by Katie Davidson (Virtue)
A/N: Sorry this one took so long, I was jotting down ideas on what should happen, and this is what I came out with. Hope you like it! ^_^ R&R please! There's still one more chapter to come, to end the whole thing.
The next morning in Castle Gray, Elora stood in the courtyard in her nightgown and robe with Luno, brushing her wings gently and humming a soft song. The song kept Luno calm, all she did was neigh softly once in a while, but then suddenly she jolted away from Elora. "What's wrong, Luno?" Elora said softly.
Elora felt a cold hand touch her arm. She whipped around and stepped back to come face to face with Voldemort, his cold grin sent a chill down her spine. She growled, "Voldemort. What are you doing here?"
Voldemort laughed softly, "Just to talk to you, Elora. I wanted to apologize,"
Elora hissed, "Yet again with the apology. I fell for it once and I'm not going to again, understand?"
Voldemort growled and was about to shout at Elora, when Ahren came up behind him and said, "What's going on here?"
Voldemort stopped and without turning around, keeping his eyes fixated on Elora, replied; "I was just talking with your daughter, Ahren. Nothing more."
Ahren walked around Voldemort and stood beside Elora, he looked at Voldemort then at Elora, whom had her eyes fixated on Voldemort as well, and an angry expression on her face towards him. Ahren smirked, "My dear, tonight's the night to finish our work. Are you up for it?"
Elora looked at Ahren and replied, "Yes father, I'm ready for anything you can throw at me."
Voldemort gave a sly grin and muttered under his breath, "You'd be surprised what I can throw at you."
Elora whipped her head to Voldemort and growled, "Did someone tell you to speak, Voldemort?"
Voldemort was about to pounce on Elora when Ahren stepped between them, he looked at Voldemort and pushed him away, then he looked to Elora saying, "Elora, you mustn't speak to him in that tone. This plan depends on the two of you to get along, understood?"
Elora gave a cold stare to Voldemort as he left the courtyard and went back into the castle, then sighed and looked up to Ahren saying, "Understood."
"Good," Ahren said. "I'll see you tonight, nine sharp, all right?" Elora nodded as Luno walked softly to her side and she continued to brush her, she continued to hum her song, and then Ahren left the courtyard, and followed Voldemort up the steps.
He caught up to him and grabbing his arm, he pushed Voldemort against the wall of the staircase. He growled, "I swear, Voldemort, if you lay one more hand upon Elora, I will kill you personally!"
Voldemort laughed, "You cannot, Ahren, I am the one who has placed the curse upon her, remember? You cannot kill me, for if you do, Elora will no longer be your daughter and all hope for darkness upon these worlds will ceased."
Ahren, with a shaky hand, let go of Voldemort's arm. Voldemort walked up the rest of the stairs; Ahren didn't let his eyes off of him. When Voldemort disappeared into his room, Ahren collapsed to the stairs, sitting on the step and ran his fingers through his hair. He muttered to himself, "This is getting out of control."
In the Danen home Harry, Cecil, and Mr. Danen lay down in the family room, trying to think up a plan on how to destroy Voldemort, therefore releasing the curse from around Elora. "Well, the best thing I can come up with is that we go to The Realm before they make their final sermon and push Harry into Voldemort," Cecil suggested.
Harry rolled over and landed with a THUMP on the ground, he quickly set himself back on the couch; he had fallen asleep and the hard ground had woken him up. "What did you say?"
Cecil looked at Harry, "I said that we go to The Realm and push you into Voldemort. Something should happen, don't you think?"
Harry laughed, "You're joking right?" Harry saw that Cecil's expression was very serious. Harry sighed, "You're not joking."
Mr. Danen yawned, "Well. Let's do it. Maybe Harry has some sort of hidden power." Harry and Cecil looked to Mr. Danen with wide eyes. Mr. Danen stared back and said, "It can happen!"
"I'm coming with you," Mrs. Danen said as entered the room. Mr. Danen quickly rose off the couch, before he could say anything Mrs. Danen looked at him saying, "I just can't sit around without seeing her, Dennis, I have to go!"
Mr. Danen nodded, "All right, Sherri. You can come, but stay behind us."
Mrs. Danen sneered to her husband, "I can take care of myself, Dennis, you darn well know that." She turned around and was out the door before anyone could reply. Mr. Danen shrugged to Cecil and Harry, who stood in awe at what just happened.
"Come on, let's go," Mr. Danen said and followed behind his wife. Harry and Cecil quickly scrambled together and got their cloaks, and headed out the door.
In The Realm Elora and Ahren stood across from each other with a stone bowl filled to the rim with water between them. Voldemort stood behind them with his normal no-expression face plastered on his face, and his arms folded across his chest.
"Are you ready?" Ahren asked Elora.
Elora nodded and took in a deep breath, she held her hand out to Ahren, palm down to the water, and replied, "Do it."
From under Ahren's cloak, hanging at his side, a larger version of the Dark Arts Daggers was sheathed. He unsheathed the knife and held it in his right hand. He himself took a deep breath then said, "With this blood, mixed with the water of The Realm, we call upon all darkness, all shadows, all vials of evil in the worlds, to overcome all light."
He dipped the blade of the knife into the water, then raised it up over Elora's hand, he brought it down but before the blade could strike Elora's hand, the knife flew out of his hand and landed three feet away. Ahren held his hand tight, since it had just been hit by something, but it was too fast he didn't know what it was. The thing whizzed past him and he finally saw what it was: a boomerang! He knew of only one person who mastered that vile contraption, "Dennis."
Ahren, Elora, and Voldemort turned to their heads to the entrance of The Realm. There stood Harry, Cecil, Mr. Danen, and Mrs. Danen. Mr. Danen caught boomerang, kissed it, and muttered, "I love this thing."
Mrs. Danen screamed, "What do you think you were going to do to my daughter?"
Voldemort sneered and walked towards them, "Her blood mixed with that of the dark waters would create the final mixture we need to take over these worlds. How dare you - ugh!" Voldemort suddenly stopped and fell to the ground when Cecil pushed Harry into him. Harry's scar had hurt like he- well, really bad by now, since touching Voldemort had increased the pain.
Cecil cheered Harry on, "That's it Harry! You destroy him!"
Voldemort growled and stood up, taking Harry by the collar, and threw him into one of the glass walls. "He cannot destroy me," Voldemort shouted. "I cannot be destroyed!" He turned to Ahren who had picked up the knife by now and shouted, "Finish it!"
Ahren brought the knife back over Elora's hand and brought it down. Mrs. Danen reached out to her from a far screaming, "No!"
When the knife hit Elora's hand, a bright, blinding light overcame the area. The light had created a force with split up Elora and Ahren. Ahren lay on the floor, as did Elora. Harry wearily rose to his feet. Cecil, Mr. Danen, and Voldemort stared at Mrs. Danen; the light had come from her.
"Sh-Sherri," Mr. Danen muttered.
Mrs. Danen ran over to Elora, knelt down beside her, and picked her head up. "Elora, my dear daughter, please speak to me."
Elora moaned, twitched a bit, then opened her eyes to look up at her mother as she muttered, "Me-Mom?"
Mrs. Danen smiled down to Elora and replied, "Yes, it's me." Elora sat up and embraced her mother; tears ran down their faces. "I missed you dear," Mrs. Danen sobbed.
Elora sobbed back, "I - I remember it all, it was dark. I didn't understand it all!" By now the dark features which overcame Elora had disappeared. The ebony hair had returned to a dark brown, and her onyx eyes returned to the brown they had been once before, the white stripe stayed.
Voldemort growled and walked over to Ahren. He kicked him, and he woke up immediately shouting, "Ouch! Who did that?"
Voldemort sneered, "Get up! It's over. Let's go."
Ahren stood up and looked over to Elora and Mrs. Danen, he shook his head and smiled, "I won't go. I give up, Voldemort, there's nothing more for me this way."
Voldemort growled, looked down where the knife lay, and he picked it up, hiding it by his side. He grinned and replied, "All right, Ahren. Go live your pathetic life on the good side."
Ahren walked past Voldemort, but as soon as he did, he fell to his knees on the ground. Voldemort had struck the knife into his back, but by the time Ahren had fallen, Voldemort's hard laugh rang through the area and he had disappeared. (A/N: Now who saw that coming? 100 points to those who did! And 100 off for those who didn't... ;p)
Elora noticed what had happened, she gasped, and quickly ran over to Ahren shouted, "Ahren, no!" She knelt by Ahren; he tried to stand, but fell right back on the ground, into Elora's arms.
He looked into Elora's eyes and with a short laugh said, "Guess I won't be living the life of good, eh?" Blood ran down his back and collected in a puddle around them.
Tears ran down Elora face, she still remember all Ahren had done for her. Even though his ways were wrong, he cared about her, and he protected her from Voldemort. She cried, "Ahren, I wish I could save you, but in this place, I can't. I'm sorry."
Ahren placed a hand against her cheek and smiled, "My dear, all things come to an end sooner or later, it is just my time. I'll be with you, Elora, you'll always be my daughter in my heart." (A/N: *sniff, sniff* I need a moment... *cry, sob, honk* All right, anyone need a tissue? *waves a box of tissue around* ;) ) Then he died.
The Realm then disappeared around them, and they stood in their same position outside of the forest where Harry and the others had entered.
Elora gently set Ahren's body on the ground. Harry, with a limp, walked up behind her. She rose to her feet and quickly ran to him, almost knocking him down, and cried into his shoulder. Harry patted her back and tried to comfort her, "Elora, it's okay. He wasn't a good guy, you don't have to cry."
"You don't understand, Harry, he was good," Elora said under tears and pushed Harry away. "His heart was good, his mind was clouded, and just before he died, his mind cleared." She then ran off to her parents, and they held her, as a family.
Cecil walked up to Harry who stood awestruck at what Elora had said, "What did I say?"
Cecil laughed and patted Harry on the back, "You'll understand soon, Harry."
To Be Continued...