More Warnings
Magus traveled only a few miles that night. He was reluctant to leave the cover of the forest. Plus there was the fact that every few minutes, a howl would break the silence of the night, telling him that Remus wasn�t far away. In fact, it seemed that they were going in the same direction.
Magus still couldn�t believe what had happened. He�d been so sure that Sirius would be able to help Remus get his memory back, or at least reassure him that it was only temporary. He couldn�t help but feel that this was his fault. If only he�d been able to get Remus out of that Creature Control Center sooner, he wouldn�t have had to use that spell.
But that didn�t matter now. What�s done is done. Besides, this was not Magus� time. All that mattered was for him to find a way back to his world, where he would no longer have to worry about whether or not he had enough cover during the day. Even if he couldn�t have his childhood life back, at least he could return to a world he knew.
Magus could see the sky along the horizon in the east starting to get lighter and knew that the sun was rising. He searched the forest for a while and finally found a cluster of trees that would shade him from the sunlight when the time came. He settled down in the shade of the one nearest to the center and allowed his mind to drift.
As he did this, he found himself focusing on Remus� words. You may want to rethink your loyalties Janus. He�d shown all the signs Magus knew of someone who was being possessed. Magus assumed that this Voldemort he�d been told about was the one who possessed Remus. What he couldn�t figure out was what he meant or even how he knew the identity Magus had given up long ago.
While he was lost in his thoughts, Magus didn�t remember to put himself into a trance. It was only just before he fell asleep that he realized his mistake, and by then it was already too late.
He was hovering in a sea of darkness, a place where nothing exists but the person who is trapped. Yet, this did not seem to be the case. He could see something glowing blue in the distance. As it came closer, he could make out the shape of a young woman. Even before he saw her, he knew who she was.
�Schala?� he called, and noticed that his voice sounded detached and distant.
Schala didn�t speak, or even seem to notice him. She just continued to drift toward him, stopping when she was only about half a foot away. Suddenly, her eyes met his and she seized his arm, making him gasp at how cold her skin was. She pulled his arm down so that his hand rested on her stomach.
�Beware the child of darkness,� she warned, her voice icy and unfeeling.
�What do you mean?� Magus asked, but she merely shook her head and disappeared, leaving Magus alone once again.
When Magus awoke, he had a moment of panic when he saw the bright sunlight in front of his eyes, but then remembered that he was still in the shade. Even so, he felt a bit lightheaded, so he cast a small cloak of darkness around him to block the light even further.
Usually when he slept he had dreams of his past, only fading memories of his time with his sister. This dream was different. His sister had not aged a day since last he saw her. In fact, the only thing that seemed to have changed was that she wasn�t pregnant anymore. Even though he himself hand changed greatly, she seemed to have recognized him.
Beware the child of darkness. She�d been trying to warn him about something. He didn�t know what she was talking about, but at the same time he did. When he tried to figure it out, he found a blockage in his mind, almost like memory that rested just beyond his grasp. There were so many of these though, that he couldn�t be sure if this was of any significance.
Magus looked up and was surprised to see that it was all ready nighttime. Judging by the position of the moon, the sun had gone down about two hours ago. He stood up and stretched, wincing as he heard his bones cracking. Much as his magic had helped him stay relatively young in appearance over the years, there was no denying that he was getting old. Even he was not quite sure how old though, as many of the years of his adolescence seemed to have literally disappeared from his mind.
Magus left the forest that night feeling as if he was being watched. Once when he turned to look over his shoulder, he saw a shadow moving in the distance. He strongly suspected that this was Remus. The moon had been full only the previous night, so tonight there would be no risk of a werewolf attack. However, Magus knew that Remus was still under evil influence, so it took quite a while to shake the thought that if Remus attacked, he might be forced to use his magic to defend himself.
But luckily, whatever had made the shadow kept its distance and Magus continued his trek. He soon reached the place where he�d once stood months earlier, faced with a decision of whether to go east or west. Last time, he�d gone west and that had ended in disaster. There was only one choice left.
As Magus turned to the east, he once again heard a faint, howling sound and felt a sense of foreboding. The black wind blew did not blow for just anything. It meant that a great evil lay down this path. Yet this was the only way to go. So, ignoring the sound that grew loud enough to make Magus� eardrums scream in protest, he took a deep breath and stepped forward.
The wind immediately died and the faint sounds of the forest once again sprung to life. Yet even as Magus continued down this path, he knew that his troubles were not over.
He walked for three nights, stopping in whatever shade he could find whenever the sun rose. On the second night, he had been forced to use a darkness spell to find sanctuary. He didn�t like having to use up his energy like that, but it was the only way.
Then, on the third night, just when he was just starting to wonder if his sense of the black wind was beginning to slip, it happened. He was walking along the edge of a forest, contemplating whether or not he should keep going or stay here and wait for the next night to move on. Suddenly, out of nowhere, several cloaked men came out of the trees, forming a circle around Magus and fencing him in.
�Is this the one?� one asked in a strange accent that Magus didn�t recognize.
�Yes, it�s him,� another one said, stepping toward him and lowering his hood. He was ghostly white with long, black hair, parted perfectly so that it flowed back until it disappeared into his cloak. His eyes were blood red with no pupils and when he smiled, Magus could see that he had fangs.
�Hello Janus,� he said, holding out his hand, �we�ve been expecting you.�
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Author's note: Ack, I know, it's short, only about 2 pages. This story has officially hit rock bottom, but I promise, it should get better. I have a nice cliffhanger to work with here and I've already started work on chapter 10. There probably won't be more than a few more chapters though, as I am wanting to finish this so I can work on some other stuff.
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