Sorry I didn't update last week, I've been busy with my GCSEs. They're almost over though, which is really good! I only have Physics and the American West 1845-95 History to worry about now.
Anyway, read on and I hope this chapter was worth the wait. It's getting a bit angsty and serious now.
Chapter 31 – Bloody Summer
June, 1985:
She walked along the deserted alleyway, confident, calm, collected. Her heeled boots made a light clicking noise as they hit the floor, loose black robes fluttered in the breeze. Under the robes, she wore low-slung dark jeans and black tank top. Her wand was in its arm holster.
She hated Voldemort. It was his fault. She and her friends had had their wedding days set for earlier this month... They had been postponed. They didn't know how long for, but Voldemort's crimes had taken a turn for the worst.
He was torturing witches and wizards, as well as Muggles – and enjoying it. Those – such as werewolves – who didn't join him... He and his followers would kidnap them, make them suffer in ways unimaginable to anyone who had not gone through the pain of a werewolf transformation or the Cruciatus Curse. Because he liked to use his favourite curse as they transformed. All through the night, they'd suffer the insanity of the raging beast and the evil of the curse. So far, none had survived.
Of course, some werewolves had joined Voldemort. And they would also take part in the torture. Some enjoyed it. Others... felt they had no choice.
She feared the worst. For her friends. What if Voldemort kidnapped them? Used his terrible plan of turning them into a werewolf and then turning them insane?
It was too much to bear.
A faint cry assaulted her ears. A flash of light changed her pace from a guarded walk to a flat-out run.
Before she hit her target, a blinding flash of gold-edged crimson light erupted from the woman's body. What she became was shocking.
A woman. With wings of the same orange-red plumage of a phoenix erupting from her shoulders. Her body was sheathed in red leather, possibly a cat suit, black boots on her feet. Her hair was loose, long and golden with a fire-red hint on the curls. But what was even stranger was the pair of crimson eyes. The red wasn't evil like Voldemort's though. They were red irises around a normal black pupil. No, they radiated hope, strength and warmth. Ultimately, good and light.
"No." She murmured.
When she saw what was going on in the alley, she was almost sick.
A young woman, probably her age, was thrown on the floor. She was half- naked and the bruises and cuts on her body instantly infuriated her. She recognised the marks.
'Rape,' she snarled in her mind.
The attackers hadn't spotted her. Yet.
The victim screamed as another descended on her. He hit her with a silencing charm. And then a Confundus Curse for good measure.
She refused to watch this. It wasn't just rape. It was gang rape. Sickening.
"Excuse me." She murmured, her voice perfectly polite. "Is this a private party? Because it doesn't seem like it."
They turned to stare at this intruder. A terrifying angel, of good, but also of death.
"Death Eaters. You make me sick." She growled. Her voice was rich, but feral.
The head Death Eater didn't reply. He just aimed his wand at her.
"Stupefy!"
"Protego." She stated calmly. But her shield was no more normal than her appearance. As the curse hit, a burst of flame appeared. Fire seemed to flame in bursts around her.
It was then that something else happened.
The ground began to shake. A crack opened up and another appeared. A man in brown leather with white irises.
A wind picked up. In a cyclone of green, a woman showed her presence. Green leather, her irises shining with green flame.
Now a patch of fog descended. It suddenly sucked itself in to reveal a man. His eyes shone with blue fire and he wore dark blue leather.
"Care to take on all of us?" The first woman asked.
"Wh –?" The first Death Eater asked.
The man in blue flung out his hands. The Death Eaters froze in place.
"Earth. Take her to the hospital. Make sure you have the Auror Healers attend." The crimson-garbed woman ordered.
He nodded, barely perceptibly, and took hold of the woman, who was unconscious but not frozen. They disappeared silently.
"Sickening. If only I could..." Fire rose in columns from her wings.
"Fire, control your anger. They will be punished. You are right though. It is sickening." The woman in green stated.
Earth reappeared seconds later. "She is being attended to."
"Then let's sort this evil out." The man in blue grinned.
"As you say, Water." Fire smirked.
Water flung out his hands again and the Death Eaters began moving again.
It took them mere seconds to place them under powerful Stunners.
"Leave them for the Aurors. They are no threat now." Air – the woman in green – ordered.
Air disappeared in a cyclone, Water in fog, Earth into the ground and Fire in a burst of flame.
Each left a symbol. A pentacle-star of crimson fire, a diamond of white earth, a lily of emerald cyclones and a stag of blue water.
# # #
When Kathryn ran onto the scene a few moments later, she was shocked. And surprised.
But she lost no time in checking the scene and erecting the necessary wards. Then she pulled out a mirror.
"Moody." She said.
His grizzled countenance soon appeared. "Yes, Orenda?"
"We've got five Death Eaters here. Looks like someone took them out before I got here. I heard a scream, but there's no sign of the victim. They're all under powerful stunners."
Moody frowned. "A woman was taken into St. Mungo's a few minutes ago. Rape injuries, not to mention spells. Taken in by a strange man who merely said he was Earth."
"Earth?" Kathryn frowned. She looked and saw the symbols in the air. "It looks like whoever did this signed it. We've got a star of fire, diamond of earth, flower of cyclones and stag of water. Not sure what this means, but... Well, this is confusing to say the least. Send the others over, will ya?"
"You'll get your partner, Longbottom and Evans, and Black and Phenners. I want a full report. And think of some name for these people."
"Fire Star, Diamond Earth, Wind Flower and Water Stag?" Kathryn jokingly suggested.
"That'll do. Where are you?"
"Street off Jamatic Alley. Well, several. I heard the scream." She explained.
"Very well. Sort out the scene." Moody ordered.
"Right."
Kathryn placed the mirror back in her robes pocket and produced a camera. Flicking the switch to give still pictures, she quickly snapped shots of the scene and the mysterious symbols.
A few minutes later, the others appeared.
"Hey guys. Five Death Eaters. Apparently a woman was taken into St. Mungo's with signs of rape and spells by an anonymous guy. Called himself Earth. Other than that and the symbols, we've got very few ideas to go on. The Death Eaters haven't been harmed. Just stunners. Sirius, will you and Alice go and find out who it was that was attacked and see if you can get a testimony?" Kathryn asked.
Sirius nodded. This was Kathryn's discovery, she was the boss. He and Alice Apparated away.
"Have you taken photos?" James asked.
"What do you take me for? An idiot?" Kathryn asked in return.
Lily rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "You walked right into that one, James."
James sighed. "I know."
Kathryn nodded. "Okay, let's get this sorted out."
# # #
"That's all we've got." Kathryn concluded at the Order meeting the next morning. "Five of Voldie's Death Eaters grabbed her from Jamatic Alley and proceeded to curse and rape her."
At that moment, Sirius and Alice appeared, looked more than a little shell- shocked.
"You know who it is?" Kathryn asked. "She woke up?"
"A couple of hours ago. Merlin, Kat! It was Lethia Idran!" Sirius told her.
Kathryn paled. "Oh God. She was in our year. Ravenclaw. Top Arithmancy student..."
"Does she remember anything about the attack?"
"She was Silenced. She was raped by four of them. One of them used a Confundus Curse on her. But she said she remembered four people. Two men and two women. Dressed in leather. She mentioned something about the elements having a field day, but that was it. She must have become too Confunded or fallen unconscious by then." Sirius answered.
"You told Moody?" Kathryn asked.
"No need. I'm here." Moody stated.
Kathryn nodded, smoothing her hair back into its braid. She sighed. "We don't know who these four people are, or what the symbols could suggest. I mean, there's something so familiar about them, but I can't place it. It's... odd."
James nodded. "I have no idea what they could mean." (A/N: They are thick at times, aren't they? Mind you, there's always magic around, even cast upon themselves...)
"What's the time?" James asked his betrothed suddenly.
"Ten to nine." Lily replied.
"Crap, I've an Unspeakable meeting at nine!" Kathryn jumped up. "Sorry, gotta go."
She kissed Sirius and then ran out of the door, aiming to get outside the Apparation wards placed on the Headquarters.
# # #
"So, what did you need me for?" Kathryn asked her superior.
"Prophecies. Some have been going missing. We don't know how to combat this and we need to find out who took them." Darcy Beta informed her.
"Aren't there spells on them so that only the people who the prophecy pertains to can touch them?" Kathryn asked, surprised.
"No." Replied Beta, equally surprised. Then he smiled. "But that would work. I think I've seen a spell for that somewhere..."
"Can I see the room? See if there are any clues as to the thief's identity?" Kathryn asked. She needed all the help she could get. Who would steal prophecies? Why?
Something clicked.
"Do you know which prophecies have been taken? Have you got a list of them somewhere?" She asked.
"Yes. We have. Some of the prophecies are vague, others... less so. Most seem to refer to a Dark Lord..."
"Don't they all?" Kathryn muttered.
"Or a saviour. The Elemental Guardians and Warriors have come into them as well. Also the name 'He Who Flies From Death'." Beta explained.
"Voldemort." Kathryn stated. He looked at her, surprised again. "It's what the name means. Vol – fly. De – of or from, from in this case. Mort – death. Fly from death. He fears his own mortality above all else. Well, clearly he's scared of Dumbledore and these others... Who are the Elemental Warriors?" She asked.
"Legend has it that the Elemental Guardians, who we know to exist, are sent to guard something, or someone – or someones. Their powers are more likely to be used for protection and defence. The Elemental Warriors are their Heirs, of such. Frequently, two of them will be the children of Fire and Earth, and Air and Water. The other two will be the same age, embodying the two elements left. And while with the Elemental Guardians, Earth and Fire are always soulmates and Air and Water are always soulmates, with the Elemental Warriors it can be any. The Elements are not preordained with a gender, and their soulmates may not be one of them. But those born to them will always be the same power as the parent of the same gender." Beta explained.
"So Fire's daughter would have fire?" Kathryn asked.
"Exactly."
"Why are you so interested in them?"
"I don't know. Call it a project of sorts. I've got a lot of information on them."
"I'm guessing most of it isn't public knowledge?"
"It's not. It is definitely a Department of Mysteries thing. If people knew they were real, or more about them... Well, Voldemort himself may be able to discover their weaknesses."
"Which are?"
"Love is as much their weakness as their strength. Dividing them weakens them. And certain spells will block their magic. They are not all powerful. The Elemental Warriors are much more powerful, but their weaknesses are similar, just fewer."
Kathryn processed this information as they entered the Prophecy Room.
'What if Voldemort finds those spells?' She wondered.
# # #
"Kathryn!" A voice yelled, bursting through the Department of Mysteries.
Kathryn looked up from her work and responded. "James? What is it?"
"Attack. Jamatic Alley this time. There was that festival..." His voice trailed off.
"Holy crap!" Kathryn stated. "Sorry, Beta, this is important."
Beta nodded. "I understand. We'll call you when things have died down a bit. Thanks for suggesting that spell. It'll make all the difference." He looked sombre. "Give those Death Eaters hell."
Kathryn grinned. "I intend to." She followed James, changing her clothes wandlessly as she did. Leather trousers and top later, minus her robe (she couldn't afford much weighing her down and leather was the most protective fabric other than dragon skin – which didn't have the same protection when produced wandlessly), she followed her partner.
He seemed to be preparing in the same way. Seconds later, they both Apparated as close to Jamatic Alley as they could (there were wards up). James was wearing jeans and a vest-shirt. Kathryn scooped her braid up into a knot, wanting as little in the way as possible.
"Where are we?" Kathryn asked Moody as they ran in.
"The other four. There's a group at the end of the Alley. They need help holding them off while we evacuate." Moody growled.
"Are they using the korrehn bombs?" Kathryn asked.
"Yes. We'd best hope they don't use too many. Are any of you allergic?"
Kathryn shook her head. "No. Our friends Alura and Radella are, but none of us Aurors are. Thank God."
"Get going."
"Yep."
Kathryn and James headed towards the mêlée at the end of the Alley. Around them they could see wisps of the celebrations. Wizards and witches were a culture that loved acting, music and performance. Voldemort's actions were going to wreck that love. He chose holidays, or celebrations to attack. What was known as the Festival of the Arts or the Festival of Thespis in early June was one. Hallowe'en was another favourite. He had attacked Diagon Alley at Hallowe'en the previous year. He would kill the Potters on Hallowe'en in a little more than three years from now. He strived to destroy morale by choosing times they were supposed to be happy.
'He's sick,' Kathryn thought as she saw the devastation. 'Completely sick.'
The theatre where Voldemort had attacked them in their summer between Sixth and Seventh-year was burning fiercely. Houses and shops of and for actors, musicians, costumers, etc. were destroyed. Screams pierced the heavy, smoky, stinking air and multicoloured flashes of curses shone in the sky.
It was eleven o'clock, only just dark. But already so much damage had been caused.
Kathryn heard a stabbing shriek come from a burning building. She caught a glimpse of a child in an upstairs window.
"JAMES!" She yelled.
"WHAT?"
"I'M GOING IN THERE!"
"WHAT? YOU CAN'T, KAT! PARTNERS, REMEMBER?"
"THERE'S A KID IN THERE! DAMN THE RULES! I'LL CATCH YOU UP! I WON'T BE LONG!" She informed him and disappeared into the building before James had a chance to protest, or to follow.
"Damn her." He muttered, and threw himself ahead, determined to help his friends. She would all right. She was like a cat that way. Always landed on her feet.
# # #
Inside the building, Kathryn compelled the fire to obey her will.
'I am mistress of these flames. You will obey me!' She thought viciously. As if hearing her thoughts, the flames seemed to shrink away from her.
She forced her way through the downstairs and ran up the stairs, so light- footed she seemed to dance.
She heard another scream. And then screamed herself as beamed crashed down on her.
"Argh!" Her arm broke with a sickening crunch. "Damn."
Solidly, she thrust herself on. She wasn't going to let a child die because of Voldemort's scum.
Slowly but surely, she found herself in the child's room.
"Please." She told the child. "Come with me. I'll help you."
The child noted her broken left arm and nodded. "Okay."
"Is there any other way out? The stairs have fallen through." Kathryn explained.
The girl shook her head.
"Then we'll have to jump for it." She frowned then pulled out her wand. "I can levitate you to the ground, if that's alright."
The girl nodded again.
"Wingardium leviosa!" Kathryn incanted. She thrust the child from the window and down the alley to safety.
The girl smiled as she landed and grinned at her, waving. "Thank you!"
Kathryn nodded. Then the house collapsed.
The girl screamed.
# # #
"Kathryn!" Sirius choked. He felt her presence weaken, stifle... it was flickering, dying. "James, cover me!"
Sirius teleported to where he felt his soulmate's presence.
She was in a burning building. The roof had collapsed.
Calling on his telekinesis, he yanked Kathryn from the building. Her body flew to him and landed on the ground.
There was a cut on her forehead and bruises developing on her arms, one of which was clearly broken. Sirius desperately called upon his element to aid him.
"Mother Earth that birthed ye,
Lend healing power to me.
Heal your son's soulmate,
Let the damage now abate." He incanted.
Kathryn shuddered and drew in a tremulous breath. "Sirius?" She gasped.
"I thought I lost you there." Sirius sighed.
"For a moment, you did." Kathryn informed him. She kissed him gently and then remembered where they were. "Sirius, the others!"
They ran.
# # #
Frank and Alice had been split from the other two. They were struggling. The Death Eaters were too many, they were forced to block or dodge too many curses. Already Alice's arm was bleeding and Frank was suffering from a nasty injury to his chest.
Then it happened. Voldemort.
"Ah, so Frank and Alice are too strong to join me?" Voldemort's voice was mocking. "Too strong to join the quest for power?"
"Too strong to join evil!" Frank yelled. "Devanshio!"
Voldemort blocked it. "Relashio!"
Frank dodged.
"Stupefy!"
"Expelliarmus!"
"Krelian ovesh!"
"Tarantallegra!"
"Crucio!"
"Aargh!" Alice screamed under the Cruciatus Curse.
Frank attacked Voldemort, causing enough distraction for him to end the spell.
"Delacerare!" Frank yelled the Lacerate Curse. Unfortunately, it wasn't performed on Voldemort's throat, as the Auror had aimed, but caught on his chest instead.
Voldemort let out a howl of pain. "You'll pay, Longbottom! You'll wish you never defied me!"
Voldemort didn't seem to realise that this was the second occasion on which Frank Longbottom and Alice Phenners had done so.
# # #
Voldemort attacked Lily and James next. This time it was Lily who stopped him. She managed to gain eye contact and influenced Voldemort's mind. The only thing she had time for was for him to think he had gone blind. It wouldn't last, but it lasted long enough for him to be forced back by James' spell.
James Potter and Lily Evans had defied him a second time.
# # #
The attack was brutal and long. It was not without casualties.
Kathryn Orenda sat next to her betrothed in St. Mungo's praying for him to be all right. He had been hit by so many Laceration Curses... She wasn't in much better condition, her arm was still broken and she had nearly as many cuts and bruises. But a Confundus had hit Sirius as well as a well placed, if short, Cruciatus. It was horrific.
"Kathryn?" Radella placed a hand on her arm. "You need healing."
"But... Sirius..." Kathryn began.
"Will be fine if you leave him for a few moments. He will. You need healing. Tony's coming now for the second stage of Sirius' healing."
"No! I can't leave him! He saved me out there, Della! I can't leave him now!" Kathryn yelled, desperation cracking in her voice.
"Kathryn! Sirius will be fine! You, however, will not be, if you don't quit being stubborn and accept a healing!" Radella roared. She was incredibly forceful for someone with such a deceptively innocent appearance.
With much arguing, protesting and swearing, Kathryn finally submitted to her friend's persistence and was healed. Physically as least. She had a nasty scar along one thigh and she would have a mark for a while on her forehead, but she would be fine.
It wasn't until Radella had assured her of this that Kathryn started to cry, the adrenalin from the battle finally subsiding, leaving her in no fit state.
"It was terrible. I nearly lost him... All those people... Dead... God, why is Voldemort doing this? That bastard... Why is he trying to kill so many people?" Kathryn sobbed.
Radella comforted her friend as best she could, but was unsure. She guided her over to the bed next to Sirius, hoping that it would calm her down. Aurors were also always placed on the same ward, something that Kathryn – had she been in any fit state of mind – would have berated them for. Or else told Moody and let him have the fun. If she'd been paying attention, she'd have almost heard his yells in her ears.
"What better away to get rid of us all! Place us on the same ward, when we're all still healing, and throw in a bomb! That'd leave the world in pretty state, wouldn't it?" Yes, that's the kind of thing Moody would say.
"I – I'm sorry, Della." Kat murmured, sobbing. "I just... I nearly lost him. I nearly died out there. And him too, and..."
"Della!" A voice yelled. "We've got another one! Traces of Cruciatus and Relashio!"
"Damn. Kat, stay with Sirius. You'll be fine. I promise." Radella gave her a weak smile before she went to heal another victim of the night's atrocities.
# # #
Summer 1985 became known as Bloody Summer for the wizarding community. Not only was Voldemort attacking Britain, but there were attacks in America, Africa, Australia, other European countries and Asia. Nowhere except Antarctica was immune, owing to Antarctica's lack of human life. But it was Britain that suffered the worst. Britain seemed to be the forerunner of the wizarding world, while in the Muggle world it was presently losing (or had already lost) it's place to America.
There were more attacks that summer than ever before. The young Aurors lost count of the number of healing potions, amulets and spells used, discounting the visits to St. Mungo's. Even their friends struggled, their own positions in the Order of the Phoenix putting them under fire. Everyone was in danger. No one was safe.
Not even Voldemort's followers, it seemed. Even they seemed to suffer death at the Dark Lord's wrath. If something went wrong... Well, Kathryn guessed he must have had a hell of a lot of followers if he could afford to keep killing them off.
They saw more blood and death that summer than they wanted to.
Kathryn and James were on numerous cases of attacks on individuals – frequently women, who were also raped. Kathryn was beginning to think that Voldemort had connections to the Ku Klux Klan. They had raped black women, as well as lynching them and the men. Kathryn remembered studying it in her coma. Strange how some of the things you most want to forget, you remember. She had cried when learning of the atrocities performed upon people just because they were black, or of a different religion. Voldemort reminded her of them.
'It's the same kind of thing, intolerance, prejudice, thing is he just hates those with Muggle blood in their veins. They hated people who weren't white Christians.' She thought one afternoon, while writing yet another report.
Then came that fateful day. The day that secured what Kathryn called 'the beginning of the end'. Although she added 'part one' onto it.
Bartemius Crouch, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement had made the announcement. His bill had finally been passed through.
"Aurors are now given the right to use the Unforgivable Curses on suspects. This can only be done when justified, but desperate times call for desperate measures. The Death Eaters use these. They should be given a taste of their own medicine!" Crouch announced. And he had his supporters.
There seemed to be lull that autumn though. A lull that people were so thankful for.
But none more so than the Aurors. All were suffering from what they had had to see. So much so, that Moody forced the six friends to take some time off. There were extra Aurors now, and the less serious cases were put off.
Kathryn valued the time off in a way that only someone who has seen the very worst of human nature can.
But one thing still bothered her, and her friends.
The first attack on Lethia Idran. Who had stopped the Death Eaters and what did it mean?
Of course, when another disaster struck, just days before their time off, they began to realise just how evil Voldemort had become.
Kathryn just remembered that evening, three days before her leave.
"Orenda, Potter!" Moody's voice had yelled out. Funnily enough, these once 'wet-behind-the-ears-newbies' had become some of the most respected Aurors.
"Yeah, Moody?" Kathryn had replied.
"An attack on Severn House. Muggle party. There was a massacre..." Moody began, then heard glass shatter. "Are you...?"
"Severn House? Muggle, old-fashioned mansion? By the River Severn?" Kathryn asked, her voice quivering.
"Yes, why?"
"No. Oh no, no, no." Kathryn moaned.
"Kat?" James asked his partner.
"Orenda, what is it?"
"James, don't you remember whose house that is?" Kathryn asked.
"I don't think... Oh no." James' eyes widened, horror etched on his face.
"What is it?" Moody asked.
"Severn House is that of Lily's parents."
# # #
A/N: I know, I know! I'm evil, aren't I? But it just seemed right.
To my lovely reviewers:
Hermione1989: You think you got it figured out? E-mail me, if you like. Thanks for the support, and post up some more of your fic!
Lenorathetrekkie: Sorry the update's late. Guess I won't get hose fairies then? Damn. Glad you liked the wedding scene, I did too.
Sekhmet04: I know you've only just read the first chappie, but if you've got here, good. Can I just say, cool name!
Miss Black16: Yeah, I wish I could transfigure my outfits too. I mean, you'd always be at the height of fashion and you could always start your own. And if you got sick of a top, or tore a pair of jeans (I've done that twice!) you could just transfigure them into something else or new!
Nightblade-advanced: Hope you did okay in your finals. Don't worry about reviewing. I've been a bit late with writing as well!
Harkeran Ginzoshou: Yup, you answered the riddle right! Technically, by my count, it's Hallowe'en! Do you like the story? Coz your review confused me!
wolf-star100: Can I just say that was a confusing review? I hope you like this chapter, there's definitely action. Yeah, I know, it's not great, but I struggle to write big battle scenes. I'm doing my best. And it was with partial writer's block. But, I'm warning you, when I finally get past the writer's block to get to the chapters after the weddings... Well, I think I'm gonna be able to write that action much better. It's a much better idea, and less of an attack as a... Wait, I've said too much! Thanks anyway.
Thanks to everyone who reviewed. I doubt there's anyone out there who read and didn't review, but if there is, please review! I'm kinda desperate. Zeus, I am sad!
By the way, does anyone know what this 'Highly recommend story to others' button is about?
Keep reading, please!
Lol, Tanydwr
Anyway, read on and I hope this chapter was worth the wait. It's getting a bit angsty and serious now.
Chapter 31 – Bloody Summer
June, 1985:
She walked along the deserted alleyway, confident, calm, collected. Her heeled boots made a light clicking noise as they hit the floor, loose black robes fluttered in the breeze. Under the robes, she wore low-slung dark jeans and black tank top. Her wand was in its arm holster.
She hated Voldemort. It was his fault. She and her friends had had their wedding days set for earlier this month... They had been postponed. They didn't know how long for, but Voldemort's crimes had taken a turn for the worst.
He was torturing witches and wizards, as well as Muggles – and enjoying it. Those – such as werewolves – who didn't join him... He and his followers would kidnap them, make them suffer in ways unimaginable to anyone who had not gone through the pain of a werewolf transformation or the Cruciatus Curse. Because he liked to use his favourite curse as they transformed. All through the night, they'd suffer the insanity of the raging beast and the evil of the curse. So far, none had survived.
Of course, some werewolves had joined Voldemort. And they would also take part in the torture. Some enjoyed it. Others... felt they had no choice.
She feared the worst. For her friends. What if Voldemort kidnapped them? Used his terrible plan of turning them into a werewolf and then turning them insane?
It was too much to bear.
A faint cry assaulted her ears. A flash of light changed her pace from a guarded walk to a flat-out run.
Before she hit her target, a blinding flash of gold-edged crimson light erupted from the woman's body. What she became was shocking.
A woman. With wings of the same orange-red plumage of a phoenix erupting from her shoulders. Her body was sheathed in red leather, possibly a cat suit, black boots on her feet. Her hair was loose, long and golden with a fire-red hint on the curls. But what was even stranger was the pair of crimson eyes. The red wasn't evil like Voldemort's though. They were red irises around a normal black pupil. No, they radiated hope, strength and warmth. Ultimately, good and light.
"No." She murmured.
When she saw what was going on in the alley, she was almost sick.
A young woman, probably her age, was thrown on the floor. She was half- naked and the bruises and cuts on her body instantly infuriated her. She recognised the marks.
'Rape,' she snarled in her mind.
The attackers hadn't spotted her. Yet.
The victim screamed as another descended on her. He hit her with a silencing charm. And then a Confundus Curse for good measure.
She refused to watch this. It wasn't just rape. It was gang rape. Sickening.
"Excuse me." She murmured, her voice perfectly polite. "Is this a private party? Because it doesn't seem like it."
They turned to stare at this intruder. A terrifying angel, of good, but also of death.
"Death Eaters. You make me sick." She growled. Her voice was rich, but feral.
The head Death Eater didn't reply. He just aimed his wand at her.
"Stupefy!"
"Protego." She stated calmly. But her shield was no more normal than her appearance. As the curse hit, a burst of flame appeared. Fire seemed to flame in bursts around her.
It was then that something else happened.
The ground began to shake. A crack opened up and another appeared. A man in brown leather with white irises.
A wind picked up. In a cyclone of green, a woman showed her presence. Green leather, her irises shining with green flame.
Now a patch of fog descended. It suddenly sucked itself in to reveal a man. His eyes shone with blue fire and he wore dark blue leather.
"Care to take on all of us?" The first woman asked.
"Wh –?" The first Death Eater asked.
The man in blue flung out his hands. The Death Eaters froze in place.
"Earth. Take her to the hospital. Make sure you have the Auror Healers attend." The crimson-garbed woman ordered.
He nodded, barely perceptibly, and took hold of the woman, who was unconscious but not frozen. They disappeared silently.
"Sickening. If only I could..." Fire rose in columns from her wings.
"Fire, control your anger. They will be punished. You are right though. It is sickening." The woman in green stated.
Earth reappeared seconds later. "She is being attended to."
"Then let's sort this evil out." The man in blue grinned.
"As you say, Water." Fire smirked.
Water flung out his hands again and the Death Eaters began moving again.
It took them mere seconds to place them under powerful Stunners.
"Leave them for the Aurors. They are no threat now." Air – the woman in green – ordered.
Air disappeared in a cyclone, Water in fog, Earth into the ground and Fire in a burst of flame.
Each left a symbol. A pentacle-star of crimson fire, a diamond of white earth, a lily of emerald cyclones and a stag of blue water.
# # #
When Kathryn ran onto the scene a few moments later, she was shocked. And surprised.
But she lost no time in checking the scene and erecting the necessary wards. Then she pulled out a mirror.
"Moody." She said.
His grizzled countenance soon appeared. "Yes, Orenda?"
"We've got five Death Eaters here. Looks like someone took them out before I got here. I heard a scream, but there's no sign of the victim. They're all under powerful stunners."
Moody frowned. "A woman was taken into St. Mungo's a few minutes ago. Rape injuries, not to mention spells. Taken in by a strange man who merely said he was Earth."
"Earth?" Kathryn frowned. She looked and saw the symbols in the air. "It looks like whoever did this signed it. We've got a star of fire, diamond of earth, flower of cyclones and stag of water. Not sure what this means, but... Well, this is confusing to say the least. Send the others over, will ya?"
"You'll get your partner, Longbottom and Evans, and Black and Phenners. I want a full report. And think of some name for these people."
"Fire Star, Diamond Earth, Wind Flower and Water Stag?" Kathryn jokingly suggested.
"That'll do. Where are you?"
"Street off Jamatic Alley. Well, several. I heard the scream." She explained.
"Very well. Sort out the scene." Moody ordered.
"Right."
Kathryn placed the mirror back in her robes pocket and produced a camera. Flicking the switch to give still pictures, she quickly snapped shots of the scene and the mysterious symbols.
A few minutes later, the others appeared.
"Hey guys. Five Death Eaters. Apparently a woman was taken into St. Mungo's with signs of rape and spells by an anonymous guy. Called himself Earth. Other than that and the symbols, we've got very few ideas to go on. The Death Eaters haven't been harmed. Just stunners. Sirius, will you and Alice go and find out who it was that was attacked and see if you can get a testimony?" Kathryn asked.
Sirius nodded. This was Kathryn's discovery, she was the boss. He and Alice Apparated away.
"Have you taken photos?" James asked.
"What do you take me for? An idiot?" Kathryn asked in return.
Lily rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "You walked right into that one, James."
James sighed. "I know."
Kathryn nodded. "Okay, let's get this sorted out."
# # #
"That's all we've got." Kathryn concluded at the Order meeting the next morning. "Five of Voldie's Death Eaters grabbed her from Jamatic Alley and proceeded to curse and rape her."
At that moment, Sirius and Alice appeared, looked more than a little shell- shocked.
"You know who it is?" Kathryn asked. "She woke up?"
"A couple of hours ago. Merlin, Kat! It was Lethia Idran!" Sirius told her.
Kathryn paled. "Oh God. She was in our year. Ravenclaw. Top Arithmancy student..."
"Does she remember anything about the attack?"
"She was Silenced. She was raped by four of them. One of them used a Confundus Curse on her. But she said she remembered four people. Two men and two women. Dressed in leather. She mentioned something about the elements having a field day, but that was it. She must have become too Confunded or fallen unconscious by then." Sirius answered.
"You told Moody?" Kathryn asked.
"No need. I'm here." Moody stated.
Kathryn nodded, smoothing her hair back into its braid. She sighed. "We don't know who these four people are, or what the symbols could suggest. I mean, there's something so familiar about them, but I can't place it. It's... odd."
James nodded. "I have no idea what they could mean." (A/N: They are thick at times, aren't they? Mind you, there's always magic around, even cast upon themselves...)
"What's the time?" James asked his betrothed suddenly.
"Ten to nine." Lily replied.
"Crap, I've an Unspeakable meeting at nine!" Kathryn jumped up. "Sorry, gotta go."
She kissed Sirius and then ran out of the door, aiming to get outside the Apparation wards placed on the Headquarters.
# # #
"So, what did you need me for?" Kathryn asked her superior.
"Prophecies. Some have been going missing. We don't know how to combat this and we need to find out who took them." Darcy Beta informed her.
"Aren't there spells on them so that only the people who the prophecy pertains to can touch them?" Kathryn asked, surprised.
"No." Replied Beta, equally surprised. Then he smiled. "But that would work. I think I've seen a spell for that somewhere..."
"Can I see the room? See if there are any clues as to the thief's identity?" Kathryn asked. She needed all the help she could get. Who would steal prophecies? Why?
Something clicked.
"Do you know which prophecies have been taken? Have you got a list of them somewhere?" She asked.
"Yes. We have. Some of the prophecies are vague, others... less so. Most seem to refer to a Dark Lord..."
"Don't they all?" Kathryn muttered.
"Or a saviour. The Elemental Guardians and Warriors have come into them as well. Also the name 'He Who Flies From Death'." Beta explained.
"Voldemort." Kathryn stated. He looked at her, surprised again. "It's what the name means. Vol – fly. De – of or from, from in this case. Mort – death. Fly from death. He fears his own mortality above all else. Well, clearly he's scared of Dumbledore and these others... Who are the Elemental Warriors?" She asked.
"Legend has it that the Elemental Guardians, who we know to exist, are sent to guard something, or someone – or someones. Their powers are more likely to be used for protection and defence. The Elemental Warriors are their Heirs, of such. Frequently, two of them will be the children of Fire and Earth, and Air and Water. The other two will be the same age, embodying the two elements left. And while with the Elemental Guardians, Earth and Fire are always soulmates and Air and Water are always soulmates, with the Elemental Warriors it can be any. The Elements are not preordained with a gender, and their soulmates may not be one of them. But those born to them will always be the same power as the parent of the same gender." Beta explained.
"So Fire's daughter would have fire?" Kathryn asked.
"Exactly."
"Why are you so interested in them?"
"I don't know. Call it a project of sorts. I've got a lot of information on them."
"I'm guessing most of it isn't public knowledge?"
"It's not. It is definitely a Department of Mysteries thing. If people knew they were real, or more about them... Well, Voldemort himself may be able to discover their weaknesses."
"Which are?"
"Love is as much their weakness as their strength. Dividing them weakens them. And certain spells will block their magic. They are not all powerful. The Elemental Warriors are much more powerful, but their weaknesses are similar, just fewer."
Kathryn processed this information as they entered the Prophecy Room.
'What if Voldemort finds those spells?' She wondered.
# # #
"Kathryn!" A voice yelled, bursting through the Department of Mysteries.
Kathryn looked up from her work and responded. "James? What is it?"
"Attack. Jamatic Alley this time. There was that festival..." His voice trailed off.
"Holy crap!" Kathryn stated. "Sorry, Beta, this is important."
Beta nodded. "I understand. We'll call you when things have died down a bit. Thanks for suggesting that spell. It'll make all the difference." He looked sombre. "Give those Death Eaters hell."
Kathryn grinned. "I intend to." She followed James, changing her clothes wandlessly as she did. Leather trousers and top later, minus her robe (she couldn't afford much weighing her down and leather was the most protective fabric other than dragon skin – which didn't have the same protection when produced wandlessly), she followed her partner.
He seemed to be preparing in the same way. Seconds later, they both Apparated as close to Jamatic Alley as they could (there were wards up). James was wearing jeans and a vest-shirt. Kathryn scooped her braid up into a knot, wanting as little in the way as possible.
"Where are we?" Kathryn asked Moody as they ran in.
"The other four. There's a group at the end of the Alley. They need help holding them off while we evacuate." Moody growled.
"Are they using the korrehn bombs?" Kathryn asked.
"Yes. We'd best hope they don't use too many. Are any of you allergic?"
Kathryn shook her head. "No. Our friends Alura and Radella are, but none of us Aurors are. Thank God."
"Get going."
"Yep."
Kathryn and James headed towards the mêlée at the end of the Alley. Around them they could see wisps of the celebrations. Wizards and witches were a culture that loved acting, music and performance. Voldemort's actions were going to wreck that love. He chose holidays, or celebrations to attack. What was known as the Festival of the Arts or the Festival of Thespis in early June was one. Hallowe'en was another favourite. He had attacked Diagon Alley at Hallowe'en the previous year. He would kill the Potters on Hallowe'en in a little more than three years from now. He strived to destroy morale by choosing times they were supposed to be happy.
'He's sick,' Kathryn thought as she saw the devastation. 'Completely sick.'
The theatre where Voldemort had attacked them in their summer between Sixth and Seventh-year was burning fiercely. Houses and shops of and for actors, musicians, costumers, etc. were destroyed. Screams pierced the heavy, smoky, stinking air and multicoloured flashes of curses shone in the sky.
It was eleven o'clock, only just dark. But already so much damage had been caused.
Kathryn heard a stabbing shriek come from a burning building. She caught a glimpse of a child in an upstairs window.
"JAMES!" She yelled.
"WHAT?"
"I'M GOING IN THERE!"
"WHAT? YOU CAN'T, KAT! PARTNERS, REMEMBER?"
"THERE'S A KID IN THERE! DAMN THE RULES! I'LL CATCH YOU UP! I WON'T BE LONG!" She informed him and disappeared into the building before James had a chance to protest, or to follow.
"Damn her." He muttered, and threw himself ahead, determined to help his friends. She would all right. She was like a cat that way. Always landed on her feet.
# # #
Inside the building, Kathryn compelled the fire to obey her will.
'I am mistress of these flames. You will obey me!' She thought viciously. As if hearing her thoughts, the flames seemed to shrink away from her.
She forced her way through the downstairs and ran up the stairs, so light- footed she seemed to dance.
She heard another scream. And then screamed herself as beamed crashed down on her.
"Argh!" Her arm broke with a sickening crunch. "Damn."
Solidly, she thrust herself on. She wasn't going to let a child die because of Voldemort's scum.
Slowly but surely, she found herself in the child's room.
"Please." She told the child. "Come with me. I'll help you."
The child noted her broken left arm and nodded. "Okay."
"Is there any other way out? The stairs have fallen through." Kathryn explained.
The girl shook her head.
"Then we'll have to jump for it." She frowned then pulled out her wand. "I can levitate you to the ground, if that's alright."
The girl nodded again.
"Wingardium leviosa!" Kathryn incanted. She thrust the child from the window and down the alley to safety.
The girl smiled as she landed and grinned at her, waving. "Thank you!"
Kathryn nodded. Then the house collapsed.
The girl screamed.
# # #
"Kathryn!" Sirius choked. He felt her presence weaken, stifle... it was flickering, dying. "James, cover me!"
Sirius teleported to where he felt his soulmate's presence.
She was in a burning building. The roof had collapsed.
Calling on his telekinesis, he yanked Kathryn from the building. Her body flew to him and landed on the ground.
There was a cut on her forehead and bruises developing on her arms, one of which was clearly broken. Sirius desperately called upon his element to aid him.
"Mother Earth that birthed ye,
Lend healing power to me.
Heal your son's soulmate,
Let the damage now abate." He incanted.
Kathryn shuddered and drew in a tremulous breath. "Sirius?" She gasped.
"I thought I lost you there." Sirius sighed.
"For a moment, you did." Kathryn informed him. She kissed him gently and then remembered where they were. "Sirius, the others!"
They ran.
# # #
Frank and Alice had been split from the other two. They were struggling. The Death Eaters were too many, they were forced to block or dodge too many curses. Already Alice's arm was bleeding and Frank was suffering from a nasty injury to his chest.
Then it happened. Voldemort.
"Ah, so Frank and Alice are too strong to join me?" Voldemort's voice was mocking. "Too strong to join the quest for power?"
"Too strong to join evil!" Frank yelled. "Devanshio!"
Voldemort blocked it. "Relashio!"
Frank dodged.
"Stupefy!"
"Expelliarmus!"
"Krelian ovesh!"
"Tarantallegra!"
"Crucio!"
"Aargh!" Alice screamed under the Cruciatus Curse.
Frank attacked Voldemort, causing enough distraction for him to end the spell.
"Delacerare!" Frank yelled the Lacerate Curse. Unfortunately, it wasn't performed on Voldemort's throat, as the Auror had aimed, but caught on his chest instead.
Voldemort let out a howl of pain. "You'll pay, Longbottom! You'll wish you never defied me!"
Voldemort didn't seem to realise that this was the second occasion on which Frank Longbottom and Alice Phenners had done so.
# # #
Voldemort attacked Lily and James next. This time it was Lily who stopped him. She managed to gain eye contact and influenced Voldemort's mind. The only thing she had time for was for him to think he had gone blind. It wouldn't last, but it lasted long enough for him to be forced back by James' spell.
James Potter and Lily Evans had defied him a second time.
# # #
The attack was brutal and long. It was not without casualties.
Kathryn Orenda sat next to her betrothed in St. Mungo's praying for him to be all right. He had been hit by so many Laceration Curses... She wasn't in much better condition, her arm was still broken and she had nearly as many cuts and bruises. But a Confundus had hit Sirius as well as a well placed, if short, Cruciatus. It was horrific.
"Kathryn?" Radella placed a hand on her arm. "You need healing."
"But... Sirius..." Kathryn began.
"Will be fine if you leave him for a few moments. He will. You need healing. Tony's coming now for the second stage of Sirius' healing."
"No! I can't leave him! He saved me out there, Della! I can't leave him now!" Kathryn yelled, desperation cracking in her voice.
"Kathryn! Sirius will be fine! You, however, will not be, if you don't quit being stubborn and accept a healing!" Radella roared. She was incredibly forceful for someone with such a deceptively innocent appearance.
With much arguing, protesting and swearing, Kathryn finally submitted to her friend's persistence and was healed. Physically as least. She had a nasty scar along one thigh and she would have a mark for a while on her forehead, but she would be fine.
It wasn't until Radella had assured her of this that Kathryn started to cry, the adrenalin from the battle finally subsiding, leaving her in no fit state.
"It was terrible. I nearly lost him... All those people... Dead... God, why is Voldemort doing this? That bastard... Why is he trying to kill so many people?" Kathryn sobbed.
Radella comforted her friend as best she could, but was unsure. She guided her over to the bed next to Sirius, hoping that it would calm her down. Aurors were also always placed on the same ward, something that Kathryn – had she been in any fit state of mind – would have berated them for. Or else told Moody and let him have the fun. If she'd been paying attention, she'd have almost heard his yells in her ears.
"What better away to get rid of us all! Place us on the same ward, when we're all still healing, and throw in a bomb! That'd leave the world in pretty state, wouldn't it?" Yes, that's the kind of thing Moody would say.
"I – I'm sorry, Della." Kat murmured, sobbing. "I just... I nearly lost him. I nearly died out there. And him too, and..."
"Della!" A voice yelled. "We've got another one! Traces of Cruciatus and Relashio!"
"Damn. Kat, stay with Sirius. You'll be fine. I promise." Radella gave her a weak smile before she went to heal another victim of the night's atrocities.
# # #
Summer 1985 became known as Bloody Summer for the wizarding community. Not only was Voldemort attacking Britain, but there were attacks in America, Africa, Australia, other European countries and Asia. Nowhere except Antarctica was immune, owing to Antarctica's lack of human life. But it was Britain that suffered the worst. Britain seemed to be the forerunner of the wizarding world, while in the Muggle world it was presently losing (or had already lost) it's place to America.
There were more attacks that summer than ever before. The young Aurors lost count of the number of healing potions, amulets and spells used, discounting the visits to St. Mungo's. Even their friends struggled, their own positions in the Order of the Phoenix putting them under fire. Everyone was in danger. No one was safe.
Not even Voldemort's followers, it seemed. Even they seemed to suffer death at the Dark Lord's wrath. If something went wrong... Well, Kathryn guessed he must have had a hell of a lot of followers if he could afford to keep killing them off.
They saw more blood and death that summer than they wanted to.
Kathryn and James were on numerous cases of attacks on individuals – frequently women, who were also raped. Kathryn was beginning to think that Voldemort had connections to the Ku Klux Klan. They had raped black women, as well as lynching them and the men. Kathryn remembered studying it in her coma. Strange how some of the things you most want to forget, you remember. She had cried when learning of the atrocities performed upon people just because they were black, or of a different religion. Voldemort reminded her of them.
'It's the same kind of thing, intolerance, prejudice, thing is he just hates those with Muggle blood in their veins. They hated people who weren't white Christians.' She thought one afternoon, while writing yet another report.
Then came that fateful day. The day that secured what Kathryn called 'the beginning of the end'. Although she added 'part one' onto it.
Bartemius Crouch, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement had made the announcement. His bill had finally been passed through.
"Aurors are now given the right to use the Unforgivable Curses on suspects. This can only be done when justified, but desperate times call for desperate measures. The Death Eaters use these. They should be given a taste of their own medicine!" Crouch announced. And he had his supporters.
There seemed to be lull that autumn though. A lull that people were so thankful for.
But none more so than the Aurors. All were suffering from what they had had to see. So much so, that Moody forced the six friends to take some time off. There were extra Aurors now, and the less serious cases were put off.
Kathryn valued the time off in a way that only someone who has seen the very worst of human nature can.
But one thing still bothered her, and her friends.
The first attack on Lethia Idran. Who had stopped the Death Eaters and what did it mean?
Of course, when another disaster struck, just days before their time off, they began to realise just how evil Voldemort had become.
Kathryn just remembered that evening, three days before her leave.
"Orenda, Potter!" Moody's voice had yelled out. Funnily enough, these once 'wet-behind-the-ears-newbies' had become some of the most respected Aurors.
"Yeah, Moody?" Kathryn had replied.
"An attack on Severn House. Muggle party. There was a massacre..." Moody began, then heard glass shatter. "Are you...?"
"Severn House? Muggle, old-fashioned mansion? By the River Severn?" Kathryn asked, her voice quivering.
"Yes, why?"
"No. Oh no, no, no." Kathryn moaned.
"Kat?" James asked his partner.
"Orenda, what is it?"
"James, don't you remember whose house that is?" Kathryn asked.
"I don't think... Oh no." James' eyes widened, horror etched on his face.
"What is it?" Moody asked.
"Severn House is that of Lily's parents."
# # #
A/N: I know, I know! I'm evil, aren't I? But it just seemed right.
To my lovely reviewers:
Hermione1989: You think you got it figured out? E-mail me, if you like. Thanks for the support, and post up some more of your fic!
Lenorathetrekkie: Sorry the update's late. Guess I won't get hose fairies then? Damn. Glad you liked the wedding scene, I did too.
Sekhmet04: I know you've only just read the first chappie, but if you've got here, good. Can I just say, cool name!
Miss Black16: Yeah, I wish I could transfigure my outfits too. I mean, you'd always be at the height of fashion and you could always start your own. And if you got sick of a top, or tore a pair of jeans (I've done that twice!) you could just transfigure them into something else or new!
Nightblade-advanced: Hope you did okay in your finals. Don't worry about reviewing. I've been a bit late with writing as well!
Harkeran Ginzoshou: Yup, you answered the riddle right! Technically, by my count, it's Hallowe'en! Do you like the story? Coz your review confused me!
wolf-star100: Can I just say that was a confusing review? I hope you like this chapter, there's definitely action. Yeah, I know, it's not great, but I struggle to write big battle scenes. I'm doing my best. And it was with partial writer's block. But, I'm warning you, when I finally get past the writer's block to get to the chapters after the weddings... Well, I think I'm gonna be able to write that action much better. It's a much better idea, and less of an attack as a... Wait, I've said too much! Thanks anyway.
Thanks to everyone who reviewed. I doubt there's anyone out there who read and didn't review, but if there is, please review! I'm kinda desperate. Zeus, I am sad!
By the way, does anyone know what this 'Highly recommend story to others' button is about?
Keep reading, please!
Lol, Tanydwr