Harry Potter and Artemis Fowl: Weapons of Magic Chapter Ten
Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione went down to Dublin for a double date. They walked, even though it was a long walk, enjoying the crisp air.
They went to see a movie and then went to a pizza place afterwards. By the time they got ready to leave, it was dark outside. Snow was falling gently and the there was about an inch on the ground.
They were walking down the street back toward the theater. There was a small shop that they wanted to check out. They were going to call Butler to come pick them up and then look around the shop. By the time they were done, Butler and (and Artemis too) would be there to get them.
But they got to the shop and it was closed.
"The sign says ten," said Hermione. "I could have sworn-oh it's fifteen after."
"Darn," said Ginny. "Oh well, let me call them."
They stood around waiting. The temperature seemed to drop rapidly. A few people walked by, eager to get to their destination to get out from the cold.
Harry heard something in the alley across the street. A scuffling noise.
"Did you hear that?" asked Harry.
"What?" asked Ron.
They heard a trashcan fall over.
"That," said Harry, taking a step forward.
"Stray cat?" guessed Ron.
Harry went across the street, the others trailing warily. Harry entered into the alley and seen scuffling figures at the end, by a dumpster and some trash bins. There was a scream suddenly.
Three men had a woman. It was like the incident in America when Harry had seen a woman being attacked. He rushed forward, shouting at the men to let the woman go.
The men were big, almost as big as Butler, Harry realized. They had bulging muscles as if they went to the gym all day long. The woman was kicking and struggling, while the men tried to unbuckle her coat.
The men froze when they seen Harry and the other three.
"Let the woman go," said Harry.
"What are you going to do?" Typical macho talk.
The men dropped the woman. Harry seen her face was bruised and bloody. How could men do something like that?
"Shit," muttered Ron.
Harry turned and seen three more men, almost as big as the first three coming at the other end of the alley now.
The woman stood up and laughed and pulled a wand out of her pocket. "Knew you couldn't resist Potter."
Harry's heart hammered.
"Amadae."
"Nice spell on the manor, Hermione," said Amadae. "Tricky. But I knew if you, Potter, heard someone in distress, you'd come running."
Harry looked at one of the men's eyes and seen the iris was ragged. He was under fairy mesmer. Holly had told them that someone who is mesmered too much gets a jagged iris. A fairy was controlling these men. Aeron had a fairy working for him.
Two of the men ran forward and grabbed Ginny. Harry and the others made a grab for the two men, but Amadae began shooting spells. Ron, Ginny, and Hermione reacted by shooting spells back and Harry let his claws out and slashed at one of the men holding Ginny.
Harry suddenly felt like a semi truck hit him. One of the men had tackled him full on, sending him slamming into the wall. Another man grabbed Hermione and punched Ron, sending him into the rubbish bins.
The two men with Ginny tied her up and gagged her and swathed her in cam foil and left the alley, Ginny flung over one their shoulders.
"Ginny!" shouted Harry, slashing at the man nearest him. His claws met resistance and he realized the man had some king of protective covering under his clothes. Maybe a bullet proof vest or something. Harry dug his claws in further and ripped through whatever it was.
Hermione and Ron were being dragged off. Amadae was babbling something. Harry focused on trying to fight the man, who was punching him hard in the body. Harry had been practicing his fighting with Butler, but not enough. He couldn't block the blows. The man was lightening quick with his punches and much stronger than Harry, even with his superior strength. Harry wondered for a split second if the man was on drugs or something.
Harry, ripping through the covering, heard the man grunt as the claws met with his skin. He grabbed Harry by the neck and threw him across the wall, using amazing strength. Harry slammed into the stone wall, the side of his head scraping the rough stones. The air was knocked out of him and then a sharp pain in his back.
The man drove something sharp and small into his back. Harry grunted and swiped his claws at his attacker, trying to suck in breathe of air. He felt the claws slice something and the man grabbed his wrist and twisted his arm behind his back. The other hand stabbing him in the back made a jerking motion and threw something on the ground. He had snapped something off in Harry's back.
He released Harry, who felt the familiar sick feeling as his claws went back in.
Silver.
The man went to the end of the alley with Amadae.
"Come find your friends," taunted Amadae, waving her wand like a conductor. "Come on."
She exited the alley, going behind the building. Harry chased after, feeling sick, forcing himself to run.
Behind the buildings was a small field and then a public elementary school. The small football field was surrounded by a track and then a chain link fence. Then there were bleachers and another fence.
Amadae and had blasted the locks on the gates and were in the field. Harry could hear Ginny screaming in the middle of the field. Ron was struggling, yelling at the captors. Hermione was lying on the ground. He couldn't tell if she was conscious or not.
Harry heard Ginny screaming and ran as fast as he could. The silver made him feel weak. He tried to reach it, knowing it would be hard to fight with that in him. He couldn't and took his wand out.
Entering into the field, the man holding Ginny punched her the head. She slumped over sideways, moaning in the snowy grass. Amadae snickered, using the Lumos spell to light the end of her wand.
Amadae waved her wand and Ginny was bound in ropes. Ron, struggling, was knocked out by one of the men. The man with Ginny grabbed and touched the small item on the ground. They disappeared and Harry realized it was Port key.
"NO!" shouted Harry. "NO!"
The were gone.
Amadae laughed, jumping up and down like a madwoman. "Potter lost his girlfriend! Aeron is going to have fun with her!"
Harry turned his wand on Amadae, rage welling up in him. Amadae disarmed him and the five remaining men reared up, looking at Harry in the way a hungry lion watches a gazelle.
Amadae pouted her lips, tapping them with the lit end of her wand. It lit her face up, making it look eerie, enhancing the maddened look in her eye. "You're a tough one. But with the silver in you, it should be easier. Aeron said the only way to kill you is to likely cut your head off and your heart out and burn the pieces. Let's see shall we? But first, let's have some fun. You hurt my sister and destroyed our little lab in Scot land and released Madeline and Aeron has had quite enough of you interfering. So you will die."
The men lumbered forward. Harry released he was in quite a predicament. He couldn't get rid of the little silver bit stuck in his back. He had no wand, and was weak. Hermione and Ron were on the field, knocked out, wands removed. Butler and Artemis would not know where they were.
Shit thought Harry.
The first punch made him stumble backwards. Then another punch, and another, and a kick. Harry tried to fight back, but the men, nearly as big as Butler, were much stronger than him. Plus, there were five of them and only one of Harry. He was outmatched and outnumbered. If only the silver wasn't in him.
He was on the ground now, and one of the men hauled him up by his shirt collar. Harry felt the knee hit him in the gut and he grunted in pain.
"Scream little boy!" said the man, smiling, showing yellowed teeth. He choked Harry, who was kicking at him. But in the weak state he was in, it was like kicking a mountain. The man just laughed and squeezed harder. Harry scrambled for his necklace, wonder if he could reverse the effects of the silver somehow.
The man seen it and grabbed the necklace, ripping it off and flinging it into the grass.
"No tricks boy," said the man, slamming him into the ground.
A foot flashed out and kicked Harry in the ribs. He felt two of them crack and grunted.
"Come on, scream," said the man.
Harry, knowing he was probably about to die, did not want to give the man the satisfaction of hearing him scream. He clenched his teeth.
Ginny. Where was she? What was Aeron going to do to her? Harry had to save her, somehow. Aeron would torture her and probably kill her. He couldn't give up…
But more punches and kicks rained down on him, cracking another rib, bruising his face and body. One of them picked him up and threw him in the air. Harry landed hard on the ground, about ten feet from Ron.
Ron.
Harry suddenly remembered Ron had a knife. His father had given it to him as a gift a couple of years ago. It was magical and the blade could be transformed into various tools like scissors, a nail file, a pick, and a few other things. If he could get it, he could at least try to stab the man. Laying facedown, he began to try and crawl across the snowy grass to Ron.
He heard a bang and a pain in his side. One of the men had shot him.
The man with the pistol smiled at Harry. "Try and heal that up."
Harry gritted his teeth against the pain, and kept crawling toward Ron, trailing blood on the snow, his eye was swelling, his nose was bleeding, and he could taste blood in his mouth.
"You're friends aren't going to help you, " said Amadae, walking around him, waving the lit wand. The light bounced around. Harry crawled forward a little bit more.
"Give it up boy," said a man, and Harry felt himself being dragged backwards by the collar of his shirt. He groaned in pain, clutching his shot side. The man dragged him through the snow, leaving a thin trail of smeary blood. He threw Harry into the chain link fence, causing it to rattle.
Harry slumped down on the ground, to weak from the silver and the beatings to move anymore. The man grabbed Harry and hauled him, and kicked him in the stomach, sending him sprawling to the ground.
Harry lay on the ground. The sky above was starting to get fuzzy.
Amadae leaned over him and showed him a long sharp blade.
"This is what I'm going to cut your head off with," she said softly. "And then I'm going to cut your heart out. Crucio!"
Harry screamed in pain on the ground, thrashing in the snow. Amadae lifted the curse.
"Okay, men, you heard him scream, now shoot him and leave. Leave the other two here, I want them to awake and see their headless friend." Amadae waved the blade. Harry felt his phone start vibrating in his pocket, but he couldn't do anything about it.
The man pointed the pistol at Harry's chest and shot. Harry felt the first bullet him in the chest. He yelled in pain, not caring if they heard him scream anymore.
Ginny. He failed her. He didn't save her. She would be forced to suffer whatever Aeron dealt her. He failed.
Another bullet him in the chest, and then another and another. The sky went fuzzy, he was blacking out.
"Ginny," he managed to whisper before the last bullet him in the chest and everything went black.
The Bentley.
Butler pulled the car up to the closed shop. Artemis was in the passenger seat, with Holly in the back, who had decided to come along for the ride.
"Where are they at?" asked Holly, peering through the window.
"They said they'd be right here," said Butler, his soldier senses tingling. Something wasn't right.
Artemis tried Harry's phone. No one answered. He tried everyone else and they all went straight to voicemail.
"Where could they be?" asked Holly.
Artemis was tapping away on his phone. "I put GPS in their phones, so I could track them."
After a couple of minutes, Artemis had them. "Ginny's is not showing, but the others three is showing that they, or at least the phones are nearby."
He directed them.
They pulled up in an elementary school parking lot. They could see the field and a bit of light from what looked like a wand.
"I'm going in," said Holly, shielding.
She had her Neutrino with her, and was in her suit. She flew over the field and seen Hermione and Ron's bodies laying on the field.
"Shit," she muttered. She seen Harry laying on the ground, and a figure that looked like Amadae was standing over him, holding a blade. She lowered herself silently.
Amadae took her wand and stuck the end in the snow, so the light would shine over Harry's body. Holly seen he was riddled with bullet words, and his face was bleeding and swollen. His eyes were closed. No sparks were healing his wounds.
Amadae straddled Harry, and put the blade to his neck.
Holly fired her Neutrino.
Amadae never knew what hit her. The blast pushed her forward and slightly to the side, so she was half laying on Harry. The blast knocked her out cold and the back of her coat looked a bit singed.
Holly checked to make sure she was indeed passed out. Artemis and Butler were running across the field.
"Check the other two," Holly ordered them, using cuffs to bind Amadae's hands behind her back. "Were taking this one in."
She looked at Harry and seen he was breathing shallowly. There must be silver in his body. He wasn't dead. Even with silver in him, just enough magic would be present in his body to keep him alive. Holly looked at his arms and chest and couldn't find the silver. She wrestled his bloody, shirt off him and the under shirt he was wearing and checked his chest. There was no silver. His skin was cold. How long had he been out here? She rolled him over and seen a small wound in his back, with just a little bit of something silver sticking out. She tried to grasp it and pull it out but even with her slim elfin fingers, she couldn't manage it. She pulled out a little penknife and cut around the item until she could finally grasp it and pull it out ,realizing it was just a silver blade. The handle must have been snapped off.
The silver removed, sparks began to dance around Harry's numerous wounds.
Butler said Ron and Hermione were okay.
Holly flipped Harry back over and went to reach for one of his rings on the necklace that he wore, but realized it was gone.
"Find his rings!" said Holly.
Holly, using her helmet, found the broken chain and the rings. She took the bronze one and nestled it into one of the shot wounds. Harry's hair turned to bronze and the sparks danced faster. Butler found his coat laying in the grass outside the fences. Holly put it on Harry. She didn't bother with the shirts since they were all bloodied and ripped up.
Butler loaded them into car and dumped Amadae unceremoniously into the boot.
Back at Fowl Manor, Artemis's parents were out on some kind of conference again. They had gone to Switzerland and Hermione had placed on them (when they were sleeping) a protection spell. Anyone within a ten foot radius of them would be likely safe. Artemis had to marvel at Hermione's genius with spells.
Amadae got special treatment, in others words, she got locked in the cellar that Holly had been in, chain to a chair, blind folded and gagged.
Harry was taken to his room and laid on the bed, to finish healing. Ron and Hermione managed to come too and were sitting in Artemis's study, drinking tea. They told Artemis and Butler what they remembered. Snape joined them, wondering what the heck was going on. Ron wanted to know where his sister was.
"Well, now we have one of Aeron's lackeys under our control," said Artemis, smiling his vampire smile. "Won't Aeron be proud."
"I can't believe you caught Amadae," said Snape.
"She left her guard down," said Holly. "Stupid mistake. Did she honestly think no one would come looking for her.
"Where's my sister!" said Ron.
"I can't find her cell phone GPS on mine," said Artemis. "We'll have to ask the prisoner.
Harry suddenly burst into the room, hair disheveled and bloodied. He had pulled on a shirt hastily and his hair was still bronze.
"We have to find Ginny!" said Harry. "These men had her and they took a Port Key and left."
"What's a Port Key?" asked Harry.
Hermione hastily told him and Harry explained quickly to Artemis what had happened, until he blacked out.
"We have to go find her," said Harry, looking furious.
"We don't know where to go," said Artemis. "We have Amadae. Holly said she looked about to cut your head off. We'll bring Amadae up here."
"Do it now!" said Harry, his eye glowing. "I cut her throat if she won't tell."
"Harry, calm down, please," said Hermione pulling him back by his shirt into a chair. "You're not even fully healed are you?"
"Almost," mumbled Harry, patting his chest, where the ring was embedded into one of the bullet wounds. "Bronze works fast."
"We could play good cop bad cop if you like," said Artemis. "Just don't lose it."
Butler left the room with Holly and they came back with Amadae, chained up, looking defiant.
Butler pushed her roughly into a chair and chained her too it. She smiled at Artemis across the desk.
"So, now I'm your prisoner," said Amadae. "What are you going to do, torture me?"
"Must I sink to your level?" said Artemis.
"Let me guess," said Amadae. "You want to know where Ginny is."
"That would be a start," said Artemis, looking at her calmly.
"Well, you can shove it."
Artemis smiled his vampire smile. "Must we persuade you?"
Harry stood up went over to Amadae.
"Where is she?"
Amadae looked up at him, her curls disarrayed. "I wouldn't betray my master."
"Well, your master isn't here to save you, is he?" said Harry, releasing his claws with an ominous shnick.
Amadae eyes flicked to the blades. For a moment, a look of apprehension flashed across her face. Then the defiant look came back.
"You wouldn't."
Harry placed one against her neck. "You were going to cut my head off, you bitch."
Amadae smiled. "Yes, I was."
Artemis smiled his vampire smile. "I would tell us where she is, if I were you. Harry is quite angry and I don't like to think what he would do to you if you refuse us information."
"Aeron will come for me, and he won't take me back as a traitor," she snarled.
"He won't take you back if you're dead," said Harry. Quick as a flash, he ran a tip across her cheek and a red cut blossomed there. Amadae flinched.
Holly stood in front of Amadae. "Amadae."
"What?"
"You need to listen to me," said Holly, layering her voice with mesmer. And "oh shit" look came over Amadae's face for a moment, and then was replaced by a calm on.
"Yes," she said.
"Tell us where Ginny is," said Holly.
Amadae blinked. "I-"
"Tell us where she is." Holly laid it on a little thicker.
Harry's heart hammered. They would know in a moment.
"I don't know," said Amadae, looking peaceful. Holly voice is like bells. I don't know why I didn't like her before. "Aeron didn't tell me where she was going or what he wanted to do."
"Where is Aeron now?"
Amadae shrugged. "He goes all over the place. He just sent me an Owl with those last instructions. Bellatrix is with him."
Holly broke the mesmer and Amadae suddenly looked furious.
"How dare you trick me!" she yelled.
Holly turned to Artemis, who had watched the events intently. Aeron had made sure his tracks were covered.
"She doesn't know," said Holly.
"Butler, take her away," said Artemis, looking bored. "We can deal with her in the morning."
Butler and Holly dragged Amadae out of the room. Harry looked at Artemis, seething.
"That's it?" asked Harry. "Who knows what could be done to Ginny by morning?"
"Harry, were doing all we can," said Artemis. He waited until Holly and Butler came back. "Butler, do we have any truth serum?"
"No," replied Butler. "But I know someone who can get it to me within three or four hours, no questions asked."
"Good, do that please," said Artemis. "We can give her some of that, get her tell us everything she does know."
"I can mesmer her," said Holly.
"Save your magic," said Artemis. "You might need it."
He contacted Foaly, who appeared to be working late. His face popped up on the screen.
Artemis explained the situation. "We need you to trace the signal from Ginny's phone."
"Okay, I'm on," said Foaly, chomping a carrot. They could see him clacking away on his keyboard. "Mud men stuff can be so easy to track," he mumbled under his breath. "Okay, I got it. It's in the middle of the English Channel."
"What?" asked Harry. "Ginny is there?"
"I don't know about Ginny," said Foaly. "But the phone is."
"Holly, ca you go check the area and see if you can retrieve the phone," said Artemis. "Report back to us if you need find anything. I'll be up."
"So will I," said Butler.
Artemis told everyone else to go to bed. They would be awoken if anything happened.
They left the study.
"Man, I'm scared for Ginny," said Ron. "She's my only sister. If something happens- Mum and Dad already lost-"
"Shut up," growled Harry. "She'll be fine. She has to be." He took a breath. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell."
Ron nodded. "It's okay. I'm just really scared."
"I don't think Aeron will kill her," said Hermione. "He wants her for something."
Harry went to his room and removed the bronze ring from the last wound in his chest. It healed up while Harry took a shower and put on some black sleeping pants and a shirt. He sat on his bed, thinking, fuming, his anger growing. Anything could happen in a short amount of time.
He went to Artemis study, knowing he couldn't sleep.
"Harry, shouldn't you be asleep?" asked Artemis.
"How can I sleep now?" Harry plopped in a chair.
"Butler went to Dublin to meet his contact," said Artemis. "Holly went to the English Channel to get the phone and check for other evidence."
Madeline crept from her bed and into the study.
"Madeline, you should be asleep," said Artemis.
"I can't sleep," said Madeline, dressed in a pair of Myles pajamas, with little Transformers all over them. She came to Harry and crawled into his lap.
"Uh, Madeline, it's really late." Harry tensed up a little, not liking to be touched by anybody, except Ginny.
"I can't sleep," she said, drawing her knees up and biting her fingernails. "Ginny never came to give me a kiss goodnight like I made her promise."
Harry and Artemis had to explain to her that Ginny was captured. There was no point in hiding it from her; she'd figure it out eventually anyway. Madeline cried at first, until Harry assured her they would find her.
She wanted a story so; Harry borrowed Artemis Power Book and found an online site with stories for children. He read her the Princess and the Pea and the story of Jack and the Beanstalk. Madeline fell asleep half way through Jack and the Beanstalk so Harry carried her up to bed.
In Harry's mind, it seemed to take days for them to get back. When they did, Holly said she hadn't found anything except the phone.
"Frigid waters," she mumbled to herself, heading for the kitchen. "Figures this would happen in the winter when the water is like ice. That suit doesn't block it all out."
Butler had gotten the truth serum from his "contact", whoever that was.
Everybody got up and went into Amadae's cell.
"Oh, what is this, a party?" she asked.
Butler hooked administered a needle with the serum into Amadae's arm.
"What are you putting in me?" she snarled. She struggled but her arms were chained to the chair. "Get that away!"
"Just calm down," said Artemis.
"I swear, if I could do wordless spells, you'd all be a bunch of hogs right now, and I'd roast everyone one of you alive on an open fire! I'd rip out your intestines and burn them. I'd-"
The serum was mixed with a mild sedative and Amadae slumped a little in her chair. Her empty threats petered out and her eyes looked a little glazed.
Artemis began questioning her. "When did you last seen Aeron?"
"A week and a half ago," said Amadae. "After the incident when you guys blew up his little lab. He left for-"
Suddenly there was a crack and suddenly, Aeron stood in the room.
Butler had his gun out in a moment flat and everybody else reached for their wands. Aeron lunged for Amadae and placed his hand on her arm. Harry realized he was planning to Apparate her out. He lunged forward, grabbing a hold of Aeron's arm.
There was a pop, and the trio was gone…
"No!" shouted Hermione.
Butler had fired a moment too late and the bullet merely hit the concrete and cracked it. The chair was gone as well, Amadae being chained to it.
Artemis was standing. "How did he get in here? We lost our prisoner and Harry! Who knows where they are at!? Hermione, the spell you put around the house-"
"He must have figured a way around it," said Hermione, looking scared. "He's the most powerful dark wizard in the world; he could have made a way."
"Just like that?" asked Ron.
Hermione shrugged her shaking shoulders. "He could have been working on it for awhile, planning to break in here."
"Well, he got in here, and now we lost Harry as well," said Ron, getting up.
Aeron's lab
They appeared in the middle of a lab room; similar to the one Harry had been tortured and transformed in. He kept a grip on Aeron's arm and let his blades out. He swung his arm and tried to slice Aeron's chest open.
Aeron jumped back, yanking his arm free. Harry's claws missed by a half inch and he fell forward, caught off balance. Aeron shot a spell at him and Harry was blasted backwards. He landed with a thump on the cold steel floor. Aeron turned his wand to Amadae and the bonds on the chair released her, the chains falling to the floor with a clatter. Amadae was still under the effects of the truth serum, with the tranquilizer in it. She tried to get up, and flopped back into the chair.
"Useless," said Aeron, with contempt.
Harry sat up, and realized somebody was in front of him.
A green sprite stood in front of him. She was as tall as Holly, with a hooked nose and golden eyes. She wore a brown robe with a black shawl wrapped around her shoulders.
"Hello, friend of Artemis," she said.
A sprite, working with Aeron. This wasn't good.
Harry made the mistake of locking eyes with her and she spoke again, her voice layered with the Mesmer.
"Obey me, boy."
Harry felt himself slide into her control. He could trust her; she wouldn't do anything to harm him.
No, he thought. She's not-
"Listen to me," said the sprite, laying it on thick. "You will obey me and Aeron without question."
Harry tried to fight it. What a lovely voice. But-
He couldn't finish the thought. The sprite was trying hard. A muscle twitched in Harry's neck as he tried to fight it. When Holly had mesmerized him, he hadn't fought so hard, since he had agreed to it. He hadn't agreed to this however.
"Stop." Harry's voice was slow and thick. The sprite frowned.
"Stop fighting me boy," she intoned.
"STOP IT!" Harry shouted. The mesmer was broken.
The sprite whirled toward Aeron. "What was that?"
"He has a strong mind," said Aeron flicking his wand. Harry's hands were cuffed in front of him. He had dropped his wand. The sprite picked it up.
"You're plan better work," said the sprite.
"Oh, it will," said Aeron, with a smile.
Okay, anybody guess who the sprite is? Anybody? And no, it's not Opal Koboi with green skin now. Write in the review box who you think it is!