Chapter 10 Fallen Angel’s Never Die
“I
can’t believe we lost... to a bunch of MUGGLES!” Ron was angry... and
rightfully so. Not only had the entire Gryffindor Quidditch team been upstaged
by the Warriors, but they had the numbers advantage. And to make matters
worse... Harry has to live with the fact that Draco got the Snitch before he
did. This is not a good day for Harry Potter.
He and
Ron had stayed behind in the locker rooms at the Quidditch Pitch for about a
half hour, just so they could avoid facing the other students. Harry really doesn’t
feel like being anywhere with large crowds of people right now... he’s just
looking forward to spending a quiet night in front of the fire in the
Gryffindor common room, maybe try and figure out a way to get the necklace from
Arrowny. They reach the portrait of the Fat Lady at the end of the hall, and
Harry gives the password.
“Trufflesnout.”
The Fat
Lady looks down at the two of them, but doesn’t move aside to let them in.
Harry looks up at her questionably...
“That
is the password, right?”
“Well...
yes... and no. It’s the regular password... but for right now, I need the
special password before I can let you in.”
“Special
Password?!” Harry and Ron share a puzzled look, and just as they’re about to
argue, the portrait pushes forward, and Saphir steps out from the common room.
Harry instantly gets a little angry...
“What
are YOU doing here... you live in Ravenclaw!”
Saphir
seems a bit take aback at Harry’s aggressiveness...
“Well...
I’m just here for the party.”
“What
party?”
“The
party... we used the profits from that gambling thingy... and bought some
treats and drinks. You know... to party. Brad’s letting us use his common
room...”
“IT’S
NOT BRAD’S COMMON ROOM!” Harry doesn’t even try to hide his anger now, and Ron
actually looks embarrassed at his friend’s outburst. Saphir just shrugs, and
steps out into the hallway, closing the portrait door behind him.
“You
guys got the password, right?”
Ron
shakes his head.
“We
were late getting back from the game... so I guess we missed our chance. But...
how did you get the Fat Lady to change the password in the first place?”
“Well...
as it turns out... she’s a closet anime fan.”
The Fat
Lady smiles, and points to the top corner of her portrait.
“That
Mister Brad fellow was gracious enough to make an addition to my painting.” The
addition, as it turns out, is a poster, just like any child might have on a
wall in his room. The poster is of a tall man, with blond hair that seems to
stand straight up from his head. He has a long red coat... a big silver
weapon... and a dashing smile. Neither Harry nor Ron know who the man is... but
Saphir seems to think the poster addition is quite funny.
“Anyway
guys... you’re welcome to join the party... the password’s ‘Vash’.”
At
once, the portrait door swings open. Harry can see a great number of people in
the common room... well over a hundred. He realizes that there must be a
silencing charm on the room, because he can’t hear a single sound until the
crosses the threshold between the hallway and the room... then he’s confronted
with an explosion of sounds... mostly from a makeshift CD player at the back of
the room, which must have been charmed somehow so that it would play without
electricity. Harry doesn’t recognize the song that’s playing... but he can’t even
hear himself think over the volume of the words...
‘I just made,
And enemy out of someone
I don’t know, and they
Are upset about something
That I must have done,
It really doesn’t make much sense
And I’ve got no,
Statement in my defence!
I know, no matter what
No matter who
No matter what I do
Somebody hates me
Somebody hates me
Somebody hates me
Somebody hates me
Somebody hates me
And I hate somebody too!’
Harry
sees Arrowny, with a can of Coca-cola, and Brad, drinking Pepsi, standing by a
table at the back, singing along with the words, dancing around like fools...
surrounded by other Gryffindors, some Hufflepuffs, and even some Ravenclaws...
all of whom are also dancing around, apparently having a great old time. The
table is covered with party snacks of all kinds... bags of chips, chocolate
bars, cans of Coke and Pepsi... all sorts of muggle treats... but no magic
ones. It’s amazing to see just how much muggle food a couple dozen gold pieces
can buy!
‘Now did you miss-
Understand something that I did
Or was there one,
Of my jokes that you didn’t get
Or do you think,
You’ve got the way I think all figured out
What did I say,
That made you think I’m not cool now
I know, no matter what
No matter who
No matter what I do
Somebody hates me
Somebody hates me
Somebody hates me
Somebody hates me
Somebody hates me
And I hate somebody too!
I know it’s wrong
I do it to
And I guess I should say
Don’t let it get to you
WHOOOO!’
It
takes Harry a second to calm himself to the fact that there are people from
other houses dancing around in HIS common room... and then realizes that it
could have been worse... the only Slytherins in the entire place are Arrowny
and Draco... and he’s sitting alone in the back corner of the room. If other
members of his house had decided to show up, Harry would have had to cast some
major jinx’s on them... just out of principal.
‘I know, no matter what
No matter who
No matter what I do
Somebody hates me
Somebody hates me
Somebody hates me
Somebody hates me
Somebody hates me
Somebody hates me
Somebody hates me
Somebody hates me
Somebody hates me
Somebody hates me
Somebody hates me
And I hate somebody too!
I hate somebody too!
I hate somebody too!
I hate somebody too!
Somebody like...
You...’
As the
song draws to a close, Harry sees the rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch team
talking with all friendly like with Justin... not a single one of his team
mates even appears to be angry at the fact that the guy they’re chatting with,
just a short time ago, beat the hell out of them in a game that they’re
supposed to be the best at. He turns around to point this out to Ron, but the
redhead had already crossed the room to join in the conversation.
Harry,
desperately not wanting to talk to any of the Warriors, pushes through the
crowd to where Draco’s sitting... sulking in a way that Harry hasn’t seen him
do since the last year. Draco looks up, nodding his head in acknowledgment of
Harry’s presence... and Harry realizes that the Slytherin boy is very, very
depressed at the moment.
“Hey...
shouldn’t you be all happy right now? You guys won the game.” Harry tries to
make the question into a joke of sorts... attempting to lift Draco’s spirits.
“Yeah...
we won the game...” Draco looks straight at Harry, “I beat you. I should be a
bloody school hero! I got the snitch before famous Harry Potter... super Seeker
Harry Potter. But, hey! Nobody seems to care about that. I’m still just the son
of a Death Eater to them,” He points around the room to the other students, who
all seem to be trying to get the attention of one of the Warriors.
Harry
notices a rather large group gathered around Ryan and Brad... and then he
notices something much more interesting... Arrowny is NOT wearing his necklace!
He looks from Ryan, and then to Draco... and then back to Ryan. Harry feels
very, very ashamed of the plan that’s forming in his mind... but even though he
knows he shouldn’t consider it... he can’t help but think that it will be his
best opportunity.
Arrowny
has the private room in Slytherin...
Arrowny
is not wearing the necklace...
The
necklace must be in the private room in Slytherin...
Draco,
in his current depressive mood, could be easily talked into letting Harry into
the Slytherin dorms.
Harry
feels terrible about this... but none the less...
“Hey,
Draco... Arrowny asked me to grab something from for him from his room. He said
you could let me into the Slytherin dorms.”
Draco
looks around, and just nods his head.
“Yeah...
sure. This party’s getting loud anyway.”
Harry’s
knew that it’d be easy to talk him into it, but he didn’t think it’d be this
easy. Within minutes, they’ve crossed the crowded common room, and left through
the portrait hole. The walk in silence through the cold hallways of the castle,
heading down to the dungeons where the entrance of the Slytherin Dormitory, and
once Draco gives the password (‘Judgment’), they step into the dimly lit common
room.
Apparently,
the Slytherins who are not attending the party in
Draco
places a hand on the doorknob.
“Open
up please.”
The
doorknob glows blue for a second, and then Draco opens the door.
“Arrowny
let me use his room when he was on night patrol in the castle. It gave me a
chance to get away from Crabbe and Goyle.”
Harry
looks around the room... it reminds him of Arrowny’s office... there are very
few personal possessions... just one large trunk at the end of the bed, and the
same two muggle photographs on the table against the side wall... one of the
four Dragoon Warriors, and one of the girl.
“Hey...
Draco,” Harry points to the picture of the girl, “Arrowny has that same picture
in his office... do you know who she is?”
Draco
shakes his head.
“He
never really talks about her... every time I bring it up, he just says ‘she’s a
friend’.”
It only
takes Harry a second to find the necklace on the small bedside table. He turns
to Draco, knowing that he can’t let the other boy see what he’s doing.
“Arrowny
said he needed... um... a book, or something.” He cringes at just how lame that
excuse sounds... but when Draco turns his back to look at the desk at the other
side of the room, Harry breaths a sigh of relief... he must have bought it!
As
quickly, and quietly, as he can, Harry grabs the necklace and stuffs it into
the folds of his robes.
“Did
you find it?” Draco’s question startles Harry a bit, but he manages to keep his
composure.
“No...
did you?”
“No.”
“I
guess it isn’t here. He must have left it in his office.”
They
leave Slytherin House with no more trouble than they had getting in... and when
Harry stops walking at the foot of the north tower stairs. Draco stops...
“You’re
not going back to the party?”
“No...
I’ve got something that I need to get done. I’ll see you later though.”
Draco
nods, and heads off down the hall back toward
The
Protector had told him that the spell needed to be performed from the highest
spot in the area, to be sure that its effects would reach the entire magical
barrier that is preventing it from entering the school grounds. The Protector had
given him the list of ingredients, and the exact preparation method of the
spell so long ago, on that night when Harry agreed to become its eyes and ears
within the walls of Hogwarts.
The
tower looks just as it did those five years ago... but in the bright light,
just before sunset light that floods the castle at this time of day, Harry sees
a statue that he hadn’t noticed the last time he was up here... a statue of a
beautiful woman, with her hands stretched out toward the heavens. To Harry, she
looks like a goddess... and he would like to take the time to just sit and
enjoy the feeling looking at the statue gives him... but he has other things to
do.
The sun
is just setting behind the forest now... it will take about an hour after he
completes the incantation for the barrier to fall... and the Protector had
promised that he would immediately come to kill the Dark Lord’s agent...
Arrowny.
He
arranges the ingredients in a circle with the necklace in the center, just as
the Protector had instructed. The incantation is simple enough... and the fact
that it can be spoken in English, rather than Latin, or Greek, or ancient
Samarian, makes Harry feel all the better about his success.
He uses
his wand to set fire to the circle of ingredients...
“Impassable
barrier,
Guarding
treasure,
Your
work is done!
Fall
now,
Allow
access by all,
You may
rest from now on!”
... and
that’s all! Unlike most spells, this one doesn’t emit light, or heat, beyond
that produced by the fire. There is no sign that it even worked, but this is
what Harry was expecting. The Protector told him that the energy would be
released exactly one hour after he finished... and that he was to get back to
Gryffindor tower as quickly as possible after he’d completed the spell.
Harry
has no reason to argue with this request!
He takes off at a near run, and bounds down
the many stairs. His plan is to just take the most direct route back to his
dorm, but that option quickly gets trashed as he peaks around the corner at the
bottom of the stairs, and sees Arrowny and Brad walking through the hallway...
and Ryan does not have a very kind look on hi face. Harry figures that Draco
must have gone back to the party, and told Ryan that they didn’t find whatever
it was they were looking for. In the back of his mind, he hopes that Draco will
forgive him at some point.
Rather
than try to sneak around the two demon hunters, Harry turns back up the stairs
one floor, and quickly pushes a statue of a winged pig out of the way to grant
him access to one of the castle’s many secret passages. Although this
particular passage would take him back to Gryffindor Tower, it twists and turns
through the complex inner workings of Hogwarts... so, to save time, Harry just
watches the corridor on the lower floor from his safe vantage point within the
entrance of the secret passage. He can clearly see the hallway where Arrowny
and Brad are walking from here... so all he has to do is wait for them to pass,
and he can take the more direct route to the Tower.
“...
who are we hiding from?...”
Harry
responds to the hushed voice before he even realizes that there’s not supposed
to be anybody behind him...
“Brad
and Arrowny.”
“...
oh...”
Once he
realizes his mistake, he quickly turns to find himself face to face with a
grinning Justin.
“WHERE
DID YOU COME FROM?!”
“The
other end of the passage.” Justin’s calm response does a little bit to help
Harry’s rapidly rising panic.
“But...
I found this passage with my Marauders Map... how did you know it even exists?”
“Mister
Potter... I, am a technomage. I pride myself on knowing all that can be known,
as well as most of the rest! Now... if you’ll accompany me to the Headmaster’s
office... I believe there are some people who want to speak with you.”
Harry
can’t ever remember this many people being gathered in one room whom where
angry at him. Professor’s Snape and McGonagall are standing behind Dumbledore,
who is sitting at his desk with his hands folded. All three of them look quite
mad...
Saphir
and Justin are sitting in chairs set up against the side wall, just beside
Fawks perch... Brad is standing at the back of the room beside the doors, and
Arrowny is standing in front of the desk... and if looks could kill, Harry
would be quite dead from Ryan alone.
Ron,
Hermione, and Draco are there also... and Harry is desperately glad that Ron
isn’t looking at him like he just committed mass murder... but Draco looks
hurt... betrayed. And Hermione, being the first one who had befriended Draco,
seems to have taken the events of the evening quite personal.
“Harry...”
Dumbledore’s voice, calm as ever, does little to alleviate Harry’s nervousness,
“what did you do with the necklace?”
Harry
looks pleadingly at the Headmaster...
“I...
can’t tell you.”
Dumbledore
closes his eyes, and takes a deep breath.
“Why
won’t you tell me?”
Harry
just turns to look at Arrowny, who rolls his eyes.
“Dumbledore,
we tried it your way... not it’s my turn!”
“You do
realize, Mister Arrowny, that you cannot simply torture young Harry to death in
order to get your information, right?”
“Yup,”
Ryan shrugs... “But you’d be amazed what you can live through!”
Suddenly,
Harry feels pressure on his throat, and he starts to see black dots floating in
front of his eyes... Arrowny has a hand wrapped around his neck!
There’s
a fury of movement... Snape and McGonagall draw their wands on Arrowny, but
they don’t do anything. Harry, his vision quickly fading, turns his head, as
best he can against Arrowny’s grip, and is horrified to see the lack of
assistance from his friends. Only Ron looks even remotely taken aback by the
attack. The room is shockingly silent... but when Dumbledore finally stands, he
has a look of fury in his eyes.
“That
is ENOUGH! You’ve gone too far, Arrowny! Release Harry...”
“Ryan...
you should tell them why you’re here... why the necklace is so important. You
can trust them.” Dumbledore pleads... begs even. It’s very unnerving for Harry
to see this side of the Headmaster... but, then again, if Arrowny doesn’t
loosen his grip soon, he won’t be able to see much of anything.
“Arrowny...”
Harry’s blacking out now... he can barely make out Dumbledore’s voice... “I
have trusted these children with responsibilities that even I could not have
dealt with... and they have always succeeded. Please... put your trust in them
as well.”
Just as
the darkness surrounds Harry, he feels the pressure ease off of his throat...
he breaths deeply, trying to get enough oxygen into his lungs to keep from
passing out. He watches as Arrowny crosses the room to stand by the doors
beside Brad... and sees the shocked looks on the faces of his friends... and he
hopes that they would have tried to help him if they thought they could have.
Arrowny
slowly looks from person to person in the office... and takes a deep breath.
“I am a
Protector... sent to Hogwarts to guard the last descendant of the Espers.”
Harry glances around the room to see some shocked faces (Draco and Ron, in
particular) but since nobody speaks up, Arrowny continues. “I was given the
order by the Protectors to come to Hogwarts and protect the students,
specifically, students with long reaching wizarding ancestry, because it is
believed that one of them carries the total combined magical power of the Esper
race.”
Ryan
walks back to the front of the room, and turns to face Harry.
“The
necklace... according to legend, is actually a piece of magicite, the material
left over after an Esper dies. It should, in theory, turn back to magicite if
it comes in to contact with magical energies which are more or less the same as
that of the departed Espers. I need it if I’m to find out which particular
student I’m here to protect.”
Harry
is stunned! He stands, and tries to speak... but no words come to him... so he
sits back down. After taking a few breaths, he finally manages to speak.
“You...
are a Protector?”
Arrowny
nods.
“So...
that makes you a good guy?”
Again,
he nods.
“But...
I was told that you were working for Voldemort... that you were here to help
him achieve his goals!”
Dumbledore
suddenly becomes very stern...
“Harry...
who told you this?”
Harry
considers whether or not he should answer... after all, the Protector had asked
that its presence be kept a secret. Truth be told, he would have kept his mouth
shut, if not for the fact that there were only precious few minutes left until
the magical barrier falls. Once the Protector can enter the school, all of this
will be worked out.
“I was
told by the Protector in the Forbidden Forest.”
A
sudden panic spreads through most of the individuals in the office. Brad steps
forward...
“Another
Protector... I thought that was against the rules.”
Arrowny
nods.
“It
is... one Protector to one location... it’s a fundamental rule. Otherwise, we’d
have to spend all of our time trying to figure out who our backup is. This...
whatever it is... out there in the forest must be what spooked the Retorak
outta hiding. But, if it’s that powerful... why not attack directly?”
Everybody
in the room turns to Harry.
“It
wouldn’t attack! It’s not the bad guy! It saved me back at Figaro Castle!” He
can’t hold his anger back any more. He steps forward, poking a finger into
Arrowny’s chest as he speaks. “Where were YOU when he was keeping the Death
Eaters away from me? Oh, right... YOU were killing the castle guards!”
Arrowny
just shakes his head.
“I
didn’t kill those guards. They were dead when I found them. You walked in as I
was searching the room to see if anybody else was there.”
“LIAR!”
Harry punches Arrowny hard in the chest. The blow knocks Ryan back a step or
two, but it doesn’t even seem to have taken the wind out of him. “YOU KILLED
THEM! I saw you, covered with blood... holding the bloody sword! I saw YOU!”
“Harry...
I killed seven Death Eaters that night. The blood on me... on my weapon, wasn’t
the castle guard’s... it belonged to the bad guys. Please... tell me what you
know. Why hasn’t the... Protector or whatever... why hasn’t it come to the
school yet?”
Harry
looks down at his feet...
“It
can’t get through the barrier around the school grounds.”
Ryan
turns to Dumbledore.
“The
necklace isn’t part of the counter spell.”
“They
must plan on taking it, and this way they know exactly where it will be.”
“If the
barrier’s stopping that protector thing... it HAS to be one of those creatures
that attacked me when I first arrived here.”
Dumbledore
nods.
“If
that is the case... then we must mount an offensive against them before they
find a way around the barrier.”
Harry
looks up... looks right into Dumbledore’s eyes...
“It’s
too late for that.”
“Harry...”
Dumbledore has never looked at him with a more pleading look in his eyes...
“what do you mean?”
“The
Protector asked me to do a spell... to dissolve the barrier. That’s why I
needed the necklace... it was on the list of ingredients it gave me. I was on
my way back to Gryffindor Tower from doing the spell when Justin caught me.”
The
pleading look in the Headmaster’s eyes is replaced by one of deep
disappointment... even anger.
“When...
when does your spell take effect? When will the barrier fall?”
Before
Harry can answer, the stone floor beneath them shakes as if in an earthquake,
and a blinding flash of pale green light floods the entire room. Each of them
knows, deep down in their hearts, what the light is... but they still wait to
hear it from Harry himself.
“Pretty
much now. The barrier will fall... pretty much... now...”
* * * * * *
One
thought keeps going through Arrowny’s head...
‘Damn
damn... damn damn damn... damn damn damnedy damn damn!’
He
knows that the castle is going to be attacked at any moment, and he knows he
needs to get a defence set up. Luckily, after working with his team for a few
years, he knows exactly what he has to do in order to get such an operation in
motion... he turns his head slightly to the side... and nods.
Brad
steps forward, and points his finger at Dumbledore.
“Get
all your teachers out on the front lawn right now! Get the Prefects to take the
other students down into the dungeons and make sure they STAY there! Justin and
Saphir, come with me.”
With a
look, the Headmaster instructs Professor’s McGonagall and Snape to follow the
three exiting members of the Dragoon Warriors.
“Harry...
I am deeply disappointed in you.” Dumbledore turns to Hermione. “Miss
Granger... please escort these three to the dungeons.”
Ryan
and Dumbledore don’t even wait for the four students to leave before they head
off toward the front lawn to take place in the defence of the school. They make
their way through the winding corridors of the castle, and it only takes a few
minutes to get to the front door, where Brad is waiting for Ryan.
“All
the teachers are waiting outside. Justin and Saphir are out there trying to
organize them.” He throws Sky Render to Ryan. “Only thing is... I don’t think
we’ve got enough people to win this battle.”
Ryan
nods.
“We’re
not trying to win... we just need to try and keep them outta the castle.”
They
open the front doors to find each of the teachers... McGonagall, Snape, Sprout,
Flitwick, Hooch, Sinistra and Vector... with wands at the ready... and Hagrid
with a full quiver of arrows for his crossbow. Justin is holding his quarter
staff at his side, and Saphir’s glaive is lying on the ground beside him as he
puts a few playing card like objects into the various pockets of his clothing.
Arrowny
moves to the front of the group. Tradition demands he make some sort of
inspirational speech before a battle of this sort... but before he even gets a
chance to think of the words... Hagrid raises his giant hand, and points toward
the forest.
“THEY’RE
HERE!”
Sure
enough, about fifty robed figures emerge from the edge of the trees... and even
from this distance, Arrowny can tell that about half of them are the creatures
that tried to kill him when he first came to Hogwarts, and the other half seem
to be human... Death Eaters, he assumes. But, leading the pack are two
figures... one in blood red robes, the false Protector that Harry was in
contact with, and another taller, thinner wizard in black robes. None of the
Dragoon Warriors have seen this particular person before... but Dumbledore
knows who it is...
“...
Voldemort...” Arrowny sees the worried look on the Headmaster’s face... and as
the attacking army advances, Ryan addresses his ‘troops’.
“Okay...
Brad and I will take out as many of the Death Eaters as we can. If any of you
teachers feel okay with killing, you can help. Otherwise, concentrate on the
other things... I’m pretty sure they’re demons... or demon half-breads of some
sort. You can all kill them. Justin, Saphir... make your way to the red guy,
and try to take him out.”
Each of
the Dragoon Warriors takes up a fighting stance as the attacking army advances
on the castle. The Hogwarts staff quickly gets ready whatever spells they think
will be helpful... but Dumbledore has told them to wait for Arrowny’s signal
before they begin the fight. But Arrowny, keeping with the old adage of ‘don’t
shoot until you see the whites of their eyes’, waits until the last possible
second...
“NOW!”
The
teachers let off a barrage of various jinxes and curses, which hit the same
group as a lightening bolt from Ryan’s fingers, effectively knocking nine or
ten attackers to the ground. Saphir manages to send four black robed Death
Eaters flying back about twenty feet by creating a force wave by swinging his
Glaive in their general direction.
The
odds are still greatly stacked against them... and when the victims of the
first defence wave regain consciousness, the numbers will be even more unfair.
But, he has a plan... he always has a plan.
“Brad,
take them!”
The
large battle axe that Brad wields is not made for cutting... just the opposite
in fact. It has a very dull blade... and is twice as thick as a regular weapon
of that kind. Its main purpose is to tear a hole in enemy armour, something its
unique design allows it to do quite easily. It still works against regular,
non-armoured enemies... it just tends to make more of a mess than a
conventional bladed weapon.
As the
first Death Eater comes to his senses, and attempts to stand, he meets a
violent end as Brad makes a wide swing toward his chest. The impact breaks
every one of his ribs... and puts so much pressure on his heart that it
explodes. He cannot scream, though... because the dull blade pushes through his
robes, and skin... and muscles... and eventually collapses both of his lungs. The
Death Eater falls to the ground... effectively torn in two at the chest.
After
only one kill, both Brad and his battleaxe are soaked in blood... and Ryan
almost feels sorry for the other Death Eaters who will feel that blade on this
day...
Almost.
* * * * * *
On
their way down to the dungeons, Draco pulls Harry away into an open classroom.
Ron and Hermione continue on, unaware that they’ve lost two of their number.
Draco
waits until the other two are far enough down the hall that they won’t hear him
before he turns, very angrily, to look at Harry.
“This
is OUR fault... and we have to try to fix it.”
“Draco...
this isn’t your fault. I’m the one who tricked you into letting me into
Arrowny’s room.”
“I
know... but I trusted you... and that makes me just as responsible for
everything that’s happening now.”
His
words hurt Harry... and what’s worse... he knew how Draco would react when he
found out, but he still went along with the plan. He knows he should just back
off, and let Dumbledore and Arrowny fix his mistakes... but he has to try and
make all this up to his friends somehow...
“Okay...
we’ll fix it. What’d you have in mind, exactly?”
“Where
did you cast the spell?”
Harry
looks puzzled...
“It
doesn’t matter... we can’t do anything from there anyway.”
“Dumbledore
said that they want to take the necklace... if we can grab it before they get
up there, we might be able to get it back to Arrowny. So... where did you cast
the spell from?”
Harry
just sighs...
“The
top of the tallest tower.”
Draco doesn’t
even wait to see if Harry is tagging along before he rushes back into the
hallway and takes off at a full run toward the staircase.
* * * * * *
As Ryan
pushes Sky Render through the stomach of one of the demons, out of the corner
of his eye he sees Justin take down a Death Eater with some very stylish
quarter staff moves. The attacks would be enough alone, but when the staff is
designed to send a strong electrical charge through whatever it hits, the poor
evil guy doesn’t even stand a chance!
There
is a problem, though. While the Death Eaters are very easy to take out of the
battle, either by knocking them unconscious, or simply stabbing them through
the chest... whichever comes first, the demon things just keep getting
stronger. In fact, the one that he just finished off was only the first one
he’s managed to kill!
It
doesn’t take long for Arrowny to realize why the demons are so hard to fight.
Justin and Saphir are making their way toward the false Protector at the back
of the invading army… but the red robed figure is, oddly, not getting involved
in the battle. What makes this even more unreal, is the faint green glow
emitting from it… sharply contrasting the bright colour of its robes. The
almost nonexistent motion of its hooded head tells Arrowny exactly what’s going
on…
It’s
chanting… probably to increase the power of the demons. Well… this has to end…
here and now.
Ryan
has to shout quite loud to make his voice heard over the fight…
“SAPHIR!
THE RED GUY IS CHANTING! STOP HIM!”
He
doesn’t even wait to see if his order was heard before getting back into the
mix, taking on yet another demon creature.
The Glaive of Ceruleus is the traditional
weapon of the Poirier family. When Europeans first steeled North America, the
Poirier’s were entrusted to rid the land of dangerous demons. The Glaive has
been passed down through the family for many generations… each person who
wields it becomes the Champion of the Poirier family. Even with its amazing
ability to produce force waves… its real potential and power lies with the
other of the ancient family’s treasure… the Cards.
Saphir reaches into one of his pockets and
removes one of the playing card like objects. The image on its face depicts a
beautiful blond girl sitting on a rock surrounded by water. It is the SIREN
card. He throws the card in front of him, and swings toward it with the Glaive.
When the blade strikes it, the card turns into streams of pale blue light,
which get absorbed by the blue star sapphire upon which the blade of the Glaive
is mounted. Saphir points his weapon at the chanting demon.
“KUeaynah-ha KUeaymah-ha-luah!”
The words come out in little more than a
whisper, but the effect is easy to see. A beam of blue energy erupts from the
tip of the blade, and when it hits the false Protector, it stops chanting...
but not by choice. Its lips move... but no sound emerges. The silence spell of
the SIREN creates an area of null sound around the red robed figure. His
objective complete, Saphir reaches out to take the re-materializing card from
the air, and returns to the battle.
Arrowny
instantly notices the change in the dark cloaked demons abilities... namely the
fact that he, Brad, and Justin manage to kill one each almost immediately. But,
before he can move on to another target something above him catches his eye. He
looks up just in time to see Lord Voldemort, as well as one of his Death Eaters
floating high above the battle, directly toward the tallest tower. He’ll never
make it up there in time to stop them from getting the necklace... unless he
exploits his team-mate’s magic one more time.
“SAPHIR!”
Arrowny manages to get his attention, and points up toward the tower. Saphir,
understanding the mostly silent communication pulls out yet another card... the
face of which shows a large winged warrior named PALIDOR. This time, he merely
touches the card to the blade, and points it toward Arrowny as the light beams
are absorbed by the sapphire.
“BAEaemeay-teoon
FUmooae-de.”
As soon
as Saphir finishes the float spell, Arrowny feels an invisible force carry him
quickly through the air. In just a few seconds, the leader of the Dragoon
Warriors touches down... and comes face to face with Voldemort.
“You
know... from the way everybody talks about you... I thought you’d be taller!”
The
Dark Lord’s snake like features show no amusement at the comment. He nods to
his Death Eater... a man with long blond hair... Draco’s father if Ryan
remembers the pictures he saw correctly.
Lucius
Malfoy lunges at him, but all he catches is a kick to the side of the head.
Arrowny waits for the Death Eater to turn on him again, and gets in a couple of
quick jabs before Voldemort pulls Lucius back. The Dark Lord looks interested
now.
“You...
are the actual Protector, correct?” Voldemort’s hissing voice reminds Ryan of
that snake pit in that Indiana Jones movie.
“Yup...
care to try your luck?”
“I’m
afraid I’m not much of a swordsman.”
Arrowny
grins, and places Sky Render on the ground. Voldemort smiles.
“Lucius...
gather our things. This will not take long.” That being said, he rushes at
Ryan.
Despite
his looks, Voldemort turns out to be quite skilled at hand to hand combat,
matching nearly all of Arrowny’s blows, effectively cancelling out his fighting
style. After a few minutes of this stalemate, Ryan sees an opening, and grabs
hold of Voldemort’s lose fitting black cloak. He rolls backward, and kicks out
at the Dark Lord’s stomach, throwing him across the tower floor to land at the
feet of his loyal Death Eater.
Ryan
grabs his sword from the ground, and turns on the irritated looking Voldemort.
“I
win!” He looks over to see that Lucius is carrying the grey stone head of a
beautiful goddess statue in his arms... and that the necklace is draped around
his wrist. “You don’t expect me to just let you leave with that stuff, right?”
Voldemort
turns on him, all semblance of interest gone from his face... he looks angry at
having been bested by Arrowny.
“What,
exactly, do you think you can do to stop us?”
“You
know... I just love it when people ask me that...” With Sky Render in his left
hand, Ryan raises his right arm straight into the air, and clenches his fist.
An orb of green-blue energy forms around his fist, and not even Voldemort can
dispute the power of the spell that Arrowny is casting. An unfelt wind blows
over the tower as Ryan calls forth his power.
“ULTIM...”
but he cannot finish the spell... because at that very moment, Harry and Draco
emerge from the staircase. Ryan makes a mental note to nominate both of them
for ‘worst timing ever’ awards after the battle is over and done with.
Voldemort
wastes no time in taking advantage of Arrowny’s momentary lapse in attention.
He pulls his wand from his cloak, waves it once in the true Protector’s direction...
and laughs as Draco and Harry helplessly watch Arrowny fly off the side of the
tower, and fall out of sight.
* * * * * *
Brad
sees Ryan falling from the tower, but he is too far away to do anything about
it... and even if he were closer... he has no powers that would help. He
notices that the Death Eaters and demons are beginning to retreat back toward
the forest... and that the attention of nearly all remaining people on the
battle field is on the falling body.
He is
relieved to see that Justin is close enough to where Arrowny will land to
actually do something to stop the fall from being fatal, and he turns back to
finish off whatever opponents are still within striking range.
The
moments distraction is costly though... the red robed false Protector took that
time to pull a small crossbow from hiding, and take aim directly at Professor
Dumbledore’s chest. Brad tries to shout out a warning... but the Headmaster
does not manage to avoid being struck in the shoulder with the bolt.
When
Brad turns back to fight the attacker... it, along with each and every one of
its comrades... has vanished.
* * * * * *
This is
the second time that Ryan keeps his eyes closed tight against the flood of
light in the Hospital Wing. After giving his eyes a few minutes to adjust, he
opens them fully, and takes in the sight around him... Brad, Justin and Saphir
are all sitting on chairs off in the corner of the room, quietly talking, while
Madam Pomfrey attends to the unconscious form of Dumbledore. The sight of the all
powerful Headmaster of Hogwarts lying on his back in a hospital bed shocks
Arrowny. He looks over to his fellow Warriors.
“What
happened? How long have I been out?”
The
Warriors approach his bedside with sombre looks on their faces. Justin takes a
deep breath before beginning.
“You’ve
been out for three days. I used a force field to slow your decent enough that
the impact didn’t kill you. Voldemort got away with the necklace... and the
head off of some statue. Lucius Malfoy kidnapped his son Draco...”
He
glances over to Dumbledore’s bed...
“And
the Headmaster got hit by a poisoned arrow. Snape is running tests to see if
there’s an antidote... but for right now... Professor Dumbledore is dying.”
* * * * * *
For
three days, Draco Malfoy has had his hands tied together and chained to the
stone wall of the cave where his father had taken him. He’s had little to
drink... less to eat... and there’s a thick layer of dirt and dust covering his
face and hands.
For the
first two days, he was kept in a small room off to the side of the cave, but
earlier today, his father moved him out to the main chamber. Voldemort’s
throne... large and gold, decorated with carved serpents... sits against the
wall adjacent to where the young Slytherin is chained. In the very center of
the room, on the floor, is a white painted triangle. At each point, a grey
stone head sits on a pedestal. Draco recognizes the head from the statue on the
tower... but he’s never seen the other two before.
The
Death Eaters are in a circle surrounding the triangle, with Voldemort at its
apex. None of them have their hoods up... and Draco is shocked at just how many
of his family’s friends are here... people he looked up to... people he had
always though of as being on the ‘good side’. Standing on either side of the
Dark Lord are his two most trusted followers... Draco’s father, and the one
called Wormtail.
Voldemort
raises his hands to get the attention of the crowd.
“My
Death Eaters,” his hissing voice makes Draco more afraid than he’s ever been before
in his life, “the time has come!”
A
series of cheers chorus from his gathered followers.
“Yes...
we will summon him back from the abyss which has held him hostage these
millennia... and I shall absorb his powers to become the strongest force in the
universe!”
Another
round of cheers. The Death Eaters may be happy at the thought of their Lord
becoming all powerful... but the very concept scares Draco!
“Now...
we begin!”
Everything
that Draco has read about spells of this magnitude suggests that there is a
great deal of work that needs to be put into them... but all Voldemort does is
touch his hands to the broken statue head that sits before him. There are no
bright flashing lights... no wind... seemingly no release of energy at all. The
only visible effect is that the air within the triangle begins to ripple, like
the surface of a pond when a stone is thrown in.
And
that’s when the body falls to the floor.
An old
man... as in ‘ancient’! His hair and beard, a dirty grey colour, are nearly ten
feet long, and his robes, which have lost whatever colour they once had, are
frayed nearly to the point of being just loose strings! And Voldemort could not
be happier that he’s here.
“You...
shall grant me... the power I deserve!”
The
Dark Lord points his wand at the man... and the tip flashes a bright blue, and
then pink... yellow, orange, mauve, purple, and red... but nothing much
happens. The Death Eaters murmur amongst themselves as Voldemort tries the
spell again... with no better results.
“I...
do not understand. The spell is supposed to allow me to absorb your power! Why
isn’t it working?”
After a
few minutes of deep thought... Voldemort just shakes his head.
“No
matter... if I cannot take your power... THEN NOBODY SHALL HAVE IT! AVADA
KEDAVRA TOTALIUS!”
Draco
recognizes this spell... it is the same one Voldemort attempted to use against
Dumbledore last year when Peeves got in the way. It is a variation on the
killing curse... but rather than just making the victim very dead, it actually
rips them out of existence all together!
The
beam of light hits the old man in the chest... but appears to do nothing beyond
give him power enough to raise his left hand toward Voldemort. He begins to
speak, in a dry, hackly voice, weak from lack of use.
“...
absorb... spell... done... like... this.”
The old
man’s hand glows a powerful red, and Voldemort screams out in pain... and the
Death Eaters cry out in shock as their leader’s body breaks down from flesh,
blood, and bone to tiny orbs of energy, which fly through the air to the old
man’s open hand. Soon, all that remains of the once proud Dark Lord is a pile
of smoking black robes.
The old
man laughs... a high pitched... cackling that sends chills through Draco’s
body. He stands in the centre of the triangle, and waves his hands around a
little bit. His beard disappears, and his hair shortens considerably and turns
from the dull grey to a dirty shade of orange. All signs of ageing vanish from
his face, and red marks that look like makeup, decorate the area around his
eyes... even his lips take on a deep shade of red.
The
strands of decayed fabric that adorn his body begin to weave themselves back
together, taking on the form of grand robes. Even the colour returns to the
fabric... forming intricate patterns in bright yellows, oranges, greens, and
reds.
“My
GOD!” the Death Eaters try to rush the man, who looks to be in his late
twenties now, but with a wave of his hand, he throws them aside with invisible
force waves, “It is SO good to be back on this plane of existence!”
From
the shadows of the cave, Draco watches as dozens of the black robed demon
things emerge into the light. They push the Death Eaters back, and make room
for the red robed one, the false Protector, to get near the man.
“Ah...”
the man opens his arms to the red robed figure, “MagiMaster of my Fanatics!
It’s nice to know that after nine thousand years, I still have some followers!”
“My
lord... we will always be loyal to you. When we learned of Voldemort’s plan to
bring you back to this dimension, we approached him with an offer of servitude
which he was all too happy to accept. We knew you would be able to defeat him.”
“Not
only defeat him... but absorb his power to regain my own!” He laughs again...
and again Draco feels as though all hope has been torn from him... with just a
laugh, this man can invoke such a feeling of dread that it overwhelms him.
“But, I
wonder, MagiMaster...” he points around the room at the Death Eaters... “What
should I do with them?”
“My
Lord... they should serve you... as should all people serve you.”
He
smiles...
“Very
well then. I offer you all a place in my army. I need to retrieve the rest of
the three Goddess Statues... and find the power of the Espers if I am to return
to my full power. What do you think of that?”
One of
the Death Eaters, Draco recognizes him as a man named McNair, rushes forward,
raising a small axe he uses in his job of executioner for the Ministry of
Magic.
“WE
WILL NEVER SERVE YOU!”
The man
smiles, and points a finger in McNair’s direction, stopping him in his tracks.
“Nice
try... but I really don’t think you know who you’re dealing with here.”
Draco
draws a shallow breath as McNair explodes.
Draco’s
father, Lucius, steps forward slowly.
“He was
foolish... we are not. We will follow you Lord...?”
The man
smiles as he turns and makes his way to the back of the cave. He sits on
Voldemort’s throne, stretching his legs over one of the sides. He breaths in
deeply, and the look on his face tells Draco that this man has been waiting a
very long time to speak his own name again...
“Kefka.”