Hey guys! Sorry for the long wait! Here's the chapter you've all been waiting for! I hope you'll enjoy the 1st part of WAR! Read and review! ^_~
BIG Thanks to:
WaterAngel1 SilverWingPhoenix SilverMoonlight-81 Queen Diamond SilverBunny5 Kail Ceannai Rynn LadyLight Lady Aya Jewelclaw Lady of Wind
Henio SiLvEr FaTeD Pheniox Rose Leeanna-Marie-Malfoy delete.the.stars
MFlower49 GothicFairyRaven Erika LoonySpaceBunny (Usagi/James??? *blinks*)
SailorSaturnCosmo Maiden Genisis Guju-grl Krazi Pandi
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The curse of the DADA teacher
Chapter 14: WAR (part 1)
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Voldemort looked at them with hatred from under his hooded cloak. His red, snake-like eyes slithered through his enemy's army, pathetic to his eyes. His servants were at his side, silent and more than ready to unleash their magic. Contrary to belief, he had decided to attack in the morning, and not at night.
Many of the side of light wondered why, because he had an army of werewolves and didn't try to use this to his advantage from the beginning. Nobody really knew what was going on in that head of his, and Riddle himself wasn't so sure anymore. When he felt it most of the time, the dark being inside his heart was strangely quiet today. 'Good ridanccce' he thought. 'I want to be the one to kill the Potter boy. If he wantsss that ssstrange girl, it'sss hisss problem.'
On the other side, not in the front like Dumbledore but more on the sides, Alexia and Usagi were evaluating the situation. Many thoughts were passing through the rabbit's head, the main one being; 'Let's just hope Chaos won't decide to show up in the middle of the bloody fight!'
Alexia leaned on her a little to whisper. "I can't believe I'll actually participate in a human war! Why don't you use your power now and make Chaos appear so you can finish this and I can go back home?"
Usagi shook her head negatively. "I admit it would be easier and quicker, but unfortunately, you know I can't meddle with their fate. Harry was destined to fight Voldemort and if I intervene now, the Fates will be after my ass for the many centuries to come. Let's just help them with our powers at the minimum and if things begin to get out of hand, we'll retaliate."
Alexia nodded grimly and gazed at the army of wizards on her side. They looked panicked and tense, not a good combination for fighting. She would have to check on them often.
The old man in the front, on their side of course, looked confident and determined. He was flanked by a couple of serious looking wizards and witches, along with the boy she had learned was named Harry. The Tsuki Hime had also told her about the Order of the Phoenix, so she determined that they were the ones surrounding the headmaster.
"THE TIME HASSS FINALLY COME, DUMBLEDORE! THE END ISSS NEAR!" The bloodcurdling voice of the Dark Lord boomed over Hogwarts' silent grounds and some of the wizards from the school's side unconsciously took a step backwards. Some were only children, but adults too could be seen shuddering in fear.
Dumbledore imitated his rival and took a step further in his direction. "YOU ARE RIGHT, VOLDEMORT! THE END TRULY IS NEAR, YOUR END, THAT IS!" Albus finished with a supreme voice.
Voldemort let out a loud angry hiss of displeasure, and all hell broke loose. "ATTACK THEM! KILL THEM! BUT REMEMBER; THE BOY ISSS *MINE*!!!"
Roars of rage from both sides shook the grounds and were even heard in Hogsmeade, though everybody had evacuated the area long ago.
The rabbit shot a look at Alexia, who nodded in return, before getting lost in the fighting crowd. The air was so thick, she had trouble breathing. Curses and hexes, spells and charms were thrown in every direction and instead of bringing attention to herself by deflecting them; she merely stepped aside when one was hurled in her direction.
Serena could faintly feel Harry's Patronus getting used and remembered Dementors were also in the crowd. She suddenly yelped as a nasty hex flew past her nose and she growled lowly at her assailant who was still smirking cruelly.
The Death Eater raised his wand again and prepared a Crucio curse. She couldn't evade it now! A group of first years had huddled themselves right behind her! Cursing her luck and the fact everybody would see, she didn't leave the time for the Death Eater to finish his incantation as she disappeared suddenly, making his eyes widen. She used this moment of confusion to give him a swift round kick in the back.
With her superhuman strength, it was inevitable that she heard the bones in his back crack and instantly she knew she had killed the guy. The emotionless look she gave the dead man scared the 1st years and even more so when that gaze moved to them. That meant; 'Don't ever put yourselves behind me again', surely, and the kids scrambled off, trying their best to dodge spells thrown in their way in the confusion.
She looked again at the fallen dark servant. 'I killed a *man*. I killed a fuckin' human just like that! It's your entire fault Chaos! Damn you!' she thought darkly and narrowed her eyes even more.
"When I get my hands on you…" She let her phrase trail and lost herself once again in the cries of rage and terror.
*~*
Alexia smirked and dodged yet again another string of magic. She heard a cry behind her and knew the target had been hit.
You see, she had found a perfect way to get rid of the dark servants without even using an ounce of her power; first, she brought the attention of a Death Eater to herself and immediately moved to another emplacement with senshi speed.
The Death Eater, angry and blinded by his rage didn't think twice about hurling a dangerous curse at her. She moved out of the way just in time for the hex to reach a Dementor behind her.
'Let them kill themselves, the fools!' When she diverted her attention back to the Death Eater she had teased, she noticed that his attention wasn't riveted on her anymore, but on a group of first years who had scrambled too near. The streak of dark magic was about to get out of the wand when she appeared by his side and punched him in the sides, making him loose his breath and his hold on the wand.
She took the stick and broke it in half before she looked down at the winded man on the ground. "When you get up, I suggest you run away if you don't want to get killed." She simply said to him with a voice of steel.
She looked at the nervous fist years and gave a quick smile. "Stay with me kids; things are only going to get nastier from now on."
The children were all too happy to obey and stood by her side, sometimes using some of the spells they had quickly learned. That's how Alexia was holding onto her promise to protect the people.
*~*
The time was flying by quickly. Lily and James were casting hexes at Lucius Malfoy but the man just wouldn't give up. He deflected every single one of them with a sneer and retaliated with curses stronger than the first. The blond man suddenly cast a Crucio and James took it when he tried to protect his wife.
Prongs tried to hold the yell that was threatening to spill from his mouth and was successful, but he fell nonetheless on the ground. Lucius laughed maniacally and held the curse with a vengeance. Lily was crying in horror as James finally let out screams of pain and in a moment of pure rage, she raised her wand and cast an identical Crucio at Malfoy.
It didn't reach him because he was also casting it, but it stopped the attack on James. She kneeled protectively in front of her husband who had trouble breathing and glared at Lucius.
The dark man merely shrugged the glare off and prepared to attack again, until he was hexed by behind by none other than Severus Snape. The 2 man had a face off and the look on their faces scared anyone nearby. Pure hatred towards each other.
"You filthy traitor! How dare you join the side of light and betray our master! I'll make you pay!" Malfoy sneered and he yelled "EXPELLIARMUS!"
Snape countered it with a Protego and then used a swift Confundus charm. Malfoy, who didn't think Snape could react that fast, took the charm head on. He shook his head but everything was hazy. The crowd was so thick he just stepped backwards in confusion and was gone from their sight.
Snape let out the breath he'd been holding and nodded at Lily. "He's gone for now but I'm sure we'll see him again sooner or later. Be careful." He gave a small vial to the red head woman and went back in the crowd.
Lily made James drink its content and sighed in relief as James woke up, strong again. It must've been a new pepper-up potion the brilliant potions master had come up with. A small yell of "Locomotor Mortis!" brought their attention on their son who was fighting not too far away from them, beside Dumbledore.
They looked on proudly as Harry maintained his Patronus even while he was busy elsewhere. The stag was galloping randomly and scaring the shit out of Dementors; it didn't make them flee but it was enough to slow them down. "Let's go Lily!" James said with a smirk, and his wife nodded with a smirk of her own.
*~*
Sirius evaded yet another attack from his 'beloved' cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange. The day was starting to fade and the brightest stars were beginning to show in the sky. He looked at Moony and his 3 friends who were beginning to show the signs of tiredness before transforming under the full moon. The dog animagus threw an Incendio spell at Bellatrix before turning to his comrade. "Remus! Are you guys going to be alright?!"
Remus nodded with difficulty and they both turned so they were back to back. Remus started; "Things are going to get more interesting when the moon appears, aren't they? My friends and I will be more useful in our controlled werewolf forms but I'm afraid the others will wreak havoc on the grounds. I wish I would've been able to reason with them before Voldemort did a pact with them…"
Sirius grunted, blocking another spell from the screaming Lestrange. "You couldn't do anything about it, Moony. With the way werewolves have been treated over the centuries, I'm even surprised to see you on my side. This, at least, is comforting."
Remus nodded even thought Sirius couldn't see him. "Hell will freeze over the day I stop being your friend, Padfoot!"
Sirius chuckled but both 'eeped!' when Minerva entered their line of vision. "Less talkin' more fightin', guys!"
The 2 marauders chuckled. "Yes Professor Mc Gonagall!"
Minerva frowned playfully but yelped as she was hit with a Petrificus Totalus. Before she could hit the ground painfully, Sirius muttered an "Ennervate!"
The Transfiguration teacher caught herself before she fell and glared at the one who had thrown the hex in her direction. She was surprised to see one of her old student from Ravenclaw from 3 years ago, proof that it wasn't only the Slytherins who were dark. "Why you little!" She seethed, and the culprit ran away, snickering madly.
Minerva didn't hesitate for a second and stomped after him with her lips forming a mad pout, her wand at the ready. Sirius and Remus threw a look at one another and snickered silently. Minerva could be scary and funny at the same time!
*~*
Harry had run away somewhere else to fight whoever was in his way, so Dumbledore was left to fend off the enemy with Mad-Eye Moody. They were very effective into scaring the Death Eaters away and were given some space, until a dark figure almost glided towards them.
Dumbledore's eyes narrowed and he whispered to Moody to get away to a safer place. He waited for the auror to nod and turned his attention back to *him*. "Why hello, Tom. I didn't think you were going to show yourself so soon to me."
Voldemort hissed when he heard Albus say his muggle name and, without a word, he lifted his wand. "IMPERIO!"
'Just a test' Albus thought, and immediately put his mental defense up. He faintly heard Riddle sneer in his own head but the sound was quickly forgotten. It surprised Albus; normally, the headmaster could block any sounds or thoughts coming from this unforgivable. "You've gotten stronger, Tom." He stated.
Voldemort smirked sadistically. "Of course. Just the thought of killing that *boy* makes me stronger!"
Albus' eyes hardened. "I will not let you touch him as long as I live, Tom!"
The Dark Lord hissed loudly. "TOM RIDDLE ISSS DEAD, YOU OLD FOOL! I AM LORD VOLDEMORT!" he screamed, and then looked at Albus rebelliously. "And I guesss I'll have to kill you if you're willing to ssstand between me and the *boy*!"
He started to laugh darkly and took a few steps back, still laughing madly. "Now watch! Watch asss Lord Voldemort and hisss great army destroy your hopesss!" Riddle lifted a hand towards the night sky behind him and pointed at an illuminated cloud…cloud that was hiding the moon, and cloud that was rapidly moving away by the force of the wind.
'Shit.' Lucky he said it mentally, because people would have fainted to hear the headmaster curse. The moment the first ray of moonlight pierced the gray cloud, movements stopped as the Lycanthropes backed away, holding onto their head or body painfully.
Sirius winced for his friend as he started to shake and Remus finally couldn't hold his instincts in anymore. He started to howl and the werewolves across the ground did the same, their body suddenly changing into that of their curse.
Now everyone was petrified. Professor Filius Flitwick made a mistake by squeaking. The werewolves snapped out of it and growled, showing their fangs dangerously. One silently moved behind the small teacher and was about to jump when Hagrid knocked it away with his powerful hands.
This caused the others to move and everyone had to put up defensive spells as the werewolves showed no mercy. Moony and his 3 other werewolf friends ruthlessly attacked the ones who had sided with Voldemort, but what could 4 of them do against an army of raging beasts?
Hagrid also had difficulty defending himself. He let out a shout as 2 werewolves attacked him at the same time and he fell on the ground with a loud 'THUD!'.
"HAGRID!!!" Harry screamed in furry and he raised his wand to shout a "Petrificus Totalus!" at them. It stunned the 2 beasts successfully, but 3 more took their place and attacked the groundskeeper, coming from the Forbidden Forest behind them. Harry was about to repeat his spell when a dark shadow covered Hagrid and, in one swipe of hand, yanked the werewolves away with vigor.
Harry backed away slightly when he saw the gigantic and foreboding shadow. Hagrid got up with difficulty and turned around. The shadow let out a loud grunt and Hagrid laughed with joy. "GRAWP!!! You came to help me!"
Harry did a double-take. "Grawp? Your half-brother? Your *completely giant* half-brother?"
The shadow moved and surely, there was Grawp with a tree trunk for a weapon. He scared whoever was nearby half to death but Hagrid only hugged his brother's legs because he was too short. "Yes 'Arry! He came on his own free will!"
Harry smiled as his friend winked to him and started to retaliate strongly with his half-brother, knocking 2 or 3 werewolves at the same time. The green eyed boy turned around and started to fight again, but with a faint smile. Nothing was truly lost yet.
*~*
Voldemort looked at the ongoing battle with rage. The arrival of the giant was unexpected indeed and he had to hand it to Dumbledore to have this kind of ally. But only one giant wouldn't do much difference now.
From his hiding place, he let out a menacing chuckle as he located his one and only nightmare. Harry Potter. He glided towards him and his servants made way with a bow. He noticed that Malfoy was currently 'busy' with the boy so he decided to see what Potter would do.
The boy was surely tired of all this fighting but he looked fine on the exterior. It was a pity that Potter didn't join his ranks; he would've made one hell of a good Death Eater. Lucius somehow knew how his master felt about this subject and Riddle could see why his devoted servant hated Potter that much. Everything always came back to Potter, one way or another.
"LEGILIMENS!" yelled Lucius, and he was happy to see the boy's green eyes dazing. He prepared himself to attack the boy mentally when it was his mental walls that crumbled. He gasped as his memories painfully resurfaced until he could take no more and pointed his wand in front of him, randomly shouting an Expelliarmus. Harry didn't have any choice but to stop his attack as the spell barely grazed his shoulder.
Lucius looked at him with murder in his eyes and his sneer almost disfigured him. "AVADA KE-" The next thing he knew, he was on the ground and his ribs felt broken. Lucius struggled to breathe and faintly saw Potter with his mouth wide open, staring at something beside him. He raised his head a little and stared at the blond woman who was looking down at him with an empty gaze.
"Professor Moon!" Harry had been surprised to see his teacher still alive and kicking, literally. She had stopped Malfoy in mid-curse with a swift kick to the ribs. He winced as a sound of braking bones reached his ears.
Serena lifted her gaze to him and winked at Harry. "I'm fine, Harry-chan. I just couldn't let him kill you, now could I? And you!" she addressed Lucius with a stony voice "You're lucky I let you live. Azkaban is missing you, Lucius Malfoy. I hope you'll enjoy your new home because it will be your last." She felt a pair of arms hug her and she hugged Harry back by reflex, soothing his tense muscles.
Suddenly, they heard a clap of hands and they turned, Harry with his wand at the ready. But he wasn't ready to see Voldemort himself in front of him, just a couple of meters away. "My, my, Lucius" he almost drawled "how embarrassing to be defeated by a mere girl. I guess I had too much confidence in your capacities. Avada Kedavra."
The green streak of light engulfed the screaming Malfoy and he screamed no more. Serena's grip tightened on Harry before she let him go with an encouraging smile. Harry nodded back with determination, though he felt his hands shake a little.
Serena silently walked back to where Alexia was waiting for her, murmuring a sad; "There's nothing else I can do for you from this point on, Harry. I'm sorry."
"You don't have to be sorry for anything, professor Moon."
She startled when Harry answered her. She didn't thought he had heard her. She set her mouth in grim determination and joined her friends who had stopped fighting and now gazed at the stare down Harry had with Voldemort.
Lily was holding onto James for dear life while Severus rubbed his forearm instinctively. Night was starting to make way for dawn and the werewolves painfully turned back to their human forms. But the battle wasn't over, while Harry and Riddle were facing each other, curses and hexes were still being thrown away.
Sirius wished he could be there for his Godson but he had to help Moony a little, though his friend still had enough spark in him to retaliate. The small first years had learned in the night to be as brutal as they could be, even though they were unable to use any of the Unforgivables due to their lack of power.
Alexia closed her eyes in revulsion. "He willingly killed one of his servants as if it was nothing! It's disgusting."
Serena didn't respond and narrowed her eyes. "It's starting. And it's not going to last long either."
Albus nodded seriously and fixed his gaze on who had been his hope for the last 16 years.
"CRUCIO!!!" The booming voice almost shook the entire ground as Voldemort was the first to make his move. Harry knew what would happen but he still yelled the Unforgivable anyway.
"CRUCIO!"
"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!" Alexia was surprised to see that the 2 attacks didn't have any effect on one another and instead linked the 2 wands together with a dome of light. Minerva gripped Albus' arm while the old man was busy narrowing his eyes. "So that's the Priori Incantatem. Impressive magic." Dumbledore said with all the seriousness in the world and a little bit of wonder.
Serena was only meters away from Harry and the heavy magic they were emitting but she stood her ground. When Alexia nudged her she explained silently; "Harry and Voldemort both have identical wands and they're negating themselves out. One will have to be disarmed if the other wants to attack, but that won't be an easy task."
A faint sound started and it transformed into a melody. Images started to appear above the 2 wizards and figures looked down. Gasps were heard as some people recognized their loved ones and Cho gasped when even Cedric Diggory had his turn.
"Remember that I don't blame you…" Came the silent whisper from Cedric and Harry nodded, the death grip on his wand tightening. It was beginning to hurt; his wand was burning hot and trying to pull him towards the other.
Voldemort had the same kind of problem, but he also sneered when the faces of the ones he had killed looked at him emptily. And he had more than enough when the face of Lucius Malfoy looked down on him with something close to pity. "DELETRIUSSS!"
The images suddenly vanished but instead of helping, it made things worse for him. The music doubled in intensity as Fawkes flew over their heads and began to sing with a frightening intensity; he was beginning to show signs of angriness.
The battle stopped and all heads turned to the origin of the sound. Riddle looked ready to explode with the pressure and the damned Phoenix didn't help either. It didn't make things easier as the dark little voice in his heart started to resurface. 'Make that damn noise stop…You're gonna die now, aren't you? I can't wait to take possession of your body! Red eyes suit me way better than they do you! Ha! Ha! Ha! Pathetic little human!' It taunted.
Harry could see something was wrong with the Dark Lord and Serena and Alexia's eyes narrowed.
"SHUT UP! SHUT UP YOU NOISY BIRD! I'LL KILL THE BOY AND THEN I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL KILL EVERYONE!!!"
That was a fatal mistake. With a shrill cry of anger, Fawkes plunged down in the dome of light and attacked Voldemort head on. The phoenix was furious, terribly infuriated. He didn't give his feathers away for them to be used that way!
Fawkes tackled Riddle and it made the dark man loose his grip on his wand. Harry took his chance without a second thought. 'I'll have to use the improved spell I created or else something might go bad and turn back the odds against me!'
Yes, Harry had made a thorough research in the library without anyone knowing it. Of course he had to take his invisibility cloak to get in the restricted section…
"EXTRAVADA KEDAVRA!!!"
Eyes widened when he screamed an unknown version of the killing curse. The light wasn't green this time but red, Gryffindor red. Voldemort didn't even have the time to get his wand back as the curse hit him with such force that he was hurled backwards without a sound. Time seemed to stop for a second as everyone stared at the unmoving Dark Lord.
Harry just looked at Voldemort, hypnotized by the sudden freedom he felt. Yells of joy began to echo on the castle's grounds while several Death Eaters cried their anger. The Boy-Who-Lived was being praised by his parents and friends but it didn't matter to him.
Harry took a few steps towards the fallen Dark Lord.
Alexia suddenly shuddered and Serena's eyes went cold.
The green eyed boy was about to take another step when he was stopped by an arm blocking his way. He gazed with curiosity at his DADA teacher but she wasn't even looking at him, instead staring at the prone body lying on the ground.
Albus lifted his eyebrows. "Serena my child! It's ok! Tom is finally dead!"
Severus moved beside Albus, a smile on his face. "Serena love, you can let Harry go!"
Serena's eyes only darkened when she felt a wave of evil energy invade her senses. "Yes, Tom is dead." She stated, but didn't let Harry go.
The people around them turned their attention to the blond woman who wasn't celebrating at all. "What's wrong Serena? You're starting to freak me out!" Sirius said with a frown.
Albus was going to walk to them when Serena's friend Alexia tensed and winced. The amount of dark energy had doubled in intensity and it was a wonder to her how the wizards couldn't feel it. "He's resurfacing, isn't he?" Alexia asked, trying to even her breaths out.
Harry looked at his teacher's friend. "What is she talking about, professor?"
Serena tensed and made Harry move behind her back almost forcefully with her arm. "Go back to your friends, Harry." She whispered soothingly, and then raised her voice for her friend to hear. "You know what to do, Alexia! I'm counting on you!"
Whatever it was for, the Alexia woman nodded and urged the wizards to stay together.
"I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME! GET UP!" Serena suddenly yelled towards the dead Voldemort, making everyone stare at her as if she was crazy.
Harry chuckled nervously and tugged on her sleeve. "Hum…professor? I killed him with the Extravada Kedavra! It's impossible for him to still be alive!" He chuckled again when Serena's head whipped around and Harry recoiled under the force of her gaze. It was a mix of anger and fear.
"Harry! I told you to get back to your-"
"Ku! Ku! Ku! Playing babysitter now, aren't you?" A sinister voice said, making everyone jump.
Screams of shock echoed throughout the area and Harry just stood there mortified as Voldemort suddenly moved to a sitting position, and then stood at his full height cockily.
"NO! NO! NOOOOO!!! YOU CAN'T BE STILL ALIVE! I KILLED YOU!!!" Harry screamed as red eyes focused not on him, but on who was protecting him.
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The first part of WAR is finished! YAY! It's like, 15 pages long! *swirly eyes* I'm sorry if it took so long to update, but I'm sure the result was well worth the wait! ^_^
Oh! Oh! And what do you think of the 'Extravada Kedavra'??? :P
By the way, the 4th chapter of 'Through your Heart' (Usagi/Sesshoumaru) is finished. *exhales deeply* It's great, but damn, the chapters are long and take too much of my time to write!!! *whines*
R&R!!!
Love ya all!
Eternal Cosmos ^_~