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So, now that silly outbursts are out of the way, let's get on with it, shall we? It's rather short, I know, but I didn't really have much of a clue about how to make it bigger, so I'm giving it to you how it is.
Disclaimer: See Prologue.
Where we left off:
"Shut up, Tony!" Harry's muffled voice came from under the pillow. Dante snickered and stood up. He climbed into his own bed, smiling to himself. And he could just see Harry's grinning face under his eyelids.
The next night, when Harry was roughly shaken awake from the clutches of his nightmare, he simply mumbled a 'thanks' and went to sleep without even noticing who it was. And if he found the covers pulled up over his shoulders when he woke, well, Tony swore it was just the wind.
Here we go!
Chapter 9
The tests started soon enough, and the days passed by in a blur and before long, the last two exams were looming over them, both on the same day.
The first exam brought about mixed feelings.
"What the hell's the problem with McGonagall?" Dante grumbled as they walked out of the hall. "Transforming a perfectly good mouse into a snuffbox! Why would people need that spell anyway?"
"Mine had whiskers." Ron said, shuddering. "I plucked a few off before she caught me, though."
"Mine had the tail sticking out." Harry said. "I could swear it was wriggling when McGonagall took points off of me…"
"The snuffbox seemed too plain!" said Hermione. "The design was too light in places-"
Ron rolled his eyes heavenwards. "You okay?" Dante asked Harry, who was rubbing his forehead.
"My scar." Harry replied. "It's burning ever since we found you in the forest."
"Go to Madam Pomfrey." Hermione told him.
"I'm not ill." said Harry. "I think it's a warning…it means danger's coming."
Dante smirked. "Bring it on, then!"
Ron and Hermione sent him incredulous looks. Harry shook his head. "I'm serious."
"You three have done nothing except being serious since the start of this exam." Dante put his hands on his hips. "And I've had just about enough of that. History exam's in an hour, get reading or whatever it is you do, and I expect you all to be cheerful in two hours tops."
Harry smiled tightly at that, but he still seemed restless.
"Harry, relax," said Ron, "Hermione's right, the stone's safe as long as Dumbledore's around. Anyway, we've never had any proof Snape found out how to get past Fluffy. He nearly had his leg ripped off once, he's not going to try it again in a hurry. And Neville will play Quidditch for England before Hagrid lets Dumbledore down."
"Yeah." Harry said absently, "Maybe…"
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox
Just past the two hour mark, the bell chimed, and they all came out of their last exam, History of Magic. Dante let out a slight whoop and ran to the giant squid basking in the shallows. He poked the tentacles for a moment, and then jumped up to the nearest tree and vanished from sight.
Ron watched him with open jealousy. "Being half-demon's fun." he said.
Hermione sat down on the grass, pulling out her exam question paper. Ron crumpled it up. "Stop that. It makes me nervous."
Hermione sighed, but relented.
Harry rolled over onto his back on the grass, staring up at the sky. He couldn't get rid of the unsettling feeling in his stomach.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox
Dante went up to the castle, searching for his sword. Tonight he was going to pull Quirrell's turban off, even if it meant going against Dumbledore. He had just about enough of watching Harry have nightmares and scar-aches.
He found his sword and went to Dumbledore's office. He might as well give his great-uncle a warning first.
It came as a shock to see Vergil standing outside Dumbledore's office, frustration evident on his face. He was rubbing his knuckles, making Dante snicker as his twin tried to stare down the gargoyle.
"Get lost, Verge." He said with a smirk. "Can't even guess a password."
Vergil glared at him. "I invite you to try."
Dante puffed out his chest and shoved Vergil out of the way. "Strawberry sundae!"
The gargoyle didn't budge. Dante felt something drop in the pit of his stomach, but the feeling was gone when he heard a very undignified snort. He glowered at Vergil, who was pressing his lips together hard to stifle his laughter.
"Strawberry sundae? Really, Dante!"
"Stop doing rhymes." Dante grumbled. He looked at the gargoyle with an offended expression. "I can get this." He said, schooling his features.
"Lemon drop! Bortie Bott's every flavor beans! Toffee!"
The lion stared at him vacantly.
"Ice-cream! Sherbet lemon!"
No answer.
"Jeez!" Dante rolled his eyes. "This old man's actually picked a new password at my words. The one time he actually shouldn't have listened to me…" His eyes widened. "Oh no! He didn't!" he turned to the door, ignoring Vergil's snickering. "Lollypop?"
The gargoyle moved aside. Vergil blinked while Dante just shook his head with a snort.
Vergil scowled, pushed past him and began making his way up. Chuckling under his breath, Dante followed.
The office was empty. Dante looked around at the bookshelves and then to the neatly arranged papers on the desk. "Professor Dumbledore!" he yelled. No one answered.
"Upstairs, maybe." said Vergil, and he walked purposefully towards the stairs. Dante watched him go, then opened a drawer and pulled out a shiny box. He threw back the lid and popped two sherbet lemons in his mouth. The stuff was actually good.
He sat down in Dumbledore's chair and waited for his brother to come back, consuming about a dozen sweets in that time. Dumbledore didn't come.
"He's not here." Vergil called, coming down the stairs, Yamato grasped in his hand. Dante jumped up at the sight of it.
"What are you doing?" he called. "He confiscated it."
"You're talking about rules?" Vergil shot back, already halfway down the stairs leading outside. Dante let his eyes fall closed. Yamato and Vergil, and the Sorcerer's Stone. Coupled with Dumbledore's absence, this was a disaster waiting to happen.
A light weight settled on his arm. Looking up, he saw the beautiful bird he had seen on Dumbledore's shoulder, once or twice. He had been told it was a phoenix, named…
"Hey, Fawkes." He said, stroking the bird. "Where'd your master go?"
The bird let out a quiet, musical note, flying to the window. Dante felt a sinking weight in his chest.
"Out? Uncle Albus went out of the school without you?"
He could've sworn the bird had nodded.
"Merlin…!" he breathed. "Be back, Fawkes."
He ran down the stairs. He had to go and check on Fluffy.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox
Dante ran and jumped the whole way to the third floor. Professor McGonagall was yelling at Harry in the corridor, so he quickly hid behind the doorway.
"I suppose you think you're harder to get past than a pack of enchantments!" she stormed. "Enough of this nonsense! If I hear you've come anywhere near here again, I'll take another fifty points from Gryffindor! Yes, Weasley, from my own House!"
"What happened?" Dante asked them, as they morosely made their way back.
"Hagrid told Snape about Fluffy-" Harry began.
"He said it was Snape?" Dante cut in.
Ron glared. "Oh, not that again!"
"No." Harry said quickly. "Hagrid said the stranger kept his hood up. But he got Hagrid drunk, and Hagrid told him how to get past Fluffy. We tried to tell McGonagall and she didn't believe us….don't say 'I-told-you-so'…and Dumbledore's got a letter from the Ministry of Magic and he's out-"
"I know. I went upstairs today to see him."
"Why?" Ron and Harry asked together.
"Oh." Dante scratched his head. "I needed lemon drops." He tried.
Ron and Harry now watched him with open suspicion.
Dante stared back. "What? I needed it. Dumbledore's always got his stack full. Snape made good on his threat to 'see the Headmaster' once. He dragged me to the office, and the old man and I struck up a friendship of sorts. Dumbledore said I could come back anytime."
Fortunately, for Dante, that was a believable story, and they bought it. Harry sighed. "At least Hermione's on Snape's tail."
And the portrait of the Fat Lady swung open and Hermione came in.
"I'm sorry, Harry!" she wailed. "Snape came out and asked me what I was doing, so I said I was waiting for Flitwick, and Snape went to get him, and I've only just got away, I don't know where Snape went."
"Well, that's it then, isn't it?" Harry said.
Dante stared at him. Harry was pale and his eyes were glittering. Was this the night, then?
"I'm going out of here tonight and I'm going to try and get to the Stone first." Harry finished in one breath.
"You're mad!" said Ron.
"You can't!" said Hermione. "After what McGonagall and Snape have said? You'll be expelled!"
"SO WHAT?" Harry shouted. "Don't you understand? If Snape gets hold of the Stone, Voldemort's coming back! Haven't you heard what it was like when he was trying to take over? There won't be any Hogwarts to get expelled from! He'll flatten it, or turn it into a school for the Dark Arts! Losing points doesn't matter anymore, can't you see? D'you think he'll leave you and your families alone if Gryffindor wins the House Cup? If I get caught before I can get to the Stone, well, I'll have to go back to the Dursleys and wait for Voldemort to find me there, it's only dying a bit later than I would have, because I'm never going over to the Dark Side! I'm going through that trapdoor tonight and nothing you two say is going to stop me! Voldemort killed my parents, remember?"
He glared at them. Dante suppressed the urge to smile. It was good to see the spark of fire in Harry's eyes, the one that said he was capable of fighting if it came to it.
It also meant that he had the elements necessary to become a rather cool guy one day.
"You're right, Harry," said Hermione finally, in a small voice
"I'll use the Invisibility Cloak," said Harry. "It's just lucky I got it back."
Dante didn't think so. It had to be Dumbledore. He's staged the whole thing. Thanks a lot, Uncle Albus!
"But will it cover all four of us?" said Ron.
"All — all four of us?"
"Oh, come off it, you don't think we'd let you go alone?
"Of course not," said Hermione briskly. "How do you think you'd get to the Stone without us? I'd better go and look through my books, there might be something useful…"
"But if we get caught, you three will be expelled, too."
"Not if I can help it," said Hermione grimly. "Flitwick told me in secret that I got a hundred and twelve percent on his exam. They're not throwing me out after that."
Dante smiled at her. "Good for you." All traces of humor had vanished from his face. The truth of what was happening was finally dawning on him, and he did his best to hide the weakening in his knees. Quirrell didn't alarm him in the slightest, Vergil did. His brother knew Dumbledore was not in the school; this was the best chance he would get to make a grab for the Stone. Dante knew what he had to do. He knew who could help him with it. But he didn't enjoy it.
He looked at all three of them for a moment, fully aware he might not even see them again. But he had to take the chance. He nodded to himself, turned to go.
"Tony!" Hermione yelled after him, sounding scared. Dante realized he must've been acting very out of character. "What's wrong? Where are you going?"
"I got something I need to do. If I'm not back in time, go without me, I'll catch up."
"Where?" Hermione asked desperately, and Dante realized they would follow him if he didn't give an answer.
"I need to go to the centaurs." He answered truthfully, and all but ran off before they could ask another question. He clutched Rebellion tighter. The sword was vibrating slightly, or was it his own hand trembling?
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox
"You didn't see Vergil kill me, did you?" Dante asked him, desperately. (1)
Firenze shook his head, looking very conflicted.
"Then the stars don't really say no to this, right? One stab. You know it won't kill me. You said you set yourself against what is lurking in this forest. Well, how is Voldemort coming back worse than a son of Sparda going to the evil side with complete immortality? Voldemort's a human, for goodness' sake!"
Firenze looked down at the sword he was holding. "Yes." He said slowly. "I believe I should be able to follow through with-"
"Go on, then." Dante interrupted. "We're wasting time. You stargazer's probably don't give a damn about time, but we mere mortals do. Here, look," he circled a spot over his heart, "Here's your target. Don't screw this up."
Firenze raised the sword slowly. "Brace yourself." He told Dante, who had squeezed his eyes shut and was standing rigid. "Try to relax."
Dante let loose a humorless snort at the absurdity of the situation, but his shoulders did slump slightly.
"I think it will be better for you to lie down."
"Oh, no." Dante snapped his eyes open. "I'm not some virgin sacrifice to be killed at the alter or something. I'm standing."
A quiet sigh."Very well."
He kept his eyes closed even as he heard the sharp whoosh of blade cutting through air.
And then there was agony. A piercing pain erupted in his chest, and soon another similar sensation ravaged his back, making his whole torso explode with searing pain. Stars danced wildly in front of his eyes, and Dante realized vaguely that he was now on the ground. On instinct, he tried to move, only to send sheer agony shooting up and down his torso. It was no use anyway; he was immobile. The sword had rammed him through and embedded itself in the hard forest floor, pinning him in place. The pain was blinding, now spreading to his entire body, and he could barely register his own choked cry of pain as his own movements caused the sword to rip through still intact flesh. His hands tried to move up and grasp at the blade, but his limbs felt incredibly heavy and fell back to the ground. He heard his own strangled gasp as he tried, unsuccessfully, to take a breath. The world was dissolving into small specks of blackness in front of his eyes. He could see Firenze's worried face blurring over him as his pain slowly lessened to a dull, distant ache.
He was dying; and all Dante could think about was how horribly wrong it had gone.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox
Firenze watched the boy as he went limp. He was mostly silent; which was a relief because this would mean the whole process would not attract attention.
The Devil Trigger was taking a long time to unleash. The sword would have to be pulled out soon if he didn't want the boy to die. He had already lost more blood than it was safe to, even for demons.
And then, Dante's eyes snapped open, and Firenze leapt to the side to dodge the flying sword.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox
Power! Anger! Hunger!
He…who was he?...jumped to his feet in one smooth movement, feeling energy fuel his body. He struggled forward…Why couldn't he move faster? He had to spend his energy…yes, there was a tree…
He caught the sword as it fell from the sky and thrust it with all his might into the tree, and pulled. Yes, it felt good, but it wouldn't come out. Why wouldn't it come out? Because he didn't have enough…
POWER!
He suddenly felt a surge of energy unlike anything he had ever experienced. It was new, it was wonderful…
PAIN!
Oh god, was this much pain even possible? And a hoarse voice was screaming, whoever it was seemed badly hurt….did they hurt as much as he did? And then there was his energy, draining, draining…
All of his being seemed to leave his body in that moment, and his world faded to black.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox
Firenze laid the sword down onto the ground next to the ever-spreading pool of blood. He had already done more than centaurs should, he couldn't increase it by carrying the boy into the castle.
"You are a most remarkable creature." He said quietly. "Good luck, son of Sparda."
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox
Dante woke with a dull ache in his chest. He tried to sit up, and noted, with considerable surprise, how incredibly weak he felt.
He put his palms flat against the ground and heaved himself up to a sitting position. His hands were resting in a warm puddle. Frowning, he lifted a hand and brought it in front of his face. It was slick with blood.
"Oh." He mouthed silently. He drew his knees up and pushed himself off the ground. A light shone directly into his eyes; he frowned and looked down. His robe was illuminated in the moonlight.
Moonlight?!
It was night then. Vergil had to be gone by now. And he was about half-kilometers inside the forest. He looked about and decided that the quickest way was over the treetops.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox
"Do you suppose we should've told one of the professors?" Hermione asked, quietly, as they made their way to the room next to the Devil's snare.
"They'd expel him if they find him in the forest." Harry replied flatly.
"He's already broken more rules than Fred and George had managed in the entirety of their three years." muttered Ron. "Yeah, Harry's probably right."
"But if You-know-who is there….Tony may need help!"
Harry shook his head, trying to convince himself of his own words as he said, "Tony can handle himself. He's already done it once. Besides, we can't turn back unless we want Snape to get the stone."
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox
Dante all but soared over the last of the trees and jumped down the fifteen feet to the ground flawlessly. His leaps had become much longer; and no height could cause him even bruises. He felt invincible. This half kilometer had taken only about a minute.
Dante ran into the castle and up the stairs in the entrance hall. He didn't even pause for breath as he came up to the first of the moving stairs. The first was pointed the exact opposite direction from where he wanted to go. He shrugged to himself and bent his knees to jump.
"Well, well, well."
Dante groaned as he heard the footsteps. "Not you again."
"Mr. Redgrave? Pray tell, what are you doing in the first floor at this time of the night?"
Dante's lips twitched. Snape needed a lesson. And he knew just the thing. This prat was going to get a serious shock.
"Judging by the fact that you're looking for the stairs, one would think that you were coming from the outside." The footsteps paused just behind Dante. "What reason could you have for being outside at this time of the night, Mr. Redgrave? Well, perhaps your head of House can extract that answer better…along with about, I say, a hundred points from Gryffindor and a one way ticket to the muggle world."
Dante grinned to himself and didn't move.
"Look at me when I'm talking to you!" Snape snarled, and grabbed his shoulders and turned him around.
The Potions Master gasped and recoiled a second later. Dante grinned wider; he knew he looked like a zombie with his naturally pale face and eyes and the hole ripped through his robe. Not to mention the blood that covered him.
"Mr. Red-"
Dante transformed. It caused a sharp pain to shoot through him, but it was worth it. Snape barely stopped a cry; his eyes became wide as saucers and his jaw went slack, showing yellow teeth. Dante thought he'd need to send him a toothbrush and paste next Christmas.
"Bye, sir." He himself was astonished at the deep and feral voice that came from his throat. Snape pulled out his wand with a shaky hand and pointed it at his student. Dante looked up, and with a great leap, landed on the third floor stairs. He ran up to the corridor, reached the door in three seconds, transformed back to his normal self -delighted to see no blood on him anymore- and entered.
The huge eyes of the three-headed dog stared back at him. Dante shut his eyes and took a deep breath as he drew Rebellion. Now he really wished he hadn't given Snape a reason to come after him.
"I suppose there's no point in asking you to go back to sleep?" he asked meekly.
The dog stood straight, and growled. Dante thinned his lips. "No point at all." His eyes rested on the trapdoor. He didn't want to kill the thing; Hagrid would drown in his own tears. All he needed to do was reach the door under its paw.
1: I know finding Firenze is really, really hard. I'll leave it up to you to fill in how Dante found him with your own imagination! I'm feeling really done in right now…exams, you know.
Really had to end the chapter there. I'm sure you can understand…The tasks will all come in the next chapter!
Reply to unsigned review(s):
Crossover Junkie: You know, there is a line by Tagore that goes something like(this is an incredibly rough translation) this: the other side of the river always seems more beautiful. So yeah, I imagined your surroundings as perfect because I've never experienced it! As for the confrontation, you'll see a lot next chapter, so stay tuned! As for book two, by the time I finish this story, I'll let all the readers know, so stay tuned for that too!
qwertyuiop: Really? I had no idea….this is probably why people get their chapters beta'ed! Keep reading and even point out flaws if you want to!
Let me know your thoughts!