Each player must accept the cards life deals him or her. But once they are in hand, he or she alone must decide how to play the cards in order to win the game - Voltaire
'Where the fuck am I?' Was only the second thought that crossed Anna's mind before she caught herself from falling, just in time to avoid bouncing her face off the dry grass beneath her.
The first thought was 'What the fuck just happened?', when she was somewhere on route to the roof of the Arch de Triumph. Suddenly, she felt an almighty lurch that pulled her to an entirely different destination. If she didn't already know that something had gone seriously wrong, she was given proof enough when she stumbled out of her Jump. Anna never stumbled out of a Jump.
"Stupid fucking Paladins." She grumbled, having no doubt in her mind that her predicament was some fault of theirs. Raising her hand to block the sun's rays assaulting her eyes, she took a deep welcoming breath of northern hemisphere air.
Not many people noticed, but the air north of the European continent smelled fresher than that of the sun soaked Mediterranean land mass. It was weightless and unburdened by the trapped moisture of humidity. Willing her breathing to calm down, Anna stood still and welcomed the heat that hit her cold and soaking wet body. Her now destroyed clothes were drenched and clinging to her body in the most unattractive way.
'Please let the boots be alright.' She pleaded with Fate. Taking one, unstable step forward, she knew that the precarious deity had other things in store for her when she felt her heel give way.
The growl that ripped through her was earth shaking. There were some things money just couldn't buy...and a pair of pre-season Louboutins was one of them. 'Frankie is going to kill me!' More so than the Paladins on her tail, the image of her fashionista friend shouting at her had her trembling to the core.
Sighing, Anna decided to proceed onwards with the day that started out bad, and was quickly deteriorating.
'Bloody Gloria bloody Estefan.' From this day on, the mention of that name would be punished with blasphemous proportions in her presence.
Starting with the obvious fact that she was outdoors somewhere, Anna stood and took note of where she was. It was a large, sloping, well maintained field of dry summer grass- possibly a garden. A quick glance behind was met by the sight of a huge, wrought iron gate that looked securely locked, but possible to climb over if you knew what you were doing.
The landscape to her left was dominated by a huge forest that ran the entire length of the grounds and beyond the realm of her sight. To her far right was a giant lake, that had she not been soaked to the skin already, looked like a good place to cool off in the heat.
All this was noted in the first two seconds of her observation of these grounds. Anna was well practiced in the art of stealthy observation, and could tell what a person's day job was just by looking at the condition of their hands- fingertips in particular.
After a quick scan around, her attention was quickly captured by the crowds of teenagers clustered around the grounds in small groups, and immediately Anna felt her mood drop even lower.
'What is it with this day and crowds of bloody teenagers!'
At this point, anything in her sight line that wasn't an alcoholic beverage was most likely to be greeted with a growl. Taking in their wide eyes and dropped jaws, she started to make her way towards the group closest to her. 'This should be interesting.'
On her unsteady and irritatingly long walk towards said group, Anna found time to really take in her surroundings.
Behind the mass of people and endless stretches of grass and courtyards sat a castle of gigantic proportions. Anna had been many places in her life, had strolled the lonely corridors and danced in the empty ballrooms of the world's most exquisite palaces; but even she had to admit that Buckingham Palace had nothing on this place!
In awe of the sight before her, Anna continued to trek across the grass towards a group of misfits sitting on the outskirts. She was still panting when her feet stopped in front of them, and so lacked the ability to talk for a few seconds. This worked in her favour, because the four teens and two grown men seemed to be having a similar dilemma themselves.
'Some people have it easy.' She couldn't help but think while staring at the six of them sprawled out on the grass without a care in the world. A few years ago, Anna might have been slightly bitter about this, but not anymore.
She had accepted long ago that she would never lead a normal life, and so just took it in her stride not to let her situation get the better of her. But sometimes, when those bat-shit crazy Paladins were involved, she couldn't help but think the universe was out to make her life a living hell. When it came to them, her usually cool, calm and collected persona turned off like the flick of a switch.
"Hey guys, how are ye? Sorry to interrupt and everything but eh...you couldn't by any chance tell me where I am?" Still panting, Anna smirked at them in the hopes of eliciting some sort of reaction in haste. Looking around at the blank faces of the odd mismatched group, she realised she could be waiting a while to get them to snap out of it.
Other than walking up and shaking them, she was formulating ideas in her mind before her gaze honed in on a pair of grey eyes the colour of a rainy spring morning. Her heart skipped a beat, and images of home started flickering through her mind at a rapid rate.
Endless open green fields...inexplicably beautiful grey skies...thrashing ocean waves the colour of steel...ever green forests from the pages of storybooks...
"But...but that...that's not possible! You can't apparate into-"Anna's bittersweet memories were interrupted by the disjointed sentence of a pretty girl, with bushy brown hair that she pulled off exceptionally well. Books were piled around her crossed ankles, forgotten about in the mid day heat. With essential time slipping through her fingers before trouble caught up with her, Anna threw up her hand to halt her.
"I'm really not trying to be rude, but I really need to know where I am...like now." Snapping her finger for emphasis, Anna hastily took note of the amount of people that surrounded them.
She didn't even know the name of this place, and there was no chance of her forgetting that castle no matter what age she was; hence, she should never have been able to Jump here. Her form of Jumping was particularly unique in relation to other Jumpers, but even she had limits – she couldn't Jump to a place she couldn't visually picture in her mind.
Her heart clenched at the prospect of leaving now, but she knew it would break if the Paladins caught up with her. If any harm came to these kids because of her and the danger that followed her, she would never forgive herself.
"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry..."The pretty girl answered in a trance like state, information flowing from her by instinct apparently.
'Hogwarts School of what?...ok, no time Anna, get it together.' Anna was starting to get uncharacteristically anxious now, and was bouncing from foot to foot.
"Yeah, I'm going to need you to be a bit more specific than that?" She tried to keep her voice light for their benefit. It's extremely difficult to get answers out of people when they panic. Anna took a quick glance behind her shoulder, noticing with a sense of foreboding that her Jump Scar was still open. It should have closed a long time ago.
The obvious thing to do would be to leave now, from right where she stood. But there was something holding her back, preventing her from departing before she found out where this strange place was. It was a gentle tug that she felt within her body; deeper than flesh, blood and bone.
"Jesus, aren't we very sociable? Don't all talk at once now, every one!" Anna's voice rose a decibel or two, and still they stared back at her with wide eyes and open mouths.
"Fuck me; it's like trying to draw blood from a fucking rock!" She grumbled, which she thought strangely enough seemed to shock some of them into a state of semi consciousness. By the time she realised that it wasn't in fact her that brought them out of their trance like states, it was too late.
Her knees were only half bent in an attempt to duck to the floor when she heard the whooshing sound behind her. A painful grunt escaped her exhausted chest, and she only just had time to prepare herself for the pain of rope-like electrified chords trapping her arms against her body.
Using her only source of movement, Anna managed to twist her body in the direction of her attackers before she hit the ground. She knew that it was impossible to Jump with the cables trapping her, but natural instinct took over, urging her to escape anything that restrained her. The result was ten thousand volts of electricity running through her brain.
Anna bit down hard on her lip, and the metallic, copper taste of blood filled her mouth. The urge to vomit was worth it to prevent her from voicing her pain. She was determined not to give the Paladins her screams.
Ignorant to the dry grass scratching her face, Anna painfully lifted her head to find two soaking Paladins making their way towards her. One of them was limping, the others lip was gushing blood, and they both looked twelve times worse than her. Somehow, they both found ability to wear arrogant smirks, the below amateur idiots believing that after years of being chased by ex- navy seal mercenaries and world class assassins, it was these two idiots that had finally caught her. It was almost comical.
'If they only knew they were only alive until now because I was being kind!' When Anna was met by an opponent that was detrimentally inferior to her, she preferred not to kill them outright. Instead, she tended to just leave them in life threatening situations, and from there on it was their responsibility to ensure their survival...it rarely happened. The Amazon was a difficult place to catch a ride from.
In using those pathetic electrified cables, those two grinning fools had just sealed their deaths, because now Anna was stuck between a rock and a hard place. She was reluctant to use her newly acquired 'gifts', due to the fact that they were so unpredictable. On the other hand, she had no other way out of these ropes; if those two witnessed what she was able to do leaving them alive was not an option.
In the end, the Paladins made the decision for her, when the muscular man with jet black hair and a scarred face removed a knife from his belt. In her life, it was either kill or be killed, and survival of the fittest meant using every weapon at your disposal.
Without closing her eyes, Anna was able to visualise the blade in the man's hand. She could feel the cold touch of the steel against her skin, and was just getting a feel for its weight when the cables tethering her to the earth snapped.
Without questioning it, Anna flipped herself off the ground and used her peripheral vision to take in the mercury eyed man with the rugged good looks pointing a polished wooden stick at her. She had absolutely no idea how he did it, but somehow he had freed her.
Psyching herself up, she turned with a smirk on her face and muttered a quick thanks to the handsome man, and with a wink she was gone again, leaving no trace save a fragment of twitching air.
What could be described as the entire school of Hogwarts was watching the unfolding events from some point of the castle. It didn't come as a shock to any of them to find Harry Potter and his friends somewhat associated with the strange girl who was clearly under attack from the two men following her. Students and staff watched in nervous anticipation as the brunette disappeared in front of their eyes yet again, leaving many questions unanswered.
Since Voldemort returned, it was common knowledge to everyone that it was impossible to apparate onto the grounds, and not just those who've read Hogwarts: A History.
Their questions were to remain unanswered, forgotten among the excitement when she reappeared once more. Her movements were so fast that they would have been almost missed had they not been accompanied by the sound of a dull thud. The resounding crack of breaking bone was teeth grinding, and everyone's attention was drawn to the two men, one of whom had just received a jaw breaking punch from the girl, before she disappeared in front of them once again.
Before the man raised his hand to grasp his jaw, the girl reappeared ten feet behind them. In the blink of an eye, she was gone again, back to her previous spot and crouched on the floor in front of the men once more. She swung her leg in a wide arc, knocking the broken jawed man onto his back with a thud.
His companion's reflexes were uncompromised by a mind numbing punch, allowing him to lift both legs from the ground before he too landed flat on his back; it was unclear yet who was to suffer a worse fate. Amidst the flurry of activity and glances shifting back and forth at the speed of light, before anyone knew it the girl was now standing directly behind the still upright man.
Just as his feet hit the floor again, she tackled him, forcing both of them to fall forward towards the ground. Mere inches before their faces made contact with the ground the girl disappeared again; along with the man. They didn't reappear.
It was widely assumed that these people, whoever they were, were muggles. At least the two men were anyway; they were wearing muggle armoured clothing and were carrying a wide variation of muggle weaponry. The possibility of them hiding wands underneath all that bulk was doubtful.
Hastily regaining his composure after his friend was hijacked, the other muggle rose from the ground. Paying no attention to his spectators, he pulled a plastic brick like object from his back pocket. Those students who were somewhat muggle savvy realized it immediately to be a mobile phone. After poking and prodding at it for several seconds, he gave up and replaced it back in his pocket.
Immediately he made his way towards Harry and the rest of the group. Sensing the dangerous vibes from the man, Sirius and Remus instantly leapt to their feet and took up a defensive stance in front of the students. Both men had their wands out, prepared to take action against the unwitting muggle if he attempted anything. The muggle spared both men's wands a condescending glance before neutralizing his hard expression and wiping away the stream of blood flowing from his mouth.
"I need to use your phone now." He managed to mumble with a grim set mouth. He was bulkier than his companion, if slightly shorter, with shoulders as broad as a bear. He had a deep, baritone American accent.
"Excuse me?" Sirius growled at him. His words were clipped, trying in vain to contain the rage boiling inside of him. The intent of the two muggles was obvious, and if it wasn't for the fact that there was an entire school of impressionable young children behind him, Sirius would have thrown his wand down and proceeded to beat the man to a pulp. What sort of grown man tries to attack a young woman?
"You can't use any form of technology on these grounds. They won't work." Sirius looked down to see Hermione inching by his elbow. He immediately stuck his arm in front of her and pushed her behind his back. Sirius was mad at the man for trying to hurt an unknown woman; if the man attempted to approach Hermione, he wouldn't be able to stop himself.
"You must be able to get a signal somewhere. Quickly, take me to your computer room. All of your lives could be in danger." The muggle tried to speak down to them, glaring up at Sirius in a pitiful attempt to establish some form of male superiority. Glancing behind his shoulder, the man pulled a knife from his belt.
"Your life is in serious danger until you drop that blade you're holding." Sirius growled back at him, his mercury eyes hard and glaring at the muggle.
"I don't have time for this." Moving mechanically, the man returned the knife to his belt and reached behind him. When his hands emerged from behind his back, he pointed a gun at Sirius' face.
Harry started to panic, knowing perfectly well that Sirius had no idea the damage that could be inflicted upon him. He reached out and gripped his godfather's shoulder, attempting to calm him down and pull him back towards him.
Before Harry's grasp tightened on Sirius' shoulder, the girl appeared once again.
She was standing at the man's shoulder, towering above him in her high shoes. Her face was covered in still wet blood, clumps of it sticking to her now dry, windswept hair. Trails of tears were rolling down both of her cheeks, the salt clearing a path to reveal a flawless complexion. For all the obvious danger rolling off her in waves, it was the fire burning from her watery eyes that informed them all of how crazed with fury she was.
"You're time was up the moment you took this mission." Before the man had time to react, she delivered a nose shattering elbow to his face. With well practiced movements, she whipped the gun from his hands and pulled the knife from his belt, throwing them both to the floor with a clang of metal on metal. With calligraphic tattooed fingers, she gripped the front of the man's shirt and disappeared in front of their eyes. Again.
From that moment on, only glimpses of them could be seen across the grounds. She appeared like brief flashes of lightning at different altitudes, hurling the man to the ground with super hero like strength. His mangled body would hit the ground like a sack of bricks, but before he could catch his breath, she was on top of him once more. She continuously pulled him to his feet for a never ending period of time just so she could throw him back down to the ground again with a bang.
When everyone was convinced that the man was surely dead, and every bone in his body broken, she appeared in front of Sirius and Lupin once more. Holding the man up by the scruff of his shirt, he dangled like a puppet in front of her. The man was coughing up blood and choking on the collar of his shirt, but the sounds of his struggling didn't faze her. With a steady hand, she reached her palm in front of her- a choir of gasps were heard when the blade shot up from the ground and landed into her palm.
With a knuckle white grip on the handle, she disappeared in front of them once more.
Everyone remained frozen, anxiously anticipating her return. Harry, Hermione, Ron, Ginny and Lupin held their breaths together when Sirius inched closer to the portal that twitched playfully in front of his eyes.
"Sirius, I don't think that's a good idea mate." Lupin whispered as the seconds painfully ticked by. Sirius outstretched fingers were twitching, begging to touch the shimmering air that took the shape of a rippling window.
"Look, up there!" A male students booming voice broke out in the background. Everyone whipped their heads around and they met a heart stopping sight. The girl pushed the man from the top of the astronomy tower and followed after him, letting him free fall below her. The man's arms were scrambling through the air, trying to find purchase in the empty space above him.
As the gap grew between them, she reached out her arms and fisted the man's shirt in the area of his abdomen. She still had a tight grip on the knife in her right hand, a dark liquid gleaming in the sunlight along the sharp edge of the blade.
Everything was happening in slow motion, right down to the frightening change of expression on the girls face. A blank, emotionless look morphed to mask her furious features- then the both of them were gone again.
While all of this was happening, no one was paying attention to the third figure that showed up on the ledge of the Astronomy Tower. Sirius Blacks attention had been drawn to the falling bodies behind him- he quickly lost his balance, and stumbled backwards through the portal behind him, his cry of surprise inaudible from the roof of the castle.
To everyone's horror, Sirius was still stumbling backwards when he emerged from the other side of the portal. He followed the two before him, and proceeded to fall directly off the Astronomy Tower.
Don't be shy, let me know what you think!
Shewolf x
