Waiting for Re-Admission (Gat, Mord, & Darko)

[Alessandro Darko]

The wind shifted slightly as a pair of wizards apparated onto the edge of the Hogsmeade. Hewlett Worthington Romulus III, husband of Ariana Gemini Cromwell-Romulus, step-father to Alessandro Orion Darko, stepped forward briskly onto the hard terrain before him. He had gone several feet before looking back impatiently. With a sigh of exasperation, he studied Alessandro Darko for a brief moment. The boy looked distinctly like his father, his features were darker than his mothers. The Italian in him really became apparent as he grew older. His dark brown hair had grown substantially in his absence from school, now brushing slightly against his upper lip. A slight inclination in the length signified the shorter strands that had been magically severed off months ago in a class where Gat Soldier had cast a Sectumsempra curse at him, missing by a hair, only to cut off several strands.

“Alessandro, do hurry up, please! I have pressing matters to attend to whence I’ve completed this task of dropping you off.” Hewlett said with a dry scoff. You could tell that Hewlett did not hold his step-son in the highest of regards.

Alessandro looked up from where he had just apparated. He had not moved yet as he caught a glimpse of the buildings of Hogsmeade off in the distance. He was eager to get back to school, although the reasons for him being removed were still foggy. He had woken up in his bedroom one night from a terrible nightmare, and he could have sworn he had just passed out in his dorm room back at Hogwarts after a transfiguration class. It was very late at this point and he just fell back to sleep in the comfort of his own bedroom, only to question his parents the next morning. They had informed him that he had suffered a massive concussion after he had slammed into one of the grandstands while practicing for Quidditch. But didn’t that seem months ago? They had been questioning him on a variety of things regarding school and friends, questions to which he had no answers. As he tried to remember faces and names, brief flickers, glimmers of memories seemed to slip away from him and he could not remember anyone or anything.

The two of them made their way into the town of Hogsmeade and navigated their way through the crowd. Hewlett was wearing a dark green cloak which billowed majestically as he strode forth. Alessandro was donning his Hogwarts uniform as he was ready for his return.

They approached a building that Alessandro knew to be the Three Broomsticks. He looked up at Hewlett, who gave him a sour look as they entered the establishment and sat down at a table.

"We are waiting for a representative of Hogwarts to come and collect you. He or she will take you back to school. Remember, no trouble, Alessandro. Your mother wants you to be at the top of your class. Again, focus on your studies above all." He said as he stood up and walked over to the bar and began to converse with the barkeep.

Alessandro scowled at him as he walked away. He turned his gaze out the window and watched all of the people walk by. He was in a state of slight confusion as he knew that he was experiencing some memory malfunction. He tried to think back to that day when he crashed his broom into the grandstands. He was remembering fine, but the memory seemed cheap and faded, and somewhat unlike his usual memory replay. He shook it off and began to stare lazily out of the window, waiting for the school representative to come and take him back.

[Mordred Kade]

Mordred made his way purposefully into Hogsmeade. He was well aware of his orders and knew things had to go off flawlessly or there would be repurcussions... definitely Dark Phoenix would show no mercy if they failed in their task. He only hoped no one from the school would be there... no one who would know that he was no longer a member of the faculty after Caira had fired him. Or rather, the Shadow within him hoped for all of these things. The man who had been Mordred Kade was, for all intents and purposes, no longer alive. His body, however, had been a useful tool for the Shadow Mage.

He opened the door of the Three Broomsticks, scanning the area for Alessandro. His eyes fell on him and Hewlett almost immediately. He walked over to the table, a friendly smile on his face. No one would ever know anything about the Shadow within as long as they didn't look too closely at his eyes. Eventually, it would distort his features and corrupt his flesh... but for the moment, he looked like just another patron.

"Alessandro Darko," he remarked, striding forward with a smile. "Well, it's odd timing, being right before winter break, but we're glad to have you back. You'll have a lot of work to catch up on from the time you've missed... but I suppose that's no big challenge for a Ravenclaw, is it?"

He looked at Hewlett and extended his hand. "Mordred Kade, a pleasure to meet you. You must be the boy's stepfather. I'm sure you have things to take care of today, so I can take over from here if you like."

[Alessandro Darko]

Alessandro had been gazing lazily out of the Three Broomsticks window, watching on at the passersby, all going on about their lives.

How provincial... He thought to himself as he drew in a long breath and sighed. Normally Alessandro would be thinking about his friends, Keaira, Dee, Dylan, Jason, Wysteria, and many more, but under the circumstances of his withdrawal and re-admission, thanks to his parents, he would be thinking of nothing of the sort. The last memory he could vaguely recall would be the quidditch incident, a memory he did not relish, so he put it to the back of his mind.

He turned to look over his shoulder, contemptfully watched the antics of his step-father. A man that took pride in being pure-blood, jovial when in the company of others he deemed as equal. Alessandro didn't care about being pure blood, he was sure his father didn't pay any mind to it as well. He frowned at the thought of his father as he had been gone for quite some time now. He shook off those thoughts as he caught sight of a man that had just entered the establishment. Alessandro cocked his head to the side to study the man as he had a feeling of déjà vu. Did he know this man? There was something vaguely familiar about him, but at last, Alessandro couldn't quite put his finger on it.

The man had come up to his table and had begun to speak with him.

"Alessandro Darko," he remarked, striding forward with a smile. "Well, it's odd timing, being right before winter break, but we're glad to have you back. You'll have a lot of work to catch up on from the time you've missed... but I suppose that's no big challenge for a Ravenclaw, is it?"

He looked at Hewlett and extended his hand. "Mordred Kade, a pleasure to meet you. You must be the boy's stepfather. I'm sure you have things to take care of today, so I can take over from here if you like."

He smiled at Mordred as he obviously had to have been one of the professors at Hogwarts. Thats it then, that's where I've seen him before... He thought as he watched Mordred turn to speak to his step-father.

Hewlett turned around as Mordred had introduced himself and extended his hand for him to shake. "Ahhh yes, a pleasure indeed, Mordred. Professor, eh?" he looked Mordred up and down assuming that he was the official from Hogwarts. He grasped Mordred's hand and shook it vigorously. "Hewlett Worthington Romulus III, I do apologize for the inconvenience, I know its short notice, but the boy's mother and I will be going away for winter Holiday. We heard that sometimes students can stay at the castle during such times if they please, and I'm sure an outstanding student as Alessandro would most definitely get the approval from the Headmistress." Hewlett said boisterously as he finished shaking Mordred's hand.

He stood up straight and gave Mordred a nod, and a quick stern eye to Alessandro, a look that meant: Stay on track with studies and keep your nose clean.

"Right then, Must be off, take care Mister Kade, and Alessandro, we shall see you after winter holiday." With that, Hewlett strode from the pub and made his way through the crowds of people outside.

Alessandro raised an eyebrow as his step-father left and then turned his attention to Mordred. He stood up to face him and sort of half-smiled. "So, Professor Kade....what class is it that you teach again? My memory is a little fizzled. I suffered a concussion while practicin' quidditch, I guess, and thats why they took me out of school." Alessandro said as innocently as ever, like he actually believed the story that he had been fed ever since he had been back home.

[Mordred Kade]

The longer they remained at the Three Broomsticks, the more uneasy Mordred began to feel. It seemed as thought it could only be a matter of time until someone from Hogwarts saw him. And that would complicate matters greatly. Best to have this done with before anyone who had witnessed his recruiting session for the Mage the other day saw him. It was a mere stroke of fortune that Alessandro hadn't been there for that or this whole enterprise would be absolute folly.

He smiled widely as Hewlett shook his hand vigorously. "Don't worry about the short notice. We're delighted to have the boy back. I'll see he has talk to the Headmistress right away so we can get him settled in with everything he might possibly need for the remainder of the year.

He watched as Hewlett headed out, following him with his eyes briefly. This was going over almost too well to be true, really. The timing seemed to be absolutely perfect with no one the wiser about his... no, no, Dark Phoenix's, plans.

"So, Professor Kade....what class is it that you teach again? My memory is a little fizzled. I suffered a concussion while practicin' quidditch, I guess, and thats why they took me out of school."

Mordred's mind was whirling with that comment. A concussion? That didn't seem right... he remembered... well, the creature named Mordred remembered from the actual Mordred's memories that Alessandro had been withdrawn by his parents. There was no recollection of a quidditch accident. "Oh, Defense Against the Dark Arts," he answered carefully. "Let's go ahead and be on our way. I'll bet your memory starts to come back more and more as we head off towards Hogwarts."

He watched, waiting for Alessandro to gather his things. When he seemed, ready, he gestured toward the door and indicated for Alessandro to fall into step with him. He walked along, subtley steering them toward a rift he had left open only slightly away from the path to Hogwarts. "We'll have to change our route just a little to come in one of the side entrances. Hogwarts main gates aren't staying open during the day anymore... too many problems with students sneaking out to get away from classes," he lied.

[Alessandro Darko]

Alessandro nodded as Mordred had explained that he was the teacher for defense against the dark arts. He got his things together quickly as he had suggested that they get moving. Most of his things had already been transported to the school and set up in his dorm, only his side bag with a few books was left on the chair beside him. He stood up and slung his bag over his shoulder and smiled to Professor Kade as they both exited the pub and began walking toward their destination; Hogwarts.

Professor Kade had mentioned that he had thought that Alessandro's memories may come back as they progress along through Hogsmeade onward, however, nothing in particular was jogging his memory at all. He tried to focus in on signs such as Honeydukes, and knew that he had been there before in his previous years, but could not remember being there since his fourth year near the end of the school year, the last time he had gone. With a frown on his face, he let out a sigh and gave up trying to remember.

"I suppose once I get back to school and start classes again, I'll start remembering more...maybe the winter holiday will allow me time to familiarize myself with things around school..." He mumbled aloud, not really speaking to anyone, but more like verbalizing a thought.

Mordred had mentioned something about students sneaking out during school hours to avoid classes, and thus, they had to take a side entrance. Alessandro was unaware of any side entrances to Hogwarts, so his attention perked up.

"Side entrance? Must be secret...I can't believe anyone would want to sneak out to avoid class..." He said in response to Mordred's comment.

He looked over his shoulder to see Hogsmeade, bustling and busy. A familiar sight that he had gazed upon many times before. At least he could remember that. When he turned back to face the direction they were going in, he was struck in the face with a ray of sunlight that pierced through the clouds and lit up his eyes like fire. He shut his eyes tight and put his hand up to shield his face from the bright light.

He thought he saw the image of his step-father in his mind, looming over him with his wand extended. His mouth moved as he spoke, but no sound was heard.

Alessandro opened his eyes and looked away from the light as the image faded.

"How much farther?" He asked simply.

[Mordred Kade]

"Oh, not too much farther now... just a bit." Mordred listened without much comment as Alessandro talked mostly to himself. "He hadn't known Alessandro much as a student, so knew there was no point in being too chatty or buddy buddy. "And yes, there are students who would skip classes. We aren't a school full of Ravenclaws, you know. But yes, we have a side entrance that can only be used by faculty." He stopped and looked at Alessandro seriously. "I hope I can trust you not to go spreading the word about this entrance to the rest of your classmates."

He looked at him for a moment, then smiled and continued on. They veered a bit closer to the forest, approaching what looked like an old, abandoned gate. "Ah, here we are," he remarked, approaching a gate that didn't really seem to be connected to a visible wall. It just sort of sat, in the middle of nowhere like a lone monolith.

"After you, Mister Darko," he remarked, gesturing toward the gate. Mordred moved as though he intended to closely follow Alessandro through. "Welcome back to Hogwarts." In reality, the door currently served as an entry for a Shadow Rift. As soon as Alessandro stepped through, he would be in the Shadow Realm and they would be on their way to see Dark Phoenix. Mordred smiled to himself, thinking his task was almost too easy to be true.

[Alessandro Darko]

The environment around them now was that of a darker nature as they seemed to have veered off toward the forest. Sunlight was now blockaded behind high treetops and thick canopy, casting down dark shadows onto the ground, cooling the area substantially. As Alessandro followed Mordred to the gate, he noticed that it wasn't really connected to a wall anywhere. It was just a lonely old gate. Alessandro furrowed his brow and looked longways as if to be searching for the walls that should have bore the opening for the gate.

Mordred stopped him and looked at him in the eyes telling him to keep this a secret and not tell other students about the side entrance. Alessandro didn't really see the point as the gate didn't really prevent anything from going either way, as it wasn't attached to a wall, nor even a barbed wire fence. He nodded, though, that he would obey his professor and keep the knowledge of the entrance sealed away within his mind.

"After you, Mister Darko,"

Mordred's voice came from close behind him as he urged Alessandro through the gate. Alessandro took a breath and studied the entrance for a moment. With a smirk and a raised eyebrow, he stepped through the stone pillars. An odd sensation like he was being pushed through a thick wall of jello enveloped his body as his surroundings had suddenly shifted without warning. He stumbled forward onto a hard, cold, stone floor.

He looked around to study his new environment. It appeared as if he has instantly teleported into a corridor in the school that he had yet to discover. The forbidden corridor, perhaps? He thought as he straightened out and looked around. There were tapestries hanging, and a strange script at the top of the walls, very elegant indeed as it all flowed together and glowed brightly.

He cocked his head to the side as he mentally remarked at the singularity of his environment; he had not seen this script before in any corridor, nor any tapestries that depicted such horrific events in Hogwarts.

"Professor...are we inside Hogwarts now?" He asked in a confused state as he turned slowly to face Professor Kade, taking in his surroundings.

[Mordred Kade]

Mordred stepped through after Alessandro, feeling the familiar yet strange sensation of traveling through a rift. He smiled. This had been far easier than he could have ever possibly imagined. He pulled the door closed securely behind him and the rift that had been there seemed to disappear into nothing, controlled by the rift magic of Dark Phoenix herself.

"Oh yes, this is a closed area of the school. With the main entrance sealed, it was the easiest way to bring you in. Don't worry, it shouldn't take long to get back to the main area of the castle... more familiar territory." Mordred smiled graciously. The area around them was eerily quiet and the darkness seemed almost stifling. It was fortunate Alessandro had some sort of memory loss... otherwise, he would have likely recognized the quality of the darkness around them. Not that it would do him any good now. Any attempt to escape, to run, would simply end in him being captured by Shadows before he could make much further than the hallway.

"Now, right through this door," Mordred directed, leading him into yet another corridor. "Try to stay close, it's a bit labyrinthine... easy to get lost and all that." He kept his pace swift, not wanting to give Alessandro too much time to question his surroundings. He wanted to keep this as easy as possible. Finally, he stood before their final destination. He opened a heavy oak door and gestured for Alessandro to make his way inside.

[Alessandro Darko]

Alessandro did his best to avoid the tapestries and focus on keeping up with Professor Kade, who was making haste down the corridors. Alessandro began to feel a little disheartened as they continued down the corridor. It seemed as though it was getting colder, and he became less happy. He grew more wary and anxious and kept looking around him quickly as if some hideous monster would jump out of the darkness and clobber him into smithereens.

Alessandro wrapped his cloak around him tightly while gripping his side-bag in his right arm, trying to maintain his level of warmth. The more they walked, the more Alessandro began to feel that something was not quite right here. He remained close to Mordred as he remarked that this area of the school can be a labyrinth if you didn't know how to navigate your way through it in the dark, another comment which made him uneasy. How he yearned to come out of this dark catacombs and into the bright, and warmth of the Great Hall. It had been a while since he last ate and he could definitely use a butterbeer and some treacle tart about now.

Finally they approached a door that Professor Kade pushed open. It was a large, heavy, Oak door, and he was motioning for Alessandro to cross the threshold. Alessandro didn't even think this time and just walked right through.

"I hope we get out of here soon...It's gettin' a bit murky down here..." He remarked with the uneasiest of laughs.

[gatsoldier]

Gat was waiting on the other side of the door for his prey. He was well hidden in the shadow of the corner of the room. The only give away were his eyes, glowing like a green moon in the night sky. He waited, watching in complete silence. After a short while, he heard foot steps in the distance. (ooc: Bad boys bad boys, watcha gonna do? Watcha gonna do when we come for you..... Lol.)

[glow=red,2,300]"I hope we get out of here soon...It's gettin' a bit murky down here...[/glow]"

It was time. The target had arrived. His orders so far were simple, to torture the subject. Why he was wanted tortured, Gat did not know, nor did he care. He was happy to oblige. His wand was in hand and he was ready. Gat had a bucket of water by the door way ready. A strange torture device to have, but one that Gat was accustomed to. As Alessandro Darko walked past the bucket, the water seemed to seep out the sides and trail along the floor after him at Gat's will. The water slowly crept up the back of Darko's shoe and surrounded his legs. It quickly froze, freezing his ankle in place. But the ice did not stop. It extended up his legs, slowly freezing his leg.Gat stayed hidden in the dark waiting for him to slowly become aware about what was happening.

[Alessandro Darko]

Alessandro was ready to get out of this unknown and unfamiliar part of Hogwarts that he had yet to uncover. He knew he would have a hard enough time keeping the secret entrance to himself, but Mordred didn't say anything about talking about the undiscovered areas. The script that was glowing fiercely at the top of the walls was captivating and piqued Alessandro's curiosity. He would have to remember it later and research it. As he walked through the doorway that Mordred had just urged him through, the environment seemed to be completely bereft of light and warmth. He took a couple of steps and found himself stopping short as he felt a peculiar sensation up his right leg.

All of a sudden, his leg felt as if he had plunged it into a bucket of ice water and its motility became severely limited.

"Wha?" He mumbled as he strained his eyes to look down at his leg. He could barely see anything but caught a glint of something that was traveling up his leg, no, both legs now. Alessandro reached down and touched what had bound his legs and it felt cool and slippery, like ice. Immediately his eyes widened as he realized that he was immobile and in the darkness.

"Professor Kade!?" He called as he craned his neck to turn around and call for help. No sooner had he cried out, he heard a loud slam, one that belonged to the heavy, oak door that he had just surpassed.

Panic spread from his mind and through his body like wild fire. Had he recalled that he was able to summon fire at will, he may have found it quite easy to escape, however in his current condition, he was useless. His main driving thought was to search through his bad to retrieve his wand.

His fingers fumbled around in his bag as the ice began to spread now up to his thighs when he felt the faint spiral carving around the shaft of his 10 and 3/4 Sycamore with Demiguise hair core. He let out a small noise of triumph and dropped his bag to the ground. He flourished his wand and cried out "Finite!" as he aimed his wand at the ice spreading up his extremities.

Nothing happened.

"Finite Incantatem!" He yelled as he replicated the prior wand movements. Still nothing.

His breathing sped up and became shallow. If finite incantatem did not work, there was only one other thing he could try. Melting the ice, but that required flames or heat.

"Someone help!" His voice resonated off of the walls like an amplifier of terror. He struggled a bit more before he finally felt like he had no choice. He took a deep breath and aimed his wand carefully at the ice.

"Incendio!" He cried with fear and desire to break free. A stream of flames erupted out of the tip of his wand and hindered the ice a little bit. Alessandro could feel the intense heat as the ice was turning to water and soaking his pant legs. The spell was spent quickly and to his horror, the ice continued to spread.

"Help! Someone help me!" He cried as he began to pound at the ice with his fist, the handle of his wand cracking into the ice, but to no avail. He frantically looked around the darkened room for anyone or anything, and his eyes fell on two green dots in a far corner, the site of which sent shivers down his already cold spine.

"Who's there!? Please help me!" He shouted toward the corner, figuring it was probably a house elf that he had alerted from all of his screaming.

[gatsoldier]

Gat watched his work unfold. A grin came over his features as Alessandro Darko finally realized what was happening to him. His un answered cries for help were giving Gat great joy. As Alessandro addressed Gat, he spoke with an easily recognizable laughter in his voice.

"No one else is here. We are alone. No one can help you now." Gat laughed loudly. The ice seemed to stop at Alessandro's waist. Gat raised his wand in the direction of his victim.

"Expelliarmus" He said. A red light shot from Gat's wand in Alessandro's direction. Using his elemental power, the ice around Alessandro's legs formed icicles on the inside. The icicles were tiny, like your average prickle, but they were pressed against his leg. It would have felt like having thousands of tiny pins stretching all the way down your legs to your toes. They, slowly but surely, grew. They slowly became larger and pierced Alessandro's skin. The best thing was, there was nothing he could do about it.

[Alessandro Darko]

What is happening? Why is this happening to me? Alessandro's brain was working overtime and he asked frustrated questions in his head. What did he do to deserve this? And where was Professor Kade to help him? After all, he was supposed to be escorting him back to school, not leading him into some death trap. Alessandro continued his struggle and raised his wand high in the air to prepare for impact with the handle against the ice. It was his only tool that somewhat resembled an ice pick, and since spells were not effective against this form of magic, he figured physical force would have to do. He froze in mid raise as a voice spoke to him from the shadows.

"No one else is here. We are alone. No one can help you now." Gat laughed loudly.

Alessandro could feel his blood run cold at the sound of the deranged laughter. Whoever it was in the room with him sounded human, but as it seemed would provide no assistance. Suddenly there was a flash of red light out of nowhere and he found his wand flying out of his hand and off into the darkness, hitting the floor with a clatter.

"Who are you?! Why are you doing thi-" Alessandro's plea was cut short as he felt a shooting pain all over his legs. He threw his head back in agony as he let out a loud scream. The pain was not yet unbearable, however the suddenness of the pain mixed with how frightened he was right now made it all the more worse.

"Please!" He shouted. "Please stop!" Alessandro struggled furiously now banging both fists against the ice, only to yield himself more pain as he struggled; the icicles digging into his flesh pressed harder.

[gatsoldier]

The scream of his lost and confused victim was satisfying to the ear. It also meant that Gat was causing great pain, which meant that Gat was doing his job properly. More and more ideas of pain causing solutions passed through his mind.

[glow=red,2,300]"Please!"
"Please stop!"[/glow]

"Now why would I stop. We're having so much fun." He laughed aloud again. He was purposefully staying out of the light. He would not show his face and reveal himself as the elemental master of water.....yet. He was sure that someone would have figured it out by now, but he would not risk any more reason to link it to him. For a small while, he let the icicles grow. When he was ready a few short moments later, the ice heated at an impossible speed. It was fully melted but still covered the length of Alessandro's legs, in the same shape and size of when the water was ice. The water was boiling hot, the only thing that stopped it from evaporating was by Gat's power. And like ice, the water would not let him move. After about a minute, a sweat bead appeared on Gat's forehead, slowly followed by others.

[Alessandro Darko]

Alessandro was in a considerable amount of pain by now as the unknown assailant's choice of torture seemed to be completely under his mental control. The ice had grown spikes inward to pierce the flesh on his legs, and now, Alessandro felt a slight warmth, bringing him hope, hope that the ice would melt and then he could make a mad dash for his wand, which lay on the ground several feet in front of him. To his shock, he was still unable to move his legs as the ice had completely melted and had maintained its previous icy form, spikes and all. The warm water was soothing against his freezing, punctured legs, however, the temperature seemed to be steadily increasing.

"Ahh" He cried in mild discomfort as the water got hotter. "Why are you doing this to me?!" He wailed as he craned his neck again to see the glowing orbs of green. "What are you gaining from this madness?!" Alessandro pleaded, but only received a deranged reply.

Now why would I stop. We're having so much fun." Then laughter.

Laughter that made his blood boil as the water around his legs began to as well. With a loud cry of anguish he thrust himself forward, causing him to fall face forward onto the ground with outreaching arms.

"Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh!" He cried out as the water burned his flesh. He twisted his head to avoid impact with the stone floor but he hadn't quite turned it as he smashed his nose and left side of his lip against it. He tasted blood as his left hand had slapped against the shaft of his wand and he gripped it firmly in his hand, not bothering to switch it to his dominant hand. He used his right arm to steady himself as he twisted around and thrust his wand toward the shadows where his assailant dwelt.

"Confringo!" He yelled with all his might, stifling all of the pain he was experiencing. A bright white light glowed at the tip of his wand and exploded forth with a slight trail of light behind it. It collided with a wall as a shelving unit exploded violently, scattering debris outward. The jinx began to ricochet all around the room blowing things up as Alessandro took this opportunity to fire off several more destructive spells.

"Bombarda!" He howled as he tried his best to ignore the searing heat of boiling water against his legs. This one had hit the ceiling, causing a beam to explode and fall down near the shadow where he had seen the green eyes. "Reducto!" He wailed as tears began to flow down his face, mixing with blood and dirt as he flailed his wand about, casting spell after spell.

He was on edge. He was beginning to see stars and he felt himself slipping away. With a final swing of his wand, he cried out the Lumos Maxima spell filling the room with a brilliant flash of light, finally seeing the face of evil. It took on the form of a young boy who looked vaguely familiar, perhaps a mate at school. His eyes rolled back into his head and his arm dropped to the floor, still clutching his wand.

Alessandro Darko had lost consciousness under the extreme pain and overexertion.