A Wizard Shall Fall

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own plot line and characters. And probably not even all of them.

Harry Potter is property in part and whole by the lovely J.K. Rowling, NBCUniversal, and/or Warner Brothers and Warner Brothers Entertainment.

The Inheritance Cycle is property in part and whole by Christopher Paolini, Paolini LLC, and/or Alfred A. Knopf

The Dresden Files is property in part and whole by Jim Butcher, ROC Book, Dable Brothers, and/or Dynamite Entertainment

All recognizable characters and references are properties of their respective owners.

Plot: When the dementors surround him, Harry cries out to anyone who will listen… But will the entity that hears him be worse than the dementors themselves? Smart!Powerful!Political!Grey!OP!Harry; Helpful!Snape; Controlling!Dumbledore; Harry Potter with elements from Dresden Files, not a complete crossover. Some elements in referenced to Inheritance Cycle.

A/N1: So this is my first real posting on this site. Read my Author's Bio page for more details, but I welcome any and all feedback! English is not my native language, so let me know if I didn't catch a mistake. I'm also looking for a Beta reader, if anyone is interested!

A/N2: I have this series planned for at least 5 books, each with an unknown amount of chapters (probably 20-40 each, but we'll see). If you have anything you want to see added in, let me know! No pairing is final, and none are set in stone

Dedication: This series is dedicated to DZ2 and Sinyk, both of whom have written some truly fantastic stories that helped me through some less-than-happy times, and gave a lot of inspirations to this series. Also to my wonderful fiancé who has put up with my nonsense for 5 years now… and our wonderful dog. See if you can find him in [almost] every chapter!

Book 1: The Orbs of Fae
Chapter 1: Fall into Darkness

When Wynter's Wizard fades from Litha's blessed light,
And the darkness from beyond consumes him with fright,
Then shall fall the Wizard in the hands of Queens
And end the Table's fight with his Hallowed mien

"Expecto patronum," Harry cast, causing a faint white wisp to come from his wand. The dementors were unimpressed, pushing closer and closer. Harry heard godfather falter and fall next to him, collapsing on the ground.

"Not again!" Sirius cried. "I did it! I did it!" as Sirius became overwhelmed by the force of the dementors, Harry noticed his godfather's eyes glazing over as he re-lived the worst day of his life. "Haha, can you believe it Amy? Ha ha ha it's all my fault." By this point, Sirius was talking to the air, struggling to breath for all his insane laughter

"Hang in there, Sirius. We'll get out of this" Harry told his incapacitated godfather, hoping with all of his 13-year old heart that it was true. Unfortunately for Harry, as he was trying to make sense of Sirius' ramblings, the dementors had edged ever forward, not paying any heed to the now-snorting man on the ground. Their focus had all shifted for the one soul still struggling to stand, putting up a fight against becoming their midsummer snack.

"Expecto patronum!" Harry shouted, trying to think of any positive emotion amidst the wave of misery emanating off of the dementor horde. Thinking of Ron, of Hermione, of Neville and, for some reason, that one weird Ravenclaw he noticed this year, he tried again. "Expecto PATRONUM!" A shield came forth, not a corporeal patronus, but a shield nonetheless, a perfectly round bubble of sanctuary surrounding him and Sirius. The dementors screeched, not expecting any more resistance from the frankly feeble snack in front of them.

Harry knew he could not keep the shield up forever; he could feel his strength fleeing out his wand as he struggled to maintain the barrier. "Please," Harry thought, "there has to be someway to survive." Cursing to himself, and not realizing he was speaking aloud, Harry planted his feet in the center of his patronus bubble, begging for help. "Anyone, anything, please help! I'd do anything, just help us! Please, save us." As Harry let out his third and final plea, the last of his strength failed him, and he fell to the ground on top of Sirius, bone-weary and defeated. The dementors surged forward, their incessant screeching seemingly magnified the closer they came to the panting teen and his raving godfather.

The dementors grew closer yet, and Harry mustered one final push. Not thinking of any one person, or place, Harry remembered back to his very first year at Hogwarts, during the Yule holiday. He remembered seeing his family surrounding him, and the sense of peace and love he felt. Mustering his strength one last time, Harry failed to noticed that he had fallen in the exact middle of his extinguished shield bubble… the bubble that had curiously still left a ring, a perfect glowing circle, in the sandy shore of the Black Lake. Remembering his first feelings of home, of love, Harry drew on every last reserve he had, and cried out, "EXPECTO PATRONUM BRUMA!" Not knowing why he added that last word, or even what it truly meant, Harry gave his all to the spell, pushing every drop of magic he had left through his wand. A spectral light shone over Harry, so bright as to bathe the clearing in noon-day light, yet so cold that even the dementors thought they would freeze. As the light grew and took shape into a mighty bird, Harry had just enough energy left to notice that the dementors' screeches had changed, and sounded pained instead of hungry. Harry could not ponder on that, though, as he looked up and was shocked to the massive summoned cardinal that seemed to fill the clearing, the bird's chest on fire, wreathed in golden flames, while the wings were pure white and crystalline, reminiscent of arctic ice and giving off a harsh, blueish-white glow.

As Harry looked at his magnificent patronus, for he finally realized that is what the bird was, he wondered why his hand felt numb, and saw his right hand covered in splinters, holding on to a mere fiery red feather. His wand, his trusted 11-inch rod of supple holly, was no more. Slowly but surely, Harry began to notice something else, too. His head. His head was aching, burning, feeling like all the dementor screeches were simultaneously coming from within and without. Harry, bereft of any and all energy with this new pain, felt himself slipping and falling, slowly losing consciousness as his body and magic gave out until all he knew was blackness, then nothing more.

Harry came to suddenly, finding himself in a world of pitch darkness. He could see neither ground nor walls, no floor or ceiling in sight. In fact, Harry had no way to tell that he was actually awake, other than the barest sensation of not being unconscious.

Caught in this liminal state, still unable to muster energy to get up, Harry did all he could and asked, "Hello? Is anyone there?"

"Of course," came the reply, a sickly-sweet answer that drifted to Harry from no particular direction. "I am here for you, child mine".

"Who are you?" Harry demanded, suddenly upset that anyone would try to call him their child when his parents were well and truly dead.

"Oh, I'm hurt" came the reply, as cloying sweet and sarcastically fake as the first response. "How could you not know me? After all, you summoned me to your aid, did you not?"

Who is the man behind the curtain (or the darkness, as the case may be)? Who could thrive in the hidden shadows, playing mind games with our poor hero?

Stay tuned, the next chapter should be out soon, and be considerably longer!

Leave comments/questions/concerns/reviews below… Ta-ta~!

-BJL13