Title: Losing Faith
Format: Epic
Rating: 18A (character death, language, violence, sexual innuendo, slash, suicide)
Summary: "What if it all goes wrong? What if Harry Potter fails and he cannot save us? What if everything we have fought for is in vain?"
The Death Eaters' grip wraps tighter around the throat of their enemies, their territory now stretching across the lands of Britain with the death of Harry Potter. The Last Alliance is Britain's salvation. The five heirs hold the key to life itself. Ancient magicks and lost histories will be uncovered before their campaign nears their gateway in the Death Eater's defences. King Arthur, gargoyles, elves, vampires, trolls, werewolves. Sometimes, what they most fight for they've already lost.
It's not about war. It's about power.
Genres: drama, dark, fantasy, angst, war, light mystery, humour
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. All original characters, places, plots and objects are owned by Moirae and are not to be used without permission.
Writers's Notes: A special thanks to Jon, for without you I couldn't have done this, but I would probably be a lot saner than I am now. And so I blame you for my mental difficulties. Thank you muchly to anyone (Leslie and Death Hawk especially) who has offered their time to beta parts of this story--there's been a few who have come and gone in the past years and some who have stayed.
Everything in this fanfic is not written in on a whim--everything does have a meaning. The tense will be in present tense, save for the prologue. I have heard that those who are not used to it find it different at first but find it very worth-while to keep reading. I use British spelling and grammar, so if you think something is wrong, there's a chance that it's just Britainised. Please let me know and I will double check with my dictionary and internet resources.
IMPORTANT
This story was started November of 2002 so Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix will not be incorporated into the plot. And therefore, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is not in the plot either. Losing Faith is a now story that takes place in an Alternate Universe as the HP world that JKR set up.
That means, for all you Sirius lovers, he is here, and he will play an important role in the story. But that also means that whatever first names I created for JK's last-name-only characters, I decided to keep. This is because: they are usually named for a reason, and I had asked via email my readers on this site and the HPDC and the vote was pretty much unanimous to keep them as the names I created. It sets more of an AU-tone. I also kept middle names I might have created before JK released them (example: Remus John Lupin, his middle name is Joshua in here). Characters who might have appeared in Book Five of the series might be of different age (example: Roger Davies--he was still in OotP, but in this story he graduated after GoF).
I also noticed that back when writing the first few chapters in 2002 there were characters that were considered Hufflepuff but when OotP came out, they were canonised as being Ravenclaw. I've kept them as Hufflepuff.
/end important
As of February 17 of 2006, the prologue has been revamped, along with Chapters one through ten. I hope that the beginning is a bit more enjoyable to read.
As you read through the story, you may notice certain homages to the god, Joss Whedon. Buffy and Angel are two of the best shows I've ever had the pleasure of watching and this story has quite a few tributes to them. I also reference X-Men, Poppy Z. Brite, Queer as Folk, biblical stories and Wicca. I'm sure there's more, I just can't remember them.
If you read, please be courteous and leave a constructive review telling me what you liked and what could be improved upon. Flames will be used to roast marshy-mallows. I also have cheesecake for those who pick up on all the symbolism and subtleness.
And now that we are done with the essay before the fan fiction (which is now half the length of the prologue), thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy the show.
Losing Faith
The Prologue
:Ballad of Serenity, by Joss Whedon:
Take my love
Take my land
Take me where I cannot stand
I don't care if I'm still free
You can't take the sky from me
Take me out to the black
Tell 'em I ain't comin' back
Burn the land and boil the sea
You can't take the sky from me
Have no place I can be
Since I found Serenity
But you can't take the sky from me
... 21 September 1995 ...
The full moon hung low through the skeletal trees of the forest, its silky light cast down over the realm of black-robed figures and reflected off moonstone masks. Lord Voldemort remained motionless in the centre of his faction, his arms outstretched as though paying homage to the ancient magicks which brought him back to power less than three months earlier. A new collection of pawns knelt in reverence to their Lord, their unworthy eyes turned to the rocky soil.
"My friends" Lord Voldemort started in his silver-tongued voice, "we stand here tonight because of the gods' desire. Rise, for thirteen years have you anticipated this night." He glanced around the circle of hopeful Death Eaters, his voice bringing them from their knees. Voldemort's skull-knobbed wand was gripped with white knuckles, and he gazed pensively at the seven Death Eaters surrounding him. He stopped at one and lunged forward, seizing the wizard by the wrist.
The Death Eater's hazel eyes flickered at the touch of his Lord's hand, and he revealed his forearm with hesitation. Voldemort's phoenix-feather wand lightly traced the tanned skin, and then plunged deep into the flesh. The skin around the wand blackened and died, twisted into the hideous form of the Dark Mark. The disease of necrosis formed an open-mouthed skull with a slithering snake, and the pain coursed through the nerves of the Ravenclaw Death Eater. The ache brought him to his knees, and a deep-throated scream suddenly escaped from his lips before he was aware that he was indeed screaming.
A sneer tugged at the thin lips of Lord Voldemort, and he withdrew his blood-tipped wand from his Death Eater's wrist. He and took a step toward the next wizard forming the circle. This wizard's only cowardice was a deep-throated whimper as Lord Voldemort slowly pushed the wand into his forearm.
The third was a Hufflepuff witch with straight caramel hair and moss-coloured eyes. She bowed at the waist with respect, her eyes sparking as her Lord pressed his wand into her skin, and shuddered against the ecstasy she felt as necrosis brought upon the Dark Mark.
The fourth and fifth fell unconscious beneath the pain, and the sixth was a coward and fled.
Lord Voldemort's scornful laughter rose above the trees as a brilliant green light erupted from his wand, illuminating the forest with eerie lightning. The coward abruptly fell, his deadened eyes staring towards the stars.
Fretful cerulean eyes of the seventh gaped at the fallen wizard, and he wrung his hands together anxiously, to keep them from shaking. Crimson strands of summer-grown hair tumbled loose from beneath the heavy hood, sweeping over horn-rimmed glasses.
Voldemort smirked. "Weasley."
... 31 October 1996 ...
She was screaming long after she was dead.
Harry Potter found Parvarti Patil crumpled over her twin's body. She grasped Padma's cocoa braids, muttering in defeated sobs about broken promises. With tears overflowing from her brown-sugar eyes, Parvarti stared up into the shocked face of Harry, and looked through him.
"I won't leave you," she sobbed to her twin as the braids slipped through her hands. She looked to her sister's paled face as though she responded, she shook her head. Parvarti's trembling hands clung the collar of the blue Ravenclaw robes as she rested against Padma's chest. "I wish not to be alone."
Halloween breakfast still littered the wooden tables in the Great Hall. Large pitchers of pumpkin juice were spilt over poppy seed muffins and buttery biscuits. A few students were dropped into their morning plates, their lifeless hands resting over silver knives and forks. They never saw it coming.
Fragments of stained glass windows dotted the stone floor. Some shards were wrapped in the soft robes of those Death Eaters who had broken through the shields and entered Hogwarts.
Factions of black wizards riding with Death fell upon the Hogwarts students shortly after breakfast began, erupting emerald-lit curses through the harvest-decorated hall. The candles which lit the Great Hall with starry brilliance flickered and died as winds howled through the broken windows.
Despite those bright and courageous students who took up arms with their professors, the Death Eaters were numerous; the icy-shiver of Death walked away with many students. The losses were past one-hundred and fifty when Hermione Granger retreated to her dorm, exhausted. She fell into a deep sleep, filled with frightening plans and malevolent laughter, before she hit her bunk.
But the Minister could not cover up this act of violence as he had been doing with so many others. The Ministry of Magic extended their support to Dumbledore's division known as The Order of the Pheonix, and sent out many warnings to both the wizarding folk and Muggle government.
Seventeen months after the incident, the Daily Prophet announced the return of Voldemort.
... July 1998 ...
The heroism of The Order of the Phoenix would be their last downfall.
Black robed figures dotted the horizon painted with the dawning sun. They approached quickly the ranks of the white-robed, and the lines clashed into a grey blur. The battle was fought over the early morning hours, over an overused battle-field which claimed many bloody souls.
Voldemort's numbers were stronger than that of The Order of the Phoenix; the strength he found betrayed traditional bloodlines. There would have been no shame in running. The first line of the white-robed wizards were slaughtered with powerful fireball spells, the flames spreading quickly over the plains. Curses were strewn from both sides, and many of the second and third lines fell beneath emerald and sapphire assaults.
When the last of the flames extinguished and silver smoke stopped swelling from the charred grasses, Harry Potter's companion fell over lifeless. The twinkle in Albus Dumbledore's eyes vanished as he stared into the vacant sky. Harry cried over his mentor's body, his ears neglecting the sounds of war surrounding him.
And then, two wizards who fought for the same side, one with white-blond hair and another with fiery red, formed the words of the killing curse at the two wizards who commanded the armies.
"Avada Kedavra!"
The brilliant shade of Harry's eyes matched that of the killing curse. Harry Potter's and Lord Voldemort's eyes glazed over harmoniously, and they pitched forward into the burnt grasses.
Those who had not fallen beneath the Death Eaters were taken as prisoners of war and kept far below Hogwarts in the dungeons, their wands broken and burnt. If any of the wizards who fought against them escaped, they never noticed, but a few factions were sent to secure the perimetre. Almost everyday new wizards were scared from their hiding places and thrown into rooms which were magically locked. Lucius Malfoy immediately took command after Voldemort's death and requested a report on their victory.
The wizarding world had been meant to be saved by Albus Dumbledore and Harry Potter. Both were now cold, and the Death Eaters' eyes were drawn to the other half of England. Lord Malfoy sent divisions of Death Eaters to Muggle towns and cities, and those who resisted in the occupation of their lives were executed. Changes sprang up over the following months. Tall brick walls were magically placed around occupied cities, while townspeople might have been lucky enough to escape into neighbouring countries. Those who weren't were taken into the large prison camps which used to be cities.
Within the short time of a year, the Muggle world knew everything about the wizarding war, and the Muggle governments talked about taking action against the occupied country of England. And soon, their talks expanded into the small land of Scotland as the Death Eaters invaded.
While the Death Eaters busied themselves with matters above ground, members of The Order and the Ministry of Magic were eventually taken from their small imprisonments and reunited in specialised camps the Death Eaters established around the United Kingdom. These were erected outside of the cities to hold wizards, and those who posed a threat were held in solitary confinement. In the centre of each of these camps were Death Eater headquarters, heavily guarded.
And Lord Lucius Malfoy's hand stretched across the occupied island.