Darkness Supreme

A sleep-deprived fanfiction by Lilith

A/N: Gah, well this sucked when I first posted it, then Lady Win pointed out my errors, and I think I fixed them so it's better now. Grr... must go do something Cyndi Lauper-ish with my hair. Gah. Going now... *sings* Oh girls, they wanna have fun, oh girls just wanna have... good enough, for you it's, good enough, for me, its good enough... its good enough for meee!! Oh ya yea yea yea yea.... GOONIES!!! Weee!

Lady Win: You're right. I realized that I never made it clear exactly what Harry ran off to do... which wasn't to find Voldie. And I never explained the stairs. Gahh, what would I do without you... sigh

~~~

Ron was awakened by a bloodcurdling scream. The lanky redhead shot to his feet faster than he would have previously thought possible and looked wildly around for the origin of the scream. Another shrill scream pierced the fog in his brain, and Ron realized who the voice belonged to.

"Hermione!" he yelled, running towards where he'd heard the shriek of terror, but someone was much faster than he was. Kate might have been a bit shorter than Ron, but her legs were longer and her reflexes were better. Kate reached Hermione before Ron, and placed the weakened woman's head on her lap, supporting it. Hermione's nose was bleeding, and it looked as though all her blood had drained from her face.

"What's wrong?" Ron asked, kneeling at her side quickly and taking her hand. Hermione's breaths were shallow and her eyes were wide and glassy. "Hermione?" Ron asked, fear suddenly grasping his heart as he remembered a story about You-Know-Who killing someone with his mind...

"Ungh!" Hermione made an odd noise and sat up, grasping her chest as though she had nothing left in her lungs and was trying to suck in every bit of air in the cave. "Harry..." she managed to gasp out. Ron tried to hide his hurt look as the black-haired man knelt down by Hermione's side.

"Here," he said quickly. "What happened?"

"Severus... Severus..." Hermione gasped, blood spilling from the corners of her mouth. She wiped it away, annoyed. "Ritual is... tonight..." Harry's green eyes widened.

"What!?" several people managed to gasp at once. Hermione grabbed her wand from the floor by her knee and pointed it at her chin, obviously fed up with not being able to get enough air to talk.

:The Death Eaters were told the wrong date for the ritual! It's tonight! He's sent all of them away, on "missions", and He's there alone! Severus found out! It's tonight! Go! Start preparing!: Hermione's thought-voice boomed out into all of their minds, frantic and panicky, and she nodded her head, gesturing frantically. Harry shot up and bolted, grabbing an invisibility cloak as he ran and vanishing out the cave entrance. His mindvoice echoed back into everyone's heads, making them wince at it's volume.

:I'm going to the centaurs to see if they'll help, Angelina, you're in charge, Sirius STAY THERE, Oliver take them up the stairs you told me about to the dungeons.:

"Harry," Oliver said aloud, knowing Harry could hear the thought-feedback, "The shorter route's caved in, we've got to take the long way." [A/N: Thought feedback it when you think what you're saying at the moment. Harry is hearing Oliver think what Oliver's saying out loud.]

:Fine, just get yourselves up there. If I can get the centaurs to help, we'll come in through the front door. If not, I'll come through the front door anyway. Hurry up and get moving. Hermione, what time's the ritual?:

"Nine o'clock... PM," Hermione gasped, still trying to catch her breath.

:Get to wherever Voldemort is performing the ritual by 8:30. Okay, I'm by the forest, and I'm going to call Firenze. Get moving!: Harry's voice stopped echoing into everyone's minds, and Angelina immediately stood up and took charge.

"Alright, Ron, get Hermione into the back of the cave," Angelina's ordered. "Everyone, stash your things in a discreet location. Quickly!"

Ron supported Hermione's head and wiped the sweat off her face with a piece of his sleeve. He wiped the blood from her mouth and eyes and from the cut on her head she'd gotten when she'd fallen.

"What happened?" Ron asked quietly, wiping a smear of dirt off of Hermione's nose. She coughed and took a deep breath.

"I was trying to contact Severus, up in the castle, but he wasn't there. I searched for him... he's over somewhere in north Scotland. He told me that You-Know-Who lied to the Death Eaters... the ritual is tonight... he's sent them all away on little "missions", but Severus found out for us." Hermione coughed, a little blood coming out of her mouth and dribbling down the corners. Ron hastily wiped it away.

"What's wrong?" he asked, worried. "Why are you coughing up blood?" Hermione gave him a weak smile.

"My contact with Severus was cut." Off Ron's bewildered look, she explained, breathing deeply. "Let's say your mind is rubber and round, and when you mindlink with someone across that great a distance, your mind has to stretch into a line. When you break the link, it comes back and forms a ball again. Mine was cut, so it snapped back, shocking me. I'll be fine for now, nothing really bad happened." Hermione sat up, wincing slightly at the gash on her head, and smiled weakly. Ron tapped his wand against her head, and the ripped skin closed, forming instant scar tissue. Hermione looked surprised.

"It's a new spell," he explained. "Madam Pomfrey taught me before I left. You're still bleeding on the inside, but it'll just bruise. You won't loose any more blood."

"Ron! Move it!" Angelina snapped from the back of the cave. Ron turned to see that the others were standing by the back wall of the cave, which had opened to reveal stairs carved into the rock. Ron turned back to Hermione. "Think you can stand? We're moving out," he said. Hermione nodded and took Ron's hand. He helped her stand. Once she was on her feet, Ron slung her arm over his shoulder and helped her into the door that was carved skillfully into the wall of the cave. Once the two of them were through, the walls snapped shut again, plunging the companions into darkness.

"Lumos," Arabella muttered. Bright light flooded on to reveal the staircase sloping violently upwards. The stairs were small, narrow and steep. Everyone looked accusingly at Oliver. He shrugged and let out a sheepish smile.

"I didn't remember it being so steep," he said meekly. Kate snorted and muttered something that sounded like 'Typical...' Angelina sighed.

"Alright, everyone take off your packs. Just bring your wands, your cloaks and your broomsticks. We'll leave the other stuff here, and come back for it." She shrugged off her pack and let it fall onto the dusty floor. Arabella dropped her pack and began rolling up the sleeves on her robes, which slid promptly back down her arms. She scowled at her robes, and pushed them back up. They slid down. Kate shook her head in amusement at the petite black haired witch as Arabella began to curse at her sleeves loudly and in several different languages. Oliver dropped his pack on the floor and began to crack every part of his body, working his way up from his knees to his neck. Kate looked at him, one eyebrow raised. Sirius dropped his pack silently and secured his wand in a concealed pocket of his robes, then transformed into the large black dog Harry, Ron and Hermione jokingly called 'Snuffles' after some adventure in their Fourth Year at Hogwarts. Hermione's pack was being carried by Ron, who quickly dropped both bags and let Hermione sit on the steps. She was breathing heavily and quickly wiped away some blood that had gathered at the corner of her mouth. Angelina took a deep, nervous breath.

"Alright, everyone. We're going up, into the Pens." She bit her lip. "We're going to free the prisoners."

No one spoke. Finally, Sirius transformed back into a human.

"Have you gone completely insane?" he wanted to know. "Do you know how well those cells are protected?" Sirius fingered a long scar that ran from his biceps to his wrist. It was a livid purple color, and obviously reminded him of something he'd rather forget.

"I know," Angelina replied calmly. Her chocolate-colored skin looked ashy and pale, and she was still biting her lip. "We have to do something," she said. "Harry's not going to be back for a while, he's got to talk to the centaurs. We can't just sit around, we have to try to free some of those people up there. If, of course, there's anything left to save." A silence fell on the group. Most of the prisoners in the Pens didn't exactly hang onto their sanity for the longest of times. "Well," Angelina said after a minute of silence, "I'm going up. If any of you want to help, by all means, come along. Those of you who wish to stay, I'm not stopping you." She tossed a braid over her shoulder and started up the stairs, dragging her broomstick behind her. The ceiling was far too low and jagged to risk flying. Oliver and Kate looked at each other for a split second, then followed. Arabella looked at the others and marched up after them, after aiming a glare at Sirius. He growled and turned to Hermione and Ron.

"Well? Are you two going?" he asked, his voice low and dangerous. Hermione struggled to her feet.

"I am," she replied. Ron bit his knuckle and looked apprehensive. Sirius looked at him.

"I'm not sure it's the best idea," he said slowly, "because there are all sorts of alarms on those cells. Wouldn't it tip V-V-V... You-Know-Who if all of a sudden those alarms went off?" Angelina turned around on the stairs.

"Maybe," she said. "But not if Kate here can disconnect them." Ron looked at Kate, startled. "She's an excellent lockpick and thief. Maybe she can help with the alarms." Kate shrugged.

"I can always try," she said. Ron bit his knuckle, then helped Hermione up. The two of them wordlessly started up the steep, dark stairs. Sirius snarled to himself.

Shit, he thought. This crazy plan is never going to work. Sirius had known all along that this mission was futile, but he'd done his best to protect Harry and the others, and now they were throwing it all away. He sighed and shifted into dog form. Sirius would protect them as much as he could, for Lily and James. He padded up the stairs after the others.

Hermione was having trouble getting up the stairs. The bump on her head was making her woozy, and it was hard to estimate exactly where the next step was going to be. Ron was helping her as much as he could, but they were lagging dangerously behind. Sirius had padded up behind Hermione and was supporting her as much as he could, but she was still lagging. Finally she just sat down on the stair, panting and wiping blood away from her mouth.

"Go on," she rasped, her voice nearly lost between gasps for breath. "I'll be fine, I really just need to catch my breath and heal some of these scratches." She pushed Ron weakly away. "Go on, I'll be fine," she insisted. "You can't stay here with me."

"I have to stay with you," he said stubbornly. Hermione sighed.

"Sirius, talk to him," she said. "Ron, you can't. Look, I'll be useless in a fight anyway, you'd just get all protective. I can take care of myself here and make my way up. It's fine, there's nothing here!" Hermione glared at Ron. He glared right back. Sirius transformed.

"Ron, Hermione's right," he said slowly. "There's nothing down here that could hurt her. Besides, Hermione, you're an expert at everything there is to know." He tugged on Ron's arm. "Come on." Ron sighed and looked into Hermione's eyes. She rolled hers.

"Honestly, Ron! You're treating me like some priceless doll! I'll be fine by myself!" Ron looked at Hermione sternly.

"You're much more precious than any doll," he said sincerely. Hermione blushed scarlet and Sirius made a gagging noise.

"If you're ready, we've lost sight of the others," Sirius said, his voice half-sarcastic and half-saddened. "Ron, she's going to be fine." Ron took Hermione's hand, squeezed it in his, and then began to walk slowly up the stairs again. She waved at him and blew him a kiss. Sirius patted her head fondly, then transformed and padded up the stairs hurriedly after Ron.

Angelina wiped dust out of her eyes and blinked, trying to keep her watering eyes open. Behind her, Arabella was muttering to herself about something, Kate and Oliver were arguing in between deep breaths, Sirius was panting and Ron was making sad noises in the back of his throat so no once would hear. He had been doing this ever since he'd caught up with them, about three hours ago, and had left Hermione about three hours before that. It had taken them a while to catch up. Ron obviously didn't know Angelina had very good hearing, or he would have stopped the annoying sad noises.

Suddenly, Angelina noticed that there were no stairs in front of her anymore. She blinked stupidly at the ground for a moment before looking up and realizing that this was the top of the staircase, and the blank wall in front of her was the door Oliver had told her about.

"Okay, we're at the top," Angelina panted. "Let's rest a moment... just to catch our breath... then we'll go through." Everyone flopped onto the tiny ledge and began breathing heavily.

"Well," Arabella said after a few minutes, "What exactly is our plan?"

"Ah..." everyone looked at Angelina, who muttered something.

"What?" Sirius asked.

"I don't really have a plan," she said sheepishly. "I just figured... we go in, free the prisoners, that sort of thing." Sirius nodded.

"And do you know what time it is?" he asked, slightly sarcastically. Angelina performed a spell with her wand, which showed a glowing clock. It was nearly six o'clock.

"How come it took us so long?" Angelina snapped angrily. Oliver looked sheepish.

"Um. Well, I used the other staircase," he said quietly. "I told Harry we'd have to take the longer staircase, I thought you could hear..."

Angelina slapped her forehead and groaned. "This changes things. Hermione said the ritual would take place around nine o'clock... so that gives us about three hours. Less, because we've got to find our way upstairs."

"Let's just go in," Arabella said, rolling up her sleeves again. "Better to get it over with. He probably already knows we're coming anyway." Angelina rolled her eyes (and Arabella's sleeves fell down again).

"Thanks for that reassuring outlook," she said sarcastically. Arabella bobbed her head in response. "Alright, let's just get inside. We'll worry about everything once we get inside and see how everything works out. Okay?"

Everyone murmured their affirmatives, with Kate muttering "You mean we'll burn that bridge when we get to it..." and Oliver kicking her gently in the shin. Oliver then got up and placed his wand against the door and muttered something in Latin. The doors slid apart noiselessly. Everyone got up and walked inside quietly, Angelina and Oliver in the lead. Sirius had become a dog again. He gave a small bark and led them down one passageway, which presumably led to the Pens.

After many twisting corridors the remaining rebels were beginning to doubt Sirius's sense of direction. The seemed to be going in intricate circles, which was not a good thing. Finally, however, Sirius shifted back into his human self and motioned for them to be silent.

"Pens are through this door," he hissed in a low voice. "There's an alarm on the door."

"Kate? This is your territory," Angelina whispered. Kate grinned and gave a mock salute and slid over to the door. First she pressed her ear up to the door and tapped it once with her wand and nodded to herself. She quickly tapped the door again and a small metal panel appeared near the bottom of the door. Kate slid it open happily, and Oliver heard her saying in a soft voice to herself "I haven't had a challenge like this in years!"

Kate found a knot of criss-crossed strings inside the panel and happily placed her wand in the center and closed her eyes.

Small lightnings began to dance across Kate's skin, focusing on her wand. The woman began to sweat slightly, a small sheen on her skin. Kate bit her lip, and began to look a little worried. She placed her other hand on her wand, presumably to keep it steady, because a moment ago the thing had started to vibrate violently. Kate's arms jerked as she tried to keep the wand in place. Her hands began to smoke, the lightnings crackled through her body and her eyes flew open. They were glowing an unnatural blue instead of her usual dark brown color, and were laced with small lightning bolts. Her skin went unnaturally pale, and lightnings began to rain down on her.

"Something's wrong!" Oliver whispered to Angelina desperately. "We've got to stop her, she'll kill herself!" Angelina shook her head.

"Kate knows what she's doing. Besides, it looks as if we stopped things now, she could die. I know a life-spell when I see one, Oliver," Angelina replied, looking worried. A life spell was when someone 'bet' their life, pouring it into the spell. If the spell worked, then the person would retain their life. If it failed, the person would die. It looked as though Kate had gotten herself into a dangerous situation.

Kate's eyes narrowed in concentration as the onlookers watched, fascinated as her face narrowed into a snarl and she gave her wand a tug. In an explosion of lightning and sparks, the strings inside the box unwound themselves from the knot and fell into several neat lines.

Kate slumped over, exhausted, but before anyone could reach her, she sat up straight and bounced to her feet, eyes sparkling. Those close enough to see her eyes sucked in a breath. Whereas Kate's eyes had normally been a nice, normal chocolate brown, they now were a silvery gray and held a certain ethereal quality. Kate had an almost wicked look to her and had a mischievous grin on her face.

"Well?" Arabella asked. "Did it work?" Kate grinned more broadly and tapped her want to the lock in the door.

"Alohomora!" she said, and the door swung open. "Ladies and gentlemen," she said, eyes glowing slightly, "After you."

~~~

A/N: Sorry for the relative shortness. I would just like to add here that this chapter was helped along by Squin, who listened to me ramble about photosynthesis and sleep deprivation at odd hours. At least in NYC... I don't know what hours it was in her coolio upside-down world... which I plan to someday visit and acquire a nifty accent. I also hope no one minds how I've portrayed Sirius... he just struck me as a sarcastic type of guy who was sort of pessimistic at times like this. And I am beginning to really like my Arabella. It amuses me to play with her. And I apologize for the lame staircase thing, but it's late, and I really am just trying to get this thing out and done so I can edit it and make it all pretty and stuff. And I know you all probably still hate me for keep ending these chapters with cliffhangers.

Haha, I just watched "Goonies" for the twelve-millionth time. That movie is my religion. That and about 20 others... I am such an Empire Records junkie that it frightens some people. Kevin Smith is my God... except for "Chasing Amy", that one I coulda done without. Dogma rocks... and in the immortal words of that dude from "Half Baked" (I think...) "You suck, you suck, you're cool, I'm out."

-Lilith

"We don't need no education

We don't need no thought control

No dark sarcasm in the classroom

Teachers leave them kids alone" – Pink Floyd, "Another Brick in the Wall"