Herpo the Foul watched the girl walk out of the whiteness surrounding Sirius Black's corpse.
There were a few things he noticed instantly:
The terrifying omen of an Obscurus running amok, threatening to annihilate an entire timeline, regardless of whether it was a Key, Mirror, or Pillar.
The reddish fingerprints on the girl's right cheek, which she wielded like jewelry; the only ones she had worn with such pride, perhaps.
And the Wands she wielded, not like friends, but weapons.
Herpo the Foul also noticed the glaring absence of Pillar Villanelle, who should have accompanied Darcie to the Pillar timeline.
However, in light of those fingerprints, he ignored that.
He also ignored the blatant hate that Darcie's calm, green eyes oozed, albeit unknown even to her. Unknown because if she had known that she hated him, as much as she apparently hated the Pillars and the Order of Immortal Lotus now, she wouldn't have bowed to him.
"Darcie Lucius Narcissa Malfoy," the girl greeted, giving an exquisite and flawless curtsy.
Herpo the Foul felt… impressed.
Leaving behind a trail of greenish hue in his appearance, he limped toward the girl, relying heavily on his cracked Basilisk Staff.
The girl was tall, but he was taller, letting him easily put a hand on her head.
"Let go of your worries, child," he said. "Your parents are safe."
The High King turned around and began walking away.
The girl fell into his footsteps.
Herpo the Foul took Darcie out of the Castle, walked to the lake, and stopped at its bank.
It was silent.
Other than the sound of a few magical creatures and the rustle of wind, there was no sign of men from horizon to horizon.
—Are you experienced in conversing in Parseltongue?— Herpo the Foul hissed.
—No,— Darcie replied. —Experience has nothing to do with it.—
Herpo the Foul smiled. —No, it hasn't,— he agreed.
The grand wizard looked up toward the sky with his green, slitted eyes.
[YOU WOULDN'T…]
Before the voice that had come out of nowhere could even finish, as two moon-like eyes took shape in the clear sky, Herpo the Foul slammed the butt of his staff.
In the next moment, leaving behind a green flash, the High King vanished… taking Darcie along with him.
…
Darcie fell to her knees, holding her head.
Her ears were ringing so loudly that she felt a swarm of bugs had invaded her mind.
Slowly, that feeling abated, but the feebleness remained, forcing her to look up and around while remaining on the ground.
What she saw made her shoot to her feet instantly anyway.
They were standing in front of Malfoy Mansion, wizards and witches entering the place as notes of music left it.
—That was the Pillar Timeline, by the way,— Herpo the Foul casually answered without a question. —He was hoping to keep you as a prisoner after I had taken you to visit Avalon. He wouldn't let me appear in the timeline anymore… But that's alright.—
Darcie heard it in one ear and let it go out the other.
Almost in a daze, she walked toward the Mansion, believing that her parents were here.
This time, it was Herpo the Foul who fell into her footsteps, following the girl into the Mansion.
No one minded their presence.
People and ghosts alike ignored them as if they didn't exist.
And then Darcie saw her father and mother, laughing and chatting over drinks.
She realized what day it was.
Sure enough, in the next moment, a group of girls came rushing downstairs… with another Darcie among them.
There was a push.
The little Darcie pulled Daphne, taking her place as the victim.
She rolled down the stairs and passed out, Narcissa screaming her daughter's name as she came running toward her.
—This girl will never live to see her seventh birthday,— Herpo the Foul said, making Darcie snap her head toward him in shock. —Not only her, but of all the handful of timelines I have visited, which have a Character named Darcie Malfoy, none of them holds a Darcie beyond a year from this event. Do you know why?—
Darcie, in pure silence, looking at her crying mother and concerned father, nodded.
—Obscurus…— Herpo the Foul hissed. —It is a curse. And no. Not a curse that you can turn into power. It's just a curse. I have tried… for thousands of years… to control this curse, Darcie. But I failed. Over and over. And then some more. Can you guess why?—
Darcie shook her head.
—Are you familiar with cancer?— the High King asked.
Darcie finally looked away from the scene playing out in front of her — a scene she had no recollection of — and gave the wizard her full attention with a nod.
—Keys are like cells,— Herpo the Foul lectured. —They surround an event. This event can last for a night, like the one when Voldemort killed Harry's parents. It can also last for weeks, months, and, rarely, years. Every little deviation in these events generates a brand new Key.
—Sometimes, these deviations cause deviations of their own, entering into an unending chain reaction. The Keys, in such a case, appear in such an abundance that it threatens the entire Bubble. So, the Bubble introduces parasites inside these Keys to control their growth.—
—… like a parasitic magical force…— Darcie hissed.
The Above-the-Pillars nodded. —Obscurus is one of those parasites,— he said. —For other Bubbles, it might be something else. Its nature doesn't change, though. It has only one task: to kill the Key. And… if such a Key is on the verge of becoming a Mirror, what do you think it will do to a parasite feeding on its life force?—
Darcie looked back toward the scene, her eyes landing on her little self. —Eliminate.—
With that, she realized why the Darcies Herpo the Foul had mentioned before never lived to see their seventh birthday.
They hadn't died because of them being Obscurials.
They had been murdered!
—So, tell me, Darcie,— Herpo the Foul demanded. —Why does your Mirror Timeline continue to let a parasite feed upon Herself? Why… are you still alive?—
*************
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