Superpowered Body Part
Aleksandra turned her back slightly, staring angrily at the quiet red box containing the phoenix.
"This blasted box will not open," she muttered to herself.
I took advantage of her momentary distraction to look quickly for Al. He'd reached the box directly to my right, stooping to hide his lean frame behind the sapphire object.
He held up three fingers before nodding pointedly at Aleksandra's back. I narrowed my eyes. Three fingers...three jumps? Three seconds? Three minutes?
He frowned, rolling his eyes in exasperation. Well.
Well.
Sorry, Albus Severus Potter, that I was not trained in your Auror vocabulary. I was an attorney, not a bloody Auror!
He tossed something small in my direction. The object glinted momentarily in the dim light before clattering to the ground two centimeters away from my right foot. The sound rang loudly through the quiet chamber, and I quickly covered it with my foot, smiling innocently when Aleksandra whirled around.
"What was that?" she demanded harshly.
I assumed the expression I always put on when Seth was trying to guess if I'd eaten the last bacon strip (I usually - okay, always - had).
"What?" I asked airily.
She scowled, pulling Green's harsh features into a deep frown. Merlin, it was disconcerting to hear a teenage girl's voice coming out of a middle aged man's body.
Note to self: runes had disturbing effects.
The Bulgarian stepped closer, her mouth opening - to say what, I didn't know, for at that very moment she stumbled, her broad hands rising to clutch at her stomach.
What…?
I didn't have long to ponder the strange occurrence, however, for at the next moment she was standing tall once more, looking like nothing had happened. Had I imagined it?
The small object - circular, hard - underneath my right foot was beginning to warm. I struggled to hide my rising alarm; what had Al just thrown at me? Surely he wouldn't have tossed me an explosive without warning me?
Terrible memories of past Halloweens (he and Seth used to hide small explosives in the pumpkin soup) flitted through Numberita.
Oh, who was I kidding - he would do that. Acrid panic rose, and I struggled to keep my breaths even. If this was an explosive or similar device, then I needed to get away.
Aleksandra drew near once more, gazing deep into my eyes. I stiffened. Oh no -
Was she going to-
"Legilimens," she hissed.
Oh no no nononononono-
The heat underneath my foot subsided, drowned in the sudden, searing pain to my temples -
I cringed, bringing my teeth together forcefully and barely registering the bitter, coppery blood that trickled from tongue.
Underneath my foot, the small object beeped, sending another flash of heat through my foot.
Once.
Aleksandra narrowed her eyes.
Twice.
I was frozen, my foot burning and my mouth open and my eyes staring -
T-
Something solid slammed into me from the side, knocking me across the smooth stone ground. I collided with a golden box, my knee sinking into the sleek metallic surface. I looked dumbly at the area where tan skin met metal, Numberita still reeling from Aleksandra's attempt to penetrate my mind. Huh-?
Something furry brushed my knee, and I quickly jerked backwards, my leg easily sliding out of the box with a curious whistling noise. I chanced a glance behind me; the small, spherical device Al had thrown was now emitting sporadic bursts of flames, sending severe shadows across the dark stone walls. Aleksandra had cast a shield spell, the thick, translucent red shield emitting a high-pitched shriek each time the flames collided.
"You okay?" came a low voice. Al looked at me worriedly, his eyes intense in the sporadic light. I nodded, my gaze straying back to the golden box. Al brushed my cheek with his forefinger before jumping to his feet, his arm already swinging forward to send a paralysing hex at Aleksandra.
I barely registered his movement; Numberita sensed that I had just unwittingly unlocked the secret to opening the boxes. My knee had gone through the box; I wasn't crazy. The sounds of the continuing battle dulled as I crept forward tentatively, reaching out with trembling fingertips to brush the box's golden surface.
I met cool metal - definitely solid. I frowned, pushing slightly. Nothing.
How had my knee entered the box? I examined my leg once more; I didn't think my knee was all that special. It was just...well, a knee. I mean, sure, it was kind of knobby and I had a nasty bug bite on the back of it -
But other than that, nothing special. I crossed "superpowered body part" off of my list of possible explanations.
I narrowed my eyes, tapping my chin as Numberita thought furiously. Why would the creator of these boxes make it so that certain things could enter it and not others? And of all the things to enter, why a knee? That hardly seemed practical. What person could extract a living animal using only her knees? It didn't make sense.
Wait. Maybe it was because I had collided with the box completely by accident. I drew back three centimeters, regarding the box thoughtfully. How did one accidentally slam into a box?
Huh. I took a few practice steps forward, uttering a half-hearted "oops" and flailing my arms as I let my body fall forward.
My gut slammed into the sharp corner, and I slid to the cold ground, curling into a ball. A single red hex slammed into the stone only eight centimeters to my left, and I hurriedly scooted back behind the golden box. I glanced backwards; Al had rolled to the ground, his muscles straining as he deflected a nasty-looking hex. I winced.
I didn't have time to linger. I needed to figure this out quickly.
Obviously pretending to fall into it wasn't going to work. I needed to find someone who genuinely was unaware of the trick, someone like…
Al.
I brightened, jumping to my feet and drawing my wand. A vague plan formed in Numberita. Sidestepping another bright green hex, I carefully scrambled between boxes, edging closer and closer to Al and Aleksandra. When I'd reached the silver box a meter and a half away from their struggling forms, I took a deep breath, letting the damp, cold cave air fill my lungs. My heart was beating loudly, and I could feel my blood pulsing through my fingers, my cheeks, my arms.
Luckily, Aleksandra was farther from the scarlet box than Al was; I definitely did not want to accidentally shove her into the phoenix's cage. I edged closer to them, keeping my knees bent and my muscles tensed.
"Protego Duo," I murmured, conjuring a thick shield charm in front of my advancing body. My hands were shaking, and drops of sweat crawled slowly down my cheeks. In three seconds I'd reach them. In two I'd have made my move.
Three.
Two.
I shot forward, dissipating my shield charm with one slash of my wand arm. Al and Aleksandra turned, twin expressions of surprise on their face. I ignored Aleksandra, hurtling towards Al. His expression evolved into horror, and his arms instinctively rose over his body -
It was too late. I slammed into his chest, my weight propelling him into the large scarlet box behind him. I vaguely registered Aleksandra's harsh, surprised laugh from behind me. He disappeared, his hands still scrabbling at the air in front of him. I felt a pang of guilt; hopefully I hadn't just committed him to some nasty fate. What if he was now trapped inside the box as well?
Numberita didn't have time to agonize over it; my Beater Senses tingled, and I ducked just in time to avoid a searing flame hex.
I scrambled back to my feet and flung a quick Stupefy. She dodged it clumsily, Green's large form stumbling into the silver box to her right. She wasn't used to the new body; I could use that to my advantage. I narrowed my eyes, calculating the best route to victory.
I slashed my wand diagonally, sending a fresh wave of searing silver light hurtling towards her. Using the bright light as a distraction, I quickly cast a quick Glacius charm. The icy spell struck her straight in the face, spreading frigid, blue crystals across her cheeks.
She hissed, her hands automatically going to her face.
"N-no," she garbled, but her voice sounded odd, half-high, half-low. Her hands flickered again, white-blue runes flashing angrily on her skin. I stared, horrified.
She snarled, her eyes squeezing shut and the runes flickering erratically across her fingers, her hands, her head.
"Eihwaz," she shrieked. The runes glowed red, and I surged forward, for she was no longer an enemy but a young girl who looked like she was dissolving right in front of me-
She sank to the ground, her body jerking as the ice crept down her throat, spreading white-blue tendrils down the neck of the bright pink shirt. The runes began to spin, some lifting off of her skin and peeling away.
"Eihwaz," she said again, but this time it was less forceful, and her voice was lower. Frightened, yes. But it no longer sounded like it belonged to a young girl. It was rougher, older. It sounded like Green's.
She let out another choked sound, and my heart ached at the obvious pain she was suffering.
I cursed my helplessness; I knew nothing of Runes. "Eihwaz," she choked out. The runes were red again, angrily convulsing on her skin. They looked like they were tearing each other apart, and with each rune that disappeared her voice grew softer.
I swallowed. Then, lifting my wand with sweaty fingers, I murmured tentatively, "Eihwaz." Nothing happened. I frowned. I was sure I'd gotten the pronunciation right. Why hadn't it worked?
Aleksandra wasn't speaking anymore. Twelve runes still throbbed weakly, scattered across her temples and over her collarbones.
What would happen once all the runes disappeared?
I crept forward cautiously, kneeling down so that I was eye level with her still form. She convulsed every seven seconds, groaning slightly. I reached out a tentative hand, my fingertips hovering over her tensed face.
A loud popping noise came from behind me, followed by a muffled curse.
I turned. Al was sprawled on the stone ground, a thrashing scarlet bird trapped underneath his arms. The phoenix! The bird squawked indignantly before slipping between his arms, leaving three long feathers on the ground.
Al cursed again, looking up at the phoenix. The phoenix chittered, flitting in the air above us. Then he looked down, his eyes settling on me. His eyes narrowed. I froze; oh no. I had repeated the same mistake I'd made back in sixth year. Al hated having things kept from him (he was not the kind of person for a surprise party...then again, neither was I. I liked warning before being shoved into situations with excessive balloons).
"I'm going to assume that there was some valid reason that you shoved me without warning," he said levelly. I nodded hurriedly, relief flooding my body.
Then his eyes slid down once more, and he frowned when he saw Aleksandra's - er, Green's - body.
"What happened?" he said, walking forward briskly and kneeling to examine her.
"Not sure. I cast a Glacius and I think the ice reacted poorly with the runes binding her to Green's body," I said, moving aside to give him room. I bit my lip; was I going to be responsible for another death? How many people would I accidentally kill?
Al frowned, glancing up at me.
"Hey. I doubt the Glacius caused this. This was an unnatural spell that was bound to dissolve. Green was probably fighting her, and the excessive physical activity didn't help matters," he said. I nodded slowly.
There were still eight runes left on her forehead. The runes were now a vivid green. This was odd; I'd seen them turn blue, white, and red...but never green. What did that mean? A tendril began appearing on her left temple, the beginnings of a rune starting to imprint onto her skin.
What…? She was unconscious; there was no way she could have cast another incantation. So how did that rune appear?
Al froze, his eyes glued on the rune.
Then he was moving, his arm whipping around to push me back. My heart raced again, Numberita coming to the same conclusion that he had a mere split second before.
We weren't alone.
An eerie, grating laugh echoed through the chamber, multiplying as the sound waves ricocheted off of the stone walls. My blood stilled, my hands shaking uncontrollably as I remembered glowing eyes and jagged teeth and fear -
Al took my hand, wrapping his fingers firmly around mine. I stepped closer to him, grateful for the contact. I wasn't alone, I reminded myself. I had Al. We carefully edged to the side of the chamber, keeping our backs to the wall.
A bulky, monstrous form leaped from the shadows at the far end of the cave.
Greyback.
I whimpered, shrinking back against the wall. He was staring at me, his thin lips pulling back to reveal reddened teeth.
He was back. Merlin, this was my nightmares manifested. I couldn't move, couldn't speak, couldn't breathe and he was here and I was helpless -
"Hello, little one," he whispered. He tipped his head back and sniffed slowly, making a show of drawing the air greedily into his nostrils.
"I smell your fear," he continued. Then he leaped forward fluidly, advancing the eight meters between us in a mere second.
"BOO," he shouted, snapping at the acrid air mere centimeters away from my nose. Al snarled, flinging an angry red curse at the werewolf. Greyback laughed, leaping away easily.
"Little boy thinks he's a man," he said. I frowned, a small spark of anger kindling in my frozen stomach. I clung desperately to that anger, willing myself to speak. I opened my mouth slowly, my lips cracking, and said, "Says the animal."
He growled, dropping to all fours as his eyes narrowed to slits. I swallowed, then continued brashly, "How'd you even get here? You don't have opposable thumbs, do you?"
Al jerked beside me, a strange, half-strangled laugh bursting from his lips. He looked as surprised as I did at the sound, and he shrugged helplessly at me before returning his gaze to Greyback.
Yup, he was angry now. Sure, I might have just sealed our quick deaths, but at least I'd regained some modicum of thought.
I stepped away from the wall, raising my wand carefully.
"We beat you once, we'll beat you again," I said confidently. He snarled again, pacing forward.
"Now, now. Patience," came a soft voice from the inky darkness.
Great. How many people were hiding back there? And why were none of these people Aurors?
A significantly smaller form slipped out, revealing a hooked nose and gnarled fingers. Ragnuk. My eyes, however, dropped from the goblin to linger on the pale, knotted wand he grasped.
I hissed, sucking a gasp of air between my gritted teeth. The Elder Wand.
Ragnuk grinned, displaying the wand carefully between his pale fingers.
"Took me years to find it," he said offhandedly, gazing worshipfully at the slim wand. Then he looked up, fixing me with his small, beady eyes.
"Funny, dead wizards do not make good guardians." His gaze drifted upwards, his thin slash of a mouth widening when he saw the phoenix flying aimlessly above.
"Good, you've released the phoenix for us," he said. He paused.
"Ah, well, I'm afraid I'm going to have to prove the veracity of my prior statement once more," he said, his eyes glinting.
Greyback laughed, a terrible, grating noise that made dread flood my body.
Then he leaped, his claws outstretched and glinting in the erratic, flame-colored light reflecting off of the phoenix's feathers.
I yelled, falling backwards to avoid his sharp claws. Al dove in the opposite direction, his face pale. Merlin. Merlin Merlin Merlin -
"Dead wizards do not make good guardians," I heard Ragnuk say dryly.
The phoenix shrieked, a high, keening noise that momentarily sent Greyback to the ground. I took the opportunity to check on Ragnuk's movements; he was slowly drawing the bird in with a silver lasso, humming quietly to himself.
He caught me watching and shrugged.
"Dead wizards do not make good guardians."
Author Note: ahhh I know it's been forever and I am sorry for the delay, but this has honestly been the only decent chunk of free time that I've had in weeks. YOU GUYS ARE ALL SO AWESOME. SERIOUSLY. THANK YOU. The great majority of you has been absolutely wonderful. You guys are the ones who make me motivated to put aside sleep and write! Anyway, according to the text (not the movie), Harry never broke the Elder wand. He hid it in Dumbledore's tomb; I am following this version.
As another side note, I have a tumblr now! Same url as my penname here. Feel free to ask questions/submit fic prompts.
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