Robin flipped the lid on his communicator and began to speak into it as he held down the red button on the side.
"Robin calling Harry, is anyone there?"
No answer. Several more minutes had passed without reply. Robin's brows furrowed slightly as he chewed nervously on his lower lip.
"Maybe they didn't have time to take it with them," suggested Beast Boy tiredly from his place on the couch, idly flipping through the channels.
"Maybe," agreed Robin with a nod. "I'll try calling in later -"
He cut off suddenly as Harry's bespectacled face appeared on the miniscule screen. He greeted the Boy Wonder with a weary smile.
"Hey Robin," he said with a wave of his hand. The others heard his voice and immediately huddled in a circle around their leader.
"Hey Harry," Robin said cheerfully. "How are you? And Ron and Hermione?"
"I'm fine, the others are okay too. We've been hiding out these past few days."
"So have we. Speaking of which, have you seen the news in the Daily Prophet?"
Harry frowned at this. "Yeah. There's been quite a lot of it these days."
"I'll say. Well, we'll be going now. I just called in to make sure you all were alright. We'll keep in touch. Stay safe."
"We'll try."
Robin quickly closed the small device and returned it to his pocket. He turned around to face the others; the group had regained their seats on the couch.
"It sounds like they're alright," said Raven from behind her book. "What do we do now?"
"I say we just relax for a bit before training. I think we could all use it."
"Can't argue with you there," said Cyborg happily as he pulled out his portable Gamestation player and began to punch away at the buttons. Beast Boy continued to look for something decent to watch while grumbling something or the other about British television, and eyeing Cyborg jealously. Starfire moved over to the kitchen and began to prepare one of her infamous Tamaranean dishes, while Raven simply read her book, and Robin watched TV with Beast Boy.
A cacophony of sounds rung throughout the room and they might have been back at the Tower, enjoying a simple care-free day. Such moments of peace were rare nowadays and Raven sighed contently as she stared at the friends around her. She loved each and every one of them…even – dare she say it – Beast Boy. The love she had for them was the same she had felt for her mother back on Azarath. They were her family. And as she thought of the precarious situation they were now in, she realized that she would die to protect them…without a moment's hesitation.
She could only hope that they would all walk away from this war relatively unharmed.
She shook herself mentally and returned to her book. It was yet another tome she had borrowed from Hermione entitled Practical Magic by Tom Handeloft. She searched for the place where she had stopped and continued reading.
----
About three weeks had passed since that fateful evening. True to his word, Robin had not allowed any member of his team to leave the Base and the others were not particularly thrilled by this prospect. The news on the television seemed to worsen as the month progressed.
It was clear to all that Voldemort must have seized control of the Ministry due to the many radical changes that were being made, most noticeably the Muggle-born Registration Commission. They had also gotten word from Harry that various posters of the Titans had been posted throughout many Wizarding locations. Though the lot of them were reluctant even to set one foot from the Base, they were beginning to get restless. How long could they possibly remain hidden from the Death Eaters?
The team had begun to formulate a plan as the rate of Muggle killings began to increase. It had been agreed upon that they would travel to various non-magical neighborhoods and Raven would cast as many protective enchantments upon the dwellings as possible. Initially, the half-demon had opted to simply go alone but Robin had quickly shot down that idea. It was too risky to travel alone given the state of things. Furthermore, Cyborg had also managed to hack into London's surveillance system which they could then use to keep an eye out for any suspicious activity.
As soon as they got word of an emergency, they would head right on over. Beast Boy and Cyborg were both particularly excited. The team had also made a routine of training every day of the week for about an hour or so. Back at Titans Tower they had not practiced nearly as much.
Raven continued to have odd visions of the doings of Lord Voldemort. However, more often than not, she did not dream at all, for which she was exceedingly grateful. On the rare occasion that she did have a vision, she often woke in a cold sweat and began to shudder violently for a seemingly interminable amount of time. The Dark Lord, she had quickly learned, was a very twisted individual. In many ways, he reminded her of her father Trigon…often killing for the mere pleasure of the act, even if there was no gain to be had.
At the present time, the empath had decided to cast a simple spell which, if performed properly, would enhance her psychic awareness. She sat cross-legged on the cold bathroom floor with various candles and the designated ingredients within arm's reach. Raven began by simply clearing her mind of all thought and detaching herself from all emotion before proceeding with the spell.
Once she had recited the last syllable of the incantation, she gracefully stood from her place on the ground, suddenly feeling more alert and reenergized. She promptly cleaned away her ingredients and placed them in the cabinet under the sink.
She made her way from the bathroom and decided to spend a good portion of the afternoon observing the surveillance system. For several minutes, she merely stared at the screen stoically, rather grateful for the inactivity. As the night droned on, Raven's eyelids began to droop heavily, her chin propped lazily on top of her palm, and she stifled a large yawn with her free hand. She glanced at the clock on the opposite wall; it was half past twelve in the morning. She curled her arms and laid her head down.
'Just four minutes,' she thought to herself as she closed her eyes sluggishly. When she came to, she was dismayed to discover that it was nearly one. She glanced at the monitor groggily yet nothing appeared to have changed. However, as she moved towards her bed in the far distant corner, intent upon securing a good couple hours of sleep, she spotted something on the dark screen. She detected a subtle hint of movement in the dark night, the thin crescent moon the only source of illumination; the slight rustling of a cloak. She immediately leapt from her seat and dashed towards the gymnasium. The others had been resting, but they immediately sped towards her as they noticed her frantic expression.
"Raven! What is it?" Robin asked worriedly as he placed a hand on her shoulder.
"There are Death Eaters in Manchester!" Raven said urgently.
Starfire's eyes widened significantly and she clapped her hands over her mouth. "Oh my! We must go immediately!"
"Starfire's right," Robin nodded in affirmation. "Let's get going!"
The team rushed towards the living room, where Robin quickly gathered his utility belt, and briefly glanced at the large monitors. As they headed for the door, Cyborg immediately locked down the base.
"Lock down initiated," Cyborg called seriously.
"Okay Titans, let's go."
The gang of super-powered teenagers bolted towards the exit and wandered into the cold English night. The sky above the trees was vast and alight with thousands of magnificent stars, the moon concealed beneath a layer of stubborn gray clouds, casting the Earth in a frigid darkness. Starfire shivered visibly and began to rub her arms for warmth. Robin hastily glanced at the coordinates on his communicator.
"Alright Titans, 53° 00' latitude; -2° 13' longitude. Let's go!"
The Titans hastily took to the air, the brisk wind whipping their faces mercilessly. Starfire shuddered violently and rubbed her arms frantically. Raven's cloak flapped fiercely about her lithe body; her violet eyes had begun to fill with tears as she sped through the night air. In her peripheral vision, the demi-demon took notice of both Robin and Cyborg mounted atop a green pterodactyl. A solemn silence pervaded the air.
For several silent minutes, Raven simply focused on each breath of icy air which she took into her lungs, as well as the whistling of the wind. She gazed at the stars stoically, as well as the infinite gray sky. A rather unpleasant sense of foreboding clutched at her rapidly beating heart, which had also begun to lurch quite unpleasantly in her chest. She closed her eyes briefly and allowed a foreign calmness to enter her body.
"How much further?!" Robin shouted over the roaring wind, several minutes later. Cyborg checked the statistics on his biotical arm.
"We should be arriving soon!" he called back.
Raven attempted to stave off her exhaustion as the group continued to cleave through the thick clouds. For an instant, Raven wondered why she had not simply teleported the team to the location. She raised an eyebrow in self-derision. However, she reasoned that she needed to preserve her strength for the battle which might surely take place. The Dark Lord and his Death Eaters were a rather formidable bunch, and must not be underestimated, nor taken lightly. During her time at the Burrow, Hermione, whom she had grown quite fond of, had informed her that the Dark Lord had recently been reborn through the use of dark magic; a spell of the darkest design which required as its main ingredients, the bone of the father, the flesh of the servant and the blood of the enemy. Raven had been aghast to discover that it was Harry's blood which had been used for this sinister concoction. The empath shuddered noticeably as she recalled the face of Lord Voldemort: Pale, chalk-white skin with wide red eyes, black cat-like pupils and snake-like slits for nostrils, a maniacal smile pulling at the corners of his lipless mouth. Thankfully, the girl had yet to meet the infamous Dark Wizard, for which she was especially grateful. Of course, she had witnessed him several times in her visions.
"We should begin to land!" Robin shouted hoarsely. Raven pushed such dispiriting thoughts from her mind and began to descend into a large clearing. She let out a low breath and rubbed her eyes wearily.
"Let's get moving," Robin barked authoritatively with a sweep of his arm. The group marched quietly through the forest. The trees twisted at odd angles, casting formidable shadows upon the forest floor. Once they reached the edge of the woods, they concealed themselves behind a thick brush as their eyes scanned what appeared to be a typical suburban neighborhood, with rows upon rows of identical houses. The night was deathly silent.
"Where is the house, Robin?" Raven asked quietly. The Boy Wonder opened his communicator and carefully studied the schematics.
"It's on a street called Fletcher Avenue. This way," he pointed a gloved finger north, and the Titans began to amble forward.
"Look for house number 6601," their leader advised. While the others peered at the house numbers, Raven cast out her senses, ensuring that they were not being watched or followed. However, she detected an aura of maliciousness around the block.
"Guys," Raven motioned for the others to approach her. "I think the Death Eaters are around the corner."
Robin's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Beast Boy, can you go check it out? Be careful." Robin whispered with exigency. Beast Boy nodded and instantly transformed into a green fly. The changeling promptly zipped around the corner. In as little as thirty seconds, Beast Boy returned with a panicked expression upon his green face.
"They've placed some kind of force field around the house so that the police won't come checking!"
"Okay Titans, let's go!" Robin exhorted.
The Titans bounded towards the house and silently approached the building, which, as Beast Boy had indicated, was encased within a magical force field of some sort. Though it was apparent that a fracas was taking place within, the night was completely silent. Robin tenderly touched a hand to the semi-translucent shield and was quite surprised to find that it was not solid as he had expected. With an authoritative gesture he and the others plowed onward and the Boy Wonder swiftly knocked down the door with a powerful kick.
The Death Eaters seemed not to have noticed. Instead, a terrible cry of sheer agony seemed to shake the very foundations of the house and Starfire gasped loudly as she noticed the blood spattered quite gruesomely upon the walls.
"They're in the living room!" Robin whispered urgently.
Starfire prepared a large star bolt within the palms of her hands and promptly obliterated the living room door. They were horrified by the sight which met their eyes: A band of ten or so Death Eaters had begun to torture the Muggle family relentlessly and without mercy.
The tallest of the group raised his wand and shouted, "Sectumsempra!"
The man on the receiving end of his wand let out an anguished scream as thick blood began to ooze from the gaping wounds now covering his body. He lifted a quivering hand with which he attempted to staunch the bleeding, though his efforts were in vain.
Meanwhile, what must have been his wife and two children were subjected to the Cruciatus Curse; the mother, though clearly in pain, struggled to shield the children's eyes from the image of their father's mangled body.
"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"
A powerful blast of black energy knocked the evil wizards against the far wall and the resulting 'crack' as the mens' spines melded to the shape of the concrete wall pleased Raven immensely. Several of the cloaked figures groaned painfully and propped themselves onto their knees as they tried to regain their composures. Their eyes widened in shock as they spotted the five teenagers standing in the doorway, each prepared for battle. Raven was positively seething with fury and her iridescent white eyes gradated to a demonic red.
"Titans, attack!"
Raven did not need to be told twice. She and the rest of the team immediately flew into battle. Within mere minutes, the Death Eaters had been subdued – though they had put up a good fight – largely due to Raven. The Titans had not seen her behave in such a manner since the events with Slade, upon whom she had once unleashed her demonic wrath. It was rather disconcerting though they had pushed it aside for the moment.
"What are we gonna do with 'em?" asked Beast Boy.
"I'll take care of 'em," Cyborg said tersely as he hoisted the unconscious Death Eaters onto his broad shoulders with only a minimum effort. He made his way towards the exit while the others had begun to clean up the mess.
"Raven, you take care of the family. We'll get this place cleaned up."
Raven nodded curtly and slowly approached the scared family; they recoiled slightly at the sight of her.
"Please, I'm here to help."
The man flinched slightly as Raven placed a glowing hand atop the wound on his chest, though he was in no condition to protest. He briefly closed his eyes as the pain from that particular cut vanished and the skin quickly mended itself. Raven did this for several more minutes until the man was completely healed. However, he had lost a great deal of blood and was unable to stand. The demi-demon placed a pale hand on his abdomen, gently hoisted the man to his feet, and set him down on the couch. Once she had ensured that he would be alright for the time being, Raven carefully approached the scared mother and her children. As Raven drew near, the woman desperately drew the children within her protective embrace and glared ferociously at the dark sorceress. Raven was suddenly reminded of her own mother, Arella…the 'messenger angel.' She willed the prickling beneath her eyelids to leave as she mustered a tiny smile and kneeled before the family.
"I won't hurt you. My friends and I are here to help…see?" Raven swept a hand in the direction of the Titans as they busily went about their work.
The woman's glare withered slightly as she looked to the girls in her arms with such love and care in her eyes. It was not until several seconds later that the mother finally relinquished her hold on the children and urged them to approach the cloaked sorceress with an encouraging smile. Thankfully, Raven noted, the girls had not been gravely injured during the revel, other than the occasional cut of the skin on their cheeks and arms.
"Miss," began the taller of the two girls, "are you and your friends gonna keep us safe from those bad people?"
"What's your name?" Raven asked.
"Alice."
Raven gave a kind smile as she placed a gentle hand on the girl's cheek and went about healing her wounds.
"Well Alice, my friends and I are going to place a few protective spells on your house so that those bad people can't hurt you again."
"Spells?" the girl asked in awe. "You can do magic?!"
Raven's lip curled upward in a slight grin. "I guess you could say that."
A few minutes later, the young girls were fully healed, as was their mother. She shook Raven's hand gratefully and repeatedly thanked her for all she had done. Raven simply nodded and went to rejoin her friends, who had seemingly completed their work as well. The teens moved into the hallway and began to discuss what they ought to do next.
"Do you think we should erase their memories so that they won't remember any of this?" Robin asked Raven. The empath shook her head.
"I think it's best that they stay on their guard."
"I believe Friend Raven is correct," Starfire offered. "We cannot be certain that the Eaters of Death shall not return."
Robin nodded.
"Where'd Cyborg go?" asked Beast Boy worriedly.
"I'm here."
Cyborg came in through the door and promptly dusted off his hands. Raven raised an eyebrow.
"What did you do with the Death Eaters, Cyborg?" Robin asked curiously.
Cyborg couldn't keep the smirk off his face. "Oh…they're hangin' somewhere."
"I really don't want to know," said Raven with a shake of her head.
"Well we should probably get going," said Robin grimly. The others nodded their assent and quickly crossed the threshold.
"Do your stuff Raven."
Raven closed her eyes and allowed the sounds of the night to overwhelm her senses as she began to concentrate. When she next opened her eyes, her pupils were no longer visible as they began to glow white. She crossed her arms in front of her; her cloak swirled unnaturally about her ankles, though there was no wind to cause it. Raven rose into the air and, several seconds later, she opened her arms wide and allowed the black energy to pour from her fingers and completely envelop the house. For a moment, the house was surrounded by a large black shield before it quickly faded into nothingness.
Raven descended gracefully onto the pavement and silently gestured that they ought to take their leave.
I...am...so...SORRY!!!! I know that it has taken me little over a year to post a new chapter! Life has finally got caught up with me and made it nearly impossible for me to work on fanfiction. I rue the day I consented to take AP classes. The workload has been tremendous. Thankfully, I've learned to manage my time and am able to write more frequently. What with Winter Break coming soon, I plan to work on future chapters. I still am not completely sure which direction this story will take, but if anyone has any ideas to contribute, I would gladly steal it. :]
Thank you all for your reviews! Once again, I'm incredibly sorry for the delay! I hope you enjoyed!