I do not own Harry Potter, the Wizarding World, or any canon characters.
Defiance of Fate
Chapter 4 – Angelus
Tap. Tap.
She blinked, her vision slowly focusing. For a moment she had no idea if she was awake or asleep. Everything felt muted somehow. She shook her head, trying to shake away the cobwebs cluttering her mind. She found herself sitting on a stool, a brush in one hand, staring at a blank canvas.
"I hope I am awake, otherwise this is an odd dream," she said softly to herself.
Tap. TapTap.
She looked around, looking for the source of the tapping sound. She gasped and dropped her brush, rushing to the window. With a grunt, she pushed the window open, letting the miffed looking snowy owl flutter inside. "Sorry Hedwig," she said. "I wasn't really there."
Hedwig hooted and nipped her finger but then nuzzled her hand. The owl held her leg out and the woman undid the tie, taking the envelope with shaking hands. She sat down on the ground and opened the envelope while Hedwig fluttered to her shoulder and leaned against her face, also peering at the letter.
Dear Luna,
Thank you for the letters! They've really helped me relax and give me something to look forward to. You kind of lose the days out here. You're aware of time passing but the actual days don't matter as much. I wake up, treat people, do my duties, and the occasional skirmish or battle breaks things up. So it's really nice to have your letters.
I'm glad Hedwig found her way to you. I know you'll take good care of her for me. I imagine she might be still a little cross with me. I explained to her why I couldn't take her and that she can't come looking for me and while I know she understands, she's not happy about it. Tell her I've avoided using owls technically while here. She's still my number one owl and friend.
How are you doing? I know you said that your trip went well and I'm glad it did. I'm worried about you though. Not that I don't think you can take care of yourself of course. Just don't want you isolating yourself. Make sure you get out some and see a few people. There are others that care about you too, don't forget that.
I'm doing okay. I haven't been directly involved in any of the skirmishes aside from extracting others. The encounters are fairly separate and we haven't had a major encounter since the first battle. The only thing I'm in danger of is heatstroke if I'm not careful or Blaise's needling. You know how he can get. He sends his regards.
Luckily, I've made some acquaintances with people from other units. The French unit has been very kind to me. You'd like Sophie. She loves charms and is very good at them, not to mention she's Fleur's cousin. Dylan also has a passion for magi-zoology. It's nice chatting with healers from other countries too, sharing tips and tricks as well as trading stories.
Give Hedwig a hug for me please. Not too much bacon though. Who am I kidding? She'll get it one way or another.
Your friend,
Harry.
P.S. I'm doing my best to keep your promise.
Luna closed her eyes and pressed her face against the letter. She felt tears growing and hurriedly pulled the letter away to prevent her tears from soaking the parchment. Hedwig hooted dolefully and the owl rubbed her head against Luna's cheek. She took the owl in her arms and hugged her. "I'm glad you came to me," she whispered into the owl's feathers.
Hedwig cheeped and gently bit Luna's nose.
"Were there a lot of letters for you to deliver to others for him?" Luna asked as she scratched Hedwig's chest.
Hedwig hooted three times.
"Three? That's good. Probably the Tonks and Hermione. Did the Ministry try to prevent you from taking the letters?" She smiled at Hedwig's angry hiss. "Good. They learned the first time." She eventually rose and took Hedwig to her perch. She took the envelope and tied it around the perch and Hedwig sat on it, fluffing around it possessively. The owl looked at the desk beside her, at the quill and ink.
"Not now," Luna said. "Maybe in a little bit." The witch walked slowly back to her stool and canvas, scooping up the dropped brush. She closed her eyes after sitting down, trying to marshal her thoughts, looking for inspiration.
A memory made her smile softly and her brush was moving before she opened her eyes. She dipped the bristles into green paint and she started applying the brush to the canvas.
-0-
"Dad! You should be resting!" Dora scolded.
Ted Tonks snorted. "Opening a door and walking about isn't going to do me in," he said, ignoring Dora's look. He waved his wand and took control of the bags that floated by Dora's side. "I'm fine Nym, don't listen to what your mother says."
"I'm telling her you said that," Dora said as she followed him inside. She huffed as he refused to pass the bags over and began putting things away with more flicks of his wand.
"Go for it," he said. "She'll waggle her finger at us but that's about it. Really Dora, I'm fine. I have to exercise and use my magic."
"I know. I just worry. You get tired faster."
"That's more from age than injury," he said lightly. He patted her shoulder as she stared at his leg, or where it was. "Alastor had it far worse than me." Ted shook his prosthetic leg, "Mine is a little nicer though I'll admit."
"Mad Eye was a crazy tough bastard," Dora said thickly.
"That he was," Ted agreed. "How's work?"
Dora sighed. "It's been alright. We're still shorthanded of course so a little hectic. But there seems like there's less trouble all around so that's helped a lot. We have a big group of recruits though so that's good honestly. It'll be a while before they're trained up to be proper Aurors, but better than nothing."
They heard a fire come to life in the hearth. "Harry sent a letter!" Andromeda Tonks cried as she stepped through the Floo. She came running into the kitchen, trailing soot and ash behind her.
"Did you read it yet?" Ted asked eagerly.
"No I waited until now so we can read it together." She opened the envelope and started to read. Dora and Ted leaned in.
Dear Tonkses,
Hi everyone! Hope you are all doing well.
I'm doing fine, don't worry. I still haven't done anything rash, or stupid, as far as I know anyways. And no one has told me that I have either so I guess I'm doing it right. There's been a few more skirmishes since the last major battle but nothing dire. I'm happy to report that the UK unit is still going on strong aside from who we lost that first battle. I'm sure the news has broken back home by now about it.
Things between me and the unit have improved a little. Dawlish and his cronies still dislike me but most of the others have what Andi would call 'cool indifference' now. An improvement over 'sullen courtesy' let me tell you. Admittedly it doesn't seem like a big difference but at least they are nicer and don't sniff or sneer at me. Some even want to see me over Michael. Not everyone of course but I'll take what I can get. Blaise says hi to everyone except for Dora. He says hello to her instead. No, I don't know why.
Surprisingly I've been getting along with healers and medi-magicals from other countries well enough. Well, not all of them but they've all been pretty nice compared to what I'm used to. I got pranked the other day. I was talking with the American unit and at first it sounded like they still use leeches for bloodletting. Really had me going for a while before I realized they meant in some of their potions. We had a really good laugh. Also apparently there are leeches the size of a corgi somewhere called Louisiana and I swore to NEVER go there.
Make sure you are doing your physical therapy exercises Ted. I went through a lot of trouble finding and making them for you. I really didn't but I hope that thinking I did guilts you into keeping up with them. Most of the healers you see will tell me if you did or didn't keep up with them.
Please don't kill Sirius, Andi. I know you have the right more than anyone. Well, maybe not Amelia but still. If you do, make sure it's for a good reason and I don't count. Also remember I'm not there to dispose of the body and you know I'm the only healer you know that wouldn't ask questions so there.
Don't forget to eat properly Dora, and I mean balanced meals. No, not meals you can put on a balance. And yes, technically drowning all your veg in gravy does undo the purpose of eating the veg in the first place. Don't make me put you on a diet when I get back. I'll do it. And we will all suffer for it.
Thanks for the letters and I'm thinking of you all. Normally I'd write you all one but things have been busy for me with the skirmishes and I wanted to get you all a letter before the next post shipment. Hope that's okay.
Love,
Harry.
"I am a grown woman and if I want all my veg to swim in gravy, then I'll have all my veg swim in gravy," Dora said as she wiped a tear away.
Andromeda hugged her. "He is not wrong though. I cannot depend on any other healers to help me dispose of bodies well without question. I suppose Sirius lives, for now."
Ted smiled. "Well, at least he sounds okay. Spirits up and all that." He looked at Andromeda. "How are things at the Wizengamot?"
She sighed, clearly unhappy. "Stagnant. With the next wave of volunteers being trained, public outcry has faded somewhat. The older families are still fairly happy with how light they got off and the Minister is doing a decent job of keeping things appearing positive. We will need something to anger people and give us momentum. At the least right now we are still keeping the original volunteers relevant and unforgotten."
She rubbed her eyes tiredly. "There will be a large resupply soon. A next wave of people and material will be sent over and a friend of ours and his will be going to see him personally. She told me. We can put together a care package for him and rest well knowing he will receive it."
"That's good," Dora sighed. "I just hope he's staying safe."
-0-
Harry fell backwards, partially from throwing himself back and partially from the way the rock he had peeked over exploded. A hand grabbed him by the shoulder and dragged him back further. "Keep your fool head down you dumb bastard!" Blaise hissed.
"Are you okay?" Elliot Edgecombe asked.
Harry nodded after touching his face. "Yeah, thanks. Didn't get hit."
"You're the healer here, you get hit, we're fucked," Elliot grinned.
"I'll keep that in mind," Harry replied as he clambered back to his knees.
Blaise chanced another look around their cover. "Why do they always have the elevated position?" he complained. "Why can't we have the superior position for once?"
Squads from both sides of the war met by chance and a fierce firefight broke out. ICW command ordered reinforcement squads to go in. A UK squad had been on standby and Harry attached himself to them when he heard that there were reported casualties. When they arrived, he helped a few wounded that had been pulled back to the edge of the warzone and then followed after the squad.
Harry flicked his wand and a shield absorbed the hex that was aimed at Blaise. Another curse bounced off the shield. He peeked over the cover. "I think they're up there, on the outcrop."
"You're right," Blaise said. "Damn, they got line of sight on basically the whole field."
Harry gritted his teeth when he saw someone ahead of them cry out, struck by a spell. The ground exploded between them and he reluctantly forced down the desire to run out to them.
"Don't do it," Blaise said as if reading Harry's mind. "You'll get hit for sure and like Elliot said, we'd be fucked."
"I'd love to try and bring the outcrop down but we're really far away," Elliot mused. "And I'd be shocked if they didn't magically protect it."
"If you can give me a little cover fire, I can go do my job," Harry said. He pointed at a beleaguered group of magicals, hiding in a shallow hole they carved out. "They look like they're in bad shape."
"You say that like it's easy," Blaise groused.
Elliot raised himself a little higher, taking the landscape in quickly before falling flat to avoid a hastily cast spell. "I think we can accomplish multiple goals here. If you can keep their heads down long enough for us to move, I'll take a team close and we can undermine the outcrop. I bet they didn't extend the protections into the ground. That'll flush them out and Harry'll have a chance to heal that group over there."
"It's really not that easy," Blaise complained.
"Blaise, I've seen you hit a miniature bog chicken down the length of a pitch," Elliot said. "And that's without a staff."
"If you keep them down, I'll introduce you to a few French witches," Harry said.
"You should have led with that," Blaise sighed and rolled over. He hefted a long-carved ebony staff and laid it flat on the rock in front of them. He stared at the outcrop where the enemy spellcasters were. He aimed carefully and when one rose to cast, he whispered, "Terebrare."
The piercing curse, amplified by the staff, took the rising enemy wizard in the side, knocking him over. His comrades cried out in surprise and horror as they were sprayed with his blood. "I'd start running if I were you," Blaise said before he cast again, sending another enemy wizard falling over.
Elliot and the majority of the squad ran out, keeping low to the ground and wands at the ready. A few summoned shields to block incoming fire and they managed to reach the base of the outcrop. Their combined efforts robbed the foundation of stability and the rocky terrain fell over with a groan of terrestrial protest, scattering the enemy squads. A loud cheer emerged from the ICW forces and they increased their fire.
Harry dashed out, running left and right, never in a straight line. He flicked his wand, sending a boulder into the way of a spell and he dashed through the cloud of debris, wincing as he was hit by larger pieces. He purposely ran by the person that was hit in front of them and pulled them along with a stretcher spell.
The group of pinned soldiers saw him coming and made space for him in the hole they carved out. He dove in with the injured wizard, grunting when he collided with someone. "Sorry about that," he gasped as he gingerly got off them.
"No problem. We really must stop meeting like this however," Sophie said with a smile and a wince.
"Not too good for our health, no," Harry agreed. He quickly cast a wide diagnostic charm over everyone in the impromptu foxhole.
"Do not listen to her," Dylan said. "I for one am happy to see you on the field whenever. It means we will be cared for."
Harry chuckled. He waved his wand and a roll of bandages unraveled before him in the air. He cut it deftly with his wand and strands of it flew around like ribbons in the breeze. They wrapped around exposed wounds and the witches and wizards sighed with relief as the potion-soaked bandages healed. "It's nice to be wanted."
He looked over the wizard he rescued along the way. Foam poured from his wand, covering burned skin. "Sorry about the rough treatment," he said lightly as he continued to work.
"I've had worse," the wizard replied feebly. He blinked slowly. "I thought I was going to die out there."
"Not if I can help it," Harry said firmly. "Luckily the fire spell was just plain fire. Nothing dark or corrosive. When we get you back to base, you'll heal up nicely."
"Thank you," he whispered before Harry's next spell put him to sleep.
They all ducked when the ground shook around them. The enemy returned fire, incensed by the loss of their central position. Clouds of dust flew into the air and large gouges formed in the earth, a testament to the strength of the incoming spells. Harry kept his head down, healing as many injuries as he could.
"Ideas?" Sophie asked.
"Do not suppose waiting it out is an option," Phillipe joked.
"They are getting more accurate," Leena said. "I rather not stay here and let them continue practice."
"We are too close to make any walls," Dylan grumbled. "I tried earlier and they were destroyed before I could get them thick enough or protected enough."
"Too bad there is no good cover," Desmond said. "On approach or retreat."
"What if we made some," Harry said. "Conjure up some fog, blow it forwards?"
"They would be able to blow it back or disperse it," Sophie said. She frowned. "Unless we make a lot at once and send it forward at once."
"We can create some water, turn it into fog for volume, contain it until we have a lot, then let it go all at once," Harry suggested.
"We would need a lot of fog and considerable power to keep it contained in a small space before letting it expand," Leena said.
"If we work together, we can do it," Phillipe said. "Better than nothing."
Sophie pulled out her mirror and spoke rapidly in French. She held it to her ear, listening to the reply. "Captain said we can go ahead. Hopefully it will create a big enough distraction."
"Oh I can help with that," Harry said. "I'll add something to distract."
The squad and Harry began casting. With water creation charms, they filled the bottom of the foxhole. They began to convert the water into fog and Harry maintained a localized wind blast charm to keep the fog contained within the hole. It grew thicker and thicker. "Keep going," he said though his face was contorted from strain. "We want a lot."
"I think that is enough," Sophie said after a few more moments. The wind charm was having trouble containing all the fog. Wisps of inky black fog mixed with the wind and it was leaking out the edges. "Right, when Harry releases the wind blast, we all aim ours in the same direction and blow it towards the enemy. Beaumont, you and Allard escort Potter back with the wounded. Everyone else follow me and we will find a new position. Everyone has been given orders to aim and when they disperse the fog, we open fire. Ready?"
"Ready Sargent," they said tersely.
She spoke into her mirror and after a moment she nodded at Harry. "Now!"
He released the wind blast charm and the fog immediately went straight up, released. The others incanted together and their combined winds blew the thick fog towards the enemy. Harry cast a combination of charms into the fog and as the created fog bank spilled across the battlefield, it lit up with conjured lightning and thunder, the fog becoming a stormfront. A large shriek filled the air, a hunting screech magnified a thousand times. The sounds of immense flapping wings filled the air and the screech echoed from deep within the fog.
For a brief moment, the ICW forces were as frozen as the opposing one, all staring at the ominous fog bank and the sound of what possibly lurked within. Then orders were shouted by the ICW officers and the allied magicals fanned out to take position and aim while medics took the wounded back behind the lines.
"What the hell was that?!" Desmond yelled as he and Dylan ran behind Harry, keep them shielded from incoming fire.
"I was just thinking about a friend," Harry yelled back as he ran, carrying the injured wizard.
"Oh, one of Sophie's relations then," Dylan said.
"I'm telling her you said that," Harry laughed.
"Go ahead, hers are mine. I'm married to her sister and out of anyone else in the squad, I would know best about irritated Veela. I thought it sounded remarkably familiar."
They made it behind the lines and deposited the wizard among the other wounded. They were already being evacuated by medics back to base. "Wait," Dylan said as he saw Harry turning back to the battle zone. "What are you doing?"
"Heading back out. There's more wounded out there."
"But you cannot-hey!" Dylan gaped as he watched Harry run back onto the field.
"I don't think Sergeant said we had to follow him back and forth," Desmond said.
"She'd have our necks if we didn't," Dylan muttered back. The duo of French wizards ran to catch up.
The distraction had worked and the opposing forces had dithered, unsure what to do. Some dug in, others remained where they were. When the fog dissipated, the ICW forces opened fire together and they were pushing the enemy back. That did not mean they were progressing unmolested however, and ICW magicals fell wounded or killed.
Further back from the line, they were able to make defenses to extract people more easily. Harry and Dylan formed a wall to protect others while Desmond reinforced it. A shriek of pain drew Harry's attention and he saw a woman fall over, her leg a bloody mess. He dashed out and summoned a shield in front of him. He reached her side just before seeing an opposing wizard take aim at them.
Dylan shot a ball of fire and hit the enemy wizard dead on, knocking him from his position but not before the other cast a spell. A huge explosion tore the ground around Harry and the witch, enveloping them in smoke and debris.
"Potter!" Desmond yelled as he and Dylan ran to them.
Harry had thrown himself over the witch, summoning a shield around them. His charm took the brunt of the explosion curse but shattered from the force, peppering him with stones and shards. He sat up gingerly, his left arm hanging and bleeding. He ignored his pain, checking on the woman. "I'm fit," he gasped, "she's still okay."
"The hell you are," Dylan said as he looked at Harry's injury. "Enough, let us get you both back."
"I can continue-"
"You cannot!" Dylan shouted. "She needs immediate attention and so do you! Getting yourself killed in action will not help others!" He met Harry's glare.
"You will not prove your detractors right if you die like this," Desmond said quietly.
Harry looked down and nodded reluctantly. "Right. You're right." He stabilized the groaning woman and cast a splint charm on his arm. He thanked Desmond as the wizard cast a pain relief charm. "Let's go." He followed the other two as they took the woman back with a stretcher spell.
"Besides, you promised us a story," Dylan said lightly as they left the battle. "If you are dead, who will tell it? I cannot trust the others."
"You're not wrong," Harry said, smiling slightly.
-0-
"So, you're getting a new nickname," Blaise said.
Harry looked up. "Yeah?" He moved a little stiffly still. His shoulder was sore but it was healing. After accompanying the wounded back to base, one of the ICW healers patched him up but he stayed in the main tent afterwards to help. After getting back to his tent, Blaise had stopped by with a few people from his squad. After some light chatting and reports of the end of the battle, the rest of the squad left leaving Blaise and Harry alone. "Is it the Coward of England?"
"No, I said a new one."
"Is it…England's Coward?"
Blaise snorted. "No again. Surprisingly, it's a decent one."
"Well go on then," Harry said as he sat on his cot.
"They're calling you Angelus." Blaise smiled, enjoying Harry's shock. "Personally, I don't think you're pretty enough to be called that, but it's not a bad nickname overall."
Harry sat back, clearly confused. "Why are they calling me that? Who's calling me that?"
"People you get off the field. Especially the ones that get caught out there and you bring them back alive. Say they see an angel come and get them and they're surprised to find themselves alive afterwards."
"Huh," Harry said, sounding awed.
"Not bad right?" He sighed with mock weariness. "Once again, you got a nickname before I did. It's not fair. I'm much more handsome, do things just as impressive. Though I admit, you occasionally do more impressive things. That distraction was you yeah?" He rolled his eyes at Harry's nod. "Almost shat myself when I heard it. Thought she was coming to get me."
"I told you to be nice to her."
"You never told me that she was that bloody intelligent."
"Didn't think I had to." Harry smiled. "I'll tell her you miss her too."
"Bloody owl's a menace," Blaise grumbled. "Hey, where do you think you're going?"
"To make good a promise to you, come on. Going to introduce you to some French witches."
"You're using me as an excuse to go back to work, aren't you? When you're supposed to be resting."
"So you don't want to be introduced?"
"I didn't say that either. Let's go."
-0-
"I thought you were supposed to be resting," Yun said to Harry, her eyebrows narrowed in accusation.
"I promised my friend I'd introduce him to some French witches earlier during the battle," Harry said, pointing at Blaise who was chatting brightly with Emily and a few medi-witches.
"You do know the Hospital Tent is not a bar, right?" Yun asked with a small smile.
"Well, there's a chance I wanted to just check on a few people at the same time," Harry said sheepishly. "Blaise was embarrassing me with my new nickname that I think he made up to mess with me. Plus I get restless easy."
"Well, just as good that you are here. Someone was asking for you." She led him to a bed.
Harry recognized the woman lying on the bed. As they approached, the woman turned and saw them, perking up when she saw Harry. "Oh! Angelus," she said, her accent making her stumble over the word a little.
Yun smiled at Harry's surprise. "Still think your friend made it up?"
Harry blushed. "I sort of wish it was, it sounds too grand for me." He looked down at the woman. "Glad to see you awake. How are you feeling Miss…"
"Tsumugi Watanabe," she said. "I am feeling well luckily, and I have you to thank Angelus."
"Harry," he said, cheeks still red. "Harry Potter, that's my actual name. I wasn't even aware people were calling me that until a few minutes ago."
"Ah, I thought it sounded strange," Tsumugi said with a shy smile. "It sounded right however, you did appear when needed most and saved me."
"I'm sorry I couldn't save all of you," Harry said gently. He sighed, looking down at her leg, at the neat dressing bound around her left leg, where her foot was.
A glimmer of a tear appeared in her eyes but she wiped them away. "I am fortunate to be alive to feel the loss. I was told if you had not stopped the bleeding, I would have died. I wanted to thank you." She looked at the bandages on his shoulder and arm. "You were injured saving me?"
"I'm used to it," he said as nonchalantly as he could. "I don't regret it at all."
"That is a relief," she said softly. "I cannot thank you enough."
"You have and I appreciate it," Harry said softly. "Glad I made it in time honestly." He stayed with her while she fell asleep and walked softly away with Yun.
"She'll be fine," Yun said. "Once she's fully stable, they'll fit her with a prosthetic. She'll have decent range of motion back." She pushed Harry towards the door. "You should head back and get some proper rest. I'll douse you in sleep potions if you try me."
Harry looked over at Blaise still engrossed in his conversation. "He'll be busy for a while," he smiled. "You're right, I suppose I should get some rest."
"Angels need their rest as much as mortals do," Yun teased.
He shook his head. "I'm a lot of things, but I'm not an angel."
She watched him leave. "You might not think so," she said softly to herself, "but there are many who disagree."
-0-0-0-
alix333 - Muppet is a fun insult.
minerdude - Tom will learn about it in time and I have plans with how Dumbledore will react to it.
Hands Off MY Wolfie - Ah I understand thank you. Yes, he wouldn't do that at all. Glad you are liking things.
DOOOOOOM Lord of Waffles - No plans technically but it's still chugging so we will see. He will probably be like he is in canon: irrelevant overall. Glad you liked the magic part. I wanted it to sound plausible and workable.
Urgwaew - You read way too much into the end lol. That's not the case really but there will be some differences. I'm trying my best to not do a 'clip backstory' feeling where you bounce back and forth too much. I'm trying to challenge myself and make it feel like you learn along with the other people who wouldn't know what happened through dialogue and some memory stuff here and there. I spent some time looking at the differences between pacifism and conscientious objector and agree that it is slightly plausible Harry could be like that to a degree. It's a fine line but I hope I work it well. All the best to you.