DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything, I just enjoy playing with other people's toys.
Chapter 4: The Ward
Harry awoke to Hedwig nibbling on his ear with her sharp beak. With a groan he sat up and knocked her away. Hedwig squawked indignantly but desisted. Harry looked around, then smiled a shallow, crooked smile at Hedwig. "Today starts our hunt." Hedwig only tilted her head to the side and gave him an understanding look. "Something, or maybe even someone, has put a ward on this forest." Harry's eyes narrowed and his jaw clenched without him realizing it. "That damn dragon... It's being hidden, and hidden well." The boy stood and held out his arm for Hedwig. He stroked her breastfeathers absently for a moment. "It's time to break the ward."
----
Draco nibbled on the edge of a piece of bread while he poured over a dusty tome bound in green leather. The yellowing hide pages were covered in a cramped, nearly illegible script from a language that had been dead for hundreds of years. He was halfway through the volume when he felt a tug. Not a physical tug, but one on the mana net he had established. Cursing, Draco went to the farthest library wall and rapped on it five times in quick succession. The walls opened up to reveal a flight of black marble steps, which Draco used to descend into the depths of the palace.
At the base of the steps was a door cast in silver. Beasts battled for supremacy in the metal, but in the flickering light provided by two fish-oil lamps, only the vagues of blurred shapes could be discerned. Draco waved an arm impatiently with muttering a phrase under his breath and the door swung slowly inward. The majority of the room was taken up by a large, shallow pool of black water. The walls were lined with shelves crammed with every conceivable herb, oil and essence in carefully labelled cobalt glass jars. Thick, hide-bound spellbooks were scattered helter-skelter throughout the room.
Draco crossed to the pool in three strides. One hand dipped into the pool's depths, then was brought out again dripping wet. He flicked his fingers and droplets scattered Draco's reflection. When the surface had settled once again, it was not his own chillingly handsome face that stared back at him, but that of a young man appearing to be about Draco's age with unkempt dark hair and an intense expression on his face. The image in the pool panned back, reavealing the young man's strong-looking frame engaged in some strenuous activity. He was dragging a sword through the earth, his mouth moving in words Draco could not hear. The young Lord cursed colourfully. "Fool! He's trying to break the ward! It's been in place for centuries! Who does he..." Draco stopped speaking. Something in the boy's actions had caught his grey eyes. "NO!"
---
Harry finished carving the Seal into the dirt, his sides heaving. More than just physical effort went into making a Seal; magical energy that tied in directly to the user's lifeforce also was required. The slayer leaned heavily on the hilt of his sword. When he had a bit of his strength back, he stood and prepared for the final step. He raised the blade above his head...
----
Draco had no time to think, only to act. The ward was going to be broken, he could feel it. The backlash of magical energy would kill him and everything else around for miles. The land might never recover, and even if it did it would be tainted with magic for aeons. So he did the only thing he could. With all of his magical strength he reached, and pulled...
----
Harry drove the sword into the centre of the Seal. At first, there was nothing. Then without warning there was a great roaring sound in his ears. The earth beneath his feet heaved, and small stones whipped around him in a magic-created storm, hitting his face and arms. There was a horrible sound, like the world breaking in two, and then...
Then, there was nothing.
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A/N: Here I am, with chapter four! I'm sorry to leave it that way, but I really wanted to get this up as fast as possible. I'm having so much fun writing this! I can only hope you're having as much fun reading it... I think the fifth chapter may be longer and actually advance the plot a bit. (This is going to be a LONG story, folks. Heh. --.--;;) Please R&R! The more you review, the faster I put up longer, better chapters! (It's true!)
Chapter 4: The Ward
Harry awoke to Hedwig nibbling on his ear with her sharp beak. With a groan he sat up and knocked her away. Hedwig squawked indignantly but desisted. Harry looked around, then smiled a shallow, crooked smile at Hedwig. "Today starts our hunt." Hedwig only tilted her head to the side and gave him an understanding look. "Something, or maybe even someone, has put a ward on this forest." Harry's eyes narrowed and his jaw clenched without him realizing it. "That damn dragon... It's being hidden, and hidden well." The boy stood and held out his arm for Hedwig. He stroked her breastfeathers absently for a moment. "It's time to break the ward."
----
Draco nibbled on the edge of a piece of bread while he poured over a dusty tome bound in green leather. The yellowing hide pages were covered in a cramped, nearly illegible script from a language that had been dead for hundreds of years. He was halfway through the volume when he felt a tug. Not a physical tug, but one on the mana net he had established. Cursing, Draco went to the farthest library wall and rapped on it five times in quick succession. The walls opened up to reveal a flight of black marble steps, which Draco used to descend into the depths of the palace.
At the base of the steps was a door cast in silver. Beasts battled for supremacy in the metal, but in the flickering light provided by two fish-oil lamps, only the vagues of blurred shapes could be discerned. Draco waved an arm impatiently with muttering a phrase under his breath and the door swung slowly inward. The majority of the room was taken up by a large, shallow pool of black water. The walls were lined with shelves crammed with every conceivable herb, oil and essence in carefully labelled cobalt glass jars. Thick, hide-bound spellbooks were scattered helter-skelter throughout the room.
Draco crossed to the pool in three strides. One hand dipped into the pool's depths, then was brought out again dripping wet. He flicked his fingers and droplets scattered Draco's reflection. When the surface had settled once again, it was not his own chillingly handsome face that stared back at him, but that of a young man appearing to be about Draco's age with unkempt dark hair and an intense expression on his face. The image in the pool panned back, reavealing the young man's strong-looking frame engaged in some strenuous activity. He was dragging a sword through the earth, his mouth moving in words Draco could not hear. The young Lord cursed colourfully. "Fool! He's trying to break the ward! It's been in place for centuries! Who does he..." Draco stopped speaking. Something in the boy's actions had caught his grey eyes. "NO!"
---
Harry finished carving the Seal into the dirt, his sides heaving. More than just physical effort went into making a Seal; magical energy that tied in directly to the user's lifeforce also was required. The slayer leaned heavily on the hilt of his sword. When he had a bit of his strength back, he stood and prepared for the final step. He raised the blade above his head...
----
Draco had no time to think, only to act. The ward was going to be broken, he could feel it. The backlash of magical energy would kill him and everything else around for miles. The land might never recover, and even if it did it would be tainted with magic for aeons. So he did the only thing he could. With all of his magical strength he reached, and pulled...
----
Harry drove the sword into the centre of the Seal. At first, there was nothing. Then without warning there was a great roaring sound in his ears. The earth beneath his feet heaved, and small stones whipped around him in a magic-created storm, hitting his face and arms. There was a horrible sound, like the world breaking in two, and then...
Then, there was nothing.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A/N: Here I am, with chapter four! I'm sorry to leave it that way, but I really wanted to get this up as fast as possible. I'm having so much fun writing this! I can only hope you're having as much fun reading it... I think the fifth chapter may be longer and actually advance the plot a bit. (This is going to be a LONG story, folks. Heh. --.--;;) Please R&R! The more you review, the faster I put up longer, better chapters! (It's true!)