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
Ch9
"What in the bloody hell…" Draco began to turn away. "Jon…Jon, you're kidding, right?"
"What? No!" Jonathan replied indignantly.
"But…isn't you-know-who back?" Draco asked. "Why didn't he show up himself then?"
"Draco, its so obvious!" Jonathan threw up his hands in annoyance. "A student is the best disguise to use when you're trying to draw Harry Potter…and me being suitable to the Dark Lord's character, he chose me to see for him, speak for him…be him."
"So…you weren't placed under the Imperius Curse like I was, then?" Draco asked. "That was…"
"Pure genius, I know." Jonathan cut in rather pompously. He looked maliciously at Harry. "I had you fooled, didn't I?"
Harry flushed angrily. "If you're really Voldemort, why didn't you attack me in the Owlery instead of getting Remora to do it for you?"
"Oh. Well, that was really a test of the Professor's magic, stuff like that…" Jonathan fingered his wand casually. "You might even call it a mistake on my part. The Dark Lord was rather mad at me for not bringing the Snidget to him personally, but that's no matter…" He gave his wand a little wave and immediately, all the Snidgets returned obediently to the cage. After the door had clanged shut, he smiled malevolently. "Once he sees all these birds and we've picked out the ones who can sing the song of immortality, there will be no trouble getting the last bird from Hogwarts."
Turning back to Draco, Jonathan gave his friend a grin. "Anyway, I should apologize for placing the Imperius Curse on you during the game…I needed a distraction, and I wasn't sure that you'd go along with everything, so…"
"Oh. Right." Draco forced a smirk upon his face, swallowing hard. "W-when…when did all this you-know-who business start with you then?"
"Oh. That was when the exchange student program first came out at Chimeral." Jonathan twirled his wand through his fingers lazily. "I wasn't interested at all…until I was approached by the Dark Lord himself…" Jonathan threw a glance over at Harry. "And the rest you know."
"…Great." Draco cleared his throat. "Terrific."
"I gotta tell ya, Draco…all this power…it's…overwhelming." Jonathan sighed. "I feel like I can do anything. I can make Weasley and Potter here fight to the Death if I wanted to…but I've got a much better plan in mind." He raised his wand, his eyes flickering with excitement. "Ready to play, Potter?"
"We don't want to be a part of your sick games!" Harry retorted, cringing from the sudden shock of pain that Jonathan had inflicted in his chest.
"Obviously, you don't know how to keep your mouth shut." Jonathan sneered. He snapped his fingers and Ron and Harry were brought close enough to each other so that they were side by side. "Now. I understand you Gryffindors are true of heart and brave as well." Jonathan's smirk grew into a widening smile. "So, this part will be the greatest test of those traits."
With that, he flicked his wand once, and all of a sudden, Ron began to tremble with fear. Harry looked about them, but was unable to see anything except for what was already there.
"Ron…Ron! What's wrong?" He cried, trying to reach out to his friend. When Ron continued to pale and shake, Harry's eyes widened, seeing the red-haired boy raise his wand in a trembling hand.
"Ron! Snap out of it!" Harry desperately tried to break from his invisible bonds. Ron continued to stare at Harry with extreme fear written all over his face. His lips began to move slowly, and Harry shook his head frantically. "No! Ron, It's me!"
Miraculously, Harry found he was suddenly able to move, and leapt out of the powerful Stunning Spell's way. As he ducked from another of Ron's attacks, Harry glared up at Jonathan. "What did you do to him?"
The Chimeral student only laughed in reply. "Its all part of the game, Potter…its up to you to figure out how to play."
"H-Harry…" Paige murmured softly from where she stood, trembling slightly, and Draco snapped his head quickly in her direction.
"J…Jonathan…" Paige's eyes began to flicker with life. "Don't…"
"Why Paige…" Jonathan sneered at the girl. "Do you really care that much about Potter here?" He placed his hands upon her shoulders. "You must be feeling such hatred, seeing me torture him so."
"What's happening to her?" Draco asked.
"The Imperius Curse I placed on her is wearing off." Jonathan replied, and began stroking Paige's hair, much to Draco's discomfort. Looking up at Harry's frantic dodging of Ron's attacks, he laughed. "Brilliant, isn't it? I've pitted the two friends against each other. Weasely doesn't know who he's attacking, and Potter's too sensitive to attack back!"
"Brilliant…" Draco muttered, hands in his pockets. "By the way…what're you doing to do with her?"
"Paige?" Jonathan asked. "Well…I'm going to have her killed with the rest of her little friends-"
"NO!" Draco heard the word emerge from his mouth before he could stop it. Eyes wide, he pursed his lips before speaking again. "…You can't."
"Oh? And why not?" Jonathan asked. "I thought you wanted to teach her a lesson…" He looked at his hand, which was still wet from plucking the human heart from Professor Remora's chest. When Draco did not reply, the Chimeral student began fingering his wand casually. "Anyway…I was going to have Potter fight with her for a little while for fun, but seeing that the Imperius Curse is wearing off, I think it'd provide some good entertainment if she were to see Harry die before her eyes…"
"Er…right." Draco mumbled, fumbling with his robes as he tried to figure out what to say. "Um…Jon…do you think…that maybe we could forget about the whole punishing Paige thing? I mean…you've already got her brother, and-"
"Draco, don't go all Harry Potter on me." Jonathan replied, laughing. "Besides…it'll be fun…just sit back and watch!"
"No." Draco set his jaw, and Jonathan's laughter began to die. "Jon, I'm not kidding."
"Wha…what?" Jonathan's smile wavered. "You…you're joking. Draco, are you sick or something? C'mon, the girl isn't worth anything, I would know!"
"Well she's something to me!" Draco reached out and grasped the Chimeral student's arm. "Let her go."
"…You're really serious." He wrenched away from Draco's grasp.
"Right." Draco moistened his lips. "And I'd appreciate it if you'd release her."
Jonathan appeared to be in a state of disbelief and stood there, shaking his head. "…No. I'm not letting her go."
"Why?" Draco demanded, stepping forward. "You're going to get to finish most of them off anyway; you've even got Potter within your grasp! Take all of them to you-know-who for all I care, but let Paige go!"Jonathan's expression of confusion slowly began to change into a face of understanding. A glimmer of malice shone in the boy's eyes, and a wide smirk began to form across his mouth.
"Sorry to break it to you." He said softly. "But she dies with the rest of them."
"What's wrong with letting just one go?" Draco argued.
"I think the real question is, Draco…is why you only want me to release Paige." Jonathan encircled an arm about the girl's waist, and she shook slightly. "Potter would have wanted me to release every one of them."
"But I'm not Potter, am I?" Draco retorted, reaching for his wand.
"No, I don't suppose you are." Jonathan replied curling a lock of Paige's black hair between his fingers. "You know, when I first met you, I was surprised the Dark Lord didn't choose you instead of me. I mean, our personalities…our traits…we're so much alike, Draco." He smiled nastily. "But just now…I discovered why Lord Voldemort chose me. I have no weaknesses, whereas you do."
"What are you talking about?" Draco demanded. "What weakness?"
"Oh. Nothing much…" Jonathan's grin widened. "…except for a little girl named Paige!" He pulled the girl closer to him, and she made a loud choking sound, her eyes moving about wildly. Draco jumped and pulled out his wand, sweat beads forming upon his forehead. Jonathan laughed loudly. "Oh jeez…your reaction was priceless…your face…" Jonathan shook his head, smiling. "The curse is wearing off, Draco, that's all. It's not like I hurt her or anything…"
"I'm not sure if I can trust your word, Jonathan." Draco growled.
"Oh, Draco…you want to fight, is it?" Jonathan smirked, his own wand at the ready. "You do realize that I have the power of the world's most feared Dark Wizard inside of me?" He gave Paige a quick look before turning back to Draco. "You're fighting with the Dark Lord just to rescue a worthless girl? I'd never do that…"
"Shut-up!" Draco retorted, standing his ground. "I'm not you, so stop making stupid comparisons and let Paige go!"
"You're very brave for a Slytherin, Draco." Jonathan nodded in approval. "Your father would be proud…except for the fact that he's lying in a heap in the mud over there-"
"Expelliarmus!" Draco cried angrily, letting the spell fly from his wand. Jonathan gave a swift turn and disappeared with Paige in his arms. Cursing, Draco looked about wildly, hoping to spot the Chimeral student.
"Can't see me, can you, Draco?" Jonathan's voice rang in the Slytherin's ears. "Makes you feel weak and vulnerable, doesn't it?"
"Quit hiding, you prat!" Draco snapped, grasping his wand tightly.
"Right here, Draco." Jonathan reappeared with Paige in his grasp. "But tell me…do you really want to attack me when your little precious might get hurt by your own spell?" He gave a cruel smile. In his arms, the effects of the Imperius Curse seemed to have worn off, and Paige gave helpless struggles against her classmate's arms.
"I'm going to do everything in my power to get her back." Draco replied, raising his wand slowly.
"Ooh, I'm scared!" Jonathan squealed in feigned fright. "Please don't hurt me Mr. Malfoy…"
"Jonathan, don't!" Paige struggled. "Why are you doing this?"
"Quiet!" He slapped her across the face, leaving smears of blood over her cheek. Shooting a quick look at Draco, he grinned. "You know…I never thought you cared about anyone but yourself…you didn't even pay attention to that Pansy girl even though she'd throw herself all over you just to get some reaction from you…" Laughing, he leaned close to Paige and ran his tongue down the side of her face to taste the blood he'd left behind, causing her to wince and sob.
Draco took his chance. "Impedimenta!" Jonathan noticed the attack at the last moment and ducked, the spell narrowly missing his shoulder.
"Oh, close one, Draco!" Jonathan sneered, laughing. "You know, this is rather fun…I'd do this all day…but I have things to do and places to go to." He raised his wand and gave a sympathetic smile. "So sorry things didn't work out with us, Draco...Avada Kedavra!""NO!" Paige screamed as the green light shot towards its target.
Miraculously, Draco somehow managed to dive out of the powerful spell's range and landed hard against the grass, panting.
"My, my…I haven't missed before…" Jonathan sighed loudly. "Well…might as well try again-OW!"
Paige had kicked the boy hard in the shins, and as he raised his arm to strike her, she cried out, "Draco! Run! Go!"
"…No…" Draco stood, cringing a bit as he placed pressure upon his right leg. Looking down, he saw that the leg of his robes was soaked through with blood, and he winced, wondering when he'd been attacked there. Looking up, he raised his wand yet again: "Stupefy!"
Jonathan, who had been struggling to hold down Paige, was struck between the shoulder blades by the Stunning Spell, and fell upon the grass. Cursing, he got to his feet and quickly counter-attacked, knocking Draco off his feet.
Now free of her restraints, Paige pulled out her own wand, and cried out, "Tarantallegra!"
Jonathan's legs began to prance and move about in a mad dance, and he fell upon his back, feet kicking the air. In anger, he forced himself up upon his back and retaliated with a powerful disarming spell. Paige was hit hard against her head, and she fell in the wet grass, her vision blurring.
"Finite." Jonathan mumbled, and his legs stopped their wild dance immediately. Brushing himself off, the boy stood and looked about for his next victim. The rain above had not yet relented, and his robes were heavy and wet against his skin. "Draco! Where are you?" He called out in a singsong tone of voice. "I'm not done with you yet…"
There was a fine mist of fog spread across the field, and Jonathan lit the point of his wand to see better. "No point in hiding…I won't do anything to you…except maybe kill you."
"Who's the vulnerable one now, Jon?" Draco's voice emerged from the fog suddenly, and Jonathan turned on his heel, unable to pinpoint Draco's location. "You're right…it is fun being able to attack someone when they're susceptible and defenseless…"
"Are you trying to scare me, Draco?" Jonathan sneered, waving his wand about.
"So how shall I attack you, Jon? Maybe you could throw some ideas at me." Draco said casually. "I'm not as good at the Unforgivable Curses like you are…but since I've got the opportunity to use it, I might as well give it a shot…"
"You wouldn't…" Jonathan laughed. "And even if you did, it'd be the weakest-AGH!"
The Chimeral student was knocked off his feet by a painful jolt in his chest, and he cringed, clutching himself. "What…what did you do…"
When there was no reply, he cursed softly and continued walking through the mist. A disarming spell hit him in the shoulder, and reaching through the mist, he closed his fingers about someone's wrist.
"Paige!" He growled, spitting in her face. Grabbing a hold of her, he dragged her after him through the fog.
"Draco! I've got Paige with me and I'm going to kill her if you don't show your face right now!" Jonathan panted, squeezing Paige's wrist hard and causing her to cry out. "You hear that? I mean business, so come out!"
He suddenly felt his legs collapse out from under him, causing his to release his hold upon his victim. As the girl tumbled to the ground, Jonathan found that his legs had become weak and wobbly. Muttering angrily beneath his breath, the boy struggled to think of the counter curse, unoticing Draco's emergence from the mist behind him. Only after a fist had made contact with his head did Jonathan whirl about, panting.
"You don't want to provoke me!" He roared. Pointing at his limp limbs, he muttered the counter curse and felt strength returning to his legs. Noticing Paige reaching for her wand, which had fallen away from her, Jonathan immediately swept it from the grass, placed it into his hands and snapped it in two.
"You know, Paige...you have an amazing knack of always getting in the way of things...but that'll be over after I'm done with you." Jonathan sneered at his defenseless classmate. "It was so sad that we broke up, wasn't it? I gotta admit...we looked good when we were together."
"Shut-up..." Paige replied, a trickle of blood flowing down her cheek.
"This will be long and painful, Paige. Brace yourself." Jonathan laughed loudly. "CRUCIO!"
Paige's eyes squeezed shut as she awaited the pain which would emerge from the end of her attacker's wand. Yet when she felt hands clamp upon her shoulders and shove her out of the way, she opened her eyes to the horrible sight of Draco, screaming in anguish as the Crusiatus Spell inflicted its wrath upon him. Jonathan's laughter reverberated throughout the clearing as he continued to point his wand at his victim, inflicting more and more pain. Paige couldn't stand to watch the Slytherin be tortured, and tears began to form in her eyes as she remained unable to help.
"Stupefy!" A voice cried out from the darkness. The spell made contact with Jonathan's arm, and the boy cried out in surprise, dropping his wand. Draco toppled over Paige, knocking her into the grass, and she shook his lifeless body in desperation to reawaken him. Jonathan retrieved his wand swiftly and turned, a challenging expression upon his face. When yet another spell emerged from the fog, Jonathan quickly refracted it, and it hit Paige in the side, causing her to gasp out and fall back upon the grass in silence.
"Come out, come out, wherever you are..." Jonathan laughed menacingly. He waved his wand slightly to clear away some of the mist around him, and Harry emerged slowly, wand pointed.
- -
The Present
So everything from the past six months - the arrival of the Chimeral students, Hermione's warning leters, the distribution of the Snidgets, the game against Ravenclaw, and more - everything had added up to what was happening right now. Now that Harry had thought about all that had happened since the exchange student program in those brief seconds, he realized how so very brave and loyal his new friends were - and just how dangerous just one boy his own age could be.
Jonathan stood across from him, a confident sneer upon his face.
"You going to attack me yet, Potter?" He asked. "Haven't got all day, y'know..."
"Petrificus Totalus!" Harry cried, pointing his wand at his opponent. Jonathan disappeared and reappeared behind the Hogwarts student, and knocked Harry over with a Stunning Spell. Harry retaliated with a Disarming Spell, which Jonathan easily evaded. When the Chimeral student attacked again, Harry used a Reflecting Charm, which protected him from the worst of Jonathan's spell.
Just at the moment when Harry felt he would topple over with exhaustion, a burst of light appeared before him, and a familiar voice said calmly, "Rest, Harry."
The Boy-Who-Lived felt a gentle hand lay him back upon the grass, and he closed his eyes, everything becoming dark and silent.
Ch9
"What in the bloody hell…" Draco began to turn away. "Jon…Jon, you're kidding, right?"
"What? No!" Jonathan replied indignantly.
"But…isn't you-know-who back?" Draco asked. "Why didn't he show up himself then?"
"Draco, its so obvious!" Jonathan threw up his hands in annoyance. "A student is the best disguise to use when you're trying to draw Harry Potter…and me being suitable to the Dark Lord's character, he chose me to see for him, speak for him…be him."
"So…you weren't placed under the Imperius Curse like I was, then?" Draco asked. "That was…"
"Pure genius, I know." Jonathan cut in rather pompously. He looked maliciously at Harry. "I had you fooled, didn't I?"
Harry flushed angrily. "If you're really Voldemort, why didn't you attack me in the Owlery instead of getting Remora to do it for you?"
"Oh. Well, that was really a test of the Professor's magic, stuff like that…" Jonathan fingered his wand casually. "You might even call it a mistake on my part. The Dark Lord was rather mad at me for not bringing the Snidget to him personally, but that's no matter…" He gave his wand a little wave and immediately, all the Snidgets returned obediently to the cage. After the door had clanged shut, he smiled malevolently. "Once he sees all these birds and we've picked out the ones who can sing the song of immortality, there will be no trouble getting the last bird from Hogwarts."
Turning back to Draco, Jonathan gave his friend a grin. "Anyway, I should apologize for placing the Imperius Curse on you during the game…I needed a distraction, and I wasn't sure that you'd go along with everything, so…"
"Oh. Right." Draco forced a smirk upon his face, swallowing hard. "W-when…when did all this you-know-who business start with you then?"
"Oh. That was when the exchange student program first came out at Chimeral." Jonathan twirled his wand through his fingers lazily. "I wasn't interested at all…until I was approached by the Dark Lord himself…" Jonathan threw a glance over at Harry. "And the rest you know."
"…Great." Draco cleared his throat. "Terrific."
"I gotta tell ya, Draco…all this power…it's…overwhelming." Jonathan sighed. "I feel like I can do anything. I can make Weasley and Potter here fight to the Death if I wanted to…but I've got a much better plan in mind." He raised his wand, his eyes flickering with excitement. "Ready to play, Potter?"
"We don't want to be a part of your sick games!" Harry retorted, cringing from the sudden shock of pain that Jonathan had inflicted in his chest.
"Obviously, you don't know how to keep your mouth shut." Jonathan sneered. He snapped his fingers and Ron and Harry were brought close enough to each other so that they were side by side. "Now. I understand you Gryffindors are true of heart and brave as well." Jonathan's smirk grew into a widening smile. "So, this part will be the greatest test of those traits."
With that, he flicked his wand once, and all of a sudden, Ron began to tremble with fear. Harry looked about them, but was unable to see anything except for what was already there.
"Ron…Ron! What's wrong?" He cried, trying to reach out to his friend. When Ron continued to pale and shake, Harry's eyes widened, seeing the red-haired boy raise his wand in a trembling hand.
"Ron! Snap out of it!" Harry desperately tried to break from his invisible bonds. Ron continued to stare at Harry with extreme fear written all over his face. His lips began to move slowly, and Harry shook his head frantically. "No! Ron, It's me!"
Miraculously, Harry found he was suddenly able to move, and leapt out of the powerful Stunning Spell's way. As he ducked from another of Ron's attacks, Harry glared up at Jonathan. "What did you do to him?"
The Chimeral student only laughed in reply. "Its all part of the game, Potter…its up to you to figure out how to play."
"H-Harry…" Paige murmured softly from where she stood, trembling slightly, and Draco snapped his head quickly in her direction.
"J…Jonathan…" Paige's eyes began to flicker with life. "Don't…"
"Why Paige…" Jonathan sneered at the girl. "Do you really care that much about Potter here?" He placed his hands upon her shoulders. "You must be feeling such hatred, seeing me torture him so."
"What's happening to her?" Draco asked.
"The Imperius Curse I placed on her is wearing off." Jonathan replied, and began stroking Paige's hair, much to Draco's discomfort. Looking up at Harry's frantic dodging of Ron's attacks, he laughed. "Brilliant, isn't it? I've pitted the two friends against each other. Weasely doesn't know who he's attacking, and Potter's too sensitive to attack back!"
"Brilliant…" Draco muttered, hands in his pockets. "By the way…what're you doing to do with her?"
"Paige?" Jonathan asked. "Well…I'm going to have her killed with the rest of her little friends-"
"NO!" Draco heard the word emerge from his mouth before he could stop it. Eyes wide, he pursed his lips before speaking again. "…You can't."
"Oh? And why not?" Jonathan asked. "I thought you wanted to teach her a lesson…" He looked at his hand, which was still wet from plucking the human heart from Professor Remora's chest. When Draco did not reply, the Chimeral student began fingering his wand casually. "Anyway…I was going to have Potter fight with her for a little while for fun, but seeing that the Imperius Curse is wearing off, I think it'd provide some good entertainment if she were to see Harry die before her eyes…"
"Er…right." Draco mumbled, fumbling with his robes as he tried to figure out what to say. "Um…Jon…do you think…that maybe we could forget about the whole punishing Paige thing? I mean…you've already got her brother, and-"
"Draco, don't go all Harry Potter on me." Jonathan replied, laughing. "Besides…it'll be fun…just sit back and watch!"
"No." Draco set his jaw, and Jonathan's laughter began to die. "Jon, I'm not kidding."
"Wha…what?" Jonathan's smile wavered. "You…you're joking. Draco, are you sick or something? C'mon, the girl isn't worth anything, I would know!"
"Well she's something to me!" Draco reached out and grasped the Chimeral student's arm. "Let her go."
"…You're really serious." He wrenched away from Draco's grasp.
"Right." Draco moistened his lips. "And I'd appreciate it if you'd release her."
Jonathan appeared to be in a state of disbelief and stood there, shaking his head. "…No. I'm not letting her go."
"Why?" Draco demanded, stepping forward. "You're going to get to finish most of them off anyway; you've even got Potter within your grasp! Take all of them to you-know-who for all I care, but let Paige go!"Jonathan's expression of confusion slowly began to change into a face of understanding. A glimmer of malice shone in the boy's eyes, and a wide smirk began to form across his mouth.
"Sorry to break it to you." He said softly. "But she dies with the rest of them."
"What's wrong with letting just one go?" Draco argued.
"I think the real question is, Draco…is why you only want me to release Paige." Jonathan encircled an arm about the girl's waist, and she shook slightly. "Potter would have wanted me to release every one of them."
"But I'm not Potter, am I?" Draco retorted, reaching for his wand.
"No, I don't suppose you are." Jonathan replied curling a lock of Paige's black hair between his fingers. "You know, when I first met you, I was surprised the Dark Lord didn't choose you instead of me. I mean, our personalities…our traits…we're so much alike, Draco." He smiled nastily. "But just now…I discovered why Lord Voldemort chose me. I have no weaknesses, whereas you do."
"What are you talking about?" Draco demanded. "What weakness?"
"Oh. Nothing much…" Jonathan's grin widened. "…except for a little girl named Paige!" He pulled the girl closer to him, and she made a loud choking sound, her eyes moving about wildly. Draco jumped and pulled out his wand, sweat beads forming upon his forehead. Jonathan laughed loudly. "Oh jeez…your reaction was priceless…your face…" Jonathan shook his head, smiling. "The curse is wearing off, Draco, that's all. It's not like I hurt her or anything…"
"I'm not sure if I can trust your word, Jonathan." Draco growled.
"Oh, Draco…you want to fight, is it?" Jonathan smirked, his own wand at the ready. "You do realize that I have the power of the world's most feared Dark Wizard inside of me?" He gave Paige a quick look before turning back to Draco. "You're fighting with the Dark Lord just to rescue a worthless girl? I'd never do that…"
"Shut-up!" Draco retorted, standing his ground. "I'm not you, so stop making stupid comparisons and let Paige go!"
"You're very brave for a Slytherin, Draco." Jonathan nodded in approval. "Your father would be proud…except for the fact that he's lying in a heap in the mud over there-"
"Expelliarmus!" Draco cried angrily, letting the spell fly from his wand. Jonathan gave a swift turn and disappeared with Paige in his arms. Cursing, Draco looked about wildly, hoping to spot the Chimeral student.
"Can't see me, can you, Draco?" Jonathan's voice rang in the Slytherin's ears. "Makes you feel weak and vulnerable, doesn't it?"
"Quit hiding, you prat!" Draco snapped, grasping his wand tightly.
"Right here, Draco." Jonathan reappeared with Paige in his grasp. "But tell me…do you really want to attack me when your little precious might get hurt by your own spell?" He gave a cruel smile. In his arms, the effects of the Imperius Curse seemed to have worn off, and Paige gave helpless struggles against her classmate's arms.
"I'm going to do everything in my power to get her back." Draco replied, raising his wand slowly.
"Ooh, I'm scared!" Jonathan squealed in feigned fright. "Please don't hurt me Mr. Malfoy…"
"Jonathan, don't!" Paige struggled. "Why are you doing this?"
"Quiet!" He slapped her across the face, leaving smears of blood over her cheek. Shooting a quick look at Draco, he grinned. "You know…I never thought you cared about anyone but yourself…you didn't even pay attention to that Pansy girl even though she'd throw herself all over you just to get some reaction from you…" Laughing, he leaned close to Paige and ran his tongue down the side of her face to taste the blood he'd left behind, causing her to wince and sob.
Draco took his chance. "Impedimenta!" Jonathan noticed the attack at the last moment and ducked, the spell narrowly missing his shoulder.
"Oh, close one, Draco!" Jonathan sneered, laughing. "You know, this is rather fun…I'd do this all day…but I have things to do and places to go to." He raised his wand and gave a sympathetic smile. "So sorry things didn't work out with us, Draco...Avada Kedavra!""NO!" Paige screamed as the green light shot towards its target.
Miraculously, Draco somehow managed to dive out of the powerful spell's range and landed hard against the grass, panting.
"My, my…I haven't missed before…" Jonathan sighed loudly. "Well…might as well try again-OW!"
Paige had kicked the boy hard in the shins, and as he raised his arm to strike her, she cried out, "Draco! Run! Go!"
"…No…" Draco stood, cringing a bit as he placed pressure upon his right leg. Looking down, he saw that the leg of his robes was soaked through with blood, and he winced, wondering when he'd been attacked there. Looking up, he raised his wand yet again: "Stupefy!"
Jonathan, who had been struggling to hold down Paige, was struck between the shoulder blades by the Stunning Spell, and fell upon the grass. Cursing, he got to his feet and quickly counter-attacked, knocking Draco off his feet.
Now free of her restraints, Paige pulled out her own wand, and cried out, "Tarantallegra!"
Jonathan's legs began to prance and move about in a mad dance, and he fell upon his back, feet kicking the air. In anger, he forced himself up upon his back and retaliated with a powerful disarming spell. Paige was hit hard against her head, and she fell in the wet grass, her vision blurring.
"Finite." Jonathan mumbled, and his legs stopped their wild dance immediately. Brushing himself off, the boy stood and looked about for his next victim. The rain above had not yet relented, and his robes were heavy and wet against his skin. "Draco! Where are you?" He called out in a singsong tone of voice. "I'm not done with you yet…"
There was a fine mist of fog spread across the field, and Jonathan lit the point of his wand to see better. "No point in hiding…I won't do anything to you…except maybe kill you."
"Who's the vulnerable one now, Jon?" Draco's voice emerged from the fog suddenly, and Jonathan turned on his heel, unable to pinpoint Draco's location. "You're right…it is fun being able to attack someone when they're susceptible and defenseless…"
"Are you trying to scare me, Draco?" Jonathan sneered, waving his wand about.
"So how shall I attack you, Jon? Maybe you could throw some ideas at me." Draco said casually. "I'm not as good at the Unforgivable Curses like you are…but since I've got the opportunity to use it, I might as well give it a shot…"
"You wouldn't…" Jonathan laughed. "And even if you did, it'd be the weakest-AGH!"
The Chimeral student was knocked off his feet by a painful jolt in his chest, and he cringed, clutching himself. "What…what did you do…"
When there was no reply, he cursed softly and continued walking through the mist. A disarming spell hit him in the shoulder, and reaching through the mist, he closed his fingers about someone's wrist.
"Paige!" He growled, spitting in her face. Grabbing a hold of her, he dragged her after him through the fog.
"Draco! I've got Paige with me and I'm going to kill her if you don't show your face right now!" Jonathan panted, squeezing Paige's wrist hard and causing her to cry out. "You hear that? I mean business, so come out!"
He suddenly felt his legs collapse out from under him, causing his to release his hold upon his victim. As the girl tumbled to the ground, Jonathan found that his legs had become weak and wobbly. Muttering angrily beneath his breath, the boy struggled to think of the counter curse, unoticing Draco's emergence from the mist behind him. Only after a fist had made contact with his head did Jonathan whirl about, panting.
"You don't want to provoke me!" He roared. Pointing at his limp limbs, he muttered the counter curse and felt strength returning to his legs. Noticing Paige reaching for her wand, which had fallen away from her, Jonathan immediately swept it from the grass, placed it into his hands and snapped it in two.
"You know, Paige...you have an amazing knack of always getting in the way of things...but that'll be over after I'm done with you." Jonathan sneered at his defenseless classmate. "It was so sad that we broke up, wasn't it? I gotta admit...we looked good when we were together."
"Shut-up..." Paige replied, a trickle of blood flowing down her cheek.
"This will be long and painful, Paige. Brace yourself." Jonathan laughed loudly. "CRUCIO!"
Paige's eyes squeezed shut as she awaited the pain which would emerge from the end of her attacker's wand. Yet when she felt hands clamp upon her shoulders and shove her out of the way, she opened her eyes to the horrible sight of Draco, screaming in anguish as the Crusiatus Spell inflicted its wrath upon him. Jonathan's laughter reverberated throughout the clearing as he continued to point his wand at his victim, inflicting more and more pain. Paige couldn't stand to watch the Slytherin be tortured, and tears began to form in her eyes as she remained unable to help.
"Stupefy!" A voice cried out from the darkness. The spell made contact with Jonathan's arm, and the boy cried out in surprise, dropping his wand. Draco toppled over Paige, knocking her into the grass, and she shook his lifeless body in desperation to reawaken him. Jonathan retrieved his wand swiftly and turned, a challenging expression upon his face. When yet another spell emerged from the fog, Jonathan quickly refracted it, and it hit Paige in the side, causing her to gasp out and fall back upon the grass in silence.
"Come out, come out, wherever you are..." Jonathan laughed menacingly. He waved his wand slightly to clear away some of the mist around him, and Harry emerged slowly, wand pointed.
- -
The Present
So everything from the past six months - the arrival of the Chimeral students, Hermione's warning leters, the distribution of the Snidgets, the game against Ravenclaw, and more - everything had added up to what was happening right now. Now that Harry had thought about all that had happened since the exchange student program in those brief seconds, he realized how so very brave and loyal his new friends were - and just how dangerous just one boy his own age could be.
Jonathan stood across from him, a confident sneer upon his face.
"You going to attack me yet, Potter?" He asked. "Haven't got all day, y'know..."
"Petrificus Totalus!" Harry cried, pointing his wand at his opponent. Jonathan disappeared and reappeared behind the Hogwarts student, and knocked Harry over with a Stunning Spell. Harry retaliated with a Disarming Spell, which Jonathan easily evaded. When the Chimeral student attacked again, Harry used a Reflecting Charm, which protected him from the worst of Jonathan's spell.
Just at the moment when Harry felt he would topple over with exhaustion, a burst of light appeared before him, and a familiar voice said calmly, "Rest, Harry."
The Boy-Who-Lived felt a gentle hand lay him back upon the grass, and he closed his eyes, everything becoming dark and silent.
