Dark Legend of Potter: Chapter 61 (Patreon)

Sauntering out onto the field, Captain Marcus Flint regarded his Quidditch hopefuls with a disdainful sneer. What he needed this year was another chaser and two beaters ,since more of the upperclassmen had graduated. He’d already picked out in his mind who he was going to give the positions to: Cassius Warrington as a chaser, and Peregrine Derrick and Lucian Bole as his beaters. They were all big, burly sixth and seventh years, exactly what Flint wanted on his lineup. 

He paused when he saw a flame of red hair amidst the hopefuls. Wait. That was the Weasley girl. He already had two of her cronies on his squad, and while Weasleys might be geniuses on a broom, what Flint didn’t need was someone securing half the positions on his quidditch team and ousting him as captain. That would cut into his profits. 

Taking a moment to blow a large glittering blue bubble of gum, Flint regarded Weasley, who stared back at him stoney-eyed, her three goons surrounding her. 

Actually, Flint did a double take. Crabb and Malfoy were as shrimpy as ever, but was that really Goyle? The blond moron had shot up to be nearly as tall as Flint was over the summer, and he was seventeen and 5’11” already. He was still a thin little bastard, but Goyle’s shoulders were broadening, and his long lanky limbs meant that Flint was dead-certain that Goyle wasn’t done yet, and would become a physical freak before much longer. 

Actually, considering that he’d seen Goyle stalk and kill flying monkeys and giant toads with nothing but an old rusty spear he’d found in the castle, Goyle was already a freak. Hmm. That was tempting. But no, the last thing Flint needed was someone that stupid on his quidditch team. 

“Ah, morning, Mark,” Cassius said, waving weekly. “I, er, well, I’ve decided that, you know, this being my NEWT year and all, I can’t afford to spend so much time on sports, and er-” He stammered, and glanced at Weasley of all people, looking pale.

“Will be taking a sabbatical from athletics to focus on my academics,” Weasley supplied, her expression blank, but her green eyes glittering fiercely. 

“Right. A subnaughtical,” Cassius agreed. “So, er, I’ll just get going-”

“Hold on. I’m not as stupid as I look,” Flint growled, stomping over to loom over Weasley. “How’d she get to you?”

“Ha, ha, I don’t know what you’re talking about, Mark,” Cassius laughed in near hysteric tones, now sweating profusely. 

Crabbe reached up and patted Cassius on the shoulder, making him flinch. “We didn’t do anything, did we Cass? Ole Buddy, Ole Pal.”

“Yet,” Malfoy added ominously. 

“IjustrememberedIneededtoironmytextbooksbye,” Cassius babbled, and ducked out of Crabb’s grip to sprint back towards the castle. 

Flint turned cold eyes on Peregrine and Lucian. “And you two?”

“Look, Mark, I’ll be straight with you,” Peregrine said. “If you can get me a steady date, I’m your man for quidditch. But Weasley has already set me up with three dates at Madam Puddifoots with Bitty Tigoles, Shenita Mann, and Elieeza Lay. Three dates!”

Flint found himself half impressed. How had Weasley managed to get a Hufflepuff, a Ravenclaw, and a Gryffindor to agree to date Peregrine? He wasn’t an ugly bastard, but he was by no means popular with the ladies, being a brutish lout of the sort Flint preferred to surround himself with to make himself look better. 

Chewing on his gum, Flint slowly shook his head. “And you think that will make you more popular than being a Quidditch star? Come on, mate. You know you’d have the pick of the Slytherine girls if we win the cup.”

“That’s far from a sure bet, plus it’s ages away. And have you SEEN Bitty Tigoles?! She might be a Puff, but she’s the finest bird in our year!” Peregrine said earnestly. “No dice, mate. Sorry, I’m out.”

He turned and nodded to Ginny, who gave him a slight nod of her own. “Be ready for your date next Tuesday. Bitty’s got expensive tastes.”

“She can have whatever she wants as long as she dates me,” Peregrine said with a sigh, then trotted off, whistling tunelessly. 

Finally, Flint turned to Lucian. “Well?”

“I’m sticking around. I like my odds now,” Lucian said with a shrug.

Flint narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “Right then. You’re my first beater.”

“Excellent.” Lucian produced a roll of parchment from his robe, along with Graham Montegue, who shot Flint an apologetic look.

“No offense, Captain. It’s not personal. Just business,” Graham muttered, not meeting Flint’s eyes as he passed him the parchment. 

Flint popped another bubble, then unrolled the parchment and glanced at it. It was signed by Graham, Lucian, Crabb, and Malfoy. It was the standard form for the nomination and selection of a new quidditch team captain. At the bottom was the Headmaster’s signature, along with Snapes.

Interestingly, the new captain was to be Graham. That made sense, as the Captain had to be at least a fourth year, and Weasley was only a second year. It was also manifestly clear that Graham was going to do whatever Weasley told him to do.

“Well, well, well. An interesting little Coup d'état,” Flint said, rolling the parchment up. He regarded Weasley for a long moment, then nodded. “Well played. I admit it. Didn’t see this one coming.”

“Thank you,” Weasley said with a polite nod, showing just a hint of grace. “Took me weeks to plan and set up properly. I couldn't’ have done it without my Big Bros.” 

Crabb and Malfoy swelled up with pride, and Flint shot them a dirty look. Morons. Couldn’t they see they were being manipulated?

“The way I see it, I still need a Keeper,” Weasley said, not even bothering with the pretense that Graham was in charge. “I’m Chaser with Draco and Graham. Lucian and Dust are my beaters. Kazuma is seeker. Which leaves Keeper open. You’re not half bad, Flint, so it's yours if you want it. But there will be some slight changes to the way this team operates.”

“And why should I stick around and take orders from you?” Flint said with a sneer. He’d already pocketed nearly 100 galleons from his little arrangement with Bagman. He was pretty well set up after this. It wasn’t like he wanted to play quidditch forever. He’d get a proper job as a hairdresser, just like he’d always dreamed.He’d move to Paris, and open a salon. Not that he’d tell any of his school mates that. 

“I’ll cut you a deal, Flint. We’re not throwing games anymore,” Weasley told him, her eyes narrowing and expression grim. “Quidditch is too important. However, I think you’re all missing out on a much more profitable and exploitable resource right at our fingertips. One that is both perfectly legal to exploit, but much easier to do so.”

“And what’s that, Weasley? I’m not making study guides for nerds,” Flint sneered. He would hate for too many people to realize he was in the running for best marks in his year. The Ravenclaws hated him enough as it was. 

“Oh, no,” Weasley said, a wide smile spreading over her face. “Tell me, Flint. How do you feel about the Suck Up Cup?” 

“Waste of my bloody time,” Flint said with a snort. He’d never really cared, and besides, he got enough points playing quidditch. 

“Well, what if we were to make it worth your while?” Ginny said, and began to explain things to Flint. 

Halfway through, he just had to laugh. He’d been outfoxed by a little girl, and no mistake. But damn him if this didn’t sound both profitable, and fun. Never let it be said that he was a stupid loser when the victor offered a share of the pot.

Besides, she clearly hadn’t thought this all the way through. And now Flint could play both halves against the middle, end up with a fat sack of gold, and ruin Weasley’s entire career. 

Maybe this wouldn’t be such a bad season after all. 

For a long time, Megumin had known very little about her parents, aside from the fact that as per the Standard Heroic Orphan Origin Story, they had died gloriously when she was but an infant. She’d always been at least a little sad that she didn’t know her parents, but since she couldn’t remember them and the only evidence she’d had were a few photos that her Aunt and Uncle didn’t take out very often, Megumin had been mostly interested in them as set dressing for her own legend. 

But holding her two photo albums and seeing her parents as real, living people, to see them laughing and living and loving…they were becoming very real to her. She tried to ignore the tears that trickled down her face and tried to pretend that she was just looking for evidence to solve the mystery of Sirius Black and bring her parent’s killer to justice. 

Right now, she was holding a picture of her mother and a dark haired boy with an infectious grin. At first, she’d assumed it was Professor Snape or her father, James Potter. But closer inspection had revealed that it was actually Sirius Black himself, wearing a red eye patch and doing goofy poses as Lily laughed and tried to take it away from him, he having apparently stolen it as a prank. 

Taking out a red sharpie, Megumin very carefully drew a red “X” over Sirius’ face, which caused the photo to glare at her and try to peer around it. 

“I will avenge my family,” Megumin whispered softly, sniffling slightly as she did so. 

“Megumin? Are you alright?” Hermione stuck her head in between the curtains, making Megumin squeak and try to hide her pictures out of reflex. “Oh, looking at the photos again. Sorry, do you want some privacy?”

“Not really,” Megumin admitted. “It isn’t nearly as fun to stew in misery if no one notices.”

Hermione flopped onto the bed, peering at the pictures herself. She picked up the one Megumin had marked, then frowned at it. “So, how did Sirius Black join the Crimson Demon Clan?”

“My mother obviously inducted him,” Megumin said with a shrug. “Even the Crimson Demon Clan has a dark traitor from time to time.”

“Right, but, I thought you came up with it. Did your mum leave you a letter about it or something?” Hermione asked, flipping the photo over. “Hmm, September 12th, 1972. They would have been second years.” 

Megumin ignored that last remark, opening and closing her mouth. How did she know about the Crimson Demon Clan?

“Come on, we’ve got to go find Yunyun,” she declared, picking up both albums and jumping out of her bed. Hermione followed after her, pausing only long enough for them to pull on their shoes. It was Thursday after classes, and both of them were dressed in casual muggle clothes. They hurried through out of the tower and down to the kitchens, where Megumin pounded on the supposedly secret entrance until someone opened it. 

“What? Oh, hey, Megumin,” Susan Bones said with a nod. “Looking for your cousin?”

“Yes, it is a matter of utmost importance,” Megumin said seriously. 

“Well, she’s not here right now. I saw her with Lavender after Transfiguration, I think they were going to the library to study,” Susan explained. 

After that was another mad scramble through the castle that left both Megumin and Hermione rather winded, neither of them being much for exercise. They made it up to the library at last, finding Yunyun and Lavender indeed studying quietly, and collapsed next to them, exhausted. 

“There you are, why would you hide from me when I am on a mission of such dire importance?” Megumin demanded of Yunyun, who was looking up from a transfiguration essay.

“D-do you want to work on our h-homework together?” Yunyun asked nervously, glancing over at Lavender who shrugged. 

“Megumin and Hermione always get good marks, I wouldn’t mind sharing notes.”

“Forget the essay, it’s not important!” Megumin snapped. She flopped the photo album on the table and paged through it to the picture of her mother, Aunt Petunia, and Professor Snape, all wearing eye patches and posing in a still picture taken by Platform 9 ¾. “There, do you see!?”

“Oh, is that your mum?” Lavender asked, peering over at it. “Who’s the boy though? He looks like a vampire.”

“That’s Professor Snape, one of the founding members of the Crimson Demon Clan,” Megumin huffed. She scooted the album towards Yunyun, who examined the picture, mystified. 

“Yes? I-I’ve seen it before, it’s a nice picture, but…w-what’s this about, Megumin?”

“When did you learn about the Crimson Demon Clan?” Megumin demanded. 

“Um, I don’t know. I remember playing it with you when w-we were little,” Yunyun admitted. “I-It was our club, e-even before we started school.”

“Did your mum Petunia tell you about it?” Hermione asked curiously. 

“No, she d-didn’t like it and cried a-about it, but I just…I needed t-to be a Crimson Demon,” Yunyun said with a shrug.

“Exactly! I recall knowing I was a Crimson Demon even before I could walk!” Megumin agreed. “But then, how did our mums know about it?”

Yunyun cocked her head to one side, frowning. “I…I don’t know. M-maybe we could ask Professor Lupin, or Professor Snape?”

“Wait, hold on, are you saying this is some sort of curse?” Lavender asked, sounding dubious. However, both Megumin and Yunyun beamed at the prospect, their crimson eyes glowing brightly with passion. 

“Of course! It’s a bloodline curse enacted by our parents to secure their legacy and create the most potent weapons of mystical might possible!” Megumin cackled, jumping up on her chair. 

“SILENCE IN THE LIBRARY!” Madame Pince thundered, which caused Megumin to hastily sit back down and drop her volume. 

“I’ve heard of curses, and even bloodline curses, but why would a parent do that to their own children?” Hermione whispered, leaning over the table. 

“If it’s a curse, we should ask Lady Aqua about it, she knows more about breaking curses than anyone!” Lavender added eagerly. 

“No! If our fate is to be cursed, we don’t want that meddling goddess interfering in our affairs and breaking a perfectly good curse!” Megumin declared, and Yunyun nodded in solemn agreement. 

“I-I do wonder just what sort of Curse it was, a-and if we’d need to perform it over our own children,” Yunyun said, casting a nervous glance at the librarian that was glaring in their direction. 

“Hmm, good point,” Megumin mused. She glanced sideways at Hermione. “...and if we were to properly induct anyone into the Crimson Demon Clan, we would need to cast the curse on them as well.”

“Before you curse me with anything, I’d want to know what the specific side effects are. What if it results in something particularly nasty, like having to sell your firstborn child to a demon, or you die before the age of 50?” Hermione pointed out. 

“Hmph. Fifty is plenty long to live a life of adventure, after that you get boring and old,” Megumin grumbled. She still tapped the desk, her eyes narrowing. “We do need to consult someone about this. I shall go and interrogate Professor Snape. Yunyun, you investigate Professor Lupin.”

“Ok, I’ll go ask h-him,” Yunyun agreed, rolling up her unfinished essay. 

“You can’t just ASK him! You have to, you know, gather clues, and confront him with the horrible truth!” Meguimin protested. “Never mind. I’ll come with you and make sure you do it properly. Here’s what we’re going to do…”

Not too far away in his office, Remus Lupin felt a shiver go down his spine, and he flinched visibly. 

“Oh, sorry, I hit a nerve?” Tonks asked, stopping her efforts to massage Lupin’s shoulders. 

“No, just, don’t know what came over me,” Lupin sighed, rolling his shoulders. They did feel a lot better now. “Just felt like someone walked over my grave is all.”

“Hmm, is it because it’s close to the full moon?” Tonks asked, coming around and taking a seat on his desk. She put a hand to Lupin’s forehead, then cupped his chin. “You feel hot to me…”

“I do get slightly feverish as my time approaches,” Lupin admitted, flushing and trying not to get too flustered. 

“Mmm, then maybe I should give you some medicine,” Tonks said, and leaned down, closing her eyes. Lupin stood up, pulling her to him, his own lips pressing against hers and-

BANG! “PROFESSOR LUPIN, WE COME UPON A QUEST MOST URGENT!” 

Tonks swore and dropped down, hiding under Lupin’s desk as he hastily tried to rearrange his robes and Megumin Potter stormed through his classroom and into his office, a manic grin on her face as usual. 

“Yes, Miss Potter?” Lupin coughed, trying to compose himself even as his head was still spinning. He caught a glimpse of two sets of glowing red eyes and brought himself back under control as four eager young women entered into the office. 

Hastily, Lupin stepped around his desk, meeting them at the door. “I’m afraid I’m not feeling terribly well today, girls. If this is about your homework-”

“No, this is a much more interesting problem than how to handle Hinkypunks,” Hermione said, taking a book from Megumin and lifting it up to shove it in Lupin’s face. “Here, professor.”

Blinking and taking a step back, Lupin managed to focus on the pictures. “Well, I do recognize these of course, they’re from your parents and my first year at Hogwarts.”

“Yes, but look at the eyepatches, the eyepatches, man!” Lavender said, peering over the edge of the book on her tiptoes, her eyes wide. “What do they MEAN!?”

Taken aback, Lupin looked down at the deadly serious faces of the four teens, then shrugged helplessly. “Honestly, I’ve always wondered that myself. Lily would go on about how they ‘sealed her hidden power’ and make long dramatic speeches but I could never get a straight answer out of her.”

“But Yunyun and I wear eyepatches too!” Megumin said, pointing to one she’d put on especially for this dramatic reveal. 

“Er, yes?” Lupin said, not sure what this meant at all.

“T-that means we’re Crimson Demons too!” Yunyun gasped eagerly, her eyes glowing as if to prove her point.

“Er, yes…” Lupin repeated, still not sure he followed this at all. 

“So, this begs the question of why Lily Evans decided to wear eyepatches, and why Megumin and Yunyun do the same,” Hermione said, nodding seriously. “Is it genetic?”

“Genetic?” Lupin repeated dully. 

“You know, passed down the family bloodline,” Hermione said at the same time as Megumin said, “A dark and terrible inheritance, passed down the family bloodline from mother to daughter, a mark of a great and dreadful destiny!” 

“Oh, well, I suppose so,” Lupin agreed with a shrug.

“But WHY?!” Megumin demanded. “How did my mother learn of the eye patches?!”

“Er, I assumed she’d just read too many pirate books, honestly,” Lupin admitted. 

“You’re hiding something,” Lavender accused. “Confess! Confess your sins to Lady Aqua!” 

“I’m not hiding anything,” Lupin said, now feeling somewhat cross and very harassed. “Well, aside from the photo album, but I thought you’d enjoy finding it that way more.”

“And I did, but that just makes you the primary suspect! You were in on the dark and terrible powers that cursed my parents, weren’t you?!” Megumin demanded. 

That actually hurt, and Lupin’s lips thinned into frown. “I wasn’t the rat that betrayed your family, Megumin. I’m not that kind of monster.”

“Hmm,” Megumin eyed Lupin for a long moment, then shook her head. “We’ll keep an eye on you, Remus Lupin. But for now, for your loyalty to my parents, I shall grant you clemency. Come! We must interrogate our next suspect!”

Lupin’s heart lurched. Had she figured it out already!? He hadn’t even planted the next clue! 

“We’ll make Snape talk, one way, or another!” Lavender vowed bravely. 

Lupin breathed out a sigh of relief. “Right. Good luck with that.”

The girls charged off again, and Lupin very carefully shut the door behind him, then leaned against it. “That was a close one.”

“I mean, I technically wasn’t doing anything wrong,” Tonks pointed out, then let out a yell. “Ow!” 

Lupin turned and hurried over, only to find Tonks still crouching under his desk and rubbing her head sheepishly. “Sorry, banged my noggin a bit.” 

“Well, maybe I could kiss it and make it better,” Lupin teased, bending over. 

Tonks giggled, then suddenly grinned wickedly. “You know, there’s some men who would pay a lot to have a woman on her knees in front of them…”

“Not in my office I wouldn’t. You know about the staff fraternization policy,” Lupin pointed out. 

“Sure, but I’m an Auror on temporary assignment, not an Auror,” Tonks said, getting up and sitting back on Lupin’s desk.

“True,” Lupin mused, puting his hands on her shoulders. They kissed, but he pulled back after a moment, breathing hard. “It’s too close to the full moon for this…”

“Oh? You worried about the raging beast inside of you?” Tonks purred, twining her hands behind Lupin’s neck. 

“Tonks, I’m a werewolf, we’re dangerous.”

“Dangerously sexy…”

“Not in my office,” he repeated desperately. “What if the girls come back?”

“Lock the door.”

“Do you honestly think that would keep out Megumin?” 

Tonks huffed and let Lupin go, folding her arms over her chest and pouting. “I don’t think a Gringotts bank guarded by a dozen dragons would keep that girl out.”

“We need somewhere more private,” Lupin agreed. “And not our bedrooms. Too suspicious.”

“Hmm.” Tonks frowned up at Lupin. “Doesn’t leave many places.”

A sudden idea dawned on Lupin, and it was his turn to grin predatorily. “Say, have you ever been to the Shrieking Shack?”

“Sure, Charlie, Chris and me used to dare one another to touch it. Never saw any ghosts, but we gave ourselves a good scare,” Tonks said with a shrug. 

“Well, what if I told you how it got its real name, and what the real monster haunting it looked like?” Lupin said, pulling Tonks close again.

“Oh? Is it something terribly naughty?” Tonks asked, grinning lavisciously now. 

“Well, it wasn’t at the time, but perhaps it’s time for the ghosts to return…” 

Lupin began to explain, much to Tonks’ delight, and his own mortification as he realized just what he was doing.

Not that he stopped. 

“...no.”

“What do you mean, ‘no?!’” Megumin demanded, pushing herself up on Snape’s desk and glaring over it at him. 

“I mean, ‘no,’” Snape repeated, not batting an eye. 

“No as in, ‘I don’t know’ or no as in ‘I’m not telling you?’” Hermione prodded, leaning over the desk herself, but not quite touching it.

“No, as in this inane line of questioning is closed, and I will not be discussing it further,” Snape said with a sneer. 

“So you DO know something!” Lavender gasped, pointing an accusatory finger at Snape. 

“I know many things, mostly that this is a tremendous waste of my time.” Snape turned back to his papers, taking his eyes off the four girls. “Your mother obviously left you an eye patch as some sort of childhood trinket, and you merely played make believe games like a small child. Unlike most children, you have not grown out of it.”

Yunyun bit her lip and glanced at Megumin. “T-that does make sense…”

“No! I refuse to believe it,” Megumin huffed. “You were there! An original member! How did the Crimson Demon Clan start!?”

“As a childish flight of fancy, which as I have said, I refuse to continue to indulge. Now go, unless you wish to volunteer to scrub cauldrons for the next fortnight!” 

“You will rue the day you betrayed the Crimson Demon Clan!” Megumin vowed, her nostrils flaring in outrage. 

“Come on, he’s obviously not going to talk. We’ll have to find another way to get the information,” Hermione said, grabbing Megumin’s arm and pulling her towards the door.

“He’s clearly hiding something!” Megumin protested. 

Yunyun nodded, but took Megumin’s other arm and began to drag her away. “Y-yes, but that just means we need to b-be sneaky about gathering intel.”

“Hmph. You have not seen the last of us!” Megumin vowed, before allowing herself to be dragged off, for once choosing discretion instead of bullheadedness. 

Snape waited for five minutes, then hastily stood up and hurried to the door. He checked both directions, despite one being a dead end, then moved as quickly as he dared for the headmasters office. 

“She knows,” he growled. “But how…who…? Lupin!”

This couldn’t get out. If the true origins of the Crimson Demon Clan were revealed…it could doom them all. 

Author’s note:

Look, I’m sorry. It couldn’t be avoided. With this many idiots, at some point, we were going to get an idiot plot.

COG:  I personally don't have a problem with idiot plots when the characters are kids, because my life was nothing but Idiot Plots from around 8 to 18. 

PHILO: There’s idiot ball, then there’s idiot volleyball. Even those two stages are optimistic, for this is about to turn into an idiocy free for all. The terrifying part is that Aqua may very well be the sense of reason.