Illusions ((Phoenix, Kerridon & Dylan))

[Dark Phoenix]

For once, no-one was bothering her in her chambers. There were no screams pervading her thoughtful silence, no pitiful murmurings clawing through the stone walls to reach her ears. Four fingers followed by a thumb drummed successively onto the armrest of her high-backed throne, indicating that anyone to disturb her now would pay severely. Giving a small noise of what might very well have been restless anticipation, her eyes roamed the join between wall and ceiling, obviously not staring at the plain, bleak grey wall itself. All of her carefully laid plans were about to be set into motion; all she needed to do was give the word. The drumming stopped, and Phoenix rose to her feet. She sought a more pleasant place to think, and where better than what could loosely be called her home.

Entering the adjoining chamber, she was welcomed into a room full of lush decoration and deep crimson. Her eyes surveyed the familiar surrounds with pleasure, and she made her way to a deep red divan covered in smooth velvet and elegantly curved to give the impression that the one who had crafted it took great pride in their work. As she sank gracefully into the soft piece of furniture, her mind performed what was a sort of customary last minute check. She had to ensure that she had not forgotten anything of great value when about to conduct one of her carefully conceived plans. She pursed her lips slightly as she thought, one finger tracing absent-mindedly over the carved wood of the divan backing. Phoenix was certain everything was in order... the bait had been carefully prepared, and now all she needed to do was release it out into the open for the mice to feast upon.

She took in one deep breath; only one. As the air soared through her lungs and the rest of her body, she felt herself calming significantly, and there was no further need to breath deeply. Instead, she rose from her place of leisure and exited via yet another door, opposing that through which she had just entered, and made her way to the bait. She had contacted Kerridon a while ago and, finally having answered her calls, she had told him he was required in the Shadow Realm. Before he arrived, she wanted to make sure that the Ravenclaw a few rooms over was well prepared for his role to come.

Phoenix stood in the middle of the moderately sized room she had given to Dylan to make himself home in. Directly behind her was the stout door that provided the entranceway into the dim hallway beyond. To her left was a small fireplace, in front of which were two leather armchairs, comfy as can be. A small round table lay between them, currently occupied with one polished glass that was, for the moment, empty. To her left was a long, slender bathtub, surrounded by a filmy curtain that shielded it from the rest of the room. And, the glory of the room, was the magnificent four-post bed before her, against the far wall but in the middle of the two opposing sides. Cloaked in a rich emerald and clearly extremely comfortable, it also had a small stool at the foot of it, on which Cooper currently resided.

When she had first begun in the task laid before her, she had smelt the fear in him; but she had also sensed the defiance. Now, however, there was not a trace of either to be found. A small smile lit her cold, dark eyes with what would never be considered happiness, but rather the knowledge of having completed a job so well. Phoenix traced one finger lightly over the boys cheek, her nail pressing against the skin though not breaking it. "Dylan, my boy, the time has come for you to shine," she said quietly, her voice quite betraying how eager she was to see her plan in full swing. And now just to wait for Paradox to reply to her summons.

[Kerridon Paradox]

Kerridon had not been expecting any contact from Dark Phoenix, let alone a summons to the Shadow Realm, and it was making him a little nervous. Not to mention that his wrist was burning again. He had been in class when she had tried to contact him so he had been forced to wait through the entire lesson until he could get somewhere quiet and respond. This was the first time he had had to come face to face with her since his discussion with D’rorah. In fact, the last time he’d been in the Shadow Realm had been when he had been subject to Gat’s torture, from which he still had multiple scars. At this point, he doubted they were ever going to go away.

But he had confirmed that he could get out of the school and made his way out later that night. He had gone up to the Astronomy Tower and simply jumped off, using his new animagus form to fly down and towards the forest without being noticed. An open window might have been easier, but that could be closed easily enough. The moment he got in the forest, however, he returned to his human view. He would much prefer to use the senses he was used to; those which had been honed for years. Also, he didn’t want any shadows or wraiths to notice his new ability to transform.

He found and opened the portal in the forest easily enough, having used it enough times already. The moment he entered the Shadow Realm he could feel the chill overcome him and a less natural darkness than had been in the normal night-time light in the Forest. A slight shiver went through him once before he controlled his body and prevented any more tremors going through it due to the temperature.

He walked rapidly towards the castle ((I think?)) and entered through one of the side doors he normally used, going through the corridors to where he had been instructed to go. He knocked firmly on the door, waiting to hear a reply before entering.

[Dark Phoenix]

She concluded her brief questioning of the Ravenclaw boy and knew that her subtle manipulations had been ingrained quite well into him. With a small smirk of pleasure, she went to take a seat before the fireplace while she awaited the arrival of Kerridon. Of course, she had chosen him to complete this task for a reason. As powerful as she was, Phoenix was by no means stupid or above the notion that she could be betrayed. If anyone around Dylan found out a bit too quickly that he had resided in the Shadow Realm for a small length of time, then she would know Paradox could not be fully trusted. If, however, that fact remained secret from everyone at Hogwarts, especially D'rorah herself, then she could tentatively continue to trust the boy. Not only was this task a test for Kerridon, but he also had free access to not only the school grounds of Hogwarts, but also to the Ravenclaw House.

Everything, of course, hinged on Dylan. Because of this, she had taken every precaution in setting up the background story for him and manipulating him; in other words, she had effectively covered all of her bases. Even if anyone were to betray to Philosophy that her fellow Prefect had indeed been taken to the Shadow Realm, she doubted very much that it would help her emotional state as Dylan rejected her. For all the world to see, Dylan was the same normal boy he had been before being rushed to St Mungo's. It had been an extremely fortuitous set of circumstances, in fact. The boy had taken a blow to the head from a Bludger, been discovered by a Slytherin boy in her service, and rushed to the wizarding hospital. When he had been released, she had promptly had him kidnapped and brought to the Shadow Realm, all the while his mother believed him to be still recovering before he returned to school. After that, she had spent hours a day carefully weaving thoughts into him that had not been there before; convincing him of things that may or may not have been the truth. Phoenix didn't know, and she didn't care, she just wanted Dylan to believe the absolute worst of D'rorah.

A knock to the door brought her back to the present, and one eyebrow shot up lightly. "Come in," she said in a tone just loud enough to carry through the door. She assumed it was Kerridon, and was not disappointed. She rose delicately from the leather-bound armchair and took a few steps around the room, toward Dylan. "Kerridon, I have a task for you," she continued, giving him a small smile that contrasted vastly against her cold eyes. "Mister Cooper seems to have lost his way, and needs to get back to Hogwarts. He would be of much more use there, don't you think?" Her eyes, hard as agates, did not leave Kerridon for a moment, as she judged him for a reaction.

[Kerridon Paradox]

Entering through the large door at the call, Kerridon couldn’t help but glance around to see what this room was. Dark Phoenix’s castle was huge, with countless rooms he had never been in. It was the corridors he knew like the back of his hand, if you’ll excuse the cliché... Although, really, that cliché phrase didn’t work too well with him, since his hands were gaining new scars frequently enough that he probably knew these hallways better than the back of his hand. The majority of the passageways were dark and gloomy; just as you would expect them to be. There was the occasional surprise, generally showing the luxury that Phoenix embraced, but most were fairly average for a dwelling in the Shadow Realm. Although... as far as he knew, this was the only dwelling in the Shadow Realm. This room was oddly comfortable though, and it didn’t take him too long to work out the reason for this

Although he bowed his head a little automatically the moment he entered, the thing his eyes immediately fixated on was the Ravenclaw sitting calmly on a stool next to the bed. His face didn’t show any surprise, just a slight raise of his eyebrows, but inside he was reeling from the shock. What on earth was Dylan doing here, with the Shadow Mage, alive? Not to mention by the looks of things, mostly unharmed! What was going on? His mind immediately jumped to the worst and came to the conclusion that Dylan was a spy... and one who knew of his change in loyalties. Was that why he had been called here? He tensed ever so slightly, hardly noticeable to the human eye, before forcing himself to relax and face Phoenix. No point in declaring his own death penalty if it wasn’t certain.

He met her eyes, just, seeing the coldness that was such an oxymoron to her smile. He nodded at the mention of the task, keeping his gaze steady and unfaltering, however much he wanted to break away. He couldn’t show any sign of hesitation – he knew that from experience. [blue]”Of course,”[/blue] he replied, voice not shaking in the slightest and giving another bow of the head. Whatever faults he might have when it came to morally ambiguous areas, Kerridon was certainly a good actor. That was the whole point of being a spy for her – she knew how he could hide his real self behind several masks, whichever suited the occasion best.

Although inside he desperately wanted to ask about this – why was Dylan here, why was he still alive – he hid this under a layer of composure, waiting for a reaction. He knew he couldn’t question her; she would give answers if she chose to. But the one word reverberating through his mind was a constant ‘why?’

[Dark Phoenix]

She had been informed that for a long while those around Dylan had not suspected that anything out of the ordinary had happened to him. While she had gracefully welcomed this news, she knew it would not stay that way for too long. D'rorah, if anything, would be sure to gather her suspicions rather quickly. Not only was she, by all accounts, one of the closest people to him, but she knew full well that many of the losses of this war began with missing persons. For her side, anyway. When Kerridon's eyes fixated momentarily onto Dylan, she surmised it was simply because questions had begun to crop up about his fellow Ravenclaw; he had been gone from Hogwats at least a month or two now.

As Kerridon tenced, a barely noticeable action that she was so prone to pick up, her smile broadened slightly. Clearly, he either hadn't suspected Dylan to be here, or at least to be alive. He soon relaxed a bit, however, and faced her. Their eyes met and she bore into his for a moment, searching for any other reaction. He revealed none, and she found herself pleased that he could conceal himself so well. As he replied, his tone even, her smile released fully into what might be deemed a smile from a normal person, and she nodded once. "Good," she replied in her quiet voice. "You should leave as soon as possible to make sure you arrive back at the school before sunrise," she continued, her gaze turning briefly to the Ravenclaw still seated calmly on the small stool at the base of the bed.

"I expect that his visit to me will remain under wraps, Mister Paradox." It was not a question; merely a stated fact. He of all people should know that if her expectations were not met, someone would suffer. It was most likely him, in this case. "Mister Cooper has resided in St Mungo's for a time after taking a bludger to the head, and apart from an occasional migraine, he seems fit to return to school activities." She turned away from Dylan then, and back to face the one to whom she was speaking. "He will reach his bed before anyone stirs, and you will not be the one to find him; let him wander around and be found. Do I make myself clear, or would you like me to repeat myself?" Clearly, she had no intention of following the latter, and her voice had taken on a subtly dangerous tone as she questioned him.

[Kerridon Paradox]

Kerridon could see the smile broaden a little on Phoenix’s face and it helped a little. Apparently she approved in some way, although it still didn’t reach her eyes. He had yet to see the Shadow Mage give a smile that would reach her eyes, or a smile at all that wasn’t calculated to have the maximum effect she wished. Either to scare the life out of someone or make them feel at home. He had experienced both over his years of service, and wasn’t sure which he actually preferred. Both were very... forceful.

He nodded again at the comment on leaving as soon as possible, not bothering to look out of one of the windows to see how imminent sunrise was. He remembered doing that the first few times he had ever been in the Shadow Realm, but had quickly broken out of that habit. It was constantly dark here, there was no sign of whether it was daytime or night.

The idea of keeping Dylan’s visit to the Shadow Realm under wraps presented a bit of a problem for Kerridon – if it got back to Dark Phoenix that D’rorah, or any of the lightfighters for that matter, knew he’d been here, there would be trouble. [blue]”Yes, mistress. I understand.”[/blue] There was the tiniest of pauses before he added on the word mistress to his first sentence. Previously, it had just been habit, but now he had stopped calling her that in his head he had to consciously remember it. He did not leave just yet, waiting to be dismissed.

[Dark Phoenix]

Phoenix was quite glad that her point was taken promptly by Kerridon. "Good," she replied shortly. It had been so hard, in the beginning, to have people get to the stage of unquestioning obedience and understanding. She had been required to provide a few examples of her displeasure, but people around her had very quickly taken to her way of thinking after that. Her eyes met his, and revealed nothing of her thoughts on the particular matter of Cooper. Kerridon might learn of her intentions in time, but she highly doubted that information would come from her own mouth. "Quickly now, Mister Paradox, we certainly don't want to spoil the fun for Dylan. I'm sure he wants to see his friends after being away for so long." And with those last comments, she effectively dismissed him.

She left the Ravenclaws to it and departed the chambers, emerging into the common grey hallway beyond. Leaving Kerridon to what she assumed were still confused thoughts, and Dylan to what he perceived to be normalcy, an accomplished smirk touched her hauntingly beautiful features. Taken with herself, she then decided to go and see how her other Hogwarts students in this realm were coming along. She thought briefly on the peculiar commonality amongst all of them; Ravenclaws. She supposed it could really only have to do with her distate for stupidity in both allies and enemies, and in absolutely anyone for that matter. As she pondered her attraction to all things of the house of the eagle, her thoughts turned to how D'rorah would react when she first encountered Dylan; and on every successive occasion, for that matter. Her smirk grew into a vicious grin. She knew that it would take a while, with Dylan gradually wearing the leader of the Lightfighters down, but it would most definitely be worth it.

The beauty of it all, she had decided when she had first conceived this plan, was that since Dylan was probably the closest person to D'rorah Philosophy at this point in time, he would know exactly where and how hard to hit the other Prefect. With her intentions behind him, he would use his own judgement and reactions to cut away at the Shadow Warrior. He could push her away all in one go, or gnaw away at her; a small Ravenclaw boy held all the power. Phoenix, of course, controlled that power. It was all a very nice little set up, if she did say so herself.

[Kerridon Paradox]

Looking into Dark Phoenix’s eyes for some extra information to what he had been given, Kerridon found none. He hadn’t been expecting it, but he had also been taught to constantly keep a look out, because so many people could not keep their guard up every time. He bowed his head once more at what was effectively a dismissal, but did not move until he heard the door shut behind him. Then he glanced over to Dylan once before also heading to the door, not saying anything to his fellow Ravenclaw.

He wasn’t quite sure how he should react to someone who was technically his ally, but not his ally as far as everyone else in this Realm was concerned, and possibly not his ally any more if Dark Phoenix was letting him return to Hogwarts.

He turned his head back to check that Dylan was following and opened the door after a few seconds wait for Dark Phoenix to have gone her own way. If she wanted them to go back quickly then they would certainly have to hurry – you didn’t purposely drag your feet ever when around her, let alone if she had explicitly said that speed was needed. It hadn’t been overly late when he’d left – around midnight, he thought – but it was very easy to lose track of time in the Shadow Realm. There was still the matter of getting Dylan back into the castle he had to think about without raising any alarms, and preferably without displaying his animagus form either. If there was any chance that Dylan was now an enemy, then he needed to hide that information. And then there was the matter of what to tell D’rorah. A lot to think about, but that could be done while travelling. They needed to get out of the castle and back to the forest as soon as possible.

[Dylan Cooper]

His hands were extended out to the roaring fire before him. It seemed they could never be warm in this place. The firelight danced across his pensive expression, now curtained once more by the longer hair he was so prone to. No longer did he adorn the short regrowth he had after his first encounter with Zane. Dylan's eyes moved past the flames, considering his situation. He was aware that he was in the Shadow Realm, though at the same time, curiously enough, he was not. He also knew that Dark Phoenix was an enemy, and yet she was a friend. It was an odd sort of thing. But soon he would be back at Hogwarts; he had spent enough time away, and he was starting to miss the castle and all of the charm that came with it. He missed his friends and his teachers. Though he was never lacking for food here, he missed the banquets of the house elves, too.

Knowing by now that the fire could not warm him, he moved away from it, and instead took a seat on the stool at the base of his luxurious bed. It was similar to his own back in the Ravenclaw dorm, though instead of the deep blue it had an emerald cover. As his mind flicked into the present, he saw Phoenix standing before him, apparently having just entered the room. He felt a cold, slender finger trace across his cheek and his eyes found hers as she spoke. "I'm glad," he said simply, truly happy to be returning to the school.

Hearing a knock at the door, he heard Phoenix reply and saw the door pushed open by none other than Kerridon Paradox. Faintly surprised at the sight of a fellow student when he had not seen any for a month or two now, he did not show it. He focused on their conversation as the two spoke, and at the same time took the opportunity for one last look at the room he had called a sort of home for the past little while. When Phoenix left, he felt a small pang of sadness, though it did not last long. After that, his eyes moved to Kerridon. He in turn had also headed to the door, and Dylan, not needing to grab any personal possessions, followed right behind him. Given that nothing was said to him, he figured to leave the silence between them as it was.

Dylan did not need to bother taking in his surrounds one last time, now that the pair had left his room; all there was to this place now was bleak gray walls and tall, stout doorways that looked much the same the castle over. As Kerridon seemed to know where he was going, he remained content to follow in his continued silence, his eyes largely absent of much thought; as though he were in a daze. They traveled beyond the castle and through the nearest portal, emerging in the ever-grim forest that bordered Hogwarts castle. As the two Ravenclaws reached the edge of the tree-line, Dylan could tell that sunrise was an hour or two off yet, and he stopped to see how Paradox wanted to approach the castle.

[Kerridon Paradox]

Glad to see that Dylan was following straight away without any stalling, Kerridon continued on his way, taking a slightly different route to before. There was never any harm in reminding himself of the different passages, however well he knew them. Things could always change; a new tunnel or room could have been created that might be useful to know of in the future. Unfortunately this new route took him in the direction of the torture chambers he was far too familiar with, and a little too near for his comfort. But that was another reason why he’d chosen a different route; he knew he would have to pass here again at some point, and it was much better to go through this discomfort now.

Passing by as near as they would get to the chambers, the sound of screaming met his ears and he forced a neutral expression to stay on his face. It wouldn’t be quite so hard if that voice didn’t sound so familiar... but he couldn’t place it. It was frustrating, but at the same time a slight relief that he couldn’t put a face to that voice. Otherwise it might make it even harder to ignore. Besides, he knew it would come to him eventually.

He remained silent as they left the castle and made their way across the Shadow Realm to the portal, and apparently Dylan was willing to do the same. As they reached the treeline, Kerridon figured that the easiest way to re-enter without revealing his animagus form would simply be to remove or redirect the wards to one of the side doors. Since Dylan had simply gone along with his direction so far, Kerridon saw no need to inform him of what was being planned. A habit from years of solitude and working things out for himself. Instead he just gestured at the younger boy and murmured the disillusionment charm, then did the same for himself. Best not to let such spells be found on his wand. He motioned for Dylan to follow and made his way up to the castle, invisible to all who might look down. He found an appropriate side door quickly enough, and concentrated hard on dissecting the protective charm.

Deducing that the easiest way to get around it was to simply direct the alarm elsewhere, Kerridon began working on it. It took a good five minutes, considering how far away he wanted the alarm directed, but soon enough it was done. Unlocking the door wasn’t difficult, and he slipped inside, holding it open for Dylan. Miles away, at Paradox Manor inhabited only by house elves, an alarm sounded for a few seconds before the door was shut and locked again. He began to make his way up to the Ravenclaw common room, trusting that Dylan would continue to follow.

[Dylan Cooper]

Looking to Kerridon, he saw a small movement and then felt the effects of the disillusionment charm wash across him. Understanding exactly why he was hidden from the casual observer, he followed the other Ravenclaw in silence as he traipsed up the grass. The pair moved toward a small side door of the castle and Dylan's expression at seeing the school was one of sheer jubilation. Not that anyone could see it, but it was there all the same. He took the moments that Kerridon spent on the door to admire Hogwarts and it's grounds, everything so happily familiar that he wondered how he had lasted so long away.

He saw the sixth year unlock the door and pull it open for himself. Stepping through into the stillness of the early morning in the castle, his smile remained, and he waited for Kerridon to lock up behind them. His eyes roamed across the interior of Hogwarts and he recognised a corridor on the first floor that held a particularly dignified knight. Despite his many flaws, Dylan found that he particularly liked him, and he shuffled over to say hello. His house mate finished his neat work and began up the corridor, so Dylan bade a quiet goodbye and left behind him a knight sworn to secrecy about their entrance. Despite the fact that they were both disillusioned, not even an enchanted suit of armor would fail to notice a door opening and closing on its own, let alone the lack of alarms it should have set off.

He followed Kerridon up to the Ravenclaw common room, smiling lightly at everything he passed. It would be good to be back again... back among his friends and peers; whether he liked everyone or not, it was certainly better than recovering in St Mungo's. They were around the corner from the brass door knocker that permitted entrance into the Ravenclaw common room when Dylan stopped the other boy. "It'll seem odd if I just appear in my dorm in the morning, because the knocker should see me going in at some point. If she just sees you in the middle of the night, anyone asking is bound to find out, and they might suspect you brought me in," he said quietly. Without waiting to explain himself further, he removed his own disillusionment charm and asked Kerridon to keep his on as he moved toward the entranceway for Ravenclaw house.

Dylan answered the posed question after a moment of deliberation, then proceeded, he hoped with Kerridon right on his tail, into the common room. The fire beneath the mantle had dimmed down to what would be ashes if it weren't a magical fire, and the room was deserted. He quickly moved across the room to the staircase and proceeded up it, not sparing a look for Kerridon. He opened the door to his dorm quietly and moved on silent feet to his bed. He quickly discarded his robes and pulled on some pajama pants before climbing into the soft four-poster and setting himself for sleep.

[Kerridon Paradox]

Kerridon took note of Dylan’s short conversation with the knight, following the sound of the boy as he moved and spoke, and certainly took note that it was sworn to secrecy. He would have to back and check that at some point; see just how seriously the knight took its promises. For now, though, it would be fine to leave it to its own devices. So long as he went back as soon as was possible tomorrow morning to ensure it remained secret, at least.

Luckily there were no mishaps as the pair of Ravenclaws continued on their way up the castle to the fourth floor, until he was stopped just before they watched the common room. He nodded at Dylan’s logic, having just planned to do a memory charm on the knocker. But actually having Dylan be seen to go in was more foolproof than a charm that could be broken by someone dedicated enough. Breaking one of his memory charms would be severely difficult, but it could still be done.

He followed through the entrance right behind the younger boy, but paused to glance around once he was inside. No one else was about, and Dylan had not stopped at all. He was heading up to his dormitory. Kerridon pondered for a few seconds on what was going on there – why would he be sent back alive? He didn’t think that Dark Phoenix knew he was an Elemental Master (at least, he had only gained that information after changing sides), which could explain some of it, but even so... Maybe she had heard of how close D’rorah and Dylan were – he had passed that information on himself a few times – and was planning to use him against her?

Not realising just how accurate he was, Kerridon made his way up to his own dormitory. Normally he would be working on his research at this time of night, but having been in the Shadow Realm he needed to recuperate a little. Sleep would be good for that. That place always had such a bad affect on him...