Title: An Inevitable Fate
Chapter Twenty: Hope's Assimilation
Author: KissThis
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Rating: R - maybe later...if I feel like it.
Pairing: Separated by these things
Setting: 6th year in Hogwarts.
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Disclaimer: Michael Jackson owns more of Harry Potter than I do...*snickers*
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A/N: THE BIG 2-0 BABY!!! I'm SO excited. I actually made it to twenty without hiatus. Yay me! So -- just for the occasion -- the chapter is going to be extra-so-special. Not like my chapters aren't fantabulous anyways, mind you.
FYI: I hope you guys are in for a long haul 'cuz I don't see myself getting done with this story until it's in the fifties, at least. *crosses fingers* Let's just hope my gas lasts that long and I don't run outta juice.
A/N2: I BROKE my fingerso please be nice. It's quite difficult to type or write anything -- especially since it's my writing hand. Lucky me. 3 weeks and then I'll be all better. Gifts would be appreciated! Lol. Any little pixels doodles or dolls would be a pleasant surprise in my eMail box. I love all of you.
[Recaplet]
An ivory hand lifted into the air and pulsing eyes locked on the buried sword. Blue light engulfed the sword and it began to tremble as Hope bent Her will upon it. The sword gave a relenting shriek and shot out the oak in a burst of splintered wood. She "pulled" it towards Herself and it spun violently into Her hand. She stood frozen.
"Sovereign?" Postvorta probed.
"To the castle." Her voice was deep and warped never holding to one voice. Only if you listened closely could you hear Hermione's voice; soft and quiet. "They are here."
The aura about Her spiked and Her wings unfurled. Her black gown flapped against Her bare legs and the fog about Her was blasted away as Hope took to the air rocketing back to the castle.
Hope beat Her giant wings and caught an updraft. Tucking them back against Her body She sped towards the castle in the distance that was rapidly growing closer and closer. Postvorta appeared sporadically beside Her -- traversing The Tunnel; only appearing briefly to establish the location and progress of her Sovereign.
Sword arm still cocked, Hope's guard was never dropped. As her speed increased the wind began to shriek as her streamlined body sliced through it.
"Harry!"
He turned around and around but couldn't find her. "I can't see you!" He screamed in frustration.
"Over here."
"Open your eyes."
"I'm here."
"Look there."
"No here."
"Look at me"
The voice echoed all around him, pulling him apart. More of the same voice joined in -- all clamoring to be heard over the others. The volume rose, pounding in his head. He clapped his hands over his ears but the voices still rolled over him echoing doubly so in his head.
"STOP!"
The voices ceased and he was left alone in the warped dimension in which he was trapped. He took a cautious step forward, as if the "floor" would suddenly give out, and looked around. "Who are you?"
A sound reached him: Sobbing.
Who?
A girl. The girl was sobbing.
Where?
Behind him.
He spun around and found himself teetering on the edge of the so-called floor. With a gasp he stumbled back and stared wildly around at the warped red ground upon which he stood. Stepping forward again he peered over the edge into inky darkness that seemed to have no bottom.
[Fall down there and you'd be dead for a long time] he thought. Well at least he thought he'd thought it -- because his own voice was echoing across the plane. He turned back to the drop-off and a small white speck caught his eye. A calming relief in the sea of black.
It wasn't calming for long...it was rushing up to meet him!
As it drew closer it formed a perfect square shape getting only larger as it rushed upward. Then suddenly the ground was shaking furiously and the white tile had attached itself to the edge of the drop-off. He didn't even see it's shadowed partner until it too appeared next to the first and attached to red. Another pair flew up from the shadow and attached themselves to one another.
10
16
28
40
He had waited with growing unease as the alternating tiles had slammed into place, and now that there seemed to be no more additions he let his emerald eyes sweep over the sudden manifestation in front of him. Eight by eight. That made sixty-four tiles...
Warning signs were going off in his brain. This was familiar -- he'd done this before...but when? How? He couldn't seem to gather any rational thought...
The sobbing was louder now. A deep, painful, keening cry that was drawing him. He looked across the tile pathway and to the opposite floating red island to which it was attached. A crumpled form was sprawled across the crimson expanse.
"Harry..." the voice breathed. The sobbing grew louder.
"I'm coming!" He called out.
Throwing his previous caution to the wind he ran forward onto the tiles. Giant forms exploded from the squares and towered high above him and he was frozen in fear. A great, black horse beside him whinnied and kicked its forelegs into the air; dangerously close to him. He shrunk back as hollow eyes stared straight through him.
WHITE MOVES FIRST -- a mechanical voice boomed.
"Help me..."
He turned away from the anxiously prancing horse and looked out across the tiles. Something was clicking in his head. He'd done this before. Ron's mischievous visage appeared in his mind followed by Hermione's smiling face. They faded away.
BISHOP TO F4
He hadn't been paying attention to the actions of the figures around him and was caught completely unaware. The black tile upon which he stood rumbled to life and levitated into the air. It slowly drifted over to the commanded location and promptly disappeared. With a shout of surprise he hit the tile painfully and struggled back to his feet.
"I'm here."
"Please help me."
"I can't get out."
"Come..."
The voice echoed and died out to be replaced, not with crying, but with screams.
"NO!" Dropping his bishop robes he darted forward.
YOU ARE UNABLE TO MOVE THERE. DO NOT ATTEMPT AGAIN.
An invisible forced pulled him back and sent him tumbling back down onto his square. He leapt forward again, but the pawns beside him drew their swords and blocked his way.
The screaming wouldn't stop!
He retreated to the back edge of his five by five, black cell. His teeth ground together in frustration and he glared at the pawns blocking his passage. "Help me." The voice begged over the screaming.
"I can't beat the game. I'm no good -- this was always Ron's strength." He whispered.
"Save me."
"I CAN'T!" He screamed back futilely.
"Can't? Or won't?" The screaming ceased.
He swallowed nervously, "Hello?" he called out.
Silence.
QUEEN TO B5
As the towering white figure bearing a scepter and a dagger slid across the tiles and away from him, he looked across the game board in trepidation. The body was gone.
[Oh GOD!]
The soldiers couldn't react fast enough as Harry went running forward and slid beneath their crossed swords. Then he was back on his feet darting around the other bishops angrily swinging their staffs at him and ducking beneath the franticly bucking knight's horse.
GAME OVER
Chunks of rock rained down upon him as his king exploded. The tile beneath him melted and started to suck him downwards. His flailing only succeeded in pulling him farther into the warped tile and the gooey blackness filled his mouth. He struggled to keep his nose above the pit, but it wasn't long before he was completely immersed. The blackness filled every orifice. It was quickly hardening
He couldn't breathe!
Just as darkness began to take him the bottom opened and dropped him out onto a floating island amidst a sea of stars. Hunched over on his knees he choked and coughed, forcing the black goop from his lungs. As rapidly as it had hardened it returned to a liquid state even thinner than it's original consistency. It poured from his nose and dripped out of his ears and stained the grass black.
He stood and tore a strip of cloth from his pajamas using it to clean his neck. He removed his glasses and wiped his face free of the goop.
"Harry." The voice came so suddenly that he dropped his glasses. With blurred vision he saw the glinting glass land upon the black liquid and sink into the ground.
"I'm here."
"Who are you?" He turned around to face her, but without his glasses he could barely see.
"You came." She grabbed his arm and started pulling him along behind her, "We must leave here. It's not safe."
He tried to get her to stop, but she kept running forward and right off the island. Through half-blind eyes he looked around in shock as they ran through the field of stars without hindrance.
"I can't get out."
"Stuck"
"Get me free."
"No can't leave"
"Must go"
"Save me"
"Get out!"
Harry's head craned around as the voices assailed him from all sides. His companion had stopped walking and was whirling frantically around. She started to cry. It was the same sobbing sound he's heard before Wizard's Chess.
Her legs folded beneath her and she crumpled to the invisible ground wailing on and on.
"Don't let go of my hand."
"Hold on."
"Don't drop me..."
He barely had time to make out the different words through the voices and process them before the ground beneath the girl disappeared and she fell. He dropped to his stomach and grabbed for her hand. By "blind" luck he managed to find her hand through the fog that cloaked his eyes.
He held tight to her hand halting her descent. She swung back and forth through the dark, star-lined expanse. Her sobs never ceased and she seemed unable to control them.
"Pull me up."
"You can't hold on forever."
"Save me"
"Slipping."
And indeed she was slipping.
"You. Can't. Save. Her."
His vision suddenly cleared and he was staring into blazing red eyes. Fangs appeared as thin, scarred lips peeled back into a sadistic smile.
"Voldemort!" He exclaimed. He ripped his hand away from the clawed grasp of the dark wizard, and his vision instantly reverted back to its true form.
Screaming.
Leaping forward again he saw not Voldemort, but the girl disappearing into the dark. Her robes billowed around her as she plummeted to her almost assured doom -- her screams never wavering. He cried out. He reached for her...but she was gone.
THUD!
Harry woke with a start and found himself laying tangled in a heap of blankets upon his floor. He drew in a shaky breath and pressed a palm to his chest in an attempt to calm the wild beating of his heart. It had just been a dream. And now it was over. He cocked his head; but the screaming was not.
Putting on his glasses he ran to his window and flung it open just as Hermione came rocketing past in a flurry of gossamer wings. She must have been close to breaking the sound barrier because as she flew against the winds at an increasing speed a screeching sound rose up behind her.
Fearing the worst, he threw his robes on over his pajamas and grabbing his broom, tumbled out the window. He allowed himself hardly any time to get properly situated on the broom before he was urging it after Hermione.
Apparently he wasn't the only one to be awoken by the noise Hermione was projecting. Windows were opening all around the castle and sleepy faces were peering out into the foggy dawn. Shortly after Harry's broomstick stunt, Fleur had flung open the main doors and was sprinting across the grass towards the lake. Madame Maxime was not far behind, her great strides and thundering steps quickly bridging the distance.
Hope plunged down downward and let Her momentum and gravity pull Her straight to the ground. Moments before Her body impacted with the ground Her wings unfurled once again, catching the wind and lifting Her back up; like a feathered parachute. She gracefully touched-down upon one foot, soon to be followed by the other and then -- folding Her wings back -- stood stoically at the edge of the lake staring into the blue-green water.
The Tunnel opened beside Her and Postvorta slid out, closing the gateway behind her with a wave of her hand. The nymph floated silently beside her mistress and stared blankly out across the lake, waiting patiently and unquestioningly.
Then she heard it.
It was a soft and eerie sound; a sucking, slurping sound. And it was growing louder. The ground began to vibrate and rumble and stones clattered off the banks and into the water. Hope didn't even twitch. Her gaze remained fixed upon the middle of the lake.
Some disturbance was taking place deep in the center; great bubbles were forming on the surface, waves were now washing over the grassy banks. The icy water rolled over Hope's ankles, and this time she rose into the air. Hovering. Waiting.
And then, out in the very middle of the lake, a whirlpool appeared; foaming waters churning and swirling downwards. Two more appeared on either side of the first, still with the slurping and sucking, now magnified.
"Hermione!" Harry cried, skidding to a stop.
Long, black poles began to rise slowly into the fog, holding tight to their dripping riggings. Three, giant, skeletal-like ships were emerging from the depths of the lake. Hope let out a hawk-like screech and dove down into the water with a tremendous splash.
"Are you sure about this girl, Viktor?"
"I'm sure, Aleksandar." Viktor Krum turned down the ship's corridor with his dubious friend trailing behind. Shuffling duck-footed feet, Krum ambled down the short stretch of the hall, banging on doors as he went. When he had reached the ladder leading to the deck, he had acquired a long train of anxiously fidgeting students behind him.
"But why would she bring us to Beauxbatons? This could be a trap," Aleksandar hissed. He kept his voice soft so as not to startle the others. "The Headmaster will have noticed half his students are gone by now -- we'll have nowhere to go back to."
Krum said nothing. Twisting open the hatch, he pushed it open and climbed out into the fog. The students hesitated a moment and then followed him above deck. The comforting sounds of creaking wood and flapping sails greeted their ears as they all piled out of the ship's hull. On either side of them the remaining ships were doing the same.
Now they all looked toward Krum standing slightly hunched at the bow. His thick black eyebrows were furrowed staring out at the lake's bank.
"Krum?!" Harry gaped in disbelief.
" 'Arry." Krum glowered -- clearly not impressed. Harry looked down at his striped pajamas and flushed.
"What trickery is this?" Aleksandar snarled to his captain. "We did not come to see the mighty Harry Potter."
Krum held up a hand demanding silence. Krum, who seemed never to speak unless it was entirely necessary, waited a moment before eventually deciding to speak. "Where is Herm-own-ninny, Potter?"
Harry's bare feet shifted nervously on the wet grass. "In the lake," he called out to the boat. "She dove in just as your boats started to appear."
"Enough of your lies!" A girl cried from the boat on Krum's starboard side. "The currents would have killed her!"
"Hermione's gone."
Krum looked down at Postvorta, for it was she who had spoken. Harry was the one who spoke next.
"What are you talking about, Postvorta?! You just saw her jump!"
"Hermione's gone." She repeated.
Fleur and Madam Maxime now came running up to the lakeside. Both still in their sleepwear and bed-robes and panting, they too looked rather unimpressive.
"Viktor." Fleur said between breaths.
"Fleur." He replied with a nod in her direction.
She brushed the wisps of blonde hair from her eyes and turned to Harry. "Ver is Herm'ne?"
"She's gone." "In the lake." Postvorta and Harry answered at the same time. Harry turned and glared at the nymph who only stared blankly back.
Suddenly heads appeared out of the water. Merpeople. Their long, wild, dark green hair floated about them, blending into the water. They had grayish translucent skin and their veins stood out strongly beneath the surface. Thick pebbles were strung about their necks as crude necklaces and seashells were tangled into their long manes.
Their mouths opened, bearing sharp and broken teeth and they began to screech. High pitched streams of screechy words echoed from all across the lake. The sheer volume the merpeople were producing forced the humans to cover their ears.
"What are they saying?" Harry shouted over the clamor.
"I cannot tell!" Fleur yelled back. "Ze are talking too vast. I can't make sense of it."
"Stand back." Postvorta monotoned.
The water in front of them began to ripple, and without a warning it exploded in a massive burst of icy water as Hope shot up into the air. Her mighty wings beat up and down spraying water all around. Water dripped off Her soaked body and disappeared back into the lake from whence it came -- the gold aura about Her body remained undimmed.
In one hand She held Her sword, it's sleek metallic blade reflecting the early light; and in the other She held the collar of a masked man desperately flailing in Her grasp.
The merpeople let out a united scream. The ferocious looking creatures turned their luminous yellow eyes to the sky and bared their teeth; hissing and screeching. Weapons appeared out of the water; crudely fashioned spears with sharpened rock tips, coral daggers. Those without weapons threw their crooked fists into the air; their webbed hands clawing at the air.
"Hermione!" Harry called out.
Hope didn't even acknowledge him. The masked man looked down at the ground and let out a terrified cry. He began to fumble in his pocket. He pulled out his wand but only managed to open his mouth before Hope's sword sliced clean through the thin wood. He dropped the destroyed object in shock and the two pieces dropped into the lake.
"Diffindo."
The man's sleeve up to his shoulder was cut away, baring pale ivory. The brand on his wrist blazed.
"I know you can hear me, Riddle." A dozen different voices overlaid one another. The man trembled.
"It is over, Riddle. I have her now and you don't have a chance."
The man stopped flailing, and his entire presence seemed to change. Then he began to laugh. The merpeople screamed below them. Hope too bared Her teeth in a snarl and shook the man violently in Her grasp. His mask fell away and a serpent's face appeared from the shadow of the robe's hood to stare back at Her.
"Stand DOWN!" She shouted.
"You may have Her, but Fate isn't set in stone." The serpent hissed.
"Fate is inevitable, and your time has run out."
It hissed angrily, "I will never stop."
Hope's sad face turned away from him, "Then you will die. You have nothing left -- Hope has forsaken you. I have forsaken you." She uttered in disgust. Her sword raised.
"Would you kill him?"
"I would kill you, serpent. You have made this man your servant and embodied him with your evil. He dies too."
"Go ahead," It told Her indifferently. "I have thousands more. They will follow me 'til death." It's ruby eyes blazed in twisted passion. "They will overrun you."
"There is a balance to be kept. Good must triumph...this is not your time."
"War has begun -- this is my time. You cannot save them"
"It's not about saving. It's about destiny. Only death awaits you, now." She deadpanned.
"It's all about the choice." It's forked tongue darted out. "--Make yours."
"Choice is an illusion." She told him -- and then she let go. The serpent face vanished, and the death eater screamed as he fell. The merpeople grinned wickedly and swarmed together as he fell upon them. Their high noises drowned out his screams of terror and they pulled him beneath the surface.
The bubbles trailed off and the water became calm once more. Hope glided back down to the bank and landed beside Fleur. "Get the students." She ordered in Her many voices.
Then She turned Her head to look at the woman and blinked Her empty, glowing eyes. Fleur gasped and stumbled backward pressing a hand over her mouth. "Oh God! Herm'ne!"
Hope blinked again. She stared at the woman a moment longer and then turned away. Stabbing Her sword into the soft earth she turned to face the Durmstrangs. The fog swirled up around Her and blurred Her wings; they faded away. "He was heading to attack your ships. He killed a merchild on the way. Justice has been served on both counts."
"Herm-own-ninny?" Krum's voice was skeptical.
"I told you she was gone." Postvorta said.
"I told you to leave!" Hope shouted suddenly. She disappeared, only to reappear amid the students on the flagship. Flinging out Her arm, a pulsating globe of golden energy appeared and She blasted it up into the air. A spark shot from the crown of Her head streaked down the front of Her hair, making it appear blonde.
There was a muffled shout, and from the coverage of the clouds another black-clad body fell and disappeared into the water. The broom they had been riding lurched out of the clouds and disappeared into the shrouded lagoon.
"Stand DOWN!" She shouted into the air. She turned around several times, as if expecting another attacker to appear out of the fog, before She was satisfied that they were presently in no danger. Wraithlike, She passed straight through the Durmstrang students, with each step sinking deeper into the deck. When She reached Krum at the bow, the last windblown tendril of Her hair grazed the tip of his boot and then She was gone.
He turned to the bank to find Her walking across it like She'd never left. Harry ran to Her and grabbed Her arm. "Hermione! What's happened to you."
She shrugged off his hand and turned Her sad face to his. A golden strand of hair blew over Her eyes. "I am Hope. I cleansed her and now I have her body." She looked back over Her shoulder at the motionless groups. "We must hurry. It is no longer safe."
"What have you done with her?" Harry demanded. The fog reached it's wispy hands upward and clung to Her dress. It was as if they were sucking the life from it; it was slowly turning white -- as Her hair was turning blonde.
"I have given her all mortals' desire. Perfection." Hope told him.
Harry's fists clenched. "She doesn't want perfection!"
The wind picked up, "All mortals are the same. Who are you to say she wishes any different?"
"She's my friend; I know her. She's not like everybody else, she special -- you must set her free!"
She began to walk again, clearly wishing to leave the persistent boy behind. The fog enveloped Her, screening Her from site. Harry didn't hesitate to run after Her, and he too disappeared within the mists.
" 'Arry! No!" Fleur called out to stop him, but it was futile.
With Her fair skin, now-stark white dress, and flaxen hair Hope all but melted into the fog that seemed to have only grown since the dawn. But even if he had been blind, Harry would have found Her. He could still sense Hermione inside Her altered body, and her sadness, that even affected Hope's appearance, drew him to Her.
"You're going to kill her!" He shouted angrily. "GIVE HER BACK TO ME!"
Out of the corner of his eye he saw the disturbance in the fog and darted forward to grab the woman. Cold steel pressed against his neck, and eerie golden eyes glowed from within the screen of fog.
"That body isn't yours," He whispered against the blade. "You stole it -- and you must give it back."
"It was an honorable sacrifice." The voices said together.
"You didn't even give her a chance."
"It was inevitable."
He laughed weakly and the blade pressed harder against his windpipe, "There you go using that word again...inevitable. That's what you don't understand about humans. Nothing is inevitable because things are what we make of them with our choices."
"Why do you beings insist on 'choices'?" She asked. "They do not exist and are thus pointless. Merely an illusion you have created to mask your inability to change your own destinies."
"How do you know that simply believing that we have a say in our destiny doesn't affect the outcome of our fate." He smiled sardonically into Her stony face.
"Humans think too much. I should kill you now for opposing me. It is I who am needed in this war -- not you."
"You're wrong. We don't need you." Hopes eyes widened as Harry's hands clapped down over her wrist and lifted it from his face. "We need her." His grip on her arm tightened.
"Now give me back my friend."