CHAPTER 8: TRUST
Flashback
(Ilya POV)
"Oh no, what should we do?" Sev asked Ilya, realization appearing to come to him at last, and looking really worried at the revelation.
She had told him, in short, of their current situation. The Death Eaters were coming for them. The Death Eaters were coming for Lily.
Ilya had actually been thinking about the possible repercussions of their (um… mostly her) actions that afternoon at Diagon Alley. They battled against twenty Death Eaters (Ilya almost all of the work, of course), and got the upper hand, battering them with her Gandr shots before they could even retaliate. There was one problem, however.
At first she had been unsure of how the little skirmish would turn out. It was twenty against two after all, and she had very little knowledge on her enemies' abilities. It was both ways, however, as the Dark Lord's servants had no idea of what she was capable of either.
Ilya had been saved because her brother, Shirou Emiya, made use of a ritual that sacrificed his own existence to fuse his soul's energy with hers. The white-haired girl now possessed all of his abilities, his Magic Circuits included, as well as all the weapons that were recorded in Unlimited Blade Works, which now also belonged to Ilya.
Unlimited Blade works, a Reality Marble, an inner world, which exists in a person's mind. With it Ilya can record anything she sees that fall under the category "blade" or "sword." Then, she can project exact replicas of the weapons she had seen, from kitchen knives, to well-crafted swords, scythes, spears, even legendary blades of immense power (Shirou managed to glance at hundreds when he faced Gilgamesh's Gate of Babylon), producing copies which are close to the original. Ilya can utilize these for battle, and she can actually make them appear out of thin air, and fire them like arrows.
Though she could Trace swords quickly and efficiently however, she was not sure if it was fast enough to match the casting speed of wizards, it would leave her open even for a small amount of time, so she left using it out of the question. Gandr was the better option. When the Death Eaters were already getting hammered by the black curses, however, that was a different story. It would have been the perfect opportunity to rain swords down on her adversaries. With the enormous amount of prana she possessed, she would have been able to continue firing Gandr shots while preparing the weapons in her inner world.
Still, Ilya had been debating with herself on whether to use it for not. For one thing, if she used it, she would reveal another one of her abilities. But that was not the main issue. While Gandr was designed to weaken and disable, swords were practically designed to kill. She was not sure how Sev would react if she were to murder twenty people in front of his eyes, regardless of their evil nature. The brown-haired girl was watching, and she did not want to give her even worse nightmares than what she may have already from what she has experienced and currently experiencing. Watching people impaled by swords, and lie in pools of blood was not something eleven-year-old children should be allowed to see.
Then people from the Ministry arrived, the Death Eaters panicked and fled. The confrontation was over. The battle has been won.
Or not.
It was true that her enemies were forced to retreat. However, the point was, they were not eliminated. They escaped. They retreated. They merely fell back to regroup.
The extra thinking cost her. She let them live. She allowed them to escape. She allowed them to survive. Having the momentum, she should have been able to eliminate all of them. But she didn't.
Ilya did not regret saving the girl. Evelyn, as she later learned, was like her in a way, having a brother who loved her like Ilya once had.
What she regretted was the fact that her enemies got away. Thanks to her indecision, what should have been an end became a beginning. The Dark Lord's servant will undoubtedly seek revenge. Ilya and Sev were in danger.
Well, Ilya, not so much. The Death Eaters actually had a case of mistaken identity. They actually thought that Ilya was Lily Evans. This instead, posed another problem.
Unknown to Sev, Ilya had actually placed a Boundary Field around his house. She noticed that something similar to it was spread wherever they went, and, based from the information she got from Sev, these must be the so-called Ministry Wards. All it did however, was detect the usage of Underage Magic (Though for some reason Ilya's magecraft remained undetected.). Though it was constructed on short notice, Ilya was sure the defenses she placed would suffice, taking out intruders while giving Sev and herself enough time in case their enemies try to surround or overrun them. Besides, there was the Floo Network, and they could use that. If the Death Eaters had some influence over it, the Boundary Field will still give Ilya enough time to utilize Tracing. The main problem would be a full-on curse which would blow up an entire area with one attack. The barrier would be enough to deal with people entering the area, but an attack from afar with the force a grenade would work. There was not enough time to add such a defense yet.
Lily Evans, however, had absolutely no idea of her current predicament. Unbeknownst to her, she was probably already a primary target of the Dark Lord (Ilya fidgeted slightly in guilt.). When Sev told her of his story, Ilya knew how much he cared for this girl. Heck, Ilya guessed that Sev must have seen her as more than a friend, hence, it may be the reason why he was so open to Ilya, if this Lily was really identical to...she couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy. She was starting to dislike the bi…woman, even though Ilya had never met her. Still, the person had never done anything wrong to her at all (not knowingly or deliberately, at least). The white-haired girl also knew that if this Lily Evans died, her(Ilya's) Sev would break. She can't allow that to happen.
Suddenly, a bell rang. The Boundary Field Ilya put in place had two circles. The outermost one stretched up to ten meters from the Sev's house yard perimeter. The bell will ring whenever someone with malicious intent entered it.
"We've got company," Ilya whispered quietly to the raven-haired boy. "Sev…Sev?"
But the raven-haired young man was not listening. He looked panicky. He appears not to know what do, and he mumbling endlessly.
"Oh no…Lily…what should I do…what can I do…Lily…she's going to…"
"She's not going to die!" Ilya hissed furiously, keeping her voice as quiet as possible. She forced the boy to look her in the face. "Everything will be fine."
The two stared at each other for a few moments, black eyes on emerald.
"But what can we do? Hmmm…" Sev spoke quietly. Ilya was glad with the tone of his voice. He seemed to have got back his usual composure.
"Well, the first thing is, we have to get out of here, and get to the Evans'," whispered Ilya conversationally. "And without being noticed by the three idiots outside. They're probably there as observers for now, and if they notice us leaving they'll probably alert their other companions."
"Hmm…"
"Should we use the Fireplace…um… Floo...whatever?"
"No," said Sev flatly. "As you know, Lily and I are no longer friends. If we were to suddenly burst in to their fireplace, she might not welcome us and…"
"Okay, okay, it might jeopardize the whole point of coming there," snapped Ilya, "What about Apparation then? I know of a few people who can travel in similar fashion in my world. It will save us a lot of time."
"Sorry, but I don't know how to Apparate."
Ilya huffed at Sev, slightly disappointed.
"Which leaves us only one other option."
Sev grabbed a box from a corner, and took out from it a slipper, which once belonged to his mother, and then muttered portus.
"We're travelling by Portkey," said the raven-haired young man. "But it causes a flashing light and makes a loud pop," the raven-hair admitted. "They're bound to notice, How do you propose we leave without alerting them?"
"Don't worry," said Ilya. "They're inside my territory. They won't notice. They won't see or hear anything…"
…anymore after my Bounded Field is done with them, that is…Ilya smirked inwardly, not saying aloud the last phrase of her statement.
End of Flashback
-BREAK-
(Ilya POV)
"Good evening," Ilya greeted. "My name is Ilyasveil von Einzbern-Emiya. You can call me Ilyasveil for short…Now then…"
Without waiting for the other people in the vicinity to recover from their shock, Ilya started raining Gandr shots upon the Dark Lord's servants. This time though, they were prepared.
The Death Eaters and their companions went into formation. Five of them stepped forward, casting Shield Charms, while the rest stood behind them, and started firing hexes of all kinds at the white-haired girl on the roof.
Ilya frowned, as she was forced to stop firing successive shots, dodging the red and green lights coming her way. This is why she should have finished them off earlier. Now that they have some grasp of what she can do, they were now able to come up with a strategy to counter. Although Ilya also fought such battles, moving around while firing spells, the accuracy and number of shots she can fire while in motion was reduced.
"HAVING TROUBLE, MUDBLOOD?" shouted Bella's taunting voice, obvious pleasure ringing in it, as she fired another Stunning Spell at Ilya.
The only consolation was that most of the dark wizards were no longer firing Killing Curses, as she noted by the color of the hexes. It appears that using Unforgivable Curses continuously can be tiring to the user. Still, Ilya was having trouble dodging, even as she Reinforced her body to increase her physical strength and speed.
It was also a problem that she had to maintain Rho Aius, as the Death Eaters were well organized, and they were still firing spells at the Evans residents. Unlike the use of blades, maintaining a protective weapon consumes three times as much prana. Although Ilya possessed a huge amount, it was still exhausting. There was no time for her to focus on projecting swords either, as that still required her a lot of concentration.
She can already project weapons almost as quickly and efficiently as Shirou or Archer, but she was not yet as good as either when it comes to maintaining them. It required sufficient practice and focus. Her swords will simply disappear if she was too preoccupied. While Ilya can project and cast other spells at the same time, she is unable to do so if she is too distracted (In this case, she would have to focus all her attention and strategies on her swords, thus limiting her options.). In the battles she fought before, Ilya had reliable friends and allies around her, which enabled her to utilize her abilities to the fullest.
There were people who shared in her burden then, but this time Ilya was alone. Ilya ducked as she narrowly avoided a jet of green light, but lost her balance. Ilya slipped on a tile, and began to fall off the roof.
"Damn it," muttered Ilya, as she maximized her body Reinforcement to minimize damage from the inevitable fall, but she knew that she would be exposed to her enemy's spells for the time being. She would not be able to dodge.
The servants of the Dark Lord paused for a moment, taking careful aim at the white haired- girl now that she would be unable to avoid their curses…
"BOMBARDA MAXIMA!" shouted a familiar voice, and in the next moment, someone caught Ilya and prevented her from hitting the ground.
An explosion erupted upon the Death Eaters and company, taking them completely by surprise. The explosion kicked up dust into the air. When the smoke finally cleared, it revealed seventeen bodies lying on the ground.
"Ilya, are you all right?" asked a raven-haired haired boy who caught the white-haired girl, worry obvious in his voice. He was holding the girl in bridal fashion.
"You sure took your time, Sev," replied the white-haired girl, blushing.
Not exactly as planned, thought Ilya, her face still bright red, but at least it worked…
-BREAK-
Flashback
(Severus POV)
It was around ten in the evening. Ilya and Severus had just Port Keyed to the park where he and the white-haired girl first met. The travel, though time-saving, was really uncomfortable. Although Severus had already used it a number of times, he still felt nausea.
He was surprised that Ilya, while looking worse for wear herself, was doing better than he was, despite the fact that it was her first time travelling via Port Key.
"So what now?" Severus asked the girl once again. They were finally able to leave his house without being detected (Well, he was sure the Ministry will be sending him another owl in a little while, he might even get expelled this time, but there were more pressing matters at hand.) by the Death Eaters. The park was only a couple of minutes walk from the Evans residence (one if they ran).
"Do exactly as I tell you." said Ilya, in a surprisingly commanding voice. "And everything will be fine."
The plan was simple. Severus was to wait in the shadows and wait for an opportunity to launch the most powerful, area-of-effect spell in his arsenal. According to Ilya, the Death Eaters will be more alert now. Even if they still appeared arrogant (or still really as arrogant as ever), they will be a more formidable force to deal with now than they were a few hours before. Therefore, Ilya will use herself as bait, distract the Death Eaters, and when they are completely off guard, Severus was to launch a massive spell on them.
Severus actually had to fight the urge to come out from hiding behind a tree in the Evans' yard, as Lily and her companions were face to face with the Death Eaters. He saw that the Death Eaters had brought some werewolf friends along, Fenrir Greyback, the one with worst reputation, included. However, revealing his position will undermine their little operation. He trusted Ilya's judgment, who was hiding on the roof by the chimney (Severus was actually surprised when the white-haired girl, in one bound, jumped up from the ground and onto the roof, without making so much as a noise. Even the werewolf Remus Lupin, who had superior senses, did not notice anything.), and Severus remained on standby.
Ilya's prediction turned out to be correct. The Dark Lord's followers, while still fond of taunting the opposition before attacking, were well-organized this time, launching a synchronized set of Killing Curses that left no room for the targets to dodge or escape.
Severus was about to run out towards them (Not noticing how stupid it was to voluntarily get himself hit by a Killing Curse) when he heard Ilya shout something which he could only guess as a spell.
RHO AIUS!
In an instant, a large seven-petalled flower (as Severus saw it) appeared. It deflected the first set of Killing Curses with ease. Ilya, whatever spell it was she used, was powerful enough to block a barrage of Avada Kedavras. Then, he saw that Pettigrew was about to scurry into the house, possibly to get to the fireplace. The hyacinth-like shield, while wide, was still limited to shielding only an specific area, and the Evans' front door was outside of its protection. Severus realized that if Pettigrew ran, the others might too, Lily might too, and they would be killed. Severus' brain processed all this in less than a second, and thus shouted!
GET BEHIND IT! ALL OF YOU!
The hyacinth-like shield spell stood firm. All curses that went into contact with it simply vanished.
Severus watched as Ilya started to battle the servants of Lord Voldemort. This time though, (as Ilya once again predicted), things weren't going as well as before. Still proud and haughty, the Death Eaters were now less lax and were constantly on guard. They were not giving the white-haired girl any opening to take advantage of. Having werewolves was a great help, as they had superior senses. They were also constantly looking around in every direction, as if they were expecting an attack from there. Unlike the time in Diagon Alley, they kept their guard up. The exchange continued. The Death Eaters firing a variety of hexes at the white-haired girl while Ilya continued barraging them with Gandr shots, to no avail, as five wizards maintained their Shield Charms, which held well, protecting the group while the rest continued on the offensive.
Then, to Severus horror, he saw Ilya lose her balance as she narrowly avoided a Killing Curse. He saw, as if in slow motion, Ilya about to fall off the roof. He saw the werewolves wearing a triumphant smile on their face, as they and the Death Eaters began to take aim at Ilya. For a moment that seemed to last an eternity, Severus was frozen. Then, he remembered.
"I will use myself as a distraction", said Ilya. "When you see an opening, or when you notice the Death Eaters lower their guard, take advantage of the opportunity. At that time, launch the most powerful spell you know, and one which can hit multiple targets at the same time would be preferable."
Severus did not like the idea. It was a dangerous gamble. True, he wanted to save Lily, but he did not want Ilya to die in the process either. But still, as Ilya put it, there was no other way.
"Don't worry," Severus remembered the white-haired girl say. "I'm not someone who can be killed easily."
"But," Severus remembered attempting to argue. But Ilya interrupted him.
"And besides Sev, you're here. I know everything will be fine," Ilya had cut him off. "I trust you with my life."
The memory brought power into Severus' being. Concentrating with everything he had, Severus focused all his energy into his spell.
BOMBARDA MAXIMA!
He heard it. He heard the screams of the Death Eaters and werewolves alike as the spell exploded in their midst. But Severus did not care. There was only one person in his mind at the moment. Without a single glance at his work, Severus ran, as fast as he could, towards the white-haired girl, just in time to prevent her from crashing to the ground, catching Ilya in his arms.
End of Flashback
(Severus POV)
"Ilya, are you all right?" Severus asked worriedly at the girl he was carrying in his arms.
"You sure took your time, Sev," complained the white-haired girl to the raven-haired boy.
"You told me to wait for an opening!" Severus retorted. "I was merely following your orders, Your Majesty. You have no idea how worried I was!"
"Whatever," snapped Ilya, who was feigning annoyance, but seemed happy with his reply. "Anyway you can put me down now." Severus then noticed that Ilya's normally pale white face was red.
"Oh, right," said Severus absentmindedly, as he felt himself blush as well.
"I better get myself some new clothes," Ilya muttered. "While these look good, they hinder my movement. Not suited for battle."
"Then, we'll just have to…" Severus began, but suddenly fell silent, as he felt something was wrong.
They heard groaning voices, coming from the scorched patch of land where Severus' spell hit.
"Not bad, kids, not bad at all, you almost had us there," growled a beast-like voice.
Fenrir Greyback was back up on his feet, as well as five of his werewolf companions, their wands pointed at Ilya and Severus.
…