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Chapter 14. The Path to Victory
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"Yes, it's me," Jack Quirrell replied, playing with his knife.

He stood in the center of the ERISED room, calm, collected, smiling beneath his neatly trimmed beard. A switchblade spun in his right hand, and Jack himself seemed oblivious to the images flickering in the mirror-screens. But Lisa watched, her eyes twitching from side to side with the overload of information.

"His name is Jack," Granger said in a choked voice, "but his last name... his last name doesn't match."

“Well, someone has discovered my evil plan,” Jack said calmly, and jerked his hand.

Lisa fell, trying to cover the wound with her hand. Blood gushed from her halved cheek, drenching the floor.

"Now you'll think twice before bragging about your intelligence, won't you?" Jack continued.

Amy touched Lisa's other cheek, and the bleeding immediately stopped. The wound began to heal before her eyes.

“And someone said that she doesn’t cure the head,” Quirrell grinned.

"It's a wound on the cheek, not brains," Amy snorted angrily.

"Yes, yes, girl, but you know, and I know, and you know that I know, that you can heal heads, fix brains, repair damage, but you don't do it. Because you're afraid, afraid of losing control, afraid of starting to rule people, turning them into your friends, slaves, puppets, and lovers. Oops, it's a little early for that last one, but never mind, at your age, with such friends and a large, close-knit family, everything is in your hands, Amy Weasley."

"I'll never be like that!" Amy screamed.

"We all make promises in our youth that we're later willing to break," Jack smiled. "Because sooner or later, Lisa will talk you into it, and you'll fix her head, once or twice, and then you'll fix Taylor a little, and so, little by little, your life will get better and better."

"It's Jack Slash," Lisa said a little vaguely, "and he's trying to turn us against each other."

"Why would I do that? Amy already dislikes you, Lisa, for being too smart, but she tolerates you for Taylor, doesn't she?"

"Amy is my friend," Taylor frowned, "you shouldn't say such things about her!"

"When it comes to fighting, you have to know who your true friends are and who your enemies are, right?" Jack said, continuing to play with his knife. "Who'll stab you in the back at the crucial moment, and who'll cover you?"

"Amy and Lisa are my friends," Taylor repeated stubbornly, "and I trust them!"

"Of course, of course, but what will you do if your friends betray you and turn away?"

"Why would they do that?"

"Let's say they find out you can turn into Dark Cape?"

Taylor saw Amy flinch out of the corner of her eye.

"Is that true, or does he believe it to be true?" Lisa said. "True, Jack Slash is famous for his ability to fool capes, and rumor has it he once even managed to talk his way out of a Dark Cape."

"I see that idiot Snape's lessons weren't wasted," Jack smirked. "How satisfying it is to manipulate manipulators who think they're smarter than everyone else, that they certainly won't be fooled! But we seem to have gotten a bit sidetracked, so let's get back to business. I need a philosophy vial, and I want it ASAP. Hey, system, can you hear me? If you don't hand over the vial, I'll start having fun with these young girls—a finger here, an ear there—it'll pass the time."

"Why isn't ERISED affecting him?" Taylor finally realized what was bothering her about the situation.

"He... he's under control!" Lisa's eyes widened in horror and admiration. "That's why the trap doesn't catch him, and that's why he's so hard to read!"

"You're wrong," another voice rang out, deep and booming with excess power. "In his lessons, Jack was Jack, so no one suspected him. Enough of these word games, I'm tired."

"But I almost convinced them," Jack countered, seemingly to himself. "Young Potter loves to win..."

"Cut off her head!" the voice interrupted him.

A ghost, a projection in the form of a radiant middle-aged man, condensed in the air. Dressed in a snow-white tunic, sandals, and golden hair, the man's figure radiated light and peace.

"Oh, that was him in the Forest!" Taylor cried, discreetly releasing a few flies from her sleeve.

"Great way to give yourself an alibi," Jack grinned.

"I don't care!" the man declared. "I need the vial! I need my powers!"

He raised his hand, and a beam of golden light struck Amy Weasley, paralyzing her.

“I can add pain, too,” the man said.

"Who is this?" Taylor couldn't help but ask, discreetly releasing the insects.

"Dark Cape Zion de Mort," Lisa replied, continuing to watch the scene with wide eyes.

"That's right," the man clapped his hands, and Taylor's subjects died. "Share my pain!"

A beam of light struck Taylor, and she was overcome with agony, an endless wave of pain that obliterated her consciousness. Everything Taylor had endured at the Dursleys' was child's play compared to this. The pain of Quidditch practice was practically nonexistent compared to what Potter was experiencing now.

"…uk," the pain ended, and Taylor was able to perceive what was happening.

She lay on the floor, her head resting on Lisa's lap. Granger stroked Taylor's head, holding her close, as if trying to absorb some of the pain. Taylor, stubbornly gritting her teeth, began to rise and saw that Lisa's legs were bleeding, cut off at the knees. An explosion of rage, no less powerful than the pain, blinded and filled Taylor from head to toe, throwing her into the air.

Potter snatched up her baton and assumed a fighting stance.

"Well, that's better," Jack's voice came.

The mirrors turned halfway, the broadcast of scenes from Jack's life ceased, and a mass of shelves emerged from the walls. In a recess, lined with velvet, lay identical test tubes, small, about fifty milliliters each. No markings, no labels, no clues, just hundreds of them.

"This isn't funny," Zion-de-Mort said into the void. "Should I hurt you again?"

He didn't see Taylor running up, holding the baton the way Jack had taught her. Jack, incidentally, saw Potter perfectly well and even winked at her and nodded approvingly.

"I'm the one who's going to hurt you, you glowing asshole!" Taylor yelled, jumping and kicking Zion.

The glow flared, the blow to the shoulder did not pass, but something else happened, something very strange.

Taylor suddenly felt a connection between herself and Zion. An invisible, glowing cord paralyzed them both, holding them frozen a meter apart. Dark Cape's previously sad face was contorted with anger and fury. He tried to move, but couldn't, his arms and legs trembling and twitching. Taylor felt with horror the glow flowing toward her along the invisible cord, flowing somewhere, but she, too, was powerless to do anything. Rage seethed and boiled within her, the radius expanding so much that she suddenly realized where she was: directly beneath the Forbidden Forest, beneath its center, in the very heart of the Sphere.

Unless, of course, you take into account the kilometer-thick rock above the room.

"Well, while everyone is busy, I guess I'll go," Jack smiled.

Without looking, he scooped up two dozen nearby test tubes and waved to Lisa. She pulled out her revolver and tried to shoot, but Jack had already shifted so that the frozen Taylor was between him and Granger. Lisa snorted darkly and lowered her weapon. Jack, still smiling serenely, caught Taylor's eye and made a motion with the knife. One, two, three.

The mirrors behind him shattered with a crash, partially collapsing to the floor, revealing the faceless figure of one of the mannequins. Jack was about to say something, but a gunshot suddenly rang out, and the smile on his face turned to surprise. He staggered, flicked his knife again, dropped it, and fell into the darkness without making a sound.

“Show-off,” muttered Lisa, who had been thrown back almost to the floor by the recoil.

The smoking revolver fell to the floor, and as if that were the impetus, Taylor was able to move. The glow around Zion was fading, but now Dark Cape could move too. He raised his translucent hands, as if in disbelief, and howled so thinly and pitifully that Hagrid's dogs would have been envious. Taylor, not quite understanding what was happening, simply stepped forward, and the imprint of her palm swelled like a burn on Zion's chest.

With a howl, Dark Cape rushed into the wall and disappeared as if he had never been there.

Taylor looked at her hands thoughtfully and said.

"I don't understand anything!"

"You didn't think your hands would glow, did you?" Lisa mumbled.

Potter turned to face her, and Granger's cheek twitched nervously. Three long, thin cuts ran across Taylor's stomach, chest, and neck. But there was no blood, and Lisa breathed a sigh of relief.

"A spider silk suit," Taylor boasted, approaching her friend. "My yearlong project for McGonagall! I don't know if it'll stop a bullet, but it definitely won't cut with a knife!"

"That's good," Lisa said.

Taylor's euphoria subsided, and she suddenly realized the situation. Lisa's tendons were severed, and she couldn't walk. Amy could have healed her, but she was still paralyzed by the light. The entrance to the room was still sealed, and there was no way to open it. Unless she found that same philosophical vial among the test tubes and drank it? But who could guarantee that the others weren't poisonous?

All that remained was the hole where Jack had gone. Since it had been created by mannequins, surely there was a way out? Only then did Taylor realize the robot had already vanished, and she frowned. A complete lack of control over the battlefield — Carlos would have scolded her very severely for that.

Taylor approached the opening and peered down, suddenly aware of the emptiness there. Not just the emptiness of tunnels or caverns, but a profound emptiness, miles and miles of space. Resisting the urge to scream, Taylor released a couple of her last remaining flies into the darkness.

“I still don’t understand,” she muttered under her breath.

A hexagonal portal flashed in the darkness, and Headmistress Dumbledore stepped out of it, straight towards Taylor.

"That's as it should be, Miss Potter," Fortuna said with a slight smile.

She adjusted her hat, glanced briefly at Amy and Lisa, but did nothing.

"They're wounded, they need to go to the infirmary!" Taylor exclaimed.

The headmistress walked past and took one of the vials, putting it in her suit pocket.

"Miss Weasley is only paralyzed," Fortuna said, jabbing something into the girl's neck. "She would have come to on her own in about ten minutes and cured Miss Granger. But, of course, we can speed up the path."

"The path?" Taylor asked.

"The Path," Lisa narrowed her eyes. "Interesting."

"I'm sure you have questions, and it's better to explain now so you can remain silent later. Especially you, Miss Granger. Perhaps Jack's hint will help you realize that not everything, not always, and not everyone needs to be spoken out loud. But still, all three of you deserve an explanation."

"Three?" Taylor turned quickly.

Amy sat up, grabbed her head, and groaned.

"It's true what they say, if you hang out with Thinker, you'll get a headache... oh, sorry, headmistress!"

"It's okay, Miss Weasley. You treat Miss Granger for now, and I'll answer your questions."

"Your power," Lisa said immediately, "I was wrong, right? This isn't planning?"

"In a sense, this is planning. Planning for victory. Anticipating the next question, the Dark Capes block my Path, and that's why I didn't initially recognize Jack's danger. Once Jack's second nature became clear, let's call it that..."

"Dark Cape possessed him?" Amy interrupted.

"Miss Potter has weakened him considerably, though she doesn't remember it. The same as five minutes ago, though I don't know for sure."

"But I didn't understand what happened at all!" Potter exclaimed.

"All the better," Dumbledore replied curtly. "For everyone. The Dark Cape is banished, but not defeated, which means we will face him again. He is weakened, doubly weakened, and his desire for revenge against Jack for past defeats only worsens his situation."

"But if you knew everything..."

"Our abilities are blocking each other," Dumbledore interrupted. "We had to orchestrate the sequence of events from afar, using roundabout routes, and what should have been a quick trap suddenly became an obstacle course."

"So does the philosophical vial really exist?"

"Ask Professor Manton or his daughter about that," Dumbledore smiled ambiguously. "I see Miss Granger is now well, so that's all! The time for questions and answers is over! Let's leave this room and return to Wormwarts."
*

"I still don't get it," Taylor said angrily. "If she knew about Zion, then why put ERISED on Jack? Surely it wouldn't work? If the Dark Cape has so many abilities, then why this obstacle course? Why all this ambiguity?"

"By the way, it was she who sent the band," Lisa casually remarked, looking at the tablet.

Taylor choked and coughed.

"So she knows... knew my parents?"

"Uh-huh," Lisa nodded. "All this... running around was necessary to bring you and Zion-Jack together."

"But didn't we cross paths in class?"

"In a situation where Dark Cape revealed his true nature," Lisa added. "Trials, tests, waiting, he grew weary; he lost his patience. Not to mention that Jack Slash isn't the best host. There the vial, right there, and with the girl who drained him of his power, it's no wonder Zion lost his head, revealed himself, and ultimately lost."

"And all this was the headmistress’s plan?"

"The Path," Lisa corrected her. "The path to victory. Although if their abilities were interfering with each other, the Headmistress couldn't know for sure, only speculate. She was watching and was likely ready to intervene, but it wasn't necessary, and as a result, we're having this conversation."

"So Snape has nothing to do with it?" Amy asked.

"Well, it's hard to say," Lisa pressed her fingertips together. "He definitely worked with information, hacked parts of the systems, and even made inappropriate hints to me... er, I mean, he wanted me to use my power for his benefit. Not for free, of course, but still. Snape has his own intrigue, his own interests, and complex moves; he's also a Thinker, that's our eternal curse. Jack simply cleverly used Thomas in his plans, laid a false trail, that's all."

“All in all, our efforts weren’t in vain, that’s the main thing,” Taylor concluded.

"So, wait, Dark Cape, even though he's weakened, is still free?" Amy asked. "Dammit!"

"But he's even more weakened, I think that's a good result," Lisa said. "Taylor, what's making you sad? That's the world of capes, with constant intrigue, conflict, and battles."

"No, that's understandable, and we won," Potter waved her hand dismissively. "It saddens me that I have to go back to the Dursleys for the whole summer."

"Well, you could come and visit us," Amy said hesitantly.

"Or come to us," Lisa grinned. "We'll swim in the pool, ride horses, and go hunting."

"So you are rich?"

"My parents are dentists," Lisa replied, putting on an inscrutable face, but then her primly pursed lips gave way to a smirk. "And the headmistress, of course, didn't tell you the real reason why you had to live with the Dursleys?"

"No," Taylor sighed. "They're my relatives and guardians, some kind of laws..."

"The Armstrong-Fianetti Declaration, from 1929," Lisa nodded. "Well, as I said, they didn't tell you the real reason."

"Do you know it?"

"If I'd known, I'd have told you," Lisa spread her hands with sincere feeling, "you're my best friend, after all! And you too, Amy, don't doubt it!"

"I never thought of that!" Amy responded immediately.

She didn't really want to go home either, but Taylor's situation was absolutely dire, and Amy decided she'd bend over backwards to get her way. At least take Potter away from home for a month, and then the school year, and everything! However, Victoria... Amy glanced at Taylor and decided that a fan was still better than the hated guardians.

"Attention first and second years! The train to New York departs in half an hour from Hogsmeade Station," a female voice echoed through the vaults of the Great Hall.

The friends stood up in unison and went to get their things.

As Taylor exited the "hidden" platform, she immediately saw Sophia Dursley angrily reprimanding one of the station employees.

"There is always a way to win, even in the most unfavorable circumstances," Taylor muttered and set off to meet the inevitable.
* * *

To be continued:

Taylor Potter and the Dimension of Secrets

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