Jack, not Jackson

Chapter 55: Tides Recede

Pitch's POV:
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The Nightmares were restless. I'd been holding them back from the school since one was killed, trying to gather power without losing any of it after. I had the mares feeding on a tiny village to sustain them. It would have been enough once, but now they had tasted more.

I was busy thinking when it happened. It was about half eight at night and for the sixth night in a row I was attempting to find a way to make the Nightmares immune to whatever had killed one of them. If I figured that out I'd be unstoppable.

I'd been following the same path in the shadows of the village, absorbing the energy from our newest victim when I felt a surge. This was not a Nightmare. This was something more.

Even though this had happened six times before, it was the most powerful surge yet. I had to fight to keep the stolen power in check as it gained strength.

When it was over and I finally had control over it, I straightened. I was stronger now. The power coursing through me felt like a green fire as it snaked its way around my veins, As restless as the Nightmares. Finally, it settled back to its usual place.

I was smiling. I'd felt this smile before and knew it was a cruel one. That just made me smile wider. Now, I couldn't care less about whatever they'd used to kill my Nightmare. With this much power, I could make three for every one they managed to kill.

I could have set off for the school that second and if I was any younger, I would have. But I'd had 1,000 years to learn patience. They would be on guard now that darkness had fallen.

No..I would wait. Wait until they got soft, stopped looking over their shoulders, or jumping at shadows. Then..just as the sun filtered through their little bubble. I would come for them.

Jack's POV:
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Something happened when that necklace broke. I'd practically forgotten it between the students, the headmaster, and the Nightmares. The Not Dead, Never Alive thing effected Harry. I wasn't sure where the darkness had gone after the glass broke but it was gone now and I was focused more on Harry.

I should have studied it while I had the chance but I can't change what happened. I tried convincing myself that 'no one got hurt and that was good enough for me.' But I felt uneasy. What had it been, and where had it gone?

Maybe it was cursed because the night it broke, no one in the school had nightmares. Everyone was celebrating like we'd persevered. Like the threat hanging over our heads was gone.

I kept silent. I was the only one who felt like we were closer to danger then we had been before. The tension of one threat might have stopped, but I still felt a tension.

I kept teaching the combat classes but very few showed up now. On the fourth night, the Professors asked why I bothered anymore. I simply said.
"We should all know how to fight with hope."
It didn't convince anyone.

Still, Lupin, Callum and a couple of the older students stuck with me, so I focused on teaching them what I could. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe this time the fight really had ended before it began.

But in 3,000 years, I had never once seen that happen. Something was coming, I was sure of it.
And if I had to fight it alone, so be it.

Lupin's POV:
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Jack was off. He was a hard one to read under normal circumstances but it felt to me like he was showing less of himself lately despite the receding amount of nightmares. He paid just as much attention to the students and his duties but something was missing.

How could I help when he closed the doors like this?
It was obvious to me that he'd spent too long relying on no one but himself. I'd been the same way before Hogwarts. Before I'd met my friends.

It got me wondering with a sinking kind of realization. What had Jack gone through to make him this way?
That he never blinked at the horrible stories the students told. Never seemed surprised at the cruelty the world could dish out to kids.

I had to set it all aside though. Maybe Jack could sense my questions. Wouldn't open up to me until he realized I didn't want answers to these questions only to satiate my curiosity. I wanted answers so that I could help. So I could understand.

It was pretty obvious Jack was entirely out of practice with sharing a burden; but between me and the students closest to him, I'm sure we'll pull it off.
Especially now, the nightmares had stopped and we had time to focus on healing old wounds instead of avoiding acquiring new ones.