A/N: Yay! New chappy! With a lemon-y fresh scent! Well maybe not *lemon*-y fresh… hehehehe… I wrote a little Fred/Aithne side songfic thing for this. Though I have to edit it a bit, as some things happened in this chapter that I didn't expect… BOO YAH! ACTION, BABY! *does a little dance* Okie dokie… The theme song is "Gone Away", by Offspring. (If only I had thought of it for the last chapter… hmmmmpph…)
Disclaimer: *AHEM* I shall now list everything I own in this fic. BWAHAHAHAHAHA…. Ok, Fred Weasley, Harry Potter, Voldie… oh wait, Damnit… wrong list. Ok, here's the *real* list: The Nightingales (credit of the idea goes to Caytin Lowe, while credit of development goes to me), Aithne/Audra, Artemis/Carmen, the Ladies of the Lake, the Nerezzus Curse, the potion that Severus will have to make, Silvaren, Toba June (credit of idea goes to Caytin, development goes to me) the kid named Connor in the Hospital Wing (yes I must get technical, damnit), and the plotline. JKR's stuff: Anything you recognize from Potterverse. YuYu Hakusho's stuff: Fox demons, death demons, the Makai. DAMN, that was a long disclaimer!
Gone Away, by Offspring
Maybe in another life
I could find you there
Pulled away before your time
I can't deal it's so unfair
And it feels
And it feels like
Heaven's so far away
And it feels
Yeah it feels like
The world has grown cold
Now that you've gone away
Leaving flowers on your grave
Show that I still care
But black roses and Hail Mary's
Can't bring back what's taken from me
I reach to the sky
And call out your name
And if I could trade
I would
And it feels
And it feels like
Heaven's so far away
And it stings
Yeah it stings now
The world is so cold
Now that you've gone away
"Okay girls and boys, it's time we headed back to London," said Bill as the hour drew late.
Bill put his arm around Artemis' shoulder, whom growled in return, and the four took a Portkey back to Diagon Alley.
"Whoa…" said Fred, as the dust surrounding them cleared.
"What the hell?!?"
They were standing in the middle of a deserted Diagon Alley. Even at this late hour, there were still shopkeepers roaming about. But this… it looked like a ghost town…
Aithne screamed as she looked towards the Leaky Cauldron. The pub had been blown to bits and she saw Tom, the bar owner lying lifeless on the ground among quite a few other victims. It was only then that they noticed the dead bodies lying strewn about the entire street.
"Holy shit…" breathed Artemis.
Many shops were destroyed, but, by some miracle, Weasley's Wizard Wheezes was still standing.
Tears filled their eyes as they saw Ollivander's motionless form where his wand shop used to be.
"Vander!" yelled Aithne, as she and the others ran to him.
"He's still alive, but only barely," said Bill. "He needs medical attention, and fast. We'll take him to Hogwarts… Madame Pomfrey is the best mediwitch alive."
"How could this happen? He's a Nightingale!" cried Aithne in frustration.
"Aith… remember what he himself told us? We can't protect or defend ourselves… only others," replied Artemis.
Fred lifted his wand and muttered, "Mobilicorpus," taking him in W.W.W., where they would Floo to Hogwarts. As members of the ancient Order of Phoenix, they had the ability to Floo directly to Dumbledore's office, the Hospital Wing, or any other room in the castle that contained a fireplace.
"Hospital Wing, Hogwarts!"
The group stepped out of the fireplace and gently laid the old Nightingale on a bed.
Bill ran to Madame Pomfrey's office.
"Please, Madame Pomfrey… there was an attack on Diagon Alley. We brought Mr. Ollivander… he's hurt badly… barely alive," he pleaded in desperation.
Madame Pomfrey rushed to the bedside, her face white as a sheet.
"Can you help him?" Aithne asked through her tears.
"I don't know, dear. We had better hope for a miracle."
Bill and Red quietly walked back to the fireplace.
"We're going to go look for more survivors."
"Weasley's Wizard Wheezes!"
All the commotion quickly woke a small boy with light brown hair and freckles in the next bed.
"Madame Pomfrey? Who are these people?" he asked, sleepily rubbing his eyes.
"Oh… Connor, will you do me a favor? Go get Professor Dumbledore for me. His office is on the second floor behind the stone gargoyle. The password is Ton Tongue Toffee. Tell him it is urgent."
Connor nodded his head in a serious manner, and ran off to do the mediwitch's bidding. Madame Pomfrey took out a wand and began performing Healing Charms and various diagnostic spells.
"Oh dear… dear me… this is not good. Not good at all…"
Artemis and Aithne looked up in alarm.
Their almost identical faces paled as they asked in unison, "Wh-what is it?"
The old witch turned to the sisters, tears forming in her soft brown eyes, as she replied, "He's been hit with the Nerezzus Curse."
"Nerezzus Curse?" asked Aithne, confused.
"Also known as the Curse of Darkness. When hit with it, the victim is plunged into a soul-wrenching nightmare that they cannot wake up from, no matter how hard they try. Relief only comes after the cursed one slowly fades from existence. I fear that we shall soon see our dear wand maker thrashing about and screaming in agony as a shadow overtakes his body, eventually destroying his soul. It is a most horrible fate. Your father is contacting your grandmother, as she will wish to know of this unfortunate turn of events. Both shall be here shortly."
The girls turned to see whom this new voice belonged to. The wizard was elderly, with long white hair, an equally long white beard, a very large nose, and sad blue eyes. He was clothed in elegant midnight blue robes and walked with the assistance of an ornately carved staff made of rowan wood. He had injured his leg beyond repair during battle only three years previously.
"It will take a very complex potion to bring him back. I doubt Severus can get all the ingredients. I'm sure he will try, but hope is very slim at this point," he continued.
"I am Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of this school. Mr. Donnelley, why don't you return to you run along back to your dormitory? I fear the Hospital Wing will be filling up very soon with those much more in need of medical attention than a boy with the flu. Madame Pomfrey will send you with Pepper-Up Potion."
Connor took his Potion and left, as the old man sighed and sat down.
"This war has taken so much from us. Hogwarts is now the last wizarding establishment left in Europe. I fear it will go soon as well. Even the ancient magic of the school will not hold up against Voldemort forever."
At that moment, Severus Snape burst through the door, mixed emotions playing across his features.
"I've contacted my mother-in-law." Severus then turned to his daughters. "It is lucky that you two and the Weasleys were gone at the time of the attack, or I fear we would have lost you yet again. You have not yet had enough training to stand up against Voldemort or his followers."
"Wait a second…" said Artemis, casting a glare at her father and the Headmaster. "How did you know the situation, or that we were gone when the attack happened? It's not like that kid knew, and we only told Madame Pomfrey that a battle had taken place…"
"I have my ways…" replied Dumbledore, a slight twinkle beginning to take shape in his clear blue eyes.
"Okay, so if Vander couldn't stand up to the attack, and our race can't defend itself, how do we expect to take down this Dark Lord?" asked Aithne, her golden orbs filled with doubt.
"Strength in numbers, granddaughter. To be able to stand up to an army of that size, with that amount of power, we need to be at least thirty-seven in number. Before the two of you showed up in Diagon Alley, we only had thirty-five left of our race. If Vander dies we will be short yet again, and all hope will be lost. This is why, Severus, you must begin concocting this potion right away," said Silvaren as she suddenly appeared in the room.
"But it's not that easy," argued Severus. "Several of the ingredients are hard to obtain, and many are only found in the Makai. It would take several days to travel there and back. The potion would then take one week to brew. By then, it would most likely be too late."
Dumbledore turned to the Potions Master and grimly replied, "Still, you must try. The Nightingales truly are our last and only hope."
A/N: BWAHAHAHAHA!!!!!! Will Ollivander live? Did anyone else survive the Diagon Alley attack? What will Voldie do next? And when in the heck are Bill and Artemis finally gonna get together?!?! We all know Bill has been flirting mercilessly with her… Stay tuned and find out! Oh, and review pretty please! Thanks to Princess Anna for her review and ever faithfulness. ^_^ Me wuv you Princess!