Fan Fiction ❯ The Weaver Telarius ❯ A General's Lament ( Chapter 16 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

The first eyes that I caught full on were Phillip's. I was happy to see him at that moment, but was disappointed that others were around. I resolved to speak privately with him when I was back up on my feet. I noticed that there were leaves on the trees outside, and considered the possibility that a great deal of time had passed.

My stomach gurgled as I turned to look at everyone else. That confirmed it in my slow mind. A good deal of time had passed, and my body's needs had been magically satiated. My body felt weak, and I noticed that muscles which once bore a good deal of ability were now nothing more than accents upon the bones of my arms and legs.

"How long have I been asleep?" I asked them.

"A month," Deanne responded, plainly.

I allowed myself to absorb that simple statement and all that it implied. The army was nearly ready, going by what I told Riddle. Also, since I had missed the past few meetings, he had undoubtedly learned of my newfound abilities. He would expect them to be used to his advantage. Of course, I have had several revelations, and not all of them good, along those lines anyway. I knew what must be done now, and felt like and idiot for not realizing it before.

A simple nod to her told her that I understood the implications of her statement. "That explains a lot. As you all can imagine, I am quite hungry."

They laughed a bit. It was good to see them in good humour. Their laughter broke when I got out of the bed I was in and began walking out of the hospital wing. "Recovered already?" Meriam asked, "They said that you would need another week's rest at least once you regained conciousness."

"I might very well need that, Meriam," I responded, "But I cannot afford to spend any more time than I already have recovering. There is much that needs to be done."

They followed me out of the hospital wing, after I gave Madam Pomfrey my regards and made a quick quip about the status of my quarters. She was actually amused and not too surprised at my recovery. Of course, I hadn't fully recovered. Not even close. My muscles had atrophied to the point where, if I needed to engage in physical confrontation, I was quite out of luck. I seriously doubted my ability to successfully wrestle a field mouse.

It was not a meal time in the Great Hall, but Dumbledore was prepared for me. A generous section of table was set aside for my company and the quantity of food made the generous space look frugal. I gorged myself, I must admit. I felt as though I hadn't gotten any real food in quite a long time. Of course, this was because I hadn't, so the feeling had quite a bit of grounding.

After finishing with my meal, I looked to Dumbledore at his chair at the head of the hall. He nodded to me and I nodded in turn to him. We both understood what now must be done. "If you'll excuse me, everyone. I have some business to attend to with the Headmaster. We will meet at the usual location tomorrow night. Phillip, meet me tomorrow afternoon directly after lunchtime," I was surprised at the cold, calculating tone my voice had taken now when I was dishing out orders, "Dismissed."

The fact that they obeyed without question would have given me pause a month ago. After my time versus the Veritas Enigmatus, many things had become clearer to me when they were once foggy. I felt serene when I saw anything functioning so perfectly as the nonverbal communication between my comrades.

My walk up to Dumbledore was not that of a student approaching the Headmaster or of one equal approaching another with a suggestion. It was a walk of a lieutenant approaching one of his corporals. I imagine that the image of myself in the form I have now trotting up to Dumbledore in such a manner would have looked quite amusing to an arbitrary observer.

"Is your office a safe place to speak?" I asked him.

He nodded, a solemn expression across his face. "Who else should be present at this meeting, Telarius?"

"Professor Snape, Professor Lupin, Harry Potter... and anyone else who would be willing to face down Riddle once and for all."

By the time we reached his office, the entirety of what I learned to be the Order of the Pheonix was present. The nature of that meeting, while relevant to the story I tell, will be better revealed later. Needless to say, I told them the plan as it stood, loose though it was for the moment, and they understood me and were willing to obey.

As I left the room my mind wandered off into the realm of questions. Everyone was accepting my instructions without question. Why that was I could not say.

"Because you solved the Veritas Enigmatus," a voice behind me spoke plainly, answering my unspoken question.

I turned to find Cordelia leaning up against the wall. "How do you know this? You told me that you cannot read minds without eye contact."

"I cannot delve deeply into minds without eye contact, this is correct. However, if someone's surface thoughts are focused enough, and they are not actively trying to resist, I read them like an open book," she had a smirk on her face which amused me, "For instance, the smirk I just displayed amused you. Wait! Now you're thinking about the reprocussions of this newly revealed aspect to my abilities..."

"Knock it off," I said it plainly, without any inflection of excessive volume. I did not feel any need, for I had just closed my mind to her.

She smiled now instead of smirking. She had a way about her that I found more and more interesting as time went on. I believe it was at this time that my reasoning for a decision I had already made came about. She was far too useful and at the same time far too dangerous. The most useful people in a group should be kept close to the center. The most dangerous people in a group should be kept closer to the center.

"You have proven yourself talented in a way I hadn't anticipated," I spoke to her as an equal, for I saw her as such, "Perhaps your position in the Second Round Table could use another... evaluation. In light of recent events and insights."

She looked as though I had just given her... well, something quite dazzling and delightful. Think whatever you will, but be wary of thinking it around her if it's anything she might object to. "Harry wishes to speak with you," she stated as she walked away.

I turned to Harry, who gave a rather befuddled expression to Cordelia before meeting my gaze. "She's an odd one, isn't she?" he asked me.

I chuckled. It was one of my mannerisms that I was not willing to give up, regardless of what it gave away. "Not as odd as you might think," I responded, then decided it was best to get to the point, "What do you want?"

"Why are you doing this? Why force a confrontation with Voldemort?"

I could tell that he was puzzled for a moment by my lack of twitching at the name of the Dark Lord. "Riddle is not prepared, Harry. Give him time and he'll be ready. It'll be his fight, and someone will die; probably someone who no one wishes to see the world lose. Like Dumbledore."

This hit him pretty hard. The thought of losing Dumbledore was not one that Harry found comforting. I sympathized. Dumbledore was as much of a father figure as Harry could have at this stage in his life. "Won't people die in this conflict, though?" Harry asked.

A smile crossed my lips. "A telling question, Harry. The answer is no. Well, not if everything goes according to plan. You must remember my newfound ability, Harry."

"How could I forget? After what Hermione told me about the Veritas Enigmatus... I mean, she's one of the brightest people I know."

I nodded. "When this is all over, I will have to face the consequences of that action. Still, I would have done it again."

"I know you would have. I've come to realize that it is the kind of person you are."

I would go on with this dialogue, but I feel the message, as so many others I have delivered, will fall upon deaf ears. I could hit all of you over the head with the proverbial literary baseball bat and you still wouldn't get the message. That being said, you will excuse me if I do not waste my breath on this.

* * *

Tomorrow afternoon came quickly, which pleased me. I found that I could finally exhaust my mind enough to sleep by propelling myself into hyper-cognition repeatedly upon different trains of thought. So long as I strayed away from the same topics, I could sleep perfectly that night. Of course, I would have to use this sparingly, or risk eventually running out of topics.

Phillip and I went for a walk in the newly sprung green. Spring was beginning to come with a vengence around Hogwarts. I allowed myself a moment to reflect upon this for a moment. Spring, the season of rebirth. Life returns to once desolate lands. Yet this was to be a cauldron of death and decay in little more than a week or so. I could tell that Phillip was getting uncomfortable with my silence.

"Why did you let me win during the first challenge?" I asked him, outright.

He almost stumbled, but caught himself. His physical control was improving with each passing moment. "What do you mean by that?" came the response I had expected.

"It's quite simple, my friend," I paused to crouch down and pluck a daffodil, "While I am possessed of the additional training and a greater warrior's acumen due to said training, the fact remains that your current body is physically superior to my current body in every way. You could have muscled my blade and forced a touch. There would have been nothing for me to do but take it."

He realized midway during my speech that I had stopped and turned to face me. His pause was drawn out, quite dramatic, and all around well done. Had I not had other things on my mind I would have given him mental applause for the performance, though I knew he saw it not as such. "I suppose that I didn't even think about it," he replied.

I nodded. "I figured as much. You psyched yourself out. It was the best possible weapon for me to have, given my physical condition. You were defeated before the duel began," I stared deeply into his eyes, "You know the dangers of such lines of thinking."

His first inclination was to speak, I knew. He paused at the last moment and pondered, then nodded. "I see what you mean. I could have beaten you."

"In all ways, Phillip, your form in this world is superior to mine. You are physically stronger, you're possessed of stronger magical power, and you're a Wyld Mage. You've got me licked in every area. Make no mistakes; when this thing blows up, you're going to be the greatest asset toward our cause."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"I figured if I was open enough with you, then you could be open with me."

"How do you mean?"

"What's troubling you?"

His face almost seemed to twitch on one side as his eyes closed. This only served to confirm that something was, indeed, troubling him. When his eyes reopened, there was a certain reality to his expression... an amount of honesty in eyes alone that I had not seen since the last time I gazed into those of an innocent child. "You solved the Veritas Enigmatus. I didn't."

I nodded. "I figured as much. It troubles you."

"Damnit! Don't you bait and switch me, Telarius! You think you can just push my buttons like that?" he was upset. This I had not expected.

"I didn't bait and switch you."

"You most certainly did! You tell me that I'm better than you in every way in this world, then you attack me where you know I am weakest."

"You think I'm trying to attack you?"

"Are you saying you aren't?"

"I am not trying to attack you."

"Then why this? You know how I feel, damnit!"

"Phillip..." I sighed a moment, then turned away from him. I had a wonderful view of the lake as the sun was setting. "You could have solved it, too."

Though I did not see him, I was almost certain that he did a double-take. "What?"

"You could have solved the Veritas Engimatus a split second after I did. You were observing me and copying my moves to the letter."

"Yes, but I stopped."

"Do you remember why you stopped?" I turned to face him in this moment.

Phillip's expression had changed. A cloud had been lifted, replaced by a shroud of curiosity and respect. "No."

"Consider it for a moment, Phillip. You are a Wyld Mage. Insanity comes to Wyld Mages easier than it does the rest of us. You know and accept this fact, yes?"

He nodded. "Now, you have spoken to me at length about my newfound hyper-cognitive abilities. If you had them as well as me, you would use them for the benefit of others, yes?"

Another nod. He was starting to see where this was going. There was one piece left to this puzzle. "And I have told you that, if used too often, my hyper-cognition would render me as insane as he who crafted the Veritas Enigmatus."

"Yes you have."

"Assemble the puzzle for yourself, Phillip. I need not do it for you. You did a very shrewd thing."

I walked off back toward the school at that moment. I would see him later at the meeting. There would be no need for any more words to be spoken on this subject. Sometimes the only thing people need in order to understand themselves is a little piece of someone else's experience.

* * *

Everyone was at the table and ready to hear what I had to say. Well, at least they felt as though they were ready. Each of their eyes were fixed on my person. Regardless of how many times someone has performed before an audience, there is still a measure of uneasiness when addressing several individuals at one time. I cannot speak for this uneasiness in others. In myself, though, I have hypothesized that it is due to human nature. Since humans are self-serving beings by nature, they are prone to riot in groups if they do not like what they hear. This kind of blind pack mentality is part of what keeps them from evolving beyond.

The fact that I was addressing several potential Shadine gave me some comfort, and I exhaled deeply as I prepared myself to tell them all that I had learned in my revelations. I had thought for almost an hour just about my opening sentence. "I have reconfigured Cronos to have a kind of far-seeing capacity," I said, gesturing to the circle in the center of the table, "I will allow it to show each of you the first major reality that I have become aware of."

The circle glowed for a moment, still swirling with the many colours of the rainbow. Shortly thereafter, it began to swell upward as though a bubble were forming from it. A one hemisphere of a perfect sphere had formed before the circle itself began to disappear from the table. Within moments the entirety of a sphere was present hovering above the table, awaiting my command.

"Show them."

It was as if a hole in reality had been punched into that point where the sphere once was. Everyone was granted with a first person view of hyper-velocity travel. The first place this came to rest at was a university in Georgia. It showed two people in a room together, talking. The significance was lost on all of them save Deanne. She merely inhaled sharply and looked to me. I nodded, gravely.

The image moved once more, this time resting on a campus in New York. It's image was on a female in some kind of workshop, discussing the intricacies of lighting on a set. Phillip looked at me as though I were mad, but was graced only with a cool look of sanity on my part.

Spinning and twirling this time, it's next stop was Drew University, where it was Cordelia's turn to be astonished. Cornell was next, and Meriam was as speechlessly shocked as the rest. The image faded and the multicoloured sphere was there once more. It fell back into the table slowly and without sound. The room was so silent that I could hear the blood rushing to my ears. Though Cordelia's words were a whisper, my ears were pained to hear them due to the harmonic contrast.

"This is the new information you spoke of earlier to me."

I nodded. "You see now that the arguement we had before was moot."

"Did everyone see what I saw?" Phillip asked, the analyst in him returning.

"Yes, everyone did, Phillip. Those images were from this world. Everyone saw a person that they recognized, in the place they were supposed to be," I paused a moment, allowing them the illusion that I was digesting this information as they were, "This is our world."

"But that means that the Ministry..." Meriam began.

I held a hand toward her to silence her. "One thing at a time, Meriam. Now that we know that there is a potential mass murderer who targets people like our family and friends, we no longer have the luxury of debating our need to prevent his existence from continuing."

There was more silence. "You said there were multiple revelations?" Deanne asked, her tone reflecting the dread she felt at this remembrance.

"Yes... unfortunately I did," I admitted, "All of our plotting and planning has been for naught. Riddle suspects my tretchery. In fact, he's planned for it."

This took even longer for them to digest. "Well... that certainly puts a dent in our plans," Phillip stated the obvious. I enjoyed his tone at that moment. I reminded me of simpler times.

"Indeed it does, Phillip. Thankfully, I've already enacted a new plan. It's riskier, and damned inconvenient... but necessary given the new circumstances of which we are all now aware. Our battleground has changed. Hogwarts is where we will confront Riddle and destroy him and his Death Eaters, once and for all."

The rest of that night into the morning, I spoke to them of my plans. Of course, it all hinged on my ability to convince Riddle that I was on his side. With that task making or breaking the fate of us all, no one left the war room feeling comforted that night. It set a precedent for that room which I feel will be followed for the rest of time.