Chapter Text
Sitting at a coffee shop, Alex waited for someone to arrive. The smell of roasted coffee beans, the chattering of other customers, and slight wind took his mind off the incoming heat wave — and other things.
A wooden gate swung open, then closed as footsteps got closer to the young wizard.
Remus sat down.
With a slight smile, he waved the letter Alex sent a couple days ago.
“I thought you didn’t want people to see your home. Too dangerous.”
He waved to a waiter, who nodded. They already knew his order.
“I still agree, however I need someone to watch over Harry while I’m away.”
“You trust me?”
“Over the others, yes. You didn’t talk much, but when you did — you meant what you said. You want Harry to be safe, yet you understood there needed to be an appropriate stopping point. You were unaware about the Dursleys, right?”
“You are correct,” he said, wincing slightly as he recalled the night the two wizards first met.
He paused, placing the letter down carefully.
“However, I won’t and would never go against Dumbledore. He had his reasons then. The Dursleys were the only family, and Dumbledore believed it was the only safe space.”
“I don’t agree it was the only option, but I understand.”
The tall man slid the letter back to Alex.
“I don’t think I’m the safest person to be with Harry.”
Alex leaned forward, pushing the letter back.
“Because you’re a werewolf?” he whispered.
Remus widened his eyes, pushing away from the table.
“Did Dumbl—”
He shook his head.
“No, I figured it out on my own.”
He was about to say something, when the waiter came in with coffee and a small pastry. The man turned with a floating quill and paper to Remus.
“Just black coffee, please.”
The wizard nodded and went inside. Alex sipped the menu’s summer special — a spiced coffee. He waited for Remus to speak first.
“Why — are you not concerned with what I am?”
Lupin looked briefly at him before scanning the people around. The outside space was nearly vacant with the slight heat wave going through England.
“Look around, Mr. Lupin, and I mean really look around.”
Remus glanced around the store.
A nervous teenager was near the gateway, looking out towards the street. Through the windows, people sat alone in business robes, reading the news. A young toddler ran around the cafe wide-eyed. Her parents patiently waited for the kid to run back.
“Except for around twelve nights a year, you are you. You’re like them.”
He motioned towards the regulars in the cafe. The toddler moved back to her parents, only slightly tripping. She got up with a smile and ran the rest of the way.
“It takes more than a couple days to recover,” he said simply, frowning.
“And if you never had to deal with the moon again?”
Remus looked at the young wizard as Alex drank his coffee. A slight clinking noise could be heard in the silence that set between the two.
“The Wolfsbane potion, Remus. I can either buy it or brew it myself.”
“No,” he said firmly, shaking his head. “It’s too expensive.”
“If your excuse is money, it’s not a very good one. Do you want to tell me the real one?”
The response was cut off as the waiter came out again with a small cup of coffee. Even in the heat, the steam raced off. Alex thanked the young man as Remus kept his eyes down. The waiter was around Alex’s age, and glanced back at the two customers.
The sound of the door closing and a chair scrapping on the stone flooring paused the answer again. The boy gave up waiting in the heat, and went inside. Remus didn’t reply until the door closed.
“I don’t want to owe people, especially friends, anything. Whether you have money or not is not the problem, but the fact it’s yours is the problem.”
“And the money would go to you regardless. If you watch over Harry, I would pay you — especially with the conditions you’d need to agree to. I would give you a potion, or money for you to make the potion or get it yourself. I’d need you to watch over him and prepare him for next year’s material — especially defense against the dark arts. He’s already behind from Professor Quirrell, and in need of practice due to him — if you understand my point.”
Remus nodded.
“I’m aware of what happened last year, but didn’t you protect him? What would my purpose be?”
“I protected him, yes. Someday, however, I won’t. He’ll need teaching to help him defend himself — and it can’t just be me teaching him.”
He paused before he admitted, “I need help. I’m coming to you for help.”
Remus slowly thought aloud, “So you need me to be a teacher…What are the conditions?”
“Your mind would need —” he paused before finishing, " protecting.”
He took a bite of his pastry, before continuing, “I would put a spell on your memory — blocking you from ever saying where the house is. It would also wipe all memories you have at Harry and I’s house if someone breached your mind to search for the location.”
“You can do that?”
Alex didn’t answer. He took a sip of coffee as Remus thought. Alex munched on his almond croissant and coffee as the silence continued.
The waiter came out again.
“Do either of you gentlemen need water, or anything else? There’s still room indoors.”
Alex looked to Remus, before he responded.
“We don’t mind the heat just yet. Thank you.”
He handed two galleons, and a handful of sickles to the waiter, who grinned.
“Thank you, sir.”
“No problem, Cody.”
Remus looked up at the young wizard. He didn’t have a name tag. Cody’s face showed shock as well.
“I thought you didn’t want your guest to know —”
Alex smiled as he waved the question away.
“I know, but I need him to understand something.”
Cody nodded, glancing back at Alex’s guest, then headed back inside.
“You’re here often?”
Alex nodded, eating more of the croissant.
“They know my order as soon as I walk in.”
Remus looked around again, but looked beyond the cafe. Men in suits walked by the storefront, checking papers and talking into giant blocks. Remus recalled the odd invention — phones.
“You’re trusting me already,” he said, looking back at the young wizard.
“I am.”
He looked at the older wizard, before his eyes moved away. Alex picked up a napkin, wiping the crumbs from his hands and mouth. He finished the last of his coffee.
“I’ll start leaving Harry alone in under a week, and I need someone to trust. This cafe is one of the few wizard-centered places near Harry and I’s home. There’s a bookstore nearby I used to study your world.”
The older man tilted his head as he raised an eyebrow.
“Your world?”
“I’ve gotten used to the wizarding world, but I don’t know if I’ll ever see this as my new normal. It’s not a great feeling to have — especially since Harry needs this to be his normal. He belongs here.”
The wizard asked sincerely, “And you don’t belong? You feel that way?”
Alex nodded.
“There are things you won’t ever learn — and Harry hasn’t and might not ever learn either. I’m still trying to figure that out — but, from the things I know, this will always be odd. Not quite home.”
He folded his napkin and carefully centered it on the small, empty dish in front of him.
“In the beginning, I didn’t want to risk his safety. I didn’t trust the strangers who brought him to my aunt and uncle. Now, I’ve started relying on others — them. Harry’s friends, Dumbledore —” he laughed as he continued, “even the booksellers I talk with have all helped.”
He moved the dish and cup to the end of the table as he paused.
“Unfortunately, I need more help.”
A bird twittered nearby as another long pause ensued.
“I’ll help, but I don’t want the potion. I’ll do this as a friend.”
Alex sighed as he said, “Thank you, but without the potion, this won’t work. Your mind in that other form isn’t well-protected.”
He stood up slowly, running his hand through his hair.
“I’ve done my research. In that condition, the mind is scattered, but the memories are still there. I know you believe otherwise.”
Even in the heat, Alex had a long-sleeved shirt underneath his wizard robes. He rolled up both of his sleeves to show large claw marks on each of his forearms.
“Unfortunately, I got a bit distracted, but I learned what I needed. An afflicted person’s memories and mind become scattered — like a form of insanity — but you don’t quite lose them. You can’t access them, but they are still there. With some magic, others can glance at your memories. It’s difficult, but definitely not impossible.”
He carefully rolled his sleeves back down as he moved himself to face towards the street. He didn’t want Cody or the regulars to spot the slashes. They all thought he was a young graduate of Hogwarts, still looking for work.
“While I could see the memories, they moved too fast for me to cast any magic on. I want you to access the memories you’ll get with Harry, but make sure no one else can. It’s difficult — especially when you throw in your condition — to make the walls permeable for you to know but no one else.”
He turned and waved his hand towards the window. Cody stepped outside to pick up the empty dishes. A bead of sweat dripped down Alex’s face. As the door closed again, he continued, “Then, there’s the condition of those specific memories being wiped completely as a fail safe.”
The street cleared out as people left to go to work. The well-dressed wizards reading the news were gone. The family of three were in a small booth, eating. The young boy, who left to go inside, finally met his date with a summoned bouquet of flowers. Another bead of sweat dripped down Alex’s face, which he brushed aside.
“My spells become harder to maintain when someone changes. I need to spend a lot of magic to keep some memories protected. You wouldn’t be able to access the memories still but now others wouldn’t either.”
Alex fixed his collar nervously. His thoughts ran about who he would need to ask next. He wasn’t asking Dumbledore, Fletcher, or Figg. The Weasleys might be a good choice, but he didn’t want to put more stress on them.
“The deal can’t happen if I need to protect you in both of your forms. I still trust you over many, many others. It’s the safety spells that hold me up, not you. I want the people protecting him to be safe. You wouldn’t be — without the potion.”
Alex didn’t notice Remus had finished his cup, until he actually looked at the cleared away table. He finally looked back at Remus.
The older wizard got up from his chair, and reached a hand out.
“I’ll take the potion, and help Harry. Conditions and all.”
Alex smiled, waving his hand towards the small wooden gate, leading out to the street. An antiquated doorway, even in the modern surroundings of the tiny magical shop.
Remus moved towards it, even as he finished, “I still won’t be able to help during those days, but I’ll help with the rest.”
As the two went pass the gateway, the outside part of the shop vanished. The cafe was still visible, but it seemed closed with the lights out and the windows darkened.
“I understand,” Alex said. He raised his hand, calling for a cab.
As they waited, Remus asked, “When should we do the memory spells?”
“When we get to the Happy Dragon — that’s the name of the place. I’ll blur this memory along with any future ones once we get there.”
The older man smiled as he repeated the name, “Happy Dragon? Is it a pub?”
Alex nodded as he waved to a cab that quickly made it’s way towards them. He opened the door to let Remus sit, then went to the other side and got in. Alex gave the address and half-an-hour later they were let out. He paid as Remus got out, looking up at the pub.
The pub’s icon was a smiling red dragon with the name below the creature in large, straight-to-the-point font.
Alex opened the door, motioning Remus to step inside.
It was still fairly early in the morning, so there were only a handful of customers. A couple college-aged students sat in the far corner, bickering over something to do with their summer research assignments.
It was a large open floor with booths lining the walls. To the far left, the bar and a smaller door where clanging noises erupted from Andrew and Iain working the kitchen. Mr. Robert’s hired the two as cook and cook assistant several years ago. Harry’s voice could be heard from that direction.
“Mr. Roberts, are you sure you haven’t seen Alex? He wasn’t in bed when I woke up.”
“I’m over here, Harry,” Alex called out.
A head popped out from the bar, quickly moving around Mr. Roberts, who was organizing the new drinks he got recently. The young student ran over to the entrance, before quickly skidding to a stop. He covered his forehead, acting as if he had a scratchy head.
“It’s fine, Harry. Remus agreed to help us out for the summer. He won’t be telling anyone where you and I are. Would you mind running upstairs and grabbing your school supplies?”
Alex smiled and waited until Harry was out of sight.
“We’ll do the memory stuff in the night — once the inn is empty. For now, I’d like you to see what last year’s material was about and see if there’s anything missing. When you figure that out, you can plan to cover it and then move on to preparing him for next year. I have a feeling Harry won’t learn everything he needs to know in class.”
He looked at Remus, who nodded.
“I’ve heard Dumbledore is having a hard time finding professors for the Defense post.”
“Dumbledore told me Gilderoy Lockhart will take up the post. If you read any of his books, you’ll understand my concerns. The Headmaster has his reasons, but I don’t want Harry to fall behind because of Dumbledore’s plan.”
“Do you want me to teach Harry all of next year’s material?”
“Spells take priority, before the flora and fauna they try to teach the kids. You’ll have time to figure out what’s important, before teaching him. Harry still needs to finish his summer work — including a potion that he’s tried to do about seven times already.”
Harry rushed downstairs with his arms full of scrolls and books. On his back, clattering and clanging noises could be heard for each step taken. He made his way to a booth with a small sign: Harry’s Booth.
The day went as usual. Mr. Roberts and Alex, along with Andrew and Iain, ran the pub as Harry sat and did his work. Regulars often chatted with the young boy, asking about his school work and summer fun. Remus stumbled his way through the first couple interactions, but eventually got the hang of it.
As crickets could be hear across the street at the nearby park, Mr. Roberts ushered out the final customers and waved goodbye to the two cooks. The older adventurer nodded his head towards Alex, then went upstairs. The young wizard walked over to the coat rack, where his staff was placed.
He imagined the tables in the middle of the inn were clean and the chairs already flipped. With a wave of his hand and another tap of his staff, the booths cleaned themselves. Dust, crumbs of food, and small streams of spilled drinks floated toward a small black trash can next to the bar. Alex checked the kitchen — already cleaned — before walking towards Harry’s booth. His young cousin was already upstairs, hopefully asleep, but likely attempting another go at his summer potion. Remus sat there, reading one of Harry’s notebooks.
“He’s not a very good note taker.”
Alex sat down across from the wizard.
“No, he isn’t.”
“It seems Quirrell liked to discuss the violent-side of creatures — ghosts haunt and scare, hags curse, and the like. He never discussed why they do those things, or their origins.”
He paused as he picked another notebook - Charms.
“Harry did well in Charms class last year, but I believe some of his form was off. He mentions difficulty with doing certain hand motions.”
Alex nodded. He held his staff, laying it down on his lap.
“So, you have an idea of what you want to do then?”
“I’ll come up with a plan within a week or two. When will you return from wherever you’re heading to?”
“I’ll be leaving for three or four days a week for most of the summer.”
Remus nodded, not pushing for more questions. He looked around the inn, then back at Alex.
“Ready, Alex?”
“Ready. Remus?”
He nodded, taking a breath as Alex picked up a staff and placed it on the wizard’s head.
After checking to make sure Remus could still recall his memories, they said their goodbyes.
The days passed similar to the days before.
Harry chatted with regulars, worked on school assignments, and did the dishes during lunch rush. Remus picked out a booth for himself, as he wrote lesson plans for the summer. He seemed busy, so people didn’t ask him questions like on the first night. He soon became part of the usual crowd of staff and customers. Mr. Roberts operated the bar and served drinks and food to folks, while chatting with everyone. Alex did the same, except during slow hours where he’d go upstairs to work.
Soon, Remus finished his first couple lesson plans and started teaching upstairs on the third floor — reconfigured to act as a makeshift classroom. Alex left for his first exploration.
Last year, he used his scrying crystal to look at Harry’s odd scar. It took months of preparation and research until he pieced together what it meant. His realization mainly occurred after he broke into the Lestrange’s vault and took the golden cup within it. He realized the odd items in his vision were Horcruxes.
Alex’s summer plan was simple. He’d investigate Voldemort’s past and hopefully find a clue where the rest of the Horcruxes were. Dumbledore sent information he found about Riddle. The earliest known place Dumbledore knew was Wool’s Orphanage in London. With the information Dumbledore asked a simple question — why? Alex only answered with three words — searching for Voldemort.
It took his second week of searching until he found Mrs. Cole, the matron of the school while Riddle was there.
It was his third visit as Alex drove his way to Mrs. Cole’s home. He fixed up more of the vines choking out her garden before Alex walked up to the door and knocked. Vines still overran parts of the house.
It took a minute with some shambling footsteps slowly drawing near. A lock rattled, and the door creaked open.
Half of the old women’s face showed as one last bolt stayed locked. She squinted to see him, before smiling.
“Alex! Have you come to help me with my garden?”
“I have, Mrs. Cole. Would you like me to help with the garden again? I’m sorry to say I’ve already started to see the vines growing back.”
“Those pesky things. Hmm, well, yes, I would love your help there, but my windows are starting to get blocked out with those vines. Is there anyway you can help?”
She fiddled with the last bolt as Alex responded, “I’ll do my best. Which side is your window on?”
She stepped outside where a mossy welcome mat was. She pointed and said, “The right side. Upper left.”
She turned back inside and said, “I’ll be back in a minute to help with the garden. I have to get the right shoes on.”
Mrs. Cole stepped back into her house, and closed the door. Alex didn’t hear the clicking sound, so he closed the door until he knew the door was completely shut.
He walked back to the garden, grabbing a pair of dragon hide gloves he left there and a pruning sheers. He chopped near the base of the house, then carefully tugged at the vines.
He cleared out an Alex-sized amount of vines from the wall, before Mrs. Cole reappeared. She got her shears, gloves, and a mini seat so she could sit comfortably as she chopped.
“We’ll have to figure out a way to get up there. I don’t have a ladder long enough.”
“I think I might have one in my car. I’ll go grab it, and see if it’s long enough to reach your window.”
“Thank you, Alex.”
He jogged back to his car, and opened his trunk. There was nothing in there, but after he searched for anyone nearby, he pulled out a large extendable ladder. Alex made his way back, carefully setting it down underneath where the window was. It took a couple more minutes to extend it up to the right height, while Mrs. Cole continued chopping away at the base of vines beneath the window.
“Alright, Mrs. Cole. I recommend you back away while I go up there.”
She nodded. The old woman picked up her seat and went to her driveway to sit back down. Alex jumped hard on the first step of the ladder, checking if the ladder would collapse on him.
There was a light wind helping with the heat. He quickly made his way up to the second floor.
“Everything alright?”
“Doing alright, madam,” he shouted back down. The ladder was set up to the left side of the window, so he leaned to the right to pick the vines off from the window. It took several minutes before he pried off the first vine.
Half an hour later, the window was clear. He carefully stepped back down. Mrs. Cole met him at the base of the ladder.
“Thank you again for your help. I have some grape cordial, if you would like some?”
“I would. Thank you.”
She picked up her seat and headed towards her house. Alex picked up the rest of the tools and dropped them off at her garden. He kept his gloves near the ladder, then went inside.
Her house was small with her kitchen and living room taking up one floor, and her bedroom and bathroom on the second. She lived here for most of her life.
She sat on her favorite seat — a flower-patterned rocking chair — and sipped a purple-colored drink. Alex’s drink already carefully placed on a lilac coaster, which was on a low-rise wooden table .
He sat in his usual place, next to her chair, on a brown couch with too many pillows. Certain windows were strategically open, with an electric fan blowing out hot air and attempting to bring in cool air.
Mrs. Cole knew Alex was here for two reasons. Initially, the young man was open about searching for more information on Tom Riddle, a troublemaker at her old school. Secondly, Alex wanted to help Mrs. Cole with her weed problems. This last one was made on the spot as Alex noticed the many problems the house had. Initially, the vines blocked the windows on the first floor from opening and letting air through. Now, the air was noticeably better.
Alex calmly sipped his drink, looking around at the room. He spotted a couple problems with the house still — windows still hard to move from rust and lack of use. He stood up walking to the windows, blocking the old lady from noticing the use of magic to fix them. He messed with the windows until miraculously they didn’t squeal as they moved.
The old woman fidgeted with her drink as she looked at the young man.
“Alex, please sit down. You’ve already done enough helping me.”
He stood up, quickly fixing the last window, before moving back to the couch.
“It’s really no problem. I’ve enjoyed talking with you.”
She frowned slightly, before putting down her drink.
“You came here for another reason. Even when I told you I wouldn’t say anything, you still helped me.”
Alex nodded.
“I’m not going to push you to relive something you don’t want to. I’ll find another way to find my answers, madam.”
She shook her head.
“No, no, it’s alright. I’ve thought about it, and I’m ready to talk about it.”
She took a sip of her drink before she started.
“You asked before about where Riddle felt…powerful. Invulnerable.”
Mrs. Cole set her cup down before starting.
“We’d go on a holiday trip every year — around this time. We’d go to a beach. The kids would build sandcastles and swim around. Some particular introverts would just read on the beach in the shade.”
She smiled for a moment as she recalled the memory before frowning again.
“Riddle was clever, charming, and often mischievous. Most summers he’d get away from us, and go somewhere with other kids. I always thought he was bullying kids there, but I could never prove it. Always out of sight, and the other children never told on him. I never understood him. I tried, but I couldn’t figure him out. He got away with plenty of things there. I’m sure he felt like he got something over us. Got away from our control, even if we were just trying to stop him from getting hurt or hurting others.”
She looked towards Alex as she finished, “He kept trophies. I’m sure of it. Riddle always collected odd things from other students. The kids always said it was gifts, but their faces were scared. Scared of him. Buttons, parts of dolls, even pages of a book Riddle kept in his room. It didn’t make sense.”
Alex reached out to the old women and held her hand, stopping it from shaking.
“Thank you, Mrs. Cole. You don’t have to tell me anything else, or remember anything else about him. You’ve told me enough.”
She nodded distractedly, before the old lady focused her attention back to him.
“Will you help me with the rest of the weeds, Alex? Or will you have to leave after this?”
Alex smiled.
“I’ll help. With the heat, I’d like you to stay inside. I’ll let you know when I’m done.”
“Done?”
Alex nodded, grinning.
“It’ll take a couple hours, madam, so don’t think it’ll be done in a second.”
“With everything?”
“I’ll do my best to do everything, but I don’t want you looking. I’ll be running around the place like a madman.”
She chuckled.
“Okay, I’ll make us some sandwiches while you run around like a crazed person.”
Alex helped her get up from her seat, before walking back outside. He looked around the place to make sure her neighbors or Mrs. Cole was looking. She kept her word, closing the shutters in the kitchen.
Alex grabbed the sheers again from near the garden, and placed them near the right side of the house. The sheers jumped up, spinning around in greeting, before it started chopping away at the vines. The young wizard kicked his gloves, which quickly went into action to gently pull the vines away from the house.
He walked over to the garden, waving at some walkers as they passed. When the street cleared out, Alex held his hand over each patch in the small garden, vanishing away the weeds. Lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, peas, and carrots ran along the left side. Strawberries, Mrs. Cole’s favorite fruit, covered the right.
Alex carved along the corners a growth rune before stepping away from the garden. He waved his hands one more time and a small blue shield became briefly visible. The spell would spook away any pests or critters trying to get into Mrs. Cole’s garden.
He looked around again, leaning on the picket fence. He tapped his fingers along it, waiting for a couple cars to go by, before he cleared it of vines. He checked his watch, then walked back to the house.
He chatted with Mrs. Cole as he ate, then went back outside. She decided to go to bed — a common thing she did after eating her ‘big’ lunch.
There was a small garden mower for her front lawn, hidden behind an overgrown bush. Alex pushed it around the lawn as the neighbors relaxed on their porch. It barely chopped at anything, since the blade was rusty. With a slight kick, however, it roared back to life. Mrs. Cole could sleep through anything, so he wasn’t concerned about waking her up.
The sun set as Alex rang the doorbell to wake Mrs. Cole up. It was the only thing that did.
Shuffling steps before the door smoothly opened. The creaking of it had disappeared. She looked at Alex then back at the door.
“Did you oil the door hinges?”
“I tried.”
He stepped back, just as the street lights turned on. Mrs. Cole gasped as she saw her front lawn. The wild grass now looked tame. The garden had a new coat of paint. Her rotting fence was cleared of all weeds and moss. The wood seemed brand new, standing stiffly to attention like soldiers in a row.
She stepped out in slippers as she walked along a re-discovered stone pathway around her house. The front of the house looked like how she first bought it. No rotten wood or chipped paint.
Alex led her to the gravel driveway that she overlooked in her room. The holes in the driveway were gone. Before she turned to see the side of her home, she noticed a large pile of vines shoved into green bins at the end of her driveway.
The wall of vines had completely vanished. Her windows were cleaned and lilacs filled a small window box.
“Oh my…You did all of this!”
She turned to look at him. He nodded, smiling. Mrs. Cole squeezed his hand.
“I can’t believe it.”
She turned around to look at everything.
“Is there anything you’re hiding? Some huge mound of weeds somewhere?”
“I wasn’t able to finish most of your backyard. I mowed most of it, but not as well as the front lawn.”
She shook her head, still smiling.
“No one goes back there. Not even me. Perfectly fine.”
She repeated herself as she looked up at the lilacs.
“Would you like anything before you go?”
“I’ll be okay, Mrs. Cole. I hope you show this off to your pestering neighbors. I didn’t do this for nothing.”
They both laughed, and slowly made their way back to the front door.
“Good night, Alex. I appreciate your help. I’ll see —”
She stopped herself, looking at Alex.
“Will I see you again?”
“I’ll be busy for a couple weeks, but I’ll try and send you letters every couple months. I’ll be starting a new job soon. I’m becoming a professor.”
She smiled as she said, “I’m sure you’ll do great.
Mrs. Cole turned, slowly closing the door, and said, “Then, I’ll wait for your letter.”
“Good night, madam.”
Alex turned away, quickly pulling out of the lady’s driveway. Over lunch, she gave him a map of the holiday trip — with a circle around the beach.
Around midnight, he went past the Happy Dragon, with his map splayed out on the dashboard. Another hour later, he parked his car near a small sea-shore town. Alex pushed his magic out, sensing several spells further east. He grabbed a broom from his bag, and made his way out to sea.
A mile from the spell, his broom short-circuited, cutting out completely. He had enough time to put his staff and broom inside his bag before hitting the water. Quickly he swam to the nearest land — a distant rocky outcrop jutting out of the water.
As he sat down at the peak of the outcrop, his magic tracked down the spell he first spotted near his car. It was an anti-apparating zone with the small rock being just out of reach. It was a stronger spell compared to a weaker, but larger spell — an anti-fly spell.
Alex dried himself from the cold water as he focused and decided to slow down. He pushed his magic past the anti-apparition magic to see if there were any other spells. Nothing specific other than a large amount of hateful, repulsive magic surrounding a cave in the middle of the cliff side.
He cast magic on his bag to make it stick to him, then dived into the water again. The swirling, violent water pulled him down and back towards the rock, but Alex pushed through. With shaky limbs, he made his climb up to the cave. Cold water slashed up and hit him in the back, making him pause as it tried to drag him down. Eventually, he got past the waves reach and made his way slowly to the cave entrance.
A couple steps into the cave, Alex sat down, closing his eyes as he leaned his head on the cave wall. His numb hands reached into his bag, pulling out a towel and his staff.
He imagined a roaring fire in front of him as he muttered, “Inferno.”
Without sticks, a small fire started to blaze in front of him. He felt dry around the sun rising in front of him. The cave didn’t have lights, but as the sun reached the cave Alex saw the cave ended a dozen feet in front of him.
Several small orbs of light swooshed to the end to illuminate it as Alex walked closer. He brought one of the orbs closer to a rune around his eye-line. Carefully, he readied himself as he said the runes one by one as he found them scripted in a row. Nothing happened.
He frowned, before starting at the other end and saying the runes again in reverse. Nothing.
He stepped back, extinguishing the weir lights and the fire. He tried again…and again.
Finally, after changing into more combat-ready clothes as he thought about the runes, something shifted after he said them. A small basin appeared at the center of the dead-end. A blood-stained one.
The instructions were clear enough, but should he follow them. He didn’t break Voldemort’s apparition spell, even though he broke Hogwart’s last year. Alex didn’t know however if someone could notice the disturbance. Dumbledore never told Alex if or when he could notice the young wizard breaking through. He knew Voldemort was alive, since the evil wizard possessed Quirrell last year.
He paced, thinking. Should he wait, or continue?
Alex glanced out to see the sky orange-red as the sun pushed towards the sky. His hand reached into the bag and pulled out a dagger.
Turning quickly, the young adventurer made his way to the basin and cut his hand, letting the blood drip into the basin.
The runes barely glowed, but Alex knew it was a curse. Weakness and doubt clouded his mind.
At the cafe, he nervously tapped his foot, as he thought about all the things he could’ve been doing. You don’t belong here. He felt homesick, thinking about all his friends back home. He should’ve sent letters to them by now. Why hadn’t he done that already?
Another memory surfaced to his mind, as remembered sitting on his bed, planning for the summer. He wrote a contingency plan — if he didn’t come back. If he failed, Harry would lose his only decent family member. Should he risk doing this? Is it worth it? He didn’t know all the different types of magic in this world, what if there was a way to stop him from coming back to his cousin. Harry was only eleven. His birthday was coming up soon.
Another thought bubbled to the surface, You’re more alone than ever before? Who understands you? No one. You act like an adult for so long, but now you want to be a kid. Run away, while you still can. Leave it behind — you can still go home. To your real home.
He imagined leaving the Happy Dragon, flying back to his home in Alusia. He could visit all his friends. He could learn more about his father and the mysterious organization he belonged to. Alex could investigate the Watchers, who took an odd liking to him in his past adventures. He could explore realms the Known Worlds didn’t know about. He could help people.
The final thought brought him back to reality. Help people. He was helping people right now. He was helping his cousin, Harry. What was more important that that?
Alex wrapped up his hand with some cloth and stepped through the doorway, which he hadn’t realized was open.
He was at the top of a staircase carved from rock. A large, black lake covered most of cavern. The banks of the lake couldn’t be seen, even with magic. High above Alex, the ceiling was hidden from view. He made his way down the stairs, quickly stopping to look back up at the doorway.
It closed shut.
He ran back up the stairs to see if there was an opening. Another small basin. He’d have to use his dagger again.
Slowly, he went back down towards the edges of the lake. Magic reeked here — nearly making Alex gag from the smell. He looked out towards the lake to see a steady green light at its center. Like a sick, green constellation, Alex knew he’d have to head towards it.
He lifted his staff to cast a strong light spell. It didn’t reach as far as predicted; something was dampening the magic. Voldemort didn’t want people to see their surroundings. To cause fear, or something else?
Alex’s magic pushed down into the murky water, then quickly came back like it was running from something. Dark, mindless, hungry undead lurked there — waiting.
He ran his hand through his hair as he re-thought his plan. Alex didn’t want to reveal he was here, but hundreds of undead near a small town was not a good thing. It was his responsibility to kill them as a wizard. However, would this hurt Harry?
One thought, obviously from the curse, screamed yes! Looking at it logically, however, was a semi-clear answer of unlikely.
Sitting on the least pointy rock he could find, Alex considered his options. There didn’t seem to be a spell sending Voldemort an alert for his monsters. It would only be problematic if the wizard showed up and realized his undead were destroyed. How likely is it that he’s checking?
Again, a cursed thought argued, You don’t know, so play it safe. Don’t do it. Once more, he thought it through — and came to a conclusion of he probably is thinking of bigger concerns at the moment, like getting his power back. His Horcruxes weren’t going to do that for him.
Standing back up, Alex went towards the water, splashing his feet into the edges of the lake. He backed away as the ripples went out.
Claws and hands ripped out of the water as far as he could see as Alex sensed a mass of evil coming towards him.
Perfect, he thought. This is just perfect. There must be at least four hundred of them.
He took a breath before he released a wave of dragon fire towards the incoming swarm. His staff amplified another arc of flames. The smell of burnt creature nearly distracted him enough for another mob to form.
A fiery ten-foot wall made quick work of the screeching masses. The creatures crawled over each other towards him and into the fire. They were unthinking as they continued to rush forward again and again to get to him.
Alex first learned magic with fire, so it was his best attack. However, even with his mastery over it, the young wizard was forced to combat the small army with large waves of magic — tiring him out.
As the waves became less intense, he grabbed his sword and waited for them to get close enough to stab.
The final wave of around twenty rushed forward. The inferni didn’t think as they crawled forward in an accidental semi-circle. He started to his right, slashing heads and reaching hands, before moving back. Alex did this method over and over again.
Until they were all dead.
His breath grew ragged as he sat on the lowest step of the staircase, panting. He pulled out some water from his bag, and drank it as he rested. Alex noticed the blood curse more as he used magic. It made it harder to focus on casting, and tired out the caster slowly as they spent more time in the cavern.
He needed to leave, but he saw the strange green-colored glow and moved away from the stairs. Alex wanted to leave — once he got the Horcrux.
It took several minutes of searching to find an invisible chain, which led to an invisible boat. Alex carefully stepped onto the hopefully sea-worthy transport. It started to carefully move itself towards the eerie light.
All around him, he spotted stronger spells — anti-apparition, anti-transformation, anti-flying, and more. The protections of this cavern versus the Lestrange’s vault was vastly different. The cavern had blood curses, swarms of undead, puzzles, dozens of strong spells, and an isolated location. The vault was located at Gringotts and owned by a rich, crazy Death Eater. There was a difference between the two.
After a couple of bone-chilling minutes, Alex’s boat butted up against the landing. Carefully, he tapped his staff on the crystallized outcrop. Nothing happened.
He took a step onto the rock, then another carefully step onto the first stair that spiraled up towards the light. No traps or illusions.
A sick, green liquid waited for him at the top. Something was at the bottom of the bowl.
Carefully, he placed his hands in the water, attempting to pull the item out. It wouldn’t budge.
Alex looked around, eventually finding a small crystal shell near the bottom of the pedestal the bowl was on. He picked it up, attempting to scoop out the item again. It stuck to the bottom despite his many efforts.
Another puzzle.
He pulled out a pouch of water from his bag as he sat down. For once, the ground was smooth. What’s Voldemort’s plan here?
There was an army of inferni. The boat’s invisible. He enjoyed torturing people — and killing them. Voldemort would want to kill someone trying to destroy or take his Horcrux at this point, but … something was off.
Maybe, the green liquid blinded him. As the person stumbled their way out, they would miss the boat and become drowned by the inferni. A morbid thought popped into his head — is that it? I mean, Alex thought, it’s nothing else. Maybe, the liquid feels like your worst nightmares or some other kind of torture. It probably wouldn’t kill. Probably.
He got back up, looking into the bowl. Alex already destroyed the inferni, so he wouldn’t drown because of them.
Well, just in case, Alex thought, I should have a backup plan. He sat back down, whispering his password.
In an otherwise silent cavern, a small whooshing noise could be heard as Alex made his way into his bag.
“Light.”
Lanterns erupted along the side of the large open room he was in. He was inside his room, and theoretically now away from the various spells in the cavern.
He summoned a geeb, a one-legged bowling-pin-shaped yellow bird with a long horn on its face. It’s face morphed to make a dinging sound like a bell. It hopped towards Alex.
“One moment. I just need to find the right letter. You’ll be taking this is Headmaster Dumbledore, probably at Hogwarts. You’ll make a noise to alert him, but disappear before he spots you. Got it?”
The creature dinged as Alex found the right letter and some gold coins.
“Here you go.”
He tossed the coins, which the bird grabbed with his single claw. The coins then quickly vanished, likely into some kind of mouth — still to be discovered. He rolled the small letter up and threw it up into the air. The creature vanished from the ground, quickly reappearing to grab the paper, then disappeared with a small pop.
He said the exit password, and popped right back out of the caravan. Alex searched to see if any alert was made. All the spells stayed the same. His theory was right, thankfully.
The shell cup in his hand, Alex drank his first cup full. He could see the shape of the locket at the bottom.
He drank a second cup of the green stuff. It was a potion — a cursed one — as expected. It left a burning feeling from his mouth to his stomach. He felt like puking as the feeling only grew as he continued drinking. It felt like fire burning from his insides and moving out in waves. Fire wasn’t supposed to hurt him, but this one did.
After the fourth or fifth cup, he felt paranoid. He felt the cold, clammy hands of the inferni grabbing onto his clothes as they tried to drag him into water. It was fake. He wasn’t moving, but it was very realistic.
With the fiery pain and spikes of fear coursing through him, the seventh or so added another unpleasant sensation. Sharp spikes of pain in his head and muscles from the lack of water.
He tried to move his mouth, but couldn’t. Alex’s energy dropped as his heart rate continued to spike. His vision wavered and darkened.
A voice could be heard, rasping, “Water, water.”
It took too long for him to realize it was his own voice. He weakly pawed at his water pouch still on him. He drank the entire pouch quickly.
His vision wavered into focus, but he could tell it was temporary. Alex lost track of the number of cups just that he continued to force them down. His vision went in and out in waves of pain, but he continued.
The worst of his memories swarmed him. He tried patting them away, putting up barriers in his mind, but they weren’t coming from outside forces, but inside.
The grass beneath his knees felt real as his tears streamed down his face. A gravestone, recently placed, in front of him.
Aster Taylor, his mother.
He cried and cried, asking for her to come back. He didn’t want to live with Mr. Roberts. He wanted to live with her. Alex wanted his family back.
Her smile was foggy, unclear, making Alex cry harder.
His heart felt tight and pain swept through him as he went unconscious. The grass vanished away as he saw crystal floors.
Alex’s vision returned, blurred with tears and from the pain. He could still see the grave in his mind, but he tried to push it aside as he stood up.
There was still potion left.
He grabbed the broken cup, scooping up the rest of it with cut-up hands. He drank the rest, and quickly fumbled for the locket.
He shoved it in his bag, imagining it in a locked silver box he made earlier in the week. Tripping slightly, Alex sat down on the boat with a thud. Waves rippled though the lake, but no creatures came to attack.
The young adventurer fought down his paranoia as he saw the opposite of reality. Swarms double the size of him hitting him and dragging him down. He closed his eyes, but the feeling persisted.
After a long time, Alex finally opened his eyes to see the boat finished it’s journey. He ran clumsily towards the staircase, following the bodies of dead monsters. Alex’s bleeding hands came in handy as he shoved them into the basin. After waiting a couple seconds before the door creaked open, Alex took off from the entrance. He skidded down the cliff face, and jumped the rest of the way into the water. The waves were bigger due to a storm rolling into shore, but Alex didn’t mind. The waves cushioned his fall, so he didn’t hit the large pointy spikes waiting below.
He created a bubble charm on his head as he swam to the small rocky outcrop outside of the anti-apparition charm. It took much longer than before — from his lack of strength and the strength of the waves.
Slipping twice as he made his way to the top, he nearly fell again, before he apparated away to his car. Imagining the edge of the Forbidden Forest near Hagrid’s hut, he apparated one more time.
Hagrid paced the ground, searching when the whooshing noise of someone apparating could be heard. He rushed over, yelling towards his house, “He’s ‘ere, Headmaster!”
Alex kneeled as he squinted to look up at his friend. Weakly, he said, “Hagrid, good to see you.”
“Yeh don’ look too good, Alex. Hang on, they’ll be out any minute.”
Long flowing robes in all black could be seen exiting out of the hut. Alex looked up to see Snape’s face full of disgust — likely due to the hut and the sight of the bleeding, wet wizard.
“So this is the urgent business,” he drawled. “Can you stand, Mr. Taylor?”
“I’ll do my best.”
He pushed himself up, quickly summoning his staff to help him stand fully.
Alex added, “I’ll tell you about the potion, if you think it’ll be helpful.”
“Talk. Whether it’s helpful remains to be seen.”
He turned briskly, covering his nose at the smell of seawater.
“Slipped into the ocean, Mr. Taylor?”
“Something like that.”