"Harry Potter and the Brethren of Ares"
Disclaimer: We are writers of fanfiction! That is to say, writers of fanfiction are we! What I am saying is that fanfiction writers we are! What I mean is, fanfiction is what we are writing! Fanfiction is what it is! I am saying that the fanfiction that we are writing is not ours but we are still writing of the fanfiction!
By: Merusa
Chapter 18: Imperius
Harry's Dream
"Harry, sit down quickly! He's coming on!" Harry felt himself being pulled down into a seat. He looked around the table he had been forced at, and realized that Ginny had pulled him down, and Ron and Hermione were sitting there with him. Looking up at where the Staff Table resided, Harry was a bit disturbed to note that a stage now stood in prominence there.
A young man- around 17, from the looks of him- stepped forward. He flicked his thin, shaggy brown hair out of his eyes and adjusted the magical megaphone in front of him. With a quick nod at the band, he began to sing.
'Baby's black balloon makes her fly.
I almost fell into that hole in your life.
And you're not thinking about tomorrow.
'Cause you were the same as me
But on you knees....'
Hermione grinned sheepishly. "I think I'm getting a bit of a crush on Remus."
Harry stared at her.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Well, look at him!" She pointed up at the stage.
'A thousand other boys could never reach you
How could I have been the one?
I saw the world spin beneath you
And scatter like ice from the spoon
That was your womb....'
That's when it clicked. It was a much younger Remus singing up on that stage....
Harry looked down to see his photo album sitting in front of him. Flipping to the large picture from his parent's wedding, he compared the Remus in it to the man onstage. He nodded to himself...it was Remus.
Ginny touched his arm. "Are you ok?" He looked at her and nodded, before doing a double take.
She was transparent.
His jaw dropped. She waved an opaque hand in front of his face. "Hello, Harry? Are you there?"
He shook himself. "Uhm, yeah...."
'Coming down the world turned over
And angels fall without you there
And I go on as you get colder
Or are you someone's prayer?'
"Gin....what's up with the invisible statement?"
"Oh...Dumbledore is teaching me the invisibility trick, remember? Spell gone wrong."
Ginny turned and fixed her eyes onstage, and Harry caught a glimpse of Hermione doing the same. Rolling his eyes at Ron, he turned and spotted what appeared to be a white-hot glowing orb across the room. Without thought, Harry stood and crossed the hall. He arrived in a secluded corner to find Parvati in a classic muggle fortune teller outfit, a white crystal ball on the table in front of her. She motioned for him to sit, and he did without hesitation.
'You know the lies they always told you
And the love you never knew
What's the things they never showed you
That swallowed the light from the sun
Inside your room....'
"Something big is going to happen, Harry. Something not even you can expect."
Harry nodded. "I thought so."
'Comin' down the world turned over
And angels fall without you there
And I go on as you get colder
Or are you someone's prayer
And there's no time left for losin'
When you stand they fall
Comin' down the world turned over
And angels fall without you there
And I go on as you get colder
All because I'm
Comin' down the years turn over
And angels fall without you there
And I'll go and lead you home and....'
"You thought wrong. I can only warn you of what is to come."
'All because I'm
All because I'm
And I'll become
What you became to me.'
"They're going to die, Harry....
"Harry...Harry...Harry....Harry...HARRY!"
With a start, Harry Potter jolted upright in his seat. He looked up to see Ron and Hermione standing in front of him, looking worried.
"Bad dream, mate?"
"No....odd. Just....odd."
***
Harry walked briskly down the hallway, his pace concealing the majority of his nerves. Flanking his right and left sides were, respectively, Ron and Hermione. Behind the three, Ginny, Neville, Luna, Cho, Dean, Seamus, and Padma walked. They arrived at a statue of a gargoyle and, with a whispered command from Harry, a swirling staircase materialized. The group hopped onto the stairs, and within minutes, arrived at an intricate wooden door. Hermione stepped forward and rapped on it clearly three times. The door swung open, and the faction flowed into the spacious office.
Quickly taking seats, the most advanced members of the DA quietly faced the inspiration of their organization.
Albus Dumbledore was not a man to beat around the bush, if he could help it. With a wave of a gnarled hand, the door was securely locked and soundproofed.
"The battle will happen tomorrow."
Harry felt no surprise at the announcement, but his classmates appeared to be in shock.
"Professor, will He be there?"
"Yes."
Dumbledore looked curiously at the young man. Harry nodded once, shortly. The wizened man frowned thoughtfully. "You're ready?"
"Well, there's only one way to find out, now isn't there?" He felt Padma slip her hand into his. He smiled at her, knowing full well that she had no idea what the two men were speaking of.....and glad it was that way. He squeezed her hand, and returned his full attention to the Headmaster.
"Well. Get some sleep tonight. Tomorrow, we fight."
The D.A. members, with the exception of Harry, flowed out of the room silently. Harry looked around the room, appearing to concentrate. He nodded. "You can come out now, Remus."
The werewolf stepped out of the shadows. "How did you know that I was there?"
"Easy. I could smell the Wolfsbane Potion on your breath from over here."
Shaking his head slightly, Remus crossed the room and sat next to his unofficial godson.
"Harry, I don't think you should-"
"Remus."
He closed his mouth and looked at the boy- no, the man- next to him.
"Remus, I'm doing this."
Dumbledore nodded. "So be it."
***
An ebony mass swirled down over the short grasses, preceding the orderly march of generals and commanders behind them. They filtered completely onto the grounds, protectively standing in front of a blood red circle, their master residing in the middle of the ring.
Open war.
When Harry had begun to imagine just what a true battle against Voldemort would be like, he had discarded the notion of a muggle-like battle: organized troops, mobilizing on command, and good versus evil. He had already learned that there was no simple good and evil; that there were many shades of grey.
As he viewed the scene before him, he wondered just who was in that grey.
"Are you ready, Harry?" He felt a bony hand clasp his shoulder.
"As ready as I'll be, Professor."
Dumbledore squeezed his shoulder slightly before stepping the front of the assembled group. Behind the wizened professor stood the DA and the teachers, followed by the students who had volunteered to fight. Watching the swirling mass of Death Eaters in front of him, he did not fancy the school's chances.
That was when he leaned forward, squinting. He focused on the bottom ranks of Death Eaters, and realized that a civil war of sorts had broken out among them. He looked further up to see that the senior minions continued to march, simply pushing the foot soldiers out of their way. His glance finally came to rest on the bloody circle, the very center of it a green and silver swirling aura. That was where Voldemort was.....that was where he was going to fight.
"Well, our chances are better than I expected," a voice sneered to his left, "they're fighting among themselves so much that we may as well just sit and watch."
Harry glanced up at Snape. "The upper ranks aren't, though."
Snape shrugged. The motion was so human-like that Harry almost stared. "We're about even with the upper ranks, I suppose." The professor sniffed. "I do not believe that some of these students should be fighting. Their odds aren't the greatest."
"Professor, what do you think my odds are?" They were both aware of what he meant.
"Potter....I think that I don't give a flying frick about your odds. Just don't screw up completely."
Harry smiled.
That was when it began.
Harry found himself separated from the young professor, and, before he knew it, his own wand was out, and his own spells were flying into the fray.
"Avada Kedavra!"
He jumped to the ground, watching as the green light flew over his head. Not wanting to see if it hit anyone, he darted forward, and began shoving through the crowd. Most were too busy with personal fights to bother looking at him. Straightening, he began to run towards the circle.
"IMPERIO!"
Harry whipped around. He wondered how he had come upon the small clearing, but he was more concerned by what was in there with him.
Ginny stood, a knife in her hand, her hair covering the sides of her face.
"Ginny, what's going on?"
He jumped back when she lunged forward, swiping the knife at him. He leveled his wand.
"Gin, what the hell are you doing?" He noticed that her wand lay, forgotten, on the ground.
"Ginny-"
He ducked and rolled underneath her when she sprang at him. He stared when she flipped into a handless cartwheel, turning to face him.
She looked up. Her face was blank and expressionless, her eyes were glazed over, and her focus was completely gone.
That's when it clicked.
"GINNY! WAKE UP!" He had no idea how to wake someone from Imperius. Drawing his fist back, he punched her squarely across her face. She barely staggered before lunging again with the knife.
Harry wracked his brains, mentally slapping himself for both failing at what he was best at and hitting her.
"HARRY!"
Hermione's voice echoed from a little ways off. He looked around to see her, but quickly had to dodge the knife again.
"HERMIONE! HOW DO I WAKE HER UP?"
He shot a Stunner at Ginny, but she got out of the way quickly.
"HARRY! KISS HER!"
Harry didn't know where Hermione had learned that, but he stepped forward immediately, and pushed the knife away, swiftly kissing Ginny. He held her for a moment before stepping back, praying that it had worked.
He looked up into a pair of confused-looking, chocolate brown eyes.
"Harry? What's happening?" She put a hand to her forward, swaying slightly.
He quickly grabbed her into a short hug, before pressing a Portkey to the Hospital Wing into her hands. She opened her mouth to ask him something, but she was gone before the words left her mouth.
It took a moment for Harry to realize that he could barely breathe.
Shaking himself, Harry began to move again. He didn't let himself think until he came to the edge of the circle. Studying it, he saw that it was a smokescreen of....blood.
He jumped when a section of the blood parted, leaving enough room for him to step through. Throwing caution to the wind, Harry stepped through the hole, and got through safely. He looked around to see that the inside of the circle was transparent, and the surrounding battle was perfectly clear. He focused, however, on the man sitting in front of him. Two Death Eaters who had to be Crabbe and Goyle flanked his either side. A crude looking chair sat in front of fire, a fire burning green and silver. Harry's stomach turned over.
"Ahhh. My guest of honor arrives." Voldemort himself was lazing in his chair, his head propped up by his arm and a glass of butterbeer in hand. He languidly swirled the bottle, looking exactly as Harry remembered him. "You've come to fight me, I supposed?" He stood, tossing the butterbeer over his shoulder.
"Well now, we mustn't waste your journey." He spread his arms wide, his black cloak billowing around him. "Take your best shot."
Harry's eyes snapped shot. His wand leveled almost idly with Voldemort's head. "Legilimens", he whispered, so softly that he barely heard himself.
He felt as though his brain had been plunged into a bucket of slime. He nearly doubled over, doing his best not to vomit. He wouldn't be able to defeat Voldemort this way.
But maybe.....
He searched Voldemort's mind, finding very little resistance. He quickly located the battle plans. Concentrating, he made some of his own touches. He began pulling away from the Dark Lord's mind....
"Crucio!"
Pain. Harry screamed as the powerful torture curse hit him square in the chest. He collapsed onto the ground....
....and realized that his screams were the only things left.
The white-hot knives crept away from his body as he unrolled from his fetal position. Looking around, he saw that his idea had worked, and Voldemort had unknowingly Apparated his entire force from the area. Pushing up onto his knees, he retched.
"Harry!"
He smiled as Ron and Hermione ran to kneel by him. "We did it."
The smile didn't fade away, even as his world went black.
***
He awoke much later to the sound of quiet sobbing. Blinking, he fumbled for his glasses as the familiar smell of the Hospital Wing infiltrated his nostrils. He winced in pain, grabbing at his lower back. The sobbing did not cease. Glancing at the window, he estimated that it was about one in the morning. Madam Pomfrey had probably forced everyone to go to bed. Harry clambered out of his bed, blinking sleepily, to find the source of the crying.
Harry found Ginny, lying with her back towards him on a bed a few feet away. "Ginny?"
"Harry." She turned and sat up, swiping fiercely at her eyes. He sat down next to her without an invitation. "What's wrong?"
"It- nothing's wrong, Harry."
He snorted. "Yes, and I'm fine. Ginny, what's wrong?"
She smiled slightly. "You can read me like a book."
"Nope. Can't, sorry."
She shrugged. "Just...tired."
It clicked. "Ginny....that wasn't your fault."
"Yes, it was."
He sighed. "Ginny, it was Imperius!"
That was when she snapped. "And I should be able to fight that by now! But no, I'm still a stupid little eleven year old with a diary who can't even save herself!"
"What?"
"You know what I mean! I didn't survive Tom at all! You came and rescued my sorry arse. I'm not the Girl-Who-Lived; I'm the Girl the Boy-Who-Lived never saw until he saved her!"
"I repeat myself: Ginny, what?"
"I repeat myself: Harry, that's twice you've saved my sorry arse."
"Er..."
"Well?"
"If it makes you feel better, you have a very nice arse."
The corners of her mouth twitched slightly. He draped an arm over her shoulders. "You survived both times, Gin. I just...helped."
"Harry, you're never this sensitive. What are you on and where can I get some?"
He snickered. "I'm on exhaustion, and I don't recommend it. Now, off to bed, to bed, I said!"
"I am in bed."
"You know what I mean."
He helped her under the covers before hobbling back to his own bed. It was then that he realized the Hospital Wing must've had other patients. He then remembered that Madame Pomfrey cast privacy charms. Nodding to himself, he slid gratefully back into bed.
"Good night, Gin."
"Good night, Harry."
***
Reviewer Responses:
Wowsergirl: Well, thank you so much for reviewing!
HAZZAGRIFF: *hides, frightened* Don't hurt me, please! Lol.
Crater212: Hmm....well, you are certainly going to bring some important things to light! Writing Ginny is one of the most difficult things in fanfiction, I think. As you can tell, this is quite a Ron/Hermione story....they're my favorite coupling. As for some of your Ginny opinions, I agree and disagree. I do believe that you will find the sequel *quite* interesting.
Butler: YEY! It's my old friend Butler!
Kim13: Hey, we shouldn't have to chose between Orlando and Harry! That's hard!
Orangebanana: Legilimency, yes.
Iniysa: Odd stories are fun to write ^^
PhoenixPadfoot89: Do you have a copy of my notes or something?!?!?!
Apinda: It's alright o.o; Having a life must be fun....all I have is fanfiction, books, and dance.
EriEka127: YEY!
Slycat-blaze1: Alright, I understand the busy thing! But please review when you can- it's good to hear from friends!
Booka: The dream was full of symbolism, it was really fun to write.
SORRY ABOUT SLOW UPDATES! School and all that jazz.
~Merusa