Apotheosis

Claudius and Harry arrive in Hogsmeade on the exact moment they left. Suddenly, the hustle and bustle starts up again, and the village springs to life once more.

“Claudius,” Harry says, “Are you sure this is a good idea trying to bring the other two into the group? I mean, I’m not sure how they’ll take it. Hermione, well, she’s smart enough to understand things, but I’m a bit worried about Ron.”

“You took the news well enough, Harry,” Claudius says.

“Yeah, but when you’ve been famous most of your years at Hogwarts, discovering that you’re a famous fictional character isn’t that big of a step.” Harry searches the faces of the students in Hogsmeade. “I think they were headed off to the Three Broomsticks. We might still catch them there.”

The pair make their way towards the Three Broomsticks, an inn/pub/place of gathering for the residents and visitors of Hogsmeade. Known for its endless supply of butterbeer, the Three Broomsticks also offers room and board for a modest fee. It is seen over by an older witch named Madam Rosemerta. Harry and Claudius sit down at a booth near the entrance, and Rosemerta hurries up to the both of them.

“What’ll it be, gents?” Rosemerta says chipperly.

“Two bottles of butterbeer,” Claudius pipes up quickly. “And some information, if you don’t mind offering us some.”

“The butterbeer will be simple to get, the information...might be a bit harder,” Rosemerta says.

“Um, I’d like to know if you saw two Hogwarts students come in here,” says Harry.

“My dear boy, it’s a Hogsmeade weekend, isn’t it?” Rosemerta grins. “I’ve see students come in at all hours of the day. Here now, you’re Harry Potter aren’t you?”

Harry lifts up one of his hands to feel his bangs. His perpetually messy hair has decided to reveal the scar on his forehead once again. He quickly runs his fingers through his bangs to smooth them out and to hide his scar. “Yeah, I am,” he murmurs, rather sick of the attention at this very moment.

“Oh, my!” Rosemerta exclaims. “It won’t do for Harry Potter to never have a taste of butterbeer from my establishment.” She starts to curtsey rather clumsily. “I’ll get your order right away.” She curtsies again, almost knocking over a nearby chair. “Oh dear! Oh my!” She heads towards the counter of the pub.

“Now do you see what I have to put up with?” Harry says. “Being a Theo isn’t that much different from being famous. Unless you count the amount of power you get from being a famous Theo, I suppose.”

Claudius nods, scanning the young faces in the Three Broomsticks for some familiar traits. Like a shock of red hair perched on a tall, gangly body. Claudius points excitedly. “Harry! Harry, that’s Ron, isn’t it?”

Harry looks in the direction that Claudius is pointing. “Yeah, that’s Ron. And Hermione as well. Could you just let me talk to them, Claudius? All of this won’t sound right coming from a stranger, but we’ve been friends long enough so that I think they trust me.” Harry leaves the booth. He saunters slowly up to the other two members of the venerable Trio and mutters a soft “Hey...”

Both Ron and Hermione turn in the direction of the voice. “Harry!” they exclaim in unison.

Harry beams widely. “Would it be alright if I join you?”

“Yeah, of course! Sit down.” Ron gestures towards an empty seat at the table. “We were just talking about you.” Ron’s voice goes quieter. “Did you get in touch with Sirius like you planned to?”

“Um, no,” Harry says rather vaguely. “There’s something I need to tell you both, and it’s something really important.”

“Oh, no. You-Know-Who hasn’t popped up again, has he?” Hermione knows better than to speak the name of the Dark Wizard Lord in public.

“No,” Harry shakes his head. “It’s nothing like that.”

“Well, come on. Spit it out. What’s the big news?” Ron stares expectantly at Harry. “Hey, what happened to your clothes?”

“What?” Harry looks quickly down at what he’s wearing.

“Weren’t you wearing your Hogwarts uniform when we last saw you?” Hermione asks.

Harry still has on his t-shirt and jeans he donned on himself while still at Home. “Oh, is that a problem? I could change it back.” Slowly, subtly, the green t-shirt darkens until it matches the black of the Hogwarts robe.

“Harry, what are you doing?” Hermione whispers in a shocked tone. “You know we aren’t supposed to do magic outside of school!”

“Hang on a bit, Hermione,” Ron says. “He didn’t even use his wand that time. What’s going on with you, Harry?”

“Don’t worry, Hermione. The Ministry of Magic won’t send me a warning letter,” Harry says as gently as he can. “I didn’t use any magic that time.”

“You’re acting weirdly,” Ron murmurs. “Maybe we should go back to Hogwarts so that Madam Pomfrey can have a look at you.”

“No, I’m perfectly alright,” Harry says. “It’s just...I don’t know how to say it.”

“Spit it out,” Ron says. “Easiest way to say something that’s hard to say is just to spit it out and have done with it.”

Hermione gives Ron a hard stare. A hard stare, Harry notices, that Ron seems oblivious to.

“Fine,” Harry says. “Promise me you won’t get shocked with the news I’m about to tell you.”

“I’m not sure if we can promise that,” Hermione says. “But, I think we can promise to believe you. Right, Ron?”

“Yeah, Harry’s been on the ball with everything that’s happened to us over the past few years at school,” Ron nods. “Tell us, Harry. We believe in you.”

Harry grins slightly. “Well, have you ever wondered why everything bad seems to happen to us?”

“Bad? Bad like what?” Hermione asks.

“Well, every year at Hogwarts something bad or difficult, or challenging, or something all three always happens to us. Haven’t you ever wondered why it’s always us who has to save to school, or solve mysteries, or help others?” Harry asks.

“Well, it could be the fact that you’re the Boy Who Lived,” Hermione says. “You’re the only wizard ever to defeat...You-Know-Who. You’re bound to attract some...colorful...characters?”

“Yeah, but don’t you think it’s strange that you and Ron just happened to run into me at King’s Cross and on the Hogwarts Express and just happened to become my best friends?” says Harry.

“It’s just fate Harry,” Hermione says.

“Yeah, but, don’t you ever wonder why its always us? No one else in the school does anything about the bad things that happen except us,” Harry says.

“What are you getting at, Harry?” Ron asks, a suspicious expression on his face.

“Just spit it out, right?” Harry asks. Ron and Hermione both nod. “Right. You, me, everyone at Hogwarts. Dumbledore, Snape, McGonagalL. Even,” here Harry lowers his voice to the barest whisper, “Voldemort. We’re all characters in a very popular series of books.”

“A book...” Hermione says.

“A SERIES of books,” Harry corrects. “There are four books published, one more on the way soon. She’s planning on doing seven. One for each of my years at Hogwarts.”

“She? Who’s she?” Ron asks.

“Our creator. The author. JK Rowling.” Harry says in a clipped tone. He stared at the gaping expressions on his friends’ faces. “You told me to just spit it out, and you said you’d believe me if I told you. What’s wrong?”

“Well, Harry. It’s not every day that your best friend tells you that your entire life is nothing but a figment of someone’s imagination!” Ron exclaims.

“Ron, could you calm down?” Harry pleads.

“Oh, I’m calm. I’m CALM!” Ron says.

“Maybe Harry’s right,” Hermione suggests. “Everything seems to happen to us, and I have to admit, a lot of it seemed awfully coincidental to me. If we are characters in books, then, I suppose, that would explain why?”

“You believe him, Hermione?” asks Ron.

“I believe that it might be true,” Hermione says.

“It’s alright if he doesn’t believe right away, Hermione,” Harry says. “At first, I didn’t believe it either. But then everything made sense to me, and there’s something else.”

“Oh, I suppose you’ll tell us the end of the world is coming and we’re the only ones who can stop it,” Ron says sarcastically.

“Actually,” says Harry slowly. “Yes.”

“Life’s full of surprises, isn’t it?” Ron sighs. “First I find out that I don’t exist in the real world outside of some books, and now I hear from my best friend, that the world is about to go splat and we’re the only ones who can stop it? Why did I get out of bed this morning? Why did Hogsmeade weekend have to be THIS weekend?”

“Are you finished?” Hermione asks.

Ron scowls hard at her.

“Let’s just hear Harry out, Ron.” Hermione says. “He can’t be lying to us. We know he wouldn’t do that.”

Ron nods. “Yeah, okay, that’s true. But, Harry, how did you learn about all this?”

Harry points to Claudius. “That man over there, told me.”

“And what makes him such a trustworthy person in the first place?” Ron asks.

“Well,” Harry says, “He used to be a Roman emperor.”

“Which one?” Hermione asks.

“Claudius,” Harry says.

“Claudius?” Hermione says unbelievingly. “I’ve read about Claudius. He was supposed to be a shrewd man, but he was plagued with physical deformities and disorders. That man looks perfectly healthy to me. That man is not Claudius.”

“What you’re seeing is just his essence, his soul,” Harry says. “Look, it’s hard to explain. When a person dies his or her soul gets transported to a place called the After.”

“Heaven and Hell?” Hermione suggests.

“Well, sort of,” Harry says. “It all depends on belief. See, we exist, here, now, in the Wizard world, because many many people have read the books and know who we are. Their collective imagination fuels this entire existence, this ‘realm’. It’s the same with the dead. As long as they are remembered by someone among the living world, the dead person’s soul can exist quite comfortably in the After.”

“So, what’s all this about the end of the world, then?” Ron asks.

“That’s the difficult part,” Harry says, sighing heavily. “There are the famous, and the infamous. The infamous souls are cut off from everyone else in the After as punishment for being evil. It seems that all of these evil souls are coming together somehow and are trying to trigger the Apocalypse.”

“And we’ve got to stop them?” Hermione asks.

“Yeah,” Harry says. “Claudius thought that I was strong enough to stop it from happening. Now, he isn’t so sure, so he’s asked me to ask you if you would want to help.”

“Of course we’ll help, won’t we Ron?” Hermione gives Ron a sharp nudge with her elbow.

“Yeah, of course. It’s what we do, right? Save the day?” Ron grins.

“Thanks!” Harry exclaims. “We need to leave this realm and head back Home. It’s sort of a beginning place for everything in the After. This is fantastic!”

Claudius suddenly bursts in on the Trio’s conversation. “Harry, we’ve got to take your friends and get out of this realm immediately.”

“Yeah, Claudius. We were just about to leave,” Harry says. “What’s wrong? You look more worried...than usual...”

“I don’t know how or why,” Claudius says, “But it’s already started.”

“What’s already started?” Hermione asks.

“Oh, forgot to introduce myself. Hello Hermione, Ron. I’m Claudius.”

“Yeah, Harry told us,” Ron says slowly. “What’s the rush?”

“The Apocalype. The signs have already started to appear in the mortal realm. Becca and Watson, they had to flee Earth,” Claudius says quickly.

“Are they alright?” Harry asks breathlessly.

“For the moment,” Claudius answers. “But not for long. We’ve got to get your friends and get out of here, now. Before this realm completely collapses.”

The Trio and Claudius rush out of the Three Broomsticks, but not without leaving a nice healthy tip for Madam Rosemerta. Harry practically shoves his two friends towards the nearest node. “It won’t hurt. It’s sort of like traveling by Floo Powder except you don’t have to say where you need to go.”

The group arrives back Home. Eve awaits them, a fiery look burns in her eyes. Claudius gulps and greets her. “Hello, Eve. Is something the matter?”

“Where’s Mikey?” Eve asks in the tone of a mother who is wondering where your little brother, the one she specifically told you to take care of, is at this very moment.

“Ah,” Claudius grunts. “Look, we’ve got Ron and Hermione now.” He grins and points to the Trio.

Eve’s eyes flick towards the three teens. “Good. Where’s Mikey?”

“I sent him to the premiere of the new Harry Potter film,” Claudius blurts out. Best to explain everything in one breath than to draw it out.

“You did what?” Eve’s hair color changes into a dark auburn. She’s starting to flame around the edges of her nice sundress.

“Yes, I thought he’d be in the way.” Claudius begins to step back. “Where are Watson and Becca?”

“In the way? He’s a nephilim, you idiot. He’s DESIGNED to be in the bloody way, you dolt!” Eve gathers up her power in the palms of her hands.

“Harry,” Claudius barks. “Take your friends into the house. Quickly!”

Harry nods and leads Ron and Hermione into the house. He locks the door for good measure. Ron manages to pull the curtains from one of the windows so he can still get a good idea of what’s going on.

“Who’s the lady in the red dress?” Ron asks.

“It’s Eve,” Harry answers.

“THE Eve? The first woman?” Hermione wonders.

“Yes, that’s her. And she’s very protective of her family,” Harry says.

“Yeah, I can see that,” Ron says. “Claudius must have done something horrible to Mikey.”

“Actually, what we did to Mikey was my idea,” Harry says slowly. “Claudius said he’d take the blame if we got caught.”

“How noble!” Hermione exclaims.

“How stupid, if you ask me,” Ron corrects.

Outside, Claudius is trying his very best to placate Eve. All of this is to no avail. She simply will not listen to reason. She releases all her power and Claudius dissipates. Harry glares at the empty spot where Claudius was standing until scant moments ago.

Harry bursts out of the house. “What have you done with him?”

“I sent him back to where he belongs,” Eve says. Drained of her power, she now appears as the loving young lady Harry first saw when he laid eyes on Eve.

“Where’s that?” Harry asks slowly.

“Infamy, you know he never deserved to become a Theo.” Eve talks in severely clipped tones. “Do you realize how great a mistake it is to betray one’s family? It was only those stupid books written about him in the twentieth century that drew him out of infamy.”

“He said he was never in infamy,” Harry says.

“Claudius lies when it is convenient for him to do so,” Eve explains.

Harry stands silent. “Watson and Becca. Where are they?”

“Oh! Them!” Eve snaps her fingers, as if just remembering something. “I was just about to send someone to fetch them. Would it be alright if I sent you and your friends?”

Harry nods, signalling to the house that it’s alright to come out. Ron and Hermione make their slow way outside to join Harry.

“Watson and Becca are in a dreadful place, and it will take all you courage and strength to rescue them. Are you up for it?” Eve asks.

The Trio nod in unison.

“East of Eden there is a place called the Land of Nod. Watson panicked after he and Becca was attacked and sent them both there.” Eve points to Eden. “Gabriel will know the way. Ask him.”

“Um, miss, why can’t you go and getch them?” Ron asks.

“Because, my dear boy. I do not interfere with mortal affairs. Especially with affairs of the heart.” Eve says.

“Alright, we’ll go and fetch them,” Harry says quickly, waving. He drags the other two along with him.

“What happened to Claudius?” Hermione asks.

“Eve sent him back into infamy,” Harry says. “And after all the good he’s done to help the mortals, too!”

“It looks like Claudius isn’t the only one who lies when it’s convenient,” Ron sighs.

Harry nods slowly as the Trio make their slow journey towards the guarded gates of Eden.

Posted by Michelle at November 22, 2002 8:22 AM