Hey, everyone! I'm /I I've tried to update my old stories... but it
just didn't work out, so here comes this one! It took me awhile to write
this only because it started out different... /I different. It was
originally going to be a 'Pirates of the Caribbean' fan fiction, but I
found that my heart stays true to writing Harry Potter story (man, I wish I
could have realized it earlier; I rewrote the first section over 4 times
before I realized that)! Please remember that I hate beginnings because you
have to introduce everyone, so the first chapter isn't my best.
Alright... just to make sure you guys catch this now (it is said in the story, but I want to make sure you guys understand) this story takes place 10 years after Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Harry, Ron, and Hermione are approximately 25... there's been no marriages, no children, nothing big in the rest of their Hogwarts years. They've gotten their well- deserved quiet years.
I'm not exactly sure when I will update this story, because it's taken me a while to write this one with all the distractions (picking high schools, trying to convince my friends that the local high school wasn't for me, trying to figure out if it will really end up shaking my future if I take drama instead of choir)... over three months, to be exact. I seriously think that if I get some positive influence (in the form of reviews), I should be able to whip out another chapter in a week or less (hopefully).
I own nothing except the obvious...
CenterTimeless Wars By Dracoforme When Voldemort allies with a dark lord from the past; the Order is forced to make some allies of their own. Little did they know that their new acquaintances would pull them into a tale of dark secrets, deep love, and dangerous magic. /Center
London was deep into the dead of the night. It had been silenced by the bulk of an early night, driving even the littlest muggle into a deep sleep. The night was dark, the only light originating from the full moon, which cast an eerie white light over everything, battling the shadows. The moon its self was a spot light, highlighting every movement made below it... if only there was someone else to notice the movement.
Every resident of Grimmauld Place and the near vicinity was slumbering... save one. She had taken the drowsy night to advantage and was sneaking unnoticed up the narrow, cement walkway towards the looming buildings. The buildings were among the grimiest she had seen, with overflowing trashcans outside every doorstep and weeds sprouting from every patch of dry dirt and fatalistic looking grass.
She nervously paced the edge of the unkept grass in the small square that was surrounded by the small houses, watching the broken windows for any sign of life, searching for a weary eye inspecting the walkways. The houses appeared dark, as though shrouded from the pale light of the moon by an invisible barrier. The woman squinted, wondering whether the darkness had been caused by a passing cloud... or by something much less natural and much less harmless.
A sigh escaped her lips as she tore her eyes away from the building.
She glanced once more around the dark, dingy yards, and then took off at a sprint towards the ominous-looking houses ahead.
A mere minute later, the girl had traveled across the dying grass was standing in the small gap between the door to Number 11 and Number 13, Grimmauld Place.
A smirk of satisfaction covered her lips, making her image seem even a stranger sight.
The woman had sleek hair that just barely tickled her shoulder. It was an impossibly dark shade of brown, almost seeming as dark as the night itself. In the front, it reached her breast-line in length; however, it was several inches shorter in the back, around ear level, angling forward to create a stubborn and forceful image. Her dark eyes were to match her hair, making it seem as though pools of ink had replaced the usual pupils. However, her skin was a perfect contrast to her hair; seeing as it was so pale it appeared transparent in the moonlight. A pink blush was creeping onto her cheeks; however, from the effort it took to sprint across the lawn. The woman wasn't an obvious user of makeup, with her dark eyes barely rimmed with black liner and her full lips without lip color or shine, but still a pink that was nothing less than rosy.
Her attire was of the strangest many muggles in the area would ever have viewed. Her shirt looked as though it was a muggle man's; though it was completely unbuttoned to reveal an olive green scarf that had been tied tightly around her in imitation of a shirt. She wore a black velvet skirt that reached her knees, exposing a petticoat that reached her calves and a very worn pair of leather boots. To finish off her outfit; a large belt was tightened around her waist; a revolver, sword, and wand tied tightly onto it.
'The headquarters of the Order of Phoenix may be found at number twelve, Grimmauld Place, London' she thought, thinking the words over very deliberately in her head.
No sooner than she had thought 'London', a battered door appeared seemingly out of nowhere, quickly followed by grimy walls and filthy windows. After no more than three seconds, an extra house had pushed its way into the gap between number 11 and number 13.
The woman removed her wand from its "holster" and stepped up to the door, staring for a moment at the peeling, green paint. She ignored the rusted knocker and lightly placed her free hand on the handle, hoping it was unlocked.
No luck there.
She sighed and sank to her knees peering at the lock (which was now at eye level). Magical households couldn't just make things easy, they had to /I to lock the doors every night... as though it helped.
She took her wand, pointed it at the keyhole, and muttered, "Alohamora..." in a rather throaty, but strong voice. A single, red spark ignited at the tip of her wand and then fluttered to the cement like a falling feather. The woman frowned at the spark, but she didn't look surprised at all. She slowly took her gloved index finger and placed it over the spark, grinding it into the ground.
When nothing happened with the lock, she shrugged, sliding her wand back into her belt. She slowly hiked up her burgundy skirt, along with the first layer of petticoat, and revealed three neat rows of pockets, all holding lethal looking metal objects. She examined each pocket for a moment, and then drew out a small pocketknife (similar to the one a Hogwarts student received for Christmas in his fourth year).
The woman carefully chose a utensil on the knife and began to fish it into the lock. After a few moments she drew back from the door, ears poised for sound.
A faithful click told her she had been successful in picking the rather useless lock.
The girl stood up, sliding the pocketknife back to its hidden home under her skirt. She gingerly placed a hand on the door handle and pushed; swinging the doors open wide.
She placed her hands on her hips and cocked them in a taunting way. "Now, what good is a lock if it just snaps open?" she said, her voice echoing in the small entry hall.
Remus Lupin's head snapped up from the list of itineraries before him. He thought he had heard the creak of the old, front door... but every member of the order was already sitting in front of him, chattering endlessly as they waited for the slam of the gavel that signified the start of the meeting.
He would have to talk to Molly about greasing the hinges...
Slowly, he began to run his hands through his rapidly graying hair, hoping the last few brown hairs would flourish and spread their color to his other hairs too.
Looking down the table, he accounted for each of the head members:
Dumbledore sat at the head of the table, his long, white beard the same as it had been for years. His moon-shaped glasses caught the gentle, yellow glow from the small fire that burned in the hearth behind him. In his dark blue robes, he gave the air of a regular, old man, without a car in the world... not the air of a man with the weight of a thousand worries on his shoulders. If Dumbledore's eyes were stared into for long enough, you could sense the pain behind them, the unwritten ache of fretting and distressing over thoughts of Voldemort and the deatheaters. Over the past ten years, Dumbledore had mentally taken responsibility for the uprising of Voldemort and the deaths of the innocents, all because of his concealment of the prophecy dealing with Harry and Voldemort. All of the members of the Order of the Phoenix agreed that Dumbledore couldn't have prevented the uprising, but it still weighed heavily on him.
At Dumbledore's right-hand sat Harry Potter. He had matured over the decade and was now 25, growing each and everyday to resemble his father. Quidditch had broadened his chest; changing him from a small, lean boy into a rather burly man. He had grown several inches, but was still dwarfed by Ron. His hair remained raven-black and unmanageable, but Harry had learned not to mess with it and let it lay naturally. Much like Dumbledore, his emerald green eyes revealed his pain, but also his happiness. Harry had spent two years after he graduated from Hogwarts on the Pride of Portree Quidditch team, but then had decided that the Auror Career Track was the one that suited him.
Across from Harry were Ron and Hermione, looking very much as they had in their younger years. Ron had grown impossibly taller, standing well above Hermione, who appeared to not have gotten taller at all. Hermione had, however, filled out. Her body had changed from the body of a girl's to the body of a woman's (and Ron and Harry /I knew it). Their hands were clasped under the table and neither of them looked keen on letting go.
As Lupin looked down the table, he noticed the people who /I changed over the years. Moody, Kingsley, Snape, and Tonks sat beside Harry, looking very similar to how they had looked ten years ago. Past them sat Dedalus Diggle and Hestia Jones. Next to Ron and Hermione were Olympe Maxime, Elphias Doge, and the Weasleys.
The Weasley's had changed a fair bit since their carefree Hogwarts days. Arthur and Molly had aged quite a lot; from gaining wrinkles to gaining gray hairs... they had a rational reason too, with six children in the Order of the Phoenix (two of them bordering on becoming millionaires) and another son who was in a treacherous position at the Ministry of Magic.
Lupin paused; he thought he had heard something in the hall.
He furrowed his brow in confusion; was someone out there? It wouldn't be the first time a deatheater had tried to listen to a meeting of the Order...
Slowly, he stood, taking out his wand. He could sense some confusion from his companions as he approached the door, but ignored it as he reached for the handle.
"Remus...?" Arthur Weasley questioned.
Lupin ignored him and slowly pushed open the door, squinting into the dimness of the hall. One of the antique wall lanterns was burning, casting a pale, flickering light over the hall. The light did not lie though; the hall was devoid of anything out of the ordinary.
Remus let out a slow sigh of relief and turned back towards the door, letting his wand hand fall limply to his side.
However, before he could take a step towards the door, an arm snapped out of the shadows and wrapped around his neck, pulling his into a tight headlock. He could feel a body press up against his back, letting their other free hand bring their wand up to meet his neck. Before he could think to stop himself, he let out a strangled groan. The person behind him did not release him from their vice-like grip, but instead shushed him like a mother quiets a child. "Shhh... you're alright, I'm not here to hurt you... I'm here for help..." his captor (who he now could identify as a woman) said in a soothingly deep voice.
Remus brought his arms up to the arm that was wrapped around his neck, trying to pull it looser. "If you're here for help, then why are you trying to strangle me?!" he said, not caring to hide his growing fear as he stared at the tip of the wand that hovered inches away from him. As he stopped struggling violently, he was able to detect the mild scent of flowers lingering in the air. It smelled interesting, as though wild flowers had been mixed with the musky scent that hovered in all small forests.
A small chuckle sounded behind his ear, "Can you truthfully say you wouldn't have stunned me if I had simply snuck up behind you and tapped your shoulder?" Remus could feel the warmth of the woman's breath on his ear; delightfully warm, but not unbearably. "Being stunned doesn't exactly give me time to explain why I'm here, does it?"
Lupin wriggled for a moment, trying to free himself from the headlock, but when he failed, he said, "Fine. Why /I you here, anyways?"
"You promise to help me?" the woman said hopefully.
Remus paused before answering, sensing the worry that filled the woman's voice, "It's not as though we'll turn you away if you really have a problem..."
"Good," said the woman, beginning to nudge Lupin towards the door, "Let's go..."
"W-wait..." Remus said, eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "Is it a good idea to just take me in there like that?"
"Am I supposed to waltz you in instead? This is my little way of making sure your friends listen to me..." she said, pushing him through the door, making sure the entire Order heard her last statement.
All around the rather cramped room, heads (and wands) snapped up, abruptly ending their casual conversations.
Lupin, once again, heard a chuckle near his ear, before the woman spoke again, "Whoa... don't get go happy-go-lucky with your wands on me, or else you'll have to hit your little friend too..." she said logically, pushing Lupin farther into the room.
A stunned silence settled on the room, the last thing many of them, excluding Moody, had expected was Lupin bursting in under the force of a young woman.
Harry's emerald eyes locked onto the girl, examining every inch of her.
At his first glance, she appeared to be calm and confident. Her head was held high: the longer lock of her hair falling over Lupin's shoulder and spilling onto his chest. Her eyes were fixed on Dumbledore, waiting for a reaction to her entrance... and that is what she received.
With a swish of his cloak, Dumbledore stood, wand raised in a menacing manner. "I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to release Remus..." he said, seeming slightly sorry; as though it was a rude and unruly thing to say.
"Oh! So you're called Remus?" she said, ignoring Dumbledore and speaking instead to Lupin, "You failed to mention that in the hall?"
Lupin grunted, "You didn't exactly tell me your name either..." he said as he wriggled in her grip again.
"I wasn't sure you were keen on hearing it," the woman said, as though there was no one other than Lupin listening intently. Harry narrowed his eyes, urging her mentally to reveal her name to the room... as well as her purpose for breaking into Grimmauld Place.
The woman, however, smiled tauntingly at Remus for several endless moments before speaking again: "You know, now that I think of it, I really don't think you /I why I'm here or what my name is, even though you should, and you just want me off your neck and then you want to curse me into oblivion for threatening your safety..."
Dumbledore smiled slightly, "That is probably true... but why don't you try letting go of Mr. Lupin and then explaining why you're here..."
"No cursing, jinxing, or other magical harm to be done until I am heard out?" the woman questioned, her voice brimming with anxiousness that was apparent throughout the room.
Dumbledore raised a single hand, "On my honor..." he said, placing his wand at the long table and taking his seat at the head of the table.
The woman stared at him, as though trying to see through him... see through to detect whether he was lying or not. After what seemed like endless moments, she slowly removed her arm from around Lupin's neck, revealing an angry, red mark from the steady pressure of her arm. Slowly, she pushed him forward, into the safe arms of the Order and away from herself.
Dumbledore "caught" Remus, slowly lowering him into the chair that he himself had been occupying only moments ago. He then turned to the woman, who was twirling her wand in a carefree manner.
"I've brought truth potions with me, if you'd like to use them... but I highly doubt you'll trust me enough to trust them..." she said as she hiked up her skirt once again (succeeding in getting the men's eyes to enlarge throughout the room). She gazed once again at the small pockets: thumbing small vials until she appeared to have found the truth potion. She dropped her skirt, swirling the clear liquid in the other hand to affirm that it was the correct bottle.
Seeming satisfied, she held it out to Dumbledore, who, very politely, took it, but did not uncork it.
"Once again, you have predicted my reaction to the point," he said, making the comment sound like she had received 12 OWLS instead of a rejection of her potion.
She smiled sweetly up at him, "Aha, time for 'Plan 2' then!" and then clasped her hands together in a show of childish innocence. "I wanted to wait until nightfall to come to you... but, unfortunately, I got here several hours early. This gave me plenty of time to realize my so-called-plan wasn't even good enough to be eaten by Flobberworms..." she said, smiling thoughtfully, "So, while I cowered behind a hedge, I formed another plan. At least one of you must be an Occlumency Master, and all that they will have to do is simply break into my mind and see my most recent memories. Then I'll tell my story and how it brings me here, and they will tell the rest of you whether the story corresponds to my memories!"
A silence settled upon the room as they considered the plan; looking for possible ways that she could have rigged her memories.
Moody spoke first. "That could actually work..." he growled slowly, magical eye spinning towards the area of the woman's skirt, no doubt examining the various tool and potions she had beneath it.
The woman smiled brightly and unclasped her hands, "Great!" She slipped the vial back into place under her skirt, then righted herself, tossing her longer locks of hair over her shoulder, "I have to warn you, though: I've been studying Occlumency myself for a little over fifteen years now, and it might take me a bit to dismantle the protection that has grown to surround my mind... unless you have a amazingly powerful Legilimens who can smash the wall of security faster..." She smiled and scanned the room once again, receiving wary stares in return.
Dumbledore nodded in agreement, and then turned towards the table that seated the Order, "I believe that only one of us is even nearly as powerful as you ask..." In a graceful manner, he gestured towards Harry, receiving a squawk of surprise in return.
"/I But I've only just finished my lessons with it!" Harry said, eyebrows rising so high they disappeared under his bangs.
"You've gone as far as we can take you with Occlumency, but you have yet to complete it. Your mind power and will has exceeded ours, so it is my wish that you view the young lady's memories..." Dumbledore said, saving his usual explanations for later, a rarity indeed.
Letting out a small cough, Harry stood up; stepping slowly towards the woman, tentatively raising his wand, "Erm... alright..."
The woman smiled up at him, watching his emerald green eyes with amazement.
Harry felt frozen at the gaze of her black eyes, only casting the charm after listening to his mind's shouts to not make a complete fool of himself. He let out another small cough, waved his wand, and said, "/I!"
He was instantly pulled into the woman's mind, as was usual, but almost immediately he ran into a block... the wall. He could sense her trying to pull the wall down unsuccessfully: wasting her energy.
Putting on an extra burst of energy of his own, Harry began to mentally ram the wall, willing it to crumble.
The wall was certainly strong, build better than the average block around the wall. However thick it was, or strongly built, it still didn't last long once he began to collide with it. Within a few moments, Harry felt the wall fade away, and was then faced with the woman's memories and emotions.
A surprise came, however, with her emotions. Contrary to her appearance, the girl wasn't calm and secure; there was an immense amount of fear wrapped around her, bringing forth the memories that the fright was strongest.
IA woman leaning over a small girl who was sobbing with fervor. They were outside, seemingly in a garden, but the flowers around the pair were drooping; as though they were reflecting the girl's emotions.
The girl had grown form the last image, now looking as old as she had when she stood in front of him. She sat at a table, leaning over several rolls of aging parchment. Suddenly, screams pierced the air, causing her head to snap up as she leaped from the table, wand raised. It faded to the image of a blonde woman dressed in a flowing, blue fabric leaning over something on the floor... a man covered in blood... that too, faded quickly, giving way to her... cornered with three others... cornered by over twenty deatheaters. That cleared, showing five deatheaters dragging away what could be nothing other than a solid shadow. The four that had been cornered by the deatheaters were resisting with all their might, looking as though they would give their lives to stop the deatheaters./I
As suddenly as Harry had broken into the woman's mind, he was thrust out of it.
He slowly became aware of his surroundings: the Order staring curiously at him, the woman in front of him, panting slightly, looking as though she was gripped by fear, and Dumbledore, who was beaming at Harry.
Once again, he turned to the woman. He gave her a quizzical look and asked, "Deatheaters?"
"What about the story?" Ron interrupted, prying for information.
The woman nodded to Ron, looking as though she was trying to compose herself once again, "I'll start from the beginning... I'm Alluvia, Sage of the Earth..." she paused, "You do know what a sage is, right?"
Hermione jumped. "A person venerated for experience, judgment, and wisdom," she answered, looking proud.
"Yes!" the woman, Alluvia, said, looking slightly relieved, "Either that or an herb... but that's beside the point. There are four Sages, Earth, Fire, Water, and Air, and they are the proclaimed guardians of Lord Orrin." Only Dumbledore and Hermione nodded knowingly, the others exchanged confused glances. "Orrin was a dark wizard from the Renaissance Period, the Voldemort of his time. He was one of the major causes of the decline of magical blood, killing us without mercy. Many witches and wizards stood up to him, but all fell... it was just a matter of time. Four of the greatest wizards of the time joined forces to fight him, but were destroyed. They were saved, however: their bodies and minds were fused with those of fairies and pixies, due to their physical advantages. The four wizards were revived, only half wizard. They each gained the power of an element, such as Fire and Earth. With these, they were able to not defeat Orrin, but bind him. However, it came at a cost. Orrin, like the wizards that bound him, gained the power of an element, shadow. This made it so if he was ever released from the spells that bound him, he would be more powerful than before."
She looked at Harry, trying to detect whether the memories made sense yet. AS she realized he still looked confused beyond belief, she smiled slightly.
"For over five centuries, the heirs of the great wizards have guarded Orrin's body from the dark wizards who wished for a strong ally, I being one of the Sages. There were no successful attempts to release Orrin... until now," she whispered, face growing, if possible, paler.
"We, the Sages, have not been in great contact with the outside world, only communicating with the Ministry when it was impossible to avoid. The news of Lord Voldemort reached us thirty years ago... and of his fall five years later. They believed that this was the last that they would hear of him... which is true. No news of Voldemort was brought to us until 8 years ago, when I was fifteen, at the induction ceremony of the next generation of Sages, my generation. We heard of Harry Potter's-"Harry blushed slightly at the mention of his name "-endless battle with the Dark Lord. It was assumed that he would simply defeat Voldemort and we would receive no troubles with the matter."
Finally, Harry understood. "Voldemort released Orrin... didn't he?" he asked, beginning to comprehend why Alluvia had felt so much fear.
"Yes, two weeks ago, over fifty deatheaters attacked us... they killed Ren, the Water Sage's, fiancé to distract us... which worked for a moment... in which they took away Orrin, undoubtedly, they know how to unbind him. It also took all our powers, aside from the ones that we generate through our elements. So, I can still control plants and earth, but can't do the charms and spells regular wizards control. Apart from that, we have reason to believe that he hasn't been unbound yet... or else the area he is in would be constantly covered in shadow. But it is only a matter of time..." Alluvia said as she stared at Dumbledore, who nodded grimly, "Now you understand why I had to come... and why I had to use Remus to get your attention- Sorry, 'bout that by the way- I needed your attention quickly, and that was the only way I was going to receive it within the time that we need...
"So, do my memories check out?" she said, turning to Harry.
He nodded, now fear stricken himself.
She smiled, making Harry notice she looked rather lovely when she wasn't smirking. Turning to Dumbledore, she asked, "So, will you help me?"
Dumbledore chuckled, "Of course!"
Harry waited calmly outside the door to the meeting room while Alluvia and Dumbledore discussed details about Orrin and Voldemort. They had asked everyone to try to sleep, but the fear of Voldemort having a powerful ally struck so much ear through Harry in him that sleep didn't overcome him.
Even through the thick wooden doors, he listened to the muffled voices inside for what seemed like hours until they emerged, both looking sleep deprived. "Ah, Harry... what are you doing up? It's well past one o'clock by now..." Dumbledore said quietly. "You go on to bed now... oh, and will you show Alluvia to Miss Granger and Miss Weasley's room... she'll be needed a place to sleep tonight before we all head out tomorrow.
"Head out?" Harry asked.
"Yes... We need several members of the Order to go to Alluvia's headquarters... we'll be needing to meet the rest of the Sages and protect them, because, if Voldemort has Orrin, you'll be needing their help to defeat Voldemort, and they'll need yours to defeat Orrin..." Dumbledore said dully, clouded by sleep, "At dawn we'll take a portkey to the edge of the Ellindell Forest at the Northern tip of Ireland... Alluvia'll lead us through it to their headquarters."
"Meet her there? Can't we just apparate?" Harry asked watching Alluvia. Her dark eyelashes looking as though they weighed down her eyes, as she stared back at him, looking as though she was practically asleep on her feet.
"When the deatheaters took the Sages powers, their Apparation skills were taken too. But, thankfully, the fairy blood in her enables her to sprout wings... even if it is a laborious and energy depriving task. We are not sure how long her wings will last, as it is exceptionally rare when the Sages grow them. She will leave just before us, so it is essential that she gets a restful sleep tonight..."
"Right," Harry said, remembering how they had gotten onto that topic, "Erm... your room is this way..."
Harry blinked.
Only moments ago, he had been standing with one finger placed with care onto a ratty pillow, but now he was laying painfully on his back: thrown down by the tug of the Port Key. Somewhere to his left, Harry could hear Ron moaning childishly about landing on Hermione's knee, and to his right, Harry noticed that Dumbledore, Lupin, Mr. Weasley, and Alluvia remained standing.
11 had come total; Himself, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Mr. Weasley, Bill, Tonks, Lupin, Moody, and, of course, Dumbledore and Alluvia.
As he hauled himself to his feet, Harry took in the new surroundings. They were in a small cluster of trees, which weren't very dense, but Harry immediately knew that they were on the edge of the forest Dumbledore had been talking of the previous night. The trees were beautiful, not unlike the ones in the Forbidden Forest, but they were bursting with life.
"Harry... we're moving..." said Ron suddenly, tugging Harry's attention back to the group of wizards, who had started to march into the forest.
"Locomoter..." he mumbled, catching him and his trunk up with the group.
After several hours, the silence that had consumed the traveling group was broken. "We should be there very soon... less than a quarter hour, I'd say... but that, of course, is if the Mirado Black Warriors don't try and stop us," Alluvia said calmly, balancing on a exposed root.
Ron stopped mid-step, causing Hermione to crash into him from behind, "M- Mirado Black Warriors?"
Alluvia giggled, "Don't worry, they guard the forest... but they're the type who shoots first, asks questions later." She slowed to a stop; "Actually, I'm surprised they haven't found us already. Usually, they'd be on us already, but I suppose that they're guarding in groups closer to Head Quarters."
"So they won't hurt us?" Ron asked; sounding immensely relieved.
"Probably not," Alluvia answered with a wink, "but if they do, just duck: I'll take care of the rest."
As she spoke, there was a small rustle in the shrub behind her. "Ah, right on cue..." she muttered under her breath, only loud enough for Harry to hear.
It happened fast, almost too fast for Harry to react. Suddenly, something flew out of the large bush in front of him. A figure shrouded in a swooshy black fabric that fluttered around them as their wands shot out, pointed at the group. Harry could see a mask over their face, not the one of a Deatheater, but a black and gold one imitating a face of rage. As Harry dropped to his knees, he noticed there were over a dozen of them: surrounding the Order.
"DUCK!" Alluvia hollered angrily.
Harry lowered himself further, watching Alluvia. She had crouched slightly, not completely lowered to the ground. Her full lips were turned downward into a scowl as she saw the first warrior. Suddenly, with grace and speed, she moved her arms down by her side. Her eyes went strangely blank for a moment before she swept her hands up above her head. Her hands nearly met, but an instant before her fingertips could connect, she brought her hands back down an inch from the dark soil at her feet.
Underneath her fingers, dozens of dozens of vines sprouted. Alluvia stood at once, the vines gaining height with her. They, however, didn't stop growing there. In a short moment, they had grown to three times Harry's height. Alluvia now crouched, letting the vines move ceasingly into a meticulous pattern.
"STUPEFY!" the dozen warriors shouted, red sparks flying from their wands. The vines still moved, weaving themselves and their leaves into a small wall around the Order just in time to block out a blinding red light from all sides.
The red light faded and the vines fell, having had absorbed the stunning spell. Alluvia stood to face a warrior, a look of disgust maiming her pretty face. "You attacked! Didn't you even /I the vines?! You'd think with all the training they give you that you would be able to recognize my powers, but no!" she said, crossing her arms in front of her chest.
The nearest of the warriors removed their mask, revealing a middle-aged man who appeared to have spent too many years in the sun. "Miss Alluvia, may I be so kind to remind you that, while we are not suppose to attack the Sages, we are not to let wanderers close to the manor," he said, speaking calmly.
"Wanderers..." she repeated slowly, "You'd believe me to lead wanderers into the forest?"
The man flushed, "O-of course not, Alluvia, we just thought it was better to be safe than sorry..."
"Fine. Since you are such /I guards," she said, voice dripping with sarcasm, "you can lead us to the manor. I believe we shouldn't be far, should we?"
"No, ma'am," the guard answered, replacing his mask to its original spot, "It's less than a hundred meters..."
Alluvia smiled, restoring the beauty to her face, "Lovely!" She turned to face the Order, all who looked rather surprised and cautious from their places on the ground, and said, "Everyone alright? No one got stunned did they?" Lupin's trunk had been hit by a stunning spell, causing it to expel its contents of books and tattered robes. Dumbledore stared at the pile of his items for a moment before flicking his wand, renewing the stuff to its container. Alluvia's smile widened as she reached down and helped Hermione to her feet, leaving the men to stand on their own. "Alright, follow the warriors!"
In less than ten minutes, the group rounded a bend in the forest trail. The forest began to thin out and through the sparse branches; a large manor was becoming visible. Looking like a small castle in itself, the manor must have been built as headquarters when Orrin was first defeated.
"The architecture mimics that of the 1500's," Hermione informed them, making Ron groan slightly.
The bricks on the building were a yellowish cream color, slightly brown with dirt and grime in many places. On the west side of the building, ivy had crept up the entire wall (each and every story) and appeared to be over half a foot thick and constantly growing thicker.
The Manor was very tall, appearing to have over three stories, but looked homey nevertheless.
A contented sigh escaped Alluvia's lips, "Home again..."
The guards slowly began to hike across the flawless, green lawn, letting the others fall in place behind them. The grass was springy beneath their feet, making it feel like they were crossing a vast, plushy carpet rather than a thick lawn... it was a far cry from the yellowing grass at Grimmauld Place.
Within a few minutes, the guards were pulling open the large, wooden doors of the Manor and holding them open while the group of ten moved inside.
Alluvia turned to face the warriors, "Go back now... go back to your posts..." she said, dismissing them with a wave of her hand. She then turned back to the group and ushered them further into the entryway, which was elaborately decorated in a Victorian fashion.
She smiled her pretty smile. It wasn't an overly happy one, but this was of the biggest they had seen it. Her lips didn't part, her teeth remained hidden, but her smile wasn't confined to her mouth: her eyes were shining with pleasure.
She crossed the large entry way to where a remarkable grand staircase led to a small landing before curving around the corner beyond their sight.
"/I I'm back!" she hollered, her voice reverberating off the walls and up the endless amounts of stairs.
"Ren! Lumdesce! IThey came!/I"
There was a moments silence in which the Order's ears twitched as they waited for a response and then the sounds of several people hastily coming down the stairs.
The footsteps increased in volume as three figures suddenly appeared around the corner, one man, two women. They stood on the landing for a moment before finally spotting the Order.
The two women looked as different as night and day: one with pale skin resembling Alluvia's and the other with a flawless, coppery tan. The pale one's slim face was flanked by a long sheet of pale, blond hair that reached her hips in an endless waterfall of smoothness, while the tanned one had a mane of fiery red hair that curled softly, reaching the small of her back. They both wore dresses, though the dresses were as different as their owners. The pale one were a pale blue dress that reached her calves, made out of a floaty material that seemed to continue moving even after she had paused. The redhead's dress matched her fiery red hair, turning orange on the edges. It was a low-cut dress that, as the men of the Order happily noticed, revealed a fair bit of cleavage, which she was not in short supply of. The sleeves fell of the shoulders, seemingly to taunt, and the bottom was cut high on her tanned thigh.
They were both beautiful, but each in their own way.
The man opposed the manifestations of the pale one, the tanned one, and Alluvia's obvious fragility. He had a friendly face with startlingly blue eyes. Even dressed in a thick, light blue tunic, his muscles were apparent. His boyish appearance was enforced, however, by his blond hair that fell directly beneath his eyes in gentle curls. Each tendril of hair seemed to curve perfectly across his forehead and bounced with precision as he hopped onto the landing. Perhaps to increase his masculinity, he had tied a blue scarf across his forehead, under some of his hair, and tied it in the back.
Alluvia let out a happy gush of breath before hopping up the stairs and embracing the trio. Their smiles grew as they hugged, but not as much as when Alluvia tugged them down towards the Order.
They stood contentedly in front of the Order for a moment before the man let out a small, mocking cough, "Alluv... it might help if you introduced us..." He smiled at her as she narrowed her eyes dangerously at him.
"You shush... I was getting to that..." she said heatedly. She pointed at the man, "Zephyr... Sage of Air... our stand-up comic..." She then pointed at the pale woman, "Ren, our Sage of water... the oldest of us all..." ("She keeps us in line..." Zephyr said slyly, flinching as though he expected Ren to backhand him) Alluvia now pointed at the tanned woman, "Lumdesce... Fire Sage..."
Her cherry-colored lips formed a forced sort of half-smile as she turned fully towards the Order. "Got it?" she asked, sounding bored of the introductions already. "Okay... from left to right, we have Arthur Weasley, Remus Lupin, Ron Weasley, Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and, of course, Albus Dumbledore." As she finished speaking, a silence settled upon the group, making them all adjust their weight nervously on their feet.
Harry's eyes were fixed on the floor for as long as humanly possible before he broke his gaze, looking at the four sages. Ren was standing, looking pleased as she studied the Order, while Zephyr smiled at a silent joke with Alluvia.
But as Harry looked over at Lumdesce, he was shocked to see that she was staring intently back at her.
She raised her eyebrows flirtatiously at him, making him notice the beauty that must drive many men mad with want. It wasn't the natural beauty that Ren and Alluvia had mastered, but the look made her appear like she had popped out of a PlayBoy magazine. He chest was the prominent feature of her body, up lifted by a tiny waist and her fiery red hair had the curls and volume that made men want to run their fingers through it.
She smiled at him before mouthing 'Like what you see?'
At least, that's what he thought she said, it was either that or 'I have to pee'... but he doubted it was the latter.
He could feel the heat rise in his face as he turned away with a slight clearing of his throat, staring, once again, at the Persian rug beneath his feet. Even though he looked away, he could still feel her eyes, burning into him.
Luckily, it wasn't long before the luggage that still littered the floor was noticed and Ren let out a small exclamation. "Oh! You probably want to see your rooms!" she said, looking overjoyed to break the fatal stillness.
She motioned for the lot to pick up their luggage and began to lead them up the stairs, Alluvia following on her heels.
"They have rooms?" she asked, looking slightly confused and bewildered.
Ren scoffed, "Of course! Did you expect us to make them stay out on the lawn?"
Alluvia scowled back, "Well, no... but when did you plan all of this?"
"Don't be silly, Alluvia, we weren't going to sit and do nothing while you fetched them!" Lumdesce spat, speaking for the first time since the introductions. Her voice was breathy, similar to Alluvia's, but had an offensive edge to it that made Zephyr, Ren, and Alluvia roll their eyes.
"Oh, now I'm the silly one?" Alluvia said, her voice dripping with irritation, "Well, if being silly means not thinking you actually did work; then I assume I am being silly."
Lumdesce raised her eyebrows, "Just remember, Alluv, that to assume only makes an 'ass' out of 'u' and 'me.'" She looked back at Harry, flashing him a toothy smile, as they reached the top of the stairs.
They entered a long hallway with several doors leading of on either side. They passed several of the large doors before Ren lightly turned the handle of the third on the right and pushed the door open, revealing a room decorated in red and black, with a large, antique bed with a matching desk, dresser, and wardrobe. "Okay... we have Bill, Ron, and Harry in here... Hermione and Ginny across the hall... Arthur and Remus in the fourth door on the right... and Albus and Alastor, you get the fourth door on the left. Got it?"
The group nodded, all starting to drag their luggage into their respected rooms. The doors to the rooms remained ajar as they pulled open their trunks and began to pull out clothes, curios, and (in Hermione's case) masses of books, all wondering silently how the roommates would all fit on one bed and whether the Sages would have something up their sleeves.
All the while as they unpacked, they were trying to ignore the quiet bickering in the hall:
"Did you /I to go and show them we aren't exactly on friendly terms?" Alluvia's breathy voice questioned.
"They would have figured it out eventually, dear, they aren't brain dead..." Lumdesce shot back.
"That's entirely not the point! You've given them a bad impression of us! What they must think of us now!..." "They think we are what we truly are: aggravated people who have spent /I too much time together and squabble-"
An exasperated sigh punctured the end of the sentence before Lumdesce could get it all out. "Whatever... I'm heading down to the gymnasium to practice some dueling..."
It was that comment that made the three boys on the third door on the right become attentive. Their heads shot up and their eyes met, all silently asking each other if they should chase after Alluvia before she reached the stairs and join in on a little dueling.
As though they had actually spoken the agreement, Harry, Ron, and Bill each set down their pairs of socks and plaid boxers and then sped out the door, into Ren, and down the hall towards the stairs.
Alluvia was taking the stairs in giant steps, two at a time, Lumdesce following closely behind with small, quick steps. They each turned around as they heard the boys screech to a stop at the top of the stairs, nearly tumbling down the endless amounts of stairs.
"Mind if we join you?" Bill said, sounding less suave than he had planned.
Alluvia smiled up at them as they jogged down the couple of stairs required to catch up, "Not at all... we're just going to be dueling... Think you can handle it?"
"If you two can handle it while you squabble, then we can defiantly handle it..." Ron joked, secretly praying that they really could handle it.
Alluvia smiled, tripping slightly as she threw a false scolding glance back at Ron. "We weren't 'squabbling...'" she said, regaining her balance, "We were practicing a fighting strategy, divide and conquer... we divided, so now we must conquer... at something." She jumped the last few steps and flew back out the doors.
The two girls immediately began to run, apparently warming up, but the three guys quickly tired after their stair climb. They ran around the side of the building and towards the back, where there were several small houses separated from the manor.
"What are these?" Ron asked, out of breath from the brief sprint.
Lumdesce smiled, not even slightly short of breath, "Well," she nodded towards the closest house, "that's the kitchens... that one is the servants quarters. Over there is the baths... and to the west of that is the gym... so! Let's go!"
She took of at another run, Alluvia on her heels, the boys lagging several yards behind.
After what seemed like an eternity, they reached the western most house, the gym, and Alluvia pulled open the doors to reveal a room, about as big as Harry remembered the Great Hall at Hogwarts being, packed full of bright blue padded mats, endless shelves of supplies and weapons, and dueling guards.
"Who's up first?" Alluvia asked, smiling sweetly, almost as though she was trying to appear innocent and weak to psyche out her first opponent.
No one spoke up until Ron let out a small cough, "Harry, you go... teach the girls how to duel..."
Harry smiled, "I just hope I won't end up being the one who get taught..."
"Come on... you want to suit up..." Alluvia said, walking over to one of e shelves and pulling off what appeared to be a full body ensemble of pads. "Okay... your legs go through here... no... that's the arm hole... yes, there!" she said, tugging his leg and pushing it into the suit. She began to pull the suit up as he stood, trying not to mess up the outfit, letting her do all the work.
"Okay... that a lot longer than it should have... but no matter!" she said, grabbing his arm and pushing him over to another shelf. Once there, she wrapped a belt around his waist, pulling it tight. When finished, she reached to the back of the shelf and pulled out, surprisingly to Harry, a sheathed sword.
"A sword?" he questioned as she stuck it into the belt, arranging it on his hip.
She smiled up at him, standing once again, "For if you lose your wand..."
Harry shrugged, still slightly embarrassed that he had been dressed by a girl, as Alluvia shifted shelves again, this time grabbing a bow and stocked quiver, strapping both tightly onto his back.
"All ready?" she asked, strapping a belt around her own waist (noticeably without the bulky, and rather dorky looking, padded suit) and equipped herself with the sword and arrow.
"I suppose... I don't think I'll really need all this... my wand would have been fine," Harry said, trying to ignore Ron and Bill, who were snickering quietly with Lumdesce.
Alluvia smiled sympathetically, "Harry, I don't have my magic anymore, so there every bit of a possibility that Orrin and Voldemort may find a way to take yours as well. Then what will happen when you have no way to defend yourself?"
Harry nodded, moving to one of the blue mats and standing across from Alluvia, who had already unsheathed her sword. "We haven't even figured out that they had something to do with the loss your powers. It could have been pure coincidence, for all we know," he countered, pulling out his wand.
"Oh yes, I'm sure that it was coincidence that our powers disappeared at the same time as Orrin was released and our manor was stormed," she said, sounding weary as she raised her sword and pointed it at Harry, "Ready to start?"
He nodded, not feeling ready at all.
"Alright!" Alluvia said, starting to take careful steps in a small circle around Harry.
He raised his wand.
With a small jump, she got over to Harry's left side, striking him on the back of the head with the flat of her sword before he even turned around.
Harry winced and shouted, "Expelliarmus!" but by the time the light shot out of the end of his wand, Alluvia was on his right side, her stance rather cocky. She smiled at him, as he hastily shouted the disarming spell again. But Alluvia quickly blocked it will her sword, letting the beam ricochet off and hit one of the near by guards, who, because of the strength of the spell, went flying into the back wall, bringing down two shelves with him. "Impressive..." Alluvia said as she shot forward again, sword raised.
But Harry was prepared this time, casting a shielding charm before she could get near enough to inflict another painful whack with the cold metal.
She bounced off the shield as though she had run into a bubble, falling heavily to the floor on her back. Harry let the shield dissipate and tucked his wand into the thick belt and drew his sword. Alluvia clambered to her feet looking slightly surprised but not at all unprepared. They circled for a moment, watching each other carefully, before Harry launched forward, clashing his sword into Alluvia's as she blocked the blow. The obstruction sent vibrations through Harry's arm, making it slightly numb, but he gave it no time to recover as he initiated another blow to Alluvia, adding more strength behind the hilt as she blocked it, succeeding in knocking her backwards.
She quickly caught herself and took several steps backwards, sheathing her sword and whipping her bow off her back and nocking an arrow, before letting it fly straight towards Harry's chest.
He let out a strangled yell; expecting it to rip through his flesh, not stop less than an inch away by an unseen force.
"Bewitched arrows..." Alluvia explained, putting her bow back on her back as the arrow fell and Harry raised his sword.
She drew her sword and ran at him, letting the swords clash with the power Harry had used to knock her back. He stumbled, but saw the opportunity to trip Alluvia with his sword, a effective move.
She landed flat on her back and Harry raised his sword and let it prick the skin on her neck, not hard enough to hurt her, but only with the power to make her immobile. Smiling, she let her sword drop from her hand, making a muffled clattering sound on the padded floor.
Her full, cherry-colored lips formed the perfect smile that didn't make her lips part, but made her eyes show how pleased she was that he successfully used the sword. Fanning out from her head in a small circle, her dark hair caught the light that was reflected from Harry's sword, and, for a moment, Harry swooned at her beauty.
He was, however, pulled out of the daze that great beauty brought by a shout from the sidelines of the mat. "Harry! Remember, a rose has more thorns than a thistle!"
His head snapped up to meet Lumdesce's eyes, which were sparkling with the excitement of battle. He silently contemplated the meaning of the shout and it hit him just as something else did- hard.
The rose, Alluvia, looked innocent and attractive, but when you stopped to pick it, it bit you with its thorns. Too bad Harry hadn't realized the meaning sooner, as Alluvia hit him with a thick vine just before he could plan a counter attack.
The vine hit him sharply above his jawbone, sending him careening back and flat onto the mat.
Alluvia slowly stood, rubbing her neck where the blade had been nearly piercing the skin. She stalked over to Harry, who still remained on the floor, grabbed his arm, and pulled him to his feet.
"Your not half bad, Potter," she said, walking over to join Ron and Bill, who were beginning to get suited up for their match.
Alright... just to make sure you guys catch this now (it is said in the story, but I want to make sure you guys understand) this story takes place 10 years after Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Harry, Ron, and Hermione are approximately 25... there's been no marriages, no children, nothing big in the rest of their Hogwarts years. They've gotten their well- deserved quiet years.
I'm not exactly sure when I will update this story, because it's taken me a while to write this one with all the distractions (picking high schools, trying to convince my friends that the local high school wasn't for me, trying to figure out if it will really end up shaking my future if I take drama instead of choir)... over three months, to be exact. I seriously think that if I get some positive influence (in the form of reviews), I should be able to whip out another chapter in a week or less (hopefully).
I own nothing except the obvious...
CenterTimeless Wars By Dracoforme When Voldemort allies with a dark lord from the past; the Order is forced to make some allies of their own. Little did they know that their new acquaintances would pull them into a tale of dark secrets, deep love, and dangerous magic. /Center
London was deep into the dead of the night. It had been silenced by the bulk of an early night, driving even the littlest muggle into a deep sleep. The night was dark, the only light originating from the full moon, which cast an eerie white light over everything, battling the shadows. The moon its self was a spot light, highlighting every movement made below it... if only there was someone else to notice the movement.
Every resident of Grimmauld Place and the near vicinity was slumbering... save one. She had taken the drowsy night to advantage and was sneaking unnoticed up the narrow, cement walkway towards the looming buildings. The buildings were among the grimiest she had seen, with overflowing trashcans outside every doorstep and weeds sprouting from every patch of dry dirt and fatalistic looking grass.
She nervously paced the edge of the unkept grass in the small square that was surrounded by the small houses, watching the broken windows for any sign of life, searching for a weary eye inspecting the walkways. The houses appeared dark, as though shrouded from the pale light of the moon by an invisible barrier. The woman squinted, wondering whether the darkness had been caused by a passing cloud... or by something much less natural and much less harmless.
A sigh escaped her lips as she tore her eyes away from the building.
She glanced once more around the dark, dingy yards, and then took off at a sprint towards the ominous-looking houses ahead.
A mere minute later, the girl had traveled across the dying grass was standing in the small gap between the door to Number 11 and Number 13, Grimmauld Place.
A smirk of satisfaction covered her lips, making her image seem even a stranger sight.
The woman had sleek hair that just barely tickled her shoulder. It was an impossibly dark shade of brown, almost seeming as dark as the night itself. In the front, it reached her breast-line in length; however, it was several inches shorter in the back, around ear level, angling forward to create a stubborn and forceful image. Her dark eyes were to match her hair, making it seem as though pools of ink had replaced the usual pupils. However, her skin was a perfect contrast to her hair; seeing as it was so pale it appeared transparent in the moonlight. A pink blush was creeping onto her cheeks; however, from the effort it took to sprint across the lawn. The woman wasn't an obvious user of makeup, with her dark eyes barely rimmed with black liner and her full lips without lip color or shine, but still a pink that was nothing less than rosy.
Her attire was of the strangest many muggles in the area would ever have viewed. Her shirt looked as though it was a muggle man's; though it was completely unbuttoned to reveal an olive green scarf that had been tied tightly around her in imitation of a shirt. She wore a black velvet skirt that reached her knees, exposing a petticoat that reached her calves and a very worn pair of leather boots. To finish off her outfit; a large belt was tightened around her waist; a revolver, sword, and wand tied tightly onto it.
'The headquarters of the Order of Phoenix may be found at number twelve, Grimmauld Place, London' she thought, thinking the words over very deliberately in her head.
No sooner than she had thought 'London', a battered door appeared seemingly out of nowhere, quickly followed by grimy walls and filthy windows. After no more than three seconds, an extra house had pushed its way into the gap between number 11 and number 13.
The woman removed her wand from its "holster" and stepped up to the door, staring for a moment at the peeling, green paint. She ignored the rusted knocker and lightly placed her free hand on the handle, hoping it was unlocked.
No luck there.
She sighed and sank to her knees peering at the lock (which was now at eye level). Magical households couldn't just make things easy, they had to /I to lock the doors every night... as though it helped.
She took her wand, pointed it at the keyhole, and muttered, "Alohamora..." in a rather throaty, but strong voice. A single, red spark ignited at the tip of her wand and then fluttered to the cement like a falling feather. The woman frowned at the spark, but she didn't look surprised at all. She slowly took her gloved index finger and placed it over the spark, grinding it into the ground.
When nothing happened with the lock, she shrugged, sliding her wand back into her belt. She slowly hiked up her burgundy skirt, along with the first layer of petticoat, and revealed three neat rows of pockets, all holding lethal looking metal objects. She examined each pocket for a moment, and then drew out a small pocketknife (similar to the one a Hogwarts student received for Christmas in his fourth year).
The woman carefully chose a utensil on the knife and began to fish it into the lock. After a few moments she drew back from the door, ears poised for sound.
A faithful click told her she had been successful in picking the rather useless lock.
The girl stood up, sliding the pocketknife back to its hidden home under her skirt. She gingerly placed a hand on the door handle and pushed; swinging the doors open wide.
She placed her hands on her hips and cocked them in a taunting way. "Now, what good is a lock if it just snaps open?" she said, her voice echoing in the small entry hall.
Remus Lupin's head snapped up from the list of itineraries before him. He thought he had heard the creak of the old, front door... but every member of the order was already sitting in front of him, chattering endlessly as they waited for the slam of the gavel that signified the start of the meeting.
He would have to talk to Molly about greasing the hinges...
Slowly, he began to run his hands through his rapidly graying hair, hoping the last few brown hairs would flourish and spread their color to his other hairs too.
Looking down the table, he accounted for each of the head members:
Dumbledore sat at the head of the table, his long, white beard the same as it had been for years. His moon-shaped glasses caught the gentle, yellow glow from the small fire that burned in the hearth behind him. In his dark blue robes, he gave the air of a regular, old man, without a car in the world... not the air of a man with the weight of a thousand worries on his shoulders. If Dumbledore's eyes were stared into for long enough, you could sense the pain behind them, the unwritten ache of fretting and distressing over thoughts of Voldemort and the deatheaters. Over the past ten years, Dumbledore had mentally taken responsibility for the uprising of Voldemort and the deaths of the innocents, all because of his concealment of the prophecy dealing with Harry and Voldemort. All of the members of the Order of the Phoenix agreed that Dumbledore couldn't have prevented the uprising, but it still weighed heavily on him.
At Dumbledore's right-hand sat Harry Potter. He had matured over the decade and was now 25, growing each and everyday to resemble his father. Quidditch had broadened his chest; changing him from a small, lean boy into a rather burly man. He had grown several inches, but was still dwarfed by Ron. His hair remained raven-black and unmanageable, but Harry had learned not to mess with it and let it lay naturally. Much like Dumbledore, his emerald green eyes revealed his pain, but also his happiness. Harry had spent two years after he graduated from Hogwarts on the Pride of Portree Quidditch team, but then had decided that the Auror Career Track was the one that suited him.
Across from Harry were Ron and Hermione, looking very much as they had in their younger years. Ron had grown impossibly taller, standing well above Hermione, who appeared to not have gotten taller at all. Hermione had, however, filled out. Her body had changed from the body of a girl's to the body of a woman's (and Ron and Harry /I knew it). Their hands were clasped under the table and neither of them looked keen on letting go.
As Lupin looked down the table, he noticed the people who /I changed over the years. Moody, Kingsley, Snape, and Tonks sat beside Harry, looking very similar to how they had looked ten years ago. Past them sat Dedalus Diggle and Hestia Jones. Next to Ron and Hermione were Olympe Maxime, Elphias Doge, and the Weasleys.
The Weasley's had changed a fair bit since their carefree Hogwarts days. Arthur and Molly had aged quite a lot; from gaining wrinkles to gaining gray hairs... they had a rational reason too, with six children in the Order of the Phoenix (two of them bordering on becoming millionaires) and another son who was in a treacherous position at the Ministry of Magic.
Lupin paused; he thought he had heard something in the hall.
He furrowed his brow in confusion; was someone out there? It wouldn't be the first time a deatheater had tried to listen to a meeting of the Order...
Slowly, he stood, taking out his wand. He could sense some confusion from his companions as he approached the door, but ignored it as he reached for the handle.
"Remus...?" Arthur Weasley questioned.
Lupin ignored him and slowly pushed open the door, squinting into the dimness of the hall. One of the antique wall lanterns was burning, casting a pale, flickering light over the hall. The light did not lie though; the hall was devoid of anything out of the ordinary.
Remus let out a slow sigh of relief and turned back towards the door, letting his wand hand fall limply to his side.
However, before he could take a step towards the door, an arm snapped out of the shadows and wrapped around his neck, pulling his into a tight headlock. He could feel a body press up against his back, letting their other free hand bring their wand up to meet his neck. Before he could think to stop himself, he let out a strangled groan. The person behind him did not release him from their vice-like grip, but instead shushed him like a mother quiets a child. "Shhh... you're alright, I'm not here to hurt you... I'm here for help..." his captor (who he now could identify as a woman) said in a soothingly deep voice.
Remus brought his arms up to the arm that was wrapped around his neck, trying to pull it looser. "If you're here for help, then why are you trying to strangle me?!" he said, not caring to hide his growing fear as he stared at the tip of the wand that hovered inches away from him. As he stopped struggling violently, he was able to detect the mild scent of flowers lingering in the air. It smelled interesting, as though wild flowers had been mixed with the musky scent that hovered in all small forests.
A small chuckle sounded behind his ear, "Can you truthfully say you wouldn't have stunned me if I had simply snuck up behind you and tapped your shoulder?" Remus could feel the warmth of the woman's breath on his ear; delightfully warm, but not unbearably. "Being stunned doesn't exactly give me time to explain why I'm here, does it?"
Lupin wriggled for a moment, trying to free himself from the headlock, but when he failed, he said, "Fine. Why /I you here, anyways?"
"You promise to help me?" the woman said hopefully.
Remus paused before answering, sensing the worry that filled the woman's voice, "It's not as though we'll turn you away if you really have a problem..."
"Good," said the woman, beginning to nudge Lupin towards the door, "Let's go..."
"W-wait..." Remus said, eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "Is it a good idea to just take me in there like that?"
"Am I supposed to waltz you in instead? This is my little way of making sure your friends listen to me..." she said, pushing him through the door, making sure the entire Order heard her last statement.
All around the rather cramped room, heads (and wands) snapped up, abruptly ending their casual conversations.
Lupin, once again, heard a chuckle near his ear, before the woman spoke again, "Whoa... don't get go happy-go-lucky with your wands on me, or else you'll have to hit your little friend too..." she said logically, pushing Lupin farther into the room.
A stunned silence settled on the room, the last thing many of them, excluding Moody, had expected was Lupin bursting in under the force of a young woman.
Harry's emerald eyes locked onto the girl, examining every inch of her.
At his first glance, she appeared to be calm and confident. Her head was held high: the longer lock of her hair falling over Lupin's shoulder and spilling onto his chest. Her eyes were fixed on Dumbledore, waiting for a reaction to her entrance... and that is what she received.
With a swish of his cloak, Dumbledore stood, wand raised in a menacing manner. "I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to release Remus..." he said, seeming slightly sorry; as though it was a rude and unruly thing to say.
"Oh! So you're called Remus?" she said, ignoring Dumbledore and speaking instead to Lupin, "You failed to mention that in the hall?"
Lupin grunted, "You didn't exactly tell me your name either..." he said as he wriggled in her grip again.
"I wasn't sure you were keen on hearing it," the woman said, as though there was no one other than Lupin listening intently. Harry narrowed his eyes, urging her mentally to reveal her name to the room... as well as her purpose for breaking into Grimmauld Place.
The woman, however, smiled tauntingly at Remus for several endless moments before speaking again: "You know, now that I think of it, I really don't think you /I why I'm here or what my name is, even though you should, and you just want me off your neck and then you want to curse me into oblivion for threatening your safety..."
Dumbledore smiled slightly, "That is probably true... but why don't you try letting go of Mr. Lupin and then explaining why you're here..."
"No cursing, jinxing, or other magical harm to be done until I am heard out?" the woman questioned, her voice brimming with anxiousness that was apparent throughout the room.
Dumbledore raised a single hand, "On my honor..." he said, placing his wand at the long table and taking his seat at the head of the table.
The woman stared at him, as though trying to see through him... see through to detect whether he was lying or not. After what seemed like endless moments, she slowly removed her arm from around Lupin's neck, revealing an angry, red mark from the steady pressure of her arm. Slowly, she pushed him forward, into the safe arms of the Order and away from herself.
Dumbledore "caught" Remus, slowly lowering him into the chair that he himself had been occupying only moments ago. He then turned to the woman, who was twirling her wand in a carefree manner.
"I've brought truth potions with me, if you'd like to use them... but I highly doubt you'll trust me enough to trust them..." she said as she hiked up her skirt once again (succeeding in getting the men's eyes to enlarge throughout the room). She gazed once again at the small pockets: thumbing small vials until she appeared to have found the truth potion. She dropped her skirt, swirling the clear liquid in the other hand to affirm that it was the correct bottle.
Seeming satisfied, she held it out to Dumbledore, who, very politely, took it, but did not uncork it.
"Once again, you have predicted my reaction to the point," he said, making the comment sound like she had received 12 OWLS instead of a rejection of her potion.
She smiled sweetly up at him, "Aha, time for 'Plan 2' then!" and then clasped her hands together in a show of childish innocence. "I wanted to wait until nightfall to come to you... but, unfortunately, I got here several hours early. This gave me plenty of time to realize my so-called-plan wasn't even good enough to be eaten by Flobberworms..." she said, smiling thoughtfully, "So, while I cowered behind a hedge, I formed another plan. At least one of you must be an Occlumency Master, and all that they will have to do is simply break into my mind and see my most recent memories. Then I'll tell my story and how it brings me here, and they will tell the rest of you whether the story corresponds to my memories!"
A silence settled upon the room as they considered the plan; looking for possible ways that she could have rigged her memories.
Moody spoke first. "That could actually work..." he growled slowly, magical eye spinning towards the area of the woman's skirt, no doubt examining the various tool and potions she had beneath it.
The woman smiled brightly and unclasped her hands, "Great!" She slipped the vial back into place under her skirt, then righted herself, tossing her longer locks of hair over her shoulder, "I have to warn you, though: I've been studying Occlumency myself for a little over fifteen years now, and it might take me a bit to dismantle the protection that has grown to surround my mind... unless you have a amazingly powerful Legilimens who can smash the wall of security faster..." She smiled and scanned the room once again, receiving wary stares in return.
Dumbledore nodded in agreement, and then turned towards the table that seated the Order, "I believe that only one of us is even nearly as powerful as you ask..." In a graceful manner, he gestured towards Harry, receiving a squawk of surprise in return.
"/I But I've only just finished my lessons with it!" Harry said, eyebrows rising so high they disappeared under his bangs.
"You've gone as far as we can take you with Occlumency, but you have yet to complete it. Your mind power and will has exceeded ours, so it is my wish that you view the young lady's memories..." Dumbledore said, saving his usual explanations for later, a rarity indeed.
Letting out a small cough, Harry stood up; stepping slowly towards the woman, tentatively raising his wand, "Erm... alright..."
The woman smiled up at him, watching his emerald green eyes with amazement.
Harry felt frozen at the gaze of her black eyes, only casting the charm after listening to his mind's shouts to not make a complete fool of himself. He let out another small cough, waved his wand, and said, "/I!"
He was instantly pulled into the woman's mind, as was usual, but almost immediately he ran into a block... the wall. He could sense her trying to pull the wall down unsuccessfully: wasting her energy.
Putting on an extra burst of energy of his own, Harry began to mentally ram the wall, willing it to crumble.
The wall was certainly strong, build better than the average block around the wall. However thick it was, or strongly built, it still didn't last long once he began to collide with it. Within a few moments, Harry felt the wall fade away, and was then faced with the woman's memories and emotions.
A surprise came, however, with her emotions. Contrary to her appearance, the girl wasn't calm and secure; there was an immense amount of fear wrapped around her, bringing forth the memories that the fright was strongest.
IA woman leaning over a small girl who was sobbing with fervor. They were outside, seemingly in a garden, but the flowers around the pair were drooping; as though they were reflecting the girl's emotions.
The girl had grown form the last image, now looking as old as she had when she stood in front of him. She sat at a table, leaning over several rolls of aging parchment. Suddenly, screams pierced the air, causing her head to snap up as she leaped from the table, wand raised. It faded to the image of a blonde woman dressed in a flowing, blue fabric leaning over something on the floor... a man covered in blood... that too, faded quickly, giving way to her... cornered with three others... cornered by over twenty deatheaters. That cleared, showing five deatheaters dragging away what could be nothing other than a solid shadow. The four that had been cornered by the deatheaters were resisting with all their might, looking as though they would give their lives to stop the deatheaters./I
As suddenly as Harry had broken into the woman's mind, he was thrust out of it.
He slowly became aware of his surroundings: the Order staring curiously at him, the woman in front of him, panting slightly, looking as though she was gripped by fear, and Dumbledore, who was beaming at Harry.
Once again, he turned to the woman. He gave her a quizzical look and asked, "Deatheaters?"
"What about the story?" Ron interrupted, prying for information.
The woman nodded to Ron, looking as though she was trying to compose herself once again, "I'll start from the beginning... I'm Alluvia, Sage of the Earth..." she paused, "You do know what a sage is, right?"
Hermione jumped. "A person venerated for experience, judgment, and wisdom," she answered, looking proud.
"Yes!" the woman, Alluvia, said, looking slightly relieved, "Either that or an herb... but that's beside the point. There are four Sages, Earth, Fire, Water, and Air, and they are the proclaimed guardians of Lord Orrin." Only Dumbledore and Hermione nodded knowingly, the others exchanged confused glances. "Orrin was a dark wizard from the Renaissance Period, the Voldemort of his time. He was one of the major causes of the decline of magical blood, killing us without mercy. Many witches and wizards stood up to him, but all fell... it was just a matter of time. Four of the greatest wizards of the time joined forces to fight him, but were destroyed. They were saved, however: their bodies and minds were fused with those of fairies and pixies, due to their physical advantages. The four wizards were revived, only half wizard. They each gained the power of an element, such as Fire and Earth. With these, they were able to not defeat Orrin, but bind him. However, it came at a cost. Orrin, like the wizards that bound him, gained the power of an element, shadow. This made it so if he was ever released from the spells that bound him, he would be more powerful than before."
She looked at Harry, trying to detect whether the memories made sense yet. AS she realized he still looked confused beyond belief, she smiled slightly.
"For over five centuries, the heirs of the great wizards have guarded Orrin's body from the dark wizards who wished for a strong ally, I being one of the Sages. There were no successful attempts to release Orrin... until now," she whispered, face growing, if possible, paler.
"We, the Sages, have not been in great contact with the outside world, only communicating with the Ministry when it was impossible to avoid. The news of Lord Voldemort reached us thirty years ago... and of his fall five years later. They believed that this was the last that they would hear of him... which is true. No news of Voldemort was brought to us until 8 years ago, when I was fifteen, at the induction ceremony of the next generation of Sages, my generation. We heard of Harry Potter's-"Harry blushed slightly at the mention of his name "-endless battle with the Dark Lord. It was assumed that he would simply defeat Voldemort and we would receive no troubles with the matter."
Finally, Harry understood. "Voldemort released Orrin... didn't he?" he asked, beginning to comprehend why Alluvia had felt so much fear.
"Yes, two weeks ago, over fifty deatheaters attacked us... they killed Ren, the Water Sage's, fiancé to distract us... which worked for a moment... in which they took away Orrin, undoubtedly, they know how to unbind him. It also took all our powers, aside from the ones that we generate through our elements. So, I can still control plants and earth, but can't do the charms and spells regular wizards control. Apart from that, we have reason to believe that he hasn't been unbound yet... or else the area he is in would be constantly covered in shadow. But it is only a matter of time..." Alluvia said as she stared at Dumbledore, who nodded grimly, "Now you understand why I had to come... and why I had to use Remus to get your attention- Sorry, 'bout that by the way- I needed your attention quickly, and that was the only way I was going to receive it within the time that we need...
"So, do my memories check out?" she said, turning to Harry.
He nodded, now fear stricken himself.
She smiled, making Harry notice she looked rather lovely when she wasn't smirking. Turning to Dumbledore, she asked, "So, will you help me?"
Dumbledore chuckled, "Of course!"
Harry waited calmly outside the door to the meeting room while Alluvia and Dumbledore discussed details about Orrin and Voldemort. They had asked everyone to try to sleep, but the fear of Voldemort having a powerful ally struck so much ear through Harry in him that sleep didn't overcome him.
Even through the thick wooden doors, he listened to the muffled voices inside for what seemed like hours until they emerged, both looking sleep deprived. "Ah, Harry... what are you doing up? It's well past one o'clock by now..." Dumbledore said quietly. "You go on to bed now... oh, and will you show Alluvia to Miss Granger and Miss Weasley's room... she'll be needed a place to sleep tonight before we all head out tomorrow.
"Head out?" Harry asked.
"Yes... We need several members of the Order to go to Alluvia's headquarters... we'll be needing to meet the rest of the Sages and protect them, because, if Voldemort has Orrin, you'll be needing their help to defeat Voldemort, and they'll need yours to defeat Orrin..." Dumbledore said dully, clouded by sleep, "At dawn we'll take a portkey to the edge of the Ellindell Forest at the Northern tip of Ireland... Alluvia'll lead us through it to their headquarters."
"Meet her there? Can't we just apparate?" Harry asked watching Alluvia. Her dark eyelashes looking as though they weighed down her eyes, as she stared back at him, looking as though she was practically asleep on her feet.
"When the deatheaters took the Sages powers, their Apparation skills were taken too. But, thankfully, the fairy blood in her enables her to sprout wings... even if it is a laborious and energy depriving task. We are not sure how long her wings will last, as it is exceptionally rare when the Sages grow them. She will leave just before us, so it is essential that she gets a restful sleep tonight..."
"Right," Harry said, remembering how they had gotten onto that topic, "Erm... your room is this way..."
Harry blinked.
Only moments ago, he had been standing with one finger placed with care onto a ratty pillow, but now he was laying painfully on his back: thrown down by the tug of the Port Key. Somewhere to his left, Harry could hear Ron moaning childishly about landing on Hermione's knee, and to his right, Harry noticed that Dumbledore, Lupin, Mr. Weasley, and Alluvia remained standing.
11 had come total; Himself, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Mr. Weasley, Bill, Tonks, Lupin, Moody, and, of course, Dumbledore and Alluvia.
As he hauled himself to his feet, Harry took in the new surroundings. They were in a small cluster of trees, which weren't very dense, but Harry immediately knew that they were on the edge of the forest Dumbledore had been talking of the previous night. The trees were beautiful, not unlike the ones in the Forbidden Forest, but they were bursting with life.
"Harry... we're moving..." said Ron suddenly, tugging Harry's attention back to the group of wizards, who had started to march into the forest.
"Locomoter..." he mumbled, catching him and his trunk up with the group.
After several hours, the silence that had consumed the traveling group was broken. "We should be there very soon... less than a quarter hour, I'd say... but that, of course, is if the Mirado Black Warriors don't try and stop us," Alluvia said calmly, balancing on a exposed root.
Ron stopped mid-step, causing Hermione to crash into him from behind, "M- Mirado Black Warriors?"
Alluvia giggled, "Don't worry, they guard the forest... but they're the type who shoots first, asks questions later." She slowed to a stop; "Actually, I'm surprised they haven't found us already. Usually, they'd be on us already, but I suppose that they're guarding in groups closer to Head Quarters."
"So they won't hurt us?" Ron asked; sounding immensely relieved.
"Probably not," Alluvia answered with a wink, "but if they do, just duck: I'll take care of the rest."
As she spoke, there was a small rustle in the shrub behind her. "Ah, right on cue..." she muttered under her breath, only loud enough for Harry to hear.
It happened fast, almost too fast for Harry to react. Suddenly, something flew out of the large bush in front of him. A figure shrouded in a swooshy black fabric that fluttered around them as their wands shot out, pointed at the group. Harry could see a mask over their face, not the one of a Deatheater, but a black and gold one imitating a face of rage. As Harry dropped to his knees, he noticed there were over a dozen of them: surrounding the Order.
"DUCK!" Alluvia hollered angrily.
Harry lowered himself further, watching Alluvia. She had crouched slightly, not completely lowered to the ground. Her full lips were turned downward into a scowl as she saw the first warrior. Suddenly, with grace and speed, she moved her arms down by her side. Her eyes went strangely blank for a moment before she swept her hands up above her head. Her hands nearly met, but an instant before her fingertips could connect, she brought her hands back down an inch from the dark soil at her feet.
Underneath her fingers, dozens of dozens of vines sprouted. Alluvia stood at once, the vines gaining height with her. They, however, didn't stop growing there. In a short moment, they had grown to three times Harry's height. Alluvia now crouched, letting the vines move ceasingly into a meticulous pattern.
"STUPEFY!" the dozen warriors shouted, red sparks flying from their wands. The vines still moved, weaving themselves and their leaves into a small wall around the Order just in time to block out a blinding red light from all sides.
The red light faded and the vines fell, having had absorbed the stunning spell. Alluvia stood to face a warrior, a look of disgust maiming her pretty face. "You attacked! Didn't you even /I the vines?! You'd think with all the training they give you that you would be able to recognize my powers, but no!" she said, crossing her arms in front of her chest.
The nearest of the warriors removed their mask, revealing a middle-aged man who appeared to have spent too many years in the sun. "Miss Alluvia, may I be so kind to remind you that, while we are not suppose to attack the Sages, we are not to let wanderers close to the manor," he said, speaking calmly.
"Wanderers..." she repeated slowly, "You'd believe me to lead wanderers into the forest?"
The man flushed, "O-of course not, Alluvia, we just thought it was better to be safe than sorry..."
"Fine. Since you are such /I guards," she said, voice dripping with sarcasm, "you can lead us to the manor. I believe we shouldn't be far, should we?"
"No, ma'am," the guard answered, replacing his mask to its original spot, "It's less than a hundred meters..."
Alluvia smiled, restoring the beauty to her face, "Lovely!" She turned to face the Order, all who looked rather surprised and cautious from their places on the ground, and said, "Everyone alright? No one got stunned did they?" Lupin's trunk had been hit by a stunning spell, causing it to expel its contents of books and tattered robes. Dumbledore stared at the pile of his items for a moment before flicking his wand, renewing the stuff to its container. Alluvia's smile widened as she reached down and helped Hermione to her feet, leaving the men to stand on their own. "Alright, follow the warriors!"
In less than ten minutes, the group rounded a bend in the forest trail. The forest began to thin out and through the sparse branches; a large manor was becoming visible. Looking like a small castle in itself, the manor must have been built as headquarters when Orrin was first defeated.
"The architecture mimics that of the 1500's," Hermione informed them, making Ron groan slightly.
The bricks on the building were a yellowish cream color, slightly brown with dirt and grime in many places. On the west side of the building, ivy had crept up the entire wall (each and every story) and appeared to be over half a foot thick and constantly growing thicker.
The Manor was very tall, appearing to have over three stories, but looked homey nevertheless.
A contented sigh escaped Alluvia's lips, "Home again..."
The guards slowly began to hike across the flawless, green lawn, letting the others fall in place behind them. The grass was springy beneath their feet, making it feel like they were crossing a vast, plushy carpet rather than a thick lawn... it was a far cry from the yellowing grass at Grimmauld Place.
Within a few minutes, the guards were pulling open the large, wooden doors of the Manor and holding them open while the group of ten moved inside.
Alluvia turned to face the warriors, "Go back now... go back to your posts..." she said, dismissing them with a wave of her hand. She then turned back to the group and ushered them further into the entryway, which was elaborately decorated in a Victorian fashion.
She smiled her pretty smile. It wasn't an overly happy one, but this was of the biggest they had seen it. Her lips didn't part, her teeth remained hidden, but her smile wasn't confined to her mouth: her eyes were shining with pleasure.
She crossed the large entry way to where a remarkable grand staircase led to a small landing before curving around the corner beyond their sight.
"/I I'm back!" she hollered, her voice reverberating off the walls and up the endless amounts of stairs.
"Ren! Lumdesce! IThey came!/I"
There was a moments silence in which the Order's ears twitched as they waited for a response and then the sounds of several people hastily coming down the stairs.
The footsteps increased in volume as three figures suddenly appeared around the corner, one man, two women. They stood on the landing for a moment before finally spotting the Order.
The two women looked as different as night and day: one with pale skin resembling Alluvia's and the other with a flawless, coppery tan. The pale one's slim face was flanked by a long sheet of pale, blond hair that reached her hips in an endless waterfall of smoothness, while the tanned one had a mane of fiery red hair that curled softly, reaching the small of her back. They both wore dresses, though the dresses were as different as their owners. The pale one were a pale blue dress that reached her calves, made out of a floaty material that seemed to continue moving even after she had paused. The redhead's dress matched her fiery red hair, turning orange on the edges. It was a low-cut dress that, as the men of the Order happily noticed, revealed a fair bit of cleavage, which she was not in short supply of. The sleeves fell of the shoulders, seemingly to taunt, and the bottom was cut high on her tanned thigh.
They were both beautiful, but each in their own way.
The man opposed the manifestations of the pale one, the tanned one, and Alluvia's obvious fragility. He had a friendly face with startlingly blue eyes. Even dressed in a thick, light blue tunic, his muscles were apparent. His boyish appearance was enforced, however, by his blond hair that fell directly beneath his eyes in gentle curls. Each tendril of hair seemed to curve perfectly across his forehead and bounced with precision as he hopped onto the landing. Perhaps to increase his masculinity, he had tied a blue scarf across his forehead, under some of his hair, and tied it in the back.
Alluvia let out a happy gush of breath before hopping up the stairs and embracing the trio. Their smiles grew as they hugged, but not as much as when Alluvia tugged them down towards the Order.
They stood contentedly in front of the Order for a moment before the man let out a small, mocking cough, "Alluv... it might help if you introduced us..." He smiled at her as she narrowed her eyes dangerously at him.
"You shush... I was getting to that..." she said heatedly. She pointed at the man, "Zephyr... Sage of Air... our stand-up comic..." She then pointed at the pale woman, "Ren, our Sage of water... the oldest of us all..." ("She keeps us in line..." Zephyr said slyly, flinching as though he expected Ren to backhand him) Alluvia now pointed at the tanned woman, "Lumdesce... Fire Sage..."
Her cherry-colored lips formed a forced sort of half-smile as she turned fully towards the Order. "Got it?" she asked, sounding bored of the introductions already. "Okay... from left to right, we have Arthur Weasley, Remus Lupin, Ron Weasley, Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and, of course, Albus Dumbledore." As she finished speaking, a silence settled upon the group, making them all adjust their weight nervously on their feet.
Harry's eyes were fixed on the floor for as long as humanly possible before he broke his gaze, looking at the four sages. Ren was standing, looking pleased as she studied the Order, while Zephyr smiled at a silent joke with Alluvia.
But as Harry looked over at Lumdesce, he was shocked to see that she was staring intently back at her.
She raised her eyebrows flirtatiously at him, making him notice the beauty that must drive many men mad with want. It wasn't the natural beauty that Ren and Alluvia had mastered, but the look made her appear like she had popped out of a PlayBoy magazine. He chest was the prominent feature of her body, up lifted by a tiny waist and her fiery red hair had the curls and volume that made men want to run their fingers through it.
She smiled at him before mouthing 'Like what you see?'
At least, that's what he thought she said, it was either that or 'I have to pee'... but he doubted it was the latter.
He could feel the heat rise in his face as he turned away with a slight clearing of his throat, staring, once again, at the Persian rug beneath his feet. Even though he looked away, he could still feel her eyes, burning into him.
Luckily, it wasn't long before the luggage that still littered the floor was noticed and Ren let out a small exclamation. "Oh! You probably want to see your rooms!" she said, looking overjoyed to break the fatal stillness.
She motioned for the lot to pick up their luggage and began to lead them up the stairs, Alluvia following on her heels.
"They have rooms?" she asked, looking slightly confused and bewildered.
Ren scoffed, "Of course! Did you expect us to make them stay out on the lawn?"
Alluvia scowled back, "Well, no... but when did you plan all of this?"
"Don't be silly, Alluvia, we weren't going to sit and do nothing while you fetched them!" Lumdesce spat, speaking for the first time since the introductions. Her voice was breathy, similar to Alluvia's, but had an offensive edge to it that made Zephyr, Ren, and Alluvia roll their eyes.
"Oh, now I'm the silly one?" Alluvia said, her voice dripping with irritation, "Well, if being silly means not thinking you actually did work; then I assume I am being silly."
Lumdesce raised her eyebrows, "Just remember, Alluv, that to assume only makes an 'ass' out of 'u' and 'me.'" She looked back at Harry, flashing him a toothy smile, as they reached the top of the stairs.
They entered a long hallway with several doors leading of on either side. They passed several of the large doors before Ren lightly turned the handle of the third on the right and pushed the door open, revealing a room decorated in red and black, with a large, antique bed with a matching desk, dresser, and wardrobe. "Okay... we have Bill, Ron, and Harry in here... Hermione and Ginny across the hall... Arthur and Remus in the fourth door on the right... and Albus and Alastor, you get the fourth door on the left. Got it?"
The group nodded, all starting to drag their luggage into their respected rooms. The doors to the rooms remained ajar as they pulled open their trunks and began to pull out clothes, curios, and (in Hermione's case) masses of books, all wondering silently how the roommates would all fit on one bed and whether the Sages would have something up their sleeves.
All the while as they unpacked, they were trying to ignore the quiet bickering in the hall:
"Did you /I to go and show them we aren't exactly on friendly terms?" Alluvia's breathy voice questioned.
"They would have figured it out eventually, dear, they aren't brain dead..." Lumdesce shot back.
"That's entirely not the point! You've given them a bad impression of us! What they must think of us now!..." "They think we are what we truly are: aggravated people who have spent /I too much time together and squabble-"
An exasperated sigh punctured the end of the sentence before Lumdesce could get it all out. "Whatever... I'm heading down to the gymnasium to practice some dueling..."
It was that comment that made the three boys on the third door on the right become attentive. Their heads shot up and their eyes met, all silently asking each other if they should chase after Alluvia before she reached the stairs and join in on a little dueling.
As though they had actually spoken the agreement, Harry, Ron, and Bill each set down their pairs of socks and plaid boxers and then sped out the door, into Ren, and down the hall towards the stairs.
Alluvia was taking the stairs in giant steps, two at a time, Lumdesce following closely behind with small, quick steps. They each turned around as they heard the boys screech to a stop at the top of the stairs, nearly tumbling down the endless amounts of stairs.
"Mind if we join you?" Bill said, sounding less suave than he had planned.
Alluvia smiled up at them as they jogged down the couple of stairs required to catch up, "Not at all... we're just going to be dueling... Think you can handle it?"
"If you two can handle it while you squabble, then we can defiantly handle it..." Ron joked, secretly praying that they really could handle it.
Alluvia smiled, tripping slightly as she threw a false scolding glance back at Ron. "We weren't 'squabbling...'" she said, regaining her balance, "We were practicing a fighting strategy, divide and conquer... we divided, so now we must conquer... at something." She jumped the last few steps and flew back out the doors.
The two girls immediately began to run, apparently warming up, but the three guys quickly tired after their stair climb. They ran around the side of the building and towards the back, where there were several small houses separated from the manor.
"What are these?" Ron asked, out of breath from the brief sprint.
Lumdesce smiled, not even slightly short of breath, "Well," she nodded towards the closest house, "that's the kitchens... that one is the servants quarters. Over there is the baths... and to the west of that is the gym... so! Let's go!"
She took of at another run, Alluvia on her heels, the boys lagging several yards behind.
After what seemed like an eternity, they reached the western most house, the gym, and Alluvia pulled open the doors to reveal a room, about as big as Harry remembered the Great Hall at Hogwarts being, packed full of bright blue padded mats, endless shelves of supplies and weapons, and dueling guards.
"Who's up first?" Alluvia asked, smiling sweetly, almost as though she was trying to appear innocent and weak to psyche out her first opponent.
No one spoke up until Ron let out a small cough, "Harry, you go... teach the girls how to duel..."
Harry smiled, "I just hope I won't end up being the one who get taught..."
"Come on... you want to suit up..." Alluvia said, walking over to one of e shelves and pulling off what appeared to be a full body ensemble of pads. "Okay... your legs go through here... no... that's the arm hole... yes, there!" she said, tugging his leg and pushing it into the suit. She began to pull the suit up as he stood, trying not to mess up the outfit, letting her do all the work.
"Okay... that a lot longer than it should have... but no matter!" she said, grabbing his arm and pushing him over to another shelf. Once there, she wrapped a belt around his waist, pulling it tight. When finished, she reached to the back of the shelf and pulled out, surprisingly to Harry, a sheathed sword.
"A sword?" he questioned as she stuck it into the belt, arranging it on his hip.
She smiled up at him, standing once again, "For if you lose your wand..."
Harry shrugged, still slightly embarrassed that he had been dressed by a girl, as Alluvia shifted shelves again, this time grabbing a bow and stocked quiver, strapping both tightly onto his back.
"All ready?" she asked, strapping a belt around her own waist (noticeably without the bulky, and rather dorky looking, padded suit) and equipped herself with the sword and arrow.
"I suppose... I don't think I'll really need all this... my wand would have been fine," Harry said, trying to ignore Ron and Bill, who were snickering quietly with Lumdesce.
Alluvia smiled sympathetically, "Harry, I don't have my magic anymore, so there every bit of a possibility that Orrin and Voldemort may find a way to take yours as well. Then what will happen when you have no way to defend yourself?"
Harry nodded, moving to one of the blue mats and standing across from Alluvia, who had already unsheathed her sword. "We haven't even figured out that they had something to do with the loss your powers. It could have been pure coincidence, for all we know," he countered, pulling out his wand.
"Oh yes, I'm sure that it was coincidence that our powers disappeared at the same time as Orrin was released and our manor was stormed," she said, sounding weary as she raised her sword and pointed it at Harry, "Ready to start?"
He nodded, not feeling ready at all.
"Alright!" Alluvia said, starting to take careful steps in a small circle around Harry.
He raised his wand.
With a small jump, she got over to Harry's left side, striking him on the back of the head with the flat of her sword before he even turned around.
Harry winced and shouted, "Expelliarmus!" but by the time the light shot out of the end of his wand, Alluvia was on his right side, her stance rather cocky. She smiled at him, as he hastily shouted the disarming spell again. But Alluvia quickly blocked it will her sword, letting the beam ricochet off and hit one of the near by guards, who, because of the strength of the spell, went flying into the back wall, bringing down two shelves with him. "Impressive..." Alluvia said as she shot forward again, sword raised.
But Harry was prepared this time, casting a shielding charm before she could get near enough to inflict another painful whack with the cold metal.
She bounced off the shield as though she had run into a bubble, falling heavily to the floor on her back. Harry let the shield dissipate and tucked his wand into the thick belt and drew his sword. Alluvia clambered to her feet looking slightly surprised but not at all unprepared. They circled for a moment, watching each other carefully, before Harry launched forward, clashing his sword into Alluvia's as she blocked the blow. The obstruction sent vibrations through Harry's arm, making it slightly numb, but he gave it no time to recover as he initiated another blow to Alluvia, adding more strength behind the hilt as she blocked it, succeeding in knocking her backwards.
She quickly caught herself and took several steps backwards, sheathing her sword and whipping her bow off her back and nocking an arrow, before letting it fly straight towards Harry's chest.
He let out a strangled yell; expecting it to rip through his flesh, not stop less than an inch away by an unseen force.
"Bewitched arrows..." Alluvia explained, putting her bow back on her back as the arrow fell and Harry raised his sword.
She drew her sword and ran at him, letting the swords clash with the power Harry had used to knock her back. He stumbled, but saw the opportunity to trip Alluvia with his sword, a effective move.
She landed flat on her back and Harry raised his sword and let it prick the skin on her neck, not hard enough to hurt her, but only with the power to make her immobile. Smiling, she let her sword drop from her hand, making a muffled clattering sound on the padded floor.
Her full, cherry-colored lips formed the perfect smile that didn't make her lips part, but made her eyes show how pleased she was that he successfully used the sword. Fanning out from her head in a small circle, her dark hair caught the light that was reflected from Harry's sword, and, for a moment, Harry swooned at her beauty.
He was, however, pulled out of the daze that great beauty brought by a shout from the sidelines of the mat. "Harry! Remember, a rose has more thorns than a thistle!"
His head snapped up to meet Lumdesce's eyes, which were sparkling with the excitement of battle. He silently contemplated the meaning of the shout and it hit him just as something else did- hard.
The rose, Alluvia, looked innocent and attractive, but when you stopped to pick it, it bit you with its thorns. Too bad Harry hadn't realized the meaning sooner, as Alluvia hit him with a thick vine just before he could plan a counter attack.
The vine hit him sharply above his jawbone, sending him careening back and flat onto the mat.
Alluvia slowly stood, rubbing her neck where the blade had been nearly piercing the skin. She stalked over to Harry, who still remained on the floor, grabbed his arm, and pulled him to his feet.
"Your not half bad, Potter," she said, walking over to join Ron and Bill, who were beginning to get suited up for their match.