The sacred halls of the highest court in existence had not been used for exactly two thousand five hundred thirty-three years, the last criminal important and dangerous enough had been sentenced to banishment for the rest of his mortal, yet incredibly long life, cursed to roll up a boulder, bigger then himself to the top of a mountain, yet every single time he was near his goal, it seemed that the devil himself got involved, and rolled the rock back.
Sisyphus was the name of the doomed devil and he had once been one of the three great wizards and witches of the Antique Earth, even now his name was still known to mankind and a legend far from the truth, yet at some parts close, had been told for generations.
He had tried to overthrow other wizards and witches, to finally leave this world and to set foot on others; luckily he was stopped by the ancient five protectors of the infinity.
Until now there only had been few who were close to his potential threat and most of them had been dealt with; some of them charged and imprisoned on their home planet or simple stopped by the ancient protectors. Sometimes even killed as only the most primitive yet most efficient way of stopping someone seemed to work.
Now a figure of similar, perhaps even greater importance had been dragged before the omnipotent judge, an all knowing being, respectfully called the Oracle.
The prisoner walked towards the centre of the round room, walking like he always did, straight and fast, looking passive and bored, yet carried himself with the coat of royalty which never seemed to vanish.
His aura, powerful and annoying at the same time, was felt by every present member, glaring at him or shaking their heads in defeat; every single one in the court knew, that this creature was not feeling remorse or guilt for his actions.
Still, the Oracle had called this negotiation to give him a last, fair chance, something the prisoner had not granted any one, but this was the difference between them, the difference between what mere mortals, in their ignorance, called good and evil.
As the prisoner reached the centre a chair appeared out of thin air, looking like a cross between a throne and a garden chair, gleaming in the colour of ivory and pulsating like a living organ at the same time.
Most people would have had a hard time to decide, whether to sit or not, but he had not much of a choice, either he would behave nicely or he would be send back to his former prison, a cell of the same size as a bigger closet, looking at the same, cold stone day for day, for the rest of his life, which would be incredibly long, as it was not possible for him to die of age; the gift of immortality.
As he sat down, the murmur, which had started the second he put a foot in this room, died down, until only the sound of the pulsating chair remained.
Finally the judge himself appeared, a bold man dressed with a long, light green robe that stretches to his feet, he himself didn't appear to be older then thirty, while being alive long before the first life on earth had started to develop.
Both, his left and right side of his head were marked with the same, strange symbol, the sign of the fortress of infinity and the source of its power.
The Oracle didn't walk, he didn't need to; he levitated as he emerged from the wall, gliding to the cushion on the middle of the bank, reserved for him alone.
The other seats in the court were filled with similar dressed but not similar looking people, some of them resembling human and other looking more like the combination of aliens and animals.
Nothing was more deceiving then looks and even though they didn't appear like it, each one of them was highly intelligent and skilled in the ancient arts of the magic, coming from different realms and worlds, the fortress of the infinity was a council representing the universe.
Five girls, apparently in their mid teens, the youngest ones in the room, were dressed oddly, not in the light green robes which seemed to be common but instead weird, tight clothing, concentrating at the colours dark pink, lime green and light blue, with wings remembering those of a butterflies, were standing at the entrance, ready to interfere if the prisoner they personally captured would try to escape.
Next to them was a dark haired boy, wearing, for a human of the twenty-one century, most normal clothing, white trousers and purple pullover.
Two more figures, sticking out in the plenum due their young age, were a girl of fifteen with sandy coloured hair, modelled in two pony tails with metal rings at the ends, sliding down her shoulders and robes in lime and blue colour, yet shaped differently then the others and a boy of seventeen, with dark brown hair, a black shirt and brown trousers, a sword strapped on his back, hitting the prisoner with deathful glares, while the girl next to him did the same, almost having the same intensity.
The Oracle, his voice carrying to each corner of the gigantic chamber, like the ring of a horn, not forceful but deep, started to speak.
"Today, my friends, we have gathered for a trial, not hold for a few thousand years, to find a solution for the troubled figure we have sitting in front of us."
The accused snorted disrespectfully, while looking at the Oracle with the same hate, the two youths were looking at him.
"He, who has been a terrifying danger to the universe, perhaps the greatest, he was the reason for the rising of the Veil, to protect countless worlds from his vile plans."
Many of the council and court were nodding vehemently, showing their support to the Oracle.
"He has treated living beings with the same respect he treated tools, it terrifies me to say with none, he used them until they were broken, sometimes even longer. He build a dictatorship as he claimed, unrightfully, the throne of Meridian, which should have been his sisters, and started to tyrannise the population.
His fearful creatures and minions caused havoc and destruction in Meridian and had it been not for the Veil, which prevented him from leaving his unlucky world, it would have been not limited to Meridian alone.
He stole the life force and magic of the world itself and the one of his habitants too, using it to fuel his own power and use it for even more destruction; he created magical objects and dark creatures, each one more dangerous then the previous and let the once peaceful world of Meridian fall into chaos and misery.
Fortunately the brave Caleb and his companions, known as the Rebellion or the Resistance, had started to thwart his evil schemes and succeeded at last, with the help of the Guardians and the rightful heir to the throne, Queen Elyon, who is ruling fair and generous since then."
The prisoner looking bored until know, sneered again, when he was reminded at his defeat, and threw both, Caleb, the glaring boy, and his sister Elyon, the girl, a dirty, hateful glare.
"He tried to steal the powers of her highness Queen Elyon, his younger, yet wiser sister but luckily he did not succeed and he was imprisoned in the very prison he once created himself, guarded by the brave soldiers of Meridian.
He was granted a second chance, a wise decision from the Keeper of the Heart, to redeem himself and to help to defeat Nerissa, a name we will not forget anytime soon."
Will, the Keeper of the Heart and leader of the Guardians, the ancient protectors of the realms, nodded and even thought it was a big understatement, it was really unlikely that she would ever forget Nerissa.
"Yet, even though he helped at first, the Guardians found out soon enough that he had planned to continue where he had stopped, and he tried to take over Meridian, once he had claimed the Seal of Nerissa, he even had the arrogance to name it after his own name."
The prisoner smiled, his name was much more beautiful then Nerissa after all, how can that be wrong? Powerful objects should bear powerful names, and the most powerful object deserved the most powerful name; his own, the most feared name in the infinity.
"Again the Guardians defeated him due he was double crossed by his minion whose greed led him to steal the sceptre. In the end he was returned to his prison until now, where he is going to be judged by the Council of Kandrakar."
The Oracle, until now letting his gaze wandering around in the room, fixed it at the prisoner.
"What do you have to say to all this, Prince Phobos, first born child and son of Queen Weira and King Zaden, tyrant of Meridian, enemy to the worlds of the infinity."
The whole court held their breath, waiting for the prince to respond, waiting for the impact, which will surely follow.
Phobos only winked carelessly with his hand, as if he would decline a food.
"I am incredibly sorry for behaving bad and enslaving, tormenting and draining my faithful and innocent people. Happy?"
Angry, outraged and disbelieving shouts were heard from the council, his name muttered with disgust more then one time, here he was at the ultimate court which will decide his further fate and he was behaving like this, like a spoiled brat.
The Oracle looked disappointed and to his annoyance Phobos could not detect any signs of anger in his face, only disappointment, not that it bothered him.
"It seems that our suspicions were right, you are still not ready and for that we have to punish you."
"Yes!" came the happy voice of a girl and the whole court turned around, to see the embarrassed Water Guardian, looking sheepishly at the ground. Amused by this display of refreshing childishness they returned their attention to the fallen Prince.
"Yet, I do not give up hope, and I seek a different kind of punishment then prison."
"What are you going to do, make me do write lines?" sneered Phobos hatefully, remembering the time he was schooled at the palace and had to copy passages of his books as punishment for being disrespectful to his teachers.
Surprisingly the Oracle smiled in a mysterious way, letting Phobos get extremely worried, even though he hid it well. The Oracle seemed to notice this but didn't say anything as he continued.
"Coincidently, I have that in my mind, only slightly different. Prince Phobos, you will be drained from most of your magical powers, your appearance will be altered and you will be send to a school again, with the hope that you will learn to use your powers properly, for the benefit of the universe. If you should fail and still stick to your ill and wretched thinking, we have no other choice than to banish you to the depths of the Hades, where you will live through pain and suffering for the rest of eternity."
An unusual silence set in the room, even the chair appeared to be frozen and time wasn't flowing anymore. Surprisingly the first one to react was not Phobos himself, but one of the Guardians.
"He is so not going to Sheffield, again." protested Cornelia, the blond Earth Guardian. "I don't care what you do, but I won't have Mr. Spoiled Prince again in our school lives."
Before Tibor, the oldest advisor of the Oracle, could scold for the lack of respect, Irma, the Water Guardian, helped her friend.
"I don't know if you tried to go to school with once, but we have and I must say it was not pleasant, for anyone."
The Oracle, opening his mouth to calm the furious and shocked Guardians down, was once again interrupted, this time by Will, the Keeper.
"Isn't there a boarding school of evil-clearing any where? I mean, we can't look out for the Infinity and making sure Phobos doesn't try to take over our world, starting with the prom ball."
"Also I am sure that there are …äh… intergalactic reasons for not going to the Sheffield Institute, isn't there a rule book which is going against this or something? We have rights too." claimed the Air Guardian Hay Lin, not disturbed in the slightest that she was talking to the Council of Kandrakar and not to her friends in a schoolyard.
"He can't learn anything there and we can't teach him." tried Taranee, the Fire Guardian to reason, once not thinking clearly, rather panicking at the thought of having Phobos in their lives again or worse in their class."
"SILENCE!" yelled one of the Elders, a man resembling a walking goat, only without horns looked furious. "Behave yourselves Guardians, you are speaking to the Oracle."
"Thank you my friend." calmed the Oracle him down, before turning gently to the girls.
"It seems to be a misinterpretation but I never intended to send him to your school, even though I am sure it is a very nice school."
"You never did?" asked Irma again, right before then realizing the ruckus they have caused and became a deep shade of red, matching the shade of the other Guardians.
Elyon, having closed her mouth with her fist, tried unsuccessfully to fight the upcoming laughing, starting to turn red herself, even though for different reasons.
Caleb had buried his face in his face, not knowing whether to laugh or to cry, partly embarrassed to know them, earth girls couldn't be normal, could they.
Yan Lin, sitting on Elyon's other side, patted the back of the young Queen, smiling widely at the funny act her granddaughter and her friends had just caused, looking forward to the future were she could embarrass them with this merry anecdote .
Matt, the boy standing next to the Guardians, tried to look as he was not part of their group, being immensely relieved that he wasn't stuck with Phobos again, and thanked every God he ever heard about and even those there might exist. He had once the "pleasure" of having school with Phobos, he even had to endure him at his home, not wanting him to sleep at the houses of the other girls and he wasn't sure he could manage another day with "Princy poo" as Cornelia had once formulated it.
"Yet he will still go to a school of your world, but it will be a magical one. Unfortunately one of you is not freed of the task of watching Phobos, but fear not." He said this in the right time, as the girls were about to protest again. "This will not be for your disadvantage."
"What makes you think I want to go to school again?" asked Phobos incredulously, having found his words again. "I will not stand this embarrassing act, letting me degrade to a mere school boy." He spat the last words with a loathing not known to mankind.
"I would rather die."
"You will have no choice, the other will be eternal doom in the Hades and believe me, a few years school are nothing against it." He turned to the audience again.
"But someone else will, as I have chosen the one, who will accompany Phobos in that school. Do you accept Kandrakar's duty, Matthew Olsen, Regent of Earth?"
To say Matt was shocked was like saying it's a bit fresh in the north pole, and his mouth, opening and closing as if he was trying to get some air, did not help in saving his dignity.
"Come again? ..Sir." he added after a warning glair of the Goat man.
"Watching Phobos? Again? For years? That are three points for saying no and if you give me a few more seconds, I can give you a lot more."
"I know, this must be most unexpecting for you…" started the Oracle.
"You can say that again." muttered Irma to Hay Lin, who nodded in approval, her eyes widened as she looked from Will, to Matt and then to the Oracle.
"But this is a most important duty; you have received magical powers as well, from the young Lillian Hale, and you have no more control over them as the morph. You can do so much more, and at the school, you would learn how to control your powers. Use them at a much wider scale."
This gave Matt enough reason to over think it, if he learned to use his powers properly, he could be a great asset to Will and the others, this would mean he could finally help and protect her.
"Still, I will have to return this powers to Lillian so what's the point of learning them if I will lose them anyway?"
"If you are to successfully finish your duty, whether Phobos has learned his lesson or not, you will receive your own powers, similar to those you have now."
Matt was still uncertain, could he leave his family and his friends, and more importantly Will behind for that long?
As if the Oracle had read his mind, well he most likely did, he cleared this hindrance as well.
"There will be breaks so you can visit Heatherfield from time to time, also there are ways of communication you can use."
"I am still choosing eternal doom in the Hades, if only for the sweet fact of letting this brat there without powers." insisted Phobos, still not wanting to lose his dignity.
Like the time before, he was ignored.
He looked into the forum, seeing all three, Yan Lin, Elyon and Caleb nodding, his gaze wandered to the Guardians, who seemed less sure. Then, suddenly, Irma's hand jerked up and gave him a thumb up, while smiling. This was copied from Hay Lin, who did the same, only a second later.
Cornelia, looking a bit more thoughtful, slowly nodded and signalling him that she too thought of it as a good idea.
Taranee, appearing uncertain, shifted uneasily before mouthing a silent yes and went over to look at Will, who was having a strange expression on her face.
After a few seconds, the expression became clear as she spoke quietly. "I know, since you found out about us, that you wanted to have powers, and now there is an opportunity to learn how to use them. I would take it."
Matt, after thinking for a few moments, took a firm step, looking determined at the Oracle.
"I accept."
"I still chose the hell!" yelled Phobos, hating being ignored more then everything.
"Think of it as your personal hell and you will know how to escape." said the Oracle sagely, before levitating to Phobos.
He placed a hand at Phobos forehead, magical chains erupting from the chair, disabling Phobos from physically attacking the Oracle.
"You have to say that you accept, otherwise I can not complete the ritual."
"Which ritual?" asked Phobos, disliking the direction this …event… was going more and more.
"The ritual of reducing your powers… for the time being."
Phobos had a look of pure disbelief on his face, while looking at the Oracle like a he had just suggested inviting him and Nerissa to dinner next week.
"Are you out of your mind? What makes you think I would give away my powers?"
"Your powers will be reduced and meditation and studying will teach you how to use them for the benefit of the universe. It is still better then having no powers for the rest of your eternal live, doing perhaps the same thing as Sisyphus."
Now, rolling a boulder up and down a mountain was not his idea of fun, so he guesses it was better to live a short time with fewer powers, then to spend his life there, next to some really unpleasant fellows.
"I accept." Spoke Phobos through gritted teeth, glaring at the Oracle, who smiled.
"I knew you would come to senses, Prince Phobos." Then his hand on Phobos forehead started to glow as white steams of energy were floating out of Phobos into a small orb in front of him, until it had the size of a baseball.
Phobos had been yelling in pain, as his magic, his power, his life force was drained and he collapsed, exhausted on his chair, panting heavily.
"You will obey Matthew, you will not run away and stay at the castle. I will have my eyes on Hogwarts, knowing when you try to escape or if you try to get you powers back, so do nothing you might regret.
If you finish three years of education at that school, you will be free with full powers, having a second chance at your sister's side."
His hand let Phobos vanish into an unknown part of Kandrakar and then turned to Matt and the girls.
"I thank you Matthew, for you cooperation. As the represent of Kandrakar, I am in your debt. Please return now to your home, you family just received a letter, where it will say that you have won a scholarship at a school for extremely gifted children, and that you will attend it starting September the first, say in four days."
Matt protested loudly, along with the Guardians. "I don't get any other information? Just that? Not what the school is, what do expect there, how should I watch Phobos, nothing at all?"
"Everything on time." Spoke the Oracle ominously, letting the girls and Caleb vanish in a fold, returning them to their home on earth.
"I hope you will inform him, my old friend." He said to the audience, where Yan Lin rose to her feet.
"Yes, it may be time for a little talk."
And right next to her opened another fold and Yan Lin, former Air Guardian, vanished, after giving her good bye to a confused Caleb and Elyon.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or W.I.T.C.H., or any location, idea, character etc. nor do I intend to make money with it, it is just for fun.
So I had this crazy idea spooking around my head for a while, a W.I.T.C.H. Harry Potter Crossover which has never been done before, at least I hope so.
More explanations will follow with the oncoming chapters.
I hope you liked and if not, please tell me what I can do better.
Have fun,