The Ghost Prince
Chapter Eleven
Of Fire and Ice
"Giselle," she snapped, glaring daggers at the other girl as she climbed out of bed. "How many bloody times do I have to tell you not to smoke those disgusting things in our Dorm?"
"Chill out, Pierce," drawled Giselle, rolling her eyes and exhaling a slow stream of acrid smoke. It seemed that the other girls had already gone down to breakfast, all of them eager to avoid their roommate's habit.
Ravenclaws truly did do their best to avoid confrontation and conflict, she mused. Giselle took a deep drag, dusting the stub across her dresser and powdering the freshly waxed surface with tiny flakes of ash. With a sigh, Cecilia flicked her wand, vanishing the offending cigarette, and with a second flick, she caused a nearby window to open so that the odour with be let out.
"Hey!" yelped Giselle, "Why're you always spoiling all the fun, Pierce."
Eye twitching, Cecilia flicked her wand for a third time, effectively silencing the other girl before she went on with morning routine. She wasn't awfully close with the girls in her own House, preferring the companionship of Keira and the boys, and having spent five years living with the likes of Giselle Corner, she realized that she really had dodged a bullet.
A soft hum escaped her lips as, a half-hour later, she swung her broomstick over her left shoulder and began making her way down the stairs. Thankfully, the room had been devoid of all things Giselle whilst she was getting ready, and her mood was significantly better than it had been when she had first woken.
She supposed that the Ravenclaw versus Gryffindor match scheduled for that afternoon had something to do with that. If there was one place – other than the library, of course – in which Cecilia felt at home, it was on a broomstick in the sky.
Smiling, she made her way to the Great Hall, exchanging quick words with the other Ravenclaws who stopped to wish her well along the way. It was surprising that the Slytherins, for the most part, were backing Gryffindor during this match . . . but it made sense if the House of Green and Silver were to have any chance of winning this year. The 'Puffs remained neutral, as they were fond of doing, but she had a sneaking suspicion that most of them were secretly supporting the lions.
Nobody other than the other Ravenclaws really wanted her house to win the Quidditch Cup for the sixth year in a row.
Marching into the Great Hall, she noticed that her friends were all sitting at the Hufflepuff table for some reason, and after exchanging a quick wave with her teammates, she hurried over to them. As usual, Orion and Jeremy weren't in their uniforms yet – something that was becoming a running gag for the rest of the school, considering how often games were delayed just so that those two could change into their gear.
"Ready to lose, lions?" she said with a wink, slipping onto the bench and exchanging a one-armed hug with Keira.
"You kidding, 'Lia?" chuckled Orion, faking a look of outrage, and helping himself to the sausages. One glance at both his and Leo's plates was enough to make her shudder, because it was painfully obvious that both boys had inherited the infamous Weasley appetite.
"I actually like our chances this year," added Jeremy, but it was evident that he wasn't really looking at her. A quick glance confirmed her theory, and with a wink she silently gestured at the lone girl sitting alone at the end of the table.
"Still chasing Andy?" she asked, causing her friend's cheeks to flush bright red.
"I don't know why she won't give me a chance," he grumbled, ducking his face. "I mean, I am a Keeper."
"That was lamer than my boyfriend trying to get himself out of the doghouse," pointed out Keira, not hiding her teasing smirk in the least as Orion spluttered, his own cheeks burning so that he looked like an albino tomato.
"Isn't he always in the doghouse, Keira?" asked Leo, and Cecilia fought the urge to groan as Amara, who she hadn't even realised was sitting there, laughed as though Leo's comment was the funniest thing she had ever heard.
"You don't even know what a doghouse is," scoffed Orion, his tone implying that he was indeed a little irritated at once again being made the brunt of everyone's jokes. Shaking her head, she squeezed Keira's wrist, and the other girl stopped laughing just long enough to take note of the vaguely wounded glint in her boyfriend's eyes, before curling an arm around his shoulders and darting in to press a quick kiss to his cheek.
Honestly, Orion was a great sport, and he gave as good as he got . . . but Cecilia had long since noted that Keira often unknowingly took things too far.
"Well," said Leo, interrupting her train of thought. "I do know how best to get out of one," he finished, winking at his girlfriend. Amara simpered, one of her hands slipping of the table and by the way Leo grinned at her, there was no denying where that hand had gone.
It sickened her, watching Amara slowly corrupt Leo, a boy who had been so pure and innocent when she had first met him. She opened her mouth to snap at the slag, to remind her that they were still eating breakfast. Then her eyes fell upon the scarf around Leo's neck and she froze in midsentence.
It was blue and bronze.
"You're backing Ravenclaw?" she gasped, because she had been sure that he would have chosen to support his cousin and friend over her.
"Yup," Leo replied, beaming at her – and both of Amara's hands were thankfully back on the table – as he reached for an apple. "I mean, the others are going to be cheering for Gryffindor, because that's their House, but I'm a Slytherin, so I thought it would be nice if one of us was cheering for you. By the way, what position do you play, 'Lia?"
"Betrayed by my own blood," declared Orion with all the melodrama of a Shakespearean tragedy, dabbing at non-existent tears with his sleeve and swooning in his seat. Cecilia wasn't paying him any attention though, because her eyes were instead fixed on Leo. In just one sentence it was there again, the sweet innocence that made him who he was.
"C'mon, Ryan!" exclaimed Leo, clapping him on the back. "Gryffindor have this game in the bag, anyway. You'll catch the Snitch way before the Ravenclaws do."
"I wouldn't count on it." She smirked, her violet eyes flashing as she leaned across the table to snatch the apple out of Leo's hand, ignoring the way Amara tightened her grasp on her only Slytherin supporter's arm. "He's going to be Seeking against me."
.o0o.
The sky was overcast, the lingering chill of winter still clinging to the air as Leo climbed into the stands, Amara and Keira close behind him. Orion's girlfriend hadn't been all very keen on joining them in the Slytherin stands, but at the same time she didn't want to sit on her own, and after much coaxing had deigned to follow them.
Now that they were all in their seats, even she had admitted to him that the Slytherin benches offered the best view of the pitch.
Leo grinned at he settled down to watch the match, his fingers subtly linking with Amara's as she scooted over to press against him, quickly shaking her hand free and stowing it away in her coat pocket. Her rich perfume invaded his nostrils, and he blinked at the heady scent, fighting the urge to sneeze as it stung at his eyes and nose.
Madam Robins blew her whistle and the game began, the players turning into blurs of crimson and sapphire as they zipped through the sky, and within seconds he could no longer tell who was who. A silent pang of jealousy stabbed at him as he watched them, and, not for the first time, he wished that he was able to fly on a broomstick.
Like wands though, broomsticks didn't seem usable to him. Their magic was bound for the use of wizards and witches who were alive, and although his heart beat and his lungs filled with air, it did not change the fact that Leo had been dead for over ten years.
"And Weasley has the Quaffle," yelled the commentator, Ephraim Sparx, "Skeeter tries to intercept and fails . . . Weasley's gonna try and score, he's about to toss . . . and a surprise Bludger from Pierce knocks him off course! Stark's got the Quaffle and he's . . ."
"I thought Cecilia was the Ravenclaw Seeker," said Leo, confused, turning towards Keira and Amara.
"She is," replied Keira, turning back towards the game, and screaming in delight as Gryffindor scored their first goal of the match, putting the score at fifty to ten in favour of Ravenclaw.
"The Beater is her brother, Hiram," explained Amara, "He's a Sixth Year."
"She has a brother?" asked Leo, the gears whirring in his mind as he turned back towards the pitch, scanning it for signs of the blond Ravenclaw.
"Yeah, they used to be pretty close till their big sister died," she claimed. Amara opened her mouth to continue, when he whipped his head to the left, glaring into the sky, all thoughts of the Pierce siblings and the match forgotten.
He could feel it in the air, coming for them. Something that was old, and dark, and powerful . . . something that wanted nothing more than to see each and every one of them dead, and it was coming closer and closer with each passing second.
"What is it?" she asked, her voice urgent as she followed his gaze.
"A Shadow," he murmured, getting to his feet and shoving his way to the stairs. He didn't stop to see if Amara was following, and he ignored the swearing of his housemates as he elbowed his way past them, he finally got to the rickety stairs and took them two at a time.
The dark presence was closing in, and already he could tell that the protective wards around the school would be torn apart like paper flowers in a storm. Worse still, Leo was beginning to realise who exactly it was who was coming for them. Sprinting now, he tore up the stairs of the teachers podium, shooting furtive looks over his shoulders and hoping that he didn't yet see a speck of blackness shooting across the sky.
"Aunt Rose!" he yelled, grabbing her by the shoulder as he reached the platform. "She's coming!"
"Who's coming?" asked Rose, getting to her feet and letting a mask of austerity fall over her face, hiding the look of panic that had crossed it immediately after his words had sank in. The other professors were muttering to each other, but he didn't give them much thought . . . they needed to get everyone inside.
She was almost upon them, after all.
"The Dark Lady," he yelled, his gut twisting as the familiar feel of death began to seep into the air. "She's – "
"She's right here," cackled a voice and Leo turned, his eyes widening as the Shadow of Bellatrix Lestrange hovered above the Quidditch Pitch, an aura of darkness flowing from her every orifice.
.o0o.
"That's Bellatrix Lestrange," yelped Trystane, pointing at the shimmering sable silhouette in the sky. "Dad told me that she's the one who killed Grandma Ginny."
"You sure?" asked Matthew, squinting.
"That's definitely her," said Aurora, as the first screams of panic filled the stadium. "We should get out of here . . . now."
Without waiting for them to respond, Aurora grabbed her friends by the wrists and began dragging them to the stairs, the first screams of panic filling the air as the students began to realise the grave danger they were all in. A quick glance over her shoulder told her that the teams had already left the pitch, and seconds later she could see sparks of light rising into the air. The sparks rose, golden and powerful, expanding into a barrier that covered the pathway leading up to the school in an almost tunnel of light.
She could hear Aunt Rose's voice, magically amplified, commanding the students to return to the school whilst the Professors dealt with the intrusion. Out of the corner of her eye she made out a Patronus dart off into the sky, Uncle Teddy's silvery wolf loping away, no doubt to the Ministry to call in reinforcements.
A fell laugh echoed in her ears, each macabre note of it resounding across the grounds and it took every shred of her being to not fall to her knees with her hands pressed against her ears. Already she was stumbling, the laughter throwing her off balance, and before she could react further the entire protective walkway had disintegrated.
"Your light shows aren't going to stop me," simpered Bellatrix, a swirling cloud of black flame filling her wraithlike hand. She flung it, causing the empty junior Hufflepuff stands to explode in a shower of splintered timber, charred wood, and smoke.
"You are not welcome here, Lestrange," Aunt Rose's voice was firm as she stepped forward, wand in hand. "This is my school, and I am its Headmistress. Leave at once."
Even though there was no chance of her aunt hearing her, Aurora still yelled, hoping in vain that her warning would reach her aunt's ears. Her yell had barely left her throat when Bellatrix shot through the sky like a bullet, so fast that she seemed to teleport, and in a splash of blood and a cry of pain, she watched her aunt fly through the air like a ragdoll.
Had Trystane and Matthew not tightened their grasps on her wrists, she would have been hurtling towards Bellatrix, determined to rip the Shadow limb from limb with her bare hands.
Then her eyes widened as a roaring torrent of white flame flared through the air, missing Bellatrix by the breadth of a hair. Even at this distance, Aurora felt her eyebrows singe from the heat, and with a startled yelp she saw her brother stepping forward.
She had never before seen him look so completely and utterly pissed off. White flames, his Daemonic heritage, swirled around him like serpents, and before her eyes he rose. Like an angel ascending, her brother took to the skies, and for the first time in her life she saw a person fly without the need of a broomstick or wings.
"Ickly baby Potter," taunted Bellatrix, "Who's going to keep Mummy out of the nuthouse when you die again?"
"I'm about to kick your ass right back to hell, you bitch," roared Leo, and he spun, hurling a wreath of his light at Bellatrix. She dove, dodging the blast that in turn ripped half the Quidditch Pitch to ruin, before pirouetting into the clouds and spinning her arm like a windmill. Orbs of chaotic energy tore through the air, and Leo fanned out his arms at the last possible moment, erecting a shield which shuddered and quaked beneath the impact, yet remained strong.
"Not bad," laughed Bellatrix, "But can you fight us all?"
"No," whimpered Aurora, as a circle of Shadows descending from the stormclouds and circled her brother, before blitzing towards him, nothing but hatred in their scarlet eyes. She watched, struggling against Trys and Matt as she saw a Shadow rip three deep furrows along Leo's back, and other dig its claws into his calf until they pierced it.
Despite his wounds, she watched with reverence as he fought on, his fists blazing with the white fires of the Daemons, causing them to burst into showers of icy black mist, one by one. The last Shadow darted for him and he swung, tossing a fireball into its face and destroying it, but just as he paused to catch his breath, Aurora felt her blood run cold.
It caught him in the back, striking him in his cuts, a rail of silky black icicles that turned his lower back into a bloody ruin. Bellatrix cackled in delight as he screamed, and Aurora tugged to free herself from her friend's hold as sparks of black lightning began appearing in Bella's palm.
"Cassandra," she whispered finally, realising what she had to do, and for the first time acknowledging her connection to the Mad Queen. "Help me, please . . . please, Cassandra. I can't watch him die. Please."
The jet of black lightning crackled through the sky; burnt-red sparks coursing from it, the air filling with the stench of ozone. Her brother gasped and flung out his arm, erecting a flimsy opalescent barrier before him mere seconds before the lightning struck. It flared, screeching and hissing around him, crashing against his shield.
The shield shattered, fragments of energy dissolving to mist as Bellatrix's assault caught him in the chest. He screamed, a piercing shriek of agony that made her ears bleed, and as the wretched stench of burned flesh filled the air, Leo Potter fell from the sky.
"No!" she shrieked, tearing herself away from Matthew and Trystane and rushing forwards, digging into her pockets for her wand. She was a First Year and her magic was limited, but she had to try to save him. She needed to slow his fall, because she knew her brother would survive the lightning strike . . . but a fall from such a height would shatter every bone in his body.
She could see Leo plummeting as she twirled her wand through the air, but just before she could say the words of the Levitation Charm, a blue and bronze blur shot across the sky, catching him just before he struck the ground. The broomstick swerved, nearly throwing both rescuer and rescued, but Aurora watched in silent awe as Cecilia Pierce steadied it and, supporting Leo with one arm, began flying towards the castle.
"This will be fun," giggled Bellatrix, and with that she slashed her claws through the air, releasing cresting arcs of lightning towards Leo and Cecilia, only missing them thanks to Cecilia's skill upon a broomstick, and even then the bristles smouldered from the proximity of the blasts.
"No!" declared Aurora, and without meaning to; she flung out her hands, fingers splayed, and the lightning fizzled and died, guttering out like a candle in the wind. It was as though her own body was a puppet, and she was no longer pulling the strings. She shivered as Bellatrix's gaze fell upon her, and once again her body moved with a will of its own, her fingers stiffening and slowly clenching, trapping The Dark Lady in place.
"Who are you?" gasped Bellatrix, spitting and writhing as invisible bonds seemed to hold her.
"I am the Seeress," she intoned, and with a start she realized that her voice was magnified, sounding as though ten were speaking rather than just her. She gritted her teeth, squaring her shoulders as she continued, rising up on her tiptoes to give off the illusion of height. "Go back to the Shadows!"
With a tormented screech, like fingernails across a blackboard, Bellatrix was hurled from the grounds, disappearing in a storm of white-gold light. Then she slumped, the world going black before she hit the ground.
A/N: Hey Guys. Thank you to everyone who read and reviewed this story so far, as well as for all the Favs and Follows. I'm sorry this update is so late, exam season just ended but I still one extra-credit type one in a week so pretty busy xD
I cannot believe we made it to 76 Reviews. I wonder if we can make it to 100 by the end of this story.
Hope you're all doing well :)
Reviews and Concrit are always appreciated.