Chapter Nine: Destiny- Friend or Foe?
Exactly one week later Lauren crawled out of bed to find Nick at the base of the stairs. She could see he was troubled and that there was definitely something wrong. Her hand grabbed his and he automatically calmed down a little. This was going to be so tough to tell Lauren, so crazy to believe, so horrible.
"Lauren… Lupin… Voldemort has him..." Nick told Lauren, who immediately went wide- eyed.
"What? How? Is he alive? Why? Is…" Lauren was cut off as Harry ran into the room. Harry had asked her out three more times since last week, only to get the same answer from Lauren. Most of the time she would be annoyed to see him, but right now she was too worried to care.
"Okay, I just heard Lupin is alive." Harry said, turning to the twins. "The bad news is he wants a little exchange: him for you guys, me, or Dumbledore. Oh yeah, and Reldemort is with him. So my plan is to go in, you two don't come or things will get messy. We do not need anymore lives taken that are unnecessary to risk."
"Harry, you idiot, you're going to die if you go in there alone. Remember you need us to kill Reldemort?" Lauren asked, with an air of obviousness.
"Oh, so you do care if I die!" Harry exclaimed. "Caught you in the act! But forget it, I'll go, I'll be fine."
"Harry, no, we're coming." Nick took a deep breath. "Now where in the Sam hell are they?"
"Well, from the sounds of things, I guess they are at that empty warehouse next to the Ministry of Magic. I can't get a hold of any of the Order of the Phoenix and we have no time if they don't already know. We have to get there right now, because the people who are fighting him and the Death Eaters are going to be useless against him. We should ride on the threstals." Harry hurriedly explained as they began running downstairs.
They ran all the way to the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Nick and Harry immediately spotted the threstals and ran towards them, but Lauren stayed back.
"Lauren, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" asked Nick, annoyed.
"I…I… I've never seen someone die. You did, but I didn't see anyone. I can't see the threstals." Lauren said, shakily.
Without a word, Harry grabbed Lauren and picked her up onto the threstal. She didn't object because she didn't have time to. Within the next instant they were off, riding through the air at break neck speed. They rode on and on, until they went over Hogwart's magical barrier. A freezing wind swept as they crossed over, and Lauren grabbed Harry's waist so she wouldn't fall off. Despite of everything, Harry grabbed her hands and grinned goofily and she pulled away her hands in disgust.
"Come on Lauren, this is no time for pride. It's a wild ride and the last thing we need is for you to fall off!" Harry and Nick both exclaimed, and Lauren gave them a look. Then she remembered the mission and grabbed Harry's waist again, making Harry smile again. The wind was harsh up in the clouds and Lauren had to keep her head shielded behind Harry's body so she could still see. All grinning had ended now that they remembered how serious the mission truly was. This could mean life or death for any of them, such a short life that they had lived did nothing to deserve this. Lauren wanted to scream from the unfairness, but she knew this was not the time to do it. Anger boiled up inside her as she sensed Harry's own anger through her necklace. Then a flash of pain, of love… Nick's feelings shot through the necklace. He was thinking about her, Lauren realized. Harry might live, but Nick or Lauren may have to pay the ultimate price if they couldn't kill Reldemort.
When she looked over at Nick his expression was heartbreaking. He was sad and angry and hurt at the same time. Not knowing what kind of help would be there wasn't going to do much good either. She wished she could comfort him, but she didn't know anyway to except to hold on to her necklaces. Nick felt hope flash through him and gave Lauren a look of gratitude as he grasped his necklace too. Millions of words and vision ran through their heads as they landed next to an old warehouse that was no doubt hidden from muggles. It looked, even from a wizard's point of view, like a dilapidated building. The three climbed over various pieces of wood and nails and finally got to the door.
Just before they were about to go in, Lauren threw her arms around both of the guys. They looked shocked for a moment before hugging her back. Only then did they know how serious this mission truly was.
"We'll all be fine. Just deep breaths." Harry sighed. "Now, we'll all go in, but if we get separated I'll go for Voldemort and you two HAVE TO STAY TOGETHER. It's the only way that you're going defeat Reldemort. Whatever you do, don't come to me. Stay away, I don't need you two dying at the hands of someone I'm going to kill or be killed by."
Nick and Lauren shook their heads in agreement. Harry took one look back at them as they stepped inside and wanted to cry. The twins were a full two years younger than him. It just was not fair that if one of them died they lost out two more years than Harry if he died. He hoped to God that he would die instead of the twins. He ran into rooms until he spotted Dumbledore and Tonks. They looked alert and on guard, waiting for Voldemort or a Death Eater to strike. He sprinted over to them and Dumbledore gave him a look that he couldn't read.
"Harry, where are the twins?" he asked, calmly and softly.
"Together. They're looking for Reldemort. Dumbledore, will they be okay?" Harry asked, trying to use Dumbledore's intuition as comfort.
"Harry, even if I could answer that I wouldn't. There is too much riding on you and them to let the future mess it up." Dumbledore replied, peering at Harry out of his half- moon glasses. Suddenly the three jumped as a beam of light entered the room, narrowly missing their heads. Harry heard a scream that was either from Lauren or another Phoenix member. He started to run out but Dumbledore grabbed him by the shoulder.
"Harry, no. For all we know it is a trap. You have something to deal with yourself. You could not help their destinies if you tried, as much as we all wish you could." Dumbledore suddenly got his wand at the ready. "Harry, when I say get down, you go behind those crates. Just trust me."
A moment passed before a purple laser light crashed into the room. "HARRY, DOWN!" Dumbledore yelled with a full voice. At that moment Voldemort and Bellatrix entered the room, wands out and ready.
"Avada Kadavra!" screeched Bellatrix at the same time as Tonks, and their spells crashed together, shaking the room and killing them both. Harry was about to scream with rage, but Voldemort was now facing off with Dumbledore.
"Tell me where the boy is and perhaps I shall spare your life." Voldemort sneered, wrapping his long fingers around his wand tightly.
"Tom, I am afraid that Harry is not here. And I'm also afraid that one of you must meet your death by the other's wand today, so it is best that you look for him." Dumbledore said calmly.
"Avada-" began Voldemort, but he was stopped by another spell. "Stupefy!" Harry cried as Voldemort crashed to the ground. He got back up and gave Harry a wicked smile. Dumbledore stood to the side unnoticed by either.
"Well, Potter, it seems like you are going to come and meet your death like those wonderful parents of yours. Just because we can't shoot spells at the same time, doesn't mean I can not kill you. But I am wondering how you shot me with a spell in the first place with your wand. Please give me an answer. I don't have all day, my cousin and I have people to kill and places to take over." Voldemort snickered at Harry.
Harry took a look at the wand, confused. Suddenly he realized that he had Dumbledore's wand and his own! He quickly looked at Dumbledore, who gave him a wink. He must have slipped it into his robes when he pushed him to get down. Now Harry could do just about anything… even take on his foe.
Meanwhile at the other end of the warehouse, Lauren and Nick saw the room with Lupin in it. Before they went in, Nick gave her a huge hug. They both were about to cry; they were about to defeat the greatest evil of all time or be killed by it. Worse yet, their twin would be the one killed, and they both knew life would be impossible without each other.
"Lauren, promise me, whatever you do please trust me. If I die, I need you to watch over the Fab Four for me, especially Harry, even if you hate him he loves you so at least be civil to him for me. And whatever help comes our way, promise me if they try to watch over you after this that you'll let them." Nick said, seriously.
"Oh, Nick. You can't die. I think that I will… and if I do just promise me to keep an eye on those crazies and Hermione, they need it. But if I die promise you won't give up on life, because your life is so worthwhile. I love you, you're my best friend." Lauren had tears behind her eyes while telling him this.
"Aww… kid… I love you too. It's funny, we're twins but we've never told each other that. And so I promise, but it will be the hardest thing I'll ever have to do." Nick's eyes turned watery as he gave Lauren one last quick hug before they rushed into the room. The door slammed behind them as they turned to see… Reldemort.
"Oh, my dear children. You look much different from the last time we met. It's much too bad no one will ever be able to see you grown up. For you see, it is time for you both to meet your death." Reldemort gave an evil smile and took out his wand.
"No, Reldemort. I think I'll die another day." Nick gave him a smile and the twins took out their wands also.
"Avada Kadavra!" screamed Reldemort, but it was not at them. The twins looked at what he had been aiming at behind them and saw a white light crash the windows and three Phoenixes come in. One was carrying two swords. Another was carrying the Golden Lion they had all seen so long ago. The light emitted from the other phoenix, which was most likely Fawkes, prevented the twins from seeing what was on it.
Lauren whispered excitedly, "Nick, we're going to be saved! The help must be here!"
The phoenixes were not shot by the spell and landed next to the twins. The twins grabbed their swords and Reldemort went for the Lion. He screamed in pain as the lion came alive and bit his hand. He tapped his wand to the flesh and it was repaired, but left a golden scar. The lion was blazing gold and huge.
Suddenly Fawkes cried out and whatever it was carrying was on the ground. Fawkes ripped the cloak off the item and the twins gasped at what they saw.
Reldemort glared at the boy standing in the room next to the phoenix. "Well, my child, so you weren't dead after all."
"Don't call me a child, I'm much more of a man than you are!" the boy had finally stopped emitting light and now Lauren and Nick could see their friend Gianni clearly. He was two years older than when they had last saw them and now looked stronger and ready to fight back.
"You two, touch the Golden Lion with your swords!" he cried, as the twins turned to do it. Reldemort tried to curse them but Gianni punched him and he reeled backwards. Suddenly the swords shown with gold and Lauren and Nick were elevated with them. They were hovering four feet above the ground with their swords outstretched and ready.
"The moment of truth." Reldemort laughed, as Voldemort did the same to Harry all the way on the other side of the building.
A/N: OK, NOW YOU GET TO CHOOSE YOUR ALTERNATE ENDING. I AM WRITING AT LEAST TWO ENDINGS, WHICH WILL BOTH BE IN THE ROMANCE CATEGORY. THE SUMMARIES WILL STATE THAT THEY ARE GOLDEN LION SEQUELS. IF YOU HAVE IDEAS FOR MORE, PLEASE TELL ME. THE ENDINGS WILL BE UP WITHIN A DAY.