HARRY POTTER AND THE CHIMERA
Disclaimer: The last time I checked, I was not J.K. Rowling. Therefore, I do not own Harry Potter. I just happily play in Rowling's brain baby.
PROLOGUE
Somewhere in the World
Before the Age of Common Magic
The old man was scrunched over a desk, his back stooped with age. Before him lay a worn leather-bound book filled with scribbled on parchment. His wizened arms were splattered with ink from his study, the quill in his hand shook as he wrote. Purple-black eyes regarded the research for a moment longer before he threw his quill down and lay back in his chair. The man closed his eyes and rubbed his hands on his head in a position of deep thought. A quick knock on the door interrupted his meditation.
"Enter" The old man croaked out.
A handsome young man opened the door and walked inside before giving a bow before the elder. He quickly righted himself before shifting his feet slightly apart and his hands clasped behind his back with an ease that showed the position was completely natural to him. The young man opened his mouth to speak, but hesitated when the old man turned around to regard him.
"Speak, Darian. I already know what you are to say, as young Kathreen was in here earlier with the same argument, but I'd enjoy hearing it come from your perspective" The old man said with amusement. The young man, Darian, paused again before seeming to make up his mind.
"Master Leaven, I know how important your research is, but you must keep your strength up. Please come eat!" Darian begged. Master Leaven absorbed this information for a moment. Suddenly he stood up with a speed and strength that shouldn't be in an old man. His fist lashed out Darian, who twisted with unnatural speed to avoid it. His elbow flashed out at Master Leaven's head, aimed to incapacitate him. The Master simply crouched down with a spin and slammed his fist into Darian's stomach, knocking the wind out of the much younger man and throwing him flat on his back.
"As you can tell, Darian, while I may be old, and admittedly have not eaten for several days, I still have my full strength. Completing these runes before the end is all that matters right now." Leaven walked back to his desk and sat down. Darian, still wheezing, looked up at him from the floor in desperation before hauling himself to his feet. He shook his head and made to leave.
"Darian".
"Yes, Master Leaven?"
The old man paused a moment, his eyes filled with sadness as he looked back at his young apprentice. "You'll... you will make a fine Chimera when I'm gone."
Darian swallowed and nodded, too overcome to speak. He bowed one more time and turned to leave.
"But you still leave your lower half open when you punch!"
3 weeks later
Around 20 men and women paced outside of a glowing door. Their lean bodies rippled with muscles that showed power, yet each one had an expression of fear on their face. Every few seconds one of them would glance at the door.
Eventually, one of them put a determined expression on his face and stalked towards the door. Before he could reach it, another one of apprentices grabbed his arm.
"He said not to enter until it's done, Darian!"
"What if something goes wrong Lizie? He needs someone in there!"
"We have to trust him! He'll be fine, Darian."
"But-"
"Enough, Darian. Go sit and calm your mind" The speaker was a fair-haired boy around 10 years of age. He was sitting cross-legged on a mat, calmly waiting. As Darian turned to face him, he fixed his dark green gaze on him, showing he was not in the mood to be trifled with.
Darian glanced at the door again before closing his eyes and allowing his mental training to calm him. The other apprentices, no longer distracted by Darian, glanced once again at the door and continued pacing. There was nothing any of them could do but wait.
Inside the room, Master Leaven scratched a couple more glowing runes onto the floor. The entire room was covered with runes, spiraling in a glowing masterpiece of magic. Each rune thrummed with a power unknown to all but Leaven. There was an ethereal beauty to them, Leaven thought. But there was also danger. Each rune was unstable, bound together with fragile lines. If a single rune of Leaven's calculations were wrong, his mission would figuratively and literally explode.
Leaven limped towards a small circle on the floor left bare of runes, only just large enough for a man to stand in. He carefully positioned himself inside, making sure to keep every part of his body clear of the runes. A single, spoken word activated the runes. "Chimera".
A wave of golden light swept over the runes, pure magic sparked like lightning in the air. The golden light seemed to rush around the room in a whirlwind, getting faster and stronger with every rotation. Leaven thrust his hands down with a yell. The magic rushed upwards before arching down onto Master Leaven. As the magic entered him, his eyes closed in acceptance, waiting. A force pressurized the room, making Leaven's ears pop and head pound.
"This could be the end of a line," Leaven thought. "Or it could be the beginning of everything". A sense of judgment filled Leaven. He could feel something, some powerful force beyond his comprehension, judging his body, his mind, his very soul. His body began to tremble and shake from the sheer power of the being observing him. Just as he collapsed and the world went dark, he heard a deep voice.
"Chimera."
"Well, we haven't exploded yet, so that's a good sign."
"Wow, that optimistic, Lukea."
"We can't just leave him in there! He could need help!"
"Have we not been over this? If we go charging in there, we go boom, Master Leaven with us."
"I hate waiting for this thrice damned symbol! Why do we even need it anyways?"
"It is required for the long game, Darian. Without it, our enemies may imitate or use-"
The speaker, a red-haired woman, was cut off as Master Leaven suddenly stepped through the door. Literally, he walked through the solid wood as if it wasn't there. He stood before the apprentices, gazing at them with his purple-black eyes.
"It is time for your oaths." Master Leaven said solemnly.
"Did the runes work, Master?"
"Kneel, Kathreen."
The apprentices knelt down without hesitation before their master. They gravely waited for this one moment that would decide the fate of the world. The air pressurized slightly, as if pure magic was swirling unseen around them. Suddenly, translucent flames erupted around Master Leaven, wrapping around his entire body like a cocoon. It filled the apprentices with a sense of peace and warmth, promising protection and giving them a feeling of belonging.
"We are Chimera. We are the grey between the light and the dark. Our enemies are the foes far beyond the power of mortal men and the darkness that conquers the hearts of the weak. We are pure, and shall remain so until the end of our watch. Do you accept the duties of the Chimera, to guard the world from darkness, to protect the secrets of the guardians, and to serve with all your soul?"
The apprentices responded as one strong voice.
"We swear. So mote it be."
Master Leaven walked to each apprentice in turn and placed his withered hand upon their brow. His aura swirled as he marked each warrior. Every man and woman felt the importance of what was happening, knowing that the world had just been changed forever.
"Rise now, Chimera."
The newly marked Chimera rose. Pure magic sparked again before the translucent flames burst out of their bodies. The sacred power thrummed in the air.
And the Chimera were born.
Hogwarts, 3rd Floor
June 4th, 1992
"Professor Quirrel?!"
The boy's voice reflected shock and surprise at the revelation. He stumbled backwards towards the exit. Before he could reach it, the shadowy man in the turban slashed his hand through the air. Bright flames erupted around the room, blocking all chance to escape. The fire illuminated the room, showing a large ornate mirror, Professor Quirrel, and the young face of Harry Potter.
Harry Potter stared defiantly at Quirrel and stepped away from the searing heat. "It was you! You tried to kill me!"
Quirrel just looked amused. "Obviously, you stupid boy. Did you truly suspect Snape? Even though he would be everybody's first suspect, and Dumbledore would be sure to investigate him? Merlin, I'm amazed you didn't accidentally kill yourself for me. Small wonder my master was able to kill your pathetic mudblood mother so easily."
Quirrel had meant to anger Harry and succeeded. At the insult to his mother, he let out a roar and shot a stream of bright sparks from his wand tip. Quirrel almost lazily blocked it with a disappointed look on his face.
"Incarcerous!"
Harry fell over, tightly bound by solid rope. As he squirmed on the floor, Quirrel stalked over to him. He looked down on the defeated wizard in anger.
"Pitiful. I held out from actually trying to murder you in the hopes you may make a better servant for my master. I see now that I wasted an entire year. "
With a swish of a wand, the struggling Harry rose up into the air upright. A couple ropes lashed out around his neck and tightened. The boy gasped for breath and the ropes only got tighter. Quirrel turned around and walked towards the mirror. He stared deep into it for several long seconds, ignoring the sounds of the choking Harry behind him.
"Quirrel... he cannot die yet." A hissing, rasping voice said. Quirrel seemed to not hear it, transfixed as he was by whatever he saw in the mirror.
"Enough!" Quirrel screamed in agony as a crackling sound emitted from his head. He fell to his knees cradling his skull while tears ran out of his eyes. His concentration lost, the ropes loosened and Harry fell to the ground.
"Let me ssssspeak to the boy..." Quirrel was in too much agony to comply. Suddenly his eyes turned pure black and he rose to his feet. His hands moved robotically and unwrapped his turban. The gasping boy froze in horror as something out of a nightmare was revealed. Sticking out of the back of Quirrel's head was a scaly pale face, with slit-like red eyes and no nose.
"Ssssee what I have become, Harry Potter... Leeching off of the inferior, sssstruggling to remain alive... Quirrel is but a vesssssel, but you have ssomething I need. Give me your body, Potter, and we sssshall be immortal!"
"I'll never help you! You killed my parents!" Harry managed to croak out from his bruised throat.
"I do not need your cooperation, boy. Sssave yourself from the pain... Join me!"
The possessed Quirrel pointed his wand at the boy's head. Instantly, Harry began to scream as his mind was assaulted. His emerald green eyes slowly started turning red and his skin was losing its color. Quirrel-Voldemort took a step closer to the writhing boy with triumph on his face.
Suddenly a figure stepped forward from the corner of the room. He had been completely undetectable from both sight and sound. He sprung forward with a graceful leap to stand between Voldemort and Harry.
"Who-?!" Voldemort screamed out as his assault was abruptly ended.
"Noone of consequence." The figure was a teenage boy, with ice blue eyes and dark messy hair. He wore a short black robe marked with streaks of purple and held no wand in his hand.
"Avada Kedavera!"The green light of the Killing Curse shot towards the stranger. He spun around and swiped with his cloak. The curse exploded against the cloak, rippling over the teen harmlessly. He completed his spin and lunged forward. His palm struck the possessed Quirrel in the exact center of his chest. Despite the force the blow, the larger man seemed almost stuck to the hand, remaining upright.
"Animae Separatae."
A strong, clean white glow exploded out from his hand, spreading out across the room. Quirrel and Voldemort both screamed in agony and the white glow flashed once before fading away. The lifeless husk of Quirrel fell back in a graceful arc as the dusty spirit of his master rose from his corpse. The wisp screamed in anger and charged towards Harry. Before he could reach him, the white glow flashed again. Voldemort screamed once again and fled to the exit, flying up the stairs and escaping.
The stranger turned and briskly walked to the mirror. Without bothering to look into it, he thrust his hand through the solid mirror. The glass melted like water around his arm as he grasped around inside the magical depths of the mirror. With a grunt of satisfaction, he pulled out a blood red stone.
"Who, who are you?" Harry asked from his spot on the floor.
The stranger paused, as if contemplating his question. He turned and silently walked up to Harry. The boy scrambled backward in fear, grasping his wand and aiming it at the stranger. Neither of them moved.
"I am not your enemy. Now sleep." The stranger waved his hand. Harry opened his mouth to speak but before he could the wave of magic hit him. His eyes rolled back in his head and he slumped down unconscious. The stranger knelt down and put his hand to the boy's forehead.
The sound of footsteps interrupted the teenage boy. He stood up and flicked out a wand, pointed at Quirrel. With a muttered word, the corpse dissolved into a large pile of grey dust. The teenager turned and quickly started walking towards the exit, towards the footsteps. Just before the approaching person was in view, his body rippled like quicksilver. Within a second, he was completely invisible. He quickly stepsided an old man with a long grey beard and continued walking towards the exit. And with that, he was gone.
AN 1: Hello people of the fanfiction world! My name is Pie! I will say that I have very little writing skills, my talents lay in the story plot. If you don't like the writing, stick around for the story. If you don't like the story, then you probably don't like the writing, so get out of here! Please leave me some reviews for this prologue, it was technically the first thing I've ever written, even if I'm not publishing it at the time of writing it. Constructive criticism people! If you just want to say "This story sucks", then don't bother.
AN 2: I bet some of you were confused by the first part of the prologue. "Whaaaat, what's this Chimera stuff? I'm here for Harry Potter fanfiction!" Don't worry people, Harry is still the main character. I just needed to introduce a new idea into the Potter World.
AN 3: The viewpoint of this prologue was basically an all around viewpoint. Later chapters may have the viewpoint of a specific character or even first person.