A/N: Last one! Sean vs. Aemilia...and don't think I won't kill Aemilia or Draco even. Everyone is fair game in my stories.
~43 You Got Me Ringing Hell's Bells
I reached the grounds late in the afternoon, though, it didn't seem that way. The storm had darkened the sky and it could have just as easily been midnight. The rain had drenched my body but I didn't really care. I slowed my pace as I made my way back to the dark castle. The only light I could see emanated from the Great Hall. I knew that Sean was waiting for my return. I heaved open the doors as quietly as I could and tip-toed to the entrance of the Great Hall. All the teachers were locked away in the corner and the students were being held at their house tables. Sean was sitting on the head table, looking bored, and tapping several wands against his head. Next to Sean and chained to the ground were Draco, Julian, Blaise, and Jordan.
"Where is she?" Sean yelled.
Julian and Blaise glared at the demon.
"She's probably long gone by now. You worthless sac," Julian spat.
Sean jumped up from the table and smacked Julian across the face. I came out from my hiding spot and jumped onto the Slytherin table, "Hey!"
Sean turned and a smirk crept across his face, "Aemilia! Glad you could join us!"
"Really? Because I'm not."
"What? You rather leave all your friends to die? Well, now that you're here, they might not have to," he hopped on the table again.
"I know what you're playing at, Sean," I glared.
"Do you now? Enlighten me then," he amusedly asked.
I slowly made my way down the table fully realizing that all eyes were on me, "You're a washed up, spineless, wicked, freak of nature."
He smirk turned into an ugly frown and my smirk grew, "And I don't mean that in a good way."
"Quit the banter, Mia, and just kick his ass!" Julian shouted.
Sean rounded on him.
"Protego!" I chanted.
An invisible wall forced Sean back away from my friends and he sneered at me.
"Coming here wasn't that big of a lost cause. As you can see, I've learned a few more tricks from my wizarding friends."
"No matter, your magic is still no match to my ancestry."
I rolled my eyes, stopping just short of the end of the table.
"You're ancestry? If you haven't noticed, you're father's in Limbo and you're mother's dead. Some great ancestry you have there," I scoffed.
"Enough! I've had enough of your lip. My family was all powerful until you and yours showed up!"
"If me and mine hadn't shown up this world wouldn't be! Everything would be lost! I wouldn't exist! And you! Well, you would still be the piece of shit you are now."
Without a warning, Sean grabbed me by the throat and heaved me through the window, sending me down the cliff. I could hear cries from the students and above all Draco's voice calling my name. I fell until there was nothing but blackness.
When I came to, and yes, I came to, I knew I was in Hell, where in Hell I didn't know. I was on my stomach, and my vision and hearing were cloudy. As I adjusted to this new light and sound, I began to realize I was locked away in one of our cells. By the screams and incredibly dim light, I knew I was in the Ninth Circle. I pushed myself up into a kneeling position and looked around. Thankfully I was the only one in the cell but I didn't know how long I had been out.
"Ahh, her young highness has awakened."
I looked up at the demon who spoke in the cold voice.
"If you're going to kill me, Alastair, spare me your monologue," I rolled my eyes.
"Oh I'm not going to kill you. My master has other plans for you."
"Like what? His royal concubine?" I guessed.
He wickedly smirked, "Something like that."
I groaned, standing on my feet. A wave of heat passed over me and I suddenly felt rejuvenated. I felt confident and powerful. I glanced down at myself and saw that I was slightly glowing. Alastair strangely looked at me. Suddenly, the ground and my cage were shaking. There was a large crack of what sounded like thunder from up above. It was the day of the alignment and Hell was rising up into the Earth.
"Alastair, you have to let me out," I gripped the bars of my prison.
"I don't think I will."
"You don't understand, it's important you let me out. I need to get back to Earth."
"He promised me the throne once he's taken over Earth. You devil's would never allow a demon that high of a position. There's no way I'm letting you out," he said.
"If Sean goes through with the ritual there isn't going to be a throne, Hell, or you! If he sacrifices those people everything is going to be destroyed! Alastair, Sean is just using you! You have a great position! You punish the wicked in the lower circles! And Sean was my father's advisor! Those ARE important positions, without them we wouldn't be able to control Hell. Please, Alastair, if he does this there soon won't be a Hell," I persuaded.
He looked at me, skeptical of what I was saying.
"Everything has to have an opposite, Alastair. You know this and you know what will happen if the circle is broken. I'm not lying to you."
His disappeared from my view, but I soon heard the clank of the lock and the bars swung open. I stepped out and turned to the great torturer of Hell.
"He's assembled an army up there, Aemilia."
"Find as many high-levels as you can and go through the gate, it will take you straight to Hogwarts," I instructed.
"Hog-what?"
"It's where Sean is. Is Adrian still here?"
"No, Sean took him yesterday."
I cursed loudly, "Just get the demons. Open the stairs for me."
He pressed his long demon hand against the wall of the Ninth Circle and it materialized into a tall staircase.
"Hurry, Alastair!" I called back, running up the steps. I had reached the level of the Black Castle when I was forced to the ground by a soul. I scrambled around to see who had done it when I let out a grumble.
"Well, well, well. It looks like big bad Kenzie was finally sent to Hell. I'm just sad it wasn't me who did it," none other than Angela Marks drawled.
"Angela, you seem to have gotten your swagger back. It seems your little trip through the gate was as terrifying as you thought."
She stepped on my chest, "Quiet! That little spell was the most painful thing I've ever gone through."
"You haven't met Alastair then," I pensively thought.
"You're quite calm for someone who just got a one-way ticket to Hell. Now that I've got you where no one else can interfere, I'm going to make your stay here absolutely unbearable," she growled.
"Uh, not quite."
I grabbed her foot and sent her to the ground, "This is my turf now, Marks. My name's not Kenzie, it's Lucifer. I take it you've heard that name before. I'm the fucking queen of this place you were sent to, so you better start kissing ass."
I stomped hard on her face and threw her over the edge into the bottom of the pit.
"She will never learn," I scoffed gazing down.
I looked at the fork in the road before me. The left led to home and the right turned to the Gates of Hell. Longing to be back in the Black Castle, I turned right and sped through the flaming gates.
I was spit out on the edge of the woods behind Hagrid's hut. The Earth was flooded in an orange-ish hue and little spurts of flame popped up out of nowhere. The sky was still clouded over but it wasn't from the storm. Sean's congregation had been moved outside. Blaise, Julian, Adrian, and Draco were now chained with their hands above their heads against a large wall of stone. Several demons were posted around the perimeter, watching for either me or even Voldemort. Stealthily, I crept along the brink of the forest, being sure to keep an eye on Sean, who was toying with a couple of Gryffindors. I crept all the way behind the stone slab that chained my friends and family. Two demons stood between me and them. I picked up a small pebble and chucked it at one. He spun around and sprinted toward me. I lured him back into the forest where I threw him against a tree and snapped his neck. I snuck behind the other one and swiftly spun his head around.
Picking the locks binding the boys, I released them. I knew their chains slackened. Julian and Adrian glanced at each other. Julian subtly shook his head, it wasn't the right time to run. Sean's wicked cackle filled the air as he threw the poor students back into the crowd. I slinked around the edge of the forest again and integrated myself in with the body of students.
"Excuse me, 'scuse me," I said, making my way through the now stunned students.
Once people began to see that it was me, the way to Sean fell wide open. Whispers rose in the air and a few people shouted my name. As I reached the front of the pack, I saw Sean's smirk fade to a grimace.
"It's Aemilia!" another student shouted.
Draco's head snapped up and he stared at me with a mix of shock and relief. Julian and Adrian looked absolutely wretched as they gave me weak smiles. Their veins were coursing, for the time being, with black blood.
"Demon blood, Em," Julian told me. Demon blood is like poison for devils. It weakens the body and drains us of almost all our power. My eyes darted to Sean, who looked livid.
"How did you get out?" he demanded, teeth clenched.
I smirked, nonchalantly examining my wand, "My wonderfully developed skills of persuasion. Alastair couldn't resist, mate."
He let out a shriek of anger but then instantly regained his composure, "No matter, in a few minutes your power will be all but nothing."
"Au contraire my demonic adversary. See, your ancestors were smarter than you were."
He looked confused but then the realization of what I had done hit him.
"You didn't."
"Oh I did," I grinned, wickedly, feeling the potion working perfectly.
Sean raised his hand and his demon army closed in around the students.
"They're vulnerable to your magic attacks! Do not let them intimidate you! When the sky goes completely black, fight them!" I shouted to the denizens of Hogwarts.
I 'ripped' Blaise's wand from Sean's hand and it landed gently in my own. Draco's was at Sean's feet, snapped in two. The boys all broke away from their chains and I tossed Blaise his wand. Sean was engulfed in flames and when they receded he was in his full demon form. Shrieks of fright came from the students. Even Blaise and Draco jumped back, startled. Sean was also brandishing his demonic weapon, a long sword covered in jet black flames. It was a weapon meant for strength and destruction.
"If I can't kill you with brute strength, then I'll just kill what matters most to you," he growled.
What happened next happened so fast I didn't even see it. Sean had heaved his sword at Draco, but it was Julian who was lying on the ground with a large gaping wound in his chest. My body shook and in my anger I reverted to my full throttle devil form. Pointy ears, sharp fangs, claw-like nails, devilish horns, dark red eyes, massive black wings, the whole nine yards. I held up my right hand and used my left to 'unsheathe' my own weapon out of the air, a red-bladed katana with symbols of Heaven and Hell etched into the metal. Sean made to attack the small group attending my brother but I shot a flame in between them with my katana.
"This is between you and me, Sean," I barked.
"It wasn't my intention to kill you, Lucifer, but you've presented me with such a wonderful opportunity."
Like a wave of water, darkness bathed the ground in shadows. I knew now, I had exactly one hour to finish Sean off for good. The demons skirting the crowd jumped in and began the battle. Another loud crack consumed the air and another army of demons joined the fray. This time, though, it was Alastair and the cavalry. Sean slowly made his was to me and I cautiously brandished my weapon in front of me. He made the first move and we were quickly locked in a lightning fast battle of metal. Every move I made was parried and vice versa. We dodged mortals and demons as we fought.
"Aemilia!"
Out of the corner of my eye I could see Draco being backed into a corner by three lower-level demons. He was without a wand. Using my free hand, I blew a firewall in between me and Sean to distract him. I sprinted to Draco and slashed the pitiful demons down and brought him behind one of the double doors of the entrance. My chest heaved up and down from exhaustion. I pulled my wand from my pocket and handed it to Draco.
"I'm not going to need this."
He took it from me, still sort of stunned.
"Imagine that. Lucifer is trying to stop the apocalypse."
I cracked a smirk as did he.
"Go with Blaise and look after my brothers. I need to take care of Sean."
He nodded and ran off. I emerged from behind the door and blocked another one of Sean's own demon spells. I glanced around at all the injured people and took to the air. Sean was not far behind me when I stopped to hover. He crashed into me and I felt my katana slip through my fingers and fall to the ground. He evilly leered at me as I put my hands up to fight him bare handed. As he attacked me once again with his sword, I could feel my arms and hands getting cut. Still, Sean was releasing more energy swinging and missing than he was swinging and hitting. I took this opportunity to kick his sword out of his scaly black hands.
"Level playing field now, Sean."
"Not quite," he retorted, noticing the blood dripping from my hands.
He dove for me and we were locked in an airborne spar. Looking up, all the students could see was a cloud of black and silver light and a cloud of red and white light. Our limbs were a mess of intricate kicks and punches. Sean was on the war path now. He could sense I was tiring and threw punch after punch relentlessly. I felt a blow to my head and the senses were knocked out of me. I felt as if I was in slow motion. I could feel Sean leave but then seconds later I felt the force of a freight train plow into me, sending me straight into the ground.
The once soft ground felt like concrete on impact. My head was swimming as I struggled to turn on my back. In the air I could see a cloud of black smoke speeding toward the ground where I was lying. I saw a glimmer of red out the corner of my eye. It was my katana. As Sean sped closer I tried to crawl on all fours to my weapon. I stretched out my hand, sensing Sean was only seconds away. Sean crashed into the ground engulfing everything within a few feet in a dense smog of black smoke. The strangely thick smoke began clearing and everybody was holding their breath, intently watching.
My whole body ached as I came to. I coughed and blood dripped out of my mouth. It was silent all around me and I was beginning to wonder if I had died. But then I heard Jordan's muffled voice. I opened my eyes and Jordan's blurry form came into view.
"Aemilia, are you alright?"
Her voice sounded so distant. In a wave of sound, my hearing came back. The sound of fire and painful groans pounded my ears. Mechanically, I sat up and gazed at the solemn faces around me. With what strength I had left, I materialized into my human form. Using my black-blood, stained katana, I propped myself on one knee. Jordan offered her hand to me, but I waved her away. I stabbed the end of the sword into the ground and shakily pushed myself to my feet. A large gust of wind nearly blew my off my feet but that blast of wind blew away the shadows and Hell and the demons retreated back into the ground.
Greatly limping and dragging my blade behind me, I made my way to my brothers. I watched as the professors attended to the injured students, hoping that one of them would help me. My hopes weren't answered and I collapsed to my knees from exhaustion and injury. A strong pair of arms hoisted me up and carried me to my brothers. The strong scent of cologne mixed with something sweet told me that it was Draco. He gently set me down on the top of the stone steps. I looked at Adrian, who was being healed by Blaise. Both were sporting minor cuts and bruises. My gaze then turned to Julian.
He was propped against the wall of the castle and Madam Pomfrey was pressing a blood-soaked towel against his chest. I crawled to his side. I wanted to help him but I was almost afraid to touch him.
"Julian?" I quietly called him.
He opened his now glossy eyes and drearily watched me.
"You got him, Mia," he said grabbing hold of my hand.
I tightly gripped his hand back, "Why did you do that?"
He looked at Draco and then at me, "You deserve to be happy."
He brushed away my tears.
"So do you, Julian."
"Hey, with any luck there will be hot chicks where ever I'm going."
"That's not funny," I shook my head.
"It's a little funny."
He coughed and struggled to regain his breath, "Listen, Mia, I want you to know that I didn't mean what I said. About you being useless and nobody wanting you."
The tears now spilling down Julian's face only made me cry harder.
"And I want you to know I love you. I always have, Aemilia."
His breathing became increasingly irregular and his body shuddered. My sobs grew louder and I felt his hand on my cheek, "It'll be ok, don't cry baby sister."
I cracked a smile between my tears, "Only by a few minutes."
"Still..."
He coughed violently and looked up at Draco.
"Come here, Draco."
Draco knelt down on Julian's other side.
"Take care of my sister, Draco. Promise me you'll always make her happy and always take care of her."
"I will. But..."
"You promised."
Julian pressed his hand against Draco's chest. Julian's hand glowed bright gold and the light spread from his hand to Draco's entire body. The light faded and Julian looked at me one more time before taking a final breath. Draco reached out and closed Julian's eyes. I fell onto my brother's body, consumed with grief. Adrian sat nearby with his face buried in his hands. I felt Draco's hand on my shoulder. I backed away from my brother and when I turned to Draco, I gasped. He was now standing in Julian's devil attire, his ears and teeth pointed, and a devil's mark shining through his shirt. My eyes were wide as I stared at the mark on Draco's forearm where the Dark Mark used to be.
"He's turned you into one of us."
- x -
Admiring the vast enchanted ceiling, I stood alone in the Great Hall. The sound of excited students echoed distantly in the Entrance Hall. It was the end of the term and time to go home. And boy did I want to go home. Still, I couldn't help but feel like I was going to miss this place.
Julian's dying wish was for me to be happy. So, knowing that Draco was the only thing that made me truly happy, Julian willed his power to Draco, transforming him into a devil, something I never thought was possible. After Sean's attempt at Judgment Day, the professors contacted parents and the castle was soon filled with anxious parents. Dumbledore gathered all the parents and teachers, and they agreed to complete the last month of classes. I even attended a couple just for kicks, but it wasn't the same without Julian.
"Aemilia."
I turned around and smiled at Blaise and Jordan.
"We wanted to say good bye before we went down to the train."
"I'd think you were mad if you didn't," I chuckled.
They smiled and Jordan stepped forward to give me a hug, "Thank you for everything, Aemilia. If it wasn't for you, I don't think Blaise and I would be together."
"You don't give yourself enough credit."
She leaned in so Blaise couldn't hear, "He's taking me to meet his parents."
She beamed at me and looked back at Blaise, "Aemilia, I know you're father and I had a deal but with Blaise now..."
"I'll take care of it, Jordan, don't worry."
She nodded and smiled again.
"Go on, Jordan, I'll meet you down there," Blaise told her, kissing the top of her head.
Jordan left the Great Hall, waving back at me.
"Well, thanks for making my last year at Hogwarts interesting, to say the least."
I laughed and he wrapped me in a tight embrace.
"I never would have made it this year without you, Blaise," I sincerely told him.
"Stop, you're going to make me cry. But, I'll miss you too."
He gave me a peck on the cheek, "Now, make sure you keep that Hell of yours in order because when Jordan and I get down there, we want nothing short of a warm welcome."
"No pun intended I'm sure," I chuckled.
"Of course not," he grinned.
He started away from me but turned just before passing through the doors, "Oh and Em, have fun," he said with a wink and a cheeky smirk.
I laughed and turned back, staring up at the ceiling again. The sounds of the students eventually died out and the hall was filled with silence.
"So I met this girl...months ago, on the train to Hogwarts. From the moment I saw her, I knew she was different."
I smirked and glanced over my shoulder at Draco.
"Just how different?" I asked.
Hands in his pockets, he meandered over to me.
"Well, at first I thought she was only different in attitude and personality. I fell in love with her," he explained stepping in front of me.
"At first?" I egged him on.
"Well, she told me she was immortal and that she was the woman who took care of me when I was only four. I thought she was lying to get rid of me. I thought she didn't love me," he sighed.
"She loved you very much," I winked.
He smiled, "Turns out, though, she wasn't lying and she's actually Lucifer, ruler of Hell."
"Wow, fancy that," I teasingly marveled.
"But the amazing part is," he held the side of my still bruised face, "the best part is, I still love her and she still loves me."
He pressed his lips against mine and wrapped his arms around me. Draco pulled back and sat on one of the tables.
"I talked to my parents," he told me, breaking character.
"And?" I asked, joining him.
"Mum fainted, Dad's still in shock," he chuckled.
"You don't have to go, y'know. You have a choice."
"Eh, they'll get over it. Besides, I promised Julian I would," he teased.
I laughed, "Oh I see how it is."
He laughed as I pushed him.
"Nah, you know I want to," he told me, tucking my hair behind my ear.
He sighed, "So what now?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean with the Dark Lord and Sean," he clarified.
"Well...Voldemort's contract was that he brings the souls to Hogwarts. He didn't do it so I'm betting Alastair is having a good time right about now. And Sean's body disappeared after he was impaled by my sword so he's gone for good."
"What about...well-"
"Julian?"
He nodded, regretting he even asked.
"Pure, magnanimous self-sacrifice is instant salvation. And since Julian died on Earth, instead of in the eclipse like Sean, I would imagine he's probably having the time of his life in Heaven. Lots of pretty angels," I added, winking at Draco.
He chuckled, standing up, "Well, shall ring the bells and take the highway to Hell?"
I laughed, standing up as well, "You know those are two different songs right?"
"Give me a break, I'm not real big on the muggle trivia."
"Clearly," I mocked, laughing again.
I bent down and lit the floor on fire with a slight exhale of breath. I chanted a short phrase of Latin and the flames turned into a portal to Hell. I stood up and held Draco's hand.
"Are you ready?" I asked.
"Ready to spend eternity with you? I've never been more ready."
