Hi guys! I hope you'll like this chapter! ^_^ Bah! I'm sure you'll love it! *I'm not boasting! The war begins!* There'll be plenty of surprises ahead! I won't take any more of your time! Go read!
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Father Mine
Chapter 25: Glowing moon…or not.
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Usagi raised her eyebrows when she entered the Great Hall the next morning. Gloomy faces were looking down at their breakfast and toying more with their food than eating it. The atmosphere was tense and morbid, the slight move or sound causing the people to freeze and take out their wands.
The rabbit took her usual place at the round table, between Harry and Sirius. Unlike the others, she started to eat healthily, making the others around her look at her with wide eyes.
"Ya sure don't look nervous, young lady. No one can eat with the only thought of the battle to come! I myself don't feel like throwing up my food because of nervousness…" Mad-Eye Moody said, muttering the last phrase. Tonks, who was beside him, nodded sourly and put down her fork.
Usagi snorted, a harsh sounding noise echoing through the silent hall. "With all the wars I've been in, I don't really care what happens anymore. Some emotions I've lost a long time ago. And besides, this is a mere battle between humans, not an inter-galactic war to dominate or destroy the planet."
Fudge humphed rudely. "Don't you think you're over-exaggerating it a little? Not everything revolves around you, girl. And if you're so strong, why don't you kill the Dark Lord yourself?" He looked proud of his little speech but she quickly answered back, with a voice of steel.
"I don't have any rights to fight in this battle but I am nonetheless. Just by doing this, I could have the wrath of both Fate and Destiny on my back for a couple more years. I have to obey the laws of this world, but that doesn't mean I can't at least help, the Fates be damned. So I suggest you shut up before I go wild again." She sneered, and Fudge glared.
Dumbledore looked on and sighed. "I would like it if you could be a little more tolerant with each other. We're all on the same team, remember?"
Usagi shrugged while Fudge's gaze returned to his plate, a half nod being the headmaster's only response.
Soon, the people started to get up and leave the Great Hall. Ron furrowed his brows and out of pure hatred, or maybe idiocy because the blond haired boy had his 2 goons with him, he took Malfoy by the arm and led him out of the flow of people who didn't seem to notice anything.
Hermione looked at the red head disapprovingly while Crabbe and Goyle pried Ron's fingers off their charge. Draco hissed at him angrily while his 2 bodyguards took out their wands and pointed them to the red headed boy. Harry gazed at the small group and soon joined them to prevent them from doing anything stupid.
"What do you think you were doing, Weasel?!" Hissed Draco.
"Don't play stupid, Malfoy! We know why you're here! You're just spying on us, that's what!" Ron answered back angrily.
Draco glared. "It's not because my dad's a Death Eater that I've chosen to side with him, you moron! Here's the reason why I had to stay here! My father disowned me when I refused to side with him!"
The trio's eyes widened. Ron looked gob smacked.
"Why don't you start gloating now, Weasel? Say that I have no pride in being a Malfoy anymore?" Draco spat to Ron, brows furrowed and glaring at the ground.
Ron seemed to think for a moment. "I could say this…but…I won't. It had to be difficult to choose between your family and your pride. It was almost…courageous of you. I'm surprised and impressed by your decision." He finished, almost weirded out by his own words towards his supposed enemy, them sounding foreign in his mouth.
Draco's head snapped up at his words and he looked uncertain as Ron lifted his hand for him to shake. He shook back slowly, the fact of touching a Gryffindor willingly new to him. Ron retracted his hand hastily and bent a little, whispering for only them to hear; "Don't tell anyone we just did that!"
Draco resisted the urge to swipe his hand on his cloak and instead muttered back; "Only if you promise the same."
He got an easy deal, while Hermione rolled her eyes at their childishness and Harry was left contemplating on the new turn of event.
*~*~*~*
Since she knew Voldemort was only going to attack when the moon would be visible, she wandered inside the silent corridors of the castle. The portraits were all empty, probable that their owner had fled to a safer part of the school, leaving their frames behind.
It was really creepy when nobody was there. Usually, this part of the castle would be bustling with children who had Transfiguration class with Mc Gonagall. She was alone, wanting some peace and quiet before the storm. She let her feet guide her, and soon she was unconsciously opening the door of the room of requirements.
She sat in a corner and started to play with her power, creating little sparks of light to amuse herself. It was fun at first, but she soon became bored and stopped, leaving her hands in her lap. "It's boring, there's nothing to do…" She said to herself. 'I miss the others…The others!'
Her eyes illuminated with an idea and she willed the mirror of Neptune to come forth. "Show me my friends." She asked the gleaming mirror, but nothing happened. She grunted and sighed exasperatedly. She took out the Pluto time key from her pocket and put it on the handle of the mirror. "Show me my friends!"
There was a brief flash and soon she was looking at her scouts, who were in their turn gazing at her with wide eyes. They could see her too, it seem. They were looking at her as if she was in a mirror, and she smiled to them. "It's great to see you all again, minna! When I used Neptune's mirror, I didn't know I would be looking at the entire group!"
Ami smiled gently. "We do have our own lives, but we hold a reunion once every month at Rei's temple. You just appeared at the right time!"
Soon, they all started to ask her questions about what she was learning and stuff, and Usagi was caught retelling the story of how she met Harry and how she learned to transform into an 'animagus' like her father. Somewhere in the story, Luna interrupted her. "So, what are you doing now?" She asked, with her British accent.
Usagi grimaced and bent her back forward. "I'm caught in a stupid war between humans! Can you believe it? It's going to start tonight, and I don't have any kind of idea on when it's going to end."
Haruka's head snapped up and she leaned on her hands. "A war? Do you need our help, Koneko-chan?"
Usagi shook her head negatively and smiled sadly. "It would be against the Fates. I myself am not even supposed to be here. I guess they tolerate me because I was originally born here. I won't be able to do much, but I'll help as much as I can. It scares me to think that Harry has to be the one defeating him, but I guess I have to trust in his power. He's very strong, for a wizard I mean." She added, sweatdropping.
Soon, her fellow senshi started to leave, stating it was late enough. The time between their 2 worlds was just different, and she had appeared when it was almost 5pm in their time, while it was almost 1pm in hers. She said her goodbyes and let go of the mirror, which vanished with a flurry of water.
She sighted and gazed at the grand-father clock in the back of the room. Her mood became serious and she exited the place, determination and confidence written in her eyes.
*~*~*
They were already in formation when she finally stepped outside. The giants were in the front line, covering the people. The forest team stood in the shadows and the dragons were pacing impatiently behind.
She began to walk up to them when Voldemort's army came out of the Forbidden Forrest, and some of them even entering through the main gates. They formed a line, facing each other. Good versus Evil, Light versus Darkness. The 2 armies gazed at each other without advancing, still keeping their distances.
Still, Usagi continued to march to her team. Voldemort was at the head of his army, snickering darkly, causing the children who had decided to stay, and even the adults, to shudder at the raw sound.
Hundreds of Death Eaters kept the werewolves at bay with magical chains, and the beasts were looking particularly starved and blood lusting because they kept pulling at the chains, snarling and howling. Doing a swift look-over of their ranks, the dark army had about a thousand members, the hundred of werewolves not included. Unfortunately, werewolves counted for almost 3 humans on their own because of their sheer strength, so she would have to remediate this fast.
The atmosphere was heavy and dense. The Dementors were screeching and rasping, their skeletal hands appearing from beneath their dirty rags.
A firm hand on his shoulder made Harry tense, but he relaxed when he glanced at her. The Order was beside him, including the Weasley children and Hermione. Usagi raised her eyebrows and pointed at the giants, who each seemed to grip a large stick *more like tree -_-;* in their hands.
Harry shrugged. "I didn't even know giants possessed wands, it's new to me too." He whispered to her. She nodded and gazed at her team, composed of about 600 wizards and creatures, before gazing back at the dark army in front of them.
It was dark, and silence dominated the area, with the exception of the growling werewolves and the dementors' rasping. Voldemort was standing completely straight, and didn't show any signs of wanting to attack the first. When the dark cloud that was hiding the glowing moon dissipated, though, he suddenly gave a roaring order; "REMOVE THE CHAINS!!!"
Instantly, the magic chains which were restraining the werewolves disappeared and the beasts didn't loose their time. They howled viciously and dashed towards them. Gasps of terror came out of the people's mouths and she took it as her cue when Harry tried to move in front of the less powerful children in an attempt to protect them.
She closed her eyes and concentrated hard. Beads of sweat covered her brow and when Remus thought they would have to fight against the raging monsters, a tremendous quake shook the entire planet, as if a shock wave had hit it, making the werewolves stop promptly where they stood, disoriented by what was happening.
As soon as it started, it stopped. The beasts started to move again when they doubled over, howling in pain, a light golden glow surrounding their bodies as if something was forcing them to transform back. Whatever it was, it sure did the job as hundreds of humans slowly took form in the werewolves' places.
"WHAT IS HAPPENING?!" Screeched a not so happy, more like completely fuming Dark Lord, while his followers looked utterly clueless.
Everyone from Hogwarts was directing their gazes to Usagi, but she was still chanting something under her breath. A couple of seconds later, she stopped, sighed, and smirked in the direction of the sky. Following her gaze, everyone soon gaped as the moon slowly disappeared; ¾, ½, ¼…
Without the light from the moon, darkness took over and the wizards soon had to use the Lumos spell to see well.
"WHAT KIND OF SORCERY IS THIS?!" Obviously, Riddle had no idea what had caused this turn of event.
Usagi chuckled darkly, gaining his attention. "Haven't you ever heard of Lunar eclipses, Voldie?"
Voldemort sneered and looked her over quickly, still trying to see better in the semi-darkness. "Nobody mentioned an eclipse for today, girl! Don't think you can fool me!"
Usagi smirked, keeping an eye on the werewolves turned human, who were beginning to wake up. "I already have, Voldie! And of course no eclipse has been mentioned. That's why I created one."
Whispers broke through in amazement.
"So the earthquake…"
"Did she truly make the Earth spin faster to make it move between the sun and the moon?!"
"What kind of power is this?!"
She ignored them all and grinned menacingly. "Oh, and one more, thing…The card with the Hogwarts crest drawn on the back? It was me."
Tom Riddle's eyes grew so large in such a short amount of time she thought his eyes would pop out of their sockets. "you, yoU, yOU, YOUUU!!!" He screamed his rage, and with it all hell broke loose. The 2 sides clashed with an unknown fury, hexes and curses flying away like madness.
The Dark Lord's gaze crossed her directly and they stood there, just looking at each other, unmoving, until she grinned at him and vanished from his view when someone passed in front of her. He searched hysterically on all sides but she was probably gone to another part of the fight.
He leered. "I'll find you again…" He cast a Crucio curse on an Auror who was running towards him, wand at the ready. The poor man cried out in pain and fell on the ground, twitching and twisting. Riddle sneered as if he was enjoying this, sidestepped the tortured Auror and he himself disappeared from view.
The dragons were trying to burn everything in their way but the Death Eaters had something else in mind. They regrouped and cast multiple Crucios and Avada Kedavras on the enormous beasts. They each fell on the ground, either dead or mortally wounded.
Bane looked horrified, but still managed to regain his thoughts enough to avoid a stray hex. "No, no, NO! It wasn't supposed to happen this way!" He cried, kneeling beside one of the dead dragons. He closed his eyes and murmured a prayer from his ancestors, a lone tear making its way down his cheek.
A warm hand brushed his shoulder and he gazed at the emotionless rabbit. "I admire your sense of loyalty, dear friend, but you also have to remember that they knew what they were getting in."
Bane nodded and got up, giving one last glance at the magnificent animals. "Still, it was as if they knew our plans and our allies and how to get rid of them…But how?" He asked himself, growling in anger. "Nothing works as it should have!" He said desperately.
Usagi's brow furrowed but she only hummed in response, before turning back to the battle. "Take care of yourself, Bane. Fight with your head, not your emotions, or you'll get killed. I don't want that." When Bane opened his mouth to thank her, she was already making her way through the crowd, making a glowing chain appear and using it to choke a Dementor who was trying to suck the soul out of a faint looking Seamus.
Snape had a tough time defending himself. Lucius Malfoy was doing everything possible to curse him. "You traitor! I can't believe I actually named you the godfather of Draco! It's your fault I lost my son! If it wasn't for you, he would be here fighting by my side! CRUCIO!"
Severus dodged just in time and sneered back. "I didn't coax Draco into anything! He chose on his own accord to fight for the right side! IMPEDIMENTA!"
Lucius counter-cursed the spell and soon they were fighting again, avoiding at the same time this or that spell. The potions master was hit in the back by a Crucio and he fell on the ground, resisting the urge to yell in pain. Lucius pointed his wand menacingly towards him and advanced slowly, smirking in victory. "It's a pity you chose the wrong side, Severus. I will have my son back. AVADA-"
His eyes widened suddenly and he fell on the ground, centimetres away from Severus' own body. The potions master lifted his gaze and stared as Draco lowered his wand, standing behind his unmoving father. "Snape has been more like a father figure to me than you've ever been." He said to the dead corpse of his father.
He then lend a hand for his godfather to get up. Snape cringed painfully but still managed to stand straight. He uncorked a small vial and drank it swiftly. "Pain reliever potion?" Draco asked, looking at the wild battle. Snape nodded and they separated to fight on their own again.
Losses were great on both sides. The unicorns were using their horns to pierce through their enemies' body but their numbers were quickly diminishing. A Death Eater had used a visibility powder on the Thestrals to make them visible and easy to get rid of.
The spiders didn't have much luck either, them being more fragile, even with their size. Grawp and Hagrid were still using their brute strength to hurt the enemies, but it wasn't easy being outnumbered. The giants were beginning to create a line, probably to be less easy to curse while in a group.
The members of the Order were fighting with all they had, and Usagi soon joined them. She was running towards her father when somebody cried out; "Watch out to your left!" She looked at her side and cursed her carelessness when a dark curse hurled towards her. Her legs were frozen in place, she couldn't get away in time!
The light was about to strike her when something knocked her out of the way, pinning her on the ground. She opened her eyes to find…gleaming yellow eyes staring right back at her. She untangled the fistful of long and soft fur she had gripped while falling and smiled to the wolf, which gave a small howl in return. "Thanks Harry." She whispered and got up, the wolf barking at her side.
An annoyingly familiar laughing got their attention and the members of the Order and some aurors gazed back at their minister; Cornelius Fudge. He was grinning darkly to them, making the people wonder what the hell was wrong with him. "Isn't this cute, everyone? The beauty and the wolf!"
He laughed menacingly again and dread covered the good people's faces, while Dumbledore's eyes widened in disbelief. "I've been wanting to get you back for everything you did to me, you know? I hope you'll like THAT!"
He stepped aside and Usagi's eyes widened in realization when it was too late. The line of giants was standing beside where the minister once was, and pointing their wands at her.
"SHIIIT!" She cursed loudly, and pushed Harry on the side as they all attacked with the same ancient giant spell. With the size of their wands and their magic combined, the magnitude of the blast was enormous. She created a shield at the last second, but it didn't hold up as she thought it would.
She hadn't had enough time to stabilize it and the blast destroyed her protection, hitting her full force and making her scream in agony. She landed in a heap on her stomach several meters behind, unmoving.
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Mmmmm…Nasty cliffy, I know, but I'm trying to make the story as long as possible.
You all wanted a LONG chapter, well, here it is! ^_^
There's plenty of action!
You probably all knew about Fudge being a bastard, but the giants? HA! I got you! I couldn't hint every bad person, you know! Keep a little mystery in all of this! ^__^
You know what to do to see more! (Feh! I'm not THAT cruel…)
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Eternal Cosmos ^_~