A/N I just type this up this morning, no beta, so forgive the short length. Reflections is coming people, just hang on till the end of the World Cup, 'cause I truly intend for that to be an excellent series, unlike this crap, and I can't do that while watching the football, can I… Read and Review people! Help this poor newbie out! J
The Deadly Duet
Some would say it was poetic.
I thought it was pathetic.
I, Ron, and Hermione had spent three years journeying the world, trying to gather the Horcruxes. A chance magical mishap had led us to discover the hiding place of the mysterious wizard Caradoc Dearborn. The cranky old man had quickly subdued all three of us, and clearly was about to 'dispose' of them when he seemed to suddenly stop and take note of my facial features, and promptly held off until he could fully question them. Then Dearborn surprised them by offering us a magical apprenticeship with him. We had agreed, sworn the appropriate apprenticeship oaths, and spent most of the next one and a half years learning of magic through a new paradigm.
Strangely, it was Ron who had taken to spell-creation like a shark to sea-water. His chess master's mind, so used to viewing a chess game in so many different directions at once, was easily able to comprehend how various quirks of ambient magic, and the caster's core, as well as incants and motions, could affect the flows of magic that accompanied a spell casting. He had proceeded to nest several charms that allowed us to destroy the locket Horcrux, which we had acquired from a Dark wizard who had left a trail leading to the town of Pernambuco, in Brazil. The unfortunate had sensed that old Fletcher was selling an object of great power, but did not know exactly what it was. We managed to 'relieve' him of it, with no one the wiser.
Hermione had seemed to find her niche in researching various magical artefacts for us, and enchanting several useful items for us. She also was our resident Potions brewer; though she lacked the inspired genius of Hector Dagworth-Granger, the Half-Blood Prince's old Potions text book was a more than worthy substitute. She it was who got us to follow in the Marauders' footsteps and become Animagi.
We promptly conjured a mirror and cast the appropriate scrying charm for our forms. Of course, that was merely the beginning, as we had to then write specific spells to transform our bodies and brains, before writing an entire set of Latin sentences each that would render us beasts. Not to talk about the potion we had to brew, and the stepwise charms rites to be performed before even turning our hands to paws or claws. But it was worth it in the end.
Ron's Animagus form, appropriately enough, was a Jack Russell terrier; probably due to his overwhelming loyalty to his friends and family. Hermione turned out to be a brown fox. She was very fond of jumping over Ron while he was taking a nap as Rufus. Ron, strangely, christened her Bast.
"The Egyptian goddess of cats, Harry! A right irony, seeing as she's a canine, rather than a feline, eh mate?"
And me? Well, I turned out to be a griffin. Simply love the form, but it was far too conspicuous a form to go running in. After all, the mountain refuge we were being taught in was quite visible to the Muggles. And I was simply called Goldflash by a smiling Hermione.
Master Dearborn also shared a discovery he had made just before he had gone into hiding. It was actually possible to perform wandless magic. Apparently, magic in a newly-born wizard was formless, kind of like a raging flood. Since it was still unstructured, a child could accomplish accidental magic by forcing his will onto the magic. Apparently, between the ages of eight to eleven, the magic gained a 'crust', of sorts, which was why it was near impossible to cast spells without foci. From there, Hermione had taken up the slack, positing that if we could render some of our magic formless again we could perform wandless magic. And so, falling into trances, we all tried to access our body core of magic and break the protective crust in places. Predictably, I didn't listen to Hermione's warnings to break about a quarter of the crust, and broke three-quarters of it, instead. Now my magic is a bit unstable, but I can actually do everything I could do before with a wand, which was more than could be said for Ron, who could cast a few minor attack spells, or Hermione who could only cast the minor charms wandlessly.
We also finally discovered something very different about my magic. When the Master told me that I didn't need duelling lessons, as I was the most skilled dueller he had seen since a young Dumbledore, I was predictably confused.
"But Snape practically ate me for breakfast the last time we duelled!" I had said in a fit of consternation. He was confused, since by his estimation, my Dad had been on the same skill level as Snape, and I was a better dueller than my Dad.
Further studies actually showed that my magic was strangely inattuned to feelings of rage and hatred. Where Ron would dispose of two opponents at once when they put the Cruciatus on his mother, I would slow down inexplicably. The Master suggested I try some calming techniques related to Occlumency, even if I was supremely unsuited to study it, unlike Hermione, whose logical mind made her a first-rate Occlumens. I secretly felt that perhaps that the Prophecy had manifested itself, and I would probably be a right menace if I had just kissed Ginny.
When Voldemort took over Hogwarts, and set up base in the Chamber of Secrets, we formed an infiltration plan to get to him and destroy him, his snake and Snape. Of course, we hadn't counted on Ginny, Neville, and Luna joining us. We also hadn't anticipated Snivellus killing Nagini for us as soon as he saw us. The Marauder's Map was a great aid in our evading the Death Eaters leading up to the Chamber.
"So, you believe you can defeat me? Lord Voldemort! You have no idea of the magicks I have delved into to secure my immortality, Potter! You have just sealed your fate."
I didn't bother revealing to Riddle that his Horcruces (Hermione had been on at us for a long time about the corrct plural form of 'Horcrux') and threw a number of Percutio spells at him, but he merely waved his wand and blocked them all. And then we duelled in earnest.
The best thing about the duel with Voldemort was that it was short. He was wearing me down, all my new-found skills useless against his inexorable power, when I had a brainwave: if his anger and hatred could cause me pain, then the love I had for my friends would be debilitating for him. I promptly began to drag up memories of all the good times with my friends. Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Remus, Sirius, the Weasleys, Neville, Luna… and while he was reeling with pain, I promptly cast a ripper curse at his brain. Lord Voldemort promptly ceased to be. Only for us to face our next problem.
While I had been duelling Riddle, Snape had actually been setting traps for my friends, who had been mopping up the Death Eaters within Hogwarts by stealth. When I had finally defeated my nemesis, Snape had shown up. I had actually been prepared for him to say that killing Dumbledore had all been part of an elaborate plan to help me from the inside, when he cast a Killing Curse at me. Apparently, old Snivelly had been waiting for just the opportunity to take over, and felt he could easily kill the victor of my duel with Riddle. And I have to say, he might have actually succeeded, had it not been for a little spitfire name Ginny Weasley. She had actually not been caught by Snape's traps, and promptly cast the mother of all bat-bogey hexes at him. From there, a striking spell, a quick rope spell, and it was off to the Daily Prophet.
I don't think what I've been living after that was exactly a happily ever after. After all, in the year 2001, I and Ginny are still trying for a first baby…
A/N the reference to Pernambuco is in honour of a chap I know will most likely never read this. Juninho Pernambucano of Brazil, currently in Germany at the World Cup (of soccer, to you Yanks), is a real intellectual who gives the lie to the generalization that all footballers are idiots and border line thugs. It is actually a real place, a quaint little town if you ever get to Brazil which you absolutely should not miss. And the Animagic in this story is based on model used in the Dangerverse AU series by whydoyouneedtoknow. It's the best AU around. No kidding!