Fleeing Light

An: Okay, let me start off by saying I'm really, really sorry about not updating sooner. I've finally got settled in at my job and work five days out of the week. This took a lot of time out of my writing and at one point was hit with a bad case of writer's block. Couldn't write anything for this chapter! It was so frustrating! But nonetheless, I'm back, and hopefully, the monster known as writer's block won't hit me for a while!

But you guys didn't come here to hear me rant, so here's the next chapter of Fleeing Light!

Disclaimer: [See first chapter]

Chapter 9

Early to bed…

After the excitement of having Fairy Tail drop in on everybody (literally), it came as no surprise that not many people were ready to call it a night. However, the majority ruled, and everyone headed off to their respective dorms for some much needed shut-eye.

The members of Fairy Tail were following Harry, Cassiopeia, and McGonagall towards their dorms for the duration of their stay. Team Natsu (plus Wendy) would dorm in the room next to Harry and Cassiopeia's on the left. Hermione, Sirius, Sen, and Remus would be dorming with Harry and Cassiopeia in their dorm; Team Mira, Levy, Cana, Gajeel, Pantherlily, and Juvia in the one next to them; and Makarov, Gildarts, Laxus, and Freed would dorm in the last one.

Natsu looked around the hall in child-like wonder. "This is soooooo coooll!" he exclaimed. "Lucy! Check it out! The paintings are moving!"

"Aye! It's really weird!" Happy added.

"You're one to talk, cat," Lucy told the blue talking flying cat.

"Still, this castle is amazing in itself," Erza commented. "You can feel the magic seeping out of the very stones."

"Yes," Makarov agreed. "This place is not unlike Tenrou Island. It seems magic has saturated this castle and strengthens its inhabitants much like the Tenrou Tree does to members of Fairy Tail."

McGonagall listened to the conversations behind her intently. Makarov's musings seemed to trigger some response in her. A response she couldn't identify. But before she could think any more on the subject, she looked up and said, "We're here."

"Thank you, my dear," Makarov smiled winningly at the professor of Transfiguration. "I must say it's been an honor to meet you," he said as he slapped her butt.

McGonagall yelped and jumped into the air, startled. She blushed red and the Fairy Tail mages were in an uproar.

"You sick, perverted old man!" Mira snarled.

"Hands to yourself, Master," Lisanna said sternly and with narrowed eyes.

"Gah! How am I related to this guy?!" Laxus shouted, appalled.

"Geez, Gramps," Gray and Natsu complained.

"Professor, please forgive him," Lucy apologized.

"Wow! I've never seen Minnie's face that color before!" Sirius barked and laughed.

"Grandma Meanie is turning red!" Cassiopeia giggled.

"Minnie, dear," Sirius corrected. "It's Minnie, not Meanie."

At this, McGonagall sent a stinging hex at Sirius. "Do NOT teach her your bad habits, Mr. Black!" she glared at him, making the Grim Animagus chuckle uneasily.

"Oh! You don't have to worry about that, Professor," Sen said casually throwing her arm around Sirius's neck. "I've already expressed my…displeasure, at him teaching my daughter any of his tricks…"

McGonagall breathed a sigh of relief. "…Until she's at least thirteen," the silver haired woman said with a grin. This left McGonagall gaping.

Harry laughed. "You honestly didn't expect Sen to be the pinnacle of purity, did you?" he asked. "There's a reason she married this old dog!" He slapped Sirius's shoulder for emphasis.

"Oi!" All the Fairy Tail wizards laughed.

McGonagall dreaded to think what would happen if she ever saw a thirteen year old Cassiopeia as she spoke the passwords for the other three portraits. Hermione shook her head and smiled at McGonagall. "Don't worry, Professor. Sen isn't as bad as Sirius here." She mocked punched the man on the shoulder. "I'm sure you will never have to worry about Cassi giving you a heart attack in the near distant future."

McGonagall nodded. "Thank you, Miss Grange- I mean Miss Lupin."

Hermione smiled. "It's no problem at all, Professor. And please, if referring to me as 'Miss Granger' is easier for you, don't hesitate to do so. I'll answer to both."

McGonagall smiled at her. "As you wish, Miss Granger. I trust we will be able to talk later about your time at Fiore?"

"But of course!" Hermione smiled widely. "I would love to talk with my old teacher! It's been a long time since we've talked, Professor!"

"Hermione, dear," Remus called out from the portrait's entrance way, "are you coming, or are you and Minnie just going to stand there and talk all night?"

Hermione looked around and noticed everyone was going into their own rooms. Even Harry had gone up. She chuckled sheepishly. "Sorry, Dad. I'm coming." She turned to McGonagall and said, "I guess will talk tomorrow."

McGonagall nodded. "Of course. Good night, Miss Granger."

"Good night, Professor."

Hermione walked through the portrait frame and into the lavish living room of the suite. Hermione's gaze wondered around the room in wonder. Harry, who was on the love seat, grinned at her. "You like? Well, the book shelf by the fireplace is connected to the Hogwarts library."

Hermione appeared by the book shelf almost instantly. Harry laughed. "Called it! Pay up, Pads!"

Sirius grumbled something about know-it-all godsons and their bookworm girlfriends as he handed some Jewel over to Harry. Cassiopeia giggled from Sen's lap, and Sen just shook her head in amusement.

Suddenly, a loud laugh interrupted the former Brits. "Wow! It's like I'm looking at a mini-Rowena!"

Everyone except Harry and Cassiopeia began looking around for the voice. Godric Gryffindor appeared in his portrait and grinned at them. Cassiopeia squealed.

"Uncle Gryffindor!" she exclaimed happily.

Remus and Sirius gaped at the portrait as Godric laughed. "Hello, Miss Cassi," he said kindly. "I trust your stay in Hogwarts has continued to be to your liking?"

Cassiopeia nodded enthusiastically. "Mhm! Hogwarts is great! Now Mommy and Daddy here too!" she said cheerfully.

Godric laughed again. "Oh, yes! Hogwarts talked to in great detail about the infamous Sirius 'Padfoot' Black! My only regret is that I haven't conversed with him before now!"

"Godric Gryffindor," Hermione said in awe. Almost instantly, Hermione was in front of Godric's portrait and began firing off questions at a machine gun's pace. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Gryffindor, sir! Where are the other Founders' portraits?! Why haven't we seen them around?! Is Hogwarts really sentient? Is it-"

Harry took that moment to cover Hermione's mouth with his hand. "Sorry 'bout her, Godric," he apologized. "She can't help it."

Godric snickered. "Oh, no worries! Hogwarts told me about you faithful companion as well. Hogwarts gushed-I kid you not, gushed-about how much she loved Hermione Granger's attentiveness and eagerness, which was only matched by a one Lily Evens!" Harry's eyes widened. "Yeah! Thought that, myself! But seriously, Hogwarts loved Hermione, though she would lament about how the poor girl didn't make friends easily and had a love of authority. Not surprising if what Hat was saying is even remotely correct…"

His train of thought was derailed as Harry exclaimed loudly. "Agh! You did not just bite my hand, 'Mione!"

"That's what you get for covering my mouth when I'm trying to talk!"

"You would've scared him away!"

"I would not!"

Remus chuckled. "They certainly fight like an old married couple, don't they, Sen?"

Sen giggled into her hand. "They're certainly entertaining to watch," she agreed.

Godric snickered. "This reminds me of Rowena and Salazar when they had a lover's spat," he said. "If I believed in reincarnation, I'd bet my last 300 Galleons that those two were Sal and Row back in the flesh!" His good mood dropped. "If I had 300 Galleons."

Cassiopeia giggled at Godric's pouting face. Sirius laughed joyfully. "You should've seen them when they first started dating!" Sirius exclaimed, finally gotten over his shock.

Godric giggled evilly. "Please tell me you have that on a Lacrema. I want to hold it over Sal and Row's heads when they wake up!"

Remus held up a Lacrema. "Actually, we do have one! It's when they nearly destroyed the Fairy Tail Guild hall." His grin matched Godric's evil one.

Harry and Hermione stopped arguing and paled. "DAD!" Hermione shouted. "YOU SAID YOU GOT RID OF ALL OF THOSE LACREMA!"

Remus's smile didn't waver. "I lied," he replied. "I may have had a better moral compass than my fellow brothers, but I'm still a Marauder, Hermione dear."

Godric roared in laughter as the other occupants of the room watched in amusement as the Golden Couple chased Remus around the room, promising endless pain to the werewolf.

With Team Natsu, Wendy, and Carla

"Well, this certainly is a nice pad," Gray commented as he fell onto the couch.

Erza was inclined to agree…if it wasn't for the dark shades of bronze and blue. The room was large with a rug with a raven inscribed onto it in front of a roaring fireplace. A large, blank portrait hung above it with large bookcases sitting at the sides of the fireplace. Blue and bronze were not her colors. She like scarlet red better.

There was also enough rooms for the five of them (seven counting Happy and Carla, but they'd probably dorm with Natsu and Wendy respectfully). Erza admitted that it was a beautiful place.

Lucy and Wendy had taken to the bookshelves and had discovered the bookshelves would bring them whatever book from the Hogwarts library they wanted. "Oh! Hogwarts: A History first edition! Amazing!" she gushed happily.

"Wow!" Wendy whispered in awe. "Harry never told us Britain made story books about him!"

"Wait what?" Natsu asked, but before anyone could reply, another voice interrupted.

"I would not read those pieces of trash, my dear," a beautiful, melodious voice chimed from above the fireplace. A woman had appeared in the portrait. She had long brown hair that flowed down her back and amethyst colored eyes. She wore blue and bronze robes and had a beautiful heart shaped face. She was currently grimacing at the books in Wendy's hands.

Everyone looked at the portrait in shock. "Whoa, freaking talking portrait!" they exclaimed at the same time.

The woman rolled her eyes. "Obviously," she droned. "I am Rowena Ravenclaw. This was my chambers when the other Founders and I still lived in Hogwarts."

"Oh wow!" Lucy stared at the woman's portrait in awe. "One of the Founders! Harry told us about you guys!"

"Not to mention you guys helped Fairy Tail out a time or two," Natsu added.

Rowena was amused. "Ah, yes. Fairy Tail. That would explain why my portrait is active," she mused. "I placed a ward that only when mages from Earthland entered our chambers would our portraits activate."

"Why?" Erza asked curiously.

Rowena shrugged. "What's life without whimsy? Anyways, from Hogwarts ramblings the past few months, I take it you're here for Mr. Potter and his forced entry to the TriWizard Tournament?"

"Yeah, sounds about right," Gray confirmed.

Rowena narrowed her eyes. "Young man, I don't appreciate you stripping in this room, especially in front of ladies," she reprimanded the ice mage.

"Huh?" Gray looked down at himself and shouted, "WHERE THE HELL DID MY CLOTHES GO NOW?!"

"You mean you don't know?!" Rowena shouted, her teeth looking like a shark's.

"Aye! Gray's stupid like that," Happy commented as he floated around Rowena's portrait.

"For once, I must agree with the tomcat," Carla said from her perch on one of the chairs. "He has deplorable manners."

"Oi!" Gray shouted, offended that he was being dissed by two cats.

Rowena was stupefied at the sight of the cats. But, she composed herself quickly and asked, "If I may be so bold, what exactly are you two cats? I have never seen cats that can talk and fly on their own, much less having the two abilities together."

"Aye! We're Exceeds!" Happy said cheerfully in front of her.

"We're a breed from Edolas, Earthland's counterpart," Carla supplied. "That's all we shall share for the time being."

Rowena nodded. "Of course. I understand, um, what's your name, miss?" she asked.

"Carla."

"Carla. Perhaps we can talk later? I find your species very intriguing."

"I'm sure I won't be closed to the possibility."

Rowena smiled, and turned to the others. "Well, back to topic, Mister Potter has been busy since he was unceremoniously dropped onto the floor of the Great Hall, but I'm sure he'll tell you all about that in the morning. Right now, I'd suggest catching some sleep. Tomorrow might just be a big day for you all."

"Don't I know it," Erza muttered. She turned to the others and barked, "Alright! All of you to bed! We have a long day tomorrow and I won't have you all be hindered by lack of sleep!"

"Ahhhh…" Natsu whined. "But I'm not tired yet!"

"Yeah, why can't we just stay up and plan how we're gonna torture Dumbledore," Gray also whined.

Erza smiled sweetly and said, "Come now, boys. You don't want me to use some 'positive reinforcement' to get you to agree?"

The boys shuddered violently. "N-no!" they stammered meekly.

"What kind of positive reinforcement does she use?!" Lucy shouted.

"Must be very effective," Rowena commented, a pensive look on her face. "I wonder if she'll be willing to teach me so I can use it against Sal and Godric."

"You're okay with this?!"

Wendy blinked at the other occupants of the room in confusion. She didn't understand what they were talking about, but she probably didn't want to know. She grabbed the Harry Potter story books and went off to one of the bedrooms. She wanted to see what these people thought of her pseudo-brother.

With Team Mira, Levy, Cana, Juvia, Pantherlily, and Gajeel

"Man, this place sucks," Gajeel complained.

"No it doesn't! It's beautiful!" Levy contradicted.

"I agree with the metal head," Mira said, grimacing at the room. "This room is a disaster."

The room was decorated in tones of yellow and black. It was decorated much like Harry's and Team Natsu's room (though the eight in the room didn't know this). The only difference was a small kitchenette was positioned off in the corner of the room instead of in a separate room.

"It's not that bad, Mira," Lisanna rebuffed. "I think it's rather homey."

"It's yellow," Elfman complained. "That's not a manly color!"

"Well," Pantherlily mused dryly, "at least it's not pink."

"As much as I hate agreeing with Strauss here," Gajeel said. "I'm inclined to agree. What kind of man wants to stay in a yellow room?"

"Yeah," Cana droned, wishing she had some alcohol. "It's such a sissy color."

"I'll have you know yellow is a fine color, young lady!" a stern, prim voice chastised from somewhere above them. The eight looked around in alarm as a beautiful young woman with auburn hair and dark eyes appeared in the portrait. She wore yellow and black robes and was staring disapprovingly at Cana and Mira's current state of dress…or lack thereof. "And you young ladies should be ashamed of yourselves! Dressing so…vulgarly!"

Mira narrowed her eyes. "Just who the hell do you think you are, lady?! No one tells me how to dress and no one sure as hell is gonna dis my choice in clothing!" she shouted.

"How dare you, you deplorable little girl!" the portrait shouted back.

"What'd you call me?!"

"Um…" Lisanna coughed, gaining the attention of the two. She smiled up at the portrait and said, "I apologize for my sister. She's very proud of herself. May I ask who are, ma'am?"

The woman seemed pleased. "Well, at least one of you has manners," she commented. "Well, I am Helga Hufflepuff, a Founder of this school. It's a pleasure Miss…"

"Lisanna, ma'am," Lisanna said. "And it's an honor to meet you, Madam Hufflepuff. Harry's told us a lot about Hogwarts."

Helga's stern look faded a bit. "Ah yes. That poor young man. Hogwarts has told me of his plight. I was glad to hear he had finally gotten out of that dastardly Dumbledore's manipulative clutches."

"Ah, yeah," Cana mumbled. "That's one of the things that's gonna stop now that Fairy Tail's on the job."

"Fairy Tail, huh?" Helga mused. "It's been some time since I've heard that name. Mavis was such a polite and proper lady. How could the standard fall so?"

"Alright! Look lady…!"

"Miss Hufflepuff," Lisanna placated. "Cana and Mira are proper ladies, but…um." She struggled for the right words to say.

"They've lived through some…very unpleasant circumstances, and that reflects their state of dress," Levi tried to explain.

Helga nodded hesitantly. "Thank you for mentioning that, miss. Although that doesn't excuse them, I believe I shall not bring the subject until a later date."

"Thank you, ma'am," Lisanna said gratefully.

"Great! Now that that's all squared away…!" Levi grinned and walked up to Helga's picture. "CanyoupleasetellmeaboutwhatitwaslikebuildingHogwartsandworkingwiththeotherFounders…" she began to spit out in rapid succession. The group from Fairy Tail sighed at the scene. Somehow they knew this would happen.

Helga, however, was amused. "Oh my," she breathed in amusement. "It's like I'm looking at Rowena at that age! She even spoke like that!"

Levi stopped her tirade and blushed as the group behind her chuckled in amusement.

With Makarov, Gildarts, Laxus, and Freed

The four men walked into a green and silver colored dorm and barely blinked. Makarov walked over to the bookshelves and raised an eyebrow at the blank shelves, but could feel magic on the bookshelves themselves. Deciding to test something, he thought about one of his favorite books from Sirius's library, and instantly, a small, orange book appeared on the shelf. Makarov giggled perversely as he quickly snatched the book and placed it under his shirt.

He cleared his throat and said, "Well, I…uh, think I'll turn in for the night."

"Yeah, whatever, Gramps," Laxus mumbled as he walked towards one of the rooms.

"I think I shall turn in as well," Freed yawned. Being ripped from your own dimension into another was draining.

"They sure know how to impress, don't they?" Gildarts asked looking around.

"Of course," a deep, silky voice said, causing the four to look around in alarm. "We Founders had shock and awe in mind when designing the castle, after all." The four men turned to the portrait and saw a young man with green eyes and spikey silver hair and green robes trimmed in silver. He glared at the men and asked, "Now, why are you four in my living courters?"

Makarov recovered first. "My apologizes, young man," he said. "We were told we could stay here by the current Duty Headmistress of the school while a member of our guild is being forced to participate in a tournament."

"Guild, huh?" the portrait mused. "I assume you're from Fiore, correct?"

"That's right. We're from Fairy Tail. I'm Makarov, the third Guild Master," Makarov introduced himself.

The portrait grinned evilly. "Oh! You're from Mavis's guild! In that case, I welcome you to Hogwarts. I am Salazar Slytherin, the greatest of the Founders!" he proclaimed proudly.

"Quite the ego you got there," Gildarts noted.

Salazar was confused for a moment. "What? Too much?"

"No, just…not forceful enough," Freed admitted.

Salazar slumped a bit. "Dammit," he cursed. "I've worked a long time on that, and it's still not good enough!"

"Maybe if you cackled madly and added some lightning in the back it would help," Laxus suggested.

Salazar looked at him curiously. "Do you think it would help?"

"Couldn't hurt, at least."

"Huh." Salazar seemed to think about it for a moment before he smirked and said, "Alright, let's try again: I am Salazar Slytherin, the greatest of the Founders! Mwahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!" he laughed evilly as lightning flashed behind him.

The four stared at him. "Hmm…not bad," Gildarts admitted.

Laxus stared contemplatively for a second, then nodded. "Better."

Freed gave him the thumbs up.

Salazar smirked and cackled. "Finally. My evil introduction is complete!" He cackled louder.

Makarov sighed tiredly. "Yes, well, this is all very fascinating, but the spell that brought us here has taken a lot out of me, so I'm just going to retire to a room."

As the other three guys and portrait said their goodnights to the third guild master of Fairy Tail, Makarov was silently giggling to himself as a massive blush appeared on his face and a slight trickle of blood ran out of his nose.

'Now it's time to find out if Kabuto finally sleeps with Suki-chan!' Makarov thought perversely as he stared at the orange book in his hands, a girlish giggle escaping his lips.

In the Slytherin Common room

"So, what do you think of the Fairy Tail wizards?" Draco asked.

Daphne looked up from her book on Ice Make Magic. "Well, I must say they are a loud and boisterous lot," she admitted. "Quite the intriguing bunch, though. I myself am going to have to speak with that Gray character about helping me with my Ice Make Magic."

"Somebody's got a crush-ush! Somebody's got a crush-ush!" Tracey sang, rocking back and forth in her chair.

Daphne glared at Tracey, and the cushion she sat on froze. Tracey cried out as she slipped off the slippery seat and fell to the ground. Tracey glared up at Daphne, who smiled like she was innocent of any wrong doing.

Blaise nodded absently as he went over the notes on Rune Magic that Harry lent him. "They do seem to be a tad crazy," he added.

"Crazy? More like down right mental!" Theodore shouted. "I like 'em!" he laughed. "Can't wait to get to know them!"

Pansy, however, was thinking of something else. "Did any of you notice Ron's behavior since the First Task?" she asked.

"Huh? Why would we care about that git's 'holier-than-thou' attitude?" Theodore asked.

"Because he actually seemed interested in the fights," Pansy explained. "And when Fairy Tail showed up, he smiled. Like, actually smiled! Not an evil grin. Not a smirk. Just a small, sad smile!"

"Well, I wouldn't know about the smile," Draco commented. "But, I do remember him paying attention during the task. Not to mention, he seemed to actually enjoy watching them, and not because of spite. It seemed like he was…w-well, for a lack of a better word, happy when the champions overcame their dragons."

Daphne and the others frowned. "Do you think he's up to something?" she asked.

"Or…" Pansy bit her lip. "…Do you think he's under an enchantment that is finally starting to fade? Or at least, trying too?"

The thought was left hanging between the Slytherins for a moment. "If that's true," Draco said finally. "Then we really need to find out how powerful the charm is."

"And see if he's being dosed with potions," Blaise said.

"But being under such potions while being enchanted can kill you!" Tracey screeched.

"Unless you are powerful enough to manipulate the enchantment to where it works only when the potion has run its course," Daphne supplied.

"Not to mention the enchantment was probably put in place by Dumbledore," Theodore said grimly. "Despite what we think of the man, he is still one of the most powerful men in Britain."

"Which is why," Draco continued, "we're going to have to be discrete about our approach to Ron. Shouldn't be too much of a problem for a group of six Slytherins, right?"

In the Ravenclaw dorms

Luna sat in her dorm room deep in thought.

It wasn't unusual. She did this a lot. But she was thinking about the First Task. She had remembered a distinct surge in magic energy coming from the stands. Since learning the Magic Summoning, she had become hyper sensitive to surges in magical energy. She wasn't sure why it was only her, but then again, she had always been sensitive to magic energy. It was the reason she saw many creatures that no one else could.

She remembered the surge happened only once, but it wasn't noticeable enough for the judges to sense. But the results were obvious. Viktor's hand had been forced when he fought his dragon.

That made Luna frown terribly. She couldn't identify where it came from, as it somehow was circulated around the stands, but she was certain it came from the judges' box. But, even then, it was hazy, at best.

Luna did her best to hide it, but she was extremely smart. Nearing genius level. Her mother was, after all, Serena Lovegood, the famous Charm/Spell researcher. She just acted like a ditz to not have to be hassled by people mooching off her intelligence.

Tomorrow she'd have to tell the others about this, but right now, she was tired and wanted to get some shut-eye.

In the Gryffindor dorms

Neville frowned at the box on his bed.

It was a medium sized box sealed with tape (which confused Neville as no one in the male dorms had any Muggle tape with them). Cautiously, he ran his hands over the box and pulsed his magic, checking for traps, a trick he'd been working on for a while. He detected no obvious traps, so obviously not from the Weasley twins. He focused a bit more magic and still found nothing.

After he was satisfied there was no jinxes or curses on the box, he carefully opened it. A note sat atop of a book. Curious, he took the note and read it. He frowned at the cryptic message.

Thought this might help you,

From Blackened shadows, a King arises…

Neville had no clue what the last line meant. Setting aside the note, he picked up the book and read the title. In tenebras: A complete guide to the Dark Arts and Beyond.

He frowned again. It was a book he had been searching for, for a year now. During his fifth year, Bellatrix Lestrange broke out of Azkaban prison, and it shook Neville terribly. He had taken to studying every source of Dark magic he could get his hands on in an effort to be ready to counter anything Bellatrix threw his way when he challenged her and killed her. He studied relentlessly, scouring over every tome, without rest and almost fanatical devotion. The thought of killing her had diminished a lot after he learned of her tragic history from Draco's mother, but even then, he needed the knowledge to beat her, so he continued his studies, albeit less obsessive in his search.

He sighed as he placed the book on his nightstand. The book would have to wait, as would the mysterious sender. Tomorrow was going to be one hell of a day, and he needed all the sleep he could get.

There was no way in hell he was going to miss the chaos Harry's friends from Fairy Tail were sure to cause.

An: Hope you guys like the chapter! It took a lot of effort to get it done! 'Till next time!

Spell translation: In tenetras: "Into the Darkness"