The next morning there was a lot of hustle and bustle as many students had gotten up to visit the Great Hall to see what had become of it. But upon entering many found that it was still the same, only those with a keen eye could make out the wrinkle in the air where Nova had patched things up.Now one morning a few weeks later, Hogwarts woke to find itself covered in several feet of snow. The lake froze solid and the Weasley twins were punished for bewitching several s...o...b..a.l.l.s so that they followed Quirrell around, bouncing off the back of his turban. The few owls that managed to battle their way through the stormy sky to deliver mail had to be nursed back to health by Hagrid before they could fly off again.
No one could wait for the holidays to start. While the Gryffindor common room and the Great Hall had roaring fires, the drafty corridors had become icy and a bitter wind rattled the windows in the cla.s.srooms. Worst of all were Professor Snape"s cla.s.ses down in the dungeons, where their breath rose in a mist before them and they kept as close as possible to their hot cauldrons.
During this cold period, Nova had found that there was this holiday coming up that seemed to excite everyone, and also he found that he was actually quite miserable do to this snow. It was this white, wet, fluffy, and cold stuff that fell from the sky, had started to ruin his mood as it caused him to wake up frequently as the cold draft seeped into his body. He now knew why people complained about the dungeons as they were similarly wet and sometimes cold, but this stuff was just terrible. He was the Dragon G.o.d after all and he was getting tormented by a force of nature. Now Nova could have decided to burn it all to the ground or forged something to get rid of it all, but he had been informed by Hermione that his forging had actually caused the castle to quake. So he was taking a little time off from the crafting and would pick it back up when everyone was gone for this holiday called Christmas.
Of course, a few people would be staying at the school, while others clearly let people know they would be going home.
"I do feel so sorry," said Draco Malfoy, one Potions cla.s.s, "for all those people who have to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas because they"re not wanted at home." When Nova heard this he just shook his head, he didn"t understand why the Malfoy child was like he was goading at Harry all the time. As Nova shook his head, he heard the girl, Daphne, snort.
"Is something the matter?" Nova asked her.
"I don"t understand how he can be such an idiot." Daphne told him. "But that aside, I am having a party at my residence on Christmas Eve, would you like to come?"
"Hmmm . . . . I would need to think about it." Nova responded. As he didn"t really have any plans to go anywhere and didn"t want to intrude upon Hermione"s holiday with her family.
"Oh ok. Well if you do decide to go here is the address." And with that Daphne gave Nova a piece of parchment with where she lived before walking off. Watching as she left Nova gave a small smirk, and figured he might go to the party. As he left the Potion"s cla.s.sroom and head to the Great Hall, Nova saw Hermione with Harry and Ron talking with Hagrid.
As he approached he heard, "How many days you got left until yer holidays?" Hagrid asked. "
Just one," said Hermione. "And that reminds me -Harry, Ron, we"ve got half an hour before lunch, we should be in the library."
"Oh yeah, you"re right," said Ron, tearing his eyes away from Professor Flitwick, who had golden bubbles blossoming out of his wand and was trailing them over the branches of the new tree.
"The library?" said Hagrid, following them out of the hall. "Just before the holidays? Bit keen, aren"t yeh?"
"Oh, we"re not working," Harry told him brightly. "Ever since you mentioned Nicolas Flamel we"ve been trying to find out who he is."
"You what?" Hagrid looked shocked. "Listen here -- I"ve told yeh -- drop it. It"s nothin" to you what that dog"s guardin"."
"We just want to know who Nicolas Flamel is, that"s all," said Hermione.
"Unless you"d like to tell us and save us the trouble?" Harry added. "We must"ve been through hundreds of books already and we can"t find him anywhere -- just give us a hint -- I know I"ve read his name somewhere."
"I"m sayin" nothin, said Hagrid flatly.
"Just have to find out for ourselves, then," said Ron, and they left Hagrid looking disgruntled and hurried off to the library.
Hearing all of this Nova just shook his head, he didn"t know what to tell them. He then approached the trees that were being decorated as he observed them, he watched as Flitwick and McGonagall decorate the tree. As he looked around, Nova had to admit, the hall looked spectacular. Festoons of holly and mistletoe hung all around the walls, and no less than twelve towering Christmas trees stood around the room, some sparkling with tiny icicles, some glittering with hundreds of candles.
Nova then left and head towards the library. When he arrived he saw Harry waiting outside. Shaking his head, Nova could only guess as to what Harry did to have gotten thrown out of the library by Madam Pince.
"Harry what did you do this time to have yourself removed from the library of all places?" Nova asked him.
Harry just shook his head, "Nothing." Five minutes later, Ron and Hermione joined him, shaking their heads. They went off to lunch.
"You will keep looking while I"m away, won"t you?" said Hermione. "And send me an owl if you find anything."
"And you could ask your parents if they know who Flamel is," said Ron. "It"d be safe to ask them."
"Very safe, as they"re both dentists," said Hermione. Hearing her say this Nova let out a small chuckle. As the two walked back to the common room after leaving Harry and Ron in the hall, Nova heard Hermione sigh.
"Is something wrong?" Nova asked her. When he looked over at her he could see that more of her features have changed in the last few week since talking with Dumbledore. Her bushy hair was not bushy anymore and was starting to get a l.u.s.trous shine to it. Though it had kept the wavy look.
"No it is nothing to important. It is just strange that I am doing something a simple as visiting family for a holiday when I could be having my soul strengthened to help prevent the world from breaking." Hermione complained.
"I see nothing wrong with what you are doing. And sure it is a pressing matter but there is nothing that can be done just yet. And besides, the process of increasing your fragment would just cause you to get prettier. Is that what you really want right now?"
Hearing Nova say that Hermione let out a small groan. Ever since her appearance had changed people were noticing her more. The male students started to act strange and start random conversations with her. After her change the girls started to ask how she did it and soon became slightly jealous with how she looked.
"Don"t worry about it. Once the holidays are over we can start working on ways to increase the soul strength. Now let me help you get your stuff so you can have your vacation." As they walked into the common room and with a small flick of his hand, Nova walked straight into the girls dorm. Normally this isn"t possible, but Nova just by pa.s.sed the original spell and walked in. Now Nova didn"t really see what the issue was the dorms were both the same except one had guys and the other girls.
As Nova grabbed Hermione"s things, he failed to notice that she was acting nervously, but after he turned around and walked out the room she calmed down. They then walked out the castle and followed the other students to the train station where Nova helped Hermione load her stuff.
"I"ll think of something to send you as a gift." Nova told her.
"Oh ok. But you don"t have to."
"No it"s fine. I need to get back to forging anyways." Nova said as he walked off the train, and then turned and looking back gave a grin.
"Just try not to break the castle." Hermione called back to him. Hearing this Nova just waved as the train pulled out of the station.
When he got back to the school, Nova immediately went to the Room of Requirement and since the holiday had officially begun and many of the students were not there anymore, he could pick up his hammer once more without disturbing anyone.
As he stoked the fire, he tried to think of what he should make, and after thinking about the s.p.a.cial tear, Nova knew what he needed. Nova then pulled out some of the jewels and gold from his ring and immediately got to work. As he hammered and forged he made a small rectangular plate with lip then taking the different jewel he melted them down to make a smooth surface almost like gla.s.s but st.u.r.dier and more receptive to void elements. He then went to the work bench and started to carve runes into the back of the plate. After a few days of carving complex and interlocking symbols the plate was finished.
The plate looked like the front of a television with a blank screen but when magic or void matter was channeled through it, the tablet would light up and start calculating the distance to a tear in the s.p.a.ce. The first time that Nova used it, he found that it had picked up the tear in the Great Hall and showed it was sealed. With a small smile Nova then went and crafted another quill for Hermione and this time instead of making just one he made a whole set.
After being at the forge for a few days Nova came out of the Room of Requirement. As he walked about the castle, he soon found that it was Christmas Eve. And upon hearing that Nova remembered how the girl, Daphne invited him to her families party. Though he did really feel like going, Nova felt it would be a good change of pace.
Upon going outside into the snow, Nova took off his shirt and unfurled his wings. And after complaining to himself about the cold, he jumped into the air and headed south. While Nova flew he kept his sense open for any kind of disturbances and after flying for a few hours, Nova soon arrived in Manchester. When he landed he looked around for the highest concentration of magic and started walking towards it.
Upon finding what he was looking for Nova called out, "Excuse me." Causing the two people who were talking to turn towards him.
"Young Man, what can we do for you?" The couple said in reply to him.
"I am looking for the Greengra.s.s residence, and this is the address that I have. Which direction should I be going in?" Nova stated and showed them the address that Daphne had given to him.
"Go towards the east of town and head towards the forest. Head into the forest about half a kilometer and turn left. You should see the place. Also how did you know we were wizards?" The man said in reply.
"Lucky guess." Nova said and before walking off, turned to the young woman, "Oh and congratulations." Hearing Nova say this the woman was startled and immediately held her stomach.
Before she could say anything, Nova walked off and could hear the man laughing and acting like a kid. Nova just nodded his head as he continued to walk in the direction he was told. After walking for 15 minutes or so, Nova arrived at the forest and as went in he felt the density of magic in the air changed to a thicker consistency. Feeling the change gave Nova a bad feeling in his gut, the potency of this could easily affect life. As he walked further into the area and arrived at the Greengra.s.s manor, the elements thickness had almost doubled. When he walked onto the property, he could tell that he had triggered some kind of barrier but instead of immobilizing him, Nova continued to walk forward.
Seconds later, Nova felt the air distort as four men appeared out of thin air with their wands drawn.
"Halt! You are trespa.s.sing on a private event." Man 1 said.
"h.e.l.lo my name is Nova. I am here as a guest of Ms. Daphne Greengra.s.s for the party." Nova stated with a very bored look on his face.
"You do not look like you are here for the party." Man 2 spoke.
"Do you have any proof? Where is your invitation?" Man 3 inquired.
"I have the address. Does that count?"
"Why are you not dressed for a formal event?" Man 4.
Hearing all this nonsense was starting to bore Nova. He then looked down at this clothes jeans and a long sleeve shirt. He did have to admit, he wasn"t as form looking as the others, so after taking a look at what other people were wearing, Nova pulled in some of the ridiculous magic in the air and molding it with the excess scales on his body, Nova formed a set of dress robes that made the other men"s look like trash.
His robes had a glossy black shine with streaks of silver in certain areas and if one looked closely enough they would be able to see that the fabric was made with interlocking scales. While he was at it, Nova also changed his sungla.s.ses to a black mask to cover his eyes.
"Ok now I am dressed for a formal event. Are we through here?" Nova inquired. Seeing Nova do what he did stunned the four men. They had never seen anyone do such a thing in the first place. Seeing as how they weren"t responding, Nova took it as things were fine now and proceeded to walk forward.
"Halt!" Man 1 said.
"Now what?" Nova turned on the man. Nova was starting to get irritated, who were these men that kept wasting his time.
"You must come back during visiting hours." Man 3 spoke.
"Hahaha! I get it now." Nova started laughing, "You are all idiots. That is why your holding me up."
"Who are you . . ." Man 2 tried saying.
"Silence." Nova spoke and the four men lost the ability to speak. He was tired of this farce. "I am going to the party now, if you try to stop me your lives will be forfeit."
Once more Nova started to move, but this time one of the men shot a red colored spell at Nova. Feeling the magic fluctuation, Nova stopped the spell in mid air without turning around and duplicated the spell and sent it flying back at the four men.
"I warned you," Nova said as the spell sent them flying. Nova then headed for the manor while releasing the silence command on the men who were now pa.s.sed out on the lawn. As Nova walked to the front door, he knocked on it and waited. After a moment the door opened up and a house elf was there.
"Greetings. I am here at the behest of Madam Daphne Greengra.s.s. May I come in?" Nova asked the small creature.
Giving a low bow, "Certainly young sir. Follow Zazz to the party." Zazz the house elf said. With a small nod, Nova was led by Zazz to the party. When Nova arrived, he found the party was in an outdoor s.p.a.ce in the back garden. There was a small layer of white powdery snow on the ground that didn"t stick to shoes, and in center of the garden was a frozen fountain with sculptures carved out of the ice. The top of the fountain had the Greengra.s.s coat of arms carved out of ice with strings of lanterns extending out from it. In one corner of the yard was a small orchestra playing cla.s.sical music. Though it was perfect dance music n.o.body was dancing, instead they were in little groups talking and interacting with each other. Nova did find it odd, but then again mortals who thought that money gave them power were strange anyways. While walking he also saw men and some women, dressed similar to the four idiots, standing guard around the area.
Soon Nova was led by Zazz to a small group. In the group, Nova saw Daphne looking very bored standing next to two people he a.s.sume were her parents with a little girl about 2 years younger accompanying them.
Seeing Nova, Daphne"s face broke into a large grin and immediately walked over to him and gave him a hug.
"You made, that is fantastic! Thank you Zazz, you can go now." Daphne said and with a small pop, Zazz was gone. "Come meet my family." and proceeded to lead Nova back into the small group.
"Daphne what have I told you about not acting out. You need to be lady like at all times." A stern lady said to her. Nova a.s.sumed this was the mother, as she had a strong resemblance to Daphne.
"Now dear, it is alright to relax a little during the holidays but remember there is a time and place for everything." The man standing next the the mother said. Though he had a gruff voice, Nova could tell he was considerate and well educated to a degree.
Clearly ignoring her parents, Daphne said, "Father, Mother. This is Nova Void. We attend Hogwarts together."
Nova took a step forward, "It is a pleasure to meet you, Mr and Mrs. Greengra.s.s. I must say this is a very fine party that you are hosting.
Reciprocating his greeting, Mr Greengra.s.s shook Nova"s hand, "Mr. Void, I am glad that you could attend. Daphne has told us much about you."
"Please call me Nova. You look lovely this evening Mrs. Greengra.s.s, I can see where Daphne gets her beauty from. Please accept this small gift." And in Nova"s hands appeared a bouquet of flowers that Nova had shaped out of ice and snow from the surrounding environment.
"That is a nice piece of magic, Nova." Mrs Greengra.s.s said as she took the frozen flowers.
"Those are pretty mommy!" The little girl said.
"They are aren"t they, Astoria." Her mother said to her, "Here why don"t you hold onto them for mommy."
When Nova heard her name, he almost jumped out of his skin. But calmed down just as quickly. When he looked inside her soul, he saw a patch of gra.s.s with a small dove nested in the gra.s.s, but instead of looking energetic like most souls, hers was frail and tired looking. Nova took this as a grave sign to the girl.
"Nova is something wrong?" Daphne asked him.
"No nothing." Nova told her. A moment later, four people walked up, one of whom Nova knew.
"Lucius it is good to see you. I see you brought your wife and son to the gathering this year. And Mr. Minister I am happy you could grace us with your presence. I imagine it must have been hard freeing up your schedule."
Indeed it was the Malfoy family, when Nova saw Draco he had guessed correctly who the others were, but he was unaware of who the minister was.
"Let me introduce you, these are my daughters Daphne and Astoria, and the young man is Nova Void, who attends Hogwarts with my daughter."
"Greetings" the two girls said. Nova opted to remain silent as he felt they were about to talk business.
"Yes it is good to see you. I am Cornelius Fudge. I have actually heard of Mr. Void and his run in with the Sorting Hat." Fudge said.
"Have you really. I wonder who informed you of such a thing." Nova spoke already knowing that there was bond to have been some gossip on the matter not that he cared.
"Yes, yes. In one of the many letters I exchange with Dumbledore, he mentioned it to me." Hearing this from Fudge, Nova immediately knew he was lying, but was too bored with the conversation to say anything.
"Indeed. Our son Draco has also informed us of your peculiar sorting event. Though I can"t help but feel you are incorrect of your choice house and feel that your description was off for us Slytherins."
"Oh really, I simply stated what I thought of the snake in general. Not the people in the house itself. You should compare yourself based on such a lowly creature." Nova replied.
Hearing Nova say this Fudge and the Malfoys had a cold look on their faces, while Daphne struggle to not laugh.
Now bored with the people, Nova heard the music change, and turned to Daphne, "Daphne would you like to dance, it would be a waste of such music to just stand around and talk."
"Umm . . . Nova. I can"t dance." Daphne whispered to him while blushing. Though she spoke softly the group still heard her and it caused her father to laugh.
"I told you not to be taking your lessons lightly." he said while chuckling.
Nodding his head in understanding, Nova took her hand and brought her to the area for dancing, "Don"t worry it is quite simple."
As the music started Nova and Daphne bowed to each other, and then Nova picked Daphne up and set her down on his feet.
"But your shoes."
"Don"t worry about it." And went off with the music. Luckily for Daphne, Nova had been taught how to dance and it also helped that the song wasn"t too fast pace but rather had a simple tempo.
Seeing the two dance on the dance floor caused the other people to stop talking and after a few minutes, many grabbed their partners and joined in as well. As they dance, Nova started to have this nostalgic feeling inside of him.
"Tell me how does it feel to be dancing on your own." Nova asked her.
"What do you mean?" Daphne asked in reply but then looked down at her feet only to see that she was indeed dancing on her own. Looking back up at him, Nova gave her a wink and continued to dance.
After the song was over, they walked of to the side where her parents were still talking, but this time it was to a man with a lion"s mane of hair. But Nova just ignored him.
"So Daphne, I am going to get going soon, but before I do I got you a present." Nova told her and reached into his pocket. He pulled out an ornately carved box made of aspen and gold. When he handed it to her, Daphne"s mother happened to look over and let out a small gasp.
"Such a beautiful jewelry box." the mother said. But before they could say anything, the four men from earlier came rushing over.
"Ah it"s the four idiots." Nova said. "I thought they would be out longer."
"You don"t move!" Idiot 1
"Thought you could trespa.s.s. Did you?" Idiot 2
Hearing the man call out to Nova, caused the guest to stop what they were doing to see what was going on. The man with the mane had also turned around to see what was going on.
"No I didn"t I told you I was invited. But I guess idiots can"t listen either." Nova told them.
"We are not idiots. Idiots can"t be Aurors." Idiot 3
"Auror?" Nova said.
"Magical Law Enforcement." Daphne said.
"Ah. . . Aren"t they at least supposed to listen to reason and not be simpletons. I mean compared to the rest standing guard these four seem simple minded."
"You are under arrest for attacking us earlier." Idiot 4
"I will not be going with you. I have other plans. Have a good evening and Daphne enjoy your gift."
"Wait you!" Idiot 1 reached out to grab Nova.
CRACK
"AAHHH" Idiot 1 started scream. He was suddenly being held by the arm with blood and bone sticking out.
"Try to touch me again mortal and I will rip it off." Nova told him and threw him like a ragdoll into his fellow idiots, who crashed into each other.
Suddenly all the other Aurors started moving in his direction, seeing this Nova just shook his head. "Freeze."
With everyone immobilized, Nova turned to Daphne, "It seems I have overstayed my welcome, so I will see you at school. Enjoy your gift and the holiday."
Turning to her parents, "My apologies for how this ended, please enjoy the rest of your evening." As Nova turned around to walk off, he stopped and turned around to look at Mr. Greengra.s.s. "Before the situation with her gets any worse, I will be more than happy to help you insure her life."
When Nova said this there was a small shock running through the ears of both Greengra.s.s parents. As Nova walked out the manor, he released the power of his command and robes to allow his wing to open and started to fly back to the castle, unaware of the chaos that was unfolding.
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If you didn"t read the note posted before this chapter