Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Warner Brothers bought me out.
Harry whipped out his wand, warily looking back and forth between the three figures. Oddly, none of them seemed interested in hexing him. Why are they just standing there! Finally, Harry couldn't stand the tension anymore and said, "Expelliarmus!"
Voldemort raised his wand to perform the counter-curse, but he never got the chance. As soon as the bright beam got halfway, it fizzled into nothingness.
"This is not a battle," the ethereal man said, as if that explained everything. "We just need one more to start."
Harry stared at the figure in confusion. "One more what? One more gem?"
The lecherous old man didn't answer, and instead waved his arms. Suddenly, a fifth person popped into the wasteland. "Dobby Mendelssohn," greeted the man in a monotone.
"Dobby?" Harry asked, looking at the house elf. He then realized what the transparent figure said. "Dobby Mendelssohn? As in a descendant of Ayr Mendelssohn?"
The ethereal figure actually smiled. "So I see history is not lost on you. No, Dobby is the descendant of Fellian Mendelssohn. We can now begin."
Harry looked at Dobby, confused. Begin what?
The man explained, "I told Ayr Mendelssohn and his detachment to summon the legion when the time is ripe. Now, as the guardian to the shadow legion which has been summoned, my job is to determine whether that moment has arrived." He then gestured to Voldemort.
Voldemort seemed to have an idea of what was going on, which didn't surprise Harry. After all, the dark lord probably knew before hand exactly what gathering the crystals would accomplish. "I, Lord Voldemort, am the most powerful sorcerer on the planet. During my rise to power, I became so feared, that nobody would even say my name. No one could stand in my path, and I did whatever I wanted to, when I wanted to. The only setback was in a slight miscalculation, which killed me. But as you can see, not even death can stop me, and I am back, ready to wreck havoc onto the world."
Lucius then spoke up. "It's pathetic, really. They're so afraid of him that their leader won't even admit he's returned."
"I see," the figure said in a dull voice. "And you?"
Harry realized what was going on. He was here to convince this man that the world was not ready to be conquered by evil. But why me? Or Dobby, for that matter? Why not Dumbledore, McGonagall, or even Mr. Weasley?
"He's not the most powerful wizard," Harry said, pointing at Voldemort. "Albus Dumbledore is, and Voldemort is even afraid of him." At the curious look the man gave him, Harry said, "Yes, I said 'Voldemort'. I'm not afraid of him, either." Harry silently admitted this was only true because the 'shadow legion' gave him something far worse to be afraid of.
"That 'miscalculation' he talked about – he tried to kill me, as a baby. How could the most powerful wizard fail to kill a helpless baby?"
Harry looked over and noticed that Voldemort was trembling in anger. He hoped whatever barrier the guardian had erected could stop a retribution from the dark lord.
Everyone turned to Dobby, the only one left to speak. Dobby let out a frightened but muted yelp.
"Hah!" the man shouted. "Look at the elves now! Proud and noble people indeed. You, elf! Your fate is to serve me now!"
Harry, for once in his life, believed Hermione might be on the right track with S.P.E.W., and he silently thought, Come on Dobby, you can do this…
Dobby bowed his head, looked at the ground, and let out a terrified squeak. "No."
"What?" the man bellowed. "Did you just say 'No' to me?"
Dobby trembled in fear, but managed to nod jerkily. Thank you, Dobby!
"I see," the ethereal figure said, back to his usual monotone. "Perhaps the elves aren't as far gone as I hoped."
Harry smiled in hope. It looked like everything was going to work out! Suddenly, his smile fled, and his insides chilled.
"Now, let's see your fear…" the guardian said.
"…Not Harry…Please…I'll do anything…"
"…Stand aside, girl…"
"…Not Harry!"
Harry realized what was going on, whose voices those belonged to, and why he was hearing them – he was under attack! He tried with all his might to focus on the thought of banishing the shadow creatures forever, the happiest thought he could come up with at the moment, and bellowed, "Expecto Patronum!"
A brilliant white stag burst from his wand and settled in between him and the ethereal man. Harry was a little surprised – he thought wasn't that happy of one, but he'd never seen Prongs this bright before, even when he drove away all those dementors two years ago. It was almost as if it knew the importance of what was happening.
The guardian stepped back, his face stretched in amazement. "You're a patroni?" he asked, in awed tones. "But you're just a kid!"
"What?" Harry asked, and then remembered what Ayr and Fellian wrote. "Yes. But we no longer use the 'Patronum' incantation, but 'Expecto Patronum'. It's a lot easier. Most trained wizards can make one."
The transparent man snorted. "Ripe time indeed. We'd have had a better chance against the elves." The man shimmered into nothingness, calling out before he left, "Summon us when the time of evil approaches."
"No…. YOU!" shouted Voldemort, angrier than Harry had ever seen him. "AVADA KEDAVRA!"
Harry watched as the bright green light zoomed towards him. Harry didn't worry; surely the barrier would stop this spell as well. However, the green light did not fizzle halfway, and zoomed straight towards him. He briefly had time to panic before the world faded away.
Harry opened his eyes. He was back on the opposite side of the giant lake, lying on the moist dewy ground. Apparently the figure had returned him back to Hogwarts, in the same out of way spot as before. "Hermione?" he called out, not bothering getting up. "Hermione, where are you? We did it!"
Harry couldn't hold it in anymore. He burst with rejoicing laughter. We did it!
Harry suddenly realized something was in his hand. A topaz. About 3 cm. across.
---
A/N: I feel I owe everyone an apology. I suspected these last few chapters might be a bit unclear. Apparently I was right, because a lot of people were confused on what's going on. So I give you all permission to beat me up with a freeze-dried weasel.
Anyway, there should only be a few chapters to go. Wrap up, Quidditch cup, house cup, train ride, etc.
Chaser: Will do.
Loser Kid: Heh, I write this chapter about Snape's redemption and death to save others, and you party… me thinks I need to work on my story-telling ability…
Erinamation: Yep, I'm sorry. Free whack with a weasel.
Katani: Apparently Loser Kid isn't alone in celebrating Snape's demise…
Myrhfire: :)
Castus: Not your fault. You get second thwack after Erinamation.
Hrei-siesn: Nah, we guys have become immune to accusations of cluelessness. Ever since it became politically unacceptable to show a clueless woman on television, the whole guy-image thing went down the tube. I like to think of the image of the common guy being someone sitting on the couch with a dull look on his face, saying "Huh?" Ah….
Anyway, I don't think I could write a story where Harry and the gang died. Maybe just Ron, maybe just Hermione. Or maybe even Harry at the very end in order to defeat Voldemort. But I can't see myself killing off more than one of them.
Anyway, sorry to hear about your ex.
Kal: Yeah… forgot to put something in there. Harry didn't see the guy grab the stone, which is understandable. I should have put something at the very end where he thought 'They must have grabbed it during the confusion.' Ok, ok, you can take third whack with the freeze-dried weasel.
Feel free to review.
