Little Snake - A Black Legacy

Chapter Ten - Secrets unleashed

"It's good to get out of the castle for a change. To go somewhere other than Hogsmeade," Hazel said. Ominis regretted that this delightfully carefree moment outside the castle gates was over so quickly. Now that Sebastian was back, she was not quite so free and carefree. Nevertheless, it seemed that Hazel could relax a little better here in the wilderness than, for example, in the common room.

"Look!" Hazel whispered excitedly as they wandered up the hill behind the Quidditch field. Around a curve, up a ledge, small White and Blue Moon Calves pranced. Ominis held Sebastian back, smiling, as he tried to follow Hazel, who cautiously approached the animals. Step by step, in a crouched position, she crept closer until all the moon calves looked up at once. Immediately Hazel stopped and simply sat down in the grass, leaning forward in an almost bowing gesture. Cautiously, she reached out, still leaning forward and her gaze raised only subtly, as two of them approached her. Instinctively, Hazel knew not to make a rash gesture. She was determined to deal with these animals. She didn't want to catch them, didn't want to own them. The most beautiful thing about them was their freedom for her, which made her almost melancholic.

The boys waited in some distance. Both could hardly believe what just happened, moon calves were damn shy and hard to convince. While Sebastian stared at the girl, who approached the moon calves as if she knew exactly what she was doing, Ominis sat down quietly in the grass, smiling. Because of the distance, his wand could only put a vague image in his mind. A girl, kneeling and bent over in front, who held out her hand and did not move. Hazel maintained this gesture until the Greatest Beast slowly snuggled its head against her hand. They heard Hazel stifle a joyful noise as she very carefully sat up, her hand continuing to be extended. "Hello, sweet ones. I didn't know you existed." She gently spoke to the animals, who slowly gathered around her. "I wish I knew what you were eating" she said, slowly running her fingers through the fur of one of the animals. It was short, but very soft and warm.

The boys listened to her talking to the animals. It was an incomparable experience to see the naturalness with which she paid respect to the animals without making any effort, as if it were her second nature. The moon calves hung on her lips, their big puppet eyes focused on her, their little ears twitching back and forth. "Those back there are my friends, Ominis and Sebastian. Please don't be afraid, they are lovely people. They would never hurt you. Do you mind if they join us?" she explained to the animals. As soon as she finished her sentence, one of the younger animals ran towards the two men. They almost didn't dare to breathe until the animal slowly and carefully took the tip of Sebastian's cloak in its mouth and pulled it towards Hazel. The animals made noises, it sounded almost cheering, and quickly more approached and urged them toward Hazel. "Awesome!" wondered Ominis as they finally sat in a circle with the animals. "I didn't even know what I was missing. A totally different world with totally different creatures!" Hazel said. One of the moon calves on her lap.

"Here we can talk undisturbed. Moon calves are very attentive. We would notice if anyone approached," Sebastian said. Hazel nodded, a sad glimmer in her eyes. Before she began to talk, she took Ominis hand and gently placed it on the back of the mooncalf next to him. She wanted him to have this experience, and she simply leveraged his fear that he might accidentally hurt one of the animals because of his blindness. When he felt the soft fur, the gentle breath that passed through the animal, his heart warmed. If she ever decided to do this, she would be a wonderful gamekeeper.

"I don't know whether to start with my childhood or the carriage ride" she confessed honestly. "We have plenty of time and we'll listen to whatever part of it you want to share with us" Ominis said softly. "It's now or never" Hazel sighed before she started. "I hope I'm not telling this too confusingly... It's not easy to find a beginning when you're not quite clear about the whole thing yourself. I don't remember my early childhood clearly. Professor Fig once said that this was because my soul had decided to protect my mind from the consequences as long as it could. But for a year now I've been dreaming about it, remembering bits and pieces of horrible things, but it only got really bad after the dragon attack... I just woke up one night in an orphanage. I was screaming and crying and thrashing around. I told them about owls and magic and what terrible things you could do with it and the muggles dismissed me as crazy. It was just a dream. So I told myself that and built my first wall around my mind. The fact is, it wasn't my imagination. My earliest memory is, that my parents forced me to spend a lot of time with a boy and we became friends, but what I remember most clearly, is that at one point he stopped coming and I wished he would get me out of there because the day his V-visits stopped...." she suppressed a sob and took a deep breath. "Since that day, my parents tortured and tormented me, day in and day out, for half a year because I didn't show them my magic soon enough. U-until I woke up in the orphanage. I was adopted, but through these experiences I swore never to allow such a feeling again. I distanced myself from everyone, especially when I realized that many Muggles were no better than those who had tortured me. In my dream, of course."

She snorted disdainfully. "When Professor Fig found me, one of my classmates almost killed me, if my magic hadn't finally awakened. It was a shock for me to have to accept that this was all reality. Sometimes it still is. And yet, the first time I felt almost complete, was when Professor Fig began to teach me magic. He told me about an uncle in the family, who had taken my Gringotts vault and saved me from death. Children without magic in the Black family are usually killed without a word and crossed off the family tree as if they never existed. And on our trip to Hogwarts we realized that... I am not destined for a quiet life, I would say. Shortly before we left, we were joined by an employee of the Ministry, George Osric. He was an old friend of Eleazar Fig and his late wife, and had something important to discuss with him, so I didn't mind him accompanying us. He talked about Ranrok, which Fig's wife Miriam first told Osric was dangerous, while she was researching ancient magic. And with her last owl, she sent a magically sealed case, with no further correspondence. She had to send it quickly to protect it from Ranrok and then died they guessed. When we examined the casket he had brought, I saw it for the first time. The traces of ancient magic. It is.... A glow accompanied by a supernatural hum or whisper. I was able to open the box and inside was a key. That was the moment when the dragon attacked and destroyed half of the carriage including Osric with one bite. I saw Osric die in a cruel way. We fell into the depths and Fig grabbed the falling key after I held on to him. It turned out to be a portkey, it took us to Scottish ruins, where we found an entrance sealed with the Ancient Magic. I was able to activate it and then we were in Gringotts. It turned out that the portkey was a vault key. Following ancient instructions, the banker locked us in the vault and with the help of my ability to see and activate the Ancient Magic, we had to fight our way out of an enchanted maze. I can't describe this room in any other way. In the first fight, Professor Fig was by my side. This was the fight where I got the back wound from. We had to fight against statues of knights. Most of the other scars I have, are from my second fight. Ancient magic had conjured Fig back into the original vault. I was on my own, with no potions, a borrowed wand, and only one year of magical experience. But then I made it to the main room of that vault, wounded, and Fig was back with me. It was a huge room with a pensive and a viole with a memory. Basically, the memory says that I will have to do trials as time goes on. To prove myself worthy of the magic I can see and use, and they won't be easy. After that Ranrok came. He wants the magic for himself. So he wants me too. That's why I have to do these trials, to stop him. And well... We're looking for the clues and leads that will take me to the trials and our next clue is the Forbidden Section of the library. Because of all that... I'm trying to be unapproachable to everyone, not make friends, because I don't want to drag anyone into this. Because there will be days when I won't have the energy for any social interactions either. Or any feelings. That's why I close them off when I get to my limit, so I can push myself past it. That's why... Please don't be put off by my indifference or arrogance or my cold eyes, I don't want to lose you... Even if our friendship was actually more of an accident" Hazel ended her hour-long narration, with a pleading undertone and tears in her eyes.

The mooncalf in her lap nudged her with its head and made a sound that gave Hazel some comfort. Hazel didn't have the courage to look up. She was afraid of rejection or fear. After all, she feared herself sometimes. As the silence continued, she added. "Oh... e-ehm... Professor Black is that uncle, by the way...". Now she heard a stifled laugh. "Sorry. That just caught me off guard" Sebastian sniffled. Sniffled? Quickly she looked up. Both of them were crying. Ominis stared into his lap, fists clenched and wet with tears. Sebastian looked at her with tears in his eyes. Hazel didn't know what to do. She didn't want people to feel sorry for her, and she didn't want to make anyone cry. When Ominis could no longer hide his sobs, Hazel looked at him, startled. Instead of paying attention to herself - she was crying herself - she lifted the mooncalf in her lap onto the grass, slid over to Ominis and took him in her arms. After some time had passed and he had calmed down a bit - It was beginning to dawn - he whispered something at her shoulder that would open her eyes.

"I'm so sorry, little snake".