Disclaimer: All portions of the HP universe/worlds/characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies. All portions of the Hunter x Hunter universe/worlds/characters are the property of Yoshihiro Togashi and Shueisha Inc. (publisher). This story is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written for my own enjoyment. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites.

Warnings: Mild to moderate violence, character death, alternate universe (i.e. kiss canon goodbye – as if that wasn't already obvious since I swapped a few genders), angst, drama, some mild character bashing, and who knows what else.

AN: This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance.

Chapter Six: Games x We x Play

"Here we are, young man; you'll find the rest of your fellow applicants through these doors," Beans announced as they stopped in front of a set of doors.

"Thank you," Azalea replied as she made no move to open the door; her thoughts in turmoil due to the short question and answer session that the old man had just put her through. The short green man waited patiently beside her and Azalea wished he would leave because she wanted to make herself invisible before she entered the room so that she wouldn't have to talk to anyone.

"Chairman Netero will be arriving shortly to debrief all of the applicants," Beans stated after another few minutes passed. "You should join the others now, so that you don't miss his speech."

Azalea sighed and nodded but still made no move to open the doors. Beans let her have another minute before he simply opened the left door and held it open so that Azalea could enter the room first. Sighing again, Azalea pulled her hat down low over her face and hunched her shoulders before she reluctantly shuffled into the room. She kept her eyes on the ground in order to avoid meeting anyone's gaze and stuck close to the wall as she moved a few feet away from the door. She then leaned back against the wall, crossed her arms over her chest, and ignored the numerous pairs of eyes she felt staring at her.

Just a few minutes later, the man that had been questioning Azalea entered the room alongside Beans and everyone was asked to gather close. Azalea opted to remain where she was (the witch unwilling to mingle with the other applicants at the moment) though she did finally pull her eyes away from the floor. She couldn't help but flinch when the man stated that he was the chairman for the current exam and she found herself breaking out into a cold sweat as she wondered why the chairman had felt the need to personally question her when any old examiner could have done so.

The witch doubted that the man had interviewed all fifty-six of the remaining applicants; otherwise it would have taken longer for them to take off (unaware that she was the only applicant that hadn't turned in a completed application prior to entering the Exam).

"Please allow me to properly introduce myself; I am Isaac Netero; the Chairman for the two hundred eighty-seventh Hunter Exam Selection Committee. I had originally planned to make an appearance during the final Phase of the test but I find the rising tension in the air exhilarating and so I have decided to stick around a little longer in the hopes that a few of the remaining fifty-six applicants in this room will entertain me."

"For those of you who don't know me, I am Chairman Netero's secretary; Beans. We are due to arrived at the site of the next phase tomorrow morning at eight o'clock in the morning," Beans stated while Chairman Netero laughed heartily over his own declaration. "For those of you who are hungry, there is a buffet style supper set up in the main Dining Hall. There are also a series of small dorms available if you wish to get some rest. In other words, all of you are free to do as you wish until we arrive at our destination."

Azalea scowled and returned her gaze to the floor as the majority of the other applicants filed out of the room seeking food or a bed. She heard, rather than saw, Gon and Killua dart passed her on their way out; the two boys eagerly discussing what part of the airship they should explore first. Azalea wasn't certain whether she should feel relieved or depressed over the fact that neither boy had stopped to try and talk her into joining them as she had half expected them to. She overheard her other two short-term companions drawing nearer next.

"There is one thing that bothers me," Kurapika confessed to Leorio as the two of them reached the door.

"And what is that?" Leorio asked in return.

"Exactly how many more phases are there to this exam?"

"Oh. None of the examiners so far have mentioned an exact number, have they?"

"The number of tasks varies from year to year but on average there are usually five or six phases," Tonpa answered as he walked up behind the other two.

"That would mean that we still have at least three more to go…" Leorio mused and Azalea lifted her head just enough to see the taller man stop and turn around to face the shorter man.

"All the more reason for us to get some rest now," Kurapika stated tiredly and both the blond and Leorio turned to leave once more.

"I wouldn't let my guard down if I were you," Tonpa quickly added before the other two could leave the room. "There are still thirteen hours between now and when we arrive and…"

"And you should shut up," Azalea growled derisively as she pushed away from the wall; her annoyance with the foul little man spiking sharply due to her current insecurities and irritation. "I've met people like you before; people who think it is their god-given right to walk all over everyone else because they have been deluded into thinking themselves superior. When in truth they are nothing more than insignificant little toe-rags that get off on bullying those who are smarter or more talented than they are in order to make themselves feel better about the fact that they themselves are nothing but hopeless failures that lie and cheat their way through life. People like you disgust me."

Kurapika and Leorio were gaping at Azalea; neither one of the teens had ever heard the witch string so many words together or use such a contemptuous tone in all the time they'd spent in her company. Tonpa's face, on the other hand, had steadily grown darker throughout Azalea's short speech as the man grew angrier with each word Azalea uttered.

"I'm going to kill you," Tonpa growled as he clenched his fists and bared his teeth.

"You and what army, little toad?"

"I'm going to choke the life out of you with my bare hands!"

Azalea let out a soft, low, dark laugh that held no trace of humor in it and those that were close enough to hear her shivered nervously (bar one murderously insane man that was standing just outside the room and wearing a badge with the number forty-four on it). The young witch then sneered at the small, fat man as she scathingly retorted, "Uglier and more powerful men than you have tried and failed to kill me time and time again. You wouldn't even make me break a sweat before your world went black."

Azalea then deliberately turned her back on the older man and walked out of the room without looking back. She'd barely gone three steps beyond the door when the fine hairs on the back of her neck stood up and she instinctively dropped down into a crouch, spun around on her heels as she thrust her right arm forward, and let the incantation for the Full Body-Bind Curse cling to the tip of her tongue. She jerked her eyes upwards seconds later and felt the spell freeze in her mouth as she found Hisoka the Magician looming over her with one hand stretched out (as if the man had been going to grab her) and wearing a rather creepy grin. Azalea didn't dare breathe as she waited for the man to attack her.

"Impressive," Hisoka murmured as his grin grew wider. "Almost as impressive as that neat little flying trick you did earlier. I think I'll be keeping an eye on you, little mouse. I want you to impress me again."

Azalea dropped back onto her butt as the creepy man licked his lips in anticipation he before walked right by Azalea. She took a shaky breath and carefully did not turn her head to watch the man walk away as she silently thought, 'Merlin's grubby and moth eaten undershorts; that man frightens me more than Voldemort and all of his Death Eaters combined.'

"Are you alright, James?" Kurapika demanded as he and Leorio rushed up to her; the two of them had witnessed the entire scene as they'd followed after her once they'd made certain that Tonpa wasn't going to attack her while her back was turned.

"Just peachy," Azalea deadpanned as she reached up to ran a hand over her face and knocked her glances askew.

"Come on, you can come bunk in one of the dorms with us; you look like you could use a decent nap," Leorio declared as he reached down and pulled Azalea to her feet.

Azalea scrunched up her nose and grimaced but didn't protest as the two teens steered her down the hall. Ten minutes and two hallways later, the three of them were camped out on a trio of futons in one of the small dorms. Azalea drifted off to sleep shortly after laying down despite her lingering irritation and fear; the past two days had taken quite a bit out of her despite the fact that she really hadn't done all that much physically when compared to all of the running that the other applicants had done.

She had expended a fair amount of magic though and she was more than a little wrung out emotionally due to constantly being put on edge every time she turned around. And that was on top of the grief and guilt that she was still suppressing.

She'd barely been asleep for ten minutes before she was pulled into one of Voldemort's visions; the first one since the Dark Lord had fed her the false vision of Sirius being tortured during her History of Magic O.W.L. Exam almost seven months earlier. She broke out into sweat as she tossed and turned restlessly in her sleep. Just seconds later, her scar split open as she began whimpering the moment her consciousness got caught up in the vision; drawing the attention of the two teens that had been trying to sleep just a few feet away from her.

Meanwhile, inside of Azalea's nightmare dream vision…

Azalea stared out through the Dark Lord's eyes and felt a smile curl her lips as an agonized scream tore through the night. Turning, Azalea's gaze fell upon the broken body of Remus Lupin as Bellatrix tortured the werewolf with the Cruciatus Curse. Bile filled the back of Azalea's throat and her heart lurched to a stop as she witnessed the last link to her parents suffering at the hands of the woman that had killed her godfather.

"Enough, Bella," Voldemort ordered softly; the witch automatically obeying. "I will ask you one last time, werewolf, where has Dumbledore hidden the Potter girl?"

"Fuck you," Remus spat weakly as he coughed up blood.

Voldemort turned away from the man and looked into a mirror that was hanging off to his left so that Azalea was staring out at the reflection of the man that had hunted her since the day she'd been born as the Dark Lord addressed her, "I had so hoped that you would join us tonight, Harriet Potter. Tell me, are you enjoying the show? You know your loved ones would not have to suffer if you came to me of your own free will. If I have to hunt you down, you will only force me to torture and kill them all."

Voldemort then turned back to Remus's bloody form on the floor and raised his wand as he stated, "You are no longer of any use to me, werewolf; Avada Kedavra."

Green light filled Azalea's vision and engulfed Remus just seconds later and Azalea screamed in anger and anguish as the werewolf died the instant the spell washed over him.

"Remus!" Azalea screamed as she bolted upright after tearing herself free from the vision. Her head exploded in pain a second later and her stomach rebelled violently. Unable to calm her cramping stomach, Azalea rolled forward onto her knees as she puked her guts out. Blood and tears streamed down her face as she sobbed out Remus's name several more times while slamming her fist on the floor several times as unending waves of anger, grief, guilt, and utter helplessness washed over her as the image of Remus's broken and lifeless body burned itself into the back of her mind.

"Was that you Mr. Doom and Gloom…? What happened? Are you alright?" Leorio asked worriedly as he sat up and peered at Azalea through the darkened room. "Oh shit, James, you're bleeding!"

"I'm fine," Azalea rasped hoarsely in response to the abrupt reminder that she wasn't alone. She immediately cut off her emotions (a habit left over from her years of living with the Dursleys), sat up, and wiped her face off as she added, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you."

Azalea then used her body to block her hands as she used a wandless Vanishing Spell to clean up her mess before she shakily climbed to her feet. She staggered sideways and nearly fell back into the floor when the pain behind her scar unexpectedly stabbed deeper into her brain. She pressed the palm of her hand against her scar in the hopes that it would ease the pain (and stop the bleeding). It took a several seconds, but once it no longer felt like her skull was going to split in two, she leaned down to grab her book bag, glasses, and hat before weaving her way towards the door.

"Where are you going, James? You're not in any condition to be wandering around right now."

"I'm fine."

"You're not fine; you're bleeding all over the place and can't even walk in a straight line."

"I'll live," Azalea replied in a weary tone as she glanced back at the older teen that had just climbed to his feet and the silent Kurapika who was sitting up and watching her now as well. "I always do."

The witch slipped out the door a moment later and groaned softly as the bright light filling the hallway seared into her brain and made her head hurt worse. Closing her eyes, Azalea leaned against the wall for a moment while she waited for the pain to dull again before she opened her eyes just enough to see where she was going as she searched for the nearest bathroom. Twenty-two minutes later, Azalea was leaning over a wash basin staring at her pale reflection as water dripped down her face. Her scar was still red and swollen and it stood out sharply against the paleness of her skin but it had at least finally stopped bleeding.

Now that she was no longer wrapped up in the vision, Azalea found herself worrying over whether or not the vision had been true or if it had been another false vision like the one Voldemort had shown her about Sirius. Half of her wanted to rush back to England to find out for herself but the other half of her kept reminding the rest of her that she needed more training. Sure, she'd learned to cast several spells wandlessly and wordlessly during the months she spent on the ship as well as increasing her repertoire of spells but she was still far too weak to face Voldemort.

Disgusted with herself, Azalea pushed away from the sink, slipped her glasses on her face, and left the bathroom to wander through the mostly empty corridors of the airship. She eventually ended up in the outermost hallway sitting on top of one of the small counters that ran beneath the windows lining the hallway. She then leaned back against the small divider that separated each window from its neighbors and stared down at the twinkling lights of some nameless city as she limply held her hat in her hands (her scar still far too sensitive for her to wear it).

After a while, Azalea pressed her forehead against the cold glass of the window and closed her eyes as she struggled to figure out what she should do; return home to warn the others and fight even though she'd not finished the exam or stay to finish the exam and potentially leave her friends to face Voldemort's wrath alone. Her troubled introspection was interrupted just a few minutes later when Gon and Killua laughingly spilled into the hallway as they were chased out of the kitchen by one of the airship's cooks.

Azalea cringed and reluctantly glanced in their direction as both twelve year olds caught sight of her a few seconds later and called out her alias in stereo as they bounded over to her, "James!"

"Are you alright, James? I can smell blood, are you hurt?" Gon asked worriedly as he skidded to a halt beside the sixteen year old. "Did someone attack you?"

"I'm fine," Azalea replied automatically as she avoided meeting Gon's eyes.

"Why do you look so pale?" Killua asked as he narrowed his eyes slightly. Azalea huffed in annoyance and turned back to face the window without saying a word. Ignoring the question only served to further annoy the boy as he petulantly declared, "You are so annoying."

"Said the kettle to the pot," Azalea tossed back as she glanced at Killua's reflection in the window.

"Where did Hedwig go, James?" Gon inquired as he glanced up and down the hallway.

"She's outside."

"Why do you have an owl anyway?" Killua demanded as he sat down on the bench that was situated in front of the window ledge where Azalea was sitting.

"She was a gift."

"What kind of person gives someone an owl for a present?"

"The best kind," Azalea replied softly as a fond smile briefly flittered across her face as she thought about Hagrid before the grief of leaving her friends behind and her worry about whether or not they were safe crashed down on her again.

Silence fell over the three of them at that point and Azalea let her eyes fall closed as she pressed her still aching scar to the cold window again. She was drifting in and out of sleep when Gon and Killua began chatting once more; Gon asking the other boy about his parents. Azalea's breath hitched briefly when she heard Killua state that he came from an entire family of assassins and that the rest of his family fully expected him to be an assassin. She relaxed slightly when the pale haired boy declared that he didn't want to be an assassin and that he hated killing before going into a full out rebellious rant over the fact that his family had been trying to tell him who he was supposed to be.

'If Gon is the epitome of a Gryffindor, then Killua is Slytherin personified. The nosy little brat would give Draco a run for his money and make the little ferret piss his pants to boot,' Azalea thought to herself as she opened her eyes to study both boys in the reflection of the glass only to catch sight of Chairman Netero watching the three of them from the hallway just a few feet to the right of where they were sitting.

A flash of something filled the area and all three of the applicants stiffened the moment they sensed it. Gon and Killua both jumped to their feet and turned to face the hallway where Netero had been standing. Azalea on the other hand had seen the man vanish just after he'd done whatever it was that he'd done and she discreetly palmed her wand to cast Homenum Revelio and discovered that the man was walking up to them from behind her.

"Is there something wrong boys?" Netero inquired in a tone that Azalea had long since learned to associate with Fred and George Weasley when they were planning a particularly good prank.

"Hey, Mr. Netero, did you see anyone over there just now?" Gon asked as he pointed towards the hallway where Azalea had just seen Netero watching them from.

"No."

Not exactly a lie, since it is hard to see yourself without a mirror or other reflective surface on hand, Azalea thought as she tightened her hold on her wand; the witch felt extremely antsy in the presence of the chairman thanks to the earlier quasi-interrogation the man had put her through. Her disgust over Tonpa's most recent attempt at bullying, her acute displeasure over having garnered Hisoka's attention without trying, and the lingering uneasiness she felt over the latest vision that Voldemort had sent her only added to her disquiet.

"You're pretty fast for an old man," Killua declared as he narrowed his eyes slightly and Azalea nearly snorted in amusement.

"Oh? You saw that little trick did you?" Netero countered playfully (the amusement in his voice telling Azalea that he was probably wearing a smile) before he walked into Azalea's line of sight and addressed the witch next. "You're looking a little under the weather, young man; you should be resting."

"I was resting," Azalea retorted with a soft snort as she turned away from the chairman, her stomach twisting up in knots over the way the man had emphasized the word man; the witch worried that he knew she'd lied about her gender. "And then you turned up."

"What did you want, old man?" Killua demanded as he glanced between Azalea and Netero several times while the old man chuckled over Azalea's response.

"You don't have to be so rude young man. I was merely looking for a little entertainment to occupy myself with until we reached our destination. That reminds me, I have a question for the three of you."

Azalea jerked around so fast that she dumped herself off of the counter at the man's seemingly casual declaration that he wanted to ask them something and hit her left hip hard as she landed on the floor. Hissing in pain over her bruised hip, Azalea scrambled back up onto her feet and danced backwards as she turned so her right side was facing away from the chairman so that the man wouldn't see the wand she held firmly in her hand. She swiped her left arm over her brow to wipe away the sweat that had sprung forth as she worried what else the man wanted to know; unintentionally baring her lightning bolt scar to all three of those in the hall with her.

"You should be more careful, young man," Netero stated as his eyes briefly flicked up to Azalea's forehead before meeting her gaze. "Did you hurt yourself?"

"I'm fine," Azalea muttered as she reached up and smoothed her fringe back down over her scar as she silently cursed herself for a fool for not being more careful. She tore her gaze away from the old man's and desperately searched for her hat only to find Gon holding it out for her as the twelve year old had picked it up off the floor. Azalea accepted the hat back and jammed it onto her head (wincing as the leather brim scrapped over her still sensitive scar) and rasped out a soft, "Thanks."

"That is good to know, I suppose," Netero stated with a slight frown that quickly disappeared beneath a smile. "Anyway, I wanted to know what the three of you thought about your first attempt at the Hunter Examination."

"It's been really fun!" Gon exclaimed as he turned back to face the chairman. "I was really dreading the exam at first because I was worried that there would be a written test."

"I'm bored of the exam already," Killua complained right after Gon finished. "I was expecting the exam to be much harder."

"What about you, young man; what do you think of the exam?" Netero prompted when Azalea didn't immediately offer her opinion.

"There're far too many annoying people involved."

Both Gon and Killua glanced at Azalea before they turned to look at each other and burst into laughter. Azalea snorted, rolled her eyes, and shook her head in response to their antics before she put her wand away and began walking away in the hopes that she could find herself a little privacy. The laughter cut off just seconds later as the two boys hurried to catch up to her.

"Don't go just yet," Chairman Netero requested before they'd gone very far. "I was wondering if the three of you would like to play a game with me."

"A game?" Gon repeated with unfeigned interest. "What kind of game?"

"A rather fun game and if you can defeat me, I will wave the need for you to take the rest of the exam and see to it that all three of you are given your Hunter Licenses."

"Really?" Gon demanded as his eyes filled with determination. "I want to play!"

"Perfect!" Netero crowed as he smiled again before he looked passed Gon to glance between Azalea and Killua. "How about it, you two; are either of you interested in playing as well?"

Azalea scowled; as tempting as it was to make an attempt to bypass the rest of the test, she wasn't sure she wanted to play because she didn't trust the man. She didn't get a chance to turn down the offer though as Gon grabbed hold of her sleeve and began dragging her back towards Netero. Killua let out a soft sigh and Azalea got the impression that the kid hadn't actually wanted to play either but would do so because of Gon. Netero practically beamed at the three of them as he turned around and led them through the ship to a large empty room with padded walls.

Gon didn't let go of Azalea until they were inside the room and the witch jammed her hands into her pocket as Netero pulled off his white and blue top to reveal the loose black tank top he'd been wearing underneath. The man then produced a yellow and black ball that he balanced on the finger of his left hand as he explained the rules of the game. Or rather, he gave them the only rule of the game; to take the ball from him before they reached their destination.

When the man told them that they were free to attack him however they wished in their efforts to take the ball, Azalea felt a rock form in the pit of her stomach as she realized that the man wanted to see what they could do. The two twelve year olds seemed a bit skeptical about the 'game' as well but Netero simply told them to try it first before deciding that it wasn't worth it.

Just before they started, Azalea spoke up for the first time since she'd answered the man's earlier question about the exam to ask, "What happens if we fail to take the ball? Are we going to be disqualified from the exam?"

"Oh, heavens no; I'm merely giving the three of you a chance to finish early," Netero quickly assured them when both Gon and Killua jumped a bit at the unexpected question. "If you don't beat me, then you simply have to finish the rest of the exam alongside the rest of the applicants."

Killua went first and Azalea didn't pay any attention as she stared down at the floor and thought about how she was going to play; if she was going to play. She shook her head and scowled; she would play, even if she didn't want to. The smallest chance that she could earn her Hunter's License now and not have to waste more time running through the exam was too great to pass up (even though she'd originally considered not playing the game despite the potential reward).

The only question that remained was; how much of her skills was she willing to reveal to Netero, Killua, and Gon in order to play?

She glanced up in time to see Killua attempt to take out the old man's right leg (the man currently balancing on one foot) and Azalea thought for sure the younger boy had him until Killua grabbed his own leg and began complaining about the pain. Azalea furrowed her brow and started paying closer attention as Gon and Killua changed places and Gon attempted to attack the old man head on before suddenly jumping up so high he smacked his head on the ceiling. Azalea palmed her face over Gon's mistake before she snorted and silently though, 'Yep, definitely a Gryffindor,' as Gon got up a minute later and immediately attacked the man again.

After a few more minutes of failed attacks, Gon attempted to switch out with Azalea but the witch told Killua to take another turn instead; she need more time to decide what she was going to do. That and she really wanted to study the old man a bit longer; to see what the man was capable of doing.

An hour later, Azalea still hadn't taken a turn and Gon and Killua were both sweating and panting heavily from their failed efforts to capture the ball. Gon had even stripped off his jacket and tossed it aside while Killua had peeled off the white t-shirt he wore over his dark blue turtleneck. During that time, Azalea had noted that Netero never used his left leg or his right arm to block the boys' attacks. She also hadn't failed to see that all three of them were far more physically fit than Azalea was; meaning that Azalea would have no real advantage outside of her magic.

"This is starting to get boring," Netero suddenly declared as both Killua and Gon stopped to catch their breath. "Why don't the three of you try attacking me all at once? It's about time your other friend started playing along anyway; seeing as how he's not bothered to join it at all yet."

"I was curious to see what you could do," Azalea stated with a shrug as she slipped off her book bag and set it on the floor beside the door before she began buttoning up her dragon-hide cloak over the blue t-shirt she was wearing so that the edges of the cloak wouldn't get in the way.

She then moved up away from the wall and settled into a defensive dueler's stance with her right foot forward, the right side of her body angled towards Netero, her left arm curled up so that her hand was nearly touching her hat (for balance), and her right arm held straight out in front of her with her palm facing outwards. Azalea then closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths before she pulled on her magic and prepared to use a few of the wandless spells that she'd been able to fully master since she had no desire to reveal her status as a full-fledged witch to the chairman.

She also feared that if she used her wand during the game the amount of magic she could potentially end up using would disable the entire airship because magic and technology didn't usually mix very well.

"Ready when you are," Azalea stated as she opened her eyes to reveal emerald irises that glittered with dozens of golden dust motes of pure magic from the shadows beneath her hat; a side effect of teaching herself how to cast wandlessly due to the amount of magic flowing through her body increasing each time she cast a spell without using a focus – her blood slowly attuning itself to her magic so that it could one day completely take the place of her wand.

Gon let out a laugh and promptly attacked with Killua joining in at the last second from another direction. Azalea in the mean time kept her eyes on Netero (who'd not taken his eyes off of Azalea) and waited for the perfect moment to attack. Just before the old man made to dodge the twin attacks that the younger boys had launched, Azalea flicked and snapped her wrist to cast a wandless sticking charm on Netero's right foot that prevented him from jumping out of the way of the twin attack. The man's eyes widened comically before he broke free of the weak charm at the last second; which resulted in Gon and Killua colliding into one another face first.

Azalea merely smirked and made a grabbing motion with her right fingers as she pulled the hand back towards her to cast a wandless summoning spell. Netero's eyebrows rose in surprise even as he snatched the ball back out of the air before Azalea's spell could completely capture it. By that time, both boys had recovered and returned to attack Netero in turns one right after the other in order to avoid banging into each other again. Azalea continued to use an assortment of sticking charms and summoning charms in an effort to trip the man up and break the ball away from him.

After another hour had passed, Azalea added in wandless banishing charms and a freezing spell to shove the ball out of the man's grasp and further hinder his footing as she felt herself growing annoyed by the lack of success. Both boys had continuously moved about the room as they attacked Netero while Azalea never moved more than a foot from where she started and that was only to dodge Gon and Killua whenever the old man would toss one of them at Azalea in an attempt to knock the witch over.

At the end of the third hour, Azalea started throwing out weak stinging hexes as well in order to irritate the man even as she started to struggle with her wandless casting as she inevitably grew exhausted. Her shirt and pants were soaked in sweat by that time and even her cloak clung to her uncomfortably due to the charms struggling to keep up with her exertions (wizards were not the most active of individuals, after all). Her hat had been knocked off at some point and her short hair was even messier than usual as it stuck to her face and the back of her neck because of the sweat.

And her right hand and arm burned from the sheer amount of magic she'd used. Panting, Azalea tried to catch her breath as she watched Gon attack Netero straight on with a kick. Just when it looked like the kid would miss, he kicked off his shoe and caught the man under the chin while Killua landed a hit on the back of his head and lunged for the ball.

Netero used his foot to kick the ball away from the boy and Azalea used the opportunity to cast another summoning charm at the ball in order to keep Netero from getting his hands on it again. Gon then kicked his other shoe at the ball in order to send it flying towards the opposite wall and both twelve year olds dove at it. They were just about to catch the ball when Netero blasted between them and caught the ball at the last second while Gon and Killua both went flying in opposite directions.

Azalea groaned and dropped down onto her knees; the witch completely and utterly spent and more than a little pissed at herself for not being stronger or sneakier. Propping her hands on her knees, Azalea bowed her head and bit back the scream of frustration she felt rising inside while trying to avoid giving into the temptation to pull out her wand in order to stun or bind the man so she could take the ball. The problem was that she didn't have enough strength left to stun a house fly and she was frightened of what would happen to her should the man see her using her wand.

Killua quit the game at that point, loudly stating that the old man was just playing with them as he pointed out the same thing that Azalea had noticed earlier; the old man hadn't even bothered using his right arm or left leg. Killua tried to get Gon to leave with him but Gon stayed as he declared that he no longer cared about getting the ball; he just wanted to make Netero use his right arm. Killua snorted in disbelief and shook his head before he stalked off muttering under his breath about weirdos.

"Are you going to stay as well, James?" Gon asked as he bounded over to Azalea's side. "Why do you look all pasty gray? Are you sick? Maybe you should go get some rest; you don't look so good."

"I'm fine," Azalea insisted despite the fact that she knew she wasn't; it was an ingrained response though and one she'd give even if she knew she was dying.

Gon looked skeptical but he didn't say another word as his attention was soon drawn back to Netero who'd begun bouncing the ball in his left hand. Azalea simply sat back on her heels and watched while she tried to catch her breath; she was far too exhausted to help Gon at the moment and the kid looked as if he was having far too much fun anyway. Thirty minutes later, Gon had just succeeded in his self assigned task of making Netero use his right hand (getting himself knocked out in the process) when Azalea was suddenly hit with Voldemort's fury.

Physically, magically and emotionally exhausted as she was, Azalea had no protection against the Dark Lord's invading emotions and she let out a sharp cry when her scar split open once more. Her hands flew up to her face to clasp her head as her blood poured over her hands and down her face. It was sheer agony for Azalea and she dropped forward so that her head touched the ground and let out another cry as Voldemort's anger continued to grow and rip through her mind.

The last thing she saw before she passed out from the pain was Netero's concerned face as the old man leaned down to roll her over so he could see at her face.

10-30-15: Minor edits made to chapter to fix spelling/grammar mistakes and removed unnecessary author's notes.