"Sukina!!!" Shuura shouted as he raced back to her. He found her surrounded by youko minions. She was fighting against them, but they were prevailing.
"Shuura!" she called, turning to look at him with fear.
Shuura leapt into the fray, forgetting his father's advice completely. The minions converged on him instead of Sukina. "Never try to fight with minions if they are not on your side. Our race cannot handle them," his father had said. Shuura fought wildly against them, knowing that a youko had summoned these minions, but where the controller was he had no idea.
"Thank you Shuura," he heard Sukina say, as she let out a battle cry and launched herself against an opponent he could not see.
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Until their final battle we cannot rest
And then the cycle will be complete.
"Kurama?" Naoko asked, as she tended to Ginny.
"We can't help them from here. There's got to be another way inside," he said.
"Ginny's not in a good condition, Kurama. She's been poisoned. There's no telling what might happen if we don't get her to Pomfrey immediately," she replied.
"There's no way you can take her back yourself, is there?" Kurama asked.
"I can't carry her and I dare not summon my Shikigamis to do so. This Forest teems with life," she said.
Kurama hefted the girl up, and they cast one last look at the door. Then they left.
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The centaurs roared through the Forest, looking for their prey, accompanied by the frantic teachers. As they delved deeper, they heard the sounds of fighting. Professor Snape stopped moving immediately when something whizzed by the side of his head. Turning, he saw a dart buried in a tree.
"Get down!" he shouted, as something crashed towards them all.
All of them, including the centaurs, did exactly that. Darts whizzed by so fast they embedded themselves deeply in the trees, never to be taken out again. A young man followed on the heels of the darts. "I see that the darts didn't kill you. Pity. I didn't want to kill the centaurs; they're necessary for retaining the balance of life here," he said, raising his hands.
At that moment, the spirits struck. They overwhelmed him, covering him so that he could not see, blocking his powers. He struggled against them, until he had exhausted himself, while the others watched in sick fascination. A few moments later, a spirit detached itself from the bundle and looked beyond them.
Naoko stood behind them, with Kurama carrying Ginny. She was smiling, then she nodded her head stately. The spirits left the bound man. Naoko walked up to him. Kurama followed her at a distance, and passed his burden to McGoonagall.
"You're one of the Forbidden Ones, yet we could've let you live your life out in peace and happiness if you didn't sell yourself to the highest bidder," she said. "Karma, Celeste, and Isis proclaim this judgement; You shall be bound in the frigid wastelands of the North, under the guard of Skadi, and be released only when Ragnarok is on high," she laid a hand on his forehead. The moment she had pronounced judgement, he disappeared in a flash of light.
It was a few moments before anyone spoke, the centaurs realising that here was one who stood, and was favoured, by the Gods. She turned to them with urgency. "Ginny's been poisoned. Harry, Hermione and Ron are fighting with Voldemort and his cronies. My sister is somewhere inside the Forest, fighting with Shuura," she said.
"Flitwick, Minerva, please take Ginny back to school," Dumbledore was saying when Naoko, worried for her sister, set off in another direction.
"Firenze, Sprouts, follow Professor Naoko. The rest come with me. Professor Kurama?" Dumbledore let Kurama lead the way. As he did, and the said teachers tried to keep up with Naoko, he cast one last look at the direction she went.
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"Do not bother about the young ones, my lord. I shall take care of them," the snake known as Nagini said.
"Thank you, but if they prove too troublesome I shall join you shortly, after I'm done with this upstart," Voldemort said.
"Expelliarmus!" Harry shouted.
"Finite Incantatem!" Voldemort replied.
The battle had truly begun.
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Well, this is a long story, isn't it? I finally had an idea on how to finish it, and I hope you'll stay with me for the next few chapters.
