A/N: Sorry for the long wait – I am currently in the midst of moving, so I'm packing and working extra hours to afford the move L So I'm afraid another update won't happen for another two weeks – but after that I should go back to updating every couple days since I'll have moved and everything should be back to normal. (unless my bosses go through with their plan to try and kill me…)
I'm going to be making references to the prequel, Mortal Destiny in Dark is Rising Section. You don't need to have read it to understand, but I still recommend that everyone reads it :P
Chapter 9 – Sacrifices
Harry found Will staring intently into the fire, stroking Munin. Hesitantly, he wondered if the younger boy would want company after his experience with the Boggart. Harry shuddered as he remembered the black abyss that was Will's greatest fear. Watching it, Harry had felt empty, numb -- just like when he was around Dementors. It had made the boy wizard realize that he knew nothing about his friend's past – what had happened to Will to make him have such a fear?
Harry sat down carefully, eyeing the younger boy.
"Will, are you okay?"
"Yes," Will said mildly, continuing his inspection of the flames. Harry tried another approach.
"Where have you been for the last few days?"
Will suddenly grinned and grabbed Harry by the hand. The two went running down the hallways. As they left the castle, Will saw Davies walking by. On impulse, or instinct, he grabbed the other boy's hand as well.
Davies was bewildered as he suddenly found himself being dragged away. This was the first time Davies had seen Will since he found the picture of Will and his dad – and his talk with Dumbledore.
Abruptly, Will stopped at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Pressing two fingers to his lips, the boy gave a sharp whistle. There was a moment of silence and then a rustling could be heard. Far away at first but steadily coming closer. A large black dog came bounding out of the forest.
"His name is Snuffles," Will said proudly. The two boys were shocked, and the dog took advantage and jumped up on Harry, licking his face furiously. The other boys were too immersed in the dog to notice the smirk on Will's face.
"Where did you find him?" Davies asked, petting the dog.
"I found him hurt, so I've spent the last few days taking care of him," Will said, which was the truth – more or less.
Grateful to Will as he was (though Sirius maintained he could have gotten out of Azkaban on his own) Will had barely been able to convince Sirius to rest and recover. His desire to see and protect his godson almost overwhelming any other thoughts in the wizard's head. Sirius was still suspicious of Will – having been betrayed by a 'friend' before – who had told him nothing as to how or why he had rescued Sirius from prison. All he would say was that he was Harry's friend.
The black dog licked his godson's face once more, grinning in his dog manner. Suddenly he stopped and sniffed the air. Will had also stiffened, looking around sharply.
A huge beast appeared in front of Will, who made sure to place himself between it and the boys. The thing stood seven-feet tall, and looked like a bear with a wolves snout. Its fur was black as night and two bright red eyes glowed with hatred. The Old One recognized it was a Beawolf – one of the many creatures left behind by the Dark.
But Will sensed something else as well.
"So we finally meet, Will Stanton. My allies have me so much about you."
"Voldemort," Harry whispered in horror, grasping at the scar on his forehead.
Will eyed the beast wearily. Normally, a Beawolf was not that dangerous to an Old One, unless caught unawares. But the beast was channelling not only the power of the Dark, though only a portion, but also that of Voldemort. Snuffles bark drew the Old One's attention back to Davies and Harry. So caught up with Voldemort, he had failed to sense the arrival of five Dementors.
Harry was crying and covering his ears – as if trying to drown out voices only he could hear. Davies wasn't fairing much better. Sirius snarled at the Dementors – safe from them in his dog form – but could do nothing else.
Watching their movements, the Old One realized that they were being controlled. As if reading his thoughts, Voldemort laughed.
"All soulless creatures are under the influence of the Dark, Old One. Now whom shall you choose to save? Yourself or them?"
And with that he attacked.
The Old One blocked the series of attacks but he could feel the life draining from the boys. With a shriek Munin came diving at the beast, but not even a Death Phoenix could injure a creature of the dark – they were already tied to death. Without looking at the bird, Will called out, "Get Fawkes and Dumbledore!"
I cannot leave you alone!
At that moment, Snuffles was flung away from Harry and the Dementor moved in on Harry, bringing his hooded face towards the boy. Realizing Voldemort was planning to steal Harry's soul, Will turned his back to the beast.
Not as effected as Harry, especially since he wasn't the Dementor's target, Davies heard Munin desperate cry and turned to see Will facing him. Davies shouted out a warning as the beast moved to strike with his claws – a warning Will ignored. In horror, Munin realized what Will intended to do.
You cannot! The High Magic will demand a sacrifice for calling it forth – you have no idea what you will have to sacrifice!
Go!
The Old One began to chant in a foreign language and Davies felt himself grow warm. The claws pierced Will's back but he did not cry out, did not wince, did not pause – completing the chant.
Davies felt power run through him – confidence and knowledge. He looked at eh Dementors and suddenly a bright light shaped like a dragon surround the newly crowned Pendragon. It regarded the soulless creatures for a moment – and attacked. Within seconds they vanished, leaving not even a trace of dust behind. Beside him, Harry was breathing but barely conscious. Davies turned back to see that the beast was gone.
And Will lying face down on the ground in a growing pool of his own blood.
"There is another matter that I fell we need to discuss."
Bran Davies looked at the professor confused.
"Is this about Will?"
The headmaster chuckled.
"Yes – on two accounts."
The cryptic statement confused the man even more. Dumbledore held out a picture, and Bran took it. Shocked, he recognized it as the picture of him and Will Stanton that he placed on Will's grave. He frowned at the headmaster.
"Where did you get this?"
"From your son. I was wondering if you could tell me about the boy in the picture."
"Why?"
Dumbledore just smiled enigmatically. Bran sighed, if the rumours were true there was no point in trying to get an explanation from Dumbledore when he didn't wish to give one.
"He was my best friend when I was younger. We met when he was recovering from an illness at his uncle's farm in Wales."
He smiled.
"Will never treated me differently; not when he first met me or when he heard about me being adopted. He was my first real friend. Hell, he even introduced me to my wife, Jane."
Bran's eyes glazed over as he thought of his long lost friend.
"There was something so extraordinarily ordinary about him. At times he would be so quiet that you would forget he was even there, but then he would say something profound and all of a sudden all your attention was focused on him."
"Poor Will," he chuckled, "he was late hitting puberty; I don't think he grew an inch in the time I knew him. Maybe that's why he seemed older than his years, because he looked so young. You never knew what he was thinking or feeling, but he always seemed to know what was bothering you."
Bran thought back to a time when he had teased Will about looking so young – telling him it was nature's way of reminding him he was the youngest in the family. Instead of laughing along with Bran, like Bran thought he would, Will had looked at him with a strange expression on his face. It was a mixture of sadness, and longing, but also of pride. Within seconds it melted away and Will was laughing like he was supposed to. But Bran had always wondered what had caused his friend to look at him that way. It was moments like that that made Bran wonder if the English boy was really two different people – the normal Will and the dewin Will.
"When you thought something would make him laugh he was serious; he'd laugh at things others took for granted; he treated folklore like fact and history like stories. Even being his best friend, I had no idea what motivated Will to act like he did – maybe as we grew up…"
Dumbledore spoke for the first time since Bran had started reminiscing.
"How did he die?"
"It was his fourteenth birthday – he went out for a walk by river and never came back. He must have drowned, but we never found the body. The police suspected that he might have runaway, but nothing was missing from Will's room – except Will. I'll always remember the last words he said to me; like he knew that it was going to be the last time he talked to me."
Bran stared straight at the professor.
"He told me, 'There is no great evil out there trying to convert men. The evil in the world comes from men's own hearts. Nor is King Arthur or Merlin waiting to awaken and save men from themselves. But that means that all the good people do comes from within.' It was because of those words that I became a constable. I wanted to protect the people, instead of waiting for someone else to do it for me. So why is it I am getting the feeling that your asking me these questions for the very same reason?"
Dumbledore opened his mouth to speak when Munin came flying in the room. The bird settled beside Fawkes and began mewing fiercely. Large tears dropped from the death phoenix's eyes, causing the floor dissolve where they hit. A sad death phoenix was just as dangerous as an angry one, for its tears were a vile poison – where Fawkes's tears would heal. As quickly as it arrived, Munin left and Fawkes flew onto the headmaster's shoulder.
"What is it Fawkes?"
The bird flew off and the two men followed quickly. Just outside in the hallway, Minerva started as the objects of her search suddenly appeared.
"Albus, some of the children have been injured."
"Who?" Bran asked, panic swelling through him.
"Will Davies, Harry Potter, and Will."
The three adults rushed to the infirmary. Lupin and Snape were already there, being the first teachers to hear the boys' screams. They had initially been relieved to find Davies and Potter suffering from shock, but having no real injuries. Then they had spotted Will.
"Davies and Potter are shaken, but Pompey said they will be fine…but Will is gravely injured," Snape said quietly. Though having no love for the boy, Snape held a certain respect for the child who refused to be cowed by the Potions Professor. Bran ignored the other adults and rushed to his son's sleeping side, ignoring everything else.
"What happened?" Minerva asked, who had left in search of Dumbledore before learning the story.
"We don't know for sure, yet, but Will looks to have been attacked by an animal of some sort. The other two have been too shaken to tell us more," Lupin said anxiously, eyeing the three boys lying still on their beds. Pompey approached the professors with a serious look upon her face.
"Davies and Potter as sleeping of a potion, and will be fine in the morning, but…I'm afraid Will has lost a lot of blood, and none of the spells are working. I don't understand why, and if we don't figure out soon we are going to lose him."
Fawkes and Munin flew past the adults and landed beside Will. Great tears flowed from Fawkes' eyes but not even the phoenix's tears could heal the boy. Munin squawked angrily at the prone figure. Worried about his son as he was, the sudden arrival of the birds brought Bran's attention to the other boy for the first time. His face paled as he recognized the pale figure.
"Oh my god, Will?"
Whether in response to Munin's prodding, or the sound of his name, Will groaned and opened his eyes. The first thing he noticed was the pain on his back, but even stronger was the pain in his chest. A growing heat spread throughout his body, and the Old One knew what he had to do. Grunting, he slowly sat up, ignoring the protests from the phoenixes and adults.
He stopped suddenly as he spotted Bran sitting by his son's beside. If he wasn't in so much pain he would have worried about what Bran's arrival meant, but now all he understand and cared about was the pain – and his duty.
Munin kept everyone away as Will inched slowly towards Davies – his breathing becoming more and more laboured and blood leaving a trail behind. He stopped by Davies' bed and placed a gentle hand on his forehead. Pompey was about to protest that Davies wouldn't awaken for several hours when the boy's eyes shot open. Confused by his surroundings, Davies looked at his dad.
"Da? Where?"
Davies could feel a radiant warmth coming from his right and he turned to see Will – to his eyes it seemed as if Will was standing in the sun and was covered in its warmth and brightness. The Old One smiled gently down at the boy, saddened by the awe in his eyes because he knew they would turn to anger when he learned what Will had done to him. Will brought Davies' hand to his chest and said calmly, "This is yours, I have kept it for you."
The Pendragon was confused until suddenly he could see – it was there, waiting, for him. Unconsciously he whispered, "Come."
The Old One groaned, but the Pendragon continued to call – his voice growing in volume and intensity. A bright flash swept through the room, and when their sight returned Davies was holding a sword in his hand. The Pendragon stared at it in wonder, and unbidden a word flashed through his mind.
"Eirias," he said in wonder. Bran looked at his son sharply, the word causing…feelings? A memory? Whatever it was left as quickly as it came, but Bran still felt as if he was close to remembering something important. He looked at the boy that was the spitting image of his dead friend, and was shocked to see a scar in the shape of the sword across his chest.
The Old One ignored the gasps from the others and went down on one knee. At this moment, he didn't bother worrying about the others in the room finding out about him being an Old One; they were all the Pendragon's professors, teachers, and except from the law.
"I, Will the Watchman, Signkeeper, and youngest of the Old Ones, greet you, my Lord Will ap Bran ap Arthur – Pendragon and heir to Eirias."
And having used the last of his strength, Will collapsed.
TBC
A/N:
Maethoriell Uini Tawar – well here's your chapter, which means this fic is perfect!
Lady Katia – you have no idea how long it took me to write the last part of that chapter. I created and discarded literally 9 different fears for Will before I came up with one I actually liked. ::grrrrr:: I hate it when that happens – too many ideas!
Blindseer – if anyone complains about the Will whumping, I'm blaming it all on you! But you were right, I love the Will character so much I just didn't want to see him get hurt. But it was time, and thank you for reminding me. ::sigh:: poor will
Ruth – well, here is the meeting between Will and Bran…oooohhhhhhh. And you're thinking of john rowlands who knew about the old ones, but his memory was wiped when he had to choose what time Bran belonged in so he wouldn't remember that his wife was a Dark Rider. Thanx again for the pics! It kind of reminds me a bit of Alberta…
Bluie Twilight Star – ah, Bran missed Will so much! Now they finally meet… I wonder what's going to happen next. --- Really, I wonder, I have no idea what I'm going to do next.
Lembas7 -- I hope this chapter met your high expectations. If you send me your email address – or email me – I'm going to take you up on your offer to beta read this story since its all starting to blur after I write a chapter.
Star Light1 – here yeah go, Will is now the Pendragon! And although there was little Sirius in this chapter, there will be more to come! And thanks for the compliment about the end of the chapter – it only took me two hours to write! (I had a hard time…stupid overactive imagination)
Obdormio – I passed along your regard to my roommate – he just grinned maniacally and said thank you. Fortunately, I move out in two weeks so I'll have my computer all to myself again and can update what I want to and when. Unfortunately, that means until the actual move everything is slow in updating. But soon, the long waits will be over
Thanks everyone for continuing to read after such long periods of wait. And if there are errors, that's because my brain is slowly melting – but I'll be back to normal soon (stupid move!). Hold on just a little longer – I swear!