AN: Hi, hi! First of all, thanks for choosing to read this! Secondly of all, for all of those who have read my story Promises, this story is a revisioning (is that a word? Microsoft Word says not) of my former HP fic (which is no longer on my page and that is no loss I assure you). So basically, this story contains all the characters (and some new ones) that were in Promises and whilst it retains their relationships, personalities etc etc they're all a lot older now, their situation is a quite different and some of their house sorting is a little different. I know where this story will end, the middle is a little hazy so if I go on a tangent, ROPE ME BACK IN! This story is still as canon as possible, no AU, no slash, no zoophilia- just pure Harry Potter. Author's Notes always ruin the flow of reading, but I had to put this somewhere!
Disclaimer: I do not own anything that you, the reader, may recognize from the actual Harry Potter Universe.
-Prologue-
The screams are deafening, the cries of pain and agony filling his ears. All around him, people are dying. Dropping like flies, regardless of which side they're on.
He runs. Runs as fast as he can through the crowds, deflecting curses and sending them too. There is a tremendous BANG! which sends shudders through the battling crowd. He too cowers a little, covering his head. As if that would stop his skull from crushing under the weight of the entire Astronomy Tower.
He looks up and sees the ancient Tower swaying in its foundations, dangerously hanging over the crowd. It begins to fall, the witches and wizards abandoning their war for a second as they scramble to safety.
He too runs for cover, making sure he is nowhere near the falling Tower. He is only just catching his breath, only now fully understanding his predicament. His whole body is shaking, shivering and convulsing. He is only brought back to senses by the dying screams of hundreds.
The Tower has fallen and though many have scrambled to safety, many are not so lucky. They are crushed underneath the heavy stones and there is absolutely no chance that they have survived.
He can see hands and legs and arms and heads all poking out from underneath the rubble. But this has only been a minor setback apparently, because the battle has recommenced. Witches and wizards merely stepping over the dead as they fling curses and hexes at each other.
He can hear the horrid shrieking of the goblins, wielding their swords as they hack through their former oppressors. He can hear the ethereal cries of the Dark Creatures, yelping and moaning as they tear through the fresh corpses.
He hears a piercing scream and he flicks round. At the end of the Bridge, he can see a young witch on the ground. She is face down, her blood all over the place. Upon her are two Creatures, yelping and shrieking as they stab stones and sharp instruments into her exposed back. The look on their faces is pure blood lust and he is hoping, for the girl's sake, that she is dead.
One Creature jumps off her back and grabs her feet, in preparation to drag her into the Forbidden Forest. At this action, the girl springs back to life and begins to scream again. This only aggravates the Creatures and they begin to slap and bite her, furthering her blood curdling cries. She looks up for a moment and locks eyes with him.
A brick falls in his stomach as he recognizes the girl; Zhyphera Zabini. She is not a close friend, merely someone he knows but that doesn't mean that he would not save her. If he could.
"JAMES!" Zhyphera screams, her dark hair flying all over her face, "HELP ME!"
Before he can do anything, James suddenly feels a pair of hands on his back and for a moment he is flying through the air. As he hits a stone wall with a sickening thud, the wind knocked out of him, he can finally see his attacker. At first, James thinks it's a Walpurgis Knight, but now he can see his error.
His attacker is in a right state of things. Its skin has blistered and popped, the flesh torn away at some places. There is a gaping hole in its jaw, so deep that its teeth could be seen. Its eyes are glazed, drooping in their sockets but its intent is clear. From beneath its ragged black cloak, it pulls out its wand, aiming right at him.
No, this is no Knight. This is a Death Eater.
A derelict husk of one, but a Death Eater nonetheless.
With Zhyphera still in his mind, James has no time to think.
But before the Death Eater can do anything, James pulls out his wand and screams, "Reducto!"
The effect is almost immediate and devastating. The curse rips through the Death Eater's, tearing and slashing at its poor body. James recoils as black, sticky blood bursts from the Death Eater and splatters onto him. It attempts to cry out, but soon its mouth begins to rip apart too. By the time the curse has run its course, there are only ribbons of ragged flesh left in a sticky pool of blood.
Sickly proud of his work, James hurries over to Zhyphera. But it's too late. She is either dead or dying (James hopes the former) and now the Creatures are dragging her into the Forbidden Forest. Her nearly severed head trailing along as her dirtied blood makes an even bloodier trail.
James is close to tears. Zhyphera is dead and by the time the Creatures are done with her, there'll be nothing left to bury her with.
James is sickened with the reality. Zhyphera was more than a talented witch and yet, she stood no chance against the Creatures of the Undead. What chance does Lyra have? Or Jerome? Or Louis? Or Graeme? Follisius? Albus? Josephine? The list is endless with the names of people he could lose today.
James flattens himself against a wall as a Hufflepuff boy runs past him, three goblins upon his back as they stab and curse him. A witch falls to the ground dead as a Knight sends a Killing Curse straight through her heart.
James Sirius Potter can't stand it anymore. He can't-
He stops. His whole body freezing. He can hear the muffled moans of a dying being to the right of his ear. He pulls out his wand, realising it can be anyone; friend or foe.
But in his heart, he knows it's someone he loves. He just knows.
He edges closer to a little courtyard where he and his friends had spent countless lunches laughing and messing about. Now, it is piled high with the dead, painted and tainted with their innocent blood.
The moonlight shimmers upon the courtyard, casting an eerie glow upon the whole thing.
James' heart almost stops beating when he sees who it is. His breath is caught in his throat and for a moment, he is unable to breathe. His legs go numb and he falls to the ground. Immediately, yet groggily, pulls himself back up.
"No," James groans, "Please, no."