Hogwarts: Era of Darkness

"I can't believe the goblins agreed to it!" Professor Slughorn mumbled, holding a mug filled to the brim with hot chocolate and whipped cream. He stood before the fireplace, sipping on his midnight snack, working hard to regain his original weight, getting very close to it already.

"Me neither." Lockhart agreed, sitting on the couch, writing the new issue of the True Prophet they would spread around Britain. "But leave it to Young Conrad; he can do it if he puts his mind to it."

"You noticed it first while the others did not."

"I… Yes, yes, I did." He smiled, quickly tilting his head left and right, smiling, and even though both of them knew he was being a bit untruthful about it, it was still correct in a certain way. Even if he wasn't close to him at the start, he ended up being the one who did help him, even if out of necessity. "Maybe he helped me grow up, too."

"You did change a lot." Slughorn nodded, "I wouldn't have trusted you with anything previously."

"I know…" He shrugged, well aware of his own shortcomings, and with everything that happened, it was no longer making him nervous or desperate. He accepted it as part of his past, ready to be better. Or at least trying to be better.

"I wonder how their meeting will go."

"With the Headmaster? Me too. I never guessed he was a double agent."

"He is the only one who could pull it off. I remember teaching him; he had a great affinity towards potions and was a master before any of his friends or peers. He may have been a perfect replacement for my position if we lived in a different time. I was looking to retire anyway..."

"He had friends?"

"You know how I meant it… schoolmates. What matters is that I knew he would be somebody with his talent; I just did not expect it to turn out like this."

"What about me, Professor?" Lockheart asked, curious as he was also guided by him when he was still a student.

"I taught… you?" Slughorn asked, looking at him, surprised, thinking back but couldn't recall him at all. "I don't remember. Maybe because my memories are jumbled."

“Yeah… could be…” Lockhart answered, knowing well that it wasn't the case; he just never really paid attention to him at all because of his inaptitude towards potions or simply because he saw through his charade.

…
….
……

Away from our homes, on a small island, if it can be called that, between France and the British Isles, we were waiting in the cold wind. The sea was raging, and the night sky was dark and filled with clouds as we stood there, wands ready, waiting for Snape to appear. Was it a trap? I doubt it, but Grindelwald wasn't letting us come alone this time.

"He should hurry," Quincy mumbled, grumbling a little as the tiny island provided no cover against the biting winds. "It is soon Christmas; we should be back home and cook something nice, relax, and enjoy ourselves."

"We came early, that's it." I answered, kissing her cheeks just so that I could feel a slight change and glance ahead, seeing Severus Snape appear out of nowhere, apparating right before us. "Headmaster." I expressed simply, watching his calm, somewhat sunken-in-face. There were plenty of not-so-good days behind you, huh? Not that I would ask it like that, but thinking about it should be fine.

"Conrad. Quincy." He spoke in a low voice before looking at Grindelwald, thinking for a very brief moment. He did not recognize him, but he felt his face was familiar. However, at that moment, he couldn't really put a name to it.

"Just a protector." Our master said calmly, but his eyes were glued to Snape's arms and fingers, giving him the feeling that whoever this man was, he wasn't an easy target.

"It seems you got yourself some powerful allies."

"Yes, Headmaster. More than you would think." I smiled at him, watching as he tried reading my thoughts, trying to determine if I was lying or not, but he got nothing back in reply. We were learning much from Grindelwald. Of course, we knew how to mask our thoughts! It is such a must-have skill in a wizarding duel; I don't get why more people won't realize it.

"Mhm. Here."

"What is it?" I asked, watching Grindelwald take away the little bundle he brought with him, examining it first before opening it and letting us touch the small crystal ball inside.

"It is a device that lets us communicate without the Dark Lord noticing. Every midnight, it connects to my consciousness for five minutes. I will leave my message in it so you can listen to it without anyone tracing it back to me. It only keeps them for an hour, so be alert."

"Hmm… why?" Quincy asked suspiciously, but he didn't mind answering us promptly.

"Because the Dark Lord is losing it. He became vulnerable, and there are chances of opening up to deal with him. I know that the Order is working to find its latest Horcruxes. I can't tell you more, but know that the chance to kill HIM is getting close."

"I see." I hummed, crossing my arms and scratching my chin, "I still struggle with accepting why you are like this. Why help us now?"

"As chaos grew, I got more freedom. If you want to know something, know this: My reasons are the same as your Father's."

“…”

“…”

With us becoming silent and just looking at each other, he finally nodded his head, ready to leave, but then I opened my mouth, stopping him from disappearing.

"He made a new one. Did you know?"

"No." Snape answered after a brief silence, turning back towards me, looking at my eyes, and this time, I let him read it out that I wasn't lying.

"There is a snake he has, and it has been made into one."

"Are you sure?" He asked only once, and when I nodded my head, he fell silent once again, crossing his arms and thinking. "I will look into it."

"You do you, Headmaster. We will listen to your pieces of information and act accordingly. If we can. No guarantees."

"I don't need guarantees; I need only one thing. HE must die a true death."

"That, we can agree on." Quincy and I answered at the same time and watched as Snape hurriedly apparated away.

"Can we trust this thing?" She looked at me while holding Snape's enchanted doodad.

"My Father trusted him." I mumbled in answer, "On the count of that alone, I will risk it. Let's go home. We still need to attend the final meeting…"

…
….
……

"Will they come?" Hermione asked, sighing as the clock's hands were already nearing three in the morning, yet nobody showed up at all.

The trio were staying at an abandoned fishing marina, sitting in a small cabin, waiting for Conrad and Quincy to show up, but nobody had appeared so far, not even an owl.

"He fooled us?" Krum asked, looking at Neville.

"No, our helper was sincere, and when he told us that the meeting was green-lit, he did not lie."

"He still could have been lied to, exactly because of this reason, knowing you could read his mind."

Neville was about to answer Hermione when they noticed their warning charms were broken, signaling that someone had just apparated onto the marina. Thanks to the strong winter wind and the splashing of the sea, it was hard to hear, but it was easy to see as the lone figure held up a lamp the moment she appeared.

Looking like an orange spirit in the abyss, she headed directly towards their cabin without hesitation and stopped only when she was at the door, knocking on it three times. Of course, Neville, Hermione, and Krum held their wands, ready to fight if necessary, a bit lost at what to do.

"Can I come in? It is cold…"

It was a woman's voice, one that neither of them was familiar with. In the end, Krum opened the door, letting her in while Hermione examined the young woman, who had to be the same age as she was, looking at them from under her weird, lionhead-shaped hood.

"You do look like how they described you would." She nodded, pulling it back from her head, revealing her waist-length, dirty-blonde hair, and dreamy eyes, and looking at the group with a slight smile. "I am Luna. It's nice to meet you."

"I'm-"

"I know." She interrupted them. "Hermione, Neville, and you must be Krum."

"Y-yes." He nodded back, looking at Hermione and Neville with questioning eyes.

"I volunteered to come, so there is no need to ask."

"Volunteered?" Neville asked, feeling a bit lost.

"Yes, and I am glad the information was true. I was worried I would be captured. Here. Throw this into fire." She said simply, ignoring them and placing a little bag with ash within it on the lone table inside the cabin. "Good luck." And before they could ask a new question she already disapparated.

"What…?"

Even Krum was so surprised at what was going on, so confused by the girl and her nonchalant mood that he failed to make sure they kept her there, slipping out straight under their noses.

"Who was that weirdo…?" Hermione mumbled, turning towards Neville, who also had no idea.

"Probably a new friend of Conrad? They do have a lot of helpers by now… She said she volunteered…" He whispered, trying to figure it out while reaching for the pouch, trusting Conrad and his messenger. Without waiting, he ignited the fire in their small fireplace, throwing the pouch's contents into it without hesitation.

—POP—

Just then, the girl unexpectedly reappeared, scaring them to death and forcing all three to point their wands at her face.

"Hm. Sorry... I forgot to tell you the password because I was nervous. Bobbletapo."

"What?" Krum almost yelled, forcing his hand to lower his wand, twitching his eyes, feeling he was being made a fool of.

"Bobbletapo?" Neville questioned her, too, missing that the moment he said it out loud, the fire behind him suddenly turned blue.

"Yes." Luna nodded her head, watching the fire with curiosity, "It is little scarabs that live in socks. They bite your toes when you step on them."

This time, Hermione was sure, the girl was missing a few screws up in her head, but before she could say anything, a familiar voice echoed from within the fire behind them.

"Long time no see, Neville."

"Conrad… Quincy." He muttered, turning towards the voice as their heads appeared from it, floating within the flames, looking straight at the group.