Meanwhile, at Hogwarts… pt1
Jeff was trying to keep up with Terra as he ran after her; but the tiny fairy was quite fast. Without realizing it, he had followed her all the way outside the castle.
"Hey; wait," Jeff shouted, trying to stop her as he saw her slip between the trees for some reason.
Jeff stopped right at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Knowing himself, he knew he shouldn't go in; even so, the darkness inside was strangely captivating. Sunlight barely managed to pierce through the countless trees, making the place look gloomy and sinister. According to what he had heard, it was full of dangerous creatures. The dementors had already left; well, if "left" meant stopping existing. But many creatures still remained there; according to old tales, many of them had been born in that forest.
Jeff had even heard that a pack of werewolves lived there, along with several dangerous Acromantulas. He also found out that a few years ago, a troll had sneaked into the castle; obviously it had come from the forest.
Jeff hesitated, unsure whether to step inside or not; but right at that moment, a voice startled him slightly.
"Brother; what are you doing here?" said the voice not far away, or rather, just a few meters ahead, lying on the ground. It was Frank. For some reason, he was lying right at the entrance of the forest, and on his chest rested a small snake.
"You… what are you doing?" Jeff asked, staring at his brother with complete confusion.
Frank stood up while holding Dee in his hand. "I… was just taking a walk and looking at the clouds for a while," he said, obviously lying.
Now that the dementors were no longer in the Forbidden Forest, Frank had the brilliant idea of going in to explore. However, the little snake had stopped him once again, leaving him petrified until he saw Jeff approaching at a run.
Jeff obviously didn't believe that lie and stared at him intensely.
But before he could say anything, Terra, who had disappeared into the trees, suddenly reappeared.
She noticed Dee in Frank's arms and immediately flew toward her, as if the two were somehow communicating; this left the brothers standing there, completely confused.
"By the way; who is she?" Jeff asked, pointing at the small snake in Frank's hand.
"A long story… and her?" Frank replied, pointing at Terra.
"Also a long story," Jeff said.
Several minutes passed while Terra and Dee continued communicating, or whatever it was they were doing. Then, Terra flew toward Jeff and tried to tell him something, waving her hands rapidly.
"Wait, wait; if you're that hyper I don't understand anything," Jeff said.
Terra stopped for a moment to calm herself. Then she moved her hands and pointed toward the forest. But she didn't need to continue.
Because, suddenly, something emerged from the forest right where she had pointed. Terra herself jumped back a little from the scare.
Both boys watched as a person approached. He looked like an old man, and a very old one. His skin was wrinkled, his teeth yellowed and nearly destroyed; his white, straw-like hair barely formed a few strands. His face was covered in huge moles and dark spots. Frank thought that even in his youth this man couldn't have been attractive at all; though, of course, he didn't say that aloud.
The old man's body trembled with every step.
Jeff, upon seeing him, thought he might be someone who had gotten lost in the forest.
"Sir; are you alright? Are you lost?" he asked while taking a few steps forward.
"Oh, children… yes; I am a bit lost. I need a little help," the old man said with a surprisingly soft and gentle voice, like a sweet, helpless grandfather. But his eyes hid something difficult to describe.
Jeff thought about approaching to help him, but the moment he took a step, Terra stood in front of him with her arms crossed to stop him. Her expression was filled with caution.
"I just need a little water and some directions," insisted the old man, approaching them himself with slow steps.
Then, suddenly, his body became completely rigid on the spot; he couldn't move a single muscle. Dee had petrified him with her gaze.
"Hey; what are you doing? He's just an old man," Frank said, annoyed by the snake's behavior. He didn't mind her doing that to him, but to a poor old man?
Frank already knew that Dee's ability came from her eyes after being petrified so many times; so he covered her eyes to let the old man move again.
"Oh… quite an interesting snake," the old man said as he studied Dee. Frank struggled to keep her facing away, since she wanted to petrify him again.
The two boys weren't bad by nature; if they could help someone, they did. That was why Jeff dodged around Terra and approached.
"Sorry; they're a bit territorial," Jeff said with a kind smile as he prepared to help the old man walk, since he seemed to tremble with every step.
Terra kept making gestures at Jeff, telling him not to get closer, but he didn't look at her; he was focused on helping.
"Thank you, little one," the old man said as he lifted his arm to lean on him. But instead of resting his hand on Jeff's shoulder, he suddenly moved his hand faster than his body should allow, gripping the back of the boy's neck instantly.
"What…?" Jeff managed to say.
Then he saw the old man's skin begin to grow younger, while he felt something inside his own body being devoured.
"Hey!" Frank shouted, running toward the old man once he realized something was very wrong.
But the old man pulled out a wand from his waist with surprising ease and, before Frank could react, sent him flying several dozen meters away. Frank's body crashed loudly and heavily among the trees.
Dee, who had rolled across the ground, moved quickly through the grass while fixing her gaze on the man, trying to petrify him again as she advanced to bite him and inject her venom.
And it worked… only for a moment.
A branch fell from a nearby tree right on top of Dee, blocking her vision.
When the man had sent Frank flying, he had used two spells at the same time. After seeing earlier that Frank could free him by covering the snake's eyes, he had already prepared the branch from the beginning and had dropped it on purpose while attacking him.
Dee slipped between the wood, trying to see the man again, but the branch suddenly ignited with a black flame.
Forcing Dee to jump back, part of her small body already burned.
Meanwhile, Jeff felt his body weakening more and more. He tried to push the man off him and, as he turned, he finally noticed what was happening: the old man was actually Professor Dominic; the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.
"Mm… normally I don't like absorbing vitality from the males; but I suppose I can't ask for much. What a nuisance. Now I'll have to run out of the castle. Although lucky for me that old man Dumbledore isn't anywhere nearby. And what a shame you're not that boy Potter," Dominic said with an almost demonic smile as he looked at Jeff.
Jeff felt his eyelids growing heavier, and his hands slowly beginning to wrinkle. Dominic, meanwhile, was rejuvenating at a terrifying speed.
In that instant, Terra flew at full speed and crashed into Dominic's face, hitting his nose squarely with her entire body.
Dominic didn't even see her coming; as always, Terra could go unnoticed even when someone had seen her a second earlier.
He placed a hand on his nose and saw a thin line of blood dripping down. His expression shifted into absolute fury as he glared at the tiny fairy.
"Filthy pest," he said, swinging his wand angrily.
Terra dodged the spell perfectly and launched herself again at his face, hitting him several times with her tiny hands; although only the first impact had been truly strong, since it had been by surprise.
Dominic waved his hand and slapped her away, sending Terra flying and crashing against a tree before falling to the ground.
"Disgusting little creature!" Dominic shouted, furious for being injured in such a ridiculous way. He raised his wand, and a large amount of fire began pouring from its tip, ready to fall upon Terra, who could barely stand up.
Jeff, seeing that his tiny friend was about to be burned alive, was filled with panic. He barely managed to open his eyes, but his insides felt like they were on fire. His emotions were boiling over completely. When he saw the fire about to fall on her, he screamed with all his strength:
"Nooo!"
A blue burst exploded from his body, violently pushing Dominic deep into the forest. The professor crashed into a tree and shattered it on impact.
At the same time, Jeff's body returned to its normal state, becoming young again; but now he was completely exhausted, barely staying conscious.
"Jeff!" Frank shouted, holding his arm as he hobbled toward him. He still looked dazed from the fall.
And then, right at that moment, a voice broke the silence.
"Uh… what's going on here?" Harry asked with a completely confused expression, holding in his hand a fat, round, gray rat.