Title: Harry Potter and the Lady of Shadow
Author: le plume béni
Disclaimer: I plan to use many different ideas from many different sources… most of them not mine. Primarily this belongs to J. K. Rowling. Concepts may come from others such as Cate Tiernan, Anne McCaffrey, and Frank Herbert just to name a few. I'll be more specific when the ideas come up. Thanks to the above authors for coming up with the ideas in the first place!
Warning: be prepared for Harry/Draco slash… don't say I didn't warn you.
However, IA/N: Constructive criticism is welcome. Praise is as well dislike flames immensely. If you don't like it, don't read it.
Chapter Four
"Jade? Jade! Wake up!" a low voice said urgently as she was being shaken. The girl groaned and opened her eyes blearily to see Severus standing over her, a look of concern on his face.
"What – oh, fuck. Where's Harry? Is everything still standing? And what the hell are you doing here?" Jade demanded, sitting up carefully. She felt terrible. Her head pounded, she was nauseous, and she ached all over.
"Your creative language continues to astound me," Severus replied dryly. "Potter is right over there and unconscious, everything is – fortunately – still standing, and I'm here to warn you two. Potter's extravagant display could have probably been felt in China and the Dark Lord felt your magic as well. He now knows your exact whereabouts." Jade cursed colorfully and stood shakily. Severus caught her under her arms when she stumbled and slid an arm around her waist, just to keep her steady, he told himself.
"How long has it been?"
"Since the brat's Maturity? About an hour. I just got back from the meeting, so the Dark Lord will probably act soon."
"Goddess save us. I don't know where we could go. Muggle London would probably be safest…" Severus snorted and Jade glared. "Well, what do you suggest?"
"You could always come stay at Snape Manor. I rarely use it but house elves keep it in shape, and it's very well protected. The Dark Lord or Dumbledore would never suspect."
"Harry stays with me." Why does she always have to be so stubborn? Severus wondered.
"Potter may come as well," Severus gritted his teeth as he forced the words out. Merlin I'd never thought I'd see the day where a Potter would be in my home. "I'll bring him through the Floo."
"Go ahead, and open up the wards for me. I need to grab my things as well as his. I just say Snape Manor, right?" she said, carefully disentangling herself from the older man's arm and wanting nothing more than to return. No time for silliness, she rebuked herself sharply.
"Exactly. Don't take too long."
"I don't plan on it."
While Severus picked Harry up and carried him to the fireplace, a grimace of distaste gracing his features, Jade hurriedly went about grabbing their things. She closed and shrunk all of her luggage before doing the same with Harry's. By the time she was done Severus and Harry were gone. Feeling urgent and anxious, she prepared to enter the fireplace when a concentration of energy began to build up in the center of the room. Oh shit.
The scent of brimstone washed over her. In a matter of seconds she started to hear a harsh breathing, the room became unnaturally warm, and a cloud of smoke gathered around where she sensed the strange energy. It buzzed unpleasantly in her mind and gave Jade a bad feeling in her gut. In her line of work, it was necessary to carry a wealth of discreet weapons hidden all over her person. As a witch, it was easier for those weapons to be made even more discreet. For example, she wore a pendant on a silver chain around her neck that when the whispered the enlargement charm became a blue-steel katana. She grabbed said pendant and broke the chain, whispering the charm so that it became its normal size.
She wasn't a moment too soon. Suddenly, too quick for her dodge, a thin lash of fire licked at the cheek under her left eye, leaving a stinging cut in its wake. She hissed and slid a dagger free from its restraint on her right hip and threw it at the cloud of smoke veiling her attacker from view in retaliation. An enormous shadow grew in size as her attacker stepped closer to her.
What the hell…?
A demon.
True fear began to eat at Jade's stomach like acid. The being before her, a high-level demon most likely summoned by Lord Voldemort, had blackish red hide that sickeningly resembled badly burned skin. Its eyes were black with a point of red fire in its depths, and two strong and sharp looking horns added two additional feet to its height of about eight feet. It wielded a whip made of fire in its massive, clawed hand.
Taking deep breaths, she removed another dagger. Whispering a strengthening charm and a Dark curse, she three it again, burying it in the creatures thigh. It unleashed a terrible howl of pain and swung the whip of flame towards her once more. This time she dropped and rolled, coming up to his side. She whirled her blade faster than the eye could follow, chopping off his arm and avoiding the blackish blood that sprayed from the wound, as it seemed to be strongly corrosive. Maybe this won't be too bad, Jade though smugly, cheered by her minor success.
But the arm grew back.
"Fucking demons," she hissed under her breath. She had met a demon once before, maybe two years ago, but she hadn't been its target. The demon yanked her dagger out with a growl, and she absently noticed that that particular wound didn't close. Now let's see, let's see, what I know about demons…they were difficult to kill, and the remains of their victims were awful. Their one weakness, though, was… witchfire.
A special type of fire (not like Incendio) that was produced wandlessly and was less of a fire and more of a manifestation of pure magical energy. The blue flames that had surrounded Harry during his Maturity had been witchfire. Grinning viciously, she wove and dodged the demons attacks, noticing that they became more and more frenzied in its growing frustration. Seeing her opening, she plunged her weapon into its side and channeled her green magical flames into the being before her. It paused in confusion, then howled in pain before finally exploding. She quickly cast shields around her and the luggage to protect them from the acidic blood and gore.
That was fun, she thought sarcastically.
With a sigh, she tiredly shrunk her sword and conjured a new chain, securely fastening it around her neck. She lit the fire, which had gone out during her fight with the demon, and threw the powder inside. When the fire blazed green she stepped in, pulling her and Harry's belong after her, and said clearly, "Snape Manor."
Author's Notes
I really am not happy with this chapter… hopefully the next one will be better. I apologize. So far this story has been from Jade's point of view but that will change soon. The next chapter will probably be in her POV also but once Harry wakes up the story will mainly be from his view with side chapters in Jade's, Snape's, and Draco's POV, and maybe one from Hermione.
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