Pandora's Box

by Kneazle

The end of the wizard world has arrived Harry and his friends are dead to the world, but some believe otherwise. Armed with mutated powers, they're given the chance to take Voldemort out once and for all but who will be left?

2. Chapter One: May It Be

Pandora's Box

Kneazle

DC: I do not own Harry Potter or afflictions to Warner's Bros. or J.K. Rowling's. I merely use the characters for entertainment purposes only. Anything mentioned in this story is afflicted only to its rightful produces. I own nothing but the plot.

AN: Prefer listening to "Lord of the Rings", "Harry Potter" soundtracks or songs which lyrics have been inserted while reading. Also, later on, the Renaissance become teachers. Think of this story to be like X-Men: they fight and teach!  [Feb. 10, 02]

**-**

May it be an evening star
Shines down upon you
May it be when darkness falls
Your heart will be true – Enya, "May It Be"

**~**

Chapter One

            Hermione bit the hand of the Death Eater who grabbed her forcefully by the shoulder. He grunted in pain and backslapped her across the cheek. Harry and Ron both strained against their capture's hands.

            "Hermione!" Harry cried out, clenching his teeth. Ron trashed wildly around. Both were hit in the stomach. They kneeled down to the ground, struggling to keep their breaths.

            "Shut up," growled a Death Eater. Many students, like the younger ones, whimpered and cowered in the darkness of the Great Hall as they saw this. The floating lights above them had gone out, a few torched on the wall still flickered.

            "Potter," hissed a voice. Instantly, a cold breeze swept around the room, the sniffling of students stopped. The ten renaissance fighters lifted their gazes to face the master of the hiss. Nothing could be seen as they were forced to look into a dark abyss in front of them. That used to be where the great doors opened to allow students into the school.

            Slowly, a silhouette of a creature – man – appeared. He was taller than normal and much skinnier. Finally, as he materialized, his glowing red eyes swept over the ten.

            "Well, well, I see you've gotten yourself into quite a predicament, Potter," snarled the man. He slipped a finger under Harry's chin, drawing his gaze to be level with his. Harry bit his lips so hard he drew blood. It ran down to his chin before dripping onto the ground.

            "Go to Hell, Voldemort," he shouted, twisting his head out of his grip. Voldemort snarled and his nails cut Harry's cheek. That blood seeped down into the folds of his robe.

            "Harry!" Hermione cried out. She struggled against the Death Eater's hands. He snapped, "this one is feisty Master, what shall I do with her?"

            Voldemort swept his red eyes over Hermione. She felt violated and shivered involuntary. His bloodless lips curled into a smile – an evil grin that chilled Hermione to the bone.

            "I see. I see, this must be Granger, the smart Mudblood that Potter and the Weasley are friends with… and I see that your son, Lucius, has abandoned all hopes of being a Death Eater like his father." His gaze had swept from Hermione to Draco to the man holding Harry.

            The Death Eater holding Harry, identified as Lucius Malfoy, bowed his head. "Master, forgive me. I did not know my son would turn out to be a weakling."

            "You're forgiven… but your son…" Voldemort waved his hand. "Wormtail?"

            A sniveling little man, with glowing silver hand, stepped forward. "Sire?"

            "Take Potter, Weasley and his sister, Malfoy, Zabini, Longbottom, Thomas and Finnigan to the astronomy tower. I'll be there shortly. Leave Brown and Granger here with me." Voldemort's gaze pierced Hermione and Lavender, making them shiver.

            Don't worry, girls, it won't hurt… much, his voice whispered in their heads. Lavender gasped, but Hermione raised her head an inch to stare Voldemort down.

            He snarled at her, and waved his long hand towards Lucius. "Take them – but wait."

            Lucius stopped moving. Voldemort looked down at the eight taken away, and laughed, "say goodbye to your friends here. It may be the last time you see them alive."

            Now Lavender and Hermione bit, and scratched and struggled to escape certain death. Harry, Ron, and the others did everything they could do to make sure the two girls would stay alive.

            They were led out the Great Hall, the faces of the two girls crying back at them.

**~**

            Harry paced back and forth on the top of the astronomy tower. Voldemort's attack had started here; the railing was blown off and the turrets around them were gone. It was only a door, which was miraculously standing, but the walls on either side were blown apart so one could see who was walking up the stairs. The entire astronomy tower was a circular floor.

            "Harry, what are we going to do?" whispered a frantic Ron. Lavender Brown is – was? – His girlfriend.

            "I don't know," whispered Harry back. He motioned the group for a huddle. He looked at Blaise and Draco. "Any ideas? You should know their moves well."

            "Pretty well, yes, but these attack strategies…" Blaise whistled. "It's amazing. I've never seen it used before. They must have someone new."

            "New? Like who?" asked Dean. "We're just bloody lucky that we're pure-born, do you have any idea what Lavender and Hermione could be going through right now?"

            "Nothing," a new voice joined the conversation. The group turned and gasped. Lavender and Hermione lay at a heap by the door, bloodied and bruised. Harry and Ron rushed over and dragged them to where the others were standing.

            "What the hell did you do to them?" screamed Ginny. She checked their pulses, and sighed, feeling them strong beneath her fingertips.

            "Nothing a little cruico couldn't handle," laughed Wormtail, stepping out from behind the one who spoke.

            "Wormtail," hissed Harry, stepping out in front of the group. Neville looked at Harry and back to Wormtail.

            "You know this Death Eater personally, Harry?" asked Neville. He picked up his wand and was playing with it lightly.

            "Hell yes," snarled Harry. "He was the one who let Voldemort know where my parents were – he was their Secret Keeper!"

            Ginny's eyes widened. So did Draco, Blaise, Dean and Seamus'.

            "Well," said Neville, nodding. "I can see why you're pissed."

            Nothing more was said. Wormtail stood tall (in a short sense) and unfazed by Harry's anger.

            "What are you going to do, Harry? Shoot curses at me? Kill me? You couldn't five years ago, what makes you think you can now?" he taunted.

            Harry said nothing but stopped. He stood up straight and walked back to the group backwards. "You'll get yours, Peter, you'll get yours."

            Wormtail looked a bit shaken there, but then let the tallest Death Eater forward. "Take them."

            Then he went back down to the Great Hall. The fellowship of Hogwarts stepped and founded a circle around the Death Eaters that were closing in on them.

            "Put down your wands," snarled one that Harry, Blaise and Draco recognized as Avery. "Unless you want more people to be hurt."

            The group considered this, but Draco and Blaise were ready to fire off hexes.

            "Put the wands down," sighed Harry. He lowered his and Ron, Dean, Ginny and Seamus followed. Neville sighed and did as well. Draco looked incredulous.

            "Why? Why the fucking hell put the wands down, Potter??" he cried.

            "Because. Look." He trailed his finger down to the Quidditch field where they had lined students up for execution. The group followed his train, and swore.

            "That's low," whispered Blaise.

            "Even for Voldemort," agreed Seamus. He ran a hand through his sandy-coloured hair and threw his wand towards Avery.

            "Good lad," he grinned maliciously. The others followed suit, leaving them defenseless.

            He picked them all up, one at a time. Then, he lifted his wand straight in the air and shouted, "solarious!"

            The group gasped and covered their eyes as a bright light erupted from his wand tip. Once it diminished, they turned to the field where bodies were dropping. Green flashes and sparks from the Avada Kedavra curse appeared and disappeared.

            "You fuck!" hollered Dean, turning to face Avery. He and the other Death Eaters laughed. "You liar! You don't have to kill them!"

            "No, we don't. But the Master wants them dead. Be happy that Granger and Brown aren't with them." Jeered Avery. He pointed his wand at them. "Now. Single-file please. And watch your step. It's a long way to Hell."

**~**

            The group was silent as they walked slowly down the steps from the astronomy tower to the Quidditch field. Hermione and Lavender were revived and were stumbling down with them. Once they reached the field, the group went stiff.

            Lifeless eyes stared up at them. Open-mouth children screamed silently. No blood was on the ground. Hermione blinked hard to stop the tears from falling over.

            "Line up please," chuckled another voice, McNair's.

            The group did as they were told, staring blankly up at their assassins. A slight breeze blew around them. Out of the corner of their eyes, they spotted the teacher's that hadn't died lined up in the bleachers looking at them too. Many were crying.

            Voldemort appeared from the bleaches in the opposite side, grinning like a madman at them. He came to a stop in front of them.

            "My Fellowship," he grinned. "Welcome… to misery."

            He pointed his wand at them, the middle, where Harry stood defiantly. They locked gazes, Harry's scar erupting with pain again. Swallowing, he set his mouth into a scowl.

            "Why, Potter, that's no way to be frozen forever," laughed Voldemort. Gasps from the professors' confirmed Hermione's worst fears.

            Well, smarty, how do we get out of this one?  She wondered. We don't, she replied.

            "Glacialis!" he shouted. Harry's eyes widened when he felt the icy chill start in his foot. Around him, forming out of ice was a square. It had already climbed to his ankles and was presently moving up his shins. He looked over and saw Draco furiously trying to blast it away. He only succeeded in making ice fly up to his face, cutting it.

            "Hermione?" shouted Harry, twisting his knees. They were locked together.

            "I'm working on it, Harry," she shouted back from Ron's side. She was trying to melt the ice, but it was forming faster than she could thaw.

            "Harry, there's no way out of this one," whispered Ron. Ginny sniffled as she looked around. The group had stopped struggling. They were now waist-deep in ice.

            Everyone turned to face him. He bit his lip, rolling it inward. Hermione blinked back tears. Her waist was gone.

            "Well… guys… it's been fun these past weeks," said Blaise. He brushed some blond hair out of his face. It was usually spiked, but after the fight, it had gone limp.

            "I agree," laughed Neville. "Wouldn't have thought that this is where I'd be."

            "Goodbye," said Ginny as she tilted her head back. The ice was at her chin. She was covered.

            "GINNY!" Shouted three voices; Hermione, Harry and Ron. They began to struggle again.

            Hermione finally sighed. "This is it, Fellowship," she said in a choppy voice.

            Harry nodded. His lips were turning blue. "If we ever get out of this…"

            "We'll see you on the other side," laughed a shaking Draco. His blond-white hair stood out against the blue tinge to his lips, the purple colour of his skin.

            The seconds the Fellowship of Hogwarts was covered in ice, all hope for the future frozen, locked forever in time.

**~**

December 24, Christmas Eve, four years since the fall of Hogwarts

            Ron and Ginny are both covered in ice. Death Eaters had just arrived at the house to tell us this. They then explained what might happen to them. Where they are located, stupid gits.

            They're in a tower in the middle of this desert Voldemort made. The whole world is geographically changed. There's no idea whether or not Ottery St. Catchpole is still in England. I don't know. Along with them are eight others whom Voldemort called 'renaissance'. And guess who they are? Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Dean Thomas, Seamus Finnigan, Lavender Brown, and Draco Malfoy, Blaise Zabini.

            They're frozen… completely frozen. They still grow, their bodies and mature. They get older by the day. Their powers grow stronger and more wild and untamed. The more dangerous they become. Of course, out dear Dark Lord Voldemort doesn't know this.

            I'm going with Fred and George and a few other Gryffindors and other houses to this desert to find my baby sister and brother. We're going to set them free.

            So they can save the world. They have no idea what has happened since that day they were frozen.

-- From the journal of Percy Weasley, twenty-five years of age, at the Burrow, Ottery St. Catchpole

**~**

            "Percy, be careful," sobbed Mrs. Weasley as she held Percy's cheeks in her hands. She kissed him once on each cheek.

            "Mother, I'll be quite fine, but we must go now," sighed Percy, undoing Molly's grip. She nodded, and Arthur placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

            Fred and George hitched their backpacks over their shoulders, and opened the door. On their step were Oliver Wood, Roger Davis, Cho Chang and Padma Patil.

            "Ready?" Oliver asked. His dark brown eyes looked black in the shadows – like the rest of the world.

            "Ready," agreed George. "C'mon, Percy, let's go. The more time we waste the more time Voldemort increases his powers."

            Percy nodded, grabbed his own backpack and went out the door after them. They summoned their broomsticks (Weasleys had Firebolts, thanks to Harry's Weasley's Wheezes down payment) and mounted. As they were ready to kick off, another shape came into view over the treetops.

            "Wait for me!" shouted a girly voice. "Arrêt-vous!"

            The group stopped, hovering above the ground, their toes just skimming the grass. As the figure got closer, the wands were dropped.

            "Fleur?" asked a surprised George.

            "Oui, it is me," her French accent had diminished and only a few French words escaped her. "Wait for me –I had 'eard about 'Arry and your brother and sister, Weasleys. I 'ave come to 'elp."

            "Right," nodded Percy, undoubtedly in charge. "Let's go then. To the British Ministry."

            "Are you sure?"

            "We need to know where to go, dammit," snapped Percy. The group recoiled. "Any other suggestions?"

            "The Zabinis. Or the Malfoys." Spoke Padma. The group turned to look at her. "Look. I come from a long wizardring line. We lived near the Malfoys. Lucius moved out within days of Narcassia's 'suicide'."

            Fred whistled. "Where, is the house empty?"

            "Only a few house elves here and there." Replied Padma. "They won't ask about us. Not if we say we're here to pick up some of Draco's stuff to throw out."

            Cho agreed. "Let's go. Please."

            Fleur looked around, shivering as a slight breeze swept over the winter countryside. "Il est temps que nous partions."

            "What?" Oliver asked, staring at her.

            "It is time we get moving," she replied, sheepishly in English. "Pardon moi."

            Finally agreeing on a destination, the group soared up to the rooftops, circled the Burrow once, before shooting off West.

**~**

            The chilly wind bit into Fred's skin, stinging his cheeks. His eyes watered but they stared ahead defiantly.

            "What been happening in France, Fleur?" shouted Percy overtop the sound of the rushing wind.

            She whipped her head around, so her blonde hair flew out behind her. "You do not want to know. It has been crazy there – Voldemort stormed through Beuxbatons within days of Hogwarts… excusez-moi… and many Muggleborns died. Many purebloods fought the dark wizards, but many died. Only a few of us escaped. I had heard about Harry and Ron and Hermione… I am surprised Viktor had not arrived."

            "Because he's a Death Eater, didn't you hear?" Cho asked, addressing the last part to the group. "Karkaroff had some say in it. Killed his own parents, I heard."

            "Blimey… and remember what he did to Cedric in the Triwizard…" George's statement fell on dead lips. "Sorry there, Cho."

            "It's all right. I just want to piece of this action to avenge Cedric," she sighed. Her shoulder length black hair glimmered in the moonlight. "How much further until we reach the Malfoy Manor?"

            "A few more miles… it should be coming into view… now," finished Padma, pointing. There, on a hill, stood the menacing manor that the Malfoys had called home. The square-shaped house loomed closer to them.

            "DOWN!" ordered Percy, swinging them low into a dense wooded area. Leaves rustled against their robes. Percy looked back. "We're too loud. Let's land!"
            The group did as they were told and landed softly and noiselessly on a moss-covered floor. Percy quickly unbuttoned his green robes.

            "What are you doing?" hissed Fred, staring at his older brother. Percy sighed.

            "We're making too much noise wearing our robes. Take them off. They're holding us down. We can walk much better and are quicker in Muggle clothing." He instructed. Fleur and Padma were close behind him. Finally, the rest of the group caught on and discarded their robes.

            "Now what?" asked Oliver, looking to the large pile of clothing. "If we leave them here…"

            "Can we banish them?"

            "Or burn them?"

            "No," shook Percy's red head. "We need to transform them into something that no one would think is out of place."

            "That large a pile?" gasped Padma. "I'm sorry, but I never finished school, now did I? I never learnt how to handle that large a transformation."

            "It's okay. You can watch," smiled Cho, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder. "How about a rock? Or a bush?"

            "Great – a bush!" snapped Percy's fingers. "Come on, all, let's get this over with. Malfoy Manor is only a stone-throw away."

            The group pointed their wands at the pile and said together, "converto induviae!" There was a slow moving forest green light as the spell trickled forward, before engulfing the clothing. Before their eyes, the spell disappeared and a small bush took its place.

            "Well, I'll be," remarked Roger Davis. He looked up. "We better go. I bet the Death Eater's can trace magic spells now."

            "Hmm," agreed Percy. "Let's go. Get this done and over with to find out where the Fellowship is."

            They mounted their brooms and skimmed across the ground's surface. They went in pairs, each keeping a lookout on either side of the trees.

            "Do you think they're really a Fellowship of Hogwarts?" finally asked Padma as she and Cho swung around to the front of Percy and Fleur.

            "No," said Percy, his eyes ahead.

            "Then what are they?" asked Fleur.

            "They're a Fellowship of Magic."