The Adventures of Artemis and Apollo Warwick: The Noble Ones
DISCLAIMER: I don't own the rights to Harry Potter, the actors in the movies, or anything else that has to do with it. I acknowledge I didn't create those quotes in the end of first chapter; they are from Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince. I had to include them or else that entire conversation would be screwed up. And keep in mind, the Lupin I write of in my stories are based on, in appearance, the Remus Lupin played by David Thewlis in the film. Relax. It's a fanfiction.
The Martyr
There were screams----terrible screams----echoing throughout the castle. They scraped the stone walls, mauled the tortured psyches of the beings there, and tore at the air. How filled with pain they were! Nearly overflowing with terror for their lives! If one were to close their eyes, they would envision ghostly figures stampeding in one direction, looks of pure horror etched on their translucent faces. Behind them were vibrant red figures cloaked in black, herding them over a cliff with pitchforks.
How close to the truth this was.
The Death Eaters had invaded Hogwarts.
And now it was on fire.
Students from every house poured into the Great Hall, crying out for protection. The Death Eaters swept over them in their clouds of black. They were like great evil bats, swooping down upon the students only to take pleasure in their terror. Their cackles overpowered the screams of the children. It seemed to the children no one would be brave enough to fight Voldemort's loyal servants,
But they were wrong.
Behind and above them were the Legions of Light----all of the teachers, a few older students who were more experienced than the children below, and the Order of the Phoenix.
The Order appeared like rays of light to the children. They were brave, courageous and benevolent. Above all, they were heroes. Countless numbers of the students aspired to, one day, stand on the pedestal of justice and announce to the world that, yes, they were in the noble Order of the Phoenix. As they watched the battle taking place before their very eyes, their dreams were confirmed.
And Artemis and Apollo Warwick were fighting----back-to-back----very large and very nasty Death Eaters.
They stood on the first landing, their wands pointed at two men cloaked in black, distorted faces similar to those in Greek tragedies masking their true appearances. The twins attempted to look brave. It was difficult; Death Eaters were foreboding opponents, and the twins were still shaken from their battle weeks ago. They sighed, wondering how on earth they got into such a mess. The twins had returned some months before, from defeating Fenrir Greyback. (Lupin recovered from his injuries, and had them hurried back to school. He was later transferred to the House of Black for protection.) They thought they were done with the Dark side of magic. They thought they would return to a normal life. Alas, they were mistaken. Here they stood, once more confronted by the evil beings of the wizarding world's nightmares.
The two men facing them chuckled in a sinister manner. "Look a' the children!" one snickered. "Fancy yourselves as 'eroes?" His companion howled with laughter.
Apollo rolled his golden eyes. "Artemis, I'm rather getting tired of these two," he murmured to his sister,
"I agree," she replied.
"Shall we?"
"Oh, I think so."
The twins pointed their wands at their foes' hearts and roared, "Rictumsempra!"
The Death Eaters were propelled fifty feet in the air before disappearing over the banister. Great, Apollo thought. Two down, one hundred more to go.
"Apollo!" Artemis screamed. "Behind you!"
The boy spun around and blindly cast, "Stupefy!"
A tall black shadow was thrown back against the wall. It slumped to the ground, where it lay motionless. Apollo turned to his sister. She was panting, holding her head as she leaned against the banister. Her black hair---now falling a little below her earlobes---hung limply from her head. She was worn out. Clouds and other obstructions were shielding the rays of the moon. Apollo could tell her spirits were failing.
"C'mon," he said, grabbing her wrist. "We have to keep going."
Her silver eyes looked up at him pathetically. Finally, she took a deep breath and nodded. The twins looked ahead at the battle unfurling before them. It was complete chaos. Flashes of red, green, and orange flew through the air. Ghostly black figures mingled with angelic white shrouds, aggressively twirling like smoke above them. Long trails of grey followed their lead. And, of course, there were the screams.
The achingly terrified screams.
The twins wished they could drown them out. Yet, they were a reminder of what they were fighting for. They were fighting for an end to the tyranny, to the fear. Deep down they knew they could succeed, but at what cost?
"My feet hurt," Artemis suddenly complained. "All of this fighting is taking a toll on my feet."
"Maybe you could channel some of that pain into your spells?" Apollo suggested. She was, after all, quite good at creating spells. She shrugged.
"I could try," she said. A mischievous glint suddenly manifested in her silver eyes. "I shall take the sorrows of mine feet"---she held up her right foot and pointed to it---- "and bring forth a thunder to smite thine enemies!"
Apollo rolled his eyes in a puckish manner. "Nice one," he joked. Something caught his eye, hurtling towards them at meteoric speeds. "Now, on a more serious note---DUCK!"
With the reflexes of a rabbit, Artemis threw herself onto the floor right as a streak of green flew above her head. Apollo's golden eyes turned towards the source: a very thin, very tall Death Eater (masked, of course) with long orange hair: a woman, based on the curves of the black shroud. Fire pumping through his veins, he leapt over his sister and screamed, "Petrificus Totalus!"
Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. His spell missed the witch by centimeters. She moved with such inhuman celerity that Apollo only had to blink once to see she had vanished into thin air. In an instant, the woman was at his neck, her wand digging into his throat.
"You escaped us once," she hissed. "You won't do it again."
Apollo's wry mouth turned to a scowl. "Morganna," he spat.
It was the she-werewolf, McGorgo's favorite whore. She had come to wreak her revenge on the two children who destroyed her lover, who destroyed her McGorgo. Artemis aimed her wand at the woman's forehead, taking a small step forward. Morganna shook her head, "You'd best put that down," she growled, shaking her fiery head. "Unless you want your brother blown to smithereens." She pressed the wand deeper into his neck. Artemis hesitated, her eyes darting from Apollo to Morganna. She let her arm fall back to her side. The she-wolf smirked, and turned to Apollo.
"I am going to annihilate you," she hissed into his ear. "And your bitch of a sister!" Her impression of the wand grew more painful as she dug it into his flesh. Apollo slowly began moving his arm up towards his upper body. Before either of them could move, the boy felt a sudden gasp escape Morganna's red lips.
"I'd greatly appreciate it if you'd release the boy," a firm yet weary voice demanded. "Now."
Morganna grinned devilishly and put her hands up, dropping her wand and letting Apollo go. The boy rushed over to Artemis's side, where they both commenced to look for the identity of their savior. When they saw him, they both smiled broadly.
"Why if it isn't the Great Traitor, Remus Lupin!" she cackled. "I thought you died!"
"I'm sorry I got your hopes up," Lupin coolly replied. The twins saw he had his wand pressed firmly against the back of her head, right where the neck and the head meet.
Lupin, as it appeared, was back to his normal self. His robes were as shabby as ever. The scratch, which he had obtained in the many weeks before, had softened into a bumpy red scar. In time it would become a near-invisible slash running down his face. The torchlight lighting the battlefield unfurled around him. At a quick glance, he appeared to have a halo hovering above his head.
His eyes drifted over to the twins. "Alright?" he asked them quietly. They nodded.
Morganna began to chuckle. "Are you proud, Remus?" she scoffed. "Are you proud of your little whelps for destroying our kind's only chance at supremacy? Are you proud they doomed us to submission for eternity?"
Her sharp intake of breath told the twins that Lupin had dug his wand deeper into the back of her neck. "What I am proud of," he said, "is how they managed themselves in battle and how they defeated a great evil that could have destroyed us all." A surge of pride shot through the twins.
A growl rumbled in Morganna's throat. "You're wrong!" she screeched. Before any of them could move, she sprang up into the air. Lupin tried to grab her, but to no avail. Morganna twisted her wicked body in mid-air, turning it to face the twins. Her eyes glinted. Before Artemis and Apollo could move, she was suddenly falling towards them.
There was a flash of light, and Morganna was sent flying. She smacked up against the furthest wall and crumpled to the ground.
The twins looked to their guardian. He was breathing heavily; something about him made them think he had yet to recover from his harrowing ordeal with Greyback and his pack. "Thanks, Lupin," Apollo said.
"We're not finished yet," the older wizard reminded them. "Remember: stay alert, focused, cautious, and keep your wands at the ready." And with that, he sprinted off to find another Death Eater to exchange spells with. The twins grasped their wands tightly. They gazed at the chaos around them. The battle continued. Their "army" fought with such viciousness and vivacity that they were reminded of their battle with Greyback's pack with the Order. They looked to each other.
"Ready?" Apollo questioned his sister.
She grinned. "Ready."
They each took one step forward, and descended into the madness encompassing them. It wasn't hard to find a new challenge. Death Eaters were everywhere. Artemis soon found herself fighting with a very short and stout Death Eater. Apollo discovered an opponent in a very fat man. Both matches were going according to the twins' plan.
"Stupefy!" Artemis shouted. She missed. "Stupefy! Stupefy!" Again, the man jumped away from her spells, laughing madly as he went. Artemis groaned. "Stand still!" she yelled. "Petrificus Totalus!"
The spell hit the devil squarely in the chest, and he fell flat on his face. Artemis pointed her wand at his heart. "Rictumsempra!"
The statue was sent flying into the air before hitting a wall and falling to the ground, cracking ever so slightly. With this one out of the way, she leapt to the chance to find another.
Apollo's rival shot every Unforgivable Curse at him.
"Crucio! Imperio! Avada Kedavra!"
Apollo narrowly avoided each one. He directed his wand at his foe's head. "Conjuctivitis!"
An ugly sallow crust suddenly appeared over the Death Eater's eyes. He screamed as the growth blocked his vision. He began clawing desperately at it, trying to peel it off. Before realizing he might be wasting time against this child, the boy shouted, "Levicorpus!"
The Death Eater was jerked into the air by an invisible hand. Rotating his wand counter-clockwise, Apollo made the ghost finger turn the wizard upside-down. Voldemort's minion thrashed about madly, flailing his arms like a wounded duck. Apollo grinned.
"Fly, my pretty! Fly!" he cackled, moving his in all directions and thus yanking the Death Eater all around. The wizard roared.
Suddenly, without warning, everything became quiet. The shouts and screams that had filled hearts with sorrow stopped. A sense of calm had taken over. The turmoil had, apparently, ceased. The stillness enveloped everything and everyone, except for Apollo, who was too busy enjoying himself to notice. Then, almost simultaneously, ubiquitous cheers erupted. They racketed the castle with such a tremendous force that it seemed a tiny tremor was shaking the castle. Apollo's eyes quickly glanced around to see what the matter was. Nothing immediately showed up, so he returned to his torturing.
"Apollo!" someone yelled. Apollo heard footsteps running towards him. He craned his head, letting his wand arm dropping to his side. The Death Eater fell to the ground, the impact stunning him.
Dean Thomas, the tall and lanky boy from Gryffindor, was running towards him. He was waving his arms. A look of relief was painted over his face, which also held a couple of scratches and bruises from battling Death Eaters. "Dean!" Apollo exclaimed. "What's wrong? Is everything alright?"
Dean smiled. "Yeah," he replied. "The Death Eaters are retreating!"
Apollo's eyes popped out of his skull. "What?"
He spun around to face his defeated for. Out of nowhere, a black shroud flew down and scooped up the paralyzed Death Eater, disappearing with a trail of black smoke.
"Brilliant!" Apollo turned back to Dean. "Where're the others? D'you know where they are?"
Dean nodded. "I saw the Weasleys run up to the hospital wing. I think Artemis, Lupin, and Tonks are up there too."
A wave of consolation rushed over him. "Thanks, mate." And with that, Apollo rushed to the hospital wing with such speed one would think his shoes had wings.
The hospital wing was filled to the brim with the wounded and otherwise. Crowds of people stood at each bedside. The flash of bright red at the end of the ward told Apollo exactly where the Weasley children were. Sure enough, Artemis, Lupin, and Tonks were there too. Everyone was morose. Lupin stood by the bed, crestfallen. Tonks was looking down, as if trying to avert her eyes from something. Ron, Luna Lovegood, and Hermione were comforting each other. They all watched as Madam Pomfrey swooped down to carry out her work on someone. Apollo didn't want to find out. A chill ran down Artemis's spine; she looked up.
"Apollo!" Artemis squealed, running up to hug her brother. He noticed a scratch below her eye, and one of her hands was bruised. "How're you? Are you alright?"
Apollo smiled. "Peachy," he replied. "You?"
"Just brilliant," she said. A look of melancholy suddenly crossed her face. "But Bill . . . " Her voice trailed off.
Bill? Apollo thought for a moment. An image of Bill Weasley popped into his mind. Bill was a strapping young man, and an extremely capable wizard at that. What happened? Surely he wasn't dead?
He approached the group. Lupin and Tonks looked up. Lupin gave him an acknowledging nod, then turned away. Ron, who was staring at his brother's face, let his eyes drift to Apollo, then down at Bill again.
"Hey, Apollo," he mumbled his greeting. "I'm glad you made it."
"You too," Apollo replied. "If I may ask, what----?"
Ron drew in a quivering breath; Hermione put her arms around him.
"Bill," he said quietly, "was attacked by Fenrir Greyback."
A gasp escaped Apollo's gaping mouth. Greyback? Greyback was here? He could have attacked at any time, and knowing his love of children . . . . A cold stone entered his stomach. He swallowed. "Was . . . is he---?"
Lupin spoke up this time. "Greyback wasn't transformed, but that doesn't mean there won't be consequences. I don't believe Bill will become a true werewolf."
Apollo gulped. Through a little crack in the crowd, he could see bloody mess of flesh somewhat resembling a face. He turned away. Artemis was sitting in a chair besides Lupin. She motioned Apollo to pull one up next to her. He did so. As he sat down, he noticed her eyes seemed like they were darker. They had always been bright silver. He surmised that the weariness caused by battle had temporarily taken away the light.
"So, how'd you make it through?" she asked. She began to rub her temples, a habit, more or less, she had picked up from Lupin.
Apollo told her of his battle with the Death Eater, and how at the last minute Dean came to tell him that the Death Eaters were retreating.
"What was that all about?" he asked.
"We were asking ourselves the same question," Lupin responded. "They all just left, simultaneously."
Before anyone could reply, someone from the Weasley family breathed, "Harry."
The haggard group looked up to see the bedraggled Chosen One and Ginny Weasley (who was grasping his hand tightly), shuffling towards them. His eyes were gazing downwards. Hermione suddenly appeared by his side, wrapping her arms around him and squeezing him in a relieved hug. Lupin approached him.
"Are you all right, Harry?" he asked, placing a hand on his shoulder.
Harry nodded. "I'm fine." He hesitated. "How's Bill?"
Nobody replied. His injuries were too big of a shock to discuss.
As they discussed Bill's wounds and what would happen as a result with Ron and Madam Pomfrey, the Warwicks couldn't help but remember when the had turned into werewolves. The pain was unbearable. After they returned to Hogwarts, they feared they would become permanent lycanthropes. Thankfully. It never happened. The next full moon was spent in their dormitory, transfiguring teakettles into socks. They prayed Lupin was right about Bill.
"Dumbledore might know something that'd work, though," Ron suggested hopefully. He glanced around, his brow furrowing. "Where is he?" It was as if he half expected the old wizard to burst into the ward, blue eyes twinkling, exclaiming that the magical cure for Bill had been in his pocket the whole time. "Bill fought those maniacs on Dumbledore's orders, Dumbledore owes him, he can't leave him in this state-----"
Ginny looked to her brother sadly. Her face was pale with grief.
"Ron---Dumbledore's dead."
For a moment, all time stopped. A deathly pall had descended upon the little group. The blood in their veins froze it.
"No!" bellowed Lupin. His eyes were wild, the color in his cheeks receding into their corporeal depths. The Warwicks flinched----they'd never seen him so crazed before, not even in his lupine form. This was an alien reaction to them. They shivered. Everyone seemed to take notice of this strange occurrence they had just seen. They stared at him. Lupin, realizing all eyes were on him, sank down into a chair. Tonks gazed at him, almost like she wanted to reach over and cradle his mourning body in her arms.
Artemis and Apollo stared at each other, eyes wide. Dumbledore was dead? It couldn't be! He saved them from McGorgo that night their parents died, told them where to go. He was the greatest wizard of all time! Apollo felt his heart pound at his chest, drumming at his ribcage, as one's heart will do when distressed. He placed his hand to his forehead, a gesture to signify disbelief. He tried to breath, but the air quivered upon intake, and shimmered when he exhaled. His eyes burned. Looking to his sister, he found that tears welled up in Artemis's eyes. She bit her lip, determined to hold her cries in their bodily corrals. Her whole body was quaking. Then, as the rivulets began streaming down her cheeks, she broke down. Her sobs shattered the astonished silence of the group. Without warning, she embraced Apollo, almost knocking him back. Her tears splashed onto his shoulder, seeping into his clothing. Based on past experiences in which she wept, he knew her bogies were being unintentionally wiped on his shoulder too. He ignored the fact, and held her in a comforting embrace.
Tonks gazed at Harry, her mousy hair becoming paler. She hesitated. "How did he die?" Her voice was nothing more than a whisper. She took a deep breath. "How did it happen?"
Harry told them of Dumbledore's death. He became a melancholy raconteur. He trembled the entire time, either in sorrow or fury.
An aura of disbelief enveloped the group. Madam Pomfrey let out a cry and broke down. Ginny gently placed a hand on her back and kindly whispered, "Shh! Listen!"
A ghostly voice, soft in its magnitude, pealed through the darkness like a bell. The twins had never heard such a thing. It was a beautiful lament of loss and rebirth. Somewhere deep down, Artemis and Apollo knew it was a phoenix. Hadn't Dumbledore had a phoenix?
For a long time, they listened to the dulcet melody. The Warwicks trembled; they felt as if they wanted to sing with the bird, engage in this haunting harmony. An arrow shot into their memories, kindling the night their parents died. The song, as it seemed, had transposed their despair into a euphonic rhapsody. It eased their anguish.
Without warning, it stopped; Professor McGonagall strode into the ward. Her face was grazed, her robes torn. She announced Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were on their way, and spoke to Harry about the incident. She, Harry, Tonks, and Lupin conversed about Snape and why on Earth Dumbledore trusted him. The discussion moved to a new direction as the group retraced their steps from the beginning to the battle to the dreadful end. When they were through, Ron slumped into a chair.
"I can't believe it," he breathed. "Dumbledore dead? Snape the murderer? And he just let Snape kill him?
Apollo looked to the boy. "Dumbledore was a fighter," he blurted. He realized how stupid it sounded and cursed himself for not thinking.
Ron shut his eyes tightly, as if trying to forget something. "Yeah."
Apollo sighed sadly. "Well, maybe he did. But Dumbledore didn't just die. He died for . . . " Apollo tried to find the right words " . . . erm, to save the world, right? And not just that. He died to save Harry. He believed in a safe and evil-ridden world." He noticed Harry had been watching him, listening to him. "He believed in you." Apollo's eyes lead him to the ground. "He didn't die a pitiful old man. He died a martyr."
Hermione approached Harry "He's right, you know," said Hermione, her voice cracking with sorrow. Apollo turned to her direction. He had forgotten she was there. Now that he saw her, he could see her face was red, her bright, intelligent eyes puffy. Harry nodded. Apollo's speech had, as the twinkling in Harry's eyes showed, made him feel better. In all reality, however, Apollo delivered the sermon to reassure himself. He hated to think of Dumbledore as a weak, decrepit old man who wouldn't fight for his life. In his eyes, the old wizard had been almost godlike. But from what Harry said, it almost sounded like Dumbledore didn't care any more. Apollo's sorrow swallowed him whole, and silenced his voice. It carried him to a distant land, away from all the grieving and shouting going on where he was. He didn't react when Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and Fleur Delacoeur, Bill's French fiancée, arrived and announced she would still marry him, even if he had been mauled by a werewolf, thus earning her Mrs. Weasley's respect. He didn't notice Tonks yelling at Lupin, insisting they should be together even if he thought he was too old, too dangerous, and not wholesome enough for her. All of that flew right by his glazed eyes and shut ears. Grief consumed Apollo and forced him into a dark hole.