Harry Potter and the Brethren of Ares
By: Merusa
Note on Distribution: If you wish to use this story on a website (and therefore make me the happiest author in the whole wide world ) please contact me at missiceangel210aol.com. Please note that this is the story in its original context, and anyone who plagiarizes- well, I'll tell!
Chapter 24: Shrouded
Flashback- MWPP Generation, Post-Hogwarts
"....Re Vera, Lamia Mors Mortis Nondum...."
She could do it, she knew she could. She unscrewed the vial and dumped its contents precariously into the cauldron.
"Re Vera, Lamia Mors Mortis Nondum..."
She could feel her heart racing. Her child was kicking constantly; she could almost hear him screaming.
"Re Vera Lamia Mors Mortis Nondum..."
She picked up another vial and slammed it down into the cauldron, cringing at the muffled sound of breaking glass against the damp bottom.
"Re Vera Lamia..." She faltered. A pair of strong arms encircled her waist, and a masculine voice joined her, "...Mors Mortis Noncum."
Together, they lifted a flagon filled with a fine orange powder, and slowly tipped its contents into the pot.
"RE VERA LAMIA MORS MORTIS NONCUM HARRY POTTER!"
The cauldron exhaled a cloud of shimmering aqua dust, and the liquid within it shot out of it in all directions. The man and woman were thrown back against the wall.
Then, there was silence.
"Lily, you should have called me."
"You know I had to start it by myself."
"I know." He rubbed her stomach. "Everyone alright?"
"Yes, James, we're fine." She paused. "James, do you think those prophecies were right?"
"Well, a prophecy that follows another prophecy and sums the other one up as an answer is tricky."
"Damn straight."
"But, there's no harm in trying. Alice and Frank are doing the same."
"I'm worried."
James pulled her closer. "Me too, Lily."
End Flashback
Present
"You wanted to see me, professor?" Harry Potter nervously poked his head into the Headmaster's office. Dumbledore nodded at him gravely, motioning to a seat of front of his desk. Harry slid into in and looked up at the old man.
Dumbledore did not look well, Harry realized. His eyes had lost their benevolent twinkle; his skin seemed to be hanging off his bones; his shoulders were slightly slumped, and his hands shook slightly as they moved about his desk.
"Are you alright, sir?"
Dumbledore nodded. "I have to speak with you about something, Harry." His tone was quiet and serious. "Harry, it's time for you to begin to learn what I have denied you of. I know that soon, you will fight the Dark Lord again, and when you do, it will be to the death."
Harry didn't say anything. He knew it was the truth.
"When that time comes, I want you to be ready. We have discovered that Occlumency will not help you much, except to protect your own mind. And so, I wish to teach you. I want to teach you spells and enchantments, I want you to utilize your familiar, I want to show you how to use blunt force, I want to teach you swordsmanship and archery. I want you to be prepared to fight Voldemort in every way possible. No one's ever said this to you, I'm sure, Harry, but I'm afraid that it needs to be said. You must win this battle, Harry, for your own sake, and the sake of this world and the next. You'll have help, you know that. You'll have more help then you'll ever know. However, when it comes down to it, this is your fight, and it will come out the way you truly want it to. Do you understand what that means, Harry?"
Harry remained silent. He stared at the table pensively, feeling rather like he was fourteen again.
"It means, Harry, that you have complete control over this battle. If you want to win, you will win. If you want to die, you will die. In our world today, there is such little understanding of the human mind. Why do you think that Divination lives on, Harry? We our in control of our own destiny. What happens happens, and we have more of a say in it than we know."
Harry swallowed. He looked up at the professor again.
"Do I have a pupil again, then, Harry?"
He nodded.
"Good, good."
"What about wandless magic, professor?" he asked bluntly. He had wanted to try that for a while.
"No, Harry."
For a moment, Harry could have sworn that a flicker of fear passed over the Headmaster's face.
"But, why?"
"I can't say. You are dismissed."
Harry knew better then to argue. He nodded at the professor, stood up, and exited the room.
Albus shook his head slightly, as if to clear it. He pushed back on his chair, away from his desk. He reached for the drawer on his left. The drawer would have been unremarkable- it was an average size and painted black- had it not borne seven or so keyholes, as Mad-Eye Moody's trunk contained as well. Albus pulled off his shimmering pink wizard's hat by the peak and reached his hand far into it, sticking his face as close as possible in order to see. He groped around inside of it for a moment before emerging triumphantly with a bronze, old-fashioned key. "Aha!" He pushed the Kelly green sleeves of his robes back and began to lock and unlock the locks. The first lock revealed a drawer filled to the brim with Cockroach Clusters, the second appeared to be full of Caerphilly Catapults badges, the third, however, revealed a simple stone basin, hewn from limestone- similar to a pensive, but not quite the same. Inside it sat a mint green liquid. Next to it lie a piece of parchment. Dumbledore brushed his fingers over the liquid and watched as it began to swirl. The liquid turned purple. He shook his head.
"Even from beyond, you four worry too much," he murmured. He picked up the parchment he had written Parvati's prediction on, and then reached for the parchment lying next to the stone basin. His eyes flickered back and forth between them.
"So....they are the same."
Charlie Weasley was tired.
The reasoning behind his tired-ness was threefold. One, his favorite brother had passed away, leaving his life in shambles. Two, his mother was completely inconsolable and his father wasn't speaking. Three, on a much more shallow note, he was in dire need of female company.
Oh, there we go.
There she was, the vixen he had been looking for. She had just entered the rose garden which he had been dwelling in. She had a short, curvy build and flowing, straight black locks. She glanced up at him through pretty Asian eyes. He noted that she was a Ravenclaw, and a Prefect. Her eyes widened, and she walked quickly towards him.
"Excuse me, are you Charlie Weasley?" Her voice was breathless; she looked excited.
Charlie nodded. "Yes, I'm him. I mean, that's me." Smooth, Weasley.
The girl grinned. "Oh! It's so nice to meet you, I've heard all about you! You're Gryffindor's legendary Seeker! I'm Cho Chang."
Charlie grinned back. Potter's ex, ey? "I've heard of you before. The twins said you were gorgeous, but-" He cut himself off.
She blushed.
Charlie shook his head. "Well, now I must sound like some creepy old man."
She shook her head. "Not at all, I'm the ripe old age of eighteen. My birthday was yesterday."
"Oh! Happy Late Birthday!"
Cho's expression softened. "Oh, I didn't even...you're a Weasley...I'm sorry."
Charlie's eyes dropped to the ground. "That's alright...thanks for the thought."
There was an awkward pause in the conversation. Charlie pushed his long hair out of his face.
Cho appeared to shake herself. "So, what are you doing these days?" She tossed her hair out of her own face and shifted all her weight onto one leg.
Oh, this is good. She's eighteen, you're twenty-five...not bad at all, and it's legal.
"I train dragons."
She grinned. "Sounds dangerous."
He grinned back. "It is." He offered her his arm. "Would you like to hear about it?"
She took it. "I'd love to."
As he began to speak, they started to walk through the garden.
Dear Professor Dumbledore,
It's Bill, sir. I'm sorry for the abrupt message, but Fleur and I realized something. When we got out of that fight, we didn't destroy the island. As you know, sir, that means that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is still in possession of a blessing from Ares.....
To Be Continued....
This is NOT the end! The epilogue is still left, and that will contain all the acknowledgements and thank-yous. It will also contain information about this story's sequel.
Wow. We're almost done.
Please, if you have any suggestions, comments, or something you don't quite understand, feel free to leave a message in a review or email me (missiceangel210aol.com).
I'll try and do final review responses next chapter, but I'd like to get this up.
Thanks!
Merusa