I apologize from the bottom of my heart for this excruciatingly long wait! I was all set to put this up the day after Christmas, and my computer would not allow me to go online. That's okay, I've got the next day right? Wrong. There was a family emergency and I had to leave all of a sudden. Therefore, I just got back on January 1st, 2003. I'm all set to put it up and ff.net poops out. My moronic, bloody git of a computer kept saying that I didn't exist, my stories didn't exist, YOU GUYS didn't exist.......it was scary. :-) I haven't been able to get on for the last couple days now and today is the first day I've even been able to get on ff.net! So in celebration of the new year, *scoffs*, here's this new chapter! Happy New Year to all! I apologize again for the wait!
This chapter is dedicated to all you fabulous readers and reviewers! HERE YOU GO GUYS!
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CHAPTER 15.
THE MASTER'S MIRROR
Harry tentatively stepped along the rumbling hallway, his eyes slowly adjusting to the sudden darkness. The tunnel was dark, the walls damp. The place did not look like the other halls of Hogwarts. The other halls looked lived in, inhabited. This hall looked like it had been built, then forgotten.
But not completely forgotten.
Harry could clearly see other footprints besides his own imprinted on the dusty stone floors. The thought that there was someone else here did not entirely set his mind at ease. He didn't know who could be waiting for him around the bend. As he rounded a corner, his ring suddenly flared brighter, spreading its blood-red light over the walls. Harry looked about, expecting to see someone before him, waiting for him. But all he saw was a carving on the stone walls beside him.
Beware! Be careful, for you descend,
'Adown Titanic glooms of chasmed fears.'
Harry shuddered inwardly as he moved away from the warning. Someone was trying to warn him, but whether the person who wrote it was on his side or not, he was sure he'd never know. He shuddered and pointed the ring further into the darkness. Crimson light cut through the darkness, revealing the stone walls of the castle. The broad hall barely shook as he walked through it, giving him the impression that he was far underground now. He walked steadily and firmly till his light ran across another message on the wall. When he stepped closer, he realized that it was not a note, but a series of signatures cut into the soft limestone. He shook his head in astonishment as he took them in.
We, the Marauders, found this passageway fairly and squarely. All who enter this place are hereby in our domain.
If you enter this place without our permission, consider yourself cursed.
Don't listen to Sirius. He doesn't know when to stop.
Either way. It's ours, we found it. Get over it.
The Fabulous Marauders:
Sirius Black
Remus Lupin
Peter Pettigrew
James Potter
Harry smiled wistfully and stretched out a finger to touch his father's signature etched into the stone. The eroded surface seemed to warm to his touch, giving him a certain inner strength. He smiled and turned from that wall, walking forward into the inky blackness.
Dangling spider webs floated from above him, gently brushing the sides of his face with their soft tendrils. A musty odor floated about the place, an odor of silence, the odor of a deserted place. The walls and floors were coated in dust that had not been disturbed for years. Harry felt almost uncomfortable treading these halls, for to him, they felt sacred and should not be disturbed. But the knowledge of Fred and George's helplessness spurred him on, further and further into the darkness.
Finally, he emerged into a chamber. It was an immense hall, great enough to house all of the four houses for dinner. Blazing torches were hanging in their places on the walls, shedding eerie, bouncing lights across the floor. But the ring's glow did not diminish. Instead, it became stronger, brighter as Harry stepped across the threshold..
"Ah! Harry Potter! You have finally come!" A wistful, breathy, female voice murmured happily, echoing throughout the chamber.
Harry squinted into the dim light and stared about him. There was nothing in the room, no one either.
"I wish to see him for myself." The voice whispered.
It was then that Harry sprang to attention, for out of the darkness, Draco Malfoy stepped calmly, his eyebrows raised as he took Harry in.
"What are you doing here, Malfoy?" Harry hissed accusingly.
Draco shrugged in an obnoxious, uncaring way, his hands stuck in his pockets.
"I could ask the same thing of you, Potter. But I won't. I'm just here to do a job." He said quietly, moving his hand about and drawing something from his robe pocket.
Harry prepared himself to dart away from whatever Draco had in his pocket, but he almost fell over in surprise as Draco's white hand simply drew out a small mirror. The fiery eye in Harry's ring let loose a fresh burst of light, causing Draco to jump, then frown as he eyed the ring.
"It does me no harm, Draco. It is only a trinket. Not useful." The voice reassured the boy. Draco nodded slowly, his eyes still fixed on the ring, then took a step back.
Harry stared hard at the mirror. It was nothing but a simple pocket mirror, one that would usually be seen in a woman's purse. Draco had positioned it upright so that the mirror faced Harry, but there seemed to be nothing unusual about it. But it was certainly affecting him, for the silver around the black stone of his ring was quickly becoming a fiery red and his head was beginning to throb painfully.
"Come closer to me, Harry Potter. Young Draco is good company, but I wish to speak to you. You intrigue me, Harry Potter. Come closer." The voice whispered enticingly.
Harry raised his eyebrows and cocked his head as he edged towards the pocket mirror. Nothing but his own eyes echoed in the glass.
"What is this, Draco? Some kind of joke?" Harry whispered, condemnation clear in his hushed voice. Off to the side, Draco smirked and shrugged.
"Look down, Harry."
Harry looked down at the mirror. Materializing inside the glass of the mirror, were two large, staring, blue eyes.
"The eyes." Harry said in surprise.
The eyes blinked demurely.
"Of course! I've been trying to talk to you for so long, Harry Potter. But you wouldn't listen to me." The mirror pouted.
"I, I've never seen you." Harry stammered.
"No, but you've felt me surely. I've made great attempts to make contact with you." Harry frowned, but a gasp of relization came from him.
"You! You were the one making my forehead burn, not Draco!" The eyes rolled in their invisible sockets.
"Of course! Young Malfoy could do nothing like make your pathetic scar burn. He's not THAT powerful." The voice said cruelly. Harry scoffed and shook his head, noticing the look of anger that flashed over Draco's face.
"Well, I wouldn't say that." Harry muttered. A look of confusion passed over Draco's face as he stared at him.
"What're you playing at, Potter?" He hissed.
Harry shrugged and looked back to the mirror, the eyes now gazing at him fervently.
"Well I would. If he was truly a Malfoy, he would be capable of so much more. Anyhow, we are not here to speak about Malfoy. I wish to talk to you." The disembodied voice sighed dismally. "I have been SO lonely without anyone interesting to talk to."
"So talk then." Harry said sharply, not sure of what to make of this mirror. He couldn't help but remember the words of Mister Weasley, "Don't trust something if you can't see where it keeps its brain." The eyes blinked as if surprised, then the voice continued.
"Very well then. What do you want to talk about?" The voice asked. Harry shrugged nonchalantly.
"Whatever. You wanted to talk. So talk." He said apathetically. Out of the corner of his eye, Harry saw Draco raise an eyebrow.
"I want to talk about you, Harry. You're such a famous person."
Harry shrugged again, trying to keep the mirror distracted enough so he could figure out why it was here in Hogwarts.
"I didn't do anything." He said quietly, hoping to get answers by being sullen and stubborn with this mirror.
"Oh, but of COURSE you did. You lived through You-Know-Who's attack! And gained several good traits to carry with you. The ability to speak Parseltongue being one of them." The mirror said proudly.
"I'm not proud of that." Harry snapped, anger flaring and coloring his senses. The eyes blinked innocently.
"Of course not. You don't truly see its purpose, nor its wonderful qualities. Once you are trained in its arts, then you will truly realize how lucky you are to have this wonderful gift of one of the four Founders." The voice said proudly.
"You switched it around. It was a 'gift' from Voldemort." Harry said sharply.
"Oh, but Lord Voldemort is the heir of Slytherin. It is basically the same as receiving it from Salazar Slytherin himself." The voice insisted.
"Look, in case you haven't noticed, I'm NOT in Slytherin." Harry said, his annoyance pushing into his tone. "I'd much rather give this so called 'gift' to Malfoy or anyone else but myself. I'm not exactly proud of it, any more than I'm proud of this scar on my forehead!" Harry said angrily.
"Now, now. No need to get upset. We won't speak of your gift anymore if you don't wish to." The voice paused before continuing, an alluring overpowering its voice. "But truly, Mister Potter, you are one of the more amazing students of Hogwarts, and completely deserving of my praise. You are a fabulous asset to the Quidditch team, an expert mind and an astute pupil."
Harry scoffed loudly at that.
"Obviously you haven't spoken with Professor Snape."
Again the eyes blinked in surprise and for a moment they became narrow slits as they stared hard at Harry.
"Harry, I could help you become as great a wizard as Godric Gryffindor, as Albus Dumbledore. With me by your side, advising you in all things, I could help you conquer your enemies and become a hero." The voice said smoothly.
"There is no greater wizard than Professor Dumbledore. I can never be like him." Harry said.
"Oh, don't be such a pessimist, boy!" The voice snapped suddenly. "You could be great! Your father could have been great! Your godfather too! But they ignored me! Ignored my help! And look where it got them! One dead, the other may as well be dead. Lupin too. They were all three fools. Only one of them had ANY brains at all."
Harry inhaled sharply.
"Peter Pettigrew?" He whispered in disbelief. In front of him, the mirror's eyes closed as it snorted condescendingly.
"Of course, boy! He is the only one of those boys who will ever amount to ANYTHING in the world, because he took my advice." The mirror hissed.
"Peter Pettigrew is only a pawn in Voldemort's game! He betrayed everyone!" Harry yelled angrily.
"Peter Pettigrew alone will survive the slaughter of wizards and witches because of his choice! He alone, besides those who are wise enough to follow him, will live through the holocaust that Lord Voldemort will inflict, is even now beginning to inflict. You hear? The noises above? The cries? It is only the beginning. Dumbledore isn't good enough to stop Lord Voldemort." At this the voice changed tones, taking on a tempting resonance. "You could stop this, Harry. You could. If you'd only listen to me and my advice. You and I together. You and I will stand up to Lord Voldemort and destroy him! Take his place, boy! Be known once more as The-Boy-Who-Lived!" The mirror said proudly.
"Who said I wanted that? I want to stop Voldemort, but," Harry faltered.
"But WHAT, boy? What is there to debate about? I can help you become great! You can take over what Voldemort has started, take hold of his followers, inspire them to follow you! Hail, Lord Harry!"
At these words, the voice changed dramatically, changing from the longing female voice to a powerful masculine voice. The mirror too, began to change. It grew, stretched, till it became a full sized, gilded mirror. The eyes inside remained the same, but merely became wider, their depths filled with power and fire. Harry took a step back, his own eyes wide at the sight. Apparently, Draco too, was surprised at the change, for his gray eyes widened and his mouth hung open slightly. Harry stared at the mirror, astonished at the change. It reminded him slightly, of the Mirror of Erised in its greatness and design. But it was not the Mirror of Erised. It was a Mirror of Darkness, the evil equivalent of the Mirror of Erised, designed for ill because of its master's desires.
"I, I don't want to take your offer." Harry said, his voice tentative.
"Why on earth not, boy?" The mirror now boomed in its newly acquired voice. "I can give you great things, show you the wonders of your powers that you've barely even tapped into yet!"
Harry shook his head violently.
"That's just the thing! I don't WANT great things! I just want to be Harry Potter! I want to be normal! I don't want anything that you ask." Harry said passionately. The eyes in the mirror widened, then narrowed, fire brimming about the mirror's edge.
"I am tired of hearing this! I have come to YOU, Harry Potter! To you and you alone! I have tried, tried very hard to bring wizards and witches alike to me! But now, I have triumphed in a small way! I now have a grip on your friends, the Weasley twins, I believe they're called." The mirror said, the eyes narrowing for emphasis.
"What?" Harry whispered.
"When Lord Voldemort's power attacked them, it was only the beginning. It made them weaker, weaker so that they would come to me! Oh, they fought hard, yes, they did. But even now they are slipping away from this world and soon they will join me and join in the cleansing of the wizarding world!" The voice began to cackle loudly, leaving Harry staring in surprise and shock.
"Don't do that to them!" Harry protested.
"Foolish boy! I can destroy their lives in any minute I choose! They are in my grasp! They are the two who, who," The voice laughed loud and hard, the walls around Harry vibrating with the deep sound. "Courage and heroism should be left to cowards and fools, my boy. Let me assure you of that." The voice cackled. "Those boys gave themselves up for the lives of others. I made their friends a tempting offer, one that they won't refuse, despite those boys' sacrifices! The sons of Arthur Weasley will join the forces of Lord Voldemort proudly, ignorantly, without knowing that their sacrifice was in vain!"
Harry stepped forward angrily.
"Let me take their place!" He yelled. The mirror chuckled in amusement and its eyes fixed on Harry mockingly.
"Oh, that's very good, boy. Very good. Are you looking to do the same thing they did? Give up your life for them when I will betray you too?" The voice asked slyly.
"How can you do this?" Harry yelled.
"Well it's quite easy. This is how I am. I reflect the wishes of my master. I have given you a choice, just as I gave Fred and George a choice. Just as I gave your father and Peter Pettigrew a choice. Now, choose!" The voice yelled.
"I can't, and won't choose! You'll betray me either way!" Harry yelled angrily. The eyes narrowed and treachery burned in their depths.
"If you do not, then I shall destroy the lives of your friends." The voice hissed.
"None of my friends are here! You can't get to them." Harry scoffed.
"That's what you think, boy. Behold!" The eyes in the mirror flashed brightly, and Harry slowly turned about.
There on the staircase, a dirty, but determined Ron stood on the final step, his hand firmly encircling Hermione's wrist. They were both dirty and dishevled and there was a great gash on Hermione's forehead. But they were there. Harry couldn't help but be glad to see them, and at the same time, wished they had never come.
"What are you doing here?" Harry hissed.
"The ghost told us. Martin. He helped us open the door." Ron said, his eyes flicking over to Malfoy. "What did you do with Artemis, Malfoy?" Ron asked, his eyes narrowing as he stepped off the staircase, his hand never leaving Hermione's wrist. Draco's glare seemed to retract slightly, but the everlasting smirk remained on his lips and he said nothing.
"Ah, Mister Weasley. It is truly an honor to see you." The voice said, its tone smooth and enticing.
"Oh, shut up." Ron snapped as he and Hermione stepped up to Harry. The voice went silent, but its narrowed eyes watched Ron, Harry and Hermione carefully as they lined up to face both the mirror and Malfoy.
"You didn't answer my question, Malfoy." Ron snapped, glaring hard at Draco. Draco shrugged, once again saying nothing.
"I could give you the answer to that question, Mister Weasley, if you would but look into the mirror." The voice said quietly.
Ron scoffed loudly.
"Like hell. You really think I'm that stupid?"
Instead of answering, the eyes vanished, showing Ron in its reflection. But this Ron was different. This Ron was tall, broadshouldered, his blue eyes twinkling in the dim light of the candles. Ron's mouth slid open slightly. He took a step towards the mirror, his fingers slowly losing their grip on Hermione's wrist. The Ron in the mirror beckoned to him, grinning broadly.
"C'mere Ron! Let me out! I want be with you! That way we can be one person! C'mon!" The mirror Ron said happily. Ron took another step towards the mirror, doubt, but at the same time, fascination in his gaze.
"Ron! Don't!" Hermione yelled frantically, her eyes widening as Ron released her wrist altogether. Ron's trance was broken and he turned back to look at Hermione. He frowned as his eyes fixed on her face.
"C'mon, Ron! Whaddya waiting for? You can be great! You and me! We can be so much better than your brothers! You'll be the Weasley everyone talks about! The hunk! The jokester! The perfect student! The expert Quidditch player! You can be all that with me! C'mon!" The mirrored Ron enticed, waving its hands wildly at its human counterpart.
Ron finally turned back to the mirror, his gaze determined.
"Yeah, and what about my friends and family?" He asked slowly.
The mirror Ron frowned and shrugged.
"Who cares? You'll be the best out of all of them." He said nonchalantly. A smirk fell across the real Ron's face as he stepped back, back towards Harry and Hermione.
"Then I don't want to be with you, because you're nothing like the man I want to be." Ron said firmly.
A flash of anger shot across the mirror as the mirrored Ron disappeared. The eyes returned a second later and their gaze was filled with deadly menace.
"You are foolish." The mirror said quietly.
"So what? I don't care. I'd rather have my friends and family instead of all those things." Ron countered.
"Bravery runs in your family, Weasley." The mirror said with a sneer. "As well as an unhealthy dose of compassion. Had your brothers possessed a little less of that poison, they perhaps wouldn't have been so foolish as to give their lives up for others." The voice chuckled.
"Who did they give their lives up for?" Ron asked quietly, seeming unusually calm to Harry.
"You wish to know? They decided to exchange their lives for two others. Rather appropriate, wouldn't you say?" Ron's eyes narrowed as the mirror's deep voice chuckled, sending the reverberations bouncing across the hall. "One lies down here in my grasp, the other, who knows? But she too, will come to me. We are good friends she and I." The voice said with satisfaction.
"What are you talking about?" Harry cut in.
"Haven't you guessed it yet, Harry?" Ron asked quietly, his eyes never leaving the mirror. Harry frowned and turned to Ron. On Ron's face was a look of simple understanding. Slowly, he turned to Harry, his expression grim. "There were a few people who felt the call of the mirror. You remember."
Harry's look of confusion remained, until that is Artemis Thornshadow walked out of the shadows. Hermione let out a slight gasp as she saw her friend's face. Harry and Ron simply stared, Harry more with complete surprise, Ron with a look of weariness that usually never graced his face. He knew for whom his brothers had given themselves up for.
Artemis' face was pale, her eyes, as they had been once before at the beginning of the school year, were now changed to inky blackness. Her pupils had taken over her irises and she stared blankly at her friends before her, seeing no one, recognizing no one. Draco gazed at her for only a moment, then turned away as if struck. Harry caught a glimpse of this act, but spent no time contemplating it as he was too taken up with what had come over the Durmstrang girl.
"You see, Weasley? Your brothers' lives have been wasted for nothing, for this one, this one found my deals acceptable. For SHE, was giving her life up for the TWINS!" At this, the mirror let loose another wall-shaking howl. Artemis was not affected by this burst of noise. She did not wince, or even give expression that she had heard anything. She merely stood still, staring blankly forward. "She will do whatever I desire of her! And all because of Malfoy's insistance to have her join him in this plot. So she would be safe. " The mirror mocked with relish. Draco cast one look of intense hatred towards the mirror, his fists clenched at his side. "I told you, Malfoy, that I would accept you and only you. But thank you for the offering though." The voice said cheerily.
Draco looked away from the mirror, then his gaze clapped on Harry. There was a message in his eyes, one that Harry couldn't quite understand. But there was one thing that Harry was sure of: Draco had not intended for this to happen.
"What message are you trying to convey, my young accomplice?" The voice cut in sharply. Draco's intense eyes quickly turned to the mirror and found the wide eyes fixed on him. Draco turned away, ignoring the question. "Ah, I see. Your supposed friendship with this girl is much more than what you told me." The voice murmured quietly, almost to itself. Draco continued to stare at the floor, trying hard to not look at anything else. "Look at me, Draco." The voice whispered. Draco blinked hard but refused to turn. "LOOK AT ME!" The voice thundered.
The force of it caused Draco to turn only so slightly towards the mirror, his eyebrow raised. The eyes that were fixed on him, began to dialate, then pulse madly. Almost instantly, Draco's eyes began to change, the gray of his eyes disappearing in the inky depths of his pupils. Harry glanced at Hermione, who clung to Ron's arm as she drew her breath in sharply.
"Now, do as I desire. Convince Mister Potter that he WANTS to come to our side." The mirror commanded firmly.
Draco grinned and withdrew his wand from his robes. As he did so, he began to edge toward Harry. Ron quickly drew his own wand leapt towards Malfoy with a strangled yell. But as he did so, Malfoy pointed his wand at him sharply and yelled,
"ABICIO!" Ron flew back against the wall with a groan. He struggled to get up, but Draco yelled the curse once more, and Ron slumped back against the wall, motionless.
"Harry, that's a curse far past our grade level!" Hermione whispered.
"The mirror is feeding spells to him." Harry whispered in realization. Draco grinned evilly and twirled his wand between his fingers.
"Whaddya say, Granger? Wanna have a go?" He hissed.
Hermione took a deep breath and stepped forward. Harry smiled slightly. Hermione would go to battle, and she would go with her wits about her.
"ABICIO!" Draco yelled again. But Hermione dodged the curse, jumping aside as it came near her. Draco chuckled and shook his head. "Feisty aren't you? Well c'mon, Granger! Have at me!" Draco yelled.
Hermione pursed her lips firmly as she and Draco circled each other.
"DEICIUS!" Hermione yelled, twirling her wand against Draco's. But Draco too, stepped out of its destructive path. It went on like this for several minutes, Hermione and Draco both yelling curses at each other, both of them dodging the other's spell. But finally, fed up with the game, Draco frowned and yelled angrily,
"DEFICIAMUS!"
Taken by surprise, Hermione fell back by Ron with a groan. Draco smirked with satisfaction, twirled his wand in his fingers, then turned back to Harry. His looks were haunting to Harry, almost as frightening as the threatening eyes of the mirror, those eyes, those eyes that were so familiar to him. Draco's pale face was whiter than usual and a few strands of hair had slipped into his coal black eyes, which gleamed maliciously.
"Well, Potter, looks like all your help has run out. Looks like you'll have to fight me after all. Have at me. You know you want to. You've wanted a piece of me since you came to Hogwarts. What are you waiting for?" Draco asked, as he and Harry began to circle each other.
"I don't want to fight you, Draco." Harry said firmly, refusing to draw his wand as he and Draco circled each other. Draco raised his eyebrows and scoffed loudly.
"No? Always have to be the hero don't you, Potter? You know, even though you insist that you don't want to be The-Boy-Who-Lived, you're certainly putting on enough heroics to earn yourself the title. Look at you, refusing to draw your wand so that I'll strike you down while you're weaponless! You think I'll fall for that?" Draco snapped
"You can take me out at any time you want, but I won't fight you. You're not in your right mind." Harry said firmly.
"You're so FULL of it, Potter." Draco hissed. "Do you think that I've waited this long to see what you're made of, only to let you back out now? Come on! You know that you want a good chunk out of me! I just knocked out your friends, will probably help kill them later! I helped take out Fred and George, brought the mirror safely into Hogwarts! You have so much to HATE me for! So c'mon and quit stalling!" Draco yelled angrily.
"I won't do it, Draco." Harry said, his gaze never leaving Draco's face, now horribly distorted in his anger.
"This is the point of no return, Potter." Draco said quietly, his black eyes never leaving Harry's face, his lips frozen in a disdainful curl. Harry knew for sure, Draco would not let him go without fighting him. That was the only way to get out. To fight. "These games we've played, they're over. We're past all 'ifs' and 'whens' and 'maybe's'. Either way, the fires will burn us both. You and I, we'll be done in, in the end. I, perhaps may live longer than you because I'm smarter. You may survive long enough to lead a resistance against this evil, but you won't survive. Not with a couple renegade Weasleys and a Mudblood behind you. You won't last long." Draco lowered his wand, walking slowly and deliberately towards Harry till they were only a few feet apart. "This is the point of no return, Potter. No backward glances." Harry looked down as Draco's hand snaked into Harry's pocket and withdrew his wand. He held it between his fingers a moment, then shoved it into Harry's hand, looking into his face with those frightening, dead eyes. "Give it all you've got." Draco whispered, his smirk reappearing on his pale face. Harry stared hard at his wand, then at Draco as he stepped the proper paces away from him.
He had only fought with Draco once, and that had been enough. It was during that fight that he had revealed to the others in the school his ability to speak Parseltongue. But this was different. That duel had been a practice, a learning tool. This duel was a matter of life and death. Draco flourished his wand dramatically, preparing himself. Harry simply raised his wand in the air without elegance, trying to focus on the fight ahead. Draco shook his head, then flourished his wand angrily.
"SEIUNGUS!!" Draco yelled loudly.
Harry winced as his wand burned red hot in his hand, but he held onto it as the magic attempted to draw it away from him.
"RECIDO!!" Harry screamed. Instantly the burning and drawing away of his wand ceased as Draco flew backwards. But the Slytherin did not let loose the hold on his wand.
"INCENDAMUS!!" Draco yelled from the floor, cracking his wand violently in the air towards Harry.
Harry screamed loudly as his wand seemed to become alight with a demonic fire. But he would not let go of his wand, no matter how much it burned him. He couldn't. His hands began to boil outwardly, but Harry refused to let go. Harry moaned, Draco stood, watching with interest and anticipation. Then Draco pointed his arm straight, the wand pointing directly at Harry.
"CAECITAS!!" Draco yelled grimly.
Harry's yells grew louder as his world became black. The fire seemed to have spread to his eyes. He was blind. He stumbled about, his hands burning fiercely, his eyes burning with black fire. Every pore of him seemed to be on fire. He could not see, he could not feel.
He could see his parents. They were standing there in front of him, waiting for him. But they didn't look happy to see him. He rushed towards them, but they were pushing him away. For one moment, Harry could see the things around him. He watched as Draco dropped his wand to his side and stared at Harry as he stumbled about, then fell to the ground.
"Vanesco!" Draco whispered half-heartedly, pointing his wand at Harry. Instantly, the fire and blindness disappeared, but the ache in his limbs still remained. Harry stared at Draco from the floor, surprise evident in his features. Draco merely stared down at him, the glint in his ebony eyes unmistakeable. Harry groped on the floor, feeling the agonizing pains in his body slowly begin conquering him.
"Now Harry, are you more open to our suggestions?" The mirror asked smoothly. Harry coughed hard, but did not move from the floor. Draco stared at him, waiting for his affirmation.
"Never." Harry whispered. Draco's eyebrows shot up quickly, then his eyes narrowed as he rolled them and stepped over to the fallen Harry, preparing to finish him off. Harry breathed deeply, knowing what he had to do, but hating the fact that he had to do it. He prayed that Rhiannon would forgive him, then rolled over, his wand out and pointing directly at Draco.
"CRUCIO!!" Harry screamed.
A look of realization passed over Draco's jet black eyes, but too late to counter the curse. He fell to the ground screaming, his body wracked in agonizing pain. Harry slowly staggered to his feet as he watched his enemy writhe and scream before him in pain. His screams vibrated wildly across the walls as the mirror's laughter had done before, but this was much more frightening. Harry winced as he watched the boy scream and cry, his arms flailing wildly. Just then, he thought of George and Fred, of their pain, then of Draco's resentful glance as the mirror brought forth Artemis. He thought of Rhiannon, of her lessons, of the spider that he himself had tortured. He had not heard its screams then, but it surely had been screaming. Draco Malfoy did not deserve to die this way. No human being, no matter how evil, deserved to die in this way, in complete darkness and pain. He closed his eyes slowly, extended his wand toward Draco, then whispered,
"Desisto!"
Draco immediately became still, his pupils receding slowly back to their normal size. Draco's wide gray eyes stared wonderingly at Harry from the floor, though he still winced in pain.
"Well fought, young one. Well fought. You will be a great asset. Of course your compassion will be a problem, but it's nothing I can't handle." The mirror said approvingly.
Harry shook his head, scoffed and turned towards the mirror angrily.
"You don't listen very well do you? I told you, NO. And now I'm going to leave with my friends." Harry said, turning his back on the mirror, moving towards Ron and Hermione's fallen figures, which were now stirring slightly.
"Without destroying me?! You're going to let an agent of evil such as myself waltz away freely?! Why thank you for making this so easy." The mirror called sarcastically after him. Harry stood still, then turned back to the mirror, whose eyes stared at him knowingly. "Destroy him." The mirror whispered.
Harry looked down at Draco, but he remained stationary on the floor, his breathing labored. Harry stared at him though, as the Slytherin's gray eyes widened and he jerked his head towards something behind him. Harry slowly raised his head and faced the person Draco had indicated. Artemis stepped forward, her wand drawn, her black eyes empty, void of emotion.
Harry took a step backwards.
"Artemis," He whispered desperately, although he knew already: she was gone.
Artemis showed no signs of recognition. She merely raised her wand, prepared to kill without any regrets. Harry started to stagger away from her, but he never felt the blow of pain from her wand. Instead, he glanced behind him and stared at her look of mild surprise as her wand was knocked from her hand by a white bolt of lightening. The girl raised her head sharply and Harry and Draco both looked towards the doorway.
Bill and Rhiannon were running down the stairs, their wands drawn protectively as they eyed the mirror, Harry and Draco with wild glances. The voice chuckled and the eyes fixed on the two.
"Welcome to my lair, my old friends. We meet again at last."
Bill cast a wary glance at the mirror, then stepped off the stairs with Rhiannon. Rhiannon on the other hand ignored it and stepped close to Harry.
"Are you alright?" She whispered. Before Harry could answer, the mirror interrupted.
"He is quite alright, save for the injuries inflicted by my young accomplice. But tell me, Professor Flutterae, how would you like to take a look into my depths, just as you did that day in the Forbidden Forest?" The mirror asked enticingly.
Bill looked at Rhiannon sharply. Rhiannon had drawn herself up quickly, her eyes fixed on the mirror.
"Ah yes, and Bill Weasley! We meet again, although it is not in your native climate of Egypt. But here, you are truly home, are you not?" Bill merely glared, instead glancing at his brother, who struggled to get to his feet in an obscure corner of the room. As the mirror spoke, Ron and Hermione got to their feet, wincing, and moved to step beside Harry. "You don't answer? Perhaps Rhiannon, you could step inside my shadows once more. You and I, together. We can conquer those things that you wish to conquer. Perfect the things you wished to perfect. Perhaps even protect the things you wish to protect." The mirror said quietly.
"Are you ready to be destroyed then? For it is you that I wish to conquer." Rhiannon snapped, her blue eyes blazing.
As Harry stared at her, he could not help but be bothered by the look in her eyes. Those eyes. He stared at her, then at the mirror. An identical blue, identical wideness. Both sets of eyes, were the same, mirrored in the face and the mirror.
"Touchy, touchy, my dear. You were not so willing to destroy me in the forest, nor any other time we corresponded. Oh, I admit, you're a good hider, but I knew we'd meet again. After all, it is truly fate for the created to meet its maker once in a while." The mirror hissed.
Harry stared in horror at Rhiannon as she drew herself up proudly, ignoring the looks of her students, as well as the aghast gaze of Bill.
"Ah, that comes as a surprise to you, young Potter? Why on earth should it?" The mirror asked innocently. Harry stared at Rhiannon's firmly raised face, then turned to the mmiror.
"You said that my father and Sirius and Remus and Peter," Harry stuttered.
"Yes, they had the choice." The mirror answered.
"But they were many years before her time," Harry continued before the mirror cut in sharply.
"You didn't think that your darling Professor worked alone on this project, did you? There were others before her, but it was she who completely brought the concept into being, materialized me, improved me so to speak." Harry simply stared at the mirror, unable to comprehend this new change of events. "Before your father died, a few days before, in fact, he was given a choice. He could live and join me and my Master, or he could die and sacrifice himself and his wife. He chose to ignore me, though I threatened destroying his friend Sirius. You see, Harry, like you, your father had an unhealthy amount of heroism, but he was not stupid enough to fall for that ploy. So he died for you. He knew that it would happen, yet he did not change the future. Your friend Sirius was the same. I gave him a choice. But," The mirror's eyes blazed angrily. "He was warned. Warned by one of my creators. He chose death. Not long after, he was arrested for the murder of Peter Pettigrew and taken to Azkaban. But by some means, he has escaped." The mirror said, his voice gaining a sharp edge. Harry managed a slight smile, but wiped it clean from his face before the mirror could see it.
"But no matter, it will only take a little more time." The mirror said softly as if comforting itself. "But I would have you know, Potter, that the person who warned Black, did not escape unpunished. Only recently, Melinda Montgomery has succumbed to my Master's wrath." Harry seethed inwardly, clearly able to picture the smirk that would be resting on the mirror's face, if only it had lips. "So you see, Potter, those who oppose my Master, do not go unpunished." There was a moment of silence before the mirror spoke again, and when it did, its sarcastic and vengeful tone was greater than ever. "Then there was Lupin. He managed to evade me several times after meeting me, though he still chose death. Pettigrew is the only one who had it going for him, so to speak. He is still alive, your father is dead. Remus and Sirius are the only ones left and will soon be done away with. All because of one simple choice." The eyes of the mirror glanced at Rhiannon. "I am a wonderful creation aren't I, my Maker?" The mirror hissed.
Rhiannon flinched, but stood her ground. The eyes darted once more to Harry's face. "You see Harry, that is why my eyes look so familiar to you. They are my maker's eyes! She created me after the mirror of Merlin, meaning for it to be an asset to the world of men. But as you can see," The mirror snickered. "I fell into the wrong hands, and everything has turned against her. She will pay for my creation, I can assure you, for it was she also, whom the twins gave their lives for. Now she shall lose them, you, and Bill all at the same time." The mirror sniggered, then turned it's blazing eyes towards Rhiannon, whose gaze was fixed on it. "You did not count on this did you, Creator? Did not even dream that I would nearly take you and your dear, old friend, did you? You did not think you could be deceived by your own creation! Had your old Professor not saved you from me in the Forbidden Forest, you would be with me even now. Had your Bill not had the sense to apparate when faced with me in Egypt, he too would be with me. But now," The mirror paused for effect. "Now you shall all die, or join me and my Master." The mirror hissed.
"I don't understand! Why do you need to have Professor Flutterae and Bill! To you, they're nothing! Why try to get at them?" Harry yelled, his anger pouring out of him in a torrent.
"Because, young Potter, my Master desires helpers! If he cannot recruit them himself, he must convince them in some other way. Rhiannon Flutterae would be an asset to my Lord's plans, as would Bill Weasley. When my Lord got word that Rhiannon would be coming to Hogwarts as a teacher, he made sure that his loyal servant Lucius Malfoy, retrieved the mirror from his hidden troves and gave it to his son to handle. So you see, Harry, the Dark Lord can walk among his people, without being noticed." The mirror said quietly.
"But why George, why Martin?" Harry yelled.
"Because, boy, they were all assets! Assets! Each one of them that was called had a specific trait that my Lord admired. Each one had a certain skill. I do not feel obligated to explain the workings of my Lord to you. Instead," A cruel gleam entered the eyes as they stared fixedly at Harry. "You can ask my Lord when you are in service to him."
"Never!" Harry screamed, his eyes narrowed, his fingernails biting into the burned palms of his hands, though it pained him.
"Well, boy, that is sad, but you," The mirror suddenly ceased to speak as a slight popping noise echoed about the room. Harry too heard it, and he glanced around the room.
Harry watched Rhiannon as she fidgeted slightly, her hands behind her back. The eyes glanced at her sharply as an object fell on the floor. Harry glanced at it. It was a cork, slightly tinged with a blue liquid.
"Stop her!" The mirror bellowed angrily. Artemis quickly dove to the floor, picking up her wand and waving it at Rhiannon.
"EXPELLIARMUS!" She yelled.
Rhiannon winced as the object she held in her hand slipped from her fingers. A vial, filled to the brim with blue liquid, flew to the floor, shattering into pieces, the bricks of the floor where the potion touched, disintegrating immediately.
"Keep back everyone!" Rhiannon called out sharply. Everyone stepped back, but Hermione gasped as a droplet fell on her sleeve. A hole was burned completely through the sleeve. Hermione stared wide-eyed at Harry and Ron.
"Consumus potion." She whispered breathlessly.
Artemis stood straight, her arm falling to her side.
"Well done, young one." The mirror praised as Artemis stepped back towards it. "You thought you could conquer me, Creator? I am far too smart for that! You should not have created me with such intelligence! But I think that you are sensing that, 'eh?" The mirror sneered. Rhiannon scoffed and drew herself up.
"The only reason your intelligence is at such a great level, is because of the hold your Master has on you." Rhiannon countered.
"That is no matter. No matter at all. My Master has just given me an order." The mirror paused, closing its wide eyes. The eyes then twisted on each other till they disappeared completely. There standing in the mirror, was Voldemort.
His red, burning eyes stared at them in satisfaction, stared into their firm, determined faces. "Bravery." He croaked out, his pasty white skin moving shallowly as he spoke. "Bravery is the bane of all existance. It interferes with the simplest plans. But this time, I have my enemy to thank for my victory." At this, Voldemort nodded his white face towards Rhiannon, a leer spreading over his ugly mouth. "I thank you Rhiannon, teacher of the Dark Arts. Had you created this contraption willingly for my specific purpose, there would be a fabulous place beside me and a reward coming to you. But as you created it for good," Voldemort scoffed loudly. "Then I have my servant Lucius Malfoy to thank for retrieving it for me, and to his son for bringing it right into Hogwarts, directly under Dumbledore's very nose! For this, I thank you!" Voldemort cackled loudly.
"And even young Potter! You too have failed, felt the evil, but did nothing about it! Hesitation is a WONDERFUL thing isn't it, Potter?" Voldemort sneered. Harry said nothing, but stepped closer to Ron and straightened. "This shall be a day long remembered." Voldemort said slowly, tasting the words with pleasure as they emerged from his foul mouth. "This day shall see the entrance of two of Arthur Weasley's sons into my order and the destruction of two more of his sons, the rebel Rhiannon Flutterae, a filthy Mudblood and my wonderful nemesis who so kindly brought me back into existence, HARRY POTTER!" With that, Voldemort let out a large, vibrant cackle, one that seemed would bring the shaky walls of Hogwarts down.
"But first, before I dispose of you, I will tell you of what is occurring on the surface. There are wizards and witches dying everywhere. Some turning to my side, others being captured for information to be taken from them, others simply refusing, accepting their deaths with, dignity." Voldemort said mockingly. "Your fabulous Dumbledore couldn't stop me! NONE CAN STOP LORD VOLDEMORT! RULER OF ALL!" He crowed.
"NO!" Voldemort stopped mid-laugh and looked down sharply. Artemis stood before the mirror, her hands on her hips, her eyes glowing with their familiar blue-gray color, blazing fiercely.
"I will not be a pawn! Nor will I allow you to hurt my friends!" She yelled angrily.
"So, you too wish to stand up to me. We can remedy this easily. Come to my side girl, or your twins will die." Voldemort hissed. Artemis winced, but stood firm.
"Even if they do die, I won't let their memory die out by letting you kill their brothers and friends." Artemis raged. Voldemort's sallow face drew back against the bones of his face as he stared at the girl in front of him.
"Very well then." Voldemort's lips drew back cruelly and a hint of fear came into Artemis' face as she stared at the Dark Lord. Then Voldemort let out a shrill shriek.
"AVADA KEDAVRA!" The blast never hit her. Draco threw himself on top of her, knocking her out of the way. When he rolled over and yelled a curse at the image of Voldemort, which bounced off harmlessly. Voldemort let out a roar of anger.
"You think you can rebel against me, boy?!" He screamed. Draco did nothing, but merely stood still, glowering at the mirror. "YOU CARE FOR HER?!" The Dark Lord shrieked. "HOW CAN YOU CARE FOR HER?! YOU WILL ALLOW HER TO DESTROY YOUR ILLUSTRIOUS CAREER? YOU WILL DO THIS! YOU CANNOT DENY IT!" He yelled. Draco stood still, never moving his eyes away from the Dark Lord. Voldemort's lips drew back from his black mouth and purple tongue and his eyes narrowed to mere slits. "Then you shall die with her." He hissed angrily. But before any words could come out of his mouth, he started as the mirror shook violently, a powerful curse crashing against it.
Voldemort stared, then began to laugh loudly as the figure of Severus Snape pushed Harry and Ron out of the way. His pale face was determined, his lips pursed, his eyes narrowed, his wand drawn. "Severus! How good to see you! You are just in time to be destroyed for your acts of treachery." Voldemort hissed.
Snape pursed his lips together grimly and shook his sheet of greasy hair from his eyes as he stepped in front of the mirror with determination.
"I'm afraid you won't have time to perform any little acts of heroism, Severus. This is the end." Voldemort said with a sneer.
"Really? Then catch this!" With a snap of his wrist, Snape threw a blue colored vial, identical to the one that Rhiannon had lost towards the mirror. Amazingly, the vial seemed to blend into the mirror as it sailed towards it, the Dark Lord catching it easily in his hand. Snape stared in horror as Voldemort grasped the vial. Voldemort fingered it the with a white finger, a slight smile on his death's head face.
"Thank you for warning me, Severus. Once again, you have failed me. But this time, you shall pay for it. CRUCIO!"
Snape fell to the floor with a scream of pain, his arms and legs flying out of control, extreme pain wracking his body. Hermione cried out and buried her face into Ron's chest. Ron stared in horror as Snape screamed loudly as the pain became more intense with every passing second.
"SEVERUS!" Rhiannon screamed, rushing towards him, her wand drawn. But Voldemort's hand flew outward, flinging her back against the wall. Bill rushed to her, holding her up as she slumped in his arms. Then a gleam entered Voldemort's red eyes as he stared at the group around him.
"CRUCIO!!" He yelled evilly. The bolt of lightening darted towards them as one single stalk, ready to spread out when it hit its first victim. Harry pulled out his wand, already knowing that it was too late, but ready to feel the pain of the Dark Lord's curse.
Suddenly, Artemis' scream sounded over the others, as Draco Malfoy flung himself completely into the lightening, his body absorbing the shock. His body seemed to be illuminated with a horrible white fire, his blonde hair flying upwards. He fell to the ground, jolting, his mouth opening and closing with invisible screams as the pain surged through his body. Voldemort threw his hands in the air with a high pitched laugh at the sight of his victims. Harry stared hard at the Dark Lord, at the vial he held in his veined hands. Unfortunately, Voldemort caught his thoughtful look and he glared at him.
"You want this, boy, don't you? You will never see it again!" Voldemort shrieked, throwing it from him. The vial flew through the mirror, flew towards the back of the room, at the hard brick wall. Harry felt like he was moving in slow motion as he ran as hard as he could towards the wall. Voldemort took no notice of him, his mind completely taken up with the people writhing before him.
Harry ran, ran to the wall, flung his hand up in the air, grasped for the escaping vial. The vial knicked against the wall as Harry caught it with one hand. It burned his scarred fingers, but he held on as best he could. Then, it slipped, slid. It was falling. Falling from his fingers. Harry blinked rapidly and fell to the floor, catching the vial before it hit the hard surface. Harry cast his black hair from his eyes, his green eyes flashing fiercely as he glanced at the laughing Voldemort. He stood slowly, uncorking the bottle and tossing the cork to the floor as he walked slowly towards the mirror. He slowly hid it behind his back and stood in front of Voldemort. The Dark Lord stared at him. Harry was only a mere two feet away from the mirror, from Voldemort.
"What do you have behind your back, boy?" The Dark Lord whispered suddenly, as he saw Harry creeping up to the mirror. Harry cocked his eyebrow.
"You want to know? Well, HERE!" Harry yelled as he tossed a large amount of the potion on the mirror. Part of the gilt frame and the mirror itself, melted into oblivion.
Voldemort stared at it in horror, then screamed at Harry.
"WHERE DID YOU GET THAT?" He shrieked. Harry smiled grimly as he prepared to throw more of the potion upon the mirror.
"You gave it to me! THIS IS FOR MARTIN AND CEDRIC!" He yelled, throwing more of the potion upon the mirror. Slowly the mirror dissolved, Voldemort's screams mingling with those of Severus Snape and Draco Malfoy as Harry screamed out the names of the people he was avenging.
"THIS IS FOR BERTHA JORKINS!"
"THIS IS FOR SIRIUS!"
"THIS IS FOR REMUS!"
"THIS IS FOR ALL THE WITCHES AND WIZARDS YOU'VE KILLED TODAY!"
"THIS IS FOR MY FATHER AND MY MOTHER!"
Harry cried out loudly as he threw the vial and the remaining potion at the remnants of the mirror. Voldemort shrieked loudly as the mirror erupted in a fiery explosion that threw Harry and the others backwards. He lay on the ground, his eyes closed, until complete silence reigned over the basement hall. Slowly, he opened his eyes.
All was silent. Snape and Draco lay still on the ground, their breathing emerging in short gasps, the Dark Lord's power over them broken. Ron rushed to Harry from his spot on the ground, where he'd been tossed by the explosion.
"You okay, Harry?" He whispered breathlessly. Harry nodded slowly and pushed himself up on his hands. Ron stared at him in horror. "Bloody hell, Harry! Look at your hands!" He said in shock. Harry glanced down at his hands, noticing for the first time their black appearance. They were charred and crusty, cracked and bleeding on the tops of his hands. Harry merely shook his head.
He smiled slightly as he looked at the black ring, still resting on his ring finger. The eye had disappeared, the black surface now clear and empty. He slipped it off his finger and smiled at the charred black circle of the flesh of his finger that remained where the ring had been. He smiled and slipped it back slowly and tentatively on his finger.
He finally stood, Ron and Hermione standing with him. On the ground, Snape lay still, his dark eyes wide open, staring up at the ceiling. Draco's eyes were closed, but he breathed more evenly, his hand resting in the hand of Artemis as she knelt beside him. Harry glanced back at Rhiannon and Bill who lay in each other's arms, crying with relief.
"Harry." Harry turned wearily back to Artemis. Her other hand rested tenderly on Draco's head, gleaming tear-drops resting at the corners of her blue-gray eyes. "It's over." She whispered.
Harry smiled and nodded slowly.
"For now." He answered.
************************************************************************
Author's Note: AAAAHHHHH!!!! There we are! Lots of stuff was answered, yes? :-) And some stuff that wasn't. :-) But don't worry, this is FAR from the end. Harry and the others still have to face Voldemort and his army. Who does he have on his side? You'll hafta wait and see! Thank you guys for being SO patient!!! You all are amazing! Thanks to all my new fans too! It's always so cool to hear how much you guys enjoy the story! Hey! I saw Two Towers recently!!! AAAHHH!! That film ROCKS so bad! I LOVED it! How 'bout you guys? Didja see it? Whadja think? Luv ya and thanks for waiting so long!!
Melissa: Thank you! I'm really glad you think it's a deadly story! That makes me happy that you think so! I hope you can find this again so you can see what happens! HP tends to get a bit crowded at times. ;-)
i don't have 1: Hey! Sorry for being so late! I read your most recent review when ff.net sent it to me, and I was like, "GAAAAHHHHH!!! STUPID COMPUTER!! LET ME ON!!!" :-) So I hope this was worth the wait. *prays* I REALLY hope it was worth the wait. :-) Thanks so much for your comments! I'm really glad you like the story and am truly flattered! Don't worry, I've no intention of dropping this story! I think I'd be slaughtered by my ticked off fans. ;-) I don't think Snape is completely evil either. I mean, yeah, he's MEAN, but evil? Naw, not truly. As for Sirius and Remus, THEY DO MAKE AN APPEARANCE BEFORE THE END OF THE STORY. Cool, huh? They will be here, not as prominently as they will be in the sequel to this fic, which I'm writing, but they will be in it. I hope you are able to find this! :-) Thanks so much for reviewing!
leaf: HERE I AM!!! *grins* Thanks for being so faithful and perserverant! ;-) Great to hear from you! Thanks so much for reviewing! I really appreciate it! *grins* Hope you're happy to see the update! I hope that my advice works for your formatting problems! Like I said, we had Notepad once, but, well.......that was a while ago. *grins* I did read your updates! Well, I did before ff.net blew up on me, but what I read was really good! Keep it up! I'll review as soon as I'm able. Thanks for reviewing!
Sara Minks: Hey! Nice to hear from you! *snickers* Yeah, that was a pretty evil cliffy, wasn' it? One of my worst. Hope this one wasn't so bad for you guys. At least it wasn't nearly so horrible as the last one. :-) Thanks for reviewing!
Gray Fox: Doncha just LOVE snow days? So wonderful, so releasing. No school, of course, besides that pile of homework you STILL haven't done. :-) I love 'em! I was glad you were able to read my story for your snow day! :-) I really appreciated it! I know, terrible cliffy. But I hope this chappy was worth the wait! *grins* Thanks for your review!
Silver Elf: Well, I have somewhat of an excuse for my relatively *quick* updates. This story is done, so all I have to do is load the chapter, tweak it a bit, make sure there's no spelling errors or anything, then post. I really admire you guys who can write the story and post the story as you go. I tried it once and about lost my mind! :-) *hides* Terrible cliffy, yes? But at least, well, I hope, this makes up for the bad ending! :-) Yes, it seems that all house barriers are broken when it comes to destruction of the place they all hold dear. Except for Draco and Harry. :-) "You're going down Draco." *grins* I agree, somewhat. *chuckles* Hopefully, he somewhat has avoided your wrath. Artemis as well. :-) Thank you SO much for your praise! I really appreciate it so much! It gives me such a thrill to hear you guys say that you're so into the story. It's the main reason that I write! Thank you!!
Kora: Hey! Huh, I never thought of the whomping willow as an ent. But you're right, it is somewhat similar, save that it can't move around and kick Saruman's white, shiny, sorcerer butt. ;-) I do know how much crap you can get into just by searching for Merlin. *shudders* Occult crap, ick. Freaky stuff. I totally know what you mean about Tolkien. He did create epic fantasy. HP is good fantasy, but LOTR is *great* fantasy. You know? I'm not offended or anything by your, what would be called by HP teenies as, "TRAITOROUS, OFFENDING, JUST, JUST, JUST, just PLAIN STUPID, COMMENTS." *grin* I understand. It's all good. I dunno where you've heard of two people joined as one.......I can't even remember and now it's irking at my mind. THANKS! :-) Yeah, formatting changed quite a while ago, not sure when. Do you want me to help you with it? I'll be glad to. I was certainly confuzzled when I was trying to do it the first time. Just say the word. *grins* I'm not gonna post all of it yet, *poke, poke*, because I wanna spread it out *poke, poke*, so I can drag it out for a while, partially so I can buy more time while writing the sequel, and partially to keep the interest kindled. Hopefully the fifth book will be out by then. *shakes head* But probably not, there isn't much left of this one. Thanks for reviewing!
Balizabeth: GAAAHHHH!! I HATE it when it deletes long reviews! That has happened to me TOO many times to count. Grrrr, makes me wanna kill somethin'. Thanks for the review! It meant that much more to me! WOW!! Thank you so much for the comparison between my writing and Joss Whedon's. I have seen Buffy the Vampire Slayer several times, not religiously, but I'm still drawn too it, by HEY, the amazing writing! Thank you so much! That means so much to me! Wow! Thanks! No, no! Your interpretation of Martin doesn't sound weird! It's right on actually, and there's more under the surface, stuff that might be revealed later. Ha! Ha! I made you shudder! You and me both! That Fred/George scene is just freaky. I hope you weren't too disappointed with this chappy, due to the wait! :-) I did read your poem. But as you read above, my schedule has been, well, less than accepting to replying and stuff. But it was amazing! Very good! I will try to get on today and send you my thoughts and stuff on it! Keep up the great work! You rock!
Quiet One: Hey! How are ya? Good I hope! Sorry for the wait! Yeesh, what a crazy holiday I had. Immense cliffy, yes. Sad, I know. :-) And you can have a go at my computer to vent your anger of the wait. Go ahead. *stands back so Quiet One can kick the computer* There! Hope that helped! Oh yeah! Chamber of Secrets was SO much better than Sorcerer's Stone. I mean, I liked the first one, but this one had much more plot and character development. You know? And also it was funnier. Ron, *sigh* I love him! He's hysterical! I love Rupert Grint. Such great facial expressions. Yeah, when the movie burns, GGGAAAHHHHHH!!! I hate it! Thank goodness it didn't do that when I saw Two Towers. *shudders at the thought of it* Oh yes, your comments are appreciated! Very much so! Thank you so much! You're so helpful! *munches* Thanks for the cookie! *grins* Thanks so much for your support!!
Torrential Zephyr: Hey! Sorry for the wait. I'm probably gonna apologize to every single bloody reviewer on here before I'm done! :-) *grins* I love snow too! Unfortunately, we haven't have very much. *sighs* Just rain. But rain's not bad, but.......it does get a little old. *wink* *grins* You liked the Martin twist, 'eh? Good, because I enjoyed writing him. I enjoyed merely mentioning him at the beginning, with the knowledge that he would return and play a crucial part in the rest of the plot! '"But otherwise, he's been trying to get rid of powerful witches and wizards all over, and some that are just in the way. I'm proof of that." Martin said with a sad smile.'
Keep that sentence in mind, it'll be useful later, but I better watch out. You're so intuitive that you'll figure out the next plot for the second story before it's done! ;-) Thank you so much! I actually hoping that my writing technique getting somewhat better and I was hoping that it would show. Glad it does and that you're happy with it! I like it when everything's clear and all. Helps with the story. ;-) You know what? You're probably the most intuitive of my reviewers. I read your reviews and most of the time I'm shaking my head and smiling with surprise. You just blow me away. You know your Harry Potter info AND your JKR quotes. The fact that you quoted her about the ghosts situation is proof of it. Hold onto your initial thoughts that come to you. They're very good and they are *very* close to future plot developments. I don't wanna say much more, otherwise I'll start spilling the future plots! :-) *shudder* The Fred/George scene freaked me out so bad when I was writing it. Mainly, because I'd just seen the movie again and so I had the twins' voices in my subconscious. When I started writing that scene, their voices popped into my mind and started saying the words..........as one. *shudder* THAT was scary. Glad you liked it! *grins* You do that! Go take a poll and see who was officially freaked out! :-0 There, that was my freaking out face. :-) Yeah, I think I'd be concerned if my story wasn't giving my goosebumps. That would show that I really don't care about the characters or the plot. Not cool. *passes Torrential Zephyr a N.S.O.F.T. badge and shakes hand* Welcome to N.S.O.F.T.! I'm president, you're vice president! Anyone else wanna join?! :-) If not, we'll talk to the characters all by our lonesome! How was your Christmast and New Year? Good I hope! Mine was nice. Nice and quiet, well, except for the maniac trip at the end. You're so welcome for the writing! I hope this chapter was worth the immense wait! Thank you so much for your reviews and thoughts! They mean so much to me! Later!
ElVeNdEsTiNy: Hey dear! Thanks so much for your review! Glad you liked it! I hope this wasn't too much of a wait. You probably read my thing at the beginning. *shakes head* Crazy, crazy. But anyway, how were your holidays? Good, I hope! :-) How did I like Two Towers?.......................I LOVED IT!! *sigh* It was SO good! Quite disappointed that, well, *psst, have you read the books? I can't remember* Well, I don't wanna spoil future events if you haven't, so I'll just say, I was disappointed in the ending, that they didn't keep it the same as the ending in the book, but then again, it may have pushed them over the limit for time or something. Dunno. But otherwise I liked it! YEAH! ELVES IN HELM'S DEEP!! YAY! Totally rockin'. And it makes more sense when they...........eep. I hate it when I don't know if other people have read the books or not. I'm pretty sure you have, but still. :-) I still loved it! It rocked my socks. Gollum kicked butt, Frodo was pleasurably freaky, Sam was as loyal as ever and also humorous * "Po-ta-toes!"* *chuckle* I love Sam. Anyway, Aragorn kicked butt, Gandalf kicked even more butt as he booted that Balrog right back to the Shadow where he came from, Eomer was cool, Faramir was freaky but what was even more freaky was how much he looked like Sean Bean (Boromir). I mean, I know that the character is his brother, but MAN, do they look alike! Gimli was funny, Eowyn rocked, Arwen........I'm not gonna comment. I'm not too fond of screen Arwen. Her little kissy-kissy scenes with Aragorn in this one were a *little* much, but still, what the heck. Legolas kicked orc, Uruk-hai, every ugly little creature in LOTR butt. *sigh* I LOVE Legolas. He is so awesome. *sigh* Oooookaaaaayyyy, if I don't stop now, I'll never stop blathering about him. :-) Well, I hope you liked the movie! What did you think? Tell me if you read the books so I won't keep beating my poor little brain as to whether you have or not. *grins* Thanks for reviewing! Later!
Hollie: AAAAHHHHH!!! HOLLIE, LUV! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?? *gives Hollie a BIG, MONSTROUS, GARGANTUAN hug* Sorry, I haven't been able to review your stories! The Fire Hawk chappy kicks butt and so does your Newsies one! I am so pleased that you were able to get into that genre! I love the movie, don't you? Thanks for all the reviews for mine too! Those were the very first things I posted on ff.net actually, and aren't as good as some of my more recent stuff. Eventually I may go back and touch up on them, but as soon as I get time. You know what that's like! Until I get to reviewing your Newsies story, I'll say now (I read it this morning), it is VERY good! Very good! Sticks is not a Mary-Sue! It's a very intriguing story and I can't wait to see where it goes! Alright, I'll save the rest of my praise for a review, but I was very flattered that you were inspired by my story. *blushes* Thanks! Now to YOUR reveiew to ME:
Sorry the whole thing was rather aggravating but good. I hope this chapter answered some things. :-) "Lucrum Insperatum", does have a meaning behind it, yes. It is Latin and means, "Unforseen Destruction". Can anyone tell that I've taken Latin as a language?? ;-) It's very helpful, especially as it is used very frequently in the Harry Potter books. Actually, my description of the ring having an "eye wreathed in flame" in its center, was something borrowed from the LOTR books. Good eye. :-) "YOU'RE RIGHT.... THAT WAS A TERRIBLE PLACE TO LEAVE US HANGING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AAAARRRRRGGGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I think that you secretly love writing these amazingly astounding chapters, have each one escalate to this level where the readers are literaly on the edge of their seats with noses pressed to the computer screen, and then STOPPING!!!!!!! harumph!"
Hollie, dear, you're exactly right!! *winks* I do love doing that! Except when I can't update for over three weeks. *grumble* I like to take the readers on a ride, one they'll enjoy and remember later. Basically, I'm trying to give you guys something to read while we're all waiting for "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix". :-) WOW! I'm on a favorite list with people like Alexandre Dumas????!!!! HOLY COW! Thank you so much! I am really, truly flattered! He is an amazing author! Wow! Cool! Thank you so much! *grins* As for posting some of my novel on here, I'm not really sure if I will. I'm still thinking about it. For one thing, I'm still at a major writer's block at the end. Bummer. But still, I would like to see if I can get it purchased and released worldwide. Whether or not that will happen is questionable. But if it does get published, you can all be sure that I'll inform you all of its title, and yes, my name. :-) Hope I get that far. I'll be pleased if it does. I'm quite proud of it. I'm so grateful for all your comments and, as you say, "facts". *grins* I'm a very modest person, can you tell? :-) Thank you so much! I enjoy every word! I'll try my best to get to reviewing your other stuff!! Thanks all!!
A/N: Just a little nonsensical info to post here.
Did you know that:
Harry's name means: Leader (I think. I'm kinda fuzzy on the exact definition)
Ron's name means: Brave warrior. (I believe)
The name Hermione comes from mythology and was the Muse of literature.
(Again, I'm not sure. It might have been the Muse of History, sigh.)
But really guys, look up the character names in books, you'll be surprised at some of the meanings.
Here's one I AM sure of:
Ludo, first name of the infamous Ludo Bagman, is, guess what, LATIN! and it means: Sport, tease, trick.
Huh, imagine that.
Sibyll, from Sibyll Trelawney, means: Prophetess.
Hermione's birthday is September 19th and Ron's is March 1st.
Here are a few things that I do know are going to be in J.K.'s "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix":
It will be SCARY!! "Harry finds out a lot of things he hasn't stumbled across so far."
We will find out why people become ghosts when they die. (In earlier interviews, Rowling was saying that we wouldn't find out until Book 7, but she must have changed her mind!)
"They're 15 now, hormones working overtime. And Harry has to ask some questions that I hope the reader will think 'well why hasn't he asked this before'?" -J.K. Rowling
There will be lots of new characters! YEAH!
Mundungus Fletcher may be making an appearence.
Lupin WILL be making an appearance in this book! Also, Rowling said a lot of old characters will be coming back too.
We will find out if Percy will choose to go with Fudge or his family.
"The Dursleys are in the next book [Book 5], and there's stuff coming with them that people might not expect."
Keep your eyes on Snape. We'll be finding out a lot more about him.
Finally, the Arabella Figg mystery will be solved in this book. (J.K. has even hinted that there IS a bit of a connection between her and Harry!!)
This book contains a bad death Rowling has dreaded writing. And by piecing together some comments in her interviews, it seems like there may be more to come. *shudder* Don't want to know. *mutters under breath* Not Ron, not Ron, not Ron, not Ron. No Weasleys, no Weasleys, no Weasleys, no Weasleys. :-)
We'll be hearing a new Sorting Hat song!
Ginny Weasley is going to play a bigger role in these events.
If you guys liked this, I'll do more stuff if you want. Just say so! Thanks you guys for all your reviews!! Love you all!!
T.H.