobili Liquidus charm. Performing wandless magic was near impossibility for human beings, barring few special circumstances like Animagus transformation, when it was only exceedingly difficult. To cast even the simplest spells without wand demands iron will, natural talent and lots of magic. And it goes even more difficult as the complexity of the spell increased.


And for that reason Kheiron had always been fascinated by the apparent ease with many magical creatures performed wandless magic. Even young elfling could perform complicated transfigurations without a wand.


It was also very interesting that most magical creatures cannot use wand. House-elves are one of the few who species that can, though it doesn't come naturally to them. It's far harder to teach an elf than a human to cast wand-spells.


It's ironic that humans have the greatest magical potential with wand, but hardly anything without it. Why are humans bound to such magic channelling device as wand?


More questions... and he was supposed to be clearing his mind.


His concentration failed and the sphere shattered into a thousand tiny drops. Now there was puddle of wine on his floor. Damn it.


Kheiron sighed, and then whispered tiredly, "Evanesco."


Voldemort. Grindelwald. Damn them! It was same for both. When I still could have killed them, I didn't have reasons to do so, and when I had the reasons, I couldn't beat neither of them anymore. Bastards! When do I learn?


He could still vividly remember those fateful days...


*


Kheiron Lestrange was tired. He had been working in the St. Mungos Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries near continuously for over two weeks. Grindelwald had apparently started his greatest terror campaign ever seen, and more and more people were requiring hospitalising. As the Head Healer it was his duty to be at St. Mungos during emergency, and unfortunately for him, and actually for anyone else too, it had been near continuous emergency for weeks!


He drummed his fingers against his sturdy wooden table as he skimmed trough piles of papers searching for certain file. His search was interrupted by his office door slamming wide open. His young assistant stepped in looking nearly panicked. Her lime green robes were slightly dishevelled and the St. Mungo's emblem (A wand and a bone, crossed.) had bloody fingerprints on it.


"Kheiron! We have a problem!" she yelled, waving her hands for extra effect.


"I already guessed that, Janet. Are you going to tell me what has happened, or are you just going to continue making racket?"


"There has been another attack. In addition of at least dozen deaths. There are seven people who suffered minor injuries, twelve people with moderate injuries and one woman with critical injuries. I think you should look at her."


He stood up. Kheiron had always taken his job very seriously. He wasn't the youngest ever Head Healer ever for nothing. "Where is she then?"


"She was just brought in. She is still in entrance hall."


Kheiron nodded, and vanished with a small crack. It was good that all faculty was keyed to the wards, so that they could Apparate inside St. Mungo's.


A second later he rematerialized in the entrance hall, which was in very chaotic state. There were people laying everywhere, healers running from patient to another. He quickly spotted blood soaked woman laying on the floor surrounded by bunch of healers. That must be her.


He walked though the hall to the woman and pushed few lime green robed Healers out of his way so that he could see her properly. Then he recognized her. Moraine Hesterber. Oh shit. She's looking pretty bad.


He kneeled beside her, muttering series of incantations, which caused his wand to radiate soft light blue light. He moved his wand over her body, using his magic to examine her. She should be already dead...


"She's suffering from two broken ribs and sternum, injured shoulder, a few internal injures - bruised kidneys and punctured lung - and a concussion. The major problems are severe internal haemorrhage and those two dark curses; Standard lingering heart stopper and some sort of muscle gangrene curse. Never seen that one before"


"Do you think you can save her?" one of the Healers asked.


"I definitely hope so, but there is no guarantees, as I am forced to use my experimental healing charm on her."


"What... You are going to use an untested charm on a patient."


"Do any of you have better ideas? Her muscles are rotting rabidly and we simply don't have time to find a proper counter curse," Kheiron said looking at his fellow Healers.


Nobody said anything.


"I thought so." Well, here goes nothing... "Viscusar!"


Suddenly his wand's glow started to grow exponentially. Few seconds later whole entrance hall was bathed in bright electric blue light. Most people were covering their eyes, wondering what the hell was happening.


Kheiron closed his eyes to shield them from the bright light. This spell took all concentration he could muster. It was spell of insane complexity. It had taken him six years to create it, and then four years to master it to some usable decree. Now I shall see whether all that work was wasted or not.


Information flowed into his mind. He could feel every cell in her body, and he had total control over every single one of them. He knew exactly what was wrong with her and what he should do to heal her. The question was whether he could.


Kheiron felt like the spell was fighting to unravel itself. And the healing process was very complicated, a seconds lapse in concentration could cause terrible cellular failure within her. He could afford no mistakes. She could afford no mistakes.


Few agonizing minutes later Kheiron's wand started dim, and then the glow vanished completely. Kheiron blinked, and then collapsed to the ground, panting heavily. Purple afterimages were clouding his vision as he turned his head to see what extend his spell had worked as it should have.


As his vision cleared he started to smile victoriously. There were no wounds left on the woman's body. Where there had been broken skin where now only slight pink marks left. Broken bones had been mended, organs regenerated and rotting flesh first destroyed and then rebuilt. All around him he could hear people gasping. He grinned like a madman. Success!


He once again raised his wand and pointed it towards the woman. "Ennervate." Kheiron blinked as he clearly felt the magic the spell had just drained. Never before had he something like that after casting such a minor spell like Ennervate. He suddenly became aware that he was on his kneels, panting heavily and sweating profoundly. Apparently using the experimental flesh-crafting charm had consumed bulk of his magic. Not that it really mattered, after a day's rest he would be just fine.


Suddenly Moraine's eyes opened. And then she blinked rabidly.


"Wh- Where am I?" she stuttered.


"You are in St. Mungo's, Moraine," Kheiron answered, still breathing heavily.


"Kheiron?" she asked as she turned her head towards him. Her eyes narrowed as she tried to focus her vision.


"It's me, yes."


"Oh... I sorry, so sorry," Moraine whispered hoarsely. Tears started to fall on her cheeks.


"Sorry about what?"


"About Victoria..."


Kheiron's eyes snapped wide open, and he suddenly had very concerned expression. "Was she with you? Is she injured? What happened?"


"I so sorry... so sorry..."


"Sorry? You are not saying that she... that..."


"Yes," she sniffed.


Kheiron went very still. His face betrayed his pain.


"If it helps anything, we are sorry," one of the Healers, Ms. Weatherby, said.


Kheiron tried to calm himself. It wasn't working though. No, no, no. She can't be dead. She just can't... With those thoughts he Disapparated.


Barely second later he reappeared in the Diagon Alley. His eyes widened as he saw the extend of the destruction that the Dark Lord's followers had brought. Half of the Diagon Alley had been burned to the ground. He started searching for his wife, hoping desperately that he wouldn't find her dead.


Soon his hopes were crushed.


Victoria's body was laying lifeless with over dozen other bodies near the entrance of the Gringotts bank. Someone had obviously had time to gather the dead. He didn't even notice that he fell to his knees. His world was crumbling around him. Victoria was gone... He felt so hollow...


After fifteen or so minutes of sobbing uncontrollably he rose up determinately. He had decided a new reason to live: revenge.


And no matter what they say, revenge was a dish best served white hot.


*


Group of five witches and wizards dressed in black, were laughing at him. They were all Grindelwald's followers, so-called Dragunovs.


Kheiron nodded to his two companions, who were standing few steps behind him. It was a predetermined attack sign. It had been clear beforehand that this meeting would descend into violence. Actually, they had come here with a purpose of 'vanishing' this bunch of Dragunovs.


Kheiron's wand whipped out in a blur, and a bolt of electric blue light shot out of his wand at the startled Dragunov, who quickly managed to raise a shield. The blood-jellying curse rebounded off towards Kheirons's left, and he wasted no time in casting his next spell, the Killing Curse.


The sickly green bolt of light hit squarely on the Dark wizard's chest. The wizard's body fell bonelessly to the soft forest ground.


The Dragunovs stopped laughing. Somehow it was very satisfying. A heartbeat later, the battle was raging.


The air was thick with spells, and Kheiron had to be wary from all 360 degrees, in case a wayward spell from another duel caught him. One on one was simple in that you knew where a spell was coming from at all times. In this kind of chaos, one ricochet from behind could end his duel. They were outnumbered and Kheiron found himself duelling with two Dragunovs.


He spun away from an entrails-rotting curse cast by a Dark witch, bringing his wand down in a slashing movement, unleashing a twisting orange ribbon of light at the female Dragunov, who dived to the ground.


A second later she was burned alive by Kheiron's conjured fireball. Kheiron, however, had no time to celebrate as his other opponent had launched an Avada Kedavra towards him. With a lightning fast flick of his wand he conjured a large stone pillar in the curse's path.


The stone pillar exploded into a shower of small fragments and dust when the Killing Curse hit it, releasing its profane energy in small ball of green fire. The Dragunov had already cast another Killing Curse at him.


Kheiron sidestepped and the curse missed him by a hair's length. Kheiron's face changed from a mask of pure hatred to disbelief as he had somehow managed to trip on a stone fragment. He hit the ground headfirst, but he was so shocked that he hardly felt anything. He knew he should Apparate away, but somehow he just couldn't muster enough willpower as he was far too busy contemplating his impeding death, which was now surely coming at any second.


It never came.


After few seconds he realized that the sounds of battle had ended. The forest was completely silent. He rolled to his back and saw one of his companions, a teenager wizard named Damien, standing behind the apparently dead Dragunov, who had been just about to kill him.


"Glaucia got hit by some dark curse. I will take her to Jacobson's. I trust that you don't know what to do?"


"Of course," Kheiron replied, his voice trembling slightly. "It was my plan to begin with."


"This one is still alive," Damien Sprout said and kicked the unmoving body front of him. "And one of them Apparated away."


Kheiron nodded, steadying his breath as he watched his friend to take hold of Glaucia and Disapparate, leaving only small explosion of flames behind. He rose slowly and walked to the fallen Dragunov. Kheiron took careful look at the man. His eyebrows rose slightly as he recognized the man. He had been his charm's professor at Hogwarts. Well, I never liked the man anyway.


"Accio wands." A second later five wands were flying through the air towards him. He caught them all with his left hand and then pocketed them. With a wave of his wand, green ropes shot out of his wand tip and tightened themselves around the man. Then he warded the immediate area around them against Apparation.


"Ennervate." The man opened his eyes, blinking repeatedly.


"Well, well, well. So nice that you have awoken," Kheiron said, with a cruel smirk. He lifted his wand and pointed it towards the man's chest.


"You cannot do this!" the Dragunov screamed.


Kheiron was smiling slightly as he watched the squirming Dark wizard. "Eh? You shouldn't be so sure of yourself. I mean, nothing is stopping me from doing anything to you at all."


"The Dark Lord will surely get you from this, filthy blood traitor!"


"Uh huh. Grindelwald isn't here. And I am going to make sure that he will never learn of our little conversation," said Kheiron nonchalantly. "Besides even if he were to learn about this, it would be too late for you. So you better to tell me everything."


"I am faithful! You will get nothing out of me," the man snarled. "And even if you kill me, you cannot escape my lord's revenge!"


"My, my. You are starting to get annoying. Crucio."


The Dragunov's world was suddenly filled with all encompassing pain, and he started screaming his lungs out. Kheiron knew very well that the pain Cruciatus curse caused was unbearable. In normal situation he would have never cast it on anyone. This was not a normal situation, though. He was far too immersed in his need for vengeance.


Unknowingly for both of them a small group of Aurors had been keeping tabs on this group of suspected Dragunovs.


Kheiron never noticed the brilliant red streak travelling through the dark forest...


*


Harry shoved a book to Ama's hands. "Look at the page 179."


Ama blinked as she saw the cover. Bewitch Your Witch. "Are you sure that you gave me the right book, or are you suggesting something?" Ama asked in disbelief.


Harry blushed slightly, but answered with a steady voice, "open pace 179 and tap it with your wand. Besides, I am only ten. And you are five years older."


She opened the book and turned the pages until she found the page Harry wanted. A chapter eleven, named /Wow Your Witch and Watch Her Wiggle/, started from that page. As she tapped the page with her wand, the text started moving, forming symbols that she couldn't understand.


"It's Parseltongue. Though, it took me three weeks to realize it. And then it took me over a week to comprehend it. I didn't even know that there was a written form of Parseltongue."


"Wow. What does it say?"


"It tells how to open the Chamber of Secrets."


"What's that?"


"It is a hidden chamber beneath Hogwarts. Salazar Slytherin build it a year before he left the school. The book implies that there is a basilisk locked down there."


"Basilisk? Why would Slytherin bring basilisk into the school?"


"Well, the book says that he did it to purge the school from unworthy mudbloods," Harry said with thoughtful expression. "But I am not sure if I believe it. Slytherin, after all, did teach muggle-borns. Sure, he didn't like them but that was because of their connections to muggles, it wasn't an issue of blood purity. Slythering hated muggles with passion, and he had a good reason for it; They had burned his family alive in their idiotic witch purges."


"Then why did he bring the basilisk into Hogwarts?"


"I don't know. Maybe he wanted to raise a basilisk or maybe he had indeed gone completely bonkers, bending on homicide. Who knows?"


"Harry, the real question is not what Slytherin wanted to do with his big snake," Ama said with a wicked grin. "The question is why did you read that book."


Harry blinked. "What?"


"You couldn't know that the book contained hidden information when you started to read it," Ama proclaimed victoriously, tapping her finger at Harry's chest.


"I... uh... well," Harry stammered as he blushed again. This time harder. Damn it!


"Oh my! Little Harriekins is growing up!" Ama said as she ruffled Harry's raven black hair.


"Shut up, Amaterasu!"

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Author's Note: I would be glad if any of you could come up with a better name for Grindelwald's followers...