Hey there, I know I updated pretty quickly this time but the chapter is pretty short by my standards. I usually hate short chapters but I knew all of you were eager to see what would happen next. Just so you know, I left a cliffhanger only to write another at the end of this chapter; an even bigger one. So have fun with that! Enjoy!
Just when everyone was about to leave, there was a flash of silver light revealing a doe patronus. It opened its mouth and spoke in Severus's voice.
"The dark lord is attacking Bones Manor for Amelia. Being forced to attack the Burrow. Hurry!"
With that, the doe blinked and vanished in the same silver mist it was created from.
There was instant silence until James took over. "Moody, Kingsley, take Sirius and a few others to the Bones's. The rest of us will go to the Burrow for the Weasleys. Danielle, I know I can't tell you to do anything but-"
Danielle was slightly impressed by James's leadership but knew exactly where she wanted to go. "The bastard is mine. Where do the Bones's live?"
James nodded once and motioned for the Aurors going to save Amelia to take the three Hunters with them.
Moody grabbed Danielle while Kingsley and Sirius took Thalia and Elizabeth respectively and they all vanished with a crack.
The Burrow
On one end of the small village of Ottery St. Catchpole, was what looked like what had once been a large old stone pig pen. The building that it was now looked like someone had added rooms everywhere there had been room at the time and was now several stories tall. The whole house was so crooked that there was no logical or scientific reason it was still standing; it must have been magic that was keeping it standing.
The family living there were the Weasleys, which made sense since weasels do tend to live in burrows.
No one knew why ferrets lived in manors but that was a story for another day.
On this particular night, the house was inhabited by four members of the Weasley clan. Mr and Mrs Weasley, their youngest son Ronald, and their only daughter Ginerva (call her Ginny or you die) were currently inside.
Arthur Weasley was relaxing in his favorite chair after a long day of working at the Ministry and spending time in his shed with non-magical artifacts with the knowledge and enthusasim of a six year old non-magical child. It was often questioned why he did not know too much about the non-magical community when he was fascinated by them and worked with them on a daily basis but the simple reason behind that was that he was a wizard.
Wizards tend to be as interested in non-magiacals as they themselves are interested in chimpanzees. A magical would see a so called 'Muggle' with an electric drill or even a gun as a 'Muggle' would see a monkey waving around a stick to get food out of an ant hill.
Molly Weasley was writing a letter to one of her many family members at the kitchen table with a large mug of tea next to her. She did hope that her second eldest son, Charlie, would take her side with the recent Weasley split and not be influenced by 'her.' The 'her' she was referring to had done more to disrupt the Weasley family dynamic than even 'You-Know-Who' had done in the first war; at least in her opinion.
If someone did not listen to the great wizard Dumbledore, than they were hopeless at living a productive life. This Molly believed with all of her heart and magic.
The two children in the house were currently trying to put their plans into action. Ronald was still in shock how his 'best mate' would choose his family and estranged sister over him and Dumbledore. Sure, David wanted the glory of taking down Voldemort but how could they do that without the headmaster's help. Without him, they were going to lose the war without a doubt. The fact that he hadn't picked up a newspaper showing the deaths and incarcerations of various Death Eaters Danielle and the Hunters had been responsible for didn't even enter his mind.
In addition to trying to make David 'see the light' and come back to him, he was hoping to get closer to Hermione while they were planning to take 'him' down. Yes, in his opinion Hermione wasn't that much of a looker but they had been friends for years, she would be much easier to sweet talk and fall into his arms than any other girl.
Ginny had plans to put into action as well. For years, she had heard stories of the famous David Potter. She had the complete series of all of his adventures she had collected over the years that depicted him fighting against griffins, dragons and other dangerous monsters. Yes, the books had been written right after the attack that Halloween and it wasn't possible for a toddler to do all of that but Ginny Molly Weasley had fallen in love with the boy-who-lived. For years she had dreamed of being Mrs Ginny Potter and had clung onto that vision for all of her young life.
She had gotten to Hogwarts and had not only gone to the same house as David, but started to fall for him all over again. He had saved her from the basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets, just like in her books! Now he would pull her onto his white stallion and they would ride off into the sunset to his castle, with her as his princess!
But now, now that was all ruined. She knew what happened down in the Chamber that day, David had saved her, not his loser of a sister that wasn't worthy of being in the same house as him.
Ginny was positive. Danielle was a dark witch and was working with Voldemort to tear David down from his golden pedestal so she got all the glory when she would 'defeat' the dark lord. The fact that she was working against Dumbledore's plans only proved it even more that the red headed former Potter was evil.
Dumbledore and her mother say something, it must be true, simple as that.
This was the scene that the Death Eaters came to.
XXXXXX
Draco Malfoy was having a fun time with this attack. Finally, he would bring down those pathetic blood-traitors, the Weasleys, and serve the Dark Lord at the same time.
He had joined the Death Eaters when he had left school, just like his father before him, and was eager to prove himself. He was following the traditions of generations of Malfoys, ever since his grandfather Abraxas Malfoy had supported Voldemort's first rise to power. He was the pureblood wizarding elite and he would strike down those that opposed his glorious vision of magical rule.
His first test was to take down Dumbledore's number one followers and burn everything to the ground.
While he naturally thought that he should lead this crusade, that honor had been given to two of the inner circle members, Antonin Dolohov and Walden McNair. Draco's role was little better than a low level grunt but he was going to watch and wait, sure that his father's role in the Death Eaters would help him rise up the ranks quickly.
Draco sneered at the sight of the Burrow. He was all too eager to watch it burn to the ground. The two Weasley children were nothing more than minor annoyances and weasel senior was an average wizard at the best of times. The only one that the Death Eaters thought might give them some trouble was the Weasley matriarch.
Molly Weasley was not considered a light weight. It was rumored that if she was angry enough, she might have been a match for Bellatrix in dueling expertise.
Severus sighed and hoped that Draco wouldn't do anything too stupid in his first mission. He was not a leader in this attack as his job was to protect his snot of a godson. He honestly couldn't stand the sight of the boy as he was everything bad about Lucius without any of the very few good qualities the man had. If he hadn't promised Narcissa to protect him as his godfather he might off the boy himself during an 'accident.' Sadly, Lady Malfoy had always treated him with respect and he couldn't do that to her, especially with the death of the one sister she had been closest to.
Back to the attack on the house, Bill Weasley himself had put the wards around the property as it was his speciality during school, thus making it hard to take down. Severus was actually impressed, Bill had put up a few weak wards outside the real ones to lure enemy attackers into a false sense of security. It was a good strategy as a few of the younger death eaters had been too excited with the attack to think clearly.
Dolohov and McNair had to physically restrain Draco and Theodore Nott before they got themselves killed with a few nasty wards around the place. With a lot of effort, all the wards were taken down and they stalked the house, using the darkness to keep themselves hidden.
Dolohov was the one who used a powerful flame-cutter curse, a dark flaming slash of magic, and set the entire top floor of the house on fire. Screams came from inside the house as the inhabitants were taken by the surprise of the attack. This started the others to fire their own spells, which blew up windows and threatened to take down the structural support of the house, magic or not.
Loud cracks got their attention and Dolohov suddenly had to duck under a bright white jet of light that had been aimed at his head.
"Well," said James as he apperated in with the rest of his group. "I hope you don't mind if we join the party."
Behind him were Lily and David, Bill, Fred and George Weasley, Fleur Delecour, Hestia Jones and Emmaline Vance. All of which looked stern and ready for action.
No one was sure who shot first but when the door of the Burrow banged open to reveal the four Weasleys that had been inside, chaos reigned. People of both sides were shooting lethal and near lethal spells.
James, who was in the lead, managed to make a bone breaker connect and ducked under a killing curse that had fired from McNair, instantly engaging him in a duel, Lily adding her own spells. Hestia and Emmaline were engaged with Dolohov who was keeping both busy with his vast arsenal of cutting curses. Bill and Fleur teamed up with each other to counter the various recent graduates of Slytherin house. Fred and George were launching their more battle oriented gear toward the Death Eaters to distract them long enough for their allies to win their duels.
In the midst of spellfire, Molly shepherded her two youngest away.
Wanting to help the ones who had come to their aid, Arthur made sure that his wife and children were safe before engaging in combat himself. Shielding himself against a blasting hex that would have taken off his arm at least, he shot a stunner at a Death Eater in the crowd before moving on, moving to the next opponent after seeing the young man go down.
Severus was trying to maintain order and keep a watch on Draco but the brat found himself against Bill and Fleur. Both of which could destroy him in a duel on their own but his godson was fighting alongside Nott and Parkinson so he had to let him be for the moment. A split second too late, he realized that the Death Eater who had been stunned by Arthur was back up, woken by one of his comrades, and shot a killing curse at the head of the Weasley family.
No one could do anything, too caught up in their own battles to notice, but the jet of sickly green light connected with Arthur's side, blasting him off his feet and slamming his body into the side of the burning building that used to be the Burrow. Arthur was dead before he landed.
"Retreat!"
McNair's orders weren't questioned like they might have been and everyone who was able activated their emergency portkeys. Severus sighed, gave Lily a look saying that he had to go with them to keep up his cover, and left in a flash of light.
James looked over the battlefield sadly for a moment before his Auror training took over and looked over to Hestia and Emmaline.
"Hestia, get others to help put out that fire before the whole of the Burrow collapses. Emmaline, we need to go over the various injuries and casulties. Fleur, what are you doing?"
As both women ran off, he had to smile when he saw that Fleur had caught a young death eater who was too busy staring at her to escape. He might have made a joke about that even a year ago but when he had commented to Sirius how attractive the part Veela had been, he had been forced to sleep on the couch when Lily had overheard. But really, what guy could resist the allure powers of even a part Veela?
Walking over, he found that the young man was Draco Malfoy. Now this was interesting. What could he do with the son of a death eater? He nodded to Fleur, who was trying hard not to laugh at the blond boy's devoted look, and hit the young Slytherin with a stunner, deciding to deal with him later.
Lily meanwhile was going over the various injuries. Most came out with at least some form of bruise or cut but it wasn't anything she couldn't handle. She did smirk a bit when she found that she had taken out a death eater herself. He had had his leg shatter from a bone smashing curse so the limb looked like mulch. A very painful way to die but death eaters didn't deserve much sympathy, especially from her.
Emmaline came running up to her, looking depressed. "Lily, we lost Arthur. He was hit by the killing curse."
"NO!"
Molly had come out of hiding with Ron and Ginny, all three of them looked miserable. Molly looked close to a mental breakdown, Ron was in shock while Ginny was crying gently.
Lily looked awkward, she had never really gotten along with Molly despite various people thinking they were best friends. Molly was the one who had constantly over mothering everyone and treated Lily like she didn't know how to care for her own son. Still, the woman's husband had just died.
"I'm sorry for your loss," Lily said, knowing how awkward the words sounded.
James went over to them. "Emmaline, is Arthur the only casualty?"
The female Auror nodded. "Yeah, hit by the killing curse so it was instant death. Everyone else is fine though. A few bumps, bruises and minor cuts but it could have ended much worse."
James nodded and the other Auror went over to help put out the fire with the others. Sighing, he looked from the troubled look on Lily's face, the devastated one on Molly's, and the lost looks on the two youngest Weasley children's.
Sighing again, he looked at Ron and Ginny. "Why don't you go find Bill, Fred and George? We'll stay here to talk to your mother."
Ginny nodded for herself and Ron and they walked off, ready for one big Weasley comfort session. James then looked at Lily, wondering if she was thinking the same thing he was when they saw Molly.
"Molly, it might be a while before the Burrow is livable again. Well, we do have room at Potter manor in case you're interested…" he trailed off, not knowing how the older red headed woman would react.
To his and Lily's surprise, Molly rushed forward and enveloped them in a hug, crying on both of their shoulders.
"T, Thank you. I know we havn't been the best of friends but…thank you."
James and Lily looked at each other and awkwardly patted Molly on the back, each wondering what kind of torture they just subjected themselves to.
Bones Hall
Bones Manor, sometimes called Bones Hall, was a quaint looking manor house overlooking a large countryside in Eastern England. For generations, the Bones family have lived and worked on improving the magical world. An Ancient and Noble house, very few could match the prestige and nobility that this magical family could offer.
Susan Bones was currently in her room, still trying to figure out what she wanted to do with her life now that she had graduated from Hogwarts. The thought of following her Aunt Amelia as an Auror was something she had considered but she wasn't sure if she could survive the training. Being a Healer seemed to appeal to her but she would have to talk to her aunt about possibly hiring someone to tutor her in potions. Professor Snape just wasn't a good teacher, for anyone.
Susan was an eighteen year old red head that had recently graduated from Hufflepuff house. She had lived with her Aunt for as long she could remember since both her parents had been killed by Voldemort in the first war almost two decades previously. Living with her aunt hadn't bothered her in any way, despite that her job didn't let her spend too much time with her.
Aunt Amelia constantly said that she was one of the very few competent people that worked in the Ministry.
The red headed former Hufflepuff wished that her friend Hannah could help with her career choices but her blonde friend was currently working in her family's business of shipping potion ingredients. A job that allowed her friend a lot of time with her crush, Neville Longbottom.
Of course, Neville was dating that odd girl from Ravenclaw, Loony Lovegood, but they didn't seem to get along too well. It was Hannah's hope that they would break up soon and then she could swipe Neville before anyone could realize how good a guy he was.
Back to Susan, she really didn't really like too many of the guys at Hogwarts herself. Thanks to the house system, she had been encouraged to look only within her own house for a potential boyfriend and hadn't seen anyone she truly liked. Not like it mattered at the moment anyway. Career first, then love life.
Hearing the front door open downstairs, she knew her aunt was home from another day at the Ministry and went down in a hope to comfort her. Amelia had been having a very hard week.
Minister Fudge was getting worse and worse the longer this war was being played out. He had already been forced to answer various questions about why this new Hunter group was out rounding up Death Eaters when it was technically the auror's job. Fudge just deflected the question and tried to pin the blame on someone else, namely Amelia, on the Auror's lack of care for civilians during Death Eater attacks. Umbridge and Malfoy backing him up every step of the way.
Amelia had always hated Umbridge but couldn't do anything about it. The toad like woman was higher ranked than she was, despite that Umbridge really didn't do anything other than give Fudge bad advice all day. And complaining about half-breeds, can't forget that.
As soon as she came into the house, Amelia instantly went to the kitchen and poured herself a drink, needing it after the nightmare of a day she had gone through. How does a law stating that it was okay to leave Muggle areas alone during a Death Eater attack if there was another attack in a magical area going on at the same time make any sense at all?
Susan sank down into a chair next to her aunt, smiling slightly. "Hard day at the office Aunty?" she asked, already knowing the answer.
Amelia almost glared at her for her question, not really in the mood but refusing to take her anger on her niece at the same time. She decided on focusing on the Firewhiskey in the glass in front of her, ignoring the question in favor of the beverage.
After about twenty minutes of silence, Amelia sighed. "How was your day, Susan? Find anything you might want to do yet?" she knew was deflecting the question but she honestly didn't care. Anything so she didn't have to think of Fudge at the moment.
Susan shrugged. "I've been going over the options I have. Would it be alright if I hire someone to tutor me in Potions? I need someone who can teach the subject for either an Auror or a Healer."
Her aunt thought for a moment before nodding. How Dumbledore could justify hiring Severus Snape for teaching potions when potential Aurors and Healers have dropped, she had no idea. Ever since that former Death Eater had started teaching, candidates for both professions had plummeted, making it even worse when Voldemort had come back.
The two talked about everything and nothing for another half hour before Amelia decided that it was time for bed. Needing the rest for the next day of Fudge.
A crack got her attention however and she turned to see Nipsy, her house elf.
"Mistress Amelia! The wards around the manor are dropping! An attack be coming soon!"
Not for nothing had Amelia been the best field agent in the Auror Corp ever since the days of her mentor. She might have a desk job now but she had been trained by Alastor Moody during the first war. She knew what to do.
"Susan. Use the floo network and contact the Aurors. After that, get to Hannah's house as soon as possible."
Susan looked torn between obeying her aunt and staying to help. Finally, she nodded and hurried from the room but hadn't gone more than a few steps when both she and Amelia heard the cracks of apparition outside the manor. Looking at each other, the older Bones woman slowly went to a window and saw a welcoming and horrifying sight.
Voldemort himself was right outside the wards, bringing with him a force of maybe a dozen Death Eaters. They had stopped trying to bring down the wards however when the new arrivals showed up, revealing themselves as Moody, Kingsley, Sirius and the three girls Amelia had found herself interested in ever since they had arrived. They matched the descriptions eye-witnesses had given her, including one red head that Susan seemed to know if her wide eyed expression meant anything
"Danielle?"
XXXXXX
"Well, that was fun," said Thalia sarcastically as soon as she, Danielle and Elizabeth were apperated to the top of a small hill outside Bones Hall. Voldemort was already there along with perhaps a dozen Death Eaters and werewolves. Fenrir Greyback was in front, practically drooling over the thought of getting Susan. Danielle shook her head in disgust at the wolf that could put the wolf-king Lycaon to shame.
While the Aurors that brought them there were debating the best way to handle the situation, their boss was in danger from an evil terrorist after all, the red headed Hunter smirked and walked right toward the evil terrorists. Laughing slightly, she stopped within hearing distance.
"Hey! Tommy Boy!"
Every person looked over to see the fearless thirteen year old Hunter calmly walk right up to the most feared dark lord in a century. Voldemort even stopped trying to take down the wards around Bones Hall to stare at her. Danielle, for her part, didn't even flinch, she just walked down the hill and taking as much time as she wanted.
Voldemort looked at her with a sneer. "Who dares speak that name?" he hissed.
Danielle smirked even more, watching in amusement as all the Death Eaters flinched at the tone Voldemort used. "I think I dare," said Danielle, pretending to think. "Then again, I say a lot of things, huh Tommy? By the way, why did you go through all the trouble of changing your name if you don't want even your followers to use it? It makes no sense that even Bellatrix was scared to say your name, calling you the 'dark lord' and all that."
Voldemort was staring at this strange girl who was actually trying to have a conversation with him while almost insulting him at the same time. Her comment about Bellatrix got his attention though and he managed to figure out who she was.
"Well, well, Danielle Peverell. At last we meet." Voldemort gave a cruel smirk. "I was expecting someone…older."
Both he and Danielle waited for the various Death Eaters around them to stop laughing before the red head girl continued. "And I was expecting someone who actually looked human. I mean, really? Why did you get rid of your nose and hair? And the snake motif is so last century."
Danielle had to admit, she was having fun playing with Voldemort. The fact that the dark lord was getting angrier all the time added to it.
"You know, it's funny," Danielle continued, watching Thalia, Elizabeth and the others get into position behind Tom's Death Eaters. "Why did you choose such a stupid name? You do know that Voldemort means 'Flight from death' in French, right? My gods, even your name gives away how much of a coward you are, since only a coward would try to kill a one year old baby girl."
Voldemort's anger was growing in waves, making his followers back away in fear. "Strong words for someone who needed their grandmother to take the hit for them." He was advancing on the red headed girl, wand out and ready to strike.
Danielle just gave him a deadpanned expression. "Uh, hello! I was a year old at the time! How could I have protected myself when some guy calling himself a dark lord broke into a nursery, killed my grandparents, then shoot a bolt of green magic at me?
"And really, now that I think about it, how anticlimactic is the killing curse? It's just a zap, you're dead spell. You would think that a dark lord would come up with something original or a more painful way to end someone but no, the killing curse is more of a mercy killing than anything else. How does it feel Tommy, for your Avada Kedevra to go Avada Ka-doink on a defenseless baby?"
Tom Riddle was now seething with rage. He then realized something, smiling. "You're one of those Hunters that have gone around killing my followers. You killed Bellatrix."
Danielle shrugged, studying her nails as if she had all the time in the world. "Bellatrix wasn't that tough, to be honest. If she was your strongest fighter, then I really hope you make up for it since the battle was a bit one sided."
That was sugar coating it and they both knew it. It had been a slaughter for the Death Eaters.
"How about a little duel, Tom. You and me, no need to let those puppies you call werewolves to get involved. Or can you only handle me when I'm still in diapers?"
Her goading was simple. Either Voldemort would accept her challenge and she could hopefully do some major damage to the dork lord or he would look like a coward in front of his followers and she would still do as much damage as she could to him before he ran for it. A win-win situation.
Voldemort breathed heavily, his anger starting to fog his better judgment but he had to admit, the idea of facing against Danielle Peverell one on one was intriguing. He had no idea what she was capable of but he was most powerful dark lord in a century. He could handle anything she dished out.
"You have a deal, Danielle. Shall we bow to the other or just start?" he asked sarcastically.
Danielle shrugged again. "I have absolutely no respect for you so why should I bow when you would probably hit me with a Cruciatus for doing so. I'll even let you have the first shot."
Glaring at her for being for not taking this seriously, Voldemort was quick to shoot off a jet of sickly green light. Danielle almost sighed and leaned out of the way slightly, the jet of light missing her and impacting into the ground, making a small crater.
Danielle was back to checking her nails. "Is that all you got?"
Several werewolves, including Greyback, all made toward her but Voldemort stopped them. "Do nothing," he hissed, making them all cower. "She is mine to finish." He turned to Danielle, who was watching him like he was an interesting television show. "Tell me, how is it that you look thirteen? The longer you talk, the longer you stay alive."
Danielle had been expecting that question and pretended to think about it. She would never tell him the truth, but he was expecting an answer.
"Well," said Danielle, thoughtfully. "I went to America after I was kicked out of Britain by stowing away on a pirate ship owned by the dread Pirate Roberts. I wound up in Florida and managed to find the fountain of youth, that's why I don't age anymore."
She had said all of this with a completely straight face without any sign of breaking into laughter at all, a feat all its own. Voldemort glared at her, knowing she was lying but more interested in killing her than finding out why his opponent was so young.
He took a moment and used the limited light from the moon and the nearby manor to really study his target. Danielle showed no fear whatsoever in facing him, just looking at him intently but her body language was clear that she was ready to strike or move at a second's notice. She stood about five foot four inches, average for a thirteen year old girl, her dark red hair fell down past her shoulders. She was wearing a silver and black outfit that was somehow both modest and allowed for complete freedom of movement. Knife holders were at her belt where he could see two hunting knives ready for use.
"I see you like the Hunter look," Voldemort commented. "Severus was correct about you being influenced by the Greek goddess Artemis."
Danielle shrugged, "What can I say? I was a fan of the old Greek stories. Artemis was always one of my favorite goddess and the old stories did say she allowed young maidens to hunt with her. I think the look suits me."
Not completely a lie, but not the truth either. Voldemort's lie detector with his legilmancy must be going crazy.
Voldemort had to agree with that, the Peverell brat looked like she was almost glowing in the moonlight.
"So, are we still dueling?" asked Danielle, curiously, "or are we just taking a short break?"
The dark lord almost rolled his eyes and shot another killing curse at the girl, watching as she almost danced out of the way. Narrowing his eyes this time, he fired a combination of killing curses, cruciatus curses, cutting and blasting spells and curses. Everything that should have taken a brat like her down but only made small craters in the lawn.
Not stopping her movements at all, Danielle jumped over a dark cutting curse, ducked under a killing curse and summoned her bow, shooting several arrows at Voldemort.
Tom's eyes widened when the arrows went right through the shield he put up to deflect such Muggle weapons and felt one impact into his shoulder. It wasn't enough to cause any real damage but it was a shock nonetheless. His various werewolf followers started backing away from the silver on the arrows; while silver didn't affect them normally, if that particular metal was used as a weapon on them, it hurt like crazy.
The red head didn't stop her assault at all and fired more arrows, forcing Riddle to conjure a physical shield with a green and silver motif with a snake on it to take the hits.
"What's the matter Tom? Afraid to face me like a real man? Honestly, you're not even in the top three opponents I've faced Tommy."
It was true. Tom Riddle was nowhere near as powerful as Atlas, Kronos, or any other Titan or monster she had faced. How come Percy got all the powerful opponents?
Voldemort growled and decided to go on the offensive. He conjured two large stone slabs standing next to his opponent to block her movements before shooting a bolt of pure magic at her. Danielle had to nod at the move before conjuring her own block of marble to take the hit. The marble shattered into a hundred pieces before Danielle banished them at Voldemort, transfiguring them into steel spikes in the process.
The dark lord put up another shield that only barely held against the dozens of projectiles. When the dust settled, he scanned for the red head only to find her missing.
Looking around frantically, he turned just in time to see Danielle less than a foot away, bronze knives flashing, slashing at him. Voldemort managed to move his body out of the way of one knife but the other cut deep into his arm, making blood flow onto the grass.
Tom was stunned that she had managed to draw blood; his blood. No one had ever managed to do that since his time in the orphanage when the older boys had bullied him, before he found out he was a wizard.
With Danielle still slashing at him with her knives, him only barely dodging her, he was thinking that he should never have relied solely on magic alone. He had done pretty well in various close combat lessons in his youth but that had been a long time ago. Close range fighting was something that most witches and wizards never spent any time in learning so Tom hadn't thought it would be needed to take over the magical world. Now he was paying for it.
In desperation, Tom used a knockback jinx and managed to throw Danielle about ten feet away from him, still on her feet and scowling. She grinned and put away her knives.
"Ready to admit defeat Tommy?"
Voldemort hissed, "I will see you dead, girl. Face me with magic, are you a witch, or not?"
Danielle rolled her eyes at the obvious baiting but took out her wand anyway. "Lux Gladius."
The bluish white blade sprang from her wand tip, just in time for her to deflect a powerful dark blasting curse away from her. Danielle almost laughed as she blocked the jets of light with her sword, sending the multi-colored beams either back at Voldemort or into the ground harmlessly. Using magic to move faster than normal, she became a blur and moved closer.
With a roar of flames, Voldemort managed to make a huge living basilisk made completely of fire. The molten red eyes stared right at the magical Hunter, hissing slightly before lunging.
Danielle dodged just in time, seriously impressed by this level of spell casting. Voldemort did know some useful dark spells. She jumped away from the snake and into the nearby trees, using it as a springboard to leap right over the flaming snake, toward Tommy.
One moment, Tom was sure that one of his spells would break through Danielle's defenses, the next he felt horrible pain. There was the flash of bluish white and he was suddenly on his back, his now severed arm lying a few feet away. The blade had burned right through his skin and bones like it was nothing.
With the loss of his arm and concentration, the fire basilisk couldn't maintain itself and vanished into embers, leaving nothing but burnt grass all around it.
Danielle advanced on the downed dark lord, the man still defiant even when it was clear that he had lost.
"How does it feel Tommy boy? To be defeated by a teenage girl?" she whispered, just loud enough for him to hear. "Is all of this worth it? To become a dark lord just because your daddy didn't love you? Boo hoo, suck it up! My daddy didn't love me either and you don't see me murdering people just to make myself feel better." She raised her sword, knowing it couldn't kill him but willing to make him a wraith again while she hunted for the rest of the horcruxes. "Good bye, Tommy."
When the red headed Hunter was about a foot away from Voldemort's downed form, a jet of pure energy coming from nowhere impacted against her side, knocking her down and sending her twenty feet away, rolling to a stop at the bottom of a small hill. Looking for the source of the attack, Danielle was able to see some figure disappear, unable to make out who it was.
In the time it took for her to stand up again, Voldemort had decided to make a strategic retreat and activated his emergency portkey, vanishing in a bright light.
Furious that she had been denied her revenge on one of the men who had made her childhood hell, Danielle screamed out all of her frustration, seeing pure red the whole time. She could have ended this! She could have reduced Voldemort to something that was less than a spirit for another decade or so. But no, that had been stolen from her just because someone decided to get involved.
Deciding to burn Voldemort's severed arm, a quick flame spell took care of it easily and she looked around. The whole front lawn of Bones Hall was a mess. Burned grass, broken trees, numerous craters from spell impacts and the bodies of some of the death eaters and werewolves were lying everywhere.
Thalia came running toward her, "my gods, that fight was amazing! I mean, sure, Elizabeth, the others and I took out the other scum but your fight was on a whole other level!"
Danielle took in a few deep breaths to calm herself. "He got away Thals. Did you see who attacked me before I could finish Tom off?"
The daughter of Zeus shook her head. "No, there were too many shadows for me to see." Danielle nodded, both angry and frustrated that Tom had gotten away. She would have to find some way to put up anti-portkey and apperition wards the next time so it wouldn't happen again.
Danielle watched as Elizabeth burned the wands of the fallen Death Eaters and werewolves while Sirius, Moody and Kingsley created portkeys to send the bodies to the Ministry, their Dark Marks showing for the world to see. She nodded in approval.
"What is going on here?"
Everyone turned to see an older witch with graying hair running out of the manor toward them, a younger red head following her. The older woman was clearly getting on in years but still gave off a sense of power and authority.
"Amelia Bones I presume?" Danielle asked when the other woman had come within hearing distance.
Amelia nodded, looking at her through her monocle. "Danielle Peverell, the girl-who-lived and one of the Hunters that has been killing Death Eaters." It wasn't a question, it was a statement.
Danielle nodded once, still tired from her fight but not as winded as she thought she would be after fighting against Voldemort. "Good to see you alive Director Bones. I have heard nothing but good things about you and your work in the Ministry."
While the older Bones woman was giving her a piercing look, the younger one looked in awe.
"Morgana! You just fought You-Know-Who!" Susan almost shouted, causing Danielle to almost grimace at the other red head. "Danielle, listen-"
Danielle put up a hand stopping her. "Let's get this sorted out right now, Miss Bones. I don't like you. You did your best to ignore and belittle me in Hufflepuff when you thought I wasn't listening. You and your friend Hannah went out of your way to make my life harder when even my parents didn't care about me. We are not friends. We will never be friends. Don't get in my way the next time we meet or you will regret it."
Susan paled at the girl she used to prank and make fun of but the girl just turned to her Aunt. "Director Bones, I hope I am not under arrest for driving off Voldemort. The last I heard about Minister Fudge, he told the Aurors to throw me in Azkaban if I didn't agree to follow him like sheep."
Amelia had been having a very strange night. First, she watched Voldemort himself appear in an attempt to kill her. Said Dark Lord had been defeated by the girl-who-lived as she was called now and had been forced to flee. Now she had just heard that her niece had been little better than a bully against the one who had just saved them both.
"Miss Peverell, I assure you that my Aurors will not be dragging you off to either the Ministry or Azkaban. I would also like to apologize for Susan's behavior during your Hogwarts years-"
"Don't bother," Danielle interrupted. "I don't blame anyone other than the ones responsible for making my childhood and school years hell and that is Voldemort and Dumbledore. Voldemort for attacking me and starting this in the first place and Dumbledore for proclaiming my brother the 'chosen one' as soon as he could that night."
Amelia nodded and decided to move on to other subjects, despite wanting to continue on the topic of Danielle's childhood. She moved on to the three adults in the area.
"Black! Shaklebolt! Alastor!"
The three Aurors mentioned looked at each other and smirked before approaching Amelia and saluted.
"What can we do for you lass?" asked Moody with a lopsided grin. He had actually enjoyed himself this night where he got to take out quite a few Voldemort supporters personally. He didn't care much for killing himself but knew the rules between being an Auror and a soldier in war were completely different. Bringing in suspected Death Eaters for questioning intact was one thing, fighting to preserve one's way of life against those that threaten the very core of one's beliefs was another.
Amelia mentally smirked that these three were working with James Potter's new group and not Dumbledore's Order of the Phoenix. There was a reason why Dumbledore wasn't there and she would bet it was because whoever had leaked the attack on her manor had decided to not tell him for whatever reason. She had read the reports and found that the headmaster of Hogwarts only participated in battle himself if Tom showed up. Since a teenage girl had taken her place…it had to be humbling to the old man.
The director of the DMLE smirked. "I was thinking, Alastor, that we have to find some way to get rid of Fudge. Once we do that, we can legalize what these three young ladies are doing against Voldemort."
Now all three Aurors were grinning. That would put a kink in Dumbledore and Voldemort's plans at the same time. Alastor and Sirius were already thinking of ways to remove Fudge from office and having Amelia take his place. Merlin, she knew everything about the job already and would do a better job than Fudge without even trying.
Thalia meanwhile was looking at Danielle and Susan in confusion. "Uh, sorry but 'You-Know-Who?' I have no idea who the 'Who' is."
Susan looked confused at the girl she thought was some American witch but Danielle sighed loudly. "The 'Who' is Voldemort. A lot of people don't like saying his fake name so they simply say that annoying title. Honestly, just call him Tom, Tommy boy, Riddlemort, He-Who-Loves-Hyphens, Moldybutt, Moldyshorts, Mr. Flight From Death, and others. You want more? I've got others." She was back to checking her nails.
Susan just stared at her with a look of disbelief. Where was the quiet girl she used to tease?
Death Eater Headquarters
It was a very curious sensation for Voldemort when he got back to his room in the manor he was using a base. He had gone from being undefeated to losing an arm in a battle against a teenage girl of all people. He had no idea who had saved him from Peverell separating him from his body but he wasn't complaining at the moment. He was just lucky that that light sword had cauterized the wound it had made so he hadn't bled out.
He had grabbed his wand with his other hand when he had left so it was still intact. Using it, he used the last of his magic to create a silver arm like he had for Wormtail's hand, attaching it seamlessly to the stump that had once been a flesh and blood limb.
While on the outside he appeared tired and out of magic, internally he was raging. He had been defeated, been mortally wounded, and the girl had been playing with him. HIM! He was the dark lord Voldemort! No one played around with HIM!
Seething with anger and hate for his new enemy, he barely noticed Nagini try in her own way to comfort him, wrapping around his legs like some enormous twisted cat would rub up against their owners.
Sinking into an armchair by his bed, he went to work trying to figure what to do now. He had lost followers like crazy, he had been defeated for now, and none of his plans were working. What he needed now was time to think and come up with a new plan. He couldn't act hasty anymore, any attack or plan now would have to be well thought out and calculated.
The first thing he needed was more power and learning how to combat close range fighting. Danielle was truly the better fighter than Dumbledore since the old man was the traditional old wizard and used the traditional fighting styles. Danielle was a wild card that had multiple skills that she had mixed together to make her own fighting style; one that combined close combat, magic and ranged weapons. Dumbledore, he could predict. Peverell, not so much.
He needed to fight fire with fire. Danielle was too agile, too quick for standard spells and curses. She dodged everything like it was nothing. Close combat had been something he had learned when he had needed it before, now he would use it again against a much more powerful opponent. He needed a real weapon. More than that, he needed training on how to use it.
It would seem to the various purebloods he was sacrificing magic for Muggle weapons but he needed to adapt, to improve. That was what separated him from his followers, they used magic and that was it, not everything they had like he would do. If Lucius or any of his other pureblood death eaters objected to his use of non-magical weapons, than it would be their loss when a hunting knife took their head.
"I see you are beginning to learn."
Snapping his eyes open, Voldemort looked around the room and saw a figure hidden in the shadows, obscured in darkness.
"Who dares disturb Lord Voldemort?" he hissed.
The figure didn't react to the deadly threat, or Nagini hissing at him. "Really now, I think we can be a little more civilized than that," said the voice. "Is that any way to thank the person who saved you against Danielle Peverell?"
Voldemort thought he had seen a person attack the Peverell brat before she had attacked him but he couldn't make out any features. He remained silent.
The figure sighed, not coming into the light. "I was thinking we could make a deal of sorts. After all, I did not risk breaking the ancient laws by attacking Danielle before she could remove you from your body for nothing. What you need, my boy, is more power and new skills. I can give you that and more."
Voldemort didn't know how to react to this. This man had saved him and was now offering his assistance in exactly what he was thinking of. "Intriguing. And what would like in return," Voldemort asked. "I doubt you would help me for nothing."
The figure seemed to smile. "Indeed. Recently I was part of a war and I was on the losing side. The king of the winning side decided to punish me merely for trying to save as many people as possible. I have nothing against people but they need to adapt, to change, to modernize to the current century. Magical Britain is stuck in the Victorian era. Aid me, Lord Voldemort. Take over magical Britain in my stead and bring in a new age for witches and wizards, bringing them into the twenty-first century, and I will give you the power you seek.
"To prove I am not bluffing," the figure held out his hand and in a flash of light appeared a large double edged broadsword. The blade itself was made of what Voldemort recognized as goblin silver and the hilt was inlaid with emeralds. The dark lord's eyes widened in shock.
"Is that-"
"Yes," said the figure. "It's the lost sword of Slytherin. All the founders had their own swords but I find it curious that Gryffindor gets the most fame. Why should that founder get all the prestige and honor while his best friend Slytherin is seen as evil. Help me, Dark Lord Voldemort, and I will train you to use this sword as it is yours by birthright. Help me radically change magical Britain to what it could be if it wasn't for purebloods keeping it in the past."
Voldemort looked between the sword, the figure and back again. "Who are you?"
The figure smiled and stepped into the light. He was tall, about seven feet tall and was wearing an expensive Italian made suit and sunglasses. His hair was tied into a ponytail. The most distinct feature Voldemort saw though was the scars that ran all over the man's face.
"You can call me…Prometheus."
Whew, that was exciting, right kids? I know I made Voldemort kind of weak but I was following J.K.'s Voldemort on this. Voldemort has very little imagination in the books, always standing off to the side and shooting curses about ten feet away and...that's about it. I know the fight looked a bit one sided but I see Voldemort as never facing against a person who fought with close range before. Dumbledore never did, and neither did the Order of the Phoenix. The Dork Lord's skills were almost useless against Danielle but he is working on that so I am going to make him stronger for the final battle.
Prometheus I was thinking of for a while since it bugs me he just vanished after the Titan war and I do see him having a problem with the magical world, or at least magical Britain, with how out of date J.K. made it. Arthur's death sort of wrote itself, I didn't plan on it but it should do it's job, sadly.
Anyway, come on people and review me! All I get is reviews saying that I'm doing a great job and please update soon. I need real feedback! Even if you flame me, at least it's better than the nothing really constructive things I'm getting now.
See you next time!