Yes! The Grand Finale! Although not the last chapter. This is where all the action is.
Artemis woke from his nap at around 5 o'clock. He looked out the window on an urge and saw… they-who-are-attached-at-the-hip. And the Grimm. His head twinged. The Grim dragged Ron towards the tree. He had to get down there. Something was going on.
As Artemis was about to get out the door, he ran into Draco. Damn.
"Fowl! Where do you think you're going?"
"Somewhere that doesn't concern you, Draco." He winced. That would only increase the boy's interest.
"And what was with the boggart? There was a scream. Was that you, screaming like a girl, Fowl?"
I don't have time for this. WORK TO DO HURRY HURRY HURRY- Artemis pulled out his wand, but Draco was faster. "Expelliarmus." Draco held him at wand point. "What's with you? Tell me, Fowl!"
Artemis had no choice. "Them! The trio! Into the tree!" Any other time he would have cringed at his grammar, but he was in far too much pain.
"What tree, Fowl?"
"There!" He pointed at the willow. Draco's head snapped over, and in a rare burst of physical prowess, Artemis shoved him over, picked up his wand, and ran. Draco quickly followed towards the mysteriously frozen tree. Then Artemis saw the opening in the roots, and dove for it. As he did, the tree started to stir, it snapped at his leg, and pain burst into it, but he was through. He went down the dark passageway, limping. Draco would no doubt follow soon, and his head kept feeling worse. HURRY HURRY HURRY-
"Fowl." It was Draco. He froze. He wouldn't get away this time. He turned slowly.
"What is going on?"
"Sirius Black-" a new wave of pain crashed down on him. "The trio, the wolf, the cat! Everything, all the answers, are down here! I have- I have to-" Artemis almost collapsed. Draco rushed over.
"Whatever's down here, you are clearly in no condition to continue. Are you off in the head, Fowl?"
"Ahhh!" Artemis groaned. Draco kept him from falling over. "I have to know… they need me… my head… "
"Alright, I can't drag you back, and you can't stop me from going, so let's call truce and see what's up there."
"Nnngghhhh… truce." Draco hoisted up Artemis, who swayed. Then they started walking up the incline after what seemed like ages. They could see the light.
They walked out into a dusty room, full of broken furniture. "Ergggh… shrieking shack." said Artemis.
That was when something hit Draco in the back of the head. He fell down. Holly phased into existence. "What are you doing to Artemis?" she shouted.
"Bloody hell! What are you?" shouted Draco. Neither noticed Artemis, feebly trying to get up like an insect on its back.
"Holly Short, elf, captain of the LEPrecon. Who are you?"
"Draco Malfoy. My father-"
"Draco… shut up about your father. No one cares." Artemis turned to Holly. "He's alright. Did you see three students our age and a large, black dog come by?"
"They went upstairs. I've been living here for the past month or so. The dog can turn into a man."
A stab of pain went through Artemis' head. Holly frowned. She used her magic, and his leg was fixed. "Artemis, I can't heal your head. There's some sort of… patch in your brain. Your memory's messed up."
"What's going on?" burst out Draco.
"Okay. Draco, I swear I'll explain this later. I'm sure my memory will be restored soon. For now… we need to see what's upstairs."
Holly shielded and Draco and Artemis crept somewhat stealthily upstairs. They saw lights in one room. Holly whispered to them, "4 people. One cat. Redhead has a broken ankle. Dog man has all the wands."
Artemis drew a shuddering breath. "Okay, Holly, don't engage. Fairy civilization trumps serial killer. I'll just-"
"HE KILLED MY MUM AND DAD!"
Artemis stumbled into the doorway, loudly. Everyone turned to look at him. Then he saw Black.
"YOU!" said Potter, Artemis, and Black. Then Artemis keeled over, his head full of images. He blacked out.
Draco
This was probably the strangest day in Draco's life. First the mudblood of Slytherin rushes into him, incoherent. Then they go into a passage beneath the whomping willow. Then, for no reason at all, he calls truce with his enemy. Then he meets a fairy. To top it all off, Fowl happens to know a serial killer somehow. He would need at least a week to recover.
Unfortunately, he didn't have a week. He rushed over to Artemis (the fairy girl had disappeared) and slapped him. That was supposed to wake people up. But Artemis just stared with his multi colored eyes, unseeing. Wait! The fairy girl! Her eyes were the same as his. What?
"Little Death Eater!" roared Sirius Black.
"Malfoy!" shouted Potter.
"I'm not a Death Eater yet!" said Draco murmured.
"Not you! Him!" Black pointed at Fowl. "Bastard tied me up! Creepy little bugger!"
"What?" said Potter. "He's a Death Eater! Why would he tie you up? He's on your side!"
"No!" said Draco and Hermione. They both looked confused. "Fowl is a mudblood! He's more likely to become a Dark Lord than a Death Eater!" said Draco. Granger glared at him. "We study together. He's my friend!"
Weasel was out for the count. Fortunately, he had nothing to add.
Black lunged at Potter. He had his arms around the boy's neck. Granger kicked him. Crookshank attacked Potter. Wasn't the cat Granger's? They all fought, while Draco just sat there, not wanting to get hurt. He wasn't even really certain of whose side he was on. Finally they broke up. Potter had his wand pointed at Sirius. Granger had her and Weasel's wands. Draco frantically slapped Fowl. The genius seemed like he could get them out of the situation.
"Going to kill me, Harry?" asked Black.
That was when Fowl woke up. "Stop, you idiots! I remember, now!"
They turned towards Fowl. Potter's hand trembled. "He killed my parents."
Fowl sighed exasperatedly. "No, he didn't. He's not a Death Eater. Peter Pettigrew was."
Potter looked confused. "No, Pettigrew was the bloke he killed." He gestured at Black. "What do you know, Death Eater?"
"I don't deny it," said Black. "But if you knew the whole story."
"The whole story?" Potter repeated. "You sold them to Voldemort. That's all I need to know."
"Potter, you're wrong. Do you need me to spell it out for you?" He took in Potter's expression. "Evidently, you do. The elder Potter was friends with Black and Pettigrew. One of them betrayed him. Everyone thought it was Black, because Pettigrew was dead. But they were all unregistered animagi. Black is a dog, and Pettigrew is a rat."
Potter didn't look interested in listening to Fowl. He pointed his wand at Sirius. Fowl sighed and grabbed his own wand. Crookshank shielded Black. Then they heard footsteps.
"UP HERE!" shouted Granger.
Up the stairs came Professor Lupin. "Expelliarmus!" All the wands were his. "Where is he, Sirius?" Black pointed at Weasel. "But then..." Lupin muttered, staring at Black so intently it seemed he was trying to read his mind, "... why hasn't he shown himself before now? Unless" - Lupin's eyes suddenly widened, as though he was seeing something beyond Black, something none of the rest could see, "- unless he was the one... unless you switched... without telling me?" Black nodded. Lupin walked over and helped Black up.
"I DON'T BELIEVE IT!" shouted Granger.
Lupin turned to her. "Hermione… "
"You and him! I've been covering for you-"
"Hermione, listen to me, please'" Lupin shouted. "I can explain -"
"I trusted you," shouted Potter, his voice wavering, out of control, "and all the time you've been his friend!"
"You're wrong," said Lupin. "I haven't been Sirius's friend, but I am now - Let me explain..."
"NO!" Granger screamed. "Harry, don't trust him, he's been helping Black get into the castle, he wants you dead too - he's a werewolf!"
"A werewolf?" It was Draco, who had wisely stayed quiet until now. I can't believe it. "Teaching? My father-"
"Draco, don't bother. Actually, Hermione, you're wrong, for once." All eyes turned to Fowl. "Definitely a werewolf. That was obvious. But haven't you been listening? Neither of them want Potter dead."
"What would you know, Slytherin?" said Potter.
"More than you can imagine, Potter. Tell me professor, do all the staff know your a werewolf? I doubt any parents do. You got here with the map, I presume?" The professor nodded dumbly. "Where's your rat, Weasley?" asked Fowl.
Weasel pulled the rat out of his pocket. "What's Scabbers got to do with it?"
"Scabbers is an animagus. He's Pettigrew."
"You're mental, Fowl," said Potter. Even Hermione looked hesitant. "There was a streetful of witnesses. He died 12 years ago."
"No, he didn't. He escaped as a rat. All three of them, Senior Potter, Black, and Pettigrew were animagi. Lupin is a werewolf."
"There couldn't be three unregistered animagi!" Hermione exclaimed.
Just then, the door swung open. Nothing came through. Could be Holly, but she would be more discreet.
"Nothing there," said Lupin. He sighed. "I suppose I should tell you my story."
"I was a very small boy when I received the bite. My parents tried everything, but in those days there was no cure. The potion that Professor Snape has been making for me is a very recent discovery. It makes me safe, you see. As long as I take it in the week preceding the full moon, I keep my mind when I transform… I am able to curl up in my office, a harmless wolf, and wait for the moon to wane again.
"Before the Wolfsbane Potion was discovered, however, I became a fully fledged monster once a month. It seemed impossible that I would be able to come to Hogwarts. Other parents weren't likely to want their children exposed to me…"
Artemis
Artemis lost interest. He was more interested in the heat spot of something invisible or shielded. Holly was a little shy of four feet. But this haze reached about 6 feet in the air. It also didn't have the look of a shielding fairy.
"Excuse me," he said to Lupin. "I'd like to have my wand back please."
Lupin looked suspicious, but he tossed it over. Naturally, Artemis didn't catch it, which led to some rather undignified scrabbling on the floor. He picked it up, and mentally ran through spells that could take down a wizard. Presumably, they're using an invisibility cloak. I can't take the risk that it actually is Holly, so I can't strike first. Casting spells like that is ungainly, so they depend upon the element of surprise. It will take two seconds to get the cloak off, and another to cast the spell. So they can probably incapacitate one person before I can hit them. Probably Lupin, he has all the wands, unless they are suspicious of me. Which is possible. I may also be overestimating my reaction time. Maybe I will just wait and see how this plays out.
That was when the person struck. "That's right." It was Snape. He pointed his wand at Lupin. Didn't expect him to engage with words. But really, he should attack. Five to one, without me or Draco. Even without wands, they could win easily. The average potions master wouldn't have killed anyone, although Snape…
Snape tied up Lupin. He pointed his wand at Black. They all started arguing. When sparks came out of Snape's wand, Artemis started worrying the whole situation would blow up. Time to act.
"Stupefy!" Snape went down. A spell shot out of his wand and hit Draco, who was knocked out. Black shook his head. "You shouldn't have done that."
Hermione whimpered. "You attacked a teacher! And Malfoy's out cold!"
Black untied Lupin. Artemis scowled. "I had no choice."
"I still don't believe you," said Potter.
"Well, I trust there's a spell to undo animagi transformations?" said Artemis. Sirius nodded. "There was one thing I wondered. How did you know that the Weasley's rat was Pettigrew from prison?"
He pulled out the newspaper picture from the Weasleys' trip to Egypt. "When he came to inspect Azkaban last year, he gave me his paper. And there was Peter, on the front page… on this boy's shoulder… I knew him at once… how many times had I seen him transform? And the caption said the boy would be going back to Hogwarts… to where Harry was…"
"And he's missing a toe," said Artemis. "He probably cut it off to fake his death."
"OF COURSE! HE FAKED HIS DEATH SO YOU WOULDN'T KILL HIM! LIKE YOU DID MY PARENTS!"
"Harry-" He cut Lupin off. "I SHOULD'VE LEFT YOU TO SNAPE!"
"Potter, this is easily resolved." Artemis nodded to Black. "Do the spell. Weasley, give him the rat."
Ron hesitated. Lupin nodded. "It won't hurt him." Ron handed the rat over.
"On three?" asked Sirius. Lupin nodded. "One… Two… THREE!" They cast the spell.
The rat froze in midair for a few short seconds, contorting violently. Then it dropped to the floor, and started to grow unnaturally. First the head, then arms and legs shooting out.
A small, grubby looking man sat there. Crookshank growled. Rat. He was, indeed, a very rat-like man.
"Well, hello, Peter," said Lupin pleasantly, as though rats frequently erupted into old school friends around him. "Long time, no see."
"S—Sirius… R—Remus…" Even Pettigrew's voice was squeaky. Again, his eyes darted toward the door. "My friends… my old friends…"
"We've been having a little chat, Peter, about what happened the night Lily and James died. You might have missed the finer points while you were squeaking around down there on the bed—"
"Remus," gasped Pettigrew, and Harry could see beads of sweat breaking out over his pasty face, "you don't believe him, do you…? He tried to kill me, Remus…"
"Likely story!" roared Sirius.
They continued like this for some time. Then Crookshank meowed. Full moon. "D'arvit!" Artemis muttered. "We don't have time for this. It's a full moon tonight." Lupin's eyes widened in horror. "We have to get out of here! The building isn't as reinforced as it used to be. A werewolf in Hogsmeade… "
Sirius pointed his wand at Pettigrew. "We have to kill him. After everything he did… " Lupin nodded.
"No! You can't kill him!. We can send him to Azkaban. He deserves it, if anyone does."
"All right Harry. If that's your choice… " Harry nodded resolutely. They tied Pettigrew up.
"This is all very touching, but we should move, before he turns," said Artemis. He pointed his wand at Draco. "Rennervate!" Draco woke up, rather confused, and the group moved down the passageway.
They nearly made it home safe. But as they came out of the tunnel, the full moon revealed itself from behind a cloud. Lupin went rigid, and convulsed.
"GO!" shouted Black. "I'll take care of it!"
Unfortunately, although the Slytherins both really wanted to run, the Gryffindors were held back by Weasley, Snape, and Pettigrew, who were all chained together. Draco tried, as did Artemis. But they were stopped by Hermione. "You can't just leave us behind!"
"Watch us, mudblood!" shouted Draco. Artemis hesitated. Hermione, at least was his friend. He would never be able to forgive himself if they died. Nor would Holly, or Butler, or his mother. He started going back, wand in hand. "What are you doing, Fowl?" Draco called back, panicking.
"What does it look like I'm doing?"
Draco groaned. "Come off it! I still owe you for that other time!" He shook his head and followed Artemis. There's a surprise.
Weasley was injured. Pettigrew had escaped, and Snape was still out. Black was just barely holding his and Hermione ran off to help Sirius. Weasley was unconscious, so it wouldn't hurt to use healing magic… Artemiss tried to heal him, but only a few blue sparks shot out. D'arvit. He must need to do the ritual to make his fairy abilities return. Healing spells were one area he'd never researched carefully.
"Fowl!" hissed Draco. Artemis looked up. "What was that?"
"Different magic," he said. "I need an acorn. The river must have an underground source, so any will do."
"An acorn?" he hissed. "What do you need an acorn for?"
Artemis shook his head. "I'll explain later. Locomotor." He lifted up Weasley and started moving him towards the school.
"Fowl."
"What is-" The werewolf made a growling sound. They started running. "We have to split up!"
Draco nodded. He turned towards the forest, and Artemis ran for his life and Weasley's towards the castle. He crashed through the door, where he dropped Weasley, panting. Madam Pomfrey, who was fortunately on duty, came rushing down. "What happened?" Artemis shook his head wordlessly.
Then he heard the scream.
It was Draco's. He ran out the door, towards where it came from. There he saw Draco, clutching at a tree branch, as the werewolf mercilessly tore into his leg. "Relashio!" The werewolf let go, and Artemis grabbed hold of Draco. "Wingardium Leviosa!" He levitated them by their clothes up to a tree branch. The werewolf growled and left, probably in search of Harry and Hermione. But Artemis didn't have time to worry about that. Draco was unconscious and bleeding heavily. He would die without help. Artemis looked around. It was an oak tree. He grabbed an acorn. Earth. D'arvit. He had to bury it in the earth. Maybe a connection through magic was enough. He pointed at it. "Depulso acorn!" It shot downwards, blasting the acorn into the ground. "I return you to the earth, and claim the gift that is my right." Blue sparks ran crackling up his arm, and he gasped as it fixed all his cuts and scratches. He touched Draco's leg. "Heal." Draco's skin knitted up and his broken bones straightened. Torn muscles healed and Draco relaxed into sleep. He wasn't left untouched. He still had a lot of scarred tissue and would probably limp for the rest of his life, but he would survive. Artemis leaned back and fell asleep.
Yeah. Artemis!whump. So I know the whole ritual thing only happens when the fairy's hand buries it (as showcased with the sealed acorn in The Arctic Incident), but I figure a wand is basically part of a wizard, and that the whole beam of magic thing is also like an extension of a wizard's energy.
