Disclaimer: I do not own or Harry Potter.

Chapter Eight

Harry turned around with dread. The voice that had called in a voice that sounded like smooth satin, the dark undercurrent sending shivers down his spine. This was bad. He didn't know why, but it was very, very bad.

"Ah, who is it?" Mr. Weasly asked cheerfully oblivious to the intent under the words.

Harry almost gasped when he saw who was calling them. It was a little girl! She didn't look much older then eleven or twelve, and she was sitting on one of the rails that lined the streets with her ankles crossed and a look of dark trickery in her eyes, much darker then any look that he had seen in the Weasly twin's. She had dark black hair and dark skin. Her clothes seemed slightly Gothic in nature with their short skirts and stripped stocking legs, and she was holding a talking umbrella ignoring the protests it seemed to be squealing loudly. However, what was most shocking to Harry, although in hindsight it might seem slightly hypocritical, was the crown of crosses that circled her forehead.

"Hehe, I'm Road" sang the girl, "Millenie wanted me to send you a message from Lord What's-his-name. I didn't really want to, but he promised I could keep you! You're so cute! Not as cute as Allen, of course, but you would be a wonderful toy..."

Harry stared at her as she drifted off rambling. What was she saying? Toy? A message from Voldemort? And what seemed more important at the moment, how did she know Allen? Did they let a Death Eater into the Order?

He took a deep breath to steal his quaking nerves, then asked recklessly, "What was the message you were supposed to tell me?" Well, he was never one to wait anyhow.

"Oh!" exclaimed Road cheerfully "Look, Lero, it speaks!"

Harry scowled. "The message, if you please?" he demanded again.

"Yes," agreed the umbrella, Lero, imploringly. "Please Road-sama, lets leave. I don't want to stay with these filthy creatures anymore!"

Road glared at the umbrella. "Fine." she pouted. "Mister what's-his-name says to tell you that no place is safe. He has us for allies!"

Harry stared. "Why warn us then?" he asked curiously.

This seemed to please the young girl. "So it's more fun, of course! Its boring to crush someone's will and life whose expecting it. Its so much better to watch the hope drain slowly from their eyes, as they slowly bleed to death..." she closed her eyes as if picturing it, and Harry moved further back, as though lengthening the distance in between them would prevent the aura she was emitting from touching him.

Maybe questioning her wasn't such a good idea. He spared a look at Mr. Weasly, and noticed that the older man was looking for a way out too.

Road opened her eyes, and caught their search, but she only laughed wickedly. "Don't worry," She told them gleefully, I am not allowed to kill you yet. Just tell you the message. Make the game more fun. And I heard you know Allen? Tell him I said hi!"

With that said, the strange being slashed her umbrella through the air (A/N: sorry I don't remember how she opens doors) and a door way formed with gold edging and a red and black checkered pattern spread across it.

She stepped into it and disappeared.

Harry and Mr. Weasly just hurried away as quickly as possible, trying to forget the encounter until their other matters were taken care of.

Tyki grinned as he looked out into the distance from one of the windows. The race was about to start.

Allen looked up from where he had lounged against the window. Something was starting, and he had a bad feeling that the Earl was going to be involved. And if the Earl was involved, the exorcists would also be, to prevent the inevitable deaths that would occur.

And the Earls plans were never pretty, regardless of how many lives they saved.

Allen sighed in resignation. He couldn't say that he hadn't expected it, because he had, from the moment he had seen Tyki in the Wizards stronghold. He knew the Earl was planning something, and the only thing he was able to do is save as many lives as possible. They didn't have the same force or mobility they would have if he were home, and unless he could get the wizards to realize their position then the only thing that would be able to change their minds would be potentially spirit crushing. Wizards weren't used to losing hundreds in one crushing blow, and Allen was worried that when it happened, they would lose their will to fight. That they would be able to keep moving.

It was unquestionable that many people would die. It was unquestionable that as long as the Earl was involved, the wizards would be fighting a losing fight, at least at first. Hell, the exorcists had been fighting him for who knows how many years, and they were still on the losing side. The idea was not to give up. As long as they were able to stand back up, it was possible that they would win. It was possible that things wouldn't turn out as bad as it seemed.

As long as they didn't allow their negative emotions to crush their spirits, there was a chance that they would win.

But Allen wasn't sure that the wizards would be able to do it. They were struggling to hold hope against a human, a perceivable evil. What kind of hope would they manage to keep when they faced a being who defied assumption? What would their reaction be to seeing a being that was so much stronger than they and couldn't be reasoned with. The Millennium Earl was sure to betray Voldemort at some point, because the Earl would never view a mere human as an equal, a mistake that said human would be sure to make. No, to the Earl, Voldemort would be a puppet, a means to and end.

And Allen would be sure to stop him before his plans would be fully realized.

And hopefully before the wizard's spirits would be crushed.

Harry and Mr. Weasly returned later that evening bearing the news that Harry was declared innocent. Mrs. Weasly set up a feast to celebrate their victory, and they all ate and talked.

Neither mentioned the strange encounter, and both were unaware of the glaring contest between two very different brothers.

"What are you up to?" Allen hissed at Tyki, who raised one elegant question.

"Nothing, my dear boy." he answered mockingly. "Why would you ever think that."

Allen glared, but didn't reply.

They both knew he wouldn't get an answer, but that didn't mean he wouldn't try.

It was just a part of their "game." They were Noah, after all.

A/N: Hey everyone! Sorry about the shorter chapters, I am just starting to be inspired again, and I wanted to get it out quicker! Alright, so far the Pairing poll is going-

YULLEN

5

ALLENxLENALEE

II

LAVIxLENALEE

I

LAVIxTYKI

I

ALLENxHARRY

I

LAVIxALLEN

II

ALLENxTYKI

II

I will do any pairing so don't be afraid to share! And please REVIEW! ^_^ I hope you enjoyed the chapter!