Neville's Guardian - Year 2 by Sharpe34

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Neville's Guardian - Year 2: Chapter 2 - Trespassers will be violated:

WARNING: This chapter contains graphic violence.

Dae blinked twice, and drew his knees up. He was pretty sure Rika wouldn't go for a crotch kick, but you never knew with the fiery Cathar. "Dammit, Rika, let me at least take my glasses off before..."

.o0o.

"Merlin's beard, Tom! A Gemi!? In HERE!? Now you have gone too far!" a drunken voice called out from a secluded corner of the tavern area of the Cauldron. "Bad enough you let some squib's were-whore pound on a mudblood in the back garden, but buying goods from that blood traitor and her brood? Then you let in some slut Gemi? It's not decent, kick them out, like you should have a year ago."

The room was quiet except for a few soft muttered agreements, then more boisterous catcalls from the group surrounding the elderly wizard. People were slowly building in volume as the mid-morning patrons stared at Dae's small group.

Ron boldly took a step forward to stand with Neville, while Hermione moved beside them both. Ginny reached out to Violet with a welcoming smile on her face, but Mrs. Weasley snatched at her shoulder and yanked the youngest Weasley child back with a hissed, "Ginny, no! Don't touch it!" Instantly her face went red, and she started doing a stuttered apology, but Rika's glare silenced the older woman in an instant.

"Mum? Mummy?" Ron and Ginny asked simultaneously. Neither had ever seen their mother do such a thing. They stared in fascinated horror as she shook her head, humiliated at her instinctual reaction.

"I...I don't...I didn't..I..."

Raucous laughter exploded from the dark corner of the tavern. "Even that blood traitor knows not to have a Gemi mixing with normal people, Tom. Get it the bloody hell out'ta here." The small cluster of men emerged from the corner to boldly press their demands on the shocked Innkeeper. One older wizard, obviously in his late 70s, and three other younger men, all obviously related. Two were in their late 20s, and the third was obviously the old man's son, and looked a hard-worked 40ish.

"Tom, I'm talk'n to you, listen up boy! I didn't take you and your slag mum in and get you this here pub for you to ignore your betters... Tom? TOM!"

The basket of rolls and sweet breads clattered to the floor, and were brushed aside as Tom dropped to his knees. His soft keening cries made the hair on the nape of Dae's neck stand straight up. Tom's nails were clawing deeply into his bald scalp, dragging huge long bloody gouges down to his face as he rocked back and forth, his eyes wide and not looking at the group that had entered the Cauldron, but at a point 50 or more years in the past.

"Lissa... little Lissa, you're back... they didn't eat you. I'm so so sorry. I had too... Uncle Tamish, he said I had to feed you to the boars... you were a Gemi... I had too... pleasepleasepleasenoo, forgive me Lissa, I had to, I was only 6, I had to do what he told me..."

"TOM! You shut your gob now, dammit man! Carrying-on over some Gemi-slut? Who took you in!? Who gave you and that squib mother of yours a life? WHO!? Now shut your noise, you, and kick that pack of scum out of me pub!" the old man commanded.

Dae's hands closed on Tom's wrists, and he gently pulled the older man's hands down. His eyes flicked to Rika, and the shocked woman moved instantly to his side. Her hands replaced Dae's on Tom's wrists and she started to gently soothe the man. Neville looked confused for a second, then gently taking Violet's wrist in his left hand, he pulled the girl behind him. Placing his body squarely between the men and her. His shoulders squared to the group, and his wand flicked up against his forearm, concealed, but drawn, and ready for a fight. Hermione, and Ron at the same time had moved to place themselves protectively in front of Ginny and Mrs. Weasley and the group of bigots.

Dae's hands cupped Tom's face, and he forced the older man to look into his electric blue eyes. "Tom, listen to me, Tom. That's Violet, my daughter from America. It's not your Lissa. I'm so sorry, but it's Violet."

Tom's eyes blinked rapidly, several times, he swallowed hard and finally saw Dae before him. "Not my Lissa? Not my little sister? You're sure? She looks so much like Lissa..." Blood and tears streamed down the tormented man's cheeks and off his chin.

Dae shook his head slowly, his mind touching Tom's, pushing gently at his mental pain, pushing it back, away from Tom's confused mind. He softened and turned down the volume of the taunts from the drunks, their catcalls, cruel words, as he focused Tom back on the here and now. "How old was Lissa, when... it happened Tom, tell me. I'll help you Tom, tell me."

Tom's breathing smoothed out, he felt the calm cool embrace of Dae's mind in his head, and found comfort in the iron will that let him stand against the terrifying memories. "Under two years, Dae, she was... 19 months old when Uncle Tamish... took us to Germany and made me... wrap her in her blankets and set her out for the wild boars to eat. I... he... mum was..." Dae could feel it, he was losing Tom again, the distraught man was slipping away from the cool tower of calm he had erected in his mind. So he did something totally unnatural for him. He drew the older man in, and hugged him, tight, letting him scream his pain into his shoulder, and tremble as his memories overwhelmed him again.

"Tom, it's over, Tom. Let it go." Dae held his human friend and sighed in frustration. Another person to care about, another responsibility. He was Sith. He didn't do compassion, didn't understand it, but the taunts of the drunks... that was something he could deal with.

.o0o.

Tom took only a minute, then gently pushed away from Dae, and turned to glare at his tormentors. He had found his center, the iron hard pillar Dae had given him inside his mind, and took control of himself once more.

"Out, every damned one of you. Get out of my place." Tom's tone was cold and firm. His hands were shaking, and his face was dripping, but his voice was steady. "You're banned, all four of ye."

"Tom, remember your place boy. This is my pub. T'was my money that bought it for..." The old man started.

"GET OUT OF MY PUB!" Tom screamed. "I paid you back a hunnert fold, Tamish! I owe you NOTHING!"

Violence was in the air and as the four men closed on the innkeeper, Dae stepped between them. "Tom, from today on, I'm your club bouncer. You want them out?" Dae asked evenly.

"Yes, please, Dae, all four, they're all permanently banned from the Cauldron," Tom said softly.

Dae's head turned and he looked the man in the eyes, and saw his resolve. Indeed he wanted these four gone, forever. His eyes flicked to Rika, then the children. His gaze was as ice cold as his voice. "Woman, try to be useful. Get those kids to the bar, get them some juice, and Tom needs a brandy."

Rika swallowed hard and nodded gently, "Yes, Master."

Dae's eyes flicked to the dumped basket, the ruined rolls and bread, and he frowned. His ice cold glance flicked around.

"You the baker?" he asked Mrs. Weasley. The shocked woman nodded. "Get Sunshine and the girl out of the way. They're in the splash zone." He took three steps forward and stood between Tom and the group of confused taunters. "Tom? Band-aids or body-bags?"

Tom sneered cruelly and hissed softly as Rika started dabbing at the cuts on his face. "Bod..." he closed his eyes, and sighed, "don't kill them, Dae, please."

Dae sighed. "Figures," he said quietly. "You four have til the count of ten to get out before I make you get out. One..."

The old man snorted. "The devil take you, squib, we're..."

"FIVE, TEN!" Dae shouted and leapt forward. His saber ignited with a gleeful snap-hiss and the purple blade sprang out, black lightning sparkling along its meter length as Dae landed midway between the two groups. A flash of green covered both groups and the four men groaned as they felt their strength and energy ripped from them.

Dae's hair exploded out from under his hat, the burns that the black Bolero hat mostly hid were instantly healed as his hair turned instantly silver and grew in a flash to over a foot long. In the same instant Tom's cuts magically closed, Neville's bruised raccoon eyes became clear, the twin cuts on Violet's scalp disappeared, and Hermione's bruises vanished.

All four men continued to groan in pain as Dae's grim glare swept them, his eyes flicked to the sides, two more men were joining the fray. He was crouched before the small cluster of men, the oldest and youngest were between the long trestle tables, the other two at the heads of the tables, and the two newcomers were midway between the stairs and the fireplace. Those four would have to either come over the tables at him, or go around the tables, perfect.

Dae's toes dug into the hardwood planks of the floor, and he shot forward, sliding on his knees. His saber in his right hand cutting through the drawn wands of the pair facing him. The old man's wand was simply cut in two, but the youngster's exploded as the spell he was casting blew back at him, taking off his thumb and two fingers as the energy was released.

Dae's left fist struck the old man's left hip. It was a blow so vicious, everyone heard the hip joint explode as the old man was flipped up into the air. His destroyed leg was still attached, but only by skin and torn muscle. It flipped up and back, the foot striking his own right shoulder blade before he slammed face first into the floor, knocking out his remaining teeth and rendering him mercifully unconscious.

Dae grabbed the wrist of the screaming wizard and yanked his hand up into the air as he rose to face him. His eyes flicked to the cuff of the man's shirt, and his head tilted to the side. "The hell?" Dae's finger hooked into the sleeve and he ripped it open, exposing the arm from destroyed hand to elbow.

The black coiling Death Born/Eater mark was raw and new. It writhed in the skin, malignant and sickening. Dae's eyes flashed gold, he saw the connections, all six of the men had the marks, the black lines of corruption connected the men together. He said quietly, "You offered them this arm? Then let them take it." Dae's swung to the side and pressed the man's arm to the room's central pillar. He struck the arm with his closed fist, the weight of his saber's hilt giving his blows more power and force. The bones collapsed, were shattered. By the fourth blow the arm was paste from wrist to elbow, and spells were starting to land on Dae's back as the other four men tried to get him off their young companion.

Dae dropped the now whimpering Death Eater and his left hand dipped towards his coat's slash pocket. A leather strap rose up, a collapsed baton gripped in it and he casually grasped it and extended the black metal with a loud triple clack. His saber re-ignited, and he started batting spells up into the rafters. The whirling ceiling fans dispersed the magical energies. The wards on Dae's coat shimmered, the insanely complex circles of Yumiko's magic spun faster and faster as more and more spells impacted the coat, before the dispersal magic in the ceiling fans wafted the spent energy away.

"Were-fucker..." the closest wizard said, and Dae swung the baton into his mouth. Teeth exploded, lips ripped, the man went to his knees. Dae's saber hand caught the fool's long hair and pulled his head back, he brought the baton down, again, and again, and again. Destroying the man's teeth, lips and looks. The last of the three brothers grabbed Dae's baton hand and tried to pull him off the whimpering figure.

Dae's eyes were cold. He shut down the saber, swung it up, against the wrist of the hand that gripped him, and ignited it. The energy blade instantly punched through the flesh, and in a second, super-heated the bones, turning them incandescent, until they exploded.

Dae paused and stared at the last two trouble makers. "Think about it."

Both men paused, then snarled. The spells came fast, stunners, pain, cold, fire, confusion, curses of all strengths, and Dae flicked them away casually with the baton and saber. In less than a second he crossed to the taller of the two men, and reaching behind his neck with both hands, gripped both ends of his saber, stepped back and pulled down hard.

The tall man flipped over the long bench seat and face planted so violently into the hardwood floor, his ribs shattered and he lost most of his teeth in the impact. Dae turned to confront the last man, but he was turned away, facing the children.

"Gemi-cunt! You did this! Avada Kedavra!"

Dae could see the power of the spell streaming from the tip of the wand, Neville was trying to ignite his saber to counter the strike, but he was in the wrong position. He obviously knew his barricade spell wouldn't stop the curse, and he was trying to get his body between Violet's and the Death Eater's wand.

Dae took the one step he needed, and spread his arms wide. His eyes locked on Violet's, and they stared deeply into one another's gaze as the spell struck him.

Ginny and Violet somehow ended up next to each other as the fight progressed. The girls were both frightened and horrified by the brutality. When the last wizard turned towards them, they both assumed he was making a break for the door. Violet's eyes glanced at Neville's left hand and saw him swing the captured saber from under his hoody up into a guard position, his thumb pressing lightly to the power stud.

.o0o.

The casting of an unforgivable curse caught them all off guard, and the wand was pointed directly at Violet's face. She ground her teeth ready for the pain that was to come. Then Dae was there. A man who only three days before had left her to the fate of being ripped open to power a robot, was taking a killing spell to protect her.

Green energy spiked the tall man and he flew forward, landing on his knees right before her and Ginny. "Why?" escaped her even as Ginny blinked at the scowling man as he shook his head, her own question, a whispered, "How?"

Dae coughed once and shook his head again. He looked from one girl to the other and said softly, "It's a kind of magic."

Dae rose stiffly and turned. He strode forward as the confused wizard looked at his wand, back to Dae, his wand, "How... what?"

Dae had dropped his saber and baton, and reached out with his right hand, clasped the wizard's wrist and yanked hard. The man was jerked towards him and then past him. Dae calmly swung left, then back hard to his right, his elbow slamming into the base of the man's skull with a loud mushy pop.

The wizard squawked and started to fall like a puppet with its strings cut, but Dae's left hand grasped a thick bunch of hair and kept the man more or less upright. He was expressionless, and without a wasted movement, chopped his right hand against the man's Adam's apple.

Everyone heard the wet crunch. Blood exploded from the wizards mouth, getting on both his and Dae's face. Dae stepped away from the girls pulling on the man's hair and laying him out flat on his back between the tables and collapsed Death Eaters. With a casual gesture, he used the force to draw a bench to the gurgling wizard's side and sank onto it.

Dae reached into the man's pocket and withdrew a slim cigar and placing it into his mouth held his thumb and forefinger an inch apart and let lightning arc across the gap to ignite the cigar. He took two or three deep draws and cocked his head to the side looking into the man's eyes as he exhaled a thick streamer of smoke.

"I just killed you. Your vocal cords, larynx, windpipe and a bunch of important veins and arteries are broken. It'll take you about, ten minutes to bleed out. You could drown from your own blood, that would take... well about ten minutes too. You could try swallowing enough blood to vomit and drown from that, but again, it'll take about ten minutes to work." Dae took another deep draw on the cigar, and exhaled slowly. "You could say, 'but, Dae, Tom said not to kill us,' and you would be right. There is an easy way to avoid your death. Just roll over." Dae took another deep drag on the cigar and leaned back. "The next ten minutes... well, the last ten minutes actually, of your life are going to truly suck." He held the cigar out, and tapped the ash into the gasping man's open mouth, before taking another satisfied puff.

Coming soon, Chapter 3: I've got an angle.