Written for round 7 of the QLFC
Team: Pride of Portree
Position: Seeker
Prompt:Green Lantern
Severus said it was stupid to have taken the ring. Looking at his withered hand, Albus couldn't help but think it was a fair price to pay.
The ring contained the resurrection stone, this much was true. However, while that may once have tempted him, it no longer held any interest.
No, the true power was not the stone, it was the ring it had been set in.
Many muggleborns over the years had equated magic to a superpower, but Albus knew that this was not a fair comparison. Most people, wizards included, thought superpowers to be fictional, but Albus knew better.
This ring contained the ability to bestow superpowers on the wearer. Yes, his hand was destroyed, but he had gained power beyond his wildest dreams. Albus chuckled to himself as he sat at his desk, the ring firmly in place on his blackened finger. With this power he could do anything.
Severus was the first to witness this new power at work. He had seen the ring, and was certainly intelligent enough to work out what it was, given enough time. No, he had to be dealt with, and quickly. The loss of a competent Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher was a shame, but Albus would find someone willing to take the job. He always did.
The green light that shot from Albus' wand felt right. It was the colour of the ring, the colour of the power that Albus now held within him. A shame, he mused, that the power wasn't red. Slytherin colours were far from ideal. But the spell bathed the dungeon room in emerald light, and Albus knew this was correct, was how things were meant to be.
Albus intended Voldemort to be the next to witness this immense power, but his plans were thwarted by Minerva. She had seen the ring, of course. It was hard not to notice it, but Albus was reluctant to remove it. The power was contained within it, and without it he was nothing but an old man with magic not unlike that of everyone else in the castle.
Minerva's body fell to the floor, her purple robes clashing horribly with the green halo of light that surrounded her. She would be missed, of course, but she could not be allowed to stand in the way of progress.
The other professors fell, one by one, to the power of the ring. The light barely showed in Pomona's greenhouse, surrounded by the foliage of the plants she had loved so much. Albus regretted the fact that they would soon wither and die with no-one to care for them, but it could not be helped.
Filius had dodged the first bolt of green that Albus fired. Years on the duelling circuit had honed his reflexes, but he still could not compete with superpowers. It took more attempts, but his corpse soon joined those of his fellow teachers. A shame to waste such a good mind.
Sybill never saw it coming. Albus smirked. Her prophecies never did do her much good.
Hagrid was impervious to most magic, due to his giant's blood, but Albus wielded something stronger. As the gamekeeper fell, Albus grinned widely. Surely, nothing could stop him.
Everyone else didn't even pose a threat, and as the Ministry officials left his office, having believed the story that Albus spun them, he knew that he had done the right thing.
The castle was restaffed with younger and less intelligent people. None of them recognised the ring, or even gave it a second glance, for which Albus was grateful. He did not want to lose more educators for the greater good of defeating Voldemort once and for all.
The students returned, and seemed far more interested in the state of Albus' hand than the jewellery adorning it. A couple of the more intelligent purebloods had to be dispatched. They recognised the insignia on the ring, and Albus could not risk the chance of them deciding to research it. He could not allow this power to be stripped from him. He had a purpose, and he intended to see it through.
At the top of the tower, with Harry hidden under his father's cloak, Albus made swift work of Draco Malfoy. He did not regret his actions; the child was a servant of the Dark Lord and was truly Lucius' son through and through. Harry would understand.
Of course, if he didn't, it would be easy enough to deal with. One green flash and he would be gone.
The remaining Death Eaters fled the scene, too terrified, Albus assumed, of his awesome power. Even as his body weakened in the aftermath of the curse that had destroyed his hand, his power grew ever more intense.
By the end of the summer, Albus knew his time was coming to an end. The curse was consuming him. Luckily, the power he had been granted over the last year had allowed him to make great headway in the fight against Voldemort, Admittedly, the man himself still lived, but so many that could prevent Albus' victory had been dealt with.
Albus finally removed the ring from his finger, placing it inside a snitch, along with a message.
Harry,
Wear this ring. It will grant you power beyond your wildest dreams. With this, not even Voldemort will be able to stand against you. It is all you need.
At the funeral, Poppy Pomfrey sobbed on Remus Lupin's shoulder.
"He was such a great man. This last year, he really hadn't been himself, you know. Personally I suspect the curse in his hand had affected his mind, somewhat. I once overheard him mumbling something about superpowers! Such a shame that it happened to him."
When Voldemort discovered the bodies of the former professors hidden away in the castle, he smiled to himself. His traps on the ring had worked perfectly. Now he could only hope that the ring, and the curse it bore, found their way to the Potter boy and his victory would be assured.