Ravenclaw - An Evening of Enlightenment

Ravenclaw - An Evening of Enlightenment
(OOC: Combined threads from the previous site.)

Bernard Blackenbury
Sitting in a rocking chair, listening to it creak every time it rocked. That was what Bernard was doing at two o'clock in the morning in the Ravenclaw dormitories: simply rocking in a chair that certainly hadn't been there previously, listening to the peaceful sound as he surveyed a sleeping student. She wouldn't be sleeping long, though. After waking the boy and having him wait in the empty common room, Bernard's master has assured him that the girl would soon wake if he went upstairs and waited for her patiently. Soon, the three of them would be off to dive into history of the wizarding world that no book was able to teach. The history they would be experiencing was known to only a rare select few, and he was confident that both students would find it interesting, and possibly frightening.

Bernard had his orders. He was to arrive at Hogwarts this early in the morning and awake two students to accompany him: Candance Michelle and Dante Cross. Both of them had suffered greatly at Daniel Marsden's wrath, and Bernard has been assured that both of them were good children. So, as if he had owned the whole school, Bernard had walked through the castle without hesitation, not even being noticed by anyone he passed. Not that they could see him, though. It was only when he was to deliver a message that he could be seen, and only be seen to those who had been selected. He had walked into the Ravenclaw boy's dormitory, not being noticed by anyone there except Dante. And now, he was doing the same in the girl's dormitory. No one would see him except for the Michelle girl. Not if it wasn't the Number's will.

Dante Cross

Dante sat in a comfortable chair in the Ravenclaw Common Room, waiting. He wasn't sure exactly what he was waiting for. He just knew he was woken up and told to wait in the common room by a stranger . He rubbed his eyes, in an attempt to wake himself up. He was still groggy considering the fact that he was just suddenly waken. What is this about? He couldn't help but wonder. He had just enough time to change quickly and quietly, being extra cautious not to wake up any of the other boys.

He sat in there in his navy blue jean shorts, dark gray Nike shirt, and black and gray Nike shoes to complete his outfit. He looked at his black fingernails, inspecting them, as he continued to wait for this mysterious stranger. But before he knew it, his head began tilting backwards. He slowly realized that his eyes were shutting. Dante quickly shook his head as he lifted it up. He really didn't like being woken up so unexpectedly, but he figured it had to be something important, or serious. Strangers just don't wake people up in the middle of the night for no reason at all.

Man, I have a potions test this morning. He frowned at his realization. Potions were always one of his worst subjects. Dante didn't see the point of mixing things into a cauldron. He always thought doctors should have to worry about curing people and he didn't want to become a doctor so potions weren't a concern of his. I hope this guy doesn't take up too much of my time. If he does I might do a header into my cauldron. He chuckled softly at the image of him falling asleep in the middle of his exam.

He let out a big and long yawn as he stretched out his arms and legs, still sitting in the chair. Dante sat up straight in the chair as he continued to wait for this stranger

Candance Michelle

Staying up late had definitely been a mistake on Candance's end. What had she been thinking? True, she had had to finish that irritatingly long essay for her first class in the morning. But really, it wasn't as if she wasn't going to at least managed to scrape a 'Acceptable' on the essay if she had left it as it was. The result of her just having to finish the essay? A night full of tossing and turning and not going to bed until at least midnight. Thankfully, the nightmares she had been plagued with early on in her Hogwarts life had passed for the most part, and she only occasionally had one nowadays, at intervals of no more than once every couple months. Besides, life for her was peachy. Everything on her end was going rather well and that didn't really look like it would change.

When Candance woke up, after groaning inwardly at the time, the first thing she noticed was the shape of a knee, followed by the ever so softly creaking of a chair. For a moment, all she could do was stare, becoming more awake as she stared and listened to the incessant rocking of the chair. When had her dorm acquired a rocking chair? Blindly searching through her thoughts, Candance couldn't recall if being there before. As she grew more awake and her level of confusion increased ever so softly, she began to move a bit, sitting herself upright in her bed. From here, Candance could see that the man who had been rocking the chair was located quite near her bed, almost as if he had been waiting for her to wake up. But really, that couldn't be the case, could it? She had never seen this man before in her life so surely he must be looking for one of the other girls and had been confused as to where she might be sleeping.

"Er...excuse me, sir?" Candance began, and although she had tried to make her voice a bit louder and clear, the only sound she was able to produce was nothing more than whispers. "Are you looking for one of the girls?" As sure as Candance was that this man had merely been misinformed as to where whoever he was looking for had been sleeping, she wasn't going to deny that this guy was definitely giving her bad vibes. He did seem perfectly harmless, but something about him just rubbed her the wrong way. After she spoke, Candance sat on her bed in silence, waiting for the man to respond.

Bernard
And at last, she had awoken. It hadn't taken terribly long, but Bernard liked to be as prompt as possible. It was for this reason that he reached into his robe pocket and extracted a gold pocket watch that had been given to him by his master. The watch was very strange; it was common knowledge that some watches that wizards used were different from Muggle watches, but this watch was unusual even by wizarding standards. It had far too many hands to be a normal watch. Even so, after a moment or two of looking at it, Bernard seemed satisfied and put it away.

Better respond now he thought to himself. He looked at Candance with no trace of a smile, yet he didn't appear at all to be hostile. "No, I'm looking for you, Candance Michelle." Even though he wasn't making any effort to keep his voice down, no one else in the room seemed to hear him. They all continued to sleep quietly. "I need you to come with me and one of your acquaintances. I have Dante Cross waiting in your common room downstairs. Come with me, and I can show you things that will save Adarian Ackland from certain death." At the mention of this, Bernard gave her a small smile that looked the slightest bit sinister.

Candance Michelle
A few seconds after she spoke, Candance just sat there, unsure as to how she should feel. Really, even if he was looking for one of the girls, what had honestly been the emergency that couldn't have waited? He might have at least owled and if one of the girls had been awaiting a visitor, she would have surely told someone, at least the Head of House! And, as she pondered the man's presence in the room, she wondered how he had managed to get in the dormitory. Candance herself hadn't read Hogwarts: A History but she had heard from others about the various things about Hogwarts that weren't generally known. Like the fact that no male could access a girl's dormitory, for Hogwarts Founders believed them to be less trustworthy. But maybe that just applied to younger males, who were still attending the school, she didn't know. The man reached into his pocket and pulled out a very peculiar watch. The room was still dark, so she couldn't quite see any details as to what was on the watch. After a moment of looking at it, the strange man put the watch away, and spoke for the first time.



For a moment, all Candance could do was blink at the man, confusion covering her face. He was looking for her? But she had never met the man in her life, she didn't think. Racking her brain quickly, she thought over the majority of faces she had seen in her life, and his face was different. She would have remembered, woudn't she? His face wasn't really all that unusual, just a face, but it did have a bit of an ominous feel to it. "You were looking for me?" She said quietly, a mystified tone creeping into her voice. "I'm sorry, sir, but I think you are mistaken. I've never met you before in my life. You couldn't possibly be looking for me." Attempting to be reassuring, Candance forced a smile onto her face, hoping the man wouldn't be too embarrassed at his obvious slip-up. "Really, I can help you look for whoever it is you are searching for. Is she a first year, or even in this house..." Candance's words were cut short by his next words.



With a sharp intake of breath, Candance jumped out of her four poster bed, her bare feet making no noise as they hit the ground. "Wh-what did you just say?" She said, her eyes wild with fear. No, this wasn't how it was supposed to be. Things were going okay for her! Her year had been perfect and she was happy! "Is he okay? What happened? Tell me!" Her voice rose louder that time, disregarding the sleeping forms that shared this moment with her and the man. "Who exactly are you?" She half wanted to scream, but all she could do was simply stare at him, forcing herself not to panic and yell. Could you shut up for one moment, please? Candance thought to herself as she ran his words over her head. Come with me, and I can show you things that will save Adarian Ackland from certain death... Clenching her teeth together, Candance reached over to her bedside table and grabbed her wand, not bothering to fetch a robe or coat to pull over her pajamas. Sliding into a pair of shoes, she nearly ran out of her dormitory and raced into the common room. She nearly ran into Dante and she grabbed at him roughly to stop herself from falling. "What the bloody hell is going on?" Candance whispered quietly to him, looking around behind her to see if the man had followed her.

Dante Cross
Dante remained sitting in the chair as he waited for this stranger and his guest. Suddenly he heard a rumbling coming from the stairs. The rumbling grew louder as it came closer. Finally Candance Michelle can rushing from the stairs and nearly knocked him out of the chair, stopping just before they would have collided. "Are you all right Candance?" He asked her startled by her unexpected appearance. He felt her grab him tightly to prevent herself from falling.



Dante pulled out his wand, not sure why Candance ran out of her dormitory like she was running out of a burning building. "I have no idea. I was dreaming about Penguins playing hockey again Walruses in Alaska. The Penguins just tied the game and sent it into overtime. Then I woke up and some guy was watching me. He freaked me out at first. He told me to go wait for him and another student in the common room. So I got dressed and here you are." He told her calmly as he stroked his chin with his right hand.

Dante smiled as he put one and one together, almost as if a light bulb turned on for him. "You must be that other student. I guess if I could have picked another Ravenclaw to do whatever it is we're going to be doing I probably would have picked you." He told her with a grin. Dante became serious for a moment as he looked back at the stairs leading up to the dormitories. He didn't see anyone so he looked back at Candance.

"I guess it would be stupid to ask if you knew what was going on huh?" He asked her as he shrugged his shoulders. Dante turned around and stood next to his older housemate. He didn't expect the other student to be Candance Michelle. But he was glad that it was her instead of some random student. They were both in The Revolution together, and on the Quidditch team. They may not be the best of friends but their friendship was getting better.

Dante kept his wand out and ready. He didn't like the uncertainty of someone knowing him, and he not knowing anything about him. In the back of his mind he couldn't help but question this stranger's motives. He knew that it would be suicide to attack a student at Hogwarts but it had been done before. So it wasn't completely out of the question.

Bernard

Bernard made no attempt to rush down the stairway to meet his two guests. The girl, however, didn't take too kindly to this method. As Bernard walked down to the common room to meet both of them, he heard what sounded like a small earthquake. It was to be expected; these days, people were often frightened at first when they met him. Some of them stayed frightened, in fact. It was of no importance to him.

Reaching the landing, he spotted Candance and Dante, the latter of whom seemed ready to defend both them. Bernard couldn't help but smile a little at this. "By all means, take your wand, Dante. You won't need it, but there's no reason for you to not have it with you all the same.

"Now, let's get right down to business. It's late, and I more than appreciate what a good night's rest does for studying. It always did me good when I went to school here." Bernard smiled again, even though he knew that both of his guests were probably just more confused. "My name is Bernard. You might have read about me in the library once or twice. Actually, if I remember correctly, I think there's a picture of me hanging somewhere in this castle. But this is neither here nor there. I speak on behalf of my master, and my master has the same wish that both of you, as well as your Revolution has: to bring down Marsden's regime."

Candance



Candance could barely breathe, such was the force of her emotion. Not even bothering to apologize for running into him while he sat, she tried to force her words out of her mouth while also willing herself not to being to cry. Quit being so dramatic. If something happened, you'd know. You would. She tried to reassure herself, breathing in deeply to calm herself. "He said that he needed me to come with him and go downstairs, that it would save Adarian's life..." He was so much taller than herself that Candance had to crane her neck up a bit to see Dante, unlatching her hold on him. If there was anyone would could understand how important Adarian was to her, it had to be him, right? They had gotten into a spat a term or two ago, but since then, they were slowly easing toward friendship. And he had to have seen how her and Adarian were at the Revolution meetings. It wasn't as if they tried to hide the fact that they were together, even if they weren't 'dating'.

Growing more exasperated by the second, Candance sighed with impatience as Dante prattled on and on about the dream he had been having. According to that man, that stranger, Adarian was in danger of dying, and Dante was going on about a Muggle sport? Don't overreact; he could be the only person that's on your side. You still don't have a clue who that other man is. Breathing in deeply, Candance glanced down at her pajamas when he mentioned that he had changed. It wasn't like it really mattered what she wore, even if she had no idea whatsoever what exactly was going on. At this point, Candance couldn't bring herself to care what she looked like, who she saw, where she went. All that mattered was she did everything she could to save Adarian from dying. That was the important thing to her. Maybe, if she was lucky, this would all turn out to be her craziest and most realistic dream ever. She certainly was hoping that was the case.



The man came down from her dormitory after a minute or two, almost as if he was taking his time. Biting back the urge to rush him along, Candance just stared at him as he descended down the stairs from her dormitory before coming to stop in front of her and Dante. She let a puzzled expression cross her face when he spoke, claiming that they both wouldn't need their wands. Glancing down at her wand of willow, she knew that she wouldn't part with it, even if it would be unnecessary. After all, this was a stranger telling her this. She definitely wasn't going to take the chance to be caught off guard and risk being cursed or the like. The man (whose name he just pronounced was Bernard) continued to speak, describing to them both where they might have heard about who he was. The name wasn't one she had heard ever before and she glanced up at Dante to see if he might have.

Then his last sentence was uttered and she knew that she looked visibly confused. "How do you know about that?" She heard herself ask, her tone showing how utterly perplexed she was. Everyone that was in the Revolution loved the group. Who would have given the group away? Told someone? Risked them all being expelled from Hogwarts or at the very least, put in detention for the rest of their academic lives? It seemed strange that any one of the members would do such a thing, but it appeared as if someone had. Then there was his next second...Marsden. The blood drained out of her face at his name, and she knew that her face must be very pale. The reason they were up and out of bed was to bring down Marsden's regime? The Revolution, many remembered as it was, couldn't do it. They could try and it was slightly possible that they could at least take out some members. Maybe with the help of Bernard's master, they could take down Marsden himself. It seemed unlikely, but the man had to be here for an important reason, didn't he?



As much as "Are you all right Candance?"

Candance could barely breathe, such was the force of her emotion. Not even bothering to apologize for running into him while he sat, she tried to force her words out of her mouth while also willing herself not to being to cry. Quit being so dramatic. If something happened, you'd know. You would. She tried to reassure herself, breathing in deeply to calm herself. "He said that he needed me to come with him and go downstairs, that it would save Adarian's life..." He was so much taller than herself that Candance had to crane her neck up a bit to see Dante, unlatching her hold on him. If there was anyone would could understand how important Adarian was to her, it had to be him, right? They had gotten into a spat a term or two ago, but since then, they were slowly easing toward friendship. And he had to have seen how her and Adarian were at the Revolution meetings. It wasn't as if they tried to hide the fact that they were together, even if they weren't 'dating'.

Growing more exasperated by the second, Candance sighed with impatience as Dante prattled on and on about the dream he had been having. According to that man, that stranger, Adarian was in danger of dying, and Dante was going on about a muggle sport? Don't overreact; he could be the only person that's on your side. You still don't have a clue who that other man is. Breathing in deeply, Candance glanced down at her pajamas when he mentioned that he had changed. It wasn't like it really mattered what she wore, even if she had no idea whatsoever what exactly was going on. At this point, Candance couldn't bring herself to care what she looked like, who she saw, where she went. All that mattered was she did everything she could to save Adarian from dying. That was the important thing to her. Maybe, if she was lucky, this would all turn out to be her craziest and most realistic dream ever. She certainly was hoping that was the case.



The man came down from her dormitory after a minute or two, almost as if he was taking his time. Biting back the urge to rush him along, Candance just stared at him as he descended down the stairs from her dormitory before coming to stop in front of her and Dante. She let a puzzled expression cross her face when he spoke, claiming that they both wouldn't need their wands. Glancing down at her wand of willow, she knew that she wouldn't part with it, even if it would be unnecessary. After all, this was a stranger telling her this. She definitely wasn't going to take the chance to be caught off guard and risk being cursed or the like. The man (whose name he just pronounced was Bernard) continued to speak, describing to them both where they might have heard about who he was. The name wasn't one she had heard ever before and she glanced up at Dante to see if he might have.

Then his last sentence was uttered and she knew that she looked visibly confused. "How do you know about that?" She heard herself ask, her tone showing how utterly perplexed she was. Everyone that was in the Revolution loved the group. Who would have given the group away? Told someone? Risked them all being expelled from Hogwarts or at the very least, put in detention for the rest of their academic lives? It seemed strange that any one of the members would do such a thing, but it appeared as if someone had. Then there was his next second...Marsden. The blood drained out of her face at his name, and she knew that her face must be very pale. The reason they were up and out of bed was to bring down Marsden's regime? The Revolution, many membered as it was, couldn't do it. They could try and it was slightly possible that they could at least take out some members. Maybe with the help of Bernard's master, they could take down Marsden himself. It seemed unlikely, but the man had to be here for an important reason, didn't he?

appreciated their questions, he realized that they were all short on time. Therefore, he was beginning to get just the slightest impatient. If Witchard was to discover that two students were out of their beds, with no trace of where they had both gone, it was likely to give the man a heart attack. Joseph Witchard wasn't exactly the most relaxed wizard in Britain.

"We don't have time for this, I'm afraid," said Bernard. "Anyway, I'm not allowed to answer all of the questions that I'm sure both of you have. What I can tell you is this: if Marsden isn't stopped, every single person in this castle who refuses him is going to die. If you allow me, I can show you things about Marsden that no library has to offer. That Marsden's own followers don't even know about. Will you come with me? I promise to have both of you back here in two minutes." At that, Bernard held up his left palm as if he was telling them both to stop. "No mark, as you can see."

Dante Cross


Dante looked down at Candance and pure a look of shock was on his face. What did Adarian have to do with this? He wondered as he looked at Candance. Finally he realized how stupid he was looking and changed his facial expression to a much more normal looking one. Candance never told him how much she cared for Adarian but it was obvious to Dante, and it should have been obvious to anyone else in the Revolution. He noticed how she gazed at him, and hung around him at their meetings.



Dante looked at the strange me oddly, still not lowering his wand. "I think I will take my wand with us thank you, and what does this have to do with Adarian Ackland?" He asked the unnamed man warningly. As much as Dante wanted to ask every question that was racing though his mind he prevented himself. He didn't want to provoke this strange man in any way. So he decided to keep his wand ready, just in case, and hear this guy out. He may answer his questions for him.



Dante continued watching this Bernard, as he tried to figure him out. He wanted to tell him that he has never read anything about him in the library or that he had never saw a portrait of him hanging around the castle. But Dante knew when it was time to listen, and time to question.Bernard caught his attention especially when he mentioned the Revolution. Before he could ask him about it Candance beat him to the punch. Dante found himself mumbling the same thing he told Adarian at the first Revolution meeting, "you can have Marsden, I want someone else."



He asked Bernard impatiently. Dante thought there was no possible way for them to be back in two minutes. The more mysterious this guy was being the more and more Dante felt the urge to curse some information out of him. I wish I could get those unforgivables to work for me. This guy would talk very fast then I bet. He thought to himself as a mischievous grin slithered across his faced. He watched as Bernard showed them he didn't have the mark of the "7" on his left hand. Dante slowly began to lower his wand, but was still ready to use it if he had to. "Ok Bernard, I can see we're not going to get answers out of you right now. I'll play your little game and join you for this…history lesson." He told him in a mix between a casual and cocky tone. Dante walked directly in front of Candance. If this guy was going to suddenly curse them he would have to curse him first.That should give Candance enough time to prepare herself for her defense. Dante stopped when he was directly in front of Bernard.

Well he didn't attack. I guess that's a good thing. He thought as he walked around him and stood next to Bernard on his right side. Dante chose the right side of Bernard because he was left handed so he could get a spell off at point blank range if he had to.

Bernard
At last the two children seemed like they weren't going to resist or waste precious time any longer. However, both of them seemed a bit hesitant all the same, as he wasn't giving them much to go on. The next thing Bernard did was something he did often; he wasn't sure if he did it to show them that he was much more important than they were or if he did it because he personally enjoyed to see such confusion on his guests' faces. More than likely, it was the latter.

"How do I expect you to trust me, you say?" said Bernard, sounding interested by the question. "Well, let's see. Dante Cross, born July 13th 1994 Detroit Michigan United States of America. An only child, son of parents Nathaniel and Morgan. Enjoys Drawing, hockey, and Muggle video games. Candance Michelle, born April 25th 1993, Liverpool England. Parents Lucy and Ian. Youngest of three, two girls and a boy. Only child of Lucy and Ian Michelle to show wizarding abilities."

At that, Bernard held both of his arms out for them to take, as if he was about to use side-along apparition. "Now, if you're done, shall we?"

Dante Cross


Dante smiled at Bernard. He slowly, and quietly began clapping his hands. "You've done your homework Bernard, I'm impressed." He told Bernard with one of his mischievous grins. "I see you visited the library and read some of the books in the wing devoted to Candance and myself. But hope you didn't miss my portrait on the 4th floor. You know the one that points and laughs at everyone who walks by it." Dante knew he should be taking this guy more seriously but someone taking the time to get to know a lot about him seemed more humorous then it should have.



"Seriously though, how do you know all those things about us? I want some answers by the end of the night. I'll play your game Bernard. If someone went through all that trouble learning about us, I'll play along." He told him as he hooked his left arm to Bernard's right. I hope I don't regret this, was the only thing he could think of while he waited to be apparited to visit whomever Bernard's master was.

Candance


Candance shook her head at his words. Not allowed to answer their questions? For the love of Merlin, they were Ravenclaws! How did he expect them to not ask questions, and deal with the fact that they wouldn't get answers? But the thought of everyone in the castle who disagreed with Marsden dying was a chilling thought. Maybe the Revolution would be the first to go because they were relatively easy targets and the whole purpose of their group was to fight against Marsden. The thought of everyone in the group dying, a group with members she loved fiercely, was upsetting. Bernard raised his left hand, palm side facing them, indicating that there was no mark. Well, at least he's not on the 'bad' side. She thought, staring long and hard at the burned skin. All that did (other than proving he was indeed, not a member of the Seven) was remind her of Adarian. And how he might possibly be dying, or at least in danger of.

She watched both Dante and Bernard as Dante questioned the man, fighting the urge to rush them along once more. Even if Adarian's life wasn't supposedly at stake, she was curious as to what the man was planning. Where did he want to take them? Why was it so important that they, two seemingly random students from Ravenclaw, came along with him? Why had they been picked for this little adventure (as she was now calling it)? The answers to any of those would have been nice, to tell the truth. But instead, she got to watch as Dante spoke to the man. It was a bit amusing, just a bit, but Candance couldn't help but grow a bit irritated when Dante stepped right in front of her, as if he wanted to protect her.


It was sweet, really, but she was more than capable of taking care of herself. She hesitated for a moment when Dante walked forever to stand by the man, unsure as to what to do. She wanted to go with him, to find out what was going on and what the purpose of this whole thing was, but was it safe? There was no possible way she could know the answer to that.



Candance couldn't help the soft gasp that came from her when Bernard relayed what he knew about the two of them. How could he know any of that about them? Candance hated talking to people about her family. She had never even told anyone about what had happened to her parents; she rarely even thought about it. It helped stop the nightmares anyway. Just hearing her parents names was enough to cause her eyes to shine with possible tears but she clenched her teeth, pulling her head high. No way in hell was she going to dwell on that, not when there were things happening now, in this moment. Thinking about the past was ridiculous, especially at a time like this. She walked forward, grabbing Bernard's unoccupied arm. Even if they weren't doing side-along apparation, which is what she figured they were doing, judging by how Bernard waited for them to grab his arms, she'd be ready for whatever was going to happen next.

As Candance took his other arm, Bernard narrowed his eyes at the Cross boy. Why this boy was special was beyond Bernard's reasoning, but he knew that what his orders were would end up being the right decision. "You'll get what you get, young Cross," said Bernard in a slightly rude tone. "Bear in mind that you should be grateful for everything you're about to see."

The next thing that happened couldn't really be described by most wizards. Yes, Candance and Dante were both holding onto his arm as if they were about to apparate. However, there was no trace of anything to do with apparition; the room around all three of them had grown brighter and brighter, and there was an odd humming noise as it did so. There wasn't even the usual sensation of being squeezed through something tight. From the way Bernard felt as they began to shift was as he always felt; his feet were still firmlly planted on the ground, and nothing felt as though it was moving. The only difference was this new noise and large amounts of blinding light.

It didn't take them that long to get where they were going. And when they arrived at their destination, they were surrounded by a sea of black robed Hogwarts students. They were in the Great Hall, during the middle of what appeared to be the Sorting Ceremony. But it was no ceremony that Candance and Dante had ever been to; the school uniforms were different than the ones they were used to wearing, and none of the staff at the staff table were any of the staff currently employed at Hogwarts. It was as if all of them were in a duplicate of the school.

"RAVENCLAW!"

The Sorting Hat just announced the house for a first-year, and the boy excitedly took off the hat to reveal his jet black hair. Bernard watched the young Marcus Linthux grin as he made his way to the Ravenclaw Table. Disgusted with what he saw, Bernard turned away and looked instead at his two guests.

"None of them can see us because this happened years ago; what you're seeing is merely a record. All of this is a sequence of events that have led into the world you live in now. Now, let's try to enjoy the sorting for a moment." He turned away quickly from them, as if they also repulsed him like Linthux did. There was now a girl with pigtails sitting on the stool, waiting to be directed to a certain table. But Bernard was instead looking at the boy who was next in line.

"SLYTHERIN!"

As the Slytherin Table erupted in applause, Bernard didn't even glance away from the boy he was watching to see Erica Maltby take her seat with the other Slytherins. Even though he had seen this all before, he still showed the record a great deal of respect when he watched it. Power deserved the respect, and the boy he was watching now had the most power in the world.

"MARSDEN, DANIEL!" called the Deputy Headmistress.

Dante Cross
As Candance took his other arm, Bernard narrowed his eyes at the Cross boy. Why this boy was special was beyond Bernard's reasoning, but he knew that what his orders were would end up being the right decision. "You'll get what you get, young Cross," said Bernard in a slightly rude tone. "Bear in mind that you should be grateful for everything you're about to see."

The next thing that happened couldn't really be described by most wizards. Yes, Candance and Dante were both holding onto his arm as if they were about to apparate. However, there was no trace of anything to do with apparition; the room around all three of them had grown brighter and brighter, and there was an odd humming noise as it did so. There wasn't even the usual sensation of being squeezed through something tight. From the way Bernard felt as they began to shift was as he always felt; his feet were still firmlly planted on the ground, and nothing felt as though it was moving. The only difference was this new noise and large amounts of blinding light.

It didn't take them that long to get where they were going. And when they arrived at their destination, they were surrounded by a sea of black robed Hogwarts students. They were in the Great Hall, during the middle of what appeared to be the Sorting Ceremony. But it was no ceremony that Candance and Dante had ever been to; the school uniforms were different than the ones they were used to wearing, and none of the staff at the staff table were any of the staff currently employed at Hogwarts. It was as if all of them were in a duplicate of the school.

"RAVENCLAW!"

The Sorting Hat just announced the house for a first-year, and the boy excitedly took off the hat to reveal his jet black hair. Bernard watched the young Marcus Linthux grin as he made his way to the Ravenclaw Table. Disgusted with what he saw, Bernard turned away and looked instead at his two guests.

"None of them can see us because this happened years ago; what you're seeing is merely a record. All of this is a sequence of events that have led into the world you live in now. Now, let's try to enjoy the sorting for a moment." He turned away quickly from them, as if they also repulsed him like Linthux did. There was now a girl with pigtails sitting on the stool, waiting to be directed to a certain table. But Bernard was instead looking at the boy who was next in line.

"SLYTHERIN!"

As the Slytherin Table erupted in applause, Bernard didn't even glance away from the boy he was watching to see Erica Maltby take her seat with the other Slytherins. Even though he had seen this all before, he still showed the record a great deal of respect when he watched it. Power deserved the respect, and the boy he was watching now had the most power in the world.

"MARSDEN, DANIEL!" called the Deputy Headmistress.

Candance
Holding on tightly to Bernard's arm, Candance stood there waiting for them to apparate, but that didn't seem to be what was happening. Instead, she heard a loud and rather obnoxious humming noise with a blindingly bright light accompanying it. She had to shut her eyes tightly to block out the light, opening them when it was black behind her eyelids. When she opened them, the sight she saw was a normal one....at first glance. It was the Great Hall, but something was off. These were not her school mates. Those were not the student uniforms. Those definitely were not the professors she both loved and hated. Something was wrong, that was for sure. Before she could contemplate on that fact any longer, her thoughts were interrupted by the booming sound of the Sorting Hat call out a new member to the Ravenclaw house.



Candance broke her gaze away from the boy who had run toward the Ravenclaw table moments before, listening intently to Bernard as he spoke. "How many years ago?" She asked, her voice rather quiet, despite the fact that the people in the Great Hall (apart from Bernard, Dante, and herself) couldn't hear her anyway. For a moment, Candance just stood there, watching the sorting with little interest as she relayed Bernard's words over in her head. Everything from this moment had caused the current world to become what it was now? Even if she was a Ravenclaw, she wasn't smart enough to understand that one. Why was this moment so special? Sure, watching children being sorted was interesting. She hadn't paid attention to any besides her own during her time at Hogwarts, but it was fun. Still, she couldn't exactly see why it was important. A bunch of kids being sorted? Big deal! She didn't know any of them, this was before her time. Candance opened her mouth to say just that to Bernard when a name was called out. One she recognized.

"MARSDEN, DANIEL!"

Her mouth dropping open, Candance just stared at the boy who would become the man everyone in her world would come to fear. This was his time? "That's Marsden." She said simply, stating the fact with a slightly shocked tone. None of this made sense to her. Why were they hear to witness his sorting? Everyone knew his house. It was the same as her own, Ravenclaw. None of this was adding up in her head at all, and she continued to stare at the boy. "I don't understand. Why are we here?" Breaking her gaze away from the child that was Marsden, she glanced up at Bernard, a puzzled expression on her face. "It's not like we can change anything." She shook her head, bringing her eyes back toward Marsden. How could that little boy end up causing all the problems in the modern world? Become the worlds most hated or admired man (depending on how you looked at it)? Candance was utterly perplexed; her mind not comprehending at all why they had been brought here. "Why did you bring us here?" She asked once more, her eyes now locked onto Daniel Marsden. It wasn't an enjoyable feeling, seeing how close she actually was to Marsden but not being able to do anything about it. She hated Marsden just as much as the next person, but she didn't exactly have a vendetta against him.

Bernard
"RAVENCLAW!"

The hat had been sitting on young Daniel's head for three seconds at the most before it announced his House. The Ravenclaw Table applauded as its newest member took the hat off and made his way to join them, looking slightly nervous as he walked. Bernard watched him as he took a seat between Marcus Linthux and Colleen Crompton, a first-year girl who had already been sorted. Bernard could have easily changed all of this if he had wanted to, but his master forbid it. Their job was merely to observe the events of the world that took place and only offer help when absolutely necessary.



Bernard answered the girl's question, though he didn't take his eyes off of the Ravenclaw Table. "I brought you here, Candance Michelle, because it is my belief that history is important to know just as much as the present. I thought it would be nice for you both to witness how everything started rather than rely on the rubbish theories people have these days. I'm sure you know, as most people do, that the records of Marsden and his six friends vanished not too long after they left the school."

With that, Bernard placed his hands on their shoulders once more. Light began to engulf their surroundings again, and the loud humming noise was back. Bernard stood patiently, waiting to view the record. After a moment, the noise began to die down and the room became darker. The scent of old parchment now filled the air.

All three of them were now standing in the library, facing a table where two familiar boys were sitting at, each pouring over a copy of Hogwarts, A History. You could hear the echo of footsteps as a Gryffindor student about their age passed by.

The Gryffindor happened to glance down at the page Daniel was reading, and immediately laughed after he saw its contents. "The Bronze Shield?" said the Gryffindor, as if there was nothing more amusing in the world. "Everyone knows that Ravenclaw's Shield is a complete myth. What kind of nerd studies about the Bronze Shield?" The question was directed at Daniel.

"The same nerd that's going to pay you to shine his shoes someday," said young Marcus politely, not even bothering to look up from the book. Daniel snorted at this joke, and the Gryffindor boy narrowed his eyes and walked away, looking back once or twice to scowl at them.

"We could always have Dominique do something to that arrogant little berk?" suggested Marcus, still not looking up from Hogwarts, A History. "They sleep in the same dormitory, after all."

"Maybe," grinned Marsden, keeping his eyes on the book pages as well. "But right now we should get this essay started, otherwise we'll get detention. And I hate detention if it's from Professor Waldrop. Transfiguration is interesting, but it's murder if it's your detention assignment.

"You said Coll was meeting us here to study, right?"

"That's what she said," said Marcus, putting up Hogwarts, A History and taking out textbooks from his bag. "She said she's bringing a friend, too."

Candance
"RAVENCLAW!"

Candance couldn't help the involuntary flinch she produced when the sorting hat called out Marsden's newly assigned house, her house. She was very proud that she was in that house, although not to the point where she seemed snobbish. Ravenclaw was where she belonged and she doubted she'd fit very easily into any other house. Marsden having been a part of her house was a blemish on Ravenclaw's nearly perfect record. It wasn't comforting to know that the world's most feared criminal had come from the smartest of houses; the house were the wise ones resided. It was quite possible that the sorting hat had made a mistake, because in her opinion, Marsden wasn't all that smart, in some circumstances. She didn't doubt his intelligence, because even she knew that him having the power that he did was because of his intellect. Still, his overall mission...that wasn't smart. It was unnecessary. Muggle-borns, squibs, even muggles were just as good as pure-bloods in her mind. Of course, being a pure-blood, she had never had to deal with a situation with another pure-blood elitist who scorned her because of her blood. She knew of many half-bloods who had to deal with things like that. More often than not, however, she found that loads of them did it with pride. Their blood wasn't something that they could change, and they had accepted that. It was a pity Marsden couldn't see how equally wonderful half-bloods and the like were compared to pure-bloods.



Listening to Bernard's words, Candance didn't dear take her eyes away from Marsden. Now that she knew who the boy was, she could vaguely understand the importance of the situation. She knew that there were countless others who would give anything to be where she was now. She couldn't see what exactly about this moment was so important, and why it had created the world she lived in today. As her thoughts had reminded her earlier, everyone knew that Marsden had been in Ravenclaw . It was a well known fact. And apart from watching him being sorted, she couldn't understand what exactly about this moment was so important. She hoped dearly that Bernard would have more to show them, because apart from his sorting...she didn't see the importance.Candance tore her gaze away from Marsden for a moment, glancing around at the neighboring tables. She guessed that his original six members were somewhere in the throng of people, but she didn't even know most of their names; much less what they had looked like at the age of eleven. Trying to understand everything about this moment was making her head spin, but after Bernard had finished speaking, he was grabbing her and Dante's shoulder and the loud noise was back, along with the blinding light.

Blinking for a few moments to adjust to the new lighting, Candance saw that they were now in the Hogwarts Library. Marsden and another little boy were there, the one who had been sitting beside Marsden at his sorting. "Who is that boy, beside Marsden?" She asked, sure that Bernard would know. If he knew things about two unimportant Ravenclaws, obviously he must know quite a bit about Marsden, right? She watched as the scene in front of them played out, wrinkling her forehead as she grew more puzzled. "The Bronze Shield?" She couldn't help the snicker that burst forth from her lips, very confident now that Marsden had mistakenly been put into Ravenclaw. "In this situation, I'm going to have to say that Gryffindor boy is smarter than a Ravenclaw . The Bronze Shield doesn't exist," she was downright laughing now, but it was quiet, as she wanted to hear the rest of the conversation. Apparently they were meeting some students, but she discarded that piece of information; sure it was useless. In fact, the way Candance saw it, this whole scene that the three of them had just witnessed was rather pointless.

"So Marsden got a detention. Apparently Professor Waldrop gives a mean punishment if you don't finish your homework," She smirked, glancing upward at Bernard. "This is very interesting, I'll give you that," She started, only to pause for a moment, trying to word her words correctly. It wouldn't due to sound rude in Bernard's presence, because even though he wasn't a member of the Seven, he had to be at least a little dangerous. Not many people knew about Marsden's past, so for him to have this kind of information was remarkable. "I just...I don't see the point. It's common knowledge he was sorted into Ravenclaw and as for him doing homework," She motioned toward the table where Marsden and the boy were sitting. "Well, it's not exactly unexpected of him to be doing homework, is it?" She glanced over at Dante, not at all sure what he thought of the situation. "You need to give us some sort of explanation. I think we deserve that much."

Bernard
Bernard couldn't help but scowl ever so slightly at Candance's disbelief of Ravenclaw's Shield. He had to remind himself that both of them were still young and uneducated as to what this earth had to offer. "You would be surprised at what does and does not exist, Candance Michelle," he said in a low voice. "With enough determination, you can find things in this world that you would have never dreamed possible. Now, a moment of silence is in order. The most important part of this record is about to happen." Bernard gestured toward Marsden's table, where two girls around his age had just joined them.

Marcus Linthux raised his hand in acknowledgement to the two girls, though he did not turn away from the homework he was now working on. Marsden, however, spoke to the girl on the left.

"Good day, Coll?" Marsden asked, smiling.

"Fairly," said the girl, tossing some of hair behind her shoulder. "We've already gotten part of this assignment done, so we'll most likely be heading back to the common room before either of you." At this, Marcus barely peeked over the top of his book, both of his eyebrows raised.

"Well, let's wait and see, shall we?" said Daniel, sounding as though her statement was of little importance. "I'm Daniel, by the way," he added, looking at Coll's friend, who immediately smiled at his introduction.

"Oh, right! Sorry," said Coll. Her face turned a light shade of red. "Daniel, Marcus, this is Gretchen Coppleman. Gretchen, this is Daniel Marsden and Marcus Linthux."

"Coppleman?" said Daniel, immediately sounding interested. "Coppleman, you say?" The girl named Gretchen laughed slightly.

"That's right," she said. "Gretchen Jessica Coppleman, if you're interested in full names as well. Gretchen after my grandmother, and Jessica after my mother."

Grinning at her answer, Daniel said, "I didn't mean to sound like a name enthusiast. I was just wondering if you're related to Henry Coppleman? The Minister of Magic during the second Muggle World War?"

"Sorry, but no," said Gretchen. "My parents are both Muggles, see. None of us knew anything about the Wizarding world until a representative from Hogwarts called at our house. Some Slytherins were actually just mocking me because of it." At this, Gretchen sighed, frowning a little bit.

"Slytherins?" said Coll, wrinkling her nose. "Who needs them? They're a waste of time."

"Every once in awhile a good person is sorted into Slytherin," Daniel corrected Coll. "Most of them are morons, though. Don't pay any attention to them, Gretchen. They're not worth your time."

Gretchen smiled slightly at Daniel, nodding her head. Daniel returned her smile.

"There you have it," said Bernard, slowly clapping his hands at what the three of them just witnessed. "There are two people that Daniel Marsden loves more than anything else in the world. Gretchen Coppleman is one of them. The two of them became rather close during their studies at Hogwarts, and ended up married after their seventh year."

Candance


A confused and puzzled look on her face seemed to be what was expected whenever she spoke aloud to Bernard. Was he foolish enough to believe in the Bronze Shield? It was a myth, nothing more. Candance might daydream from time to time but she was more or less down to earth, preferring to actually live her life than to dream it. As a result, far-fetched stories that had almost zero ounce of truth were not something she was going to put any faith in. Then she scowled at him, put off by his lack of answers. If he knew so much, why not tell them? It's not like they were going to tell the whole wizarding world. Obviously he was important if he knew things about Marsden. This was the third time in Candance's life when she'd been put into a situation that had something to do with Marsden (the first time, her parents death, she wasn't sure completely whose fault it was; the second time when she was in the woods with Adarian), and it was an act that was starting to get old. Was it really that big of a deal to just explain something properly? Nevertheless, Candance shut her mouth for a moment to watch Marsden.

She wasn't interested when the girls first joined Marsden. So he had friends who were girls, big deal. Still, she watched, listening to every word intently, making sure that every detail was memorized so that she could inform Bernard once more that there was nothing of importance happening. Another baffled expression crossed her face as watch Marsden and the girl, Gretchen, interact. The fact that Marsden would actually talk to someone who wasn't from a pure-blood family astounded her, and she was surprised that Marsden hadn't ridiculed her in any way. In fact, it seemed that he would at least be friends with the girls, judging by the smiles that he kept tossing toward her way. Bernard spoke once more, and by the time he was done, Candance's mouth had dropped open in complete shock. "They got married?" She asked, an incredulous tone in her voice. "You mean someone actually wanted to be with him?" She glanced once more at Gretchen and Marsden, trying to picture it in her mind.

It didn't seem like it was possible. Marsden was the creator of The Seven. That group had caused so much pain and suffering everyone in the wizarding world. How could anyone want to spend a lifetime with him? She ran Bernard's words through her mind once more, as if they would make more sense that way. They didn't, but one of his sentences stuck out, as if they had been purposely placed there to make her wonder. "You said that Daniel Marsden loved two people in the world. If Gretchen is one of them.....then who is the other?" This whole night was starting to give her a headache. There were all the questions she wanted answered but none of them seemed to be getting an answer. She waited patiently for Bernard's answer, knowing that it more than likely be vague, if he even bothered to answer it at all.

Bernard
Daniel, Marcus, Gretchen, and Colleen continued with their chatter, but Bernard made no attempt to make Candance or Dante listen. The important part of this record had just taken place, and now there was nothing left to watch except for socializing and studying students. Instead of continuing with his observation, Bernard put his attention on Candance Michelle's questions.

"Yes, they ended up married," said Bernard simply. "Marsden may be evil and insane, but he can be a charmer if he wants to be. Both of them were very happy with each other, but only for a short while. They married as soon as they left Hogwarts, but at the age of 19, Gretchen mysteriously passed away, leaving her husband filled with sadness. I have never seen Daniel Marsden more distraught than the night she died at the hospital. It was as if part of himself was dead, too. Things had gone great for him for a couple of years; the Seven had really started to grow, he already had a fair amount of gold to his name, and he was madly in love. But there he stood in the hospital, his wife dead, and his daughter being raised by a man he had formerly had the full intention to rob of everything the man owned. And that, Miss Michelle, is what became of the second person he dearly loves."

Dante Cross
Dante watched as Daniel and his friends talked in the library. The Bronze Shield? What in the world is that? It must be something powerful if Marsden wanted it. He couldn't help but think to himself. Maybe this Bronze Shield should be something that he should start doing some research on. He didn't like not knowing bits of conversations. But it gave him something to do when he would become bored. He looked at Candance trying to read her body language and figure out what she thought of what they were witnessing. He noticed her looking back at him so he just shrugged his shoulders trying to show her that he was just as confused as she was.
Dante was starting to get used to jumping in and out of memories now. Now he was watching Daniel Marsden speak with two girls. Their conversation seemed casual enough, nothing really to get excited about, at least in Dante's opinion. So he remained silent and continued taking in everything because Bernard had chosen them for a reason and it had to be something important.

Candance


Bernard's words gave Candance a lot to think about. Even though Dante wasn't saying much, she was sure that he was doing the same. So now she was supposed to believe that Marsden was capable of love? Wasn't that asking a bit too much from them? Marsden had ruined both of their lives, in one way or another. From what she knew and suspected of the man was that he was evil, down to the very core. Even so, Bernard's words did make a little sense. His wife's death must have caused him quite some anguish, for even if he did love her, he had lost someone who was more than likely insanely loyal to him. Maybe Gretchen killed herself, Candance mused, trying to grasp an inkling of understanding of the situation, even with the very little information she had. "Why do you know so much about Marsden anyway? I understand that it's important to 'know your enemy' but, well," she bit her cheek as she let the thoughts jumble themselves correctly in her mind. "Marsden probably wouldn't want his life to be out on display for everyone. Obviously his wife was a weakness of his. Hurt his feelings enough and his self-confidence will come crashing down, and so will the Seven."

Then Candance stopped, rewinding back toward Bernard's words once more. "Did you saydaughter? As in, Marsden and Gretchen had a baby?" Her eyes wide with shock, she glanced over at the pair, both of them probably oblivious as to what the future held for each other. "Who is she? Doesn't anyone know?" The questions were rolling off her tongue as she tried to remember every rumor or truth she had heard about Daniel Marsden. "I've never heard that before. Never. Did Marsden ever even tell anyone?" For once, she looked at the crime lord with a small amount of pity. To lose both people you cared about all in the same day? The effects of such a thing were obviously in the modern worlds face. Marsden was quickly gaining more and more power, and life was getting difficult for all. It was only a matter of time before a riot broke out somewhere or worse: a war. "Why did he want to rob that man of everything?" She asked quietly, mostly so it would get her out of her dreary thoughts. For once, she didn't care about the answer. What she was looking for was what her and Dante were going to do with this information once this night was over. The unknown was a bit scary in this kind of situation.

Bernard
"That's actually a foolish thing to say, Miss Michelle," said Bernard, responding to her first question. "For a Ravenclaw, anyway. Forgive my saying so, but Marsden has more self-confidence than probably anyone else on this earth. It's not really difficult to understand why if you stop and think about it; look at everything he's accomplished in his life. Richest and most powerful wizard in the world; he formed the largest wizarding crime syndicate in history. With each project of his that goes correctly, he grows more confident and trusting of himself. And I don't have to tell either of you that most of his projects tend to go according to plan.

"I know about Marsden because I serve something that is much greater than he his. Something wonderful and magnificent, that is greater than all of us. Marsden is serving it as well, or so he thinks. My master hand picked Daniel Marsden at an early age. Naturally, It knew he was special. And Marsden started out serving it faithfully, just as I am doing now. But as time went on, Marsden grew corrupt and out of control. He believes that he's doing the right thing, though he really is not; he's become selfish and is too focused on his own agenda to listen to what he should do. That is why I'm here speaking to both of you tonight. Both myself and my master have stood by long enough watching what Daniel Marsden is doing to the wizarding world. We prefer to let things run their course and resolve themselves rather than interfering. But things have gone too far to continue with standing by and observing. My master ordered be to step in, and that is why I'm revealing to you what I know." Bernard spoke all of these words matter-of-factly, as if this was usual business. Naturally, it was to him, but he did suppose it most likely irritated Candance and Dante to a point. This didn't bother him whatsoever. He had a job to do; he had his instructions and now he was carrying them out.

"Yes," said Bernard in the same tone, "they had a daughter. Daniel and Gretchen were the typical excited parents-to-be when they found out. Most anyone would be. That was actually Daniel Marsden's first crises that he faced. While he was plotting the robbery of this Muggle, he received word from a very gifted Seer that his unborn daughter was in danger. On further inspection, Daniel and Gretchen found out that there was a very good chance that their daughter would be born a Squib. He didn't care if his daughter was a Squib; he loved her from the minute he found out he was going to be a father. But as with any wizarding parent, it troubled him greatly; his daughter was most likely going to be born into a world to which she could never take part in. She would know nothing but cruelty and neglect from her peers. Marsden knew that he couldn't help her yet, so he devised a plan. Gretchen was dating and became 'married' to a skilled business man in Ireland on Daniel's wishes; they were trying to determine whether or not the man was worth robbing. So, the man believed Daniel's daughter to be his. The Seven had every intention of stealing from this Muggle until tragedy struck; Gretchen became ill, and no one was able to diagnose what was wrong with her. She died while she was undercover as a Muggle. Knowing that his daughter was still in danger of being born without magic, Daniel left his newly born baby in the hands of this man so that she could grow up with people who would accept her. He knew one day, though, that if she didn't turn out to be a witch, he would be able to help her. And strangely enough, the Muggle he left his daughter in the care of was also named Marsden. Odd, isn't it?" Bernard paused for a moment and smiled slightly. Coincidences like that amused him. "But things turned out okay. Though he hasn't seen his daughter face-to-face in nearly 17 years, she has grown up to be a very clever and gifted witch, much like Daniel himself. He often expresses how proud he is of her to his followers. Those of whom are aware of his daughter's existence, that is."

Bernard happened to glance up from the studying Seven-tikes to see a grandfather clock at the end of the row of books. Of course it wasn't showing the real time, but it was still getting late. "We should be moving on, I'm afraid. There's nothing else of importance here, and I've still got several more records to show you. If you could both take my hand so that we can get going."

Candance


Glowering, Candance listened quite carefully to the man's words. In her opinion, it seemed like he was hellbent on her changing her opinion of Marsden. He seemed as if he was bragging about Marsden's accomplishments (if that's what they could even be called), praising him for everything he had done. True, if you looked at the things he had done from his side, you could see how they would be worthy of congratulations. However, Candance wasn't on Marsden's side. She felt that everyone deserved equal treatment (how could she now, with all of her siblings being squibs?) and she felt truly sick at the people who had been harmed because of Marsden and the members of the Seven.

Despite all she did know about Marsden, there was so much more that she didn't know. Maybe that's what Bernard is trying to tell us? She pondered, growing slightly uneasy. Why did this whole situation have to be so bloody confusing? She was still trying to grasp the fact that Marsden had been in love, much less had a daughter. "What is Marsden's motive, anyway? What's he doing all this for?" She asked, frowning slightly. "I understand that people are getting hurt around the world, people are dying. Is he wanting to just kill of everyone whose just not as 'worthy' as he is or what?" Candance felt that was quite an important question but yet again, she didn't hold her breath on an answer.



Candance groaned at the information, her brain already working to analyze every bit of it. Some power greater than Marsden? Something that was supposed to be great and wonderful, but it had eventually caused Marsden to demoralize and become the evil man he was today? It sounded like a load of dragon dung to Candance but she had no choice but to believe it. Even if he was a very secretive man, at least he allowed them to ask questions instead of silencing both her and Dante, leaving them to interpret everything without the slightest bit of help. Candance longed to ask him exactly what organization he was a part of but she held her tongue. The question wouldn't be answered; this she knew without even asking.

Sighing quietly, she thought again of his words, trying to gleam every possible bit of information. Bernard and his master both saw fit to put their foot down to Daniel Marsden's plans (finally, she couldn't help but think) and they both realized that now was the time to act. "What can you and your master do?" Candance asked, looking up at the older man once more. "Telling people about Marsden is obviously important, yes, but what can anyone even do at this point to stop Marsden's growing power over the wizarding world?" Perhaps the question was a bit rude and true, something would have to be done soon especially since Marsden's power and number of followers would only grow over time. But what? Despite being in the Revolution, they were just kids. People like aurors or people who were with Bernard and his master would be the ones to stop Marsden. The growing fear of him, however, was starting to make things complicated.

Bernard had another big speech that contained tons of information to give, and as Candance listened, she glanced over at Dante for a moment. What did he think of it all? She wanted to ask but she was hesitant to interrupt Bernard. His words were...deep. Candance was pitying Daniel Marsden more and more with every new piece of information, something she hadn't thought possible. He had caused countless people so much pain and suffering, some of those people were even friends of hers. Even so, having lost two people you loved in the same day (although not in the same way)... it seemed unbearable. Candance didn't know what she would have done had she been in Marsden's situation.

"I still don't understand why Daniel Marsden wanted to steal from the man. For money? How would that have helped his daughter?" Pausing for a moment, she thought over his words again, to make sure her words wouldn't sound entirely confusing. "I understand that she turned out to not be a witch...wait, did you say she was seventeen?" Candance's eyes grew big and she racked her mind once more for any clue as to who his daughter was. No doubt she would have attended Hogwarts and her age was so close to her own, just a year older...was it possible she might have spoken to Marsden's daughter and not have realized it?



Candance sighed, growing a bit uneasy. What more would she possibly be forced to try to understand? She was very grateful of the chance she had been given; she doubted many people had the chance to get this much insight into Marsden's life. Still feeling slightly wary, Candance reached for Bernards hand, grasping it in her own. Waiting for Dante to do the same, she waited for the humming noise and bright light to come.

Dante Cross
Dante continued listening to the story of Daniel Marsden. He could understand about how something horrible could turn someone sour, maybe even evil. He knew that it wasn't a good reason for the Seven or their disturbing beliefs. It seemed to Dante that Candance was having a hard time believing that Marsden could care for another person. But was that so hard to believe? After all he was a human being himself, so it would only be natural for him to care about someone else. Dante was open to the idea of hearing the other side of the story. This little history lesson they were on was definitely interesting to him. People stereotype Marsden as some kind of monster, like Freddy Krueger, but there had to more to him than that. Dante was no way a supporter of Marsden or his Seven, but he did find it intriguing to learn more about the man that started it all.

"I know about Marsden because I serve something that is much greater than he his. Something wonderful and magnificent, that is greater than all of us. Marsden is serving it as well, or so he thinks. My master hand picked Daniel Marsden at an early age. Naturally, It knew he was special. And Marsden started out serving it faithfully, just as I am doing now. But as time went on, Marsden grew corrupt and out of control. He believes that he's doing the right thing, though he really is not; he's become selfish and is too focused on his own agenda to listen to what he should do. That is why I'm here speaking to both of you tonight. Both myself and my master have stood by long enough watching what Daniel Marsden is doing to the wizarding world. We prefer to let things run their course and resolve themselves rather than interfering. But things have gone too far to continue with standing by and observing. My master ordered be to step in, and that is why I'm revealing to you what I know." Bernard spoke all of these words matter-of-factly, as if this was usual business. Naturally, it was to him, but he did suppose it most likely irritated Candance and Dante to a point. This didn't bother him whatsoever. He had a job to do; he had his instructions and now he was carrying them out.

This caught Dante's attention. "Who exactly is your master? Your master sounds more like Dr. Frankenstein to me. And Daniel Marsden is his monster." He told Bernard with a grin. "How could you not expect the power to go to his head? It almost sounds to me your master is the person who made him the way he is. I mean think about it, you obviously have some crazy powers, and what did your master honestly expect Marsden to do with them?" It seemed stupid to Dante that someone actually was crazy enough to trust someone with the powers that Bernard had.

"I still don't understand why Daniel Marsden wanted to steal from the man. For money? How would that have helped his daughter?" Pausing for a moment, she thought over his words again, to make sure her words wouldn't sound entirely confusing. "I understand that she turned out to not be a witch...wait, did you say she was seventeen?" Candance's eyes grew big and she racked her mind once more for any clue as to who his daughter was. No doubt she would have attended Hogwarts and her age was so close to her own, just a year older...was it possible she might have spoken to Marsden's daughter and not have realized it?

"Yeah, why would he do that? It makes no sense at all. Like Candance said, the money could have helped his daughter. I have no doubt that he truly loved his daughter, why?" Dante couldn't figure out the answers to this. He began wishing that Bernard would just come out with it and tell them the true reason why he chose Candance and himself for this gathering.

"We should be moving on, I'm afraid. There's nothing else of importance here, and I've still got several more records to show you. If you could both take my hand so that we can get going.
Dante nodded his head at Bernard's request. He grabbed his arm and waited for the blinding light and humming noise to begin.

Bernard
Bernard appeared angry at Dante's lack of respect. So much so that he had no problem telling the young man. "My master," said Bernard with complete and utter disdain, "is known by very few people. The people who do know It, including myself, refer to it as the Number. The Number is not to be taken lightly, Mr. Cross, so I would tread carefully. What goes around comes around. Has it not even occurred to you that maybe the reason It hasn't judged Daniel Marsden is because Daniel Marsden, while confused, it still attempting to serve It? You, on the other hand, go through your day not even aware of all the things going on around you. Not even trying to understand that there are far more important things surrounding us that hold this world together."

A mere few seconds after Bernard finished with scolding Dante, they began to move again. The loud noise had once again started, and the area surrounding them was growing brighter. It only took a moment for them to disappear from where they were standing, leaving Daniel Marsden and his friends alone at the library.

The humming stopped. The light was gone, and all of them were once again able to see clearly. They were outside in an all-too-familiar wooded area. Even though it was three o'clock in the afternoon, there was very little light coming through the trees. They were standing in the exact area that Candance Michelle had been severely injured in several years ago.

Bernard turned around the face them. He glanced at Dante Cross and gave him a look of repulsion before he turned to Candance. "You," he said to the girl. "Important events throughout wizarding history have happened right where we're standing. Even you have ties to this part of the forest, Candance Michelle. So does Daniel Marsden. The event that is about to take place marks the beginning of the Seven. Once again, I ask for your silence, as this record, like of all of the others, is very important and imformative. If I'm not mistaken, our little friend is now approaching."

Sure enough, several feet away from them, Daniel Marsden was walking through the forest. Now looking to be about 14 years old, he was wearing a heavy jacket and other clothing to keep himself warm. Though it didn't feel cold for Bernard, Candance, and Dante, the record they were viewing now had obviously taken place on a cold winter's day.

Daniel continued walking, and now had come less than four feet away from them. The young Marsden surveyed the forest, looking interested at the sights. He was quickly distracted, however, by the rustling of leaves. He turned and looked where the three visitors were facing, and all of them saw what was unmistakenably a bare foot and a tattered old robe go behind a tree. Daniel raised his wand in alarm and called out. "Who's there!? Show yourself! Now!" No one answered, although they saw the same thing happen further ahead of them: a bare foot and an old, worn cloak disappear behind a tree. Daniel Marsden now looked positively frightened.

"Kid?" said a voice to the side. The voice was unfamiliar, and didn't belong to Daniel or any of the ones observing. Daniel spun around, his wand arm ready to strike at a moment's notice. Daniel had turned to face a man, who had immediately raised his arms in surrender.

"Woah woah!" said the man, his arms still raised. "Just calm down. I'm not going to hurt you. Just lower your wand and we can talk."

Daniel's arm didn't move any. He looked the man over. He took notice of his bare feet and wornout robe, and then looked the man in the face. It was a man in his late 30s to early 40s, and he wore glasses. He had long, ginger hair that made him look a bit more sloppy (if that was possible, given the rest of his attire).

"Do you have a wand?" Daniel asked. His voice was threatening. The man stared him in the eyes, looking confused.

"Er, yes, I do," he said. "Why do you ask?"

"Put it on the ground," said Daniel immediately, not answering his question. "Reach with your hand very slowly, take it out, and put it on the ground. I'm not too afraid to attack if I have to." However, there was the tiniest hint of fear in Daniel's voice.

Strangely enough, this wasn't a problem to the man. He nodded his head and obliged. With his right hand, he reached into his robe pocket very slowly and took out a very barbaric-looking wand. It definitely had not been made by a wizard who studied wandlore; it looked like the man had widdled it himself with a knife. The man slowly reached down and sat the wand on the dirt.

Daniel didn't really appear to care about the man's wand. Instead, he began to question him. "How did you get here?"

"I beg your pardon?" said the man, a confused look on his face once again.

"How did you get here?" Daniel repeated, this time a little more forcefully. "These grounds are protected by ancient magic. There are more defensive spells and enchantments here than you can possibly imagine. You couldn't have just strolled in here without someone knowing."

The man smiled slightly. "Relax, all right? I'm not a thief. I didn't break in; I live here."

Daniel raised his eyebrows. "What do you mean 'I live here?' No one lives in this forest besides centaurs and beasts. I'm pretty sure I would know if there was a man living in here. What is your name?"

The man looked at Daniel's scarf, noting its colors of blue and gray. "You're a student, right? You live at the school, outside of the forest?"

"Yes, of course I live at Hogwarts," said Daniel rudely. "Now I'm not going to ask you again: who are you?"

The man laughed very slightly. "Well, you're a student at the school," he said. "If that's the case, then I guess your people refer to me as an Unknown."

Candance


Candance sighed softly at Dante's word, but only so she could hear. Apparently, it was just her who realized that Bernard didn't really answer questions straight on...they were more vague than anything she'd ever had to hear in her life, almost like a puzzle but with no possible way of discovering the answer. And, in Candance's opinion, the way Dante was asking the question seemed rather rude. Sure, she wanted to know who Bernard's master was just as much as he did, but obviously the man was a very powerful person. Calling him rude names (at least judging by his tone, it was a rude name; she had no idea who this Dr. Frankenstein was) was probably just a bit dangerous. Even if he didn't like Bernard (Candance was more creeped out by him than anything), he could at least show a little respect, couldn't he? However, time wasn't spent thinking on that for too long, for Bernard scolded him moments after and soon enough, they were experiencing the sound of harsh humming and then the bright light came, and they were at their next destination.



For a moment, all Candance could do was stare. She knew this place, had been here before. They were all in the forest, in the exact location where she'd been basically tortured by Adarian's father and the memories...she squeezed her eyes tightly to stop them. As Bernard spoke, she waited for the scene they were waiting for to play out. They didn't have long to wait, for Marsden soon came. He was older, a third or fifth year, she'd say, and dressed warmly. After a few moments of just looking around, he started calling out, whipping around until finally a man was there, speaking to Daniel Marsden. The man was much older than the boy, at least a few decades. She watched their conversation closely, taking in as many details as she could. Daniel asked for the man to put his wand on the ground and Candance was highly surprised with the fact that he actually did. She listened intently as they continued to speak, taking mental notes of everything. Then the man talking to Marsden's last words confused her.

Sighing quietly, Candance turned to Bernard. "So is that man your master? His name sounds just as vague as your own master. Unknown, the Number...none of this makes sense," she said, shaking her head slightly. Why was this guy randomly in the forest? Even if he did live in the forest, there were still certain wards protecting the school that couldn't possibly have been taken down by someone who looked like he had a home-made wand. As usual, the situation didn't make sense. Why had Daniel even come out to the forest late at night? Trying to catch a unicorn or had this been a planned meeting, even if Daniel looked utterly confused at the present. There had even seemed like there was a touch of nervousness and fear in his voice when he had threatened the man, a fact that brought a small smile to Candance's face. At least it was good to know that Marsden wasn't totally incapable of fear.

Bernard
After Candance spoke, the scene froze. Daniel stood completely still, his wand pointed at the man who looked like he hadn't been in civilization for at least a year. There were no longer any of the usual night sounds coming from the forest. The only people who remained unfrozen were Bernard, Candance and Dante.

Bernard looked at Candance, hiding his incredulous look quite well. Sure, he would have said the same thing before his accident. But he couldn't now. Not after all he knew and what everything in the world meant. Not after finding out the truth, and realizing just how extraordinary everything was. He was no longer the same man he had been. He had been enlightened, and he now had a purpose.

"No, Miss Michelle, that is not my master," he said, sounding a little exasperated. "He is important, I'll give you that. He serves my master as well. We're both in the same boat." Bernard looked at the man and sighed a little. Why didn't things seem as clear to them as it did to Bernard? Had wizards' minds really drifted that far from understanding?

"Hogwarts," said Bernard, "was founded thousands of years ago. Wizards and witches were under oppression from the Muggles during that era, so they naturally went into hiding. Four of the greatest sorcerer's to ever live came here. Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Salazar Slytherin, Rowena Ravenclaw (Bernard inclined his head to the students) sought out a place to take refuge. They came here to build an institution so that they could live in harmony and train young sorcerers while avoiding the Muggle world. But there was a problem. They came to this land, but they didn't know that part of it was already occupied. Any book that has to do with Hogwarts will tell you about every part of it, including this forest and its occupants. But in the oldest writings about Hogwarts, the writings that are harder to find than Phoenixes, most people mistake their contents pertaining to the Forest for something else. When they referred to 'the forest natives,' they weren't talking about the centaurs."

Dante Cross
Bernard appeared angry at Dante's lack of respect. So much so that he had no problem telling the young man. "My master," said Bernard with complete and utter disdain, "is known by very few people. The people who do know It, including myself, refer to it as the Number. The Number is not to be taken lightly, Mr. Cross, so I would tread carefully. What goes around comes around. Has it not even occurred to you that maybe the reason It hasn't judged Daniel Marsden is because Daniel Marsden, while confused, it still attempting to serve It? You, on the other hand, go through your day not even aware of all the things going on around you. Not even trying to understand that there are far more important things surrounding us that hold this world together."
Dante was surprised by the tone Bernard used when he spoke to him, even though he shouldn't have been. He didn't exactly ask the question in the nicest tone. "Sorry, I didn't mean anything by my question," was the only thing that he could think to say to him. It became clear to him that maybe this Bernard was not the man to anger. The Number, as he put it, didn't sound like someone that wouldn't make a good enemy.

Dante watched the next rift from the past that Bernard presented to them. This was starting to become very exciting to him, especially since they were now in the forbidden forest. Dante had been in the forest many times in the past and he knew that it was never a dull moment there. He saw Daniel Marsden being approached by a stranger who referred to himself as an Unknown. At that moment he truly began wondering just how much of the wizarding world that he didn't know. He knew he was at a handicap from the start, considering he was raised in Detroit for the first ten years of his life, but he didn't think he was that far behind the curve.

He wanted to ask Bernard about the Unknown and if it was his master, but Candance had beaten him to the punch. This didn't bother him because either way he would find out his answer. He listened to Bernard tell them the history or Hogwarts and the wizarding world. "What are they referring to? What was occupying this land that the great wizards and witches didn't know about?" He asked Bernard, hoping that his reaction would be better than the reaction to his previous question.

Candance
Candance was slightly startled when the scene she had been watching with Marsden and the strange man stopped abruptly after she spoke. She was puzzled, for only Bernard, Dante, and herself remained in the same state they had been in, still able to move. It was clearly a night of confusion, a night meant to push her brain to the limits as it tried to rapidly understand and retain everything she had found out today. It seemed an impossible task but nevertheless, she tried. After everything was done, when both Dante and herself were safely back in the Ravenclaw Tower, she planned to immediately go find someone, an adult, to help shed light on the situation they were currently in.

"No, Miss Michelle, that is not my master," he said, sounding a little exasperated.

She pouted slightly when Bernard informed her the the man was by no means his master. With him being secretive and mysterious, what else was she supposed to think? It seemed like all her and Dante could really do was make assumptions, with Bernard pushing them in the right direction every now and then. All the things she had seen tonight were clearly quite important, that was obvious, but it was slightly unnerving to watch Daniel Marsden grow up in front of their eyes, different situations in his life being played for them to understand. It was nothing short of magical to be able to do so and for a brief moment, Candance couldn't help but wonder what more Bernard's mysterious group could do if they had been able to do something like this.

When Bernard went to explain more about the situation, Candance rolled her eyes, turning her head slightly away from him so he could not see. Everyone knew this, or they would if they had paid some attention in History of Magic. She just nodded for a moment at his words, only stopping for a moment when he gave them a fact that she certainly had no idea about. Wouldn't the founders have noticed if something else had been calling the land on which Hogwarts stood home? The brightest witches and wizards of the age, surely they would have found that out. Bernard's words, however, caused her to believe otherwise. Once more, she found herself unsure what exactly he meant, not understanding fully what he was talking about once again. However, Dante saved her from having to ask the question herself, and she waited patiently for Bernard's answer.


Candance was slightly startled when the scene she had been watching with Marsden and the strange man stopped abruptly after she spoke. She was puzzled, for only Bernard, Dante, and herself remained in the same state they had been in, still able to move. It was clearly a night of confusion, a night meant to push her brain to the limits as it tried to rapidly understand and retain everything she had found out today. It seemed an impossible task but nevertheless, she tried. After everything was done, when both Dante and herself were safely back in the Ravenclaw Tower, she planned to immediately go find someone, an adult, to help shed light on the situation they were currently in.



She pouted slightly when Bernard informed her the the man was by no means his master. With him being secretive and mysterious, what else was she supposed to think? It seemed like all her and Dante could really do was make assumptions, with Bernard pushing them in the right direction every now and then. All the things she had seen tonight were clearly quite important, that was obvious, but it was slightly unnerving to watch Daniel Marsden grow up in front of their eyes, different situations in his life being played for them to understand. It was nothing short of magical to be able to do so and for a brief moment, Candance couldn't help but wonder what more Bernard's mysterious group could do if they had been able to do something like this.

When Bernard went to explain more about the situation, Candance rolled her eyes, turning her head slightly away from him so he could not see. Everyone knew this, or they would if they had paid some attention in History of Magic. She just nodded for a moment at his words, only stopping for a moment when he gave them a fact that she certainly had no idea about. Wouldn't the founders have noticed if something else had been calling the land on which Hogwarts stood home? The brightest witches and wizards of the age, surely they would have found that out. Bernard's words, however, caused her to believe otherwise. Once more, she found herself unsure what exactly he meant, not understanding fully what he was talking about once again. However, Dante saved her from having to ask the question herself, and she waited patiently for Bernard's answer.


All this talk of the past made Candance feel rather dizzy. Learning various information about Marsden was very interesting, of course, but most of it was just too much for her to properly comprehend. Whenever Bernard decided that Dante and herself had seen enough, she was going to somehow find a way to get to Professor Witchard's office and inform him immediately. It would be rather difficult, assuming it was still a few hours past midnight in the real world...with all the 'time travel' she'd been forced to experience tonight, she didn't exactly know what time it was. Listening to Bernard explain the feuding between the four founders of Hogwarts and the 'Unknown' was intriguing, but once more, Candance did not have enough to time to process the information before Dante and herself were transported to another scene featuring Daniel Marsden.

They didn't exactly leave the forest; they instead moved to a different part of the vast woods. When Bernard announced that this record was the most important, Candance looked forward, watching the scene as intently as possible in an attempt to take in as much of it as she could. Daniel seemed like he had grown up a little; his appearance, along with the girl accompanying him, seemed to be more around her own age or close to it. When he first entered the camp, everyone seemed happy to see him; some greeting him warmly, an older woman even hugging him lovingly. A soft smile crossed Candance's face at this but just as quickly vanished when an older man inquired, rather rudely, about Gretchen. The scene seemed to escalate rather quickly, Marsden and Ess yelling at each other about Gretchen.

Candance felt rather sorry for her. Because she had muggle parents, Ess didn't feel like she was good enough to be there? It didn't make sense. Candance had though that Daniel Marsden hated muggles, wanted to exterminate them so that pure bloods could take their supposed rightful place in the world. Had everyone simply been assuming all this? She couldn't recall a single Daily Prophet properly explaining what the Seven was planning on doing; she doubted that anyone knew. Making assumptions suddenly seemed like a very dangerous thing to do. Marsden had ended up having a baby with Gretchen, so maybe he didn't care, or at least, it didn't bother him as much as it did others that Gretchen was not a pure blood.

The scene froze after Ess screamed for Marsden to leave the forest. Bernard's comment about how interesting the scene had been went by with no response as Candance tried to understand what Marsden's motives might be. Creepy as Bernard might be, Candance quite agreed with him that the scene they had just witnessed was interesting. Tons of information was laced into it, you only had to find it and then, understand it. Life at the moment seemed to be asking an impossible task, wanting her to understand what she was being shown but not giving her the time to fully process it. "Why was Ess so against Gretchen being at the camp?" She asked quietly. "I understand that some people are just prejudiced like that; some pure bloods nowadays still think they're better just because they're pure. It's wrong, but you live with it." Pausing for a moment, Candance sighed, shaking her head at the thought. "He flew off the handle so quickly, though...like he'd been waiting for Marsden to do something so he could kick him out." It was a guess, a weak attempt at trying to understand the scene she'd just witnessed, but for the moment, it was the best possibility she could come up with.


Bernard Blackenbury
"Prejudices go back all throughout history," said Bernard gravely. "Ess is no exception. Like many before him and many after him, Ess felt that the wizarding world was no place for someone who had been raised by Muggles. He and Marsden had a bit of an interesting relationship, and their different views is part of it. While Ess believed that Muggles and wizards should live apart, Marsden believed that Muggle-borns should be treated as equals with purebloods, as they had just as much magical talent as a child born into a pureblood family. Ess felt that Muggles were inferior to wizard kind, while Marsden felt that they were born with the misfortune of having no magical abilities.

"But that wasn't the only reason they feuded," said Bernard. He raised his arm and pointed to the man who had been sitting next to Ess. It was the same man who Marsden had met in the forest a couple of years ago. "His name's Aldo," said Bernard. "He's something like second-in-command to the Unknowns. He's not the leader, but he keeps their leaders in check. And that is why Ess resented Daniel Marsden. After leading the Unknowns for so many years, Aldo brought Daniel back to their camp because he saw the same potential in Daniel that he saw in Ess all those years ago. Ess, fearing that he was being replaced, was therefore hostile towards Marsden from the beginning."

And once again, the three of them flashed to a different point in time. Bernard took his hands off the students' shoulders, having placed them there while explaining the relationship between Ess, Marsden, and Aldo. Bernard looked ahead of him and sighed. The previous record was where everything went wrong. The record they were viewing now was where things went worse.

They were still in the Forbidden Forest. It was mid afternoon, not that it did much for the environment; the cover that the tall, thick trees gave blocked out almost every ray of sunshine there was. But that didn't stop the scene in front of them. Standing in front of them was Aldo and Daniel Marsden, who were arguing while Aldo walked through the forest and gathered mushrooms.

"You're not sorry for what happened a few nights ago?" said Daniel angrily.

"I am sorry," said Aldo. "But as I've told you several times already, there's nothing I can do."

"You know she's perfectly-" began Daniel.

"Of course there's nothing wrong with her," said Aldo, starting to sound tired of the conversation. "And I congratulate you on finding someone so special. There's no doubt in my mind that you'll both be very happy together. But you'll have to be happy together away from our forest. Ess is our leader, and whether or not we agree with him, we respect his wishes."

"How do you know he's your leader?" said Daniel forcefully.

Sighing, Aldo looked at Daniel. "What are you on about now, Daniel?"

"What if he's not your leader anymore?" said Daniel simply. "What if his reign is over?"

Aldo blinked. He stared at Daniel for a few moments before speaking again. "It's not, Daniel. I'm sorry. It's not."

"And how do you know?" said Daniel, his tone laced with skepticism.

"Because we know, Daniel!" said Aldo, dropping his mushrooms and rounding on the boy. Aldo looked like he had finally had enough, and Daniel seemed to recognize this; though he stood his ground, Marsden seemed to lose some of his intimidation. "Trust me, Daniel! When his time is up, we'll know!"

Daniel was silent for awhile. The two merely stared at each other for what seemed like hours. And then, finally, Daniel broke the silence. "Well, then it's time we said our goodbyes," said Daniel seriously. "I cannot put myself under Ess' leadership when I know with every fiber of my being that he's wrong. I don't have to be part of your people. I can honor It from wherever I please, and so can the people who believe what I tell you. Goodbye, Aldo." With that, Daniel turned away from Aldo and began to walk away. Aldo watched him leave with a sobering expression, while Daniel appeared more angry than ever.

"Daniel!" Aldo called out. "I hope to see you again when Ess has left us. As I told you years ago, we're looking for someone to show us we're here for important reasons." Daniel's expression hardened as he continued to make his way out of the forest, while Aldo, seeing that he was defeated, turned away and began to travel in the direction that the Unknown's camp was located, presumably.

Candance
Listening to Bernard speak about Ess and how he felt about the whole situation, Candance stood in the forest, trying to force the scenes she'd seen today to make more sense. Taking what Bernard was currently saying, Candance felt that if it was anyone's fault that the Seven was what it was today, it was Ess she could blame. He'd blown things out of proportion with Marsden and the consequences? The modern world had to live with a group of murderers who were constantly on the front page of the Daily Prophet. Apart from Ess and his ridiculous beliefs, Candance found herself forced to look at Daniel Marsden in a completely different way. Now she was forced to see him as someone who didn't hate Muggle-borns; someone who felt that they should be treated just as well as purebloods were. It was difficult to wrap her head around but Candance's thoughts were interrupted once more as the bright light filled Candance's eyes and the humming noise was back.

Transported once more, Candance found herself still in the forest although for this scene, none of the people she'd seen in the previous recollection were present except for Daniel Marsden and the man named Aldo. Watching their conversation, Candance was struck by the raw confidence she saw in Marsden. He was a man on a mission, or at least it appeared to her. Clearly he was furious over what had happened with Ess and how the older man had reacted to Daniel bringing Gretchen along. Then the topic changed swiftly to that of whether Ess was still the leader, a topic started by Marsden. While the Ravenclaw spoke to Aldo about it, Candance listened attentively, almost greedily absorbing the information that was laced into the conversation. Then it was all over.

For a few moments, Candance took the time to process the latest scene, sorting out what had exactly happened. "After this, Marsden started the Seven?" She asked quietly, glancing over at Dante and Bernard. "He didn't agree with how Ess felt about Muggle-borns so he just...left?" Pausing, Candance brushed her hair out of her face, trying to see things from Marsden's point of view. She could understand him being so upset over the way Ess had treated Gretchen and she didn't find herself blaming him for leaving the people in the forest. However, the way he was then and the way the Seven handled things now didn't seem to fit. "If he doesn't mind Muggle-borns, what is the Seven doing? There are all these killings, murders are all over the Daily Prophet every day. Did his point of view change?"

Bernard Blackenbury
"Ess was not a stranger to making mistakes," said Bernard. "In fact, he made them frequently throughout his long life. This one, as you have already guessed, turned out to be much worse than all the others. Had Ess kept silent, it's very likely that the Seven would have never come to be. Marsden would have kept his connections with the Unknowns open, perhaps rising as their leader after Ess was done with it. Instead, he parted ways with the Unknowns, and decided to start his own society. Suffice it to say that Marsden and his six friends were some of the best students in their year while they were at Hogwarts. Taking all seven of them into account, they were pretty much the best at every subject. And as you no doubt know, the records of their attendence mysteriously vanished not too long after they left school. And not too long after that, the Mark of the Seven was found over the home of their first victim.

"As to whether or not he changed his mind about Muggle-borns, no, not in the least. The Seven gives off the front that they're for Pureblood supremacy, going along with a prejudice that is thousands of years old. And it's actually been an ingenious plan; Marsden has rallied far more support for himself than he would have if he had come out and said "make peace with the Muggles". If he had said that, many people would have agreed with him, but they would never follow his, shall we say, 'unique methods'. Those for Pureblood supremacy, however, believe that nothing in this world is right, and therefore are willing to do ANYTHING to make it right. I would say a little less than three quarters of the Seven only know Marsden's true intentions. The rest of them believe he is on their side: that his mission is to stamp out the Muggle race and put the world under the complete control of wizards. Of course, since the Seven is such a large organization, it won't matter much when he loses their support when he reveals his true plan; he has a lot more servants than those wizards. And now, we go a good bit further in the future, where you, Candance Michelle, might recognize an old acquaintance."

They were transported once more. This time they were in an office, and an adult Marsden was sitting behind his desk speaking with an adult Gretchen and an adult Marcus. It was getting dark outside; stars were beginning to show in the sky above the jungle outside the office window.

Marcus and Gretchen left his office just as Aaron Ackland entered. Daniel distinctly heard Marcus make a remark on how odd it was for a Muggle to be named "Marsden", but Daniel decided to ignore it. Some wizards just found a few simple things to be interesting. As long as his daughter was safe, he made him no difference.

Daniel put his quill away and looked up at Aaron. "I've sent Desmond and Mikhail on separate errands. Our Gringotts contact is waiting in London to give her report. How fast can you put a team together?"

Aaron gave the exiting members a fake smile. There weren't too many people in the organization that he actually liked. Well, there weren't many people that he liked, period. He quirked an eyebrow when Marcus commented on a muggle named Marsden but he shrugged it off as idle chit-chat. Aaron quickly took up a spot in front of Daniel's desk, bowing respectfully as he did.

"I can have a team prepared to leave within the hour, my Lord," Aaron said with a smile as he twirled his wand between his fingers in his usual way. "I trust our contact's information is reliable," he said carefully, making sure that there was no way it could seem like he was questioning the his leader.
"It's Colleen," said Daniel, referring to their contact. "One of my original six. That's where she's been for the past few months. If she's gathered enough intelligence on the bank, she'll be able to return here and we'll be able to place some less prestigious agents in the establishment as spies."

Opening his desk drawer, Daniel pulled out a small case and sat it in front of him. He opened it up to reveal several slots that contained Muggle currency from different countries. Once he had extracted an appropriate amount of bills, he closed the case and returned it to the rest of his contents in his desk. "The meeting place is a pub. It's small, shabby, and out of the way; the Ministry of Magic has no presence in that part of London." He offered the Muggle money to Aaron. "Buy everyone a round of their best drink. Colleen's work has not been easy, so she is to be commended. The address is Number 16 Sabbath Street."

Aaron carefully folded the money and stowed it in the inner pocket of his black overcoat. "Sir," he began inn his strongest voice. "What exactly are we about to do? It's something big. I can feel it." Aaron gave his master a curious look as he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a pen and notebook. He flipped it opened and carefully wrote the address.

"We're in the beginning phases of casing Gringotts, Aaron. We've done some impressive things in the past, but no wizard alive has ever pulled off a robbery at Gringotts. Once Colleen gives the okay, I'm sending a few spies in. They're there to figure out the most efficient ways to break Gringotts' defenses. Ryan, from the Scale, will be accompanying the team to figure out ways to assure that the bank's dragons won't be giving us any trouble." Daniel got his quill out once more and found some fresh parchment to write another letter. He was speaking as though things of this nature was day-to-day business to him. "This whole operation is going to take a tremendous amount of patience on our part. It'll be years before we're ready to put our plans in motion. But, once the bank is in our grasps, it will cause a panic throughout wizarding Britain, the likes of which the Ministry of Magic has never seen. And I don't have to tell you what it'll do for our financial funds." Looking up at the clock, Daniel just now noticed that it was seven minutes past eight. "You'd better be on your way," said Daniel, nodding at the clock. "You know how Colleen gets when people are tardy."

Aaron glanced down at the watch on his wrist. It was nice a watch that he'd taken from the wrist of older Muggle. His eyes widened as he realized what time it was. "I'll have a team ready to leave within minutes, my Lord," he said in his soft Irish brogue. Aaron bowed deeply in respect and turned to leave the office. He stopped as he reached the door and turned. "My Lord," he began with a wide smile. "Your brilliance never ceases to amaze me. Because of your planning, we will succeed where so many others have failed. It's an honor to serve." Aaron smiled as he turned and exited the office.








Ravenclaw - An Evening of Enlightenment
(OOC: Combined threads from the previous site.)

Bernard Blackenbury
Sitting in a rocking chair, listening to it creak every time it rocked. That was what Bernard was doing at two o'clock in the morning in the Ravenclaw dormitories: simply rocking in a chair that certainly hadn't been there previously, listening to the peaceful sound as he surveyed a sleeping student. She wouldn't be sleeping long, though. After waking the boy and having him wait in the empty common room, Bernard's master has assured him that the girl would soon wake if he went upstairs and waited for her patiently. Soon, the three of them would be off to dive into history of the wizarding world that no book was able to teach. The history they would be experiencing was known to only a rare select few, and he was confident that both students would find it interesting, and possibly frightening.

Bernard had his orders. He was to arrive at Hogwarts this early in the morning and awake two students to accompany him: Candance Michelle and Dante Cross. Both of them had suffered greatly at Daniel Marsden's wrath, and Bernard has been assured that both of them were good children. So, as if he had owned the whole school, Bernard had walked through the castle without hesitation, not even being noticed by anyone he passed. Not that they could see him, though. It was only when he was to deliver a message that he could be seen, and only be seen to those who had been selected. He had walked into the Ravenclaw boy's dormitory, not being noticed by anyone there except Dante. And now, he was doing the same in the girl's dormitory. No one would see him except for the Michelle girl. Not if it wasn't the Number's will.

Dante Cross

Dante sat in a comfortable chair in the Ravenclaw Common Room, waiting. He wasn't sure exactly what he was waiting for. He just knew he was woken up and told to wait in the common room by a stranger . He rubbed his eyes, in an attempt to wake himself up. He was still groggy considering the fact that he was just suddenly waken. What is this about? He couldn't help but wonder. He had just enough time to change quickly and quietly, being extra cautious not to wake up any of the other boys.

He sat in there in his navy blue jean shorts, dark gray Nike shirt, and black and gray Nike shoes to complete his outfit. He looked at his black fingernails, inspecting them, as he continued to wait for this mysterious stranger. But before he knew it, his head began tilting backwards. He slowly realized that his eyes were shutting. Dante quickly shook his head as he lifted it up. He really didn't like being woken up so unexpectedly, but he figured it had to be something important, or serious. Strangers just don't wake people up in the middle of the night for no reason at all.

Man, I have a potions test this morning. He frowned at his realization. Potions were always one of his worst subjects. Dante didn't see the point of mixing things into a cauldron. He always thought doctors should have to worry about curing people and he didn't want to become a doctor so potions weren't a concern of his. I hope this guy doesn't take up too much of my time. If he does I might do a header into my cauldron. He chuckled softly at the image of him falling asleep in the middle of his exam.

He let out a big and long yawn as he stretched out his arms and legs, still sitting in the chair. Dante sat up straight in the chair as he continued to wait for this stranger

Candance Michelle

Staying up late had definitely been a mistake on Candance's end. What had she been thinking? True, she had had to finish that irritatingly long essay for her first class in the morning. But really, it wasn't as if she wasn't going to at least managed to scrape a 'Acceptable' on the essay if she had left it as it was. The result of her just having to finish the essay? A night full of tossing and turning and not going to bed until at least midnight. Thankfully, the nightmares she had been plagued with early on in her Hogwarts life had passed for the most part, and she only occasionally had one nowadays, at intervals of no more than once every couple months. Besides, life for her was peachy. Everything on her end was going rather well and that didn't really look like it would change.

When Candance woke up, after groaning inwardly at the time, the first thing she noticed was the shape of a knee, followed by the ever so softly creaking of a chair. For a moment, all she could do was stare, becoming more awake as she stared and listened to the incessant rocking of the chair. When had her dorm acquired a rocking chair? Blindly searching through her thoughts, Candance couldn't recall if being there before. As she grew more awake and her level of confusion increased ever so softly, she began to move a bit, sitting herself upright in her bed. From here, Candance could see that the man who had been rocking the chair was located quite near her bed, almost as if he had been waiting for her to wake up. But really, that couldn't be the case, could it? She had never seen this man before in her life so surely he must be looking for one of the other girls and had been confused as to where she might be sleeping.

"Er...excuse me, sir?" Candance began, and although she had tried to make her voice a bit louder and clear, the only sound she was able to produce was nothing more than whispers. "Are you looking for one of the girls?" As sure as Candance was that this man had merely been misinformed as to where whoever he was looking for had been sleeping, she wasn't going to deny that this guy was definitely giving her bad vibes. He did seem perfectly harmless, but something about him just rubbed her the wrong way. After she spoke, Candance sat on her bed in silence, waiting for the man to respond.

Bernard
And at last, she had awoken. It hadn't taken terribly long, but Bernard liked to be as prompt as possible. It was for this reason that he reached into his robe pocket and extracted a gold pocket watch that had been given to him by his master. The watch was very strange; it was common knowledge that some watches that wizards used were different from Muggle watches, but this watch was unusual even by wizarding standards. It had far too many hands to be a normal watch. Even so, after a moment or two of looking at it, Bernard seemed satisfied and put it away.

Better respond now he thought to himself. He looked at Candance with no trace of a smile, yet he didn't appear at all to be hostile. "No, I'm looking for you, Candance Michelle." Even though he wasn't making any effort to keep his voice down, no one else in the room seemed to hear him. They all continued to sleep quietly. "I need you to come with me and one of your acquaintances. I have Dante Cross waiting in your common room downstairs. Come with me, and I can show you things that will save Adarian Ackland from certain death." At the mention of this, Bernard gave her a small smile that looked the slightest bit sinister.

Candance Michelle
A few seconds after she spoke, Candance just sat there, unsure as to how she should feel. Really, even if he was looking for one of the girls, what had honestly been the emergency that couldn't have waited? He might have at least owled and if one of the girls had been awaiting a visitor, she would have surely told someone, at least the Head of House! And, as she pondered the man's presence in the room, she wondered how he had managed to get in the dormitory. Candance herself hadn't read Hogwarts: A History but she had heard from others about the various things about Hogwarts that weren't generally known. Like the fact that no male could access a girl's dormitory, for Hogwarts Founders believed them to be less trustworthy. But maybe that just applied to younger males, who were still attending the school, she didn't know. The man reached into his pocket and pulled out a very peculiar watch. The room was still dark, so she couldn't quite see any details as to what was on the watch. After a moment of looking at it, the strange man put the watch away, and spoke for the first time.



For a moment, all Candance could do was blink at the man, confusion covering her face. He was looking for her? But she had never met the man in her life, she didn't think. Racking her brain quickly, she thought over the majority of faces she had seen in her life, and his face was different. She would have remembered, woudn't she? His face wasn't really all that unusual, just a face, but it did have a bit of an ominous feel to it. "You were looking for me?" She said quietly, a mystified tone creeping into her voice. "I'm sorry, sir, but I think you are mistaken. I've never met you before in my life. You couldn't possibly be looking for me." Attempting to be reassuring, Candance forced a smile onto her face, hoping the man wouldn't be too embarrassed at his obvious slip-up. "Really, I can help you look for whoever it is you are searching for. Is she a first year, or even in this house..." Candance's words were cut short by his next words.



With a sharp intake of breath, Candance jumped out of her four poster bed, her bare feet making no noise as they hit the ground. "Wh-what did you just say?" She said, her eyes wild with fear. No, this wasn't how it was supposed to be. Things were going okay for her! Her year had been perfect and she was happy! "Is he okay? What happened? Tell me!" Her voice rose louder that time, disregarding the sleeping forms that shared this moment with her and the man. "Who exactly are you?" She half wanted to scream, but all she could do was simply stare at him, forcing herself not to panic and yell. Could you shut up for one moment, please? Candance thought to herself as she ran his words over her head. Come with me, and I can show you things that will save Adarian Ackland from certain death... Clenching her teeth together, Candance reached over to her bedside table and grabbed her wand, not bothering to fetch a robe or coat to pull over her pajamas. Sliding into a pair of shoes, she nearly ran out of her dormitory and raced into the common room. She nearly ran into Dante and she grabbed at him roughly to stop herself from falling. "What the bloody hell is going on?" Candance whispered quietly to him, looking around behind her to see if the man had followed her.

Dante Cross
Dante remained sitting in the chair as he waited for this stranger and his guest. Suddenly he heard a rumbling coming from the stairs. The rumbling grew louder as it came closer. Finally Candance Michelle can rushing from the stairs and nearly knocked him out of the chair, stopping just before they would have collided. "Are you all right Candance?" He asked her startled by her unexpected appearance. He felt her grab him tightly to prevent herself from falling.



Dante pulled out his wand, not sure why Candance ran out of her dormitory like she was running out of a burning building. "I have no idea. I was dreaming about Penguins playing hockey again Walruses in Alaska. The Penguins just tied the game and sent it into overtime. Then I woke up and some guy was watching me. He freaked me out at first. He told me to go wait for him and another student in the common room. So I got dressed and here you are." He told her calmly as he stroked his chin with his right hand.

Dante smiled as he put one and one together, almost as if a light bulb turned on for him. "You must be that other student. I guess if I could have picked another Ravenclaw to do whatever it is we're going to be doing I probably would have picked you." He told her with a grin. Dante became serious for a moment as he looked back at the stairs leading up to the dormitories. He didn't see anyone so he looked back at Candance.

"I guess it would be stupid to ask if you knew what was going on huh?" He asked her as he shrugged his shoulders. Dante turned around and stood next to his older housemate. He didn't expect the other student to be Candance Michelle. But he was glad that it was her instead of some random student. They were both in The Revolution together, and on the Quidditch team. They may not be the best of friends but their friendship was getting better.

Dante kept his wand out and ready. He didn't like the uncertainty of someone knowing him, and he not knowing anything about him. In the back of his mind he couldn't help but question this stranger's motives. He knew that it would be suicide to attack a student at Hogwarts but it had been done before. So it wasn't completely out of the question.

Bernard

Bernard made no attempt to rush down the stairway to meet his two guests. The girl, however, didn't take too kindly to this method. As Bernard walked down to the common room to meet both of them, he heard what sounded like a small earthquake. It was to be expected; these days, people were often frightened at first when they met him. Some of them stayed frightened, in fact. It was of no importance to him.

Reaching the landing, he spotted Candance and Dante, the latter of whom seemed ready to defend both them. Bernard couldn't help but smile a little at this. "By all means, take your wand, Dante. You won't need it, but there's no reason for you to not have it with you all the same.

"Now, let's get right down to business. It's late, and I more than appreciate what a good night's rest does for studying. It always did me good when I went to school here." Bernard smiled again, even though he knew that both of his guests were probably just more confused. "My name is Bernard. You might have read about me in the library once or twice. Actually, if I remember correctly, I think there's a picture of me hanging somewhere in this castle. But this is neither here nor there. I speak on behalf of my master, and my master has the same wish that both of you, as well as your Revolution has: to bring down Marsden's regime."

Candance



Candance could barely breathe, such was the force of her emotion. Not even bothering to apologize for running into him while he sat, she tried to force her words out of her mouth while also willing herself not to being to cry. Quit being so dramatic. If something happened, you'd know. You would. She tried to reassure herself, breathing in deeply to calm herself. "He said that he needed me to come with him and go downstairs, that it would save Adarian's life..." He was so much taller than herself that Candance had to crane her neck up a bit to see Dante, unlatching her hold on him. If there was anyone would could understand how important Adarian was to her, it had to be him, right? They had gotten into a spat a term or two ago, but since then, they were slowly easing toward friendship. And he had to have seen how her and Adarian were at the Revolution meetings. It wasn't as if they tried to hide the fact that they were together, even if they weren't 'dating'.

Growing more exasperated by the second, Candance sighed with impatience as Dante prattled on and on about the dream he had been having. According to that man, that stranger, Adarian was in danger of dying, and Dante was going on about a Muggle sport? Don't overreact; he could be the only person that's on your side. You still don't have a clue who that other man is. Breathing in deeply, Candance glanced down at her pajamas when he mentioned that he had changed. It wasn't like it really mattered what she wore, even if she had no idea whatsoever what exactly was going on. At this point, Candance couldn't bring herself to care what she looked like, who she saw, where she went. All that mattered was she did everything she could to save Adarian from dying. That was the important thing to her. Maybe, if she was lucky, this would all turn out to be her craziest and most realistic dream ever. She certainly was hoping that was the case.



The man came down from her dormitory after a minute or two, almost as if he was taking his time. Biting back the urge to rush him along, Candance just stared at him as he descended down the stairs from her dormitory before coming to stop in front of her and Dante. She let a puzzled expression cross her face when he spoke, claiming that they both wouldn't need their wands. Glancing down at her wand of willow, she knew that she wouldn't part with it, even if it would be unnecessary. After all, this was a stranger telling her this. She definitely wasn't going to take the chance to be caught off guard and risk being cursed or the like. The man (whose name he just pronounced was Bernard) continued to speak, describing to them both where they might have heard about who he was. The name wasn't one she had heard ever before and she glanced up at Dante to see if he might have.

Then his last sentence was uttered and she knew that she looked visibly confused. "How do you know about that?" She heard herself ask, her tone showing how utterly perplexed she was. Everyone that was in the Revolution loved the group. Who would have given the group away? Told someone? Risked them all being expelled from Hogwarts or at the very least, put in detention for the rest of their academic lives? It seemed strange that any one of the members would do such a thing, but it appeared as if someone had. Then there was his next second...Marsden. The blood drained out of her face at his name, and she knew that her face must be very pale. The reason they were up and out of bed was to bring down Marsden's regime? The Revolution, many remembered as it was, couldn't do it. They could try and it was slightly possible that they could at least take out some members. Maybe with the help of Bernard's master, they could take down Marsden himself. It seemed unlikely, but the man had to be here for an important reason, didn't he?



As much as "Are you all right Candance?"

Candance could barely breathe, such was the force of her emotion. Not even bothering to apologize for running into him while he sat, she tried to force her words out of her mouth while also willing herself not to being to cry. Quit being so dramatic. If something happened, you'd know. You would. She tried to reassure herself, breathing in deeply to calm herself. "He said that he needed me to come with him and go downstairs, that it would save Adarian's life..." He was so much taller than herself that Candance had to crane her neck up a bit to see Dante, unlatching her hold on him. If there was anyone would could understand how important Adarian was to her, it had to be him, right? They had gotten into a spat a term or two ago, but since then, they were slowly easing toward friendship. And he had to have seen how her and Adarian were at the Revolution meetings. It wasn't as if they tried to hide the fact that they were together, even if they weren't 'dating'.

Growing more exasperated by the second, Candance sighed with impatience as Dante prattled on and on about the dream he had been having. According to that man, that stranger, Adarian was in danger of dying, and Dante was going on about a muggle sport? Don't overreact; he could be the only person that's on your side. You still don't have a clue who that other man is. Breathing in deeply, Candance glanced down at her pajamas when he mentioned that he had changed. It wasn't like it really mattered what she wore, even if she had no idea whatsoever what exactly was going on. At this point, Candance couldn't bring herself to care what she looked like, who she saw, where she went. All that mattered was she did everything she could to save Adarian from dying. That was the important thing to her. Maybe, if she was lucky, this would all turn out to be her craziest and most realistic dream ever. She certainly was hoping that was the case.



The man came down from her dormitory after a minute or two, almost as if he was taking his time. Biting back the urge to rush him along, Candance just stared at him as he descended down the stairs from her dormitory before coming to stop in front of her and Dante. She let a puzzled expression cross her face when he spoke, claiming that they both wouldn't need their wands. Glancing down at her wand of willow, she knew that she wouldn't part with it, even if it would be unnecessary. After all, this was a stranger telling her this. She definitely wasn't going to take the chance to be caught off guard and risk being cursed or the like. The man (whose name he just pronounced was Bernard) continued to speak, describing to them both where they might have heard about who he was. The name wasn't one she had heard ever before and she glanced up at Dante to see if he might have.

Then his last sentence was uttered and she knew that she looked visibly confused. "How do you know about that?" She heard herself ask, her tone showing how utterly perplexed she was. Everyone that was in the Revolution loved the group. Who would have given the group away? Told someone? Risked them all being expelled from Hogwarts or at the very least, put in detention for the rest of their academic lives? It seemed strange that any one of the members would do such a thing, but it appeared as if someone had. Then there was his next second...Marsden. The blood drained out of her face at his name, and she knew that her face must be very pale. The reason they were up and out of bed was to bring down Marsden's regime? The Revolution, many membered as it was, couldn't do it. They could try and it was slightly possible that they could at least take out some members. Maybe with the help of Bernard's master, they could take down Marsden himself. It seemed unlikely, but the man had to be here for an important reason, didn't he?

appreciated their questions, he realized that they were all short on time. Therefore, he was beginning to get just the slightest impatient. If Witchard was to discover that two students were out of their beds, with no trace of where they had both gone, it was likely to give the man a heart attack. Joseph Witchard wasn't exactly the most relaxed wizard in Britain.

"We don't have time for this, I'm afraid," said Bernard. "Anyway, I'm not allowed to answer all of the questions that I'm sure both of you have. What I can tell you is this: if Marsden isn't stopped, every single person in this castle who refuses him is going to die. If you allow me, I can show you things about Marsden that no library has to offer. That Marsden's own followers don't even know about. Will you come with me? I promise to have both of you back here in two minutes." At that, Bernard held up his left palm as if he was telling them both to stop. "No mark, as you can see."

Dante Cross


Dante looked down at Candance and pure a look of shock was on his face. What did Adarian have to do with this? He wondered as he looked at Candance. Finally he realized how stupid he was looking and changed his facial expression to a much more normal looking one. Candance never told him how much she cared for Adarian but it was obvious to Dante, and it should have been obvious to anyone else in the Revolution. He noticed how she gazed at him, and hung around him at their meetings.



Dante looked at the strange me oddly, still not lowering his wand. "I think I will take my wand with us thank you, and what does this have to do with Adarian Ackland?" He asked the unnamed man warningly. As much as Dante wanted to ask every question that was racing though his mind he prevented himself. He didn't want to provoke this strange man in any way. So he decided to keep his wand ready, just in case, and hear this guy out. He may answer his questions for him.



Dante continued watching this Bernard, as he tried to figure him out. He wanted to tell him that he has never read anything about him in the library or that he had never saw a portrait of him hanging around the castle. But Dante knew when it was time to listen, and time to question.Bernard caught his attention especially when he mentioned the Revolution. Before he could ask him about it Candance beat him to the punch. Dante found himself mumbling the same thing he told Adarian at the first Revolution meeting, "you can have Marsden, I want someone else."



He asked Bernard impatiently. Dante thought there was no possible way for them to be back in two minutes. The more mysterious this guy was being the more and more Dante felt the urge to curse some information out of him. I wish I could get those unforgivables to work for me. This guy would talk very fast then I bet. He thought to himself as a mischievous grin slithered across his faced. He watched as Bernard showed them he didn't have the mark of the "7" on his left hand. Dante slowly began to lower his wand, but was still ready to use it if he had to. "Ok Bernard, I can see we're not going to get answers out of you right now. I'll play your little game and join you for this…history lesson." He told him in a mix between a casual and cocky tone. Dante walked directly in front of Candance. If this guy was going to suddenly curse them he would have to curse him first.That should give Candance enough time to prepare herself for her defense. Dante stopped when he was directly in front of Bernard.

Well he didn't attack. I guess that's a good thing. He thought as he walked around him and stood next to Bernard on his right side. Dante chose the right side of Bernard because he was left handed so he could get a spell off at point blank range if he had to.

Bernard
At last the two children seemed like they weren't going to resist or waste precious time any longer. However, both of them seemed a bit hesitant all the same, as he wasn't giving them much to go on. The next thing Bernard did was something he did often; he wasn't sure if he did it to show them that he was much more important than they were or if he did it because he personally enjoyed to see such confusion on his guests' faces. More than likely, it was the latter.

"How do I expect you to trust me, you say?" said Bernard, sounding interested by the question. "Well, let's see. Dante Cross, born July 13th 1994 Detroit Michigan United States of America. An only child, son of parents Nathaniel and Morgan. Enjoys Drawing, hockey, and Muggle video games. Candance Michelle, born April 25th 1993, Liverpool England. Parents Lucy and Ian. Youngest of three, two girls and a boy. Only child of Lucy and Ian Michelle to show wizarding abilities."

At that, Bernard held both of his arms out for them to take, as if he was about to use side-along apparition. "Now, if you're done, shall we?"

Dante Cross


Dante smiled at Bernard. He slowly, and quietly began clapping his hands. "You've done your homework Bernard, I'm impressed." He told Bernard with one of his mischievous grins. "I see you visited the library and read some of the books in the wing devoted to Candance and myself. But hope you didn't miss my portrait on the 4th floor. You know the one that points and laughs at everyone who walks by it." Dante knew he should be taking this guy more seriously but someone taking the time to get to know a lot about him seemed more humorous then it should have.



"Seriously though, how do you know all those things about us? I want some answers by the end of the night. I'll play your game Bernard. If someone went through all that trouble learning about us, I'll play along." He told him as he hooked his left arm to Bernard's right. I hope I don't regret this, was the only thing he could think of while he waited to be apparited to visit whomever Bernard's master was.

Candance


Candance shook her head at his words. Not allowed to answer their questions? For the love of Merlin, they were Ravenclaws! How did he expect them to not ask questions, and deal with the fact that they wouldn't get answers? But the thought of everyone in the castle who disagreed with Marsden dying was a chilling thought. Maybe the Revolution would be the first to go because they were relatively easy targets and the whole purpose of their group was to fight against Marsden. The thought of everyone in the group dying, a group with members she loved fiercely, was upsetting. Bernard raised his left hand, palm side facing them, indicating that there was no mark. Well, at least he's not on the 'bad' side. She thought, staring long and hard at the burned skin. All that did (other than proving he was indeed, not a member of the Seven) was remind her of Adarian. And how he might possibly be dying, or at least in danger of.

She watched both Dante and Bernard as Dante questioned the man, fighting the urge to rush them along once more. Even if Adarian's life wasn't supposedly at stake, she was curious as to what the man was planning. Where did he want to take them? Why was it so important that they, two seemingly random students from Ravenclaw, came along with him? Why had they been picked for this little adventure (as she was now calling it)? The answers to any of those would have been nice, to tell the truth. But instead, she got to watch as Dante spoke to the man. It was a bit amusing, just a bit, but Candance couldn't help but grow a bit irritated when Dante stepped right in front of her, as if he wanted to protect her.


It was sweet, really, but she was more than capable of taking care of herself. She hesitated for a moment when Dante walked forever to stand by the man, unsure as to what to do. She wanted to go with him, to find out what was going on and what the purpose of this whole thing was, but was it safe? There was no possible way she could know the answer to that.



Candance couldn't help the soft gasp that came from her when Bernard relayed what he knew about the two of them. How could he know any of that about them? Candance hated talking to people about her family. She had never even told anyone about what had happened to her parents; she rarely even thought about it. It helped stop the nightmares anyway. Just hearing her parents names was enough to cause her eyes to shine with possible tears but she clenched her teeth, pulling her head high. No way in hell was she going to dwell on that, not when there were things happening now, in this moment. Thinking about the past was ridiculous, especially at a time like this. She walked forward, grabbing Bernard's unoccupied arm. Even if they weren't doing side-along apparation, which is what she figured they were doing, judging by how Bernard waited for them to grab his arms, she'd be ready for whatever was going to happen next.

As Candance took his other arm, Bernard narrowed his eyes at the Cross boy. Why this boy was special was beyond Bernard's reasoning, but he knew that what his orders were would end up being the right decision. "You'll get what you get, young Cross," said Bernard in a slightly rude tone. "Bear in mind that you should be grateful for everything you're about to see."

The next thing that happened couldn't really be described by most wizards. Yes, Candance and Dante were both holding onto his arm as if they were about to apparate. However, there was no trace of anything to do with apparition; the room around all three of them had grown brighter and brighter, and there was an odd humming noise as it did so. There wasn't even the usual sensation of being squeezed through something tight. From the way Bernard felt as they began to shift was as he always felt; his feet were still firmlly planted on the ground, and nothing felt as though it was moving. The only difference was this new noise and large amounts of blinding light.

It didn't take them that long to get where they were going. And when they arrived at their destination, they were surrounded by a sea of black robed Hogwarts students. They were in the Great Hall, during the middle of what appeared to be the Sorting Ceremony. But it was no ceremony that Candance and Dante had ever been to; the school uniforms were different than the ones they were used to wearing, and none of the staff at the staff table were any of the staff currently employed at Hogwarts. It was as if all of them were in a duplicate of the school.

"RAVENCLAW!"

The Sorting Hat just announced the house for a first-year, and the boy excitedly took off the hat to reveal his jet black hair. Bernard watched the young Marcus Linthux grin as he made his way to the Ravenclaw Table. Disgusted with what he saw, Bernard turned away and looked instead at his two guests.

"None of them can see us because this happened years ago; what you're seeing is merely a record. All of this is a sequence of events that have led into the world you live in now. Now, let's try to enjoy the sorting for a moment." He turned away quickly from them, as if they also repulsed him like Linthux did. There was now a girl with pigtails sitting on the stool, waiting to be directed to a certain table. But Bernard was instead looking at the boy who was next in line.

"SLYTHERIN!"

As the Slytherin Table erupted in applause, Bernard didn't even glance away from the boy he was watching to see Erica Maltby take her seat with the other Slytherins. Even though he had seen this all before, he still showed the record a great deal of respect when he watched it. Power deserved the respect, and the boy he was watching now had the most power in the world.

"MARSDEN, DANIEL!" called the Deputy Headmistress.

Dante Cross
As Candance took his other arm, Bernard narrowed his eyes at the Cross boy. Why this boy was special was beyond Bernard's reasoning, but he knew that what his orders were would end up being the right decision. "You'll get what you get, young Cross," said Bernard in a slightly rude tone. "Bear in mind that you should be grateful for everything you're about to see."

The next thing that happened couldn't really be described by most wizards. Yes, Candance and Dante were both holding onto his arm as if they were about to apparate. However, there was no trace of anything to do with apparition; the room around all three of them had grown brighter and brighter, and there was an odd humming noise as it did so. There wasn't even the usual sensation of being squeezed through something tight. From the way Bernard felt as they began to shift was as he always felt; his feet were still firmlly planted on the ground, and nothing felt as though it was moving. The only difference was this new noise and large amounts of blinding light.

It didn't take them that long to get where they were going. And when they arrived at their destination, they were surrounded by a sea of black robed Hogwarts students. They were in the Great Hall, during the middle of what appeared to be the Sorting Ceremony. But it was no ceremony that Candance and Dante had ever been to; the school uniforms were different than the ones they were used to wearing, and none of the staff at the staff table were any of the staff currently employed at Hogwarts. It was as if all of them were in a duplicate of the school.

"RAVENCLAW!"

The Sorting Hat just announced the house for a first-year, and the boy excitedly took off the hat to reveal his jet black hair. Bernard watched the young Marcus Linthux grin as he made his way to the Ravenclaw Table. Disgusted with what he saw, Bernard turned away and looked instead at his two guests.

"None of them can see us because this happened years ago; what you're seeing is merely a record. All of this is a sequence of events that have led into the world you live in now. Now, let's try to enjoy the sorting for a moment." He turned away quickly from them, as if they also repulsed him like Linthux did. There was now a girl with pigtails sitting on the stool, waiting to be directed to a certain table. But Bernard was instead looking at the boy who was next in line.

"SLYTHERIN!"

As the Slytherin Table erupted in applause, Bernard didn't even glance away from the boy he was watching to see Erica Maltby take her seat with the other Slytherins. Even though he had seen this all before, he still showed the record a great deal of respect when he watched it. Power deserved the respect, and the boy he was watching now had the most power in the world.

"MARSDEN, DANIEL!" called the Deputy Headmistress.

Candance
Holding on tightly to Bernard's arm, Candance stood there waiting for them to apparate, but that didn't seem to be what was happening. Instead, she heard a loud and rather obnoxious humming noise with a blindingly bright light accompanying it. She had to shut her eyes tightly to block out the light, opening them when it was black behind her eyelids. When she opened them, the sight she saw was a normal one....at first glance. It was the Great Hall, but something was off. These were not her school mates. Those were not the student uniforms. Those definitely were not the professors she both loved and hated. Something was wrong, that was for sure. Before she could contemplate on that fact any longer, her thoughts were interrupted by the booming sound of the Sorting Hat call out a new member to the Ravenclaw house.



Candance broke her gaze away from the boy who had run toward the Ravenclaw table moments before, listening intently to Bernard as he spoke. "How many years ago?" She asked, her voice rather quiet, despite the fact that the people in the Great Hall (apart from Bernard, Dante, and herself) couldn't hear her anyway. For a moment, Candance just stood there, watching the sorting with little interest as she relayed Bernard's words over in her head. Everything from this moment had caused the current world to become what it was now? Even if she was a Ravenclaw, she wasn't smart enough to understand that one. Why was this moment so special? Sure, watching children being sorted was interesting. She hadn't paid attention to any besides her own during her time at Hogwarts, but it was fun. Still, she couldn't exactly see why it was important. A bunch of kids being sorted? Big deal! She didn't know any of them, this was before her time. Candance opened her mouth to say just that to Bernard when a name was called out. One she recognized.

"MARSDEN, DANIEL!"

Her mouth dropping open, Candance just stared at the boy who would become the man everyone in her world would come to fear. This was his time? "That's Marsden." She said simply, stating the fact with a slightly shocked tone. None of this made sense to her. Why were they hear to witness his sorting? Everyone knew his house. It was the same as her own, Ravenclaw. None of this was adding up in her head at all, and she continued to stare at the boy. "I don't understand. Why are we here?" Breaking her gaze away from the child that was Marsden, she glanced up at Bernard, a puzzled expression on her face. "It's not like we can change anything." She shook her head, bringing her eyes back toward Marsden. How could that little boy end up causing all the problems in the modern world? Become the worlds most hated or admired man (depending on how you looked at it)? Candance was utterly perplexed; her mind not comprehending at all why they had been brought here. "Why did you bring us here?" She asked once more, her eyes now locked onto Daniel Marsden. It wasn't an enjoyable feeling, seeing how close she actually was to Marsden but not being able to do anything about it. She hated Marsden just as much as the next person, but she didn't exactly have a vendetta against him.

Bernard
"RAVENCLAW!"

The hat had been sitting on young Daniel's head for three seconds at the most before it announced his House. The Ravenclaw Table applauded as its newest member took the hat off and made his way to join them, looking slightly nervous as he walked. Bernard watched him as he took a seat between Marcus Linthux and Colleen Crompton, a first-year girl who had already been sorted. Bernard could have easily changed all of this if he had wanted to, but his master forbid it. Their job was merely to observe the events of the world that took place and only offer help when absolutely necessary.



Bernard answered the girl's question, though he didn't take his eyes off of the Ravenclaw Table. "I brought you here, Candance Michelle, because it is my belief that history is important to know just as much as the present. I thought it would be nice for you both to witness how everything started rather than rely on the rubbish theories people have these days. I'm sure you know, as most people do, that the records of Marsden and his six friends vanished not too long after they left the school."

With that, Bernard placed his hands on their shoulders once more. Light began to engulf their surroundings again, and the loud humming noise was back. Bernard stood patiently, waiting to view the record. After a moment, the noise began to die down and the room became darker. The scent of old parchment now filled the air.

All three of them were now standing in the library, facing a table where two familiar boys were sitting at, each pouring over a copy of Hogwarts, A History. You could hear the echo of footsteps as a Gryffindor student about their age passed by.

The Gryffindor happened to glance down at the page Daniel was reading, and immediately laughed after he saw its contents. "The Bronze Shield?" said the Gryffindor, as if there was nothing more amusing in the world. "Everyone knows that Ravenclaw's Shield is a complete myth. What kind of nerd studies about the Bronze Shield?" The question was directed at Daniel.

"The same nerd that's going to pay you to shine his shoes someday," said young Marcus politely, not even bothering to look up from the book. Daniel snorted at this joke, and the Gryffindor boy narrowed his eyes and walked away, looking back once or twice to scowl at them.

"We could always have Dominique do something to that arrogant little berk?" suggested Marcus, still not looking up from Hogwarts, A History. "They sleep in the same dormitory, after all."

"Maybe," grinned Marsden, keeping his eyes on the book pages as well. "But right now we should get this essay started, otherwise we'll get detention. And I hate detention if it's from Professor Waldrop. Transfiguration is interesting, but it's murder if it's your detention assignment.

"You said Coll was meeting us here to study, right?"

"That's what she said," said Marcus, putting up Hogwarts, A History and taking out textbooks from his bag. "She said she's bringing a friend, too."

Candance
"RAVENCLAW!"

Candance couldn't help the involuntary flinch she produced when the sorting hat called out Marsden's newly assigned house, her house. She was very proud that she was in that house, although not to the point where she seemed snobbish. Ravenclaw was where she belonged and she doubted she'd fit very easily into any other house. Marsden having been a part of her house was a blemish on Ravenclaw's nearly perfect record. It wasn't comforting to know that the world's most feared criminal had come from the smartest of houses; the house were the wise ones resided. It was quite possible that the sorting hat had made a mistake, because in her opinion, Marsden wasn't all that smart, in some circumstances. She didn't doubt his intelligence, because even she knew that him having the power that he did was because of his intellect. Still, his overall mission...that wasn't smart. It was unnecessary. Muggle-borns, squibs, even muggles were just as good as pure-bloods in her mind. Of course, being a pure-blood, she had never had to deal with a situation with another pure-blood elitist who scorned her because of her blood. She knew of many half-bloods who had to deal with things like that. More often than not, however, she found that loads of them did it with pride. Their blood wasn't something that they could change, and they had accepted that. It was a pity Marsden couldn't see how equally wonderful half-bloods and the like were compared to pure-bloods.



Listening to Bernard's words, Candance didn't dear take her eyes away from Marsden. Now that she knew who the boy was, she could vaguely understand the importance of the situation. She knew that there were countless others who would give anything to be where she was now. She couldn't see what exactly about this moment was so important, and why it had created the world she lived in today. As her thoughts had reminded her earlier, everyone knew that Marsden had been in Ravenclaw . It was a well known fact. And apart from watching him being sorted, she couldn't understand what exactly about this moment was so important. She hoped dearly that Bernard would have more to show them, because apart from his sorting...she didn't see the importance.Candance tore her gaze away from Marsden for a moment, glancing around at the neighboring tables. She guessed that his original six members were somewhere in the throng of people, but she didn't even know most of their names; much less what they had looked like at the age of eleven. Trying to understand everything about this moment was making her head spin, but after Bernard had finished speaking, he was grabbing her and Dante's shoulder and the loud noise was back, along with the blinding light.

Blinking for a few moments to adjust to the new lighting, Candance saw that they were now in the Hogwarts Library. Marsden and another little boy were there, the one who had been sitting beside Marsden at his sorting. "Who is that boy, beside Marsden?" She asked, sure that Bernard would know. If he knew things about two unimportant Ravenclaws, obviously he must know quite a bit about Marsden, right? She watched as the scene in front of them played out, wrinkling her forehead as she grew more puzzled. "The Bronze Shield?" She couldn't help the snicker that burst forth from her lips, very confident now that Marsden had mistakenly been put into Ravenclaw. "In this situation, I'm going to have to say that Gryffindor boy is smarter than a Ravenclaw . The Bronze Shield doesn't exist," she was downright laughing now, but it was quiet, as she wanted to hear the rest of the conversation. Apparently they were meeting some students, but she discarded that piece of information; sure it was useless. In fact, the way Candance saw it, this whole scene that the three of them had just witnessed was rather pointless.

"So Marsden got a detention. Apparently Professor Waldrop gives a mean punishment if you don't finish your homework," She smirked, glancing upward at Bernard. "This is very interesting, I'll give you that," She started, only to pause for a moment, trying to word her words correctly. It wouldn't due to sound rude in Bernard's presence, because even though he wasn't a member of the Seven, he had to be at least a little dangerous. Not many people knew about Marsden's past, so for him to have this kind of information was remarkable. "I just...I don't see the point. It's common knowledge he was sorted into Ravenclaw and as for him doing homework," She motioned toward the table where Marsden and the boy were sitting. "Well, it's not exactly unexpected of him to be doing homework, is it?" She glanced over at Dante, not at all sure what he thought of the situation. "You need to give us some sort of explanation. I think we deserve that much."

Bernard
Bernard couldn't help but scowl ever so slightly at Candance's disbelief of Ravenclaw's Shield. He had to remind himself that both of them were still young and uneducated as to what this earth had to offer. "You would be surprised at what does and does not exist, Candance Michelle," he said in a low voice. "With enough determination, you can find things in this world that you would have never dreamed possible. Now, a moment of silence is in order. The most important part of this record is about to happen." Bernard gestured toward Marsden's table, where two girls around his age had just joined them.

Marcus Linthux raised his hand in acknowledgement to the two girls, though he did not turn away from the homework he was now working on. Marsden, however, spoke to the girl on the left.

"Good day, Coll?" Marsden asked, smiling.

"Fairly," said the girl, tossing some of hair behind her shoulder. "We've already gotten part of this assignment done, so we'll most likely be heading back to the common room before either of you." At this, Marcus barely peeked over the top of his book, both of his eyebrows raised.

"Well, let's wait and see, shall we?" said Daniel, sounding as though her statement was of little importance. "I'm Daniel, by the way," he added, looking at Coll's friend, who immediately smiled at his introduction.

"Oh, right! Sorry," said Coll. Her face turned a light shade of red. "Daniel, Marcus, this is Gretchen Coppleman. Gretchen, this is Daniel Marsden and Marcus Linthux."

"Coppleman?" said Daniel, immediately sounding interested. "Coppleman, you say?" The girl named Gretchen laughed slightly.

"That's right," she said. "Gretchen Jessica Coppleman, if you're interested in full names as well. Gretchen after my grandmother, and Jessica after my mother."

Grinning at her answer, Daniel said, "I didn't mean to sound like a name enthusiast. I was just wondering if you're related to Henry Coppleman? The Minister of Magic during the second Muggle World War?"

"Sorry, but no," said Gretchen. "My parents are both Muggles, see. None of us knew anything about the Wizarding world until a representative from Hogwarts called at our house. Some Slytherins were actually just mocking me because of it." At this, Gretchen sighed, frowning a little bit.

"Slytherins?" said Coll, wrinkling her nose. "Who needs them? They're a waste of time."

"Every once in awhile a good person is sorted into Slytherin," Daniel corrected Coll. "Most of them are morons, though. Don't pay any attention to them, Gretchen. They're not worth your time."

Gretchen smiled slightly at Daniel, nodding her head. Daniel returned her smile.

"There you have it," said Bernard, slowly clapping his hands at what the three of them just witnessed. "There are two people that Daniel Marsden loves more than anything else in the world. Gretchen Coppleman is one of them. The two of them became rather close during their studies at Hogwarts, and ended up married after their seventh year."

Candance


A confused and puzzled look on her face seemed to be what was expected whenever she spoke aloud to Bernard. Was he foolish enough to believe in the Bronze Shield? It was a myth, nothing more. Candance might daydream from time to time but she was more or less down to earth, preferring to actually live her life than to dream it. As a result, far-fetched stories that had almost zero ounce of truth were not something she was going to put any faith in. Then she scowled at him, put off by his lack of answers. If he knew so much, why not tell them? It's not like they were going to tell the whole wizarding world. Obviously he was important if he knew things about Marsden. This was the third time in Candance's life when she'd been put into a situation that had something to do with Marsden (the first time, her parents death, she wasn't sure completely whose fault it was; the second time when she was in the woods with Adarian), and it was an act that was starting to get old. Was it really that big of a deal to just explain something properly? Nevertheless, Candance shut her mouth for a moment to watch Marsden.

She wasn't interested when the girls first joined Marsden. So he had friends who were girls, big deal. Still, she watched, listening to every word intently, making sure that every detail was memorized so that she could inform Bernard once more that there was nothing of importance happening. Another baffled expression crossed her face as watch Marsden and the girl, Gretchen, interact. The fact that Marsden would actually talk to someone who wasn't from a pure-blood family astounded her, and she was surprised that Marsden hadn't ridiculed her in any way. In fact, it seemed that he would at least be friends with the girls, judging by the smiles that he kept tossing toward her way. Bernard spoke once more, and by the time he was done, Candance's mouth had dropped open in complete shock. "They got married?" She asked, an incredulous tone in her voice. "You mean someone actually wanted to be with him?" She glanced once more at Gretchen and Marsden, trying to picture it in her mind.

It didn't seem like it was possible. Marsden was the creator of The Seven. That group had caused so much pain and suffering everyone in the wizarding world. How could anyone want to spend a lifetime with him? She ran Bernard's words through her mind once more, as if they would make more sense that way. They didn't, but one of his sentences stuck out, as if they had been purposely placed there to make her wonder. "You said that Daniel Marsden loved two people in the world. If Gretchen is one of them.....then who is the other?" This whole night was starting to give her a headache. There were all the questions she wanted answered but none of them seemed to be getting an answer. She waited patiently for Bernard's answer, knowing that it more than likely be vague, if he even bothered to answer it at all.

Bernard
Daniel, Marcus, Gretchen, and Colleen continued with their chatter, but Bernard made no attempt to make Candance or Dante listen. The important part of this record had just taken place, and now there was nothing left to watch except for socializing and studying students. Instead of continuing with his observation, Bernard put his attention on Candance Michelle's questions.

"Yes, they ended up married," said Bernard simply. "Marsden may be evil and insane, but he can be a charmer if he wants to be. Both of them were very happy with each other, but only for a short while. They married as soon as they left Hogwarts, but at the age of 19, Gretchen mysteriously passed away, leaving her husband filled with sadness. I have never seen Daniel Marsden more distraught than the night she died at the hospital. It was as if part of himself was dead, too. Things had gone great for him for a couple of years; the Seven had really started to grow, he already had a fair amount of gold to his name, and he was madly in love. But there he stood in the hospital, his wife dead, and his daughter being raised by a man he had formerly had the full intention to rob of everything the man owned. And that, Miss Michelle, is what became of the second person he dearly loves."

Dante Cross
Dante watched as Daniel and his friends talked in the library. The Bronze Shield? What in the world is that? It must be something powerful if Marsden wanted it. He couldn't help but think to himself. Maybe this Bronze Shield should be something that he should start doing some research on. He didn't like not knowing bits of conversations. But it gave him something to do when he would become bored. He looked at Candance trying to read her body language and figure out what she thought of what they were witnessing. He noticed her looking back at him so he just shrugged his shoulders trying to show her that he was just as confused as she was.
Dante was starting to get used to jumping in and out of memories now. Now he was watching Daniel Marsden speak with two girls. Their conversation seemed casual enough, nothing really to get excited about, at least in Dante's opinion. So he remained silent and continued taking in everything because Bernard had chosen them for a reason and it had to be something important.

Candance


Bernard's words gave Candance a lot to think about. Even though Dante wasn't saying much, she was sure that he was doing the same. So now she was supposed to believe that Marsden was capable of love? Wasn't that asking a bit too much from them? Marsden had ruined both of their lives, in one way or another. From what she knew and suspected of the man was that he was evil, down to the very core. Even so, Bernard's words did make a little sense. His wife's death must have caused him quite some anguish, for even if he did love her, he had lost someone who was more than likely insanely loyal to him. Maybe Gretchen killed herself, Candance mused, trying to grasp an inkling of understanding of the situation, even with the very little information she had. "Why do you know so much about Marsden anyway? I understand that it's important to 'know your enemy' but, well," she bit her cheek as she let the thoughts jumble themselves correctly in her mind. "Marsden probably wouldn't want his life to be out on display for everyone. Obviously his wife was a weakness of his. Hurt his feelings enough and his self-confidence will come crashing down, and so will the Seven."

Then Candance stopped, rewinding back toward Bernard's words once more. "Did you saydaughter? As in, Marsden and Gretchen had a baby?" Her eyes wide with shock, she glanced over at the pair, both of them probably oblivious as to what the future held for each other. "Who is she? Doesn't anyone know?" The questions were rolling off her tongue as she tried to remember every rumor or truth she had heard about Daniel Marsden. "I've never heard that before. Never. Did Marsden ever even tell anyone?" For once, she looked at the crime lord with a small amount of pity. To lose both people you cared about all in the same day? The effects of such a thing were obviously in the modern worlds face. Marsden was quickly gaining more and more power, and life was getting difficult for all. It was only a matter of time before a riot broke out somewhere or worse: a war. "Why did he want to rob that man of everything?" She asked quietly, mostly so it would get her out of her dreary thoughts. For once, she didn't care about the answer. What she was looking for was what her and Dante were going to do with this information once this night was over. The unknown was a bit scary in this kind of situation.

Bernard
"That's actually a foolish thing to say, Miss Michelle," said Bernard, responding to her first question. "For a Ravenclaw, anyway. Forgive my saying so, but Marsden has more self-confidence than probably anyone else on this earth. It's not really difficult to understand why if you stop and think about it; look at everything he's accomplished in his life. Richest and most powerful wizard in the world; he formed the largest wizarding crime syndicate in history. With each project of his that goes correctly, he grows more confident and trusting of himself. And I don't have to tell either of you that most of his projects tend to go according to plan.

"I know about Marsden because I serve something that is much greater than he his. Something wonderful and magnificent, that is greater than all of us. Marsden is serving it as well, or so he thinks. My master hand picked Daniel Marsden at an early age. Naturally, It knew he was special. And Marsden started out serving it faithfully, just as I am doing now. But as time went on, Marsden grew corrupt and out of control. He believes that he's doing the right thing, though he really is not; he's become selfish and is too focused on his own agenda to listen to what he should do. That is why I'm here speaking to both of you tonight. Both myself and my master have stood by long enough watching what Daniel Marsden is doing to the wizarding world. We prefer to let things run their course and resolve themselves rather than interfering. But things have gone too far to continue with standing by and observing. My master ordered be to step in, and that is why I'm revealing to you what I know." Bernard spoke all of these words matter-of-factly, as if this was usual business. Naturally, it was to him, but he did suppose it most likely irritated Candance and Dante to a point. This didn't bother him whatsoever. He had a job to do; he had his instructions and now he was carrying them out.

"Yes," said Bernard in the same tone, "they had a daughter. Daniel and Gretchen were the typical excited parents-to-be when they found out. Most anyone would be. That was actually Daniel Marsden's first crises that he faced. While he was plotting the robbery of this Muggle, he received word from a very gifted Seer that his unborn daughter was in danger. On further inspection, Daniel and Gretchen found out that there was a very good chance that their daughter would be born a Squib. He didn't care if his daughter was a Squib; he loved her from the minute he found out he was going to be a father. But as with any wizarding parent, it troubled him greatly; his daughter was most likely going to be born into a world to which she could never take part in. She would know nothing but cruelty and neglect from her peers. Marsden knew that he couldn't help her yet, so he devised a plan. Gretchen was dating and became 'married' to a skilled business man in Ireland on Daniel's wishes; they were trying to determine whether or not the man was worth robbing. So, the man believed Daniel's daughter to be his. The Seven had every intention of stealing from this Muggle until tragedy struck; Gretchen became ill, and no one was able to diagnose what was wrong with her. She died while she was undercover as a Muggle. Knowing that his daughter was still in danger of being born without magic, Daniel left his newly born baby in the hands of this man so that she could grow up with people who would accept her. He knew one day, though, that if she didn't turn out to be a witch, he would be able to help her. And strangely enough, the Muggle he left his daughter in the care of was also named Marsden. Odd, isn't it?" Bernard paused for a moment and smiled slightly. Coincidences like that amused him. "But things turned out okay. Though he hasn't seen his daughter face-to-face in nearly 17 years, she has grown up to be a very clever and gifted witch, much like Daniel himself. He often expresses how proud he is of her to his followers. Those of whom are aware of his daughter's existence, that is."

Bernard happened to glance up from the studying Seven-tikes to see a grandfather clock at the end of the row of books. Of course it wasn't showing the real time, but it was still getting late. "We should be moving on, I'm afraid. There's nothing else of importance here, and I've still got several more records to show you. If you could both take my hand so that we can get going."

Candance


Glowering, Candance listened quite carefully to the man's words. In her opinion, it seemed like he was hellbent on her changing her opinion of Marsden. He seemed as if he was bragging about Marsden's accomplishments (if that's what they could even be called), praising him for everything he had done. True, if you looked at the things he had done from his side, you could see how they would be worthy of congratulations. However, Candance wasn't on Marsden's side. She felt that everyone deserved equal treatment (how could she now, with all of her siblings being squibs?) and she felt truly sick at the people who had been harmed because of Marsden and the members of the Seven.

Despite all she did know about Marsden, there was so much more that she didn't know. Maybe that's what Bernard is trying to tell us? She pondered, growing slightly uneasy. Why did this whole situation have to be so bloody confusing? She was still trying to grasp the fact that Marsden had been in love, much less had a daughter. "What is Marsden's motive, anyway? What's he doing all this for?" She asked, frowning slightly. "I understand that people are getting hurt around the world, people are dying. Is he wanting to just kill of everyone whose just not as 'worthy' as he is or what?" Candance felt that was quite an important question but yet again, she didn't hold her breath on an answer.



Candance groaned at the information, her brain already working to analyze every bit of it. Some power greater than Marsden? Something that was supposed to be great and wonderful, but it had eventually caused Marsden to demoralize and become the evil man he was today? It sounded like a load of dragon dung to Candance but she had no choice but to believe it. Even if he was a very secretive man, at least he allowed them to ask questions instead of silencing both her and Dante, leaving them to interpret everything without the slightest bit of help. Candance longed to ask him exactly what organization he was a part of but she held her tongue. The question wouldn't be answered; this she knew without even asking.

Sighing quietly, she thought again of his words, trying to gleam every possible bit of information. Bernard and his master both saw fit to put their foot down to Daniel Marsden's plans (finally, she couldn't help but think) and they both realized that now was the time to act. "What can you and your master do?" Candance asked, looking up at the older man once more. "Telling people about Marsden is obviously important, yes, but what can anyone even do at this point to stop Marsden's growing power over the wizarding world?" Perhaps the question was a bit rude and true, something would have to be done soon especially since Marsden's power and number of followers would only grow over time. But what? Despite being in the Revolution, they were just kids. People like aurors or people who were with Bernard and his master would be the ones to stop Marsden. The growing fear of him, however, was starting to make things complicated.

Bernard had another big speech that contained tons of information to give, and as Candance listened, she glanced over at Dante for a moment. What did he think of it all? She wanted to ask but she was hesitant to interrupt Bernard. His words were...deep. Candance was pitying Daniel Marsden more and more with every new piece of information, something she hadn't thought possible. He had caused countless people so much pain and suffering, some of those people were even friends of hers. Even so, having lost two people you loved in the same day (although not in the same way)... it seemed unbearable. Candance didn't know what she would have done had she been in Marsden's situation.

"I still don't understand why Daniel Marsden wanted to steal from the man. For money? How would that have helped his daughter?" Pausing for a moment, she thought over his words again, to make sure her words wouldn't sound entirely confusing. "I understand that she turned out to not be a witch...wait, did you say she was seventeen?" Candance's eyes grew big and she racked her mind once more for any clue as to who his daughter was. No doubt she would have attended Hogwarts and her age was so close to her own, just a year older...was it possible she might have spoken to Marsden's daughter and not have realized it?



Candance sighed, growing a bit uneasy. What more would she possibly be forced to try to understand? She was very grateful of the chance she had been given; she doubted many people had the chance to get this much insight into Marsden's life. Still feeling slightly wary, Candance reached for Bernards hand, grasping it in her own. Waiting for Dante to do the same, she waited for the humming noise and bright light to come.

Dante Cross
Dante continued listening to the story of Daniel Marsden. He could understand about how something horrible could turn someone sour, maybe even evil. He knew that it wasn't a good reason for the Seven or their disturbing beliefs. It seemed to Dante that Candance was having a hard time believing that Marsden could care for another person. But was that so hard to believe? After all he was a human being himself, so it would only be natural for him to care about someone else. Dante was open to the idea of hearing the other side of the story. This little history lesson they were on was definitely interesting to him. People stereotype Marsden as some kind of monster, like Freddy Krueger, but there had to more to him than that. Dante was no way a supporter of Marsden or his Seven, but he did find it intriguing to learn more about the man that started it all.

"I know about Marsden because I serve something that is much greater than he his. Something wonderful and magnificent, that is greater than all of us. Marsden is serving it as well, or so he thinks. My master hand picked Daniel Marsden at an early age. Naturally, It knew he was special. And Marsden started out serving it faithfully, just as I am doing now. But as time went on, Marsden grew corrupt and out of control. He believes that he's doing the right thing, though he really is not; he's become selfish and is too focused on his own agenda to listen to what he should do. That is why I'm here speaking to both of you tonight. Both myself and my master have stood by long enough watching what Daniel Marsden is doing to the wizarding world. We prefer to let things run their course and resolve themselves rather than interfering. But things have gone too far to continue with standing by and observing. My master ordered be to step in, and that is why I'm revealing to you what I know." Bernard spoke all of these words matter-of-factly, as if this was usual business. Naturally, it was to him, but he did suppose it most likely irritated Candance and Dante to a point. This didn't bother him whatsoever. He had a job to do; he had his instructions and now he was carrying them out.

This caught Dante's attention. "Who exactly is your master? Your master sounds more like Dr. Frankenstein to me. And Daniel Marsden is his monster." He told Bernard with a grin. "How could you not expect the power to go to his head? It almost sounds to me your master is the person who made him the way he is. I mean think about it, you obviously have some crazy powers, and what did your master honestly expect Marsden to do with them?" It seemed stupid to Dante that someone actually was crazy enough to trust someone with the powers that Bernard had.

"I still don't understand why Daniel Marsden wanted to steal from the man. For money? How would that have helped his daughter?" Pausing for a moment, she thought over his words again, to make sure her words wouldn't sound entirely confusing. "I understand that she turned out to not be a witch...wait, did you say she was seventeen?" Candance's eyes grew big and she racked her mind once more for any clue as to who his daughter was. No doubt she would have attended Hogwarts and her age was so close to her own, just a year older...was it possible she might have spoken to Marsden's daughter and not have realized it?

"Yeah, why would he do that? It makes no sense at all. Like Candance said, the money could have helped his daughter. I have no doubt that he truly loved his daughter, why?" Dante couldn't figure out the answers to this. He began wishing that Bernard would just come out with it and tell them the true reason why he chose Candance and himself for this gathering.

"We should be moving on, I'm afraid. There's nothing else of importance here, and I've still got several more records to show you. If you could both take my hand so that we can get going.
Dante nodded his head at Bernard's request. He grabbed his arm and waited for the blinding light and humming noise to begin.

Bernard
Bernard appeared angry at Dante's lack of respect. So much so that he had no problem telling the young man. "My master," said Bernard with complete and utter disdain, "is known by very few people. The people who do know It, including myself, refer to it as the Number. The Number is not to be taken lightly, Mr. Cross, so I would tread carefully. What goes around comes around. Has it not even occurred to you that maybe the reason It hasn't judged Daniel Marsden is because Daniel Marsden, while confused, it still attempting to serve It? You, on the other hand, go through your day not even aware of all the things going on around you. Not even trying to understand that there are far more important things surrounding us that hold this world together."

A mere few seconds after Bernard finished with scolding Dante, they began to move again. The loud noise had once again started, and the area surrounding them was growing brighter. It only took a moment for them to disappear from where they were standing, leaving Daniel Marsden and his friends alone at the library.

The humming stopped. The light was gone, and all of them were once again able to see clearly. They were outside in an all-too-familiar wooded area. Even though it was three o'clock in the afternoon, there was very little light coming through the trees. They were standing in the exact area that Candance Michelle had been severely injured in several years ago.

Bernard turned around the face them. He glanced at Dante Cross and gave him a look of repulsion before he turned to Candance. "You," he said to the girl. "Important events throughout wizarding history have happened right where we're standing. Even you have ties to this part of the forest, Candance Michelle. So does Daniel Marsden. The event that is about to take place marks the beginning of the Seven. Once again, I ask for your silence, as this record, like of all of the others, is very important and imformative. If I'm not mistaken, our little friend is now approaching."

Sure enough, several feet away from them, Daniel Marsden was walking through the forest. Now looking to be about 14 years old, he was wearing a heavy jacket and other clothing to keep himself warm. Though it didn't feel cold for Bernard, Candance, and Dante, the record they were viewing now had obviously taken place on a cold winter's day.

Daniel continued walking, and now had come less than four feet away from them. The young Marsden surveyed the forest, looking interested at the sights. He was quickly distracted, however, by the rustling of leaves. He turned and looked where the three visitors were facing, and all of them saw what was unmistakenably a bare foot and a tattered old robe go behind a tree. Daniel raised his wand in alarm and called out. "Who's there!? Show yourself! Now!" No one answered, although they saw the same thing happen further ahead of them: a bare foot and an old, worn cloak disappear behind a tree. Daniel Marsden now looked positively frightened.

"Kid?" said a voice to the side. The voice was unfamiliar, and didn't belong to Daniel or any of the ones observing. Daniel spun around, his wand arm ready to strike at a moment's notice. Daniel had turned to face a man, who had immediately raised his arms in surrender.

"Woah woah!" said the man, his arms still raised. "Just calm down. I'm not going to hurt you. Just lower your wand and we can talk."

Daniel's arm didn't move any. He looked the man over. He took notice of his bare feet and wornout robe, and then looked the man in the face. It was a man in his late 30s to early 40s, and he wore glasses. He had long, ginger hair that made him look a bit more sloppy (if that was possible, given the rest of his attire).

"Do you have a wand?" Daniel asked. His voice was threatening. The man stared him in the eyes, looking confused.

"Er, yes, I do," he said. "Why do you ask?"

"Put it on the ground," said Daniel immediately, not answering his question. "Reach with your hand very slowly, take it out, and put it on the ground. I'm not too afraid to attack if I have to." However, there was the tiniest hint of fear in Daniel's voice.

Strangely enough, this wasn't a problem to the man. He nodded his head and obliged. With his right hand, he reached into his robe pocket very slowly and took out a very barbaric-looking wand. It definitely had not been made by a wizard who studied wandlore; it looked like the man had widdled it himself with a knife. The man slowly reached down and sat the wand on the dirt.

Daniel didn't really appear to care about the man's wand. Instead, he began to question him. "How did you get here?"

"I beg your pardon?" said the man, a confused look on his face once again.

"How did you get here?" Daniel repeated, this time a little more forcefully. "These grounds are protected by ancient magic. There are more defensive spells and enchantments here than you can possibly imagine. You couldn't have just strolled in here without someone knowing."

The man smiled slightly. "Relax, all right? I'm not a thief. I didn't break in; I live here."

Daniel raised his eyebrows. "What do you mean 'I live here?' No one lives in this forest besides centaurs and beasts. I'm pretty sure I would know if there was a man living in here. What is your name?"

The man looked at Daniel's scarf, noting its colors of blue and gray. "You're a student, right? You live at the school, outside of the forest?"

"Yes, of course I live at Hogwarts," said Daniel rudely. "Now I'm not going to ask you again: who are you?"

The man laughed very slightly. "Well, you're a student at the school," he said. "If that's the case, then I guess your people refer to me as an Unknown."

Candance


Candance sighed softly at Dante's word, but only so she could hear. Apparently, it was just her who realized that Bernard didn't really answer questions straight on...they were more vague than anything she'd ever had to hear in her life, almost like a puzzle but with no possible way of discovering the answer. And, in Candance's opinion, the way Dante was asking the question seemed rather rude. Sure, she wanted to know who Bernard's master was just as much as he did, but obviously the man was a very powerful person. Calling him rude names (at least judging by his tone, it was a rude name; she had no idea who this Dr. Frankenstein was) was probably just a bit dangerous. Even if he didn't like Bernard (Candance was more creeped out by him than anything), he could at least show a little respect, couldn't he? However, time wasn't spent thinking on that for too long, for Bernard scolded him moments after and soon enough, they were experiencing the sound of harsh humming and then the bright light came, and they were at their next destination.



For a moment, all Candance could do was stare. She knew this place, had been here before. They were all in the forest, in the exact location where she'd been basically tortured by Adarian's father and the memories...she squeezed her eyes tightly to stop them. As Bernard spoke, she waited for the scene they were waiting for to play out. They didn't have long to wait, for Marsden soon came. He was older, a third or fifth year, she'd say, and dressed warmly. After a few moments of just looking around, he started calling out, whipping around until finally a man was there, speaking to Daniel Marsden. The man was much older than the boy, at least a few decades. She watched their conversation closely, taking in as many details as she could. Daniel asked for the man to put his wand on the ground and Candance was highly surprised with the fact that he actually did. She listened intently as they continued to speak, taking mental notes of everything. Then the man talking to Marsden's last words confused her.

Sighing quietly, Candance turned to Bernard. "So is that man your master? His name sounds just as vague as your own master. Unknown, the Number...none of this makes sense," she said, shaking her head slightly. Why was this guy randomly in the forest? Even if he did live in the forest, there were still certain wards protecting the school that couldn't possibly have been taken down by someone who looked like he had a home-made wand. As usual, the situation didn't make sense. Why had Daniel even come out to the forest late at night? Trying to catch a unicorn or had this been a planned meeting, even if Daniel looked utterly confused at the present. There had even seemed like there was a touch of nervousness and fear in his voice when he had threatened the man, a fact that brought a small smile to Candance's face. At least it was good to know that Marsden wasn't totally incapable of fear.

Bernard
After Candance spoke, the scene froze. Daniel stood completely still, his wand pointed at the man who looked like he hadn't been in civilization for at least a year. There were no longer any of the usual night sounds coming from the forest. The only people who remained unfrozen were Bernard, Candance and Dante.

Bernard looked at Candance, hiding his incredulous look quite well. Sure, he would have said the same thing before his accident. But he couldn't now. Not after all he knew and what everything in the world meant. Not after finding out the truth, and realizing just how extraordinary everything was. He was no longer the same man he had been. He had been enlightened, and he now had a purpose.

"No, Miss Michelle, that is not my master," he said, sounding a little exasperated. "He is important, I'll give you that. He serves my master as well. We're both in the same boat." Bernard looked at the man and sighed a little. Why didn't things seem as clear to them as it did to Bernard? Had wizards' minds really drifted that far from understanding?

"Hogwarts," said Bernard, "was founded thousands of years ago. Wizards and witches were under oppression from the Muggles during that era, so they naturally went into hiding. Four of the greatest sorcerer's to ever live came here. Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Salazar Slytherin, Rowena Ravenclaw (Bernard inclined his head to the students) sought out a place to take refuge. They came here to build an institution so that they could live in harmony and train young sorcerers while avoiding the Muggle world. But there was a problem. They came to this land, but they didn't know that part of it was already occupied. Any book that has to do with Hogwarts will tell you about every part of it, including this forest and its occupants. But in the oldest writings about Hogwarts, the writings that are harder to find than Phoenixes, most people mistake their contents pertaining to the Forest for something else. When they referred to 'the forest natives,' they weren't talking about the centaurs."

Dante Cross
Bernard appeared angry at Dante's lack of respect. So much so that he had no problem telling the young man. "My master," said Bernard with complete and utter disdain, "is known by very few people. The people who do know It, including myself, refer to it as the Number. The Number is not to be taken lightly, Mr. Cross, so I would tread carefully. What goes around comes around. Has it not even occurred to you that maybe the reason It hasn't judged Daniel Marsden is because Daniel Marsden, while confused, it still attempting to serve It? You, on the other hand, go through your day not even aware of all the things going on around you. Not even trying to understand that there are far more important things surrounding us that hold this world together."
Dante was surprised by the tone Bernard used when he spoke to him, even though he shouldn't have been. He didn't exactly ask the question in the nicest tone. "Sorry, I didn't mean anything by my question," was the only thing that he could think to say to him. It became clear to him that maybe this Bernard was not the man to anger. The Number, as he put it, didn't sound like someone that wouldn't make a good enemy.

Dante watched the next rift from the past that Bernard presented to them. This was starting to become very exciting to him, especially since they were now in the forbidden forest. Dante had been in the forest many times in the past and he knew that it was never a dull moment there. He saw Daniel Marsden being approached by a stranger who referred to himself as an Unknown. At that moment he truly began wondering just how much of the wizarding world that he didn't know. He knew he was at a handicap from the start, considering he was raised in Detroit for the first ten years of his life, but he didn't think he was that far behind the curve.

He wanted to ask Bernard about the Unknown and if it was his master, but Candance had beaten him to the punch. This didn't bother him because either way he would find out his answer. He listened to Bernard tell them the history or Hogwarts and the wizarding world. "What are they referring to? What was occupying this land that the great wizards and witches didn't know about?" He asked Bernard, hoping that his reaction would be better than the reaction to his previous question.

Candance
Candance was slightly startled when the scene she had been watching with Marsden and the strange man stopped abruptly after she spoke. She was puzzled, for only Bernard, Dante, and herself remained in the same state they had been in, still able to move. It was clearly a night of confusion, a night meant to push her brain to the limits as it tried to rapidly understand and retain everything she had found out today. It seemed an impossible task but nevertheless, she tried. After everything was done, when both Dante and herself were safely back in the Ravenclaw Tower, she planned to immediately go find someone, an adult, to help shed light on the situation they were currently in.

"No, Miss Michelle, that is not my master," he said, sounding a little exasperated.

She pouted slightly when Bernard informed her the the man was by no means his master. With him being secretive and mysterious, what else was she supposed to think? It seemed like all her and Dante could really do was make assumptions, with Bernard pushing them in the right direction every now and then. All the things she had seen tonight were clearly quite important, that was obvious, but it was slightly unnerving to watch Daniel Marsden grow up in front of their eyes, different situations in his life being played for them to understand. It was nothing short of magical to be able to do so and for a brief moment, Candance couldn't help but wonder what more Bernard's mysterious group could do if they had been able to do something like this.

When Bernard went to explain more about the situation, Candance rolled her eyes, turning her head slightly away from him so he could not see. Everyone knew this, or they would if they had paid some attention in History of Magic. She just nodded for a moment at his words, only stopping for a moment when he gave them a fact that she certainly had no idea about. Wouldn't the founders have noticed if something else had been calling the land on which Hogwarts stood home? The brightest witches and wizards of the age, surely they would have found that out. Bernard's words, however, caused her to believe otherwise. Once more, she found herself unsure what exactly he meant, not understanding fully what he was talking about once again. However, Dante saved her from having to ask the question herself, and she waited patiently for Bernard's answer.


Candance was slightly startled when the scene she had been watching with Marsden and the strange man stopped abruptly after she spoke. She was puzzled, for only Bernard, Dante, and herself remained in the same state they had been in, still able to move. It was clearly a night of confusion, a night meant to push her brain to the limits as it tried to rapidly understand and retain everything she had found out today. It seemed an impossible task but nevertheless, she tried. After everything was done, when both Dante and herself were safely back in the Ravenclaw Tower, she planned to immediately go find someone, an adult, to help shed light on the situation they were currently in.



She pouted slightly when Bernard informed her the the man was by no means his master. With him being secretive and mysterious, what else was she supposed to think? It seemed like all her and Dante could really do was make assumptions, with Bernard pushing them in the right direction every now and then. All the things she had seen tonight were clearly quite important, that was obvious, but it was slightly unnerving to watch Daniel Marsden grow up in front of their eyes, different situations in his life being played for them to understand. It was nothing short of magical to be able to do so and for a brief moment, Candance couldn't help but wonder what more Bernard's mysterious group could do if they had been able to do something like this.

When Bernard went to explain more about the situation, Candance rolled her eyes, turning her head slightly away from him so he could not see. Everyone knew this, or they would if they had paid some attention in History of Magic. She just nodded for a moment at his words, only stopping for a moment when he gave them a fact that she certainly had no idea about. Wouldn't the founders have noticed if something else had been calling the land on which Hogwarts stood home? The brightest witches and wizards of the age, surely they would have found that out. Bernard's words, however, caused her to believe otherwise. Once more, she found herself unsure what exactly he meant, not understanding fully what he was talking about once again. However, Dante saved her from having to ask the question herself, and she waited patiently for Bernard's answer.


All this talk of the past made Candance feel rather dizzy. Learning various information about Marsden was very interesting, of course, but most of it was just too much for her to properly comprehend. Whenever Bernard decided that Dante and herself had seen enough, she was going to somehow find a way to get to Professor Witchard's office and inform him immediately. It would be rather difficult, assuming it was still a few hours past midnight in the real world...with all the 'time travel' she'd been forced to experience tonight, she didn't exactly know what time it was. Listening to Bernard explain the feuding between the four founders of Hogwarts and the 'Unknown' was intriguing, but once more, Candance did not have enough to time to process the information before Dante and herself were transported to another scene featuring Daniel Marsden.

They didn't exactly leave the forest; they instead moved to a different part of the vast woods. When Bernard announced that this record was the most important, Candance looked forward, watching the scene as intently as possible in an attempt to take in as much of it as she could. Daniel seemed like he had grown up a little; his appearance, along with the girl accompanying him, seemed to be more around her own age or close to it. When he first entered the camp, everyone seemed happy to see him; some greeting him warmly, an older woman even hugging him lovingly. A soft smile crossed Candance's face at this but just as quickly vanished when an older man inquired, rather rudely, about Gretchen. The scene seemed to escalate rather quickly, Marsden and Ess yelling at each other about Gretchen.

Candance felt rather sorry for her. Because she had muggle parents, Ess didn't feel like she was good enough to be there? It didn't make sense. Candance had though that Daniel Marsden hated muggles, wanted to exterminate them so that pure bloods could take their supposed rightful place in the world. Had everyone simply been assuming all this? She couldn't recall a single Daily Prophet properly explaining what the Seven was planning on doing; she doubted that anyone knew. Making assumptions suddenly seemed like a very dangerous thing to do. Marsden had ended up having a baby with Gretchen, so maybe he didn't care, or at least, it didn't bother him as much as it did others that Gretchen was not a pure blood.

The scene froze after Ess screamed for Marsden to leave the forest. Bernard's comment about how interesting the scene had been went by with no response as Candance tried to understand what Marsden's motives might be. Creepy as Bernard might be, Candance quite agreed with him that the scene they had just witnessed was interesting. Tons of information was laced into it, you only had to find it and then, understand it. Life at the moment seemed to be asking an impossible task, wanting her to understand what she was being shown but not giving her the time to fully process it. "Why was Ess so against Gretchen being at the camp?" She asked quietly. "I understand that some people are just prejudiced like that; some pure bloods nowadays still think they're better just because they're pure. It's wrong, but you live with it." Pausing for a moment, Candance sighed, shaking her head at the thought. "He flew off the handle so quickly, though...like he'd been waiting for Marsden to do something so he could kick him out." It was a guess, a weak attempt at trying to understand the scene she'd just witnessed, but for the moment, it was the best possibility she could come up with.


Bernard Blackenbury
"Prejudices go back all throughout history," said Bernard gravely. "Ess is no exception. Like many before him and many after him, Ess felt that the wizarding world was no place for someone who had been raised by Muggles. He and Marsden had a bit of an interesting relationship, and their different views is part of it. While Ess believed that Muggles and wizards should live apart, Marsden believed that Muggle-borns should be treated as equals with purebloods, as they had just as much magical talent as a child born into a pureblood family. Ess felt that Muggles were inferior to wizard kind, while Marsden felt that they were born with the misfortune of having no magical abilities.

"But that wasn't the only reason they feuded," said Bernard. He raised his arm and pointed to the man who had been sitting next to Ess. It was the same man who Marsden had met in the forest a couple of years ago. "His name's Aldo," said Bernard. "He's something like second-in-command to the Unknowns. He's not the leader, but he keeps their leaders in check. And that is why Ess resented Daniel Marsden. After leading the Unknowns for so many years, Aldo brought Daniel back to their camp because he saw the same potential in Daniel that he saw in Ess all those years ago. Ess, fearing that he was being replaced, was therefore hostile towards Marsden from the beginning."

And once again, the three of them flashed to a different point in time. Bernard took his hands off the students' shoulders, having placed them there while explaining the relationship between Ess, Marsden, and Aldo. Bernard looked ahead of him and sighed. The previous record was where everything went wrong. The record they were viewing now was where things went worse.

They were still in the Forbidden Forest. It was mid afternoon, not that it did much for the environment; the cover that the tall, thick trees gave blocked out almost every ray of sunshine there was. But that didn't stop the scene in front of them. Standing in front of them was Aldo and Daniel Marsden, who were arguing while Aldo walked through the forest and gathered mushrooms.

"You're not sorry for what happened a few nights ago?" said Daniel angrily.

"I am sorry," said Aldo. "But as I've told you several times already, there's nothing I can do."

"You know she's perfectly-" began Daniel.

"Of course there's nothing wrong with her," said Aldo, starting to sound tired of the conversation. "And I congratulate you on finding someone so special. There's no doubt in my mind that you'll both be very happy together. But you'll have to be happy together away from our forest. Ess is our leader, and whether or not we agree with him, we respect his wishes."

"How do you know he's your leader?" said Daniel forcefully.

Sighing, Aldo looked at Daniel. "What are you on about now, Daniel?"

"What if he's not your leader anymore?" said Daniel simply. "What if his reign is over?"

Aldo blinked. He stared at Daniel for a few moments before speaking again. "It's not, Daniel. I'm sorry. It's not."

"And how do you know?" said Daniel, his tone laced with skepticism.

"Because we know, Daniel!" said Aldo, dropping his mushrooms and rounding on the boy. Aldo looked like he had finally had enough, and Daniel seemed to recognize this; though he stood his ground, Marsden seemed to lose some of his intimidation. "Trust me, Daniel! When his time is up, we'll know!"

Daniel was silent for awhile. The two merely stared at each other for what seemed like hours. And then, finally, Daniel broke the silence. "Well, then it's time we said our goodbyes," said Daniel seriously. "I cannot put myself under Ess' leadership when I know with every fiber of my being that he's wrong. I don't have to be part of your people. I can honor It from wherever I please, and so can the people who believe what I tell you. Goodbye, Aldo." With that, Daniel turned away from Aldo and began to walk away. Aldo watched him leave with a sobering expression, while Daniel appeared more angry than ever.

"Daniel!" Aldo called out. "I hope to see you again when Ess has left us. As I told you years ago, we're looking for someone to show us we're here for important reasons." Daniel's expression hardened as he continued to make his way out of the forest, while Aldo, seeing that he was defeated, turned away and began to travel in the direction that the Unknown's camp was located, presumably.

Candance
Listening to Bernard speak about Ess and how he felt about the whole situation, Candance stood in the forest, trying to force the scenes she'd seen today to make more sense. Taking what Bernard was currently saying, Candance felt that if it was anyone's fault that the Seven was what it was today, it was Ess she could blame. He'd blown things out of proportion with Marsden and the consequences? The modern world had to live with a group of murderers who were constantly on the front page of the Daily Prophet. Apart from Ess and his ridiculous beliefs, Candance found herself forced to look at Daniel Marsden in a completely different way. Now she was forced to see him as someone who didn't hate Muggle-borns; someone who felt that they should be treated just as well as purebloods were. It was difficult to wrap her head around but Candance's thoughts were interrupted once more as the bright light filled Candance's eyes and the humming noise was back.

Transported once more, Candance found herself still in the forest although for this scene, none of the people she'd seen in the previous recollection were present except for Daniel Marsden and the man named Aldo. Watching their conversation, Candance was struck by the raw confidence she saw in Marsden. He was a man on a mission, or at least it appeared to her. Clearly he was furious over what had happened with Ess and how the older man had reacted to Daniel bringing Gretchen along. Then the topic changed swiftly to that of whether Ess was still the leader, a topic started by Marsden. While the Ravenclaw spoke to Aldo about it, Candance listened attentively, almost greedily absorbing the information that was laced into the conversation. Then it was all over.

For a few moments, Candance took the time to process the latest scene, sorting out what had exactly happened. "After this, Marsden started the Seven?" She asked quietly, glancing over at Dante and Bernard. "He didn't agree with how Ess felt about Muggle-borns so he just...left?" Pausing, Candance brushed her hair out of her face, trying to see things from Marsden's point of view. She could understand him being so upset over the way Ess had treated Gretchen and she didn't find herself blaming him for leaving the people in the forest. However, the way he was then and the way the Seven handled things now didn't seem to fit. "If he doesn't mind Muggle-borns, what is the Seven doing? There are all these killings, murders are all over the Daily Prophet every day. Did his point of view change?"

Bernard Blackenbury
"Ess was not a stranger to making mistakes," said Bernard. "In fact, he made them frequently throughout his long life. This one, as you have already guessed, turned out to be much worse than all the others. Had Ess kept silent, it's very likely that the Seven would have never come to be. Marsden would have kept his connections with the Unknowns open, perhaps rising as their leader after Ess was done with it. Instead, he parted ways with the Unknowns, and decided to start his own society. Suffice it to say that Marsden and his six friends were some of the best students in their year while they were at Hogwarts. Taking all seven of them into account, they were pretty much the best at every subject. And as you no doubt know, the records of their attendence mysteriously vanished not too long after they left school. And not too long after that, the Mark of the Seven was found over the home of their first victim.

"As to whether or not he changed his mind about Muggle-borns, no, not in the least. The Seven gives off the front that they're for Pureblood supremacy, going along with a prejudice that is thousands of years old. And it's actually been an ingenious plan; Marsden has rallied far more support for himself than he would have if he had come out and said "make peace with the Muggles". If he had said that, many people would have agreed with him, but they would never follow his, shall we say, 'unique methods'. Those for Pureblood supremacy, however, believe that nothing in this world is right, and therefore are willing to do ANYTHING to make it right. I would say a little less than three quarters of the Seven only know Marsden's true intentions. The rest of them believe he is on their side: that his mission is to stamp out the Muggle race and put the world under the complete control of wizards. Of course, since the Seven is such a large organization, it won't matter much when he loses their support when he reveals his true plan; he has a lot more servants than those wizards. And now, we go a good bit further in the future, where you, Candance Michelle, might recognize an old acquaintance."

They were transported once more. This time they were in an office, and an adult Marsden was sitting behind his desk speaking with an adult Gretchen and an adult Marcus. It was getting dark outside; stars were beginning to show in the sky above the jungle outside the office window.

Marcus and Gretchen left his office just as Aaron Ackland entered. Daniel distinctly heard Marcus make a remark on how odd it was for a Muggle to be named "Marsden", but Daniel decided to ignore it. Some wizards just found a few simple things to be interesting. As long as his daughter was safe, he made him no difference.

Daniel put his quill away and looked up at Aaron. "I've sent Desmond and Mikhail on separate errands. Our Gringotts contact is waiting in London to give her report. How fast can you put a team together?"

Aaron gave the exiting members a fake smile. There weren't too many people in the organization that he actually liked. Well, there weren't many people that he liked, period. He quirked an eyebrow when Marcus commented on a muggle named Marsden but he shrugged it off as idle chit-chat. Aaron quickly took up a spot in front of Daniel's desk, bowing respectfully as he did.

"I can have a team prepared to leave within the hour, my Lord," Aaron said with a smile as he twirled his wand between his fingers in his usual way. "I trust our contact's information is reliable," he said carefully, making sure that there was no way it could seem like he was questioning the his leader.
"It's Colleen," said Daniel, referring to their contact. "One of my original six. That's where she's been for the past few months. If she's gathered enough intelligence on the bank, she'll be able to return here and we'll be able to place some less prestigious agents in the establishment as spies."

Opening his desk drawer, Daniel pulled out a small case and sat it in front of him. He opened it up to reveal several slots that contained Muggle currency from different countries. Once he had extracted an appropriate amount of bills, he closed the case and returned it to the rest of his contents in his desk. "The meeting place is a pub. It's small, shabby, and out of the way; the Ministry of Magic has no presence in that part of London." He offered the Muggle money to Aaron. "Buy everyone a round of their best drink. Colleen's work has not been easy, so she is to be commended. The address is Number 16 Sabbath Street."

Aaron carefully folded the money and stowed it in the inner pocket of his black overcoat. "Sir," he began inn his strongest voice. "What exactly are we about to do? It's something big. I can feel it." Aaron gave his master a curious look as he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a pen and notebook. He flipped it opened and carefully wrote the address.

"We're in the beginning phases of casing Gringotts, Aaron. We've done some impressive things in the past, but no wizard alive has ever pulled off a robbery at Gringotts. Once Colleen gives the okay, I'm sending a few spies in. They're there to figure out the most efficient ways to break Gringotts' defenses. Ryan, from the Scale, will be accompanying the team to figure out ways to assure that the bank's dragons won't be giving us any trouble." Daniel got his quill out once more and found some fresh parchment to write another letter. He was speaking as though things of this nature was day-to-day business to him. "This whole operation is going to take a tremendous amount of patience on our part. It'll be years before we're ready to put our plans in motion. But, once the bank is in our grasps, it will cause a panic throughout wizarding Britain, the likes of which the Ministry of Magic has never seen. And I don't have to tell you what it'll do for our financial funds." Looking up at the clock, Daniel just now noticed that it was seven minutes past eight. "You'd better be on your way," said Daniel, nodding at the clock. "You know how Colleen gets when people are tardy."

Aaron glanced down at the watch on his wrist. It was nice a watch that he'd taken from the wrist of older Muggle. His eyes widened as he realized what time it was. "I'll have a team ready to leave within minutes, my Lord," he said in his soft Irish brogue. Aaron bowed deeply in respect and turned to leave the office. He stopped as he reached the door and turned. "My Lord," he began with a wide smile. "Your brilliance never ceases to amaze me. Because of your planning, we will succeed where so many others have failed. It's an honor to serve." Aaron smiled as he turned and exited the office.