Storyline (c) 2003 inTOtheSKY, all Chimeral characters are my own and should not be copied without permission. All other characters belong to JK Rowling ;D Feel free to e-mail me at spirit@eluding.org
Ch8
"Professor Remora!" Roger cried out. "I-I never…"
"He's the one who's been spying on everyone at Hogwarts…the one who made sure that the Snidget reached Dumbledore…" Ron shook his head slowly. "Never thought it…"
"Professor, how could you?" Roger shouted, and at the same time Harry saw sparks fly from amongst the brush, causing cries of alarm from the two other Death Eaters. The Snidgets flying over above was enough to distract the enemy, who were scrambling to gather the birds back in the cage and attack the students at the same time. Harry took the opportunity to use every hex, charm, and spell he knew against the criminals below, yet was interrupted by a sudden cry from Ron, who was being chased by the cursed Eric. Harry looked to Roger, who nodded quickly and flew off to stop his classmate from attacking.
Below, Melody and Alex had crept closer and closer to their Professor, who was desperately crying out, "Accio Snidget!" but only receiving one bird at a time. Lightning flashed across the sky and thunder rolled loudly. Rain began to pour heavily from the clouds and Melody looked up in time to see a bolt of lighting strike the edge of Eric's broom. Crying out, the boy clutched his chest in pain and fell, landing lifeless upon the wet grass.
Melody was about to let out a scream when Alex clamped a hand over her mouth to quell her, aiming a spell at their Professor at the same time. The teacher slipped, fell over backwards, and Alex stood, a spark of red light beginning to emerge from his wand tip.
"This is for giving me that 'E' in your class last year." Alex cleared his throat, and the red light jetted straight at his instructor's face. The handsome teacher lay still and did not move after.
Meanwhile, Harry had been busy distracting Lucius Malfoy while Roger and Ron concentrated upon attacking the other remaining Death Eater. As Harry dove in and out, did high loops and low dives, Draco's father and been desperately trying to aim his wand in the right direction.
"Stop playing games with me, boy…it's getting you no where." Lucius sneered, eyeing Harry. "You're a good flyer…but that's not going to get you anywhere once the Dark Lord gets here."
"Voldemort doesn't mean a thing to me at the moment." Harry retorted as he flew. He aimed his wand quickly over his shoulder and blasted a Stunning Spell at his target. Lucius lept deftly out of the way and pointed his own wand at Harry. A blaze of fire emerged from the Death Eater's wand tip, and though it was raining, Harry was alarmed to see that the end of his broom had burst in a conflagration of red and yellow.
He tumbled to the grass, rolled over and raised his wand in counter attack. A jet of yellow light emerged from his wand and found its mark in Lucius's shoulder, and the middle-aged man groaned slightly from the pain, stumbling back but easily attacking once more. Harry was blown away by the jet of light hurtling towards him, and as he tried to regain his sense of equilibrium, he noticed that Tess had begun to assist attacking the second Death Eater with Ron and Roger, while Alex and Melody kept close watch over their fallen Professor. Harry felt an arm help him off the ground, and turned to see Henry, who was panting hard with dirt streaked across his face.
"You all right, Harry?" He asked, looking to his friend.
"Yeah." Harry nodded, raising his wand back to attack the enemy.
"Potter, you aren't going to win, don't you understand that?" Draco's father laughed evilly. "Just quit while you're ahead…"
"Shut-up!" Harry growled. "Stupefy!"
Henry cried out his own spell, and while Harry missed Lucius, Henry was successful and knocked Draco's father into the mud. Harry hit the fallen Death Eater with a loud, "Petrificus Totalus!" and the man lay immobile in the wet dirt. Knowing that the spell would not last forever, Harry then came closer and hit his rival's father with a satisfying "Impedimenta!", which left the Death Eater unconscious, his mouth open.
"Harry! It's getting hard to fly up here!" Ron called out from above. "We've got to come down!"
"Right!" Harry replied, shouting over the wind. As Roger and Ron landed, Harry was satisfied to see that all of the Death Eaters had been defeated successfully, and that most of his companions had come out of the fight unscathed. Yet he had a nagging feeling in the back of his mind that the brawl had been a bit too easy, and that this wouldn't be the end.
Melody came struggling up, supporting an unconscious Eric with her arm. Tess and Alex were gasping for air, and Henry's robes were coated with mud. Nearby, Roger and Ron were holding their broomsticks near their sides, congratulating each other on a good flight.
The rain falling from above had relented slightly but not by much, and Harry was about to suggest they head for shelter when the sound of someone emerging from the underbrush caught his attention. Roger followed Harry's gaze to the edge of the clearing, and his eyes automatically narrowed. Tess gasped softly and Melody drew in a sharp breath.
"Its Jonathan." Ron said in surprise. "Wonder what he's doing here."
"Followed us, probably." Henry replied darkly.
"I thought he was hanging out with the Slytherins." Alex said. "Did he bring them along too?"
Ron frowned. "Maybe. Doesn't look like it though. Seems like he's by himself."
"Huh." Henry strode forward. "Hey, Jon! What're you doing here?"
There was a moment's silence, where Jonathan simply stared back with a slight smirk upon his face. He then came forward from the forest edge.
"Shouldn't you be asking that question to yourself, buddy?"
"Harry thought he saw someone enter the forest and we tagged along." Tess spoke up. "It turned out-"
"I don't need your worthless explanation!" Jonathan snapped. "I saw all of you running into the forest like something was after you…so that sparked my interest." He glanced behind Roger to see the three limp bodies of the unconscious Death Eaters lying upon the grass. Raising an eyebrow, Jonathan strode over and knelt beside Professor Remora.
"Well, well…looks like they got the best of you, didn't they, Professor?" Jonathan asked, placing his hand atop his teacher's forehead. "Pity, really…"
Harry felt prickles run up his spine as he watched Jonathan run his fingers through the Death Eater's hair. Raising his wand, he pointed it at the Chimeral student, his scar tingling. "Get away from him."
Jonathan looked up in amusement. "Oh. You think you can stop me from doing what I want to do, Potter?" He hovered his hand over Professor Remora's chest slowly for a moment. "I sincerely doubt that." A flash of light emerged from the end of Jonathan's wand, and everyone cried out in alarm, the beam blinding. Suddenly, Tess gave a blood-curling scream, and Harry's stomach turned upside-down at the sight before him.
"P-professor…" Melody paled, trembling horribly. "O-oh…my….g-gosh…"
"Oh jeez…" Roger closed his eyes and Alex began to retch.
"W-what…h-how…why did you have to do that?" Tess wailed loudly. "He never did anything wrong! He was j-just-"
"A Death Eater?" Jonathan began to laugh loudly. "Yes, he was a Death Eater. But a bad one." He looked to the blasted, bloody remains of his teacher. "Oh yes…poor Professor Remora…so young and eager for power…" He began to probe his wand amongst the bloody entrails. "But so careless. You should have known better than to leave your tracks uncovered…"
"H-Harry…" Ron stuttered, his face turning green. "I-I'm beginning to t-think that…J-Jonathan…"
"Yes! Yes, Mr. Weasley, you are correct in your thinking!" Jonathan looked up suddenly, his eyes beginning to undergo a startling metamorphosis. "You…are…so right…" He rammed his hand amongst the viscera and pulled out, to everyone's alarm, a still beating human heart. Standing, he began to near the little group, his reddening eyes pinpointed upon Harry.
"What are you?" Harry shook his head in disgust, grasping his wand tightly.
"Oh, you don't recognize me? I'm your classmate, Jonathan!" Jonathan gave a feigned sigh of exasperation. "Just look at me!" Throwing up his hands in contrived disbelief, he flung the heart away and pulled out his wand.
"Your eyes…" Henry shook slightly. "Oh god, Jon…what happened to your eyes?"
"You don't like them?" Jonathan turned upon his classmate, his hands bloody red. "Well…that is certainly a problem." Raising his arm, he brought his wand through the air, and Henry felt himself knocked to his feet and skidding through the wet grass upon his back towards his crazed classmate.
"Jonathan! No!" Melody cried out.
"Silencio!" Jonathan pointed his wand directly at the girl, and immediately she fell silent, though her lips still moved. She grasped her throat in desperation, yet was unable to say anything.
"Anyway…as I was saying…" Jonathan faced Henry, who was trembling slightly from where he lay helplessly upon the ground. "You were having a little problem with my eyes, weren't you? Now-"
"Flagrate!" Ron cried out, a jet of fire emerging from the tip of his wand. Yet just when it appeared he was about to hit Jonathan successfully, the Chimeral student disappeared and in his place appeared Henry, who cried out in pain as the flames began to lick at his flesh.
Tess took action and uttered her own spell, a gentle spray of water emitting from her wand. Henry immediately collapsed upon the grass, groaning in pain as the conflagration was extinguished from his robes, and Melody scurried over to help him.
"Now…you know what would make all this even better?" Jonathan asked from a different spot, his laughter reverberating endlessly in everyone's ears. "Oh yes…yes, I know…" He waved his wand over the two limp bodies of the remaining Death Eaters. To Harry's horror, they sprang to life, as if they'd never been knocked unconscious.
With their numbers cut down to six, Harry bit his lip, wondering if they could take on Jonathan and two Death Eaters at the same time.
"Harry!" Alex cried out. "How can we stop them? Eric and Henry can't fight, and Melody can't say any spells!"
Harry could not find the words to reply, and instead raised his wand, facing the enemy. Ron however, attacked first with a fierce, "Reducto!"
"Stupefy!" Roger cried nearby. His attack was reflected by a powerful Shield Charm, and he was hit hard in the face by his own spell. Toppling backwards, he fell into the grass and did not move.
"Harry!" Ron cried desperately, rainwater dripping down his face. "I don't think-"
"Don't say it!" Harry snapped, narrowly dodging the Death Eater's attack. When his attacker pounced upon him and pinned him down, Harry pointed his wand behind his back, blowing his assailant away.
In another area of the field, Alex had his hands full, dueling with Draco's father. Desperately using every spell he knew, the boy neared his classmate, who sat with the other wounded Chimeral students. Taking her chance, Melody rammed her wand straight between Lucius Malfoy's legs, and he collapsed with a painful groan. Ron ran swiftly over and placed a body-binding spell upon their assailant, then turned his attention towards Harry's battle.
Harry cried out a Stunning Spell, but the Death Eater evaded it easily, snickering. She then made the all too familiar slashing motion with her wand, the curiously purple flame trailing along the wand tip. Tess, who had been waiting for the right moment to attack, seemed mesmerized by the little blaze and stood frozen to where she stood.
"Get out of the way!" Harry cried out, grasping upon the Chimeral student's arm. Yet when he'd finally managed to push her out of the Death Eater's attack range, she fell hard into the mud, her eyes open and glassy.
"Oh jeez…" Alex winced. He ran to his classmate and began to drag her out of harm's way, while Ron and Harry continued to fight.
"Impedimenta!" Harry cried out, slipping a bit upon the wet grass and ducking a counter attack made by the Death Eater. "Expelliarmus!"
Ron quickly moistened his lips and muttered a spell beneath his breath. The Death Eater squealed and collapsed upon the grass, squirming.
"Petrificus Totalus!" Harry exclaimed, pointing his wand directly at her face. She ceased her screaming and fell flat upon her back. Turning to Ron, Harry gave his friend a tired yet wide grin. "That was excellent…what did you use on her?"
"Oh. A Jelly Legs Jinx." Ron smiled. "I remember Hermione used it our first year."
Harry glanced quickly around them to see who still remained standing. Alex gave a feeble wave a few feet away with Melody, who was still unable to speak. Tess, Roger and Eric all lay silent upon the grass.
- -
"I don't suppose…that we're finished here?" Ron asked, looking to Harry. Everyone raised their eyes expectantly at Harry, as if he were the one who held all the answers. Yet a cold, chilly voice responded to all their questions.
"Oh dear…you've gone and broken all my toys…" Jonathan's voice filled the clearing, though he was nowhere in sight. "Some fun you guys are…"
"Where are you?" Harry raised his voice. "What do you want from us?"
"Oh nothing, Harry, nothing really…" Jonathan replied in a voice as smooth as silk. "I really just wanted to have a bit of entertainment, that's all."
"Jonathan, don't!" Alex called out. "Just what exactly happened to you anyway? What's with the creepy voice and the red eyes…and how did you get so…powered up?"
His classmate laughed cruelly in reply. "You seriously haven't figured it out yet? Oh gosh, Alex, sometimes you really make me LAUGH!" A chilling breeze cut across the field that moment, and Alex toppled to the ground. Only Ron and Harry remained in the arena, and they glanced at each other nervously.
"Now!" Jonathan exclaimed. "Now…I want to play a game."
"We're not here to play games!" Harry retorted. "Now tell me what you want!"
"Quiet, Potter!" Jonathan's voice boomed. "I make the rules here!"
Suddenly, he appeared out of nowhere in the middle of the field. Harry tried to raise his wand but found himself frozen to the spot and unable to move. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see that Ron had been placed under the same spell as well.
"Now before I explain how to play the game, I'd like to introduce you to a very special associate of mine. No, you can call her a new plaything that I picked up…very close to my heart." He gave a quick wave of his arm, and Paige appeared, her eyes glazed over and her arms tight against her sides. "Oh yes…little Paige…"
"What are you going to do to her?" Harry cried out from where he stood.
"I thought…I told you…to SHUT-UP!" Jonathan yelled. After making sure his words had sunk in, the Chimeral student cleared his throat. "Oh, and did I tell you? I'm also expecting a special guest!" He checked his watch in mild interest. "Mhm. Should be showing up in a matter of seconds…Oh yes! Here he is!"
Harry and Ron both darted their eyes in the direction Jonathan had turned to, and the two friends goggled at who emerged from the woods.
"Oh, Draco! How good of you to join us!" Jonathan laughed, and raised his wand, flicking it to the left. The sixth-year Slytherin was immediately pulled, as if by a magnetic force, to the Chimeral student's side.
Draco glanced uneasily from the bodies upon the grass to Harry and Ron. "Um, Jonathan…what exactly is this all about? What are you doing?"
"Oh right! I forgot to explain everything to you!" Jonathan slapped his forehead in feigned annoyance. "All right, look. You and I…we like to have fun, right?"
"Um…right." Draco replied, trying to appear cool and confident. "Right."
"Thought so." Jonathan smirked. "All right. That's why we're going to play a little game with Potter and Weasley."
"Oh! Potter and Weasley." Draco nodded, relaxing a bit. "Sounds interesting…"
"Right…I knew you'd say that!" Jonathan said approvingly. "Now, it goes like this." He placed an arm about Draco's shoulders, pointing his wand towards Harry and Ron. "You and I…we don't like those two, do we?"
"No." Draco gave a slight laugh. "Not at all."
"All right. So you've seen that I've taken care of most of their little friends…" Jonathan gestured towards the bodies that lay upon the floor.
"…Right." Draco moistened his lips slowly. "…Um…before we go on any further…Jon, what exactly happened to your eyes?"
Jonathan seemed to be surprised at Draco's question. "Oh! That's right…I didn't tell you about that! I knew I'd forgotten something…" He unhooked his arm from around the Slytherin's shoulder and cleared his throat. "All right. Since you and I are such good friends and all…" He pointed his wand up into the sky, and a spark of light shot past the remaining Snidgets to embed itself into a fluffy rain cloud. There was a moment of silence, and Draco was about to question his classmate's actions when the bone-chilling image of a skull with a serpent protruding from its mouth flashed across the sky. Draco took a few steps backwards, his mouth open. Harry desperately tried to twist his head backwards to take a look at what had appeared above, yet found he still could not move, and gritted his teeth in frustration.
"Y-you're a Death Eater?" Draco asked shakily, staring at his friend. "…You?"
Jonathan grinned, and shook his head. "Nope. Even better." He looked up proudly at the Dark Mark in the night sky. "I'm Lord Voldemort."
Ch8
"Professor Remora!" Roger cried out. "I-I never…"
"He's the one who's been spying on everyone at Hogwarts…the one who made sure that the Snidget reached Dumbledore…" Ron shook his head slowly. "Never thought it…"
"Professor, how could you?" Roger shouted, and at the same time Harry saw sparks fly from amongst the brush, causing cries of alarm from the two other Death Eaters. The Snidgets flying over above was enough to distract the enemy, who were scrambling to gather the birds back in the cage and attack the students at the same time. Harry took the opportunity to use every hex, charm, and spell he knew against the criminals below, yet was interrupted by a sudden cry from Ron, who was being chased by the cursed Eric. Harry looked to Roger, who nodded quickly and flew off to stop his classmate from attacking.
Below, Melody and Alex had crept closer and closer to their Professor, who was desperately crying out, "Accio Snidget!" but only receiving one bird at a time. Lightning flashed across the sky and thunder rolled loudly. Rain began to pour heavily from the clouds and Melody looked up in time to see a bolt of lighting strike the edge of Eric's broom. Crying out, the boy clutched his chest in pain and fell, landing lifeless upon the wet grass.
Melody was about to let out a scream when Alex clamped a hand over her mouth to quell her, aiming a spell at their Professor at the same time. The teacher slipped, fell over backwards, and Alex stood, a spark of red light beginning to emerge from his wand tip.
"This is for giving me that 'E' in your class last year." Alex cleared his throat, and the red light jetted straight at his instructor's face. The handsome teacher lay still and did not move after.
Meanwhile, Harry had been busy distracting Lucius Malfoy while Roger and Ron concentrated upon attacking the other remaining Death Eater. As Harry dove in and out, did high loops and low dives, Draco's father and been desperately trying to aim his wand in the right direction.
"Stop playing games with me, boy…it's getting you no where." Lucius sneered, eyeing Harry. "You're a good flyer…but that's not going to get you anywhere once the Dark Lord gets here."
"Voldemort doesn't mean a thing to me at the moment." Harry retorted as he flew. He aimed his wand quickly over his shoulder and blasted a Stunning Spell at his target. Lucius lept deftly out of the way and pointed his own wand at Harry. A blaze of fire emerged from the Death Eater's wand tip, and though it was raining, Harry was alarmed to see that the end of his broom had burst in a conflagration of red and yellow.
He tumbled to the grass, rolled over and raised his wand in counter attack. A jet of yellow light emerged from his wand and found its mark in Lucius's shoulder, and the middle-aged man groaned slightly from the pain, stumbling back but easily attacking once more. Harry was blown away by the jet of light hurtling towards him, and as he tried to regain his sense of equilibrium, he noticed that Tess had begun to assist attacking the second Death Eater with Ron and Roger, while Alex and Melody kept close watch over their fallen Professor. Harry felt an arm help him off the ground, and turned to see Henry, who was panting hard with dirt streaked across his face.
"You all right, Harry?" He asked, looking to his friend.
"Yeah." Harry nodded, raising his wand back to attack the enemy.
"Potter, you aren't going to win, don't you understand that?" Draco's father laughed evilly. "Just quit while you're ahead…"
"Shut-up!" Harry growled. "Stupefy!"
Henry cried out his own spell, and while Harry missed Lucius, Henry was successful and knocked Draco's father into the mud. Harry hit the fallen Death Eater with a loud, "Petrificus Totalus!" and the man lay immobile in the wet dirt. Knowing that the spell would not last forever, Harry then came closer and hit his rival's father with a satisfying "Impedimenta!", which left the Death Eater unconscious, his mouth open.
"Harry! It's getting hard to fly up here!" Ron called out from above. "We've got to come down!"
"Right!" Harry replied, shouting over the wind. As Roger and Ron landed, Harry was satisfied to see that all of the Death Eaters had been defeated successfully, and that most of his companions had come out of the fight unscathed. Yet he had a nagging feeling in the back of his mind that the brawl had been a bit too easy, and that this wouldn't be the end.
Melody came struggling up, supporting an unconscious Eric with her arm. Tess and Alex were gasping for air, and Henry's robes were coated with mud. Nearby, Roger and Ron were holding their broomsticks near their sides, congratulating each other on a good flight.
The rain falling from above had relented slightly but not by much, and Harry was about to suggest they head for shelter when the sound of someone emerging from the underbrush caught his attention. Roger followed Harry's gaze to the edge of the clearing, and his eyes automatically narrowed. Tess gasped softly and Melody drew in a sharp breath.
"Its Jonathan." Ron said in surprise. "Wonder what he's doing here."
"Followed us, probably." Henry replied darkly.
"I thought he was hanging out with the Slytherins." Alex said. "Did he bring them along too?"
Ron frowned. "Maybe. Doesn't look like it though. Seems like he's by himself."
"Huh." Henry strode forward. "Hey, Jon! What're you doing here?"
There was a moment's silence, where Jonathan simply stared back with a slight smirk upon his face. He then came forward from the forest edge.
"Shouldn't you be asking that question to yourself, buddy?"
"Harry thought he saw someone enter the forest and we tagged along." Tess spoke up. "It turned out-"
"I don't need your worthless explanation!" Jonathan snapped. "I saw all of you running into the forest like something was after you…so that sparked my interest." He glanced behind Roger to see the three limp bodies of the unconscious Death Eaters lying upon the grass. Raising an eyebrow, Jonathan strode over and knelt beside Professor Remora.
"Well, well…looks like they got the best of you, didn't they, Professor?" Jonathan asked, placing his hand atop his teacher's forehead. "Pity, really…"
Harry felt prickles run up his spine as he watched Jonathan run his fingers through the Death Eater's hair. Raising his wand, he pointed it at the Chimeral student, his scar tingling. "Get away from him."
Jonathan looked up in amusement. "Oh. You think you can stop me from doing what I want to do, Potter?" He hovered his hand over Professor Remora's chest slowly for a moment. "I sincerely doubt that." A flash of light emerged from the end of Jonathan's wand, and everyone cried out in alarm, the beam blinding. Suddenly, Tess gave a blood-curling scream, and Harry's stomach turned upside-down at the sight before him.
"P-professor…" Melody paled, trembling horribly. "O-oh…my….g-gosh…"
"Oh jeez…" Roger closed his eyes and Alex began to retch.
"W-what…h-how…why did you have to do that?" Tess wailed loudly. "He never did anything wrong! He was j-just-"
"A Death Eater?" Jonathan began to laugh loudly. "Yes, he was a Death Eater. But a bad one." He looked to the blasted, bloody remains of his teacher. "Oh yes…poor Professor Remora…so young and eager for power…" He began to probe his wand amongst the bloody entrails. "But so careless. You should have known better than to leave your tracks uncovered…"
"H-Harry…" Ron stuttered, his face turning green. "I-I'm beginning to t-think that…J-Jonathan…"
"Yes! Yes, Mr. Weasley, you are correct in your thinking!" Jonathan looked up suddenly, his eyes beginning to undergo a startling metamorphosis. "You…are…so right…" He rammed his hand amongst the viscera and pulled out, to everyone's alarm, a still beating human heart. Standing, he began to near the little group, his reddening eyes pinpointed upon Harry.
"What are you?" Harry shook his head in disgust, grasping his wand tightly.
"Oh, you don't recognize me? I'm your classmate, Jonathan!" Jonathan gave a feigned sigh of exasperation. "Just look at me!" Throwing up his hands in contrived disbelief, he flung the heart away and pulled out his wand.
"Your eyes…" Henry shook slightly. "Oh god, Jon…what happened to your eyes?"
"You don't like them?" Jonathan turned upon his classmate, his hands bloody red. "Well…that is certainly a problem." Raising his arm, he brought his wand through the air, and Henry felt himself knocked to his feet and skidding through the wet grass upon his back towards his crazed classmate.
"Jonathan! No!" Melody cried out.
"Silencio!" Jonathan pointed his wand directly at the girl, and immediately she fell silent, though her lips still moved. She grasped her throat in desperation, yet was unable to say anything.
"Anyway…as I was saying…" Jonathan faced Henry, who was trembling slightly from where he lay helplessly upon the ground. "You were having a little problem with my eyes, weren't you? Now-"
"Flagrate!" Ron cried out, a jet of fire emerging from the tip of his wand. Yet just when it appeared he was about to hit Jonathan successfully, the Chimeral student disappeared and in his place appeared Henry, who cried out in pain as the flames began to lick at his flesh.
Tess took action and uttered her own spell, a gentle spray of water emitting from her wand. Henry immediately collapsed upon the grass, groaning in pain as the conflagration was extinguished from his robes, and Melody scurried over to help him.
"Now…you know what would make all this even better?" Jonathan asked from a different spot, his laughter reverberating endlessly in everyone's ears. "Oh yes…yes, I know…" He waved his wand over the two limp bodies of the remaining Death Eaters. To Harry's horror, they sprang to life, as if they'd never been knocked unconscious.
With their numbers cut down to six, Harry bit his lip, wondering if they could take on Jonathan and two Death Eaters at the same time.
"Harry!" Alex cried out. "How can we stop them? Eric and Henry can't fight, and Melody can't say any spells!"
Harry could not find the words to reply, and instead raised his wand, facing the enemy. Ron however, attacked first with a fierce, "Reducto!"
"Stupefy!" Roger cried nearby. His attack was reflected by a powerful Shield Charm, and he was hit hard in the face by his own spell. Toppling backwards, he fell into the grass and did not move.
"Harry!" Ron cried desperately, rainwater dripping down his face. "I don't think-"
"Don't say it!" Harry snapped, narrowly dodging the Death Eater's attack. When his attacker pounced upon him and pinned him down, Harry pointed his wand behind his back, blowing his assailant away.
In another area of the field, Alex had his hands full, dueling with Draco's father. Desperately using every spell he knew, the boy neared his classmate, who sat with the other wounded Chimeral students. Taking her chance, Melody rammed her wand straight between Lucius Malfoy's legs, and he collapsed with a painful groan. Ron ran swiftly over and placed a body-binding spell upon their assailant, then turned his attention towards Harry's battle.
Harry cried out a Stunning Spell, but the Death Eater evaded it easily, snickering. She then made the all too familiar slashing motion with her wand, the curiously purple flame trailing along the wand tip. Tess, who had been waiting for the right moment to attack, seemed mesmerized by the little blaze and stood frozen to where she stood.
"Get out of the way!" Harry cried out, grasping upon the Chimeral student's arm. Yet when he'd finally managed to push her out of the Death Eater's attack range, she fell hard into the mud, her eyes open and glassy.
"Oh jeez…" Alex winced. He ran to his classmate and began to drag her out of harm's way, while Ron and Harry continued to fight.
"Impedimenta!" Harry cried out, slipping a bit upon the wet grass and ducking a counter attack made by the Death Eater. "Expelliarmus!"
Ron quickly moistened his lips and muttered a spell beneath his breath. The Death Eater squealed and collapsed upon the grass, squirming.
"Petrificus Totalus!" Harry exclaimed, pointing his wand directly at her face. She ceased her screaming and fell flat upon her back. Turning to Ron, Harry gave his friend a tired yet wide grin. "That was excellent…what did you use on her?"
"Oh. A Jelly Legs Jinx." Ron smiled. "I remember Hermione used it our first year."
Harry glanced quickly around them to see who still remained standing. Alex gave a feeble wave a few feet away with Melody, who was still unable to speak. Tess, Roger and Eric all lay silent upon the grass.
- -
"I don't suppose…that we're finished here?" Ron asked, looking to Harry. Everyone raised their eyes expectantly at Harry, as if he were the one who held all the answers. Yet a cold, chilly voice responded to all their questions.
"Oh dear…you've gone and broken all my toys…" Jonathan's voice filled the clearing, though he was nowhere in sight. "Some fun you guys are…"
"Where are you?" Harry raised his voice. "What do you want from us?"
"Oh nothing, Harry, nothing really…" Jonathan replied in a voice as smooth as silk. "I really just wanted to have a bit of entertainment, that's all."
"Jonathan, don't!" Alex called out. "Just what exactly happened to you anyway? What's with the creepy voice and the red eyes…and how did you get so…powered up?"
His classmate laughed cruelly in reply. "You seriously haven't figured it out yet? Oh gosh, Alex, sometimes you really make me LAUGH!" A chilling breeze cut across the field that moment, and Alex toppled to the ground. Only Ron and Harry remained in the arena, and they glanced at each other nervously.
"Now!" Jonathan exclaimed. "Now…I want to play a game."
"We're not here to play games!" Harry retorted. "Now tell me what you want!"
"Quiet, Potter!" Jonathan's voice boomed. "I make the rules here!"
Suddenly, he appeared out of nowhere in the middle of the field. Harry tried to raise his wand but found himself frozen to the spot and unable to move. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see that Ron had been placed under the same spell as well.
"Now before I explain how to play the game, I'd like to introduce you to a very special associate of mine. No, you can call her a new plaything that I picked up…very close to my heart." He gave a quick wave of his arm, and Paige appeared, her eyes glazed over and her arms tight against her sides. "Oh yes…little Paige…"
"What are you going to do to her?" Harry cried out from where he stood.
"I thought…I told you…to SHUT-UP!" Jonathan yelled. After making sure his words had sunk in, the Chimeral student cleared his throat. "Oh, and did I tell you? I'm also expecting a special guest!" He checked his watch in mild interest. "Mhm. Should be showing up in a matter of seconds…Oh yes! Here he is!"
Harry and Ron both darted their eyes in the direction Jonathan had turned to, and the two friends goggled at who emerged from the woods.
"Oh, Draco! How good of you to join us!" Jonathan laughed, and raised his wand, flicking it to the left. The sixth-year Slytherin was immediately pulled, as if by a magnetic force, to the Chimeral student's side.
Draco glanced uneasily from the bodies upon the grass to Harry and Ron. "Um, Jonathan…what exactly is this all about? What are you doing?"
"Oh right! I forgot to explain everything to you!" Jonathan slapped his forehead in feigned annoyance. "All right, look. You and I…we like to have fun, right?"
"Um…right." Draco replied, trying to appear cool and confident. "Right."
"Thought so." Jonathan smirked. "All right. That's why we're going to play a little game with Potter and Weasley."
"Oh! Potter and Weasley." Draco nodded, relaxing a bit. "Sounds interesting…"
"Right…I knew you'd say that!" Jonathan said approvingly. "Now, it goes like this." He placed an arm about Draco's shoulders, pointing his wand towards Harry and Ron. "You and I…we don't like those two, do we?"
"No." Draco gave a slight laugh. "Not at all."
"All right. So you've seen that I've taken care of most of their little friends…" Jonathan gestured towards the bodies that lay upon the floor.
"…Right." Draco moistened his lips slowly. "…Um…before we go on any further…Jon, what exactly happened to your eyes?"
Jonathan seemed to be surprised at Draco's question. "Oh! That's right…I didn't tell you about that! I knew I'd forgotten something…" He unhooked his arm from around the Slytherin's shoulder and cleared his throat. "All right. Since you and I are such good friends and all…" He pointed his wand up into the sky, and a spark of light shot past the remaining Snidgets to embed itself into a fluffy rain cloud. There was a moment of silence, and Draco was about to question his classmate's actions when the bone-chilling image of a skull with a serpent protruding from its mouth flashed across the sky. Draco took a few steps backwards, his mouth open. Harry desperately tried to twist his head backwards to take a look at what had appeared above, yet found he still could not move, and gritted his teeth in frustration.
"Y-you're a Death Eater?" Draco asked shakily, staring at his friend. "…You?"
Jonathan grinned, and shook his head. "Nope. Even better." He looked up proudly at the Dark Mark in the night sky. "I'm Lord Voldemort."
