69: YOU KILLED MY CAT

(Nathaniel POV)

It was a usual night. I was at the great hall having dinner...…... Alone. The bastard inside of me was making useless remarks...….. again. Well..... I was used to it by this point. All I had to do was ignore him and keep my distance from everyone else. By doing these two things, everything would be just fine. But somehow the world was against it. I kept bumping in Aug and Anna and for some reason, that kid always seemed worried about me. Although I had nothing in my memory that signaled to me deserving attention from him. Maybe it was just my imagination and maybe he was just too kind for his own good. But either way, the fact was that he was trying to talk to me and I was desperately trying to ignore him and keep my distance. The freaking hole in the seal was growing big as my power tried to escape. With each passing minute, it was getting harder to contain it.

(I have to be more careful from now on. I can't bring sis into this. This whole ordeal is my own problem.)

|If you ask me you should tell your sister. Maybe she would be able to help you. But if you keep trying on your own you will not be able to achieve shit. You are weak after all. Maybe she would be able to do something about it. Not that it matters. You will always be a killer.|

(There he goes again.)

It was then that I felt it......… A disturbance. There was nothing around me but I suddenly started to feel extremely uneasy and tipsy.

(What is this?)

Unconsciously I raised my head and looked around the hall.

What was it? What was I feeling? What was causing this uneasiness? I could not tell.

*DUB DUB*

A second heartbeat.

An all too familiar feeling crept all over my body.

(Why the hell is it acting up now. It hasn't been that long. It's not the time yet then why.)

*DUB DUB*

But something was different. I did not know what but it felt different from all those other times.

My prime suspect, the root of all my problems. I asked him.

|What the hell did you do.|

I tried to call him but this time no reply came.

|Hey don't ignore me.|

He did not reply this time as well. For one reason or another, I knew that he was not ignoring me. It was more like something was disturbing our connection.

At some other time, I would have been delighted that my connection was cut off but right now.... It did not feel good.

|HEY|

Still no reply

(What is this. The hell is going on.)

|GRR|

I got a response but it felt..... odd.

|Pardon?|

|GRRRR|

This time the growl was louder.

|The hell are you playing at now.|

|*ROAR*|

The sound in my head was so loud that I felt vibrations traveling throughout my whole body. Now I was certain that it was not him at the other side. Rather it was the beast.

(The hell. This has never happened before. He had run rampant. He went out of control. But this is the first time I am hearing its sound. This feels odd.)

|GRRR|

(I can't understand what it's trying to convey here. Of course, I do not. I can't talk animal.)

But that thought was quickly negated because the next time I heard its sound, for some reason I knew what it wanted.

|GRRRRR. *GROWL*|

It was feeling threatened.

Now my head was spinning.

(Maybe I did not feel it right. This is not possible. I mean what could possibly threaten it here? This is the great hall of Hogwarts. Why would something dangerous be here.)

Even if my thoughts were like that I knew deep down that It was all true. The beast felt threatened and that was a fact. If it tried to get out or do something here, I would not be able to stop it. That was something I knew very well. I needed to move. I needed help.

(I must get to my sister.)

I raised my head once again and took a look around the hall. Everyone was happily chatting and eating. Nothing felt out of the ordinary but there was something. I did not know what by I was starting to feel it as well.

A killing intent.

All my feeling were connected to it. It was not me who felt the intent but him.

(I need to find sis...ter...….. HUH?)

It was only now that I noticed. Sis was not in the room. I could always tell if sis was near unless she was trying to hide on purpose. And right now sis was not in the great hall.

(WHY IS IT THAT THE DAMN WOMAN IS NOT THERE WHEN YOU NEED HER)

I stood up hastily. No one paid much heed to me.

(I think I will ask someone. Let's see, where is Aug or Anna)

Those two were my choices right now. But

(OH shit, they are not here either. They were supposed to be at the hospital wing. Then, Beatris or Hermione.)

I looked around but the two of them were not insight as well.

(Why is it that no one is there when you need them. Who else does sis hang around? hmmmmmmmmmm.... Hell, I can't think of anyone...… Wait)

I looked around and then walked briskly towards them.

"Hey."

"Unusual for you to come here. What happened did your sis pull another fast one on you."

"Yeah, but let me tell you that we are not going to help you. If she finds out that you had our help, we will be in a lot of trouble."

Fred and George said.

Although I was here to ask them about my sister but listening to them I was having second thoughts about it.

(These two are just...)

"I wanted to ask ...…." I gritted my teeth. My problem was bigger.

"I told you, prince. We can't betray her." Said, Fred

"Unless you have a flawless plan in mind that could guarantee a successful prank on her." Spoke George

"We are in"

"We are in"

A tik mark appeared on my head.

"You know what...…. Never mind." I turned on my heels and left.

(Why is it soo hard to have a conversation with those two. With these two lines my head is starting to hurt)

I walked away from them and returned to my seat. The idea of finding sis escaped my mind completely. Why, you ask. Simply because all the uneasiness was gone. I was back to being normal.

(Maybe it was just me hallucinating.)

|If you are thinking that it was some kind of an illusion let me tell you that it was not.|

(Just great...….. he is back.)

The moment our connection was re-established, he started to bicker.

I had no time to spare for him so I just ignored his bickering. Sometime later all the students started to leave the hall. I was the last one to leave. Following the prefect, our house was walking through the various corridors. It was then that I bumped into someone.

(Huh?)

All of the students had stopped walking.

(What's happening now.)

Something was going on in the front. I thought about it and started to walk through the crowd to see what was going on. As I reached the front, the scene that was in front of me instantly made my blood boil. All the thoughts of what had happened in the great hall left my mind and the only thought remaining in my head was.

(I'll kill him)

----------------------------

(Beatris POV)

"What are all of you doing here." We all turned around upon hearing the sound from behind us. It was Ana and boy did she look pissed.

"Ummm we are...…" I could not think of a single thing to say.

I mean considering the situation we were in it was easy to misunderstand.

She walked towards us slowly. The atmosphere quickly turned gloomy. The air was getting heavier. She walked slowly without saying a word. I wanted to say something but no words were coming out of my mouth. She looked really angry. I had only seen her angry thrice before. Once in the past days. Specifically when we took Anna and Aug to the hospital wing. She became angry when she heard about the bullying. Also when Malfoy called Hermione a mudblood. And the other time was when she slapped Nathan in the face. That was scary. Each time she was a different kind of angry.

She walked slowly and faced the writing on the wall. Then she turned her head towards the petrified cat. After analyzing it for a bit she turned to us.

"We didn't do it I sware." Ron was the first one to crack under the pressure.

"He is telling the truth Ana" Followed by Hermione.

"We just arrived here right now." Followed by me.

"I know that you did not do it." She said without changing her expression.

"Huh? You know?" I had to say that I was a bit surprised.

The situation we were in and how she found us would obviously make anyone suspicious. But surprisingly she was not.

"Yes, I know that you did not do that. I mean how can a bunch of first and second years cast such dark magic." She spoke nonchalantly

"WHAT??????? DARK MAGIC!!!!!!!!" Hermione was the first one to scream.

"Yes dark magic. Something this sinister can only be achieved through dark magic." Ana replied.

"How can you be so sure, Ana." I wasn't sure if she was correct. "I mean... a cat can be killed even with the help of regular magic." I tilted my head.

"Yes, you are right.... Beatris." She exhaled a deep breath. "But you see that the cat is alive."

"WHAT"

"WHAT"

"WHAT"

The three of us were amazed.

"How is the cat alive...….. I do not see...…" Hermione said.

"I can tell due to my experience in the hospital. It is alive. It's been petrified." She explained.

"Oh boy...….. This is getting bad. I am out of here. I do not want to be seen with something like this here. I am running away and I advise you all to run with me." Ron blurted.

"It's not possible." Ana did not even look at him. She was deeply indulged in inspecting the writing on the wall. "If we run now and we are found later on it will be more troublesome. And besides, we can't run away in the first place." She spoke.

"And why is that." Ron barked.

She did not reply. Instead, his question was answered on its own when we suddenly heard a lot of footsteps coming our way.

(Oh no. How could I forget? It is about time the kids from all the houses would be returning from the great hall towards their dormitories. We are so doomed)

Exactly as I had thought, all the students arrived there.

Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw Hufflepuff every student from every house was there. We were in a really bad situation. Ana was standing right next to the cat with her wand out. She would have been the prime suspect. The next was .... Well, obviously me. I mean if life was going to mess up someone's day, why would it want to leave me out of it. Just another day of my life. After Ana the next suspect was me. I was closer to the wall with my wand out. I did not know when I had pulled it out but that did not matter anymore. All the school was here and people were already whispering. It was only going to get worse from here on.

"Enemies of the heir...…. Beware." Someone read it out loud.

I turned around to look who it was and tell me.... Why was I not surprised that it was none other than Malfoy. Like my life was already not in enough problems. Our eyes locked for a moment and he smirked.

"You will be next mudbloods." He said. Specifically to Hermione.

Hearing that word again my blood started to boil. But right now it was not the time nor the place to lash out at him.

"Mr.Malfoy... I had warned you before but seems like it escaped your mind." She was already angry and upon hearing his remark her anger had reached new levels. But before she could say anything more to him, Filch arrived.

"Out of the way out of the way. What is going on here." He came from behind the students, pushing them aside.

But the moment he reached the front, his feet halted. He was shocked and he looked sad. Why would he not be? His only pet whom I don't know for how long he had a relationship with was petrified.

"You killed my cat." I heard him grit his teeth with anger.

"No, I did…" Ana tried to say but he was not listening.

"YOU KILLED MY CAT."

"It's not de..." She tried to explain again but.

"I WILL NOT LISTEN TO YOUR EXCUSES." He walked forward and grabbed her by the collar. "I WILL SEE YOU EXPELLED. YOUR WAND BROKEN. I WILL NOT TOLERATE....." He wanted to say more but then

"HOW DARE YOU." A voice sounded. "HOW DARE YOU TOUCH MY SISTER LIKE THAT." It was Nathan.

He was excluding a pressure, unlike anything I had ever felt. It was scary. Really scary.

He slowly walked towards them. The students in his path simply moved to the sides as if they were hypnotized. I looked towards him. He had a terrifying look on his face. His eyes were like those of an animal. There was a transparent sheet around him that looked something like an aura or a flame. Somehow, I instinctively knew what that was. It was magic.

"HOW DARE YOU TOUCH HER LIKE THAT." He reached them.

Filch was still holding Ana by the collar and by the looks of it he was not gonna let go even if Nathan asked. But then again it was Nathan we were talking about. He was not nice enough to ask.

"SHE KILLED MY...….." Maybe filch wanted to say 'cat' but once again...….. It's Nathan we are talking about. He never let him finish.

He got closer and then he grabbed the hand that was holding Ana's collar. The next movement was pretty much a blur. I blinked and then the next thing I knew, Filch was on the ground with Nathan on top. One of his hands twisting Filches arm while the other pinning his head to the ground.

"Ah, Nat. Let go of him." Ana tried to move Nathan.

"Argus" Upon hearing this I released a breath that I did not know I was holding in.

(Professor Dumbledore is here. Now things will sort out.)

"Argus." He arrived accompanied by the staff.

His movement stopped as he saw the condition.

"What...." He seemed genuinely confused. I mean I would be too if I had not known about Nathan beforehand. Like hell...….. he was just a twelve years old who had pinned down a fully grown man.

"Let him go, Nathan." Ana pulled Nathan off of Filch.

Everyone stood quiet for a few moments as Professor Dumbledoreanalyzed the situation. Then he spoke.

"All the students are to return to their dormitories now." He said. Everyone started to move. "Except you seven." He completed his sentence.

(Seven…. How seven. It's me, Ron, Hermione, Ana, and Nathan. That makes it five. Who are the two others.)

I hastily looked around and indeed there were seven of us. I had forgotten about Aug and Anna.

(I swear those two have no presence at all. Moreover, Aug can't speak and Anna also remained quiet during the whole ordeal. I forgot that they also arrived here at the same time as us.)

"Now may I ask you young Morningstar? Why were you assaulting a faculty member." Once everyone left Professor Dumbledore continued.

"He assaulted my sister first." Nathan gave an instant reply.

"Did you do as the young one is accusing you of? Argus." Professor Dumbledore asked.

"She killed my cat. I...….." Filch tried to protest but Nathan was still angry.

"That DID NOT GIVE YOU THE RIGHT TO GRAB MY SISTER BY THE COLLAR."

"Calm down Mr.Nathan. You assaulted a faculty member and you shall be punished for this." Professor Dumbledore spoke.

(What...… but… it was justified action. I mean he did do it a bit more than what was necessary but still.)

"What do you mean punished. He was ....." Nathan also tried to protest but Ana slapped him gently in the back and he fell quiet.

"You will be punished but since it was also the fault of Argus, we will see to compensate you."

"MY CAT HAS BEEN KILLED. I WANT TO SEE SOME PUNISHMENTS." Filch roared again.

"It's alive Argus...… Just petrified." Said Professor Dumbledor. "I believe that professor sprout has had a very healthy harvest of mandrakes. We will be able to cure her. A potion can be made. It's just a matter of time. But we do need to sort this matter." professor Dumbledore turned towards us and I knew immediately what was coming.

"We did not do it, professor. I swear." I tried to justify myself.

"I and Gus were in the hospital. We do not know anything either. We promise." Anna finally spoke and Gus nodded his head in agreement.

Imagine my shock when I heard Snape talk to professor Dumbledor.

"Perhaps Potter and her friends were simply at the wrong place at the wrong time."

(IS HE DEFENDING US. SEVERUS SNAPE OF THE SLYTHERIN IS DEFENDING US. Now I have seen everything)

My mind was simply blown. But then it came.

"But the situation is suspicious. As I for one do not remember seeing you at dinner Potter." He walked near me.

"That would be me, professor. Ms.Potter was just helping me answer my fan mail." Gilderoy helped me.

"And I can testify for the two kids over there." Madam Pomfrey pointed at Aug and Anna. "They were indeed at the hospital until a while ago."

"And I myself have seen miss Anastasia and Mr.Nathan at the dinner table. So, I believe each one of them has an alibi." professor Dumbledore rest his case.

Snape threw me a glare and I thought that he would eat me up alive.

"Innocent till proven guilty Severus. All signs show that none of them is the culprit. The only problem remaining is why were they all gathered here in this place. Now." He turned to face all of us. "Is there something that you young ones have to tell me? Is there something that you all are hiding from me?" He looked straight at us and for some reason, It felt as if he was taking a peek at my soul.

(I can't tell him about the voices. I have to think of something.)

"Pardon my rudeness professor Dumbledore but are you by any chance suggesting that any of us had something to do with this incident." Nathan diverted his attention from me.

Surpprised by this, I also turned my head to look at Nathan.

"Yes, young man. It could be a possibility." He did not deny that claim.

"You mean to say that either my sister or Beatris has something to do with this incident." Somehow his demeanor seemed weird. I noticed that he was trying to avoid the professor's gaze as he talked. He was always confident in his conduct but right now he was looking at his feet rather than standing straight. "because apparently, they are the only ones with their wands out at the moment. And since you saw sis at the hall, are you putting the blame on Beatris?...…. Somehow this feels low professor." He said.

(I was incorrect. I had indeed more to see. But I can tell for sure that now I have seen it all. First, it was Snape now it's Nathan. Is it true? Am I dreaming or did Nathan really just help me right now.)

All the professors fell quiet.

"Mr. Nathan do you have any idea what you are saying. How can you talk like this to the headmaster….." professor Mcgonagall tried to say

"It's okay Minerva...… The young boy is right. I should have been more mindful of my words. I apologize to all of you. Now you all should go to your rooms." He said and then left with all the staff.

"Professor please wait." Ana suddenly called up to professor Dumbledor.

"What is it, young perfect." He replied

"I have something to discuss with you if it's not a bother." She was speaking much calmly now. Her anger had calmed down.

"Please join me. It would be my pleasure." professor Dumbledore smiled at her.

She followed him until all the teachers disappeared from our sight.

We also got up and started to walk towards our dormitories. Nathan was walking in front followed by the three of us followed by Aug and Anna. We were all quiet. I raised my head and looked at Nathan. Something crossed my mind and I walked up to him.

"Hey." I touched his shoulder.

"What." And he was as rude as ever.

"Thanks." I still said it

"For what?" Still rude.

"For defending me there." I tried to smile.

"I did nothing for you. It was all for sister." He picked up the pace and walked away from all of us.