AN: Thanks for all the lovely messages, Y'all are great! Won't be posting next week as I will be in jolly old England visiting my sweet brown eyed Brit, then we're on to Scotland to catch up with a sassy American friend who's studying there. Look out Great Britain! Here comes Tigertales! WoooHoooo!
THE TIES THAT BIND
Chapter 29
CAMLAAN PART II
Rolanda Hooch paced in front of the floo at McGonagall Manor. The heels of her black knee boots clicking on the polished English oak floor. Neither she nor Jean had heard from Dawn. The young woman should've been home from work by now.
Rolanda's piercing yellow eyes were ablaze with agitation. Running her hand through her spikes for the umpteenth time, she turned to the fireplace once more.
"Where are you Butterfly?"
Jean Granger entered the family room just in time to see her lover ask the fireplace the whereabouts of her errant youngest daughter.
"Is it going to answer you?" She was holding her cell phone.
Hooch turned, spying the phone in Jean's hands, "A talking fireplace? Even in the magical world that would be odd..." She nodded towards the phone, "Any luck?"
Jean shook her head, her shoulder length sandy brown hair bobbing with her movements, "No. Hermione doesn't answer, nor does Minerva." The lovely squib frowned, worry clearly etched across her face. Concern shining in her mocha eyes.
Hooch growled, "Something's wrong. I'm going to the castle!"
Jean moved towards the flying instructor, "I'm going too."
CLANG!!
Two swords crossed with deadly force.
CLANG!!
Two witches engaged in the eternal clash of good versus evil.
CLANG!!
Leta Pendragaon hissed into her opponent's sweating face, "I will claim your children as my own!" She stepped back swinging Excalibur for another attack.
Minerva McGonagall's emerald eyes narrowed to cat-like slits. A deep growl rumbling from her chest as she replied, "You shall claim nothing but your own death!" She raised the McGonagall family sword, blocking the thrust from Leta.
CLANG!!
Poppy Pomfrey stepped out of the floo in the Headmistress' office. Immediately she was besieged by the portraits.
"Stop that bloody racket!"
"What is that infernal device?"
"If I hear that one more time..."
The medi-witch shook her head in bewilderment, "What are you all going on about?"
'I kissed a girl and I liked it!'
The older witch's faded blue eyes widened at the sound, "What the bloody hell is that?"
The portrait of Severus Snape responded, "That thing on Minerva's desk!"
Poppy moved over to the huge, ornately carved mahogany desk that had belonged to countless headmaster's and headmistresses down through the centuries. The medi-witch saw a small, emerald colored rectangular box lying on the surface of the impeccably polished desk.
'I kissed a girl and I liked it!'
Rolling her eyes, she leaned over studying the object, "What do you do with it?"
The sound of someone coming through the floo startled her. She whirled around, her hand edging towards her wand. If the last few years had taught her anything, it was to be prepared.
Unnecessarily so in this case as Rolanda Hooch and Jean Granger stepped out.
Hermione's mother was holding a similar device, only her's appeared to be... open?
'I kissed a girl and I liked it!'
Jean frowned as she realized that Minerva's phone was on the desk and not with the witch.
"Shit."
Jean smiled at the ticked off statement made by her lover. She watched as Rolanda stalked over to the desk and picked up the phone, "Where is she?"
The portrait of Severus Snape sighed in exasperation, "If you dunderheads would ask me, I would tell you!"
The women turned in unison to face the painting.
Now that he had their attention, Severus smirked, "Your youngest daughter stumbled out of the floo looking like she'd been wrestling a hippogriff about two hours ago."
Jean's mocha eyes widened, "My God! What happened?"
Snape raised an eyebrow, "Apparently Draco Malfoy came to the clinic and kidnapped Hermione."
Hooch caught her lover as Jean's knees gave out.
Poppy moved to Jean's side, "He'd been Imperio'd by Candi Barr. He took her to Malfoy Manor. Apparently Miss Barr's mother is a Pendragon and bent on continuing the feud. I took both Draco and Narcissa to St. Mungo's while Minerva went off searching for Hermione."
Hooch raised a silver eyebrow, "What happened to Narcissa?"
"She was crucified."
Gasps could be heard throughout the immense office.
Jean slowly managed to get her legs back under her. They felt like jelly though, "Where are they?"
Poppy turned to gaze straight into the portrait of Severus Snape, "Camlaan."
Black eyes widened, "Oh Merlin."
"Do you know where it is?" Hooch questioned the former Headmaster.
Snape nodded and pointed to Minerva's bookcase, "Third shelf. The red book. Open it to page seventeen."
Hooch did as he bid, finding the required information. "I can get there."
"I'm going too!"
Hooch turned to her lover, "No. I must go alone. You need to take Poppy to the clinic. I have a feeling medical assistance will be needed." She pulled out her wand and stepped towards the floo. "Dumbledore asked me to keep an eye on them both and I'm not going to let them down." She pulled Jean into a deep kiss.
"I love you." Jean whispered as Hooch disappeared into the floo.
Dawn felt herself tugged down behind the platform that held the slumbering body of her sister. She found herself gazing into large golden eyes with a very stern expression glittering in their normally joyous depths.
"You's magic nots strong enough for fightings!" Izer scolded the young woman who'd come to mean a great deal not only his Mistress, but the elves of the Manor as well.
Dawn angrily hissed at the small creature, "I have to protect my sister!"
"We's doings thats!" Izer squeaked back. He reached out a claw and touched her cheek, rubbing a particularly large sooty smudge from her face, "Elf magics is different. Not the same's as wizard magics."
She had noticed that when a spell managed to get through Dumbledore, Candi and George, it would fizzle and spark along an invisible barrier. The young woman reached up and touched her sister's hand which was at the edge of the platform she lay on.
"I can touch her!"
Izer blinked. For being so smart, humans could be incredibly thick at times, "Is your's love."
Dark mocha eyes filled for a moment, Dawn couldn't believe it was that simple.
Love?
The most powerful force in the universe.
CLANG!!
Minerva was sweating profusely. Yes, she found that she could maneuver way better than Leta seemed to be able to, but... sustained combat such as what she was engaging in sapped her strength. Her belly stung from the slice she'd received early in this battle. Her arms ached from hefting the heavy family sword. Her eyes burned from the acrid smoke of spent spells and flying debris.
She had to find a way to end this.
CLANG!!
Dumbledore fired another spell at the Malfoy Funkiphyle. The blasted thing just wouldn't stay still long enough for him to get a proper bead on it. He noticed George wasn't having much luck either. Candi did manage to connect with some kind of orange plasma-like conjuring.
The funkiphyle screeched it's outrage at loosing it's arm.
Then promply grew two more thus doubling it's spell casting ability.
"Shit."
Dumbledore grimly agreed with the young woman's statement, "Shit indeed." He muttered as he found himself knocked to the ground by the concussion of a rather nasty bit of exploding purple lightning bolt.
Dawn watched Dumbledore go down from her spot behind the granite slab. She couldn't believe that a thing made out of... dirt was besting three wizards. One of them supposedly the most powerful wizard in the world! Leaving the relative safety of the granite slab, the young woman crawled to the elderly wizard's side.
Dumbledore opened his eyes. Oh that hurt! He turned his head to see young Dawn making her way towards him, "No!" He wheezed, coughing up a bit of blood.
The young woman saw the blood on his lips and her dark eyes widened. No one harms Santa! Her fingers found a good sized stone. Just perfect for throwing at dark creatures made out of dirt. With that in mind, she stood and threw the stone with all of her might at the funkiphyle.
It's grotesque face twisted in an obscene parody of a grin as it batted the incoming stone away like an insect. It didn't see where the stone went though...
...Leta Pendragon was in mid swing with her deadly weapon when a stone hurtled into her neck, "Aaackk!" She wailed, swinging wildly and catching Minerva just above her left knee.
The Headmistress' leg buckled and she went down on one knee.
Izer felt Little Sister leave the security of his and Doodleberry's protection spell. He tried to extend his magic outward to encompass Dawn, but his body had reached it's limit. Sweat was pouring off his tiny body and his heart felt like it was going to explode. Trembling, he poured his remaining reserves into his effort.
Doodleberry's large eyes widened as he felt his father's struggle. He knew Little Sister had left their circle but knew he wasn't strong enough to widen his magic. His Papa was though and the young elf felt his father desperately struggling to maintain the spell.
Suddenly the young elf was disconnected from the link. He fell to his knees, looking up in confusion. He could hear gasping on the other side of the slab that Lady-Miss was lying on. He carefully crawled to the other side, "Papa?"
Izer had collapsed from the strain.
"PAPA!!!"
Minerva felt the collapse of her elf and realized in an instant that Hermione was vulnerable. She was not going to let this... this evil harpy destroy what Hermione had unselfishly given her.
No.
This was going to end.
She stepped back from her opponent whirling her sword in a figure eight pattern. She spun left, then switched up and turned to the right.
Leta was caught off guard and moved her body to the left, thinking that was the direction Minerva would parry from. She wasn't prepared for the grace and agility of the animagus. Nor the abrupt change in direction. That mistake left her right side open.
A mistake the Headmistress took full advantage of. Slicing through chain mail under Leta's arm.
The blonde witch howled her pain as blood spurted down her side. Coating her golden armor bright crimson.
Once again blood stained the verdant fields of Camlaan.
Hooch apparated at the top of a small hill overlooking the scene of the battle. She could see a stone platform with a body resting on it. Standing in front of the slab was a red-haired man she recognized as George Weasley. Next to him, firing blast after blast was a shapely blonde woman.
Hooch realized that she was seeing Candi Barr defending Hermione. Quite adeptly as she observed. Off to the side, she saw Dumbledore down on the ground and Dawn Granger standing over him hurling rocks at a...
What the hell was that?
A creature that appeared to be comprised of dirt, grasses and twigs but it had long straggly blonde hair. It was the ugliest bugger she'd ever laid her yellow eyes on.
Those same piercing eyes glanced further up the field and saw Minerva....
Sword fighting with a blonde witch in golden armor. Armor that was riddled with dents, smeared with dirt and now glistening with blood. The blonde witch was swinging her sword wildly at the ebony haired witch.
The ebony haired witch was swinging back. Not wildly, but with precise blows. Blows designed to destroy.
Minerva McGonagll was not messing around. She was out for blood.
It was magnificent.
Hooch never realized that her friend was as talented a fighter as she appeared to be. The flying instructor reached into her pocket and pulled out her shrunken Firebolt. Re-sizing it, she climbed aboard. First she wanted to take out the... dirt monster. Then she'd help Minerva.
If she needed it.
Leta Pendragon took a tiny moment to look over to where her daughter was. Her expression darkened as she saw Candi standing beside George Weasley defending Hermione from the Abraxus Malfoy Funkiphyle. It was obvious where her daughter's true loyalties lay and it certainly wasn't with her mother.
It was with the red haired man.
Seething, she swung her sword at Minerva connecting with another CLANG!, then she whipped Excalibur in the direction of the two young people and yelled, "Crucio!"
George was enveloped in the blood red light of the torture curse!
Hooch's yellow eyes widened as she watched George Weasley go down, writhing on the ground, "Oh hell no!" She growled, pulling her wand out and firing a mighty blast at Leta Pendragon.
Bolts of yellow fire erupted from her wand.
Guiding her broom into a power dive, Rolanda's face took on a maniacal expression.
Dumbledore slowly rose from the ground. He could feel young Dawn's arm around his waist assisting, "You should be under cover." He scolded gently, his normally serene voice laced with pain.
The young woman gazed into hazy blue eyes, "Come. You need to get to cover."
They were lucky that the attention of the dirt monster and Leta Pendragon seemed to be elsewhere at the moment.
Dawn struggled to get the elderly wizard to the relative safety of the slab. Gently propping him against it, she checked to see if he were bleeding.
His brightly colored robes were torn and dirt streaked and there was a huge tear down his left leg. Spying the pale skin of Dumbledore's thigh, Dawn couldn't help but gently tease him, "You're as white as a ghost and look at that skinny chicken leg!"
She felt a weak cuff to the back of her head.
Candi looked up and saw a spiky haired witch streaking towards the fray in the most insane dive she'd ever laid her eyes on. She saw that her mother had also seen the witch and was swinging Excalibur to the sky. Raising her wand, Candi did something she never thought she'd do.
She hexed her mother.
The surge of reddish energy slammed into Leta and knocked her to her knees. Surprised grey eyes connected with resolute blue. A sword pointed at a raised wand and energy released from both. Colliding in a spectacular display of red and yellow fire and plasma.
At that moment Hooch transfigured the front of her broom into a V-shaped shield that stretched over her head. Dropping her chin stubbornly, yellow eyes narrowed. Wand at the ready, Rolanda urged her broom faster aiming straight for the funkiphyle. The dirt creature was firing rapid shots at the granite slab, slowly eroding Dumbledore's weakened defense.
The elf magic had disappeared.
Hooch's eyes beheld Doodleberry cradling a limp Izer in his arms. One tiny clawed hand clasping the slab. A glow emanating from the young elf's hand.
"Take that you filthy, shit smelling bugger!" Hooch screamed as her broom plowed straight through the funkiphyle blowing it into thousands of nasty pungent bits. As she whooshed by, the flying instructor whirled around and yelled, "Incendio!" A burst of fire shot from her wand, igniting the bits of the Malfoy Funkiphyle before it could regroup.
George Weasley rose unsteadily to his knees. His blue eyes catching Hooch as she streaked by, "Atta girl Hooch bird." The sizzle of magical energy caught his attention. Gasping, he saw Candi and Leta engaged in a deadly maelstrom of crackling fire and lightening.
He heard the rasp of labored breathing behind him. Turning, he ran behind the slab to find Dawn caring for a badly injured Dumbledore. A few meters away, Doodleberry was cradling his father. Great tears sliding down the tiny creature's heart broken face.
The red haired man realized that Hermione was unprotected, so raising his wand he cast a shield charm over his friend.
Leta knew she was beaten. With the destruction of the Malfoy Funkiphyle, the odds shifted mightily in McGonagall's favor. There was no way she was going to win. Especially now that her daughter had obviously defected to the enemy. Blocking another thrust from the seemingly tireless Headmistress, the blonde witch stepped back saying, "If I can't have them, then no one shall!"
She spun on one foot and pointed Excalibur at Hermione.
"Avada Kadavra!"
As writhing green energy flashed towards the slab that held the body of Hermione McGonagall several sets of eyes widened in paralyzing fear.
A yellow hawk-like set couldn't believe that Leta Pendrgon could be that evil. She rolled her broom downwards, forcing all the speed she could get from her Firebolt and knowing that it wouldn't be enough.
A large golden pair of eyes blinked anxiously and a single clawed hand glowed white. A tiny sheen of magic draped itself over the body of Lady-Miss reaching deep into her womb, tickling younglings into action.
Two sets of blue eyes, one set peering out of an ancient bearded face. Tears forming at the thought of the world being deprived of such a brilliant young witch. The other set belonging to a man with hopes for the future. Hope that lay with the shapely young woman fighting by his side. Hope that lay with the slumbering young doctor on the stone slab. He fired a shielding spell at the advancing green energy knowing it wouldn't be enough.
A pair of deep mocha eyes smouldering with anger. A frying pan raised in defense. A feeble one at best, but Dawn Granger cared little about anything except protecting the life of her sister and the lives of her unborn niece and nephew.
Lastly, an emerald gaze blazing rage at the selfish stupidity of an entire bloodline. A bloodline that had been nothing but trouble to her clan for centuries. A family who even now sought to inflict as much sorrow and pain as it could.
Minerva roared her rage at all the Pendragons down through the ages, "AhhhhRoooaarrrr!!! Nooooooo!!!"
The Headmistress rose tall upon her feet and raised her weapon high over her head. Swinging with all her might, she cried, "Father help meeee!" And drove her sword into the earth.
A deep rumbling erupted from beneath the feet of those present. Then a rippling effect washed outward from where the sword was embedded. A great cracking sound could be heard as the earth split in a v-shape starting from the sword itself and splitting outward.
One arm racing faster than the eye could see towards the granite slab that held the future of the line of Merlin. The other arm streaking towards a dumbstruck Leta Pendragon. The ground cracking, opening wider as it neared her feet.
Puffs of smoke and the hiss of steam belched out of the fissures causing Leta to back pedal, "What is this magic?" She turned her head to look at the group of people protecting Hermione only to see a blinding white light envelope the pregnant witch. The light seemed to rise straight from her womb. Another light, this one golden in color leapt from the young witch's chest. The two blinding bursts of energy twisted around each other to form a tiny tornado-like construct.
All of this seemingly happening in slow motion with the approach of the green Avada Kadavra energy, rapidly drawing nearer.
As the light twisted above Hermione, Minerva felt a powerful tugging in her chest. A deep, wildly powerful feeling of pure love pulled great tears from emerald orbs. She could feel Hermione's magic. She could feel Hermione's love.
And she could feel her children.
In her mind's eye, she saw two green eyed, ebony haired faces beaming out their joy at mummy and mother.
Desperate to protect her family, the animagus in her acted on the pure instinct to protect her mate and cubs. Reaching deep into her soul, doing something she'd only hours ago screamed at Albus saying she couldn't do. She found her bonding with the Witch of the Light.
She found her reason for living.
Using a power she didn't even know she possessed, Minerva McGonagall hurled this... this... love at the approaching deadly curse.
Emerald fire burst from Minerva's fingers, from her chest, from her very soul. Joining the swirling silver and gold above Hermione. Twisting, writhing, crackling. Whipping outward, causing a powerful howling wind that caused the Avada Kadavra to bounce off the mass of energy and rebound back to the caster.
Leta Pendragon.
The blonde witch gasped in horror as she watched her own curse come to claim her. Beneath her feet, the ground split and an unearthly scream filled her ears.
Rising from the depths of hell itself was a bubbling, gurgling mass of bloody flesh and bone. Hundreds of body pieces and bits spilling up to claim her. The countless victims, the unnamed dead and the tyrants themselves. Leta's blue eyes widened in terror as she recognized the faces of Uther Pendragon, Arthur, Mordred, her father... even David. They had come to claim her.
As the green waves of the killing curse washed over her, the fleshy demon of many faces wrapped numerous tentacle-like appendages around the witch ripping her body to pieces.
As quickly as the fissure had opened, it closed. It's job was done. It had rightfully claimed the soul of one who dared dwell in darkness. Of one who placed jealousy, hatred and greed ahead of the light.
"Leta Pendragon went to hell." George Weasley muttered as he watched the fissure seal itself and disappear.
Hooch landed her broom next to the slab, staring at the slumbering witch. She saw that everyone else was clustered around Hermione also.
Well, not everyone...
She looked up to see Minerva standing, still as a statue, gazing at where Leta once stood.
"Minerva?" Hooch called gently.
The ebony haired witch slowly turned her head in the direction of the others. She felt dizzy, light headed. Her body screamed it's pain in a hundred places. Her hands were shaking uncontrollably and her knees suddenly buckled. She felt the darkness closing over her consciousness as thought, reason and logic slipped away. Her body crumpled to the ground. One hand reaching for her wife, the other touching the sword that had protected all that was good and right in the world centuries ago.
Once again the sword of the McGonagall Clan had prevailed.
But at what price?
-to be continued
AN: Never eat a banana before you go to bed. If you do, you too shall dream of sword fights, magic and certain emerald eyed defenders of truth, justice and the magical way!!!
This one is for you Ali... Hooch is one tough chicka!
