Lily dashed though the trees nimbly as if she was a deer, racing towards her prey. Suddenly she could see them and she stopped abruptly. Crouching between two tall pine trees she peered out at the clearing in front of her.
The scene was exactly as she had seen it before, but with one small difference. Around the montage she had previously seen stood several hooded figures. Her mind flashed back to the last time she had been in the forest. That time he had fled, but she had the distinct impression that things would be totally different this time. But so was she! The last time she had been unable to do anything and as an indirect result people had died. Well, this time would be different, she vowed to herself, this time I'm going to fight!
Their arms were raised to the sky, wands in hand, and they chanted in unison their words harsh and menacing. Above black storm clouds were beginning to gather, swirling angrily in the air, as if angry and being summoned and controlled thus. The wind blew stronger, whipping their robes around them. The arms of their robes were rolled up to reveal identical tattoos on their right arm in the picture of a skull. She gasped, confirmation of what she had already known, these were the same people as had been committing all those murders- Death Eaters. She had been right. But it didn't make it any less of a shock to see the actual mark. Somehow it made everything more real and terrible.
As she watched carefully, trying to gauge what the best course of action to take would be, a solitary figure stepped into the centre of the circle. His robes were well-cut and his sleeves were down. He threw back his hood to reveal what would have been a handsome face were it not for the menacing sneer plastered across his face and the manic gleam in his eyes. Raising his wand above his head the storm clouds thickened again and a low rumble of thunder filled the air and reverberated through the ground, setting of a gentle humming from the black crystals.
Tired of watching and compelled to action by the pitiful look in the young unicorns' eyes she leapt out of the bushes and threw out a hand willing the wand out of the hand of the centre figure, throwing caution to the wind; her mind and body ablaze with an inhuman feeling of anger and power.
His wand shot away from him high into the air and he whipped round to face her. He snarled in rage and shouted,
"Kill her!"
The others left their chanting and turned on her. The clouds above started to disperse, no longer anchored to the one place. She barely had time to dive behind a large stone before numerous bright green spells shot after her.
'Back!' she willed and stood up throwing her hands out in front of her. They all flew backwards; several collided heavily with trees and fell limp to the ground. Others landed in bushes and fought to free themselves.
"No!" she ordered and clenched her fists. Suddenly the plants shot out long tendrils and lashed round the limbs of the struggling figures. Several of the plants were thorny and the masked figures cried out in pain,
"Master!"
She span round to see the leader pick up his wand. Anxiously she noticed that she was now stood where she would have no cover from his spells.
"Crucio!" He shouted at her.
Lily shot her arms up in front of her, willing with all her might for it not to touch her. The spell deflected onto the ground at her feet, the grass singed and smoking with the impact of the spell. Drops of sweat were running down her face, and her hands stung as if they had been physically hit. She started to run for cover.
"Crucio!"
This time it hit her. She fell to the ground screaming in agony. Her eyes wide she stared up at the sky as her body convulsed. If only there had been a moon….but only the stars gleamed back at her…the stars…
She closed her eyes and summoned their light, seeing in her mind tendrils of white light flowing down into her fists, clenched in pain. Fighting to ignore the skull-splitting pain racking her body she concentrated until she could stand it no longer.
She yelled aloud and threw her hands up, unclenching her fists. A bright ball of light surrounded her and the pain stopped. Shaking, she got to her feet, pulling the light into a shield she held with her mind in front of her.
The leader fired spell after spell at her and it was all she could do to hold the shield in place. Slowly she was pushed further and further back towards the trees. The other Death Eaters had now managed to free themselves from the bushes and were headed to their master's aid. She knew that she wouldn't be able to hold the combined power of their spells.
She clapped her hands together and the shield exploded in a brilliant ball of white light. The Death Eaters raised their hands to cover their eyes and she ran into the trees.
As she sat panting and shaking behind a tree she heard them cursing. Their leader was sending a pair of them to find her. The other returned to brewing the storm. Lily clutched her arms round her and felt tears welling up in her eyes. She was so tired and she hadn't managed to do anything to help them other than a few injuries and disrupting their spell!
She fell forwards onto her knees, "Help me!" she whispered, her head bowed.
The sound of rustling leaves filled her ears and she looked up. The circle of trees that she was knelt between shimmered brightly and Lily squinted. She couldn't possibly be seeing what she was seeing! There was no way that- she was interrupted by a host of silvery voices.
"We are here."
Silver figures, translucent like ghosts but brighter as if filled with the light of the stars materialised from out of the trees. Each one of them had bright green eyes and long red hair. Each the same and yet different.
"We are here."
Lily looked up as the nearest to her walked- no not walked, more like floated- towards her. Her long red hair was contrasted with several long tresses of raven-black hair.
"Who are you?" Lily whispered in awe.
She smiled, "In my day I had a different name, but now I am one of the Moonlit Ones, forever bound to the world by my choices. In a way I am you- the Huntress from ages past."
Lily looked round in wonder, "Are you all Huntress'?"
"We are. But not all are here. Some chose…different paths."
Lily was about to ask more but the loud rumble of thunder overhead brought the current situation rushing back to her, "I-"
"We know." She held a long silver nailed finger to her lips and held out her hands to the other women that stood around. They joined their hands together in the centre and chanted softly, slowly beginning to spin round. Their voices rose and they looked up, spinning faster and faster.
"It is time!" they cried, spinning so fast that they seemed to be one and the same person.
Suddenly they came to a halt and drew apart. As the one who had spoken to her drew apart and turned to her, Lily noticed something in her hands that had not been there before.
It was made from the purest silver, crafted into a hunting horn. It was covered in engravings that were studded with diamonds that gleamed and glittered even the muted light around them.
She held it to Lily who reached out to take it reverently. "Do not drop it," she was warned, "no matter what happens you must not drop it or it will break."
Lily nodded her understanding and took it. Immediately a burning cold shot up though her fingers from where she gripped the handle. If it hadn't been for the warning Lily would have dropped it instantly. She stared at the horn in her hands, this was her weapon?!?
She looked up questioningly. The other smiled benevolently down at her, but she could see behind it a fierce wildness tempered by their inestimable age.
"Blow the horn." They said with one voice, "Fill the night with sound."
Then before her eyes they backed away and seemed to be blown away in the next gust of wind.
"Wait!" she called. But it was too late.
Sighing she looked back down at the horn. Her fingers were almost numb with cold and- wait a minute- she brought her hands up to her face. They were turning silver! Her hands from finger-tips to knuckles were the same silver as her nails had been. Lily stared wide-eyed.
A flash of lightening brought her back to her senses. And then she heard movement behind her in the bushes. Ignoring it for the moment she stealthily crept back to the clearing, making sure her back was concealed.
A blackened area where the lightening had struck the grass stood just to the side of one of the crystals. Again the Death Eaters were stood round, their arms lifted skywards and chanting. Their leader was busy muttering too, his wand pointed at the sky that rumbled and flashed with lightening. And in an instant she knew what he meant to do. He was trying to get the lightening to strike the crystals.
She frowned and gripped the horn tightly. Focusing on the look of terror in the eyes of the trapped unicorns she marshalled her wits and stood up and lifted the horn to her lips.
Stepping into the clearing she took a deep breath and blew into the horn. At once a clear and loud sound filled the air. The very ground vibrated as the sound continued to pour from the horn. The people in the clearing screamed and covered their ears, falling to the ground in agony. Lily felt the ringing in her ears too, but she knew she needed to keep on going.
Walking further into the clearing to stand in the centre a few metres from their leader, who too was rolling on the floor clutching his ears, she continued to sound the horn. Her lungs felt like they were going to burst and yet somehow she kept on going, focusing on the crystals that had begun to quiver.
They shook more and more violently until Lily dropped to her knees, still blowing the horn. Her head throbbed and her arms felt numb. With a loud splintering the crystals exploded. The tiny unicorns inside stumbled forwards, unhurt and Lily took her lips from the horn, gasping for breath.
The figures all around were still, but she knew they were not all dead. With shaking hands she slung the horn round her and began to crawl towards the unicorns though the fragments of black crystal mingled with silver blood, too weak to stand.
And all at once adult unicorns appeared around her rearing up in silent acknowledgment of her victory. She smiled weakly as the parents trotted forwards anxiously to claim their children. It was over. And she had survived. In her hands the horn glowed with the light of the moon.
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A/N: Tada! What did you think? It's so nice to see how many reviews I'm getting now I love you guys!! I almost have 200 *screams excitedly* All the impatient reviews made me laugh, especially Helen-you're a sweetie! Have a signed photo of Sirius^__^
Ginny-No the Moonlit Ones are definitely not all at Hogwarts, in fact Lily's more or less the only one of them alive now.
Jen-Jen: you're conclusions were right, if James wants to see Lily 'properly' each time he sees her he has to do the spell unless Lily voluntarily removes him from it herself.
Nittie iz, thank you so much, that's what I thought too!
Athene Salie- I can't believe you guessed about the horn! Amazing, girl!
Next chapter, proper explanations!