A/N: This is a continuation of The Archive Rejects, Chapter 19, the Untitled HP Fusion Idea. Yes, the one where I pulled a few elements from Bleach and insert them into the HPverse, taking the titles of "Sorceror" and "Warlock" and making them more than a simple political title or designation.
The following fight scene pretty much captures everything I wanted to for this fic idea.
Ron groaned in dread.
The day had not been going well. Death Eaters assaulted Hogsmeade, Harry, Luna, and Ginny were missing, the Headmaster and the Order of the Phoenix were probably too far to make it in time, Neville was losing a lot of blood and, the worst of all, He, Hermione, an injured Neville and a small collection of their classmates now stood toe to toe with the most feared Wizard in recent history.
Seeing the others were too frightened to even move, Ron steeled his own resolve and stepped out from the group. Voldemort raised a hairless eyebrow in response. "It looks as if we have a hero…"
"Ron…" Hermione began as she gripped his arm. Ron, however, shrugged her off and continued walking towards Voldemort.
"No, we can't hide behind Harry all the time. If I'm going to die, I'm going to do it fighting," Ron said sternly, not taking his gaze off of Voldemort.
"Such bravery… One couldn't expect anything less from a Weasley, and a friend of Harry Potter." the Dark Lord taunted.
Ron didn't respond, merely raising his wand. "Chivalry and Honor… Protect the weak and innocent with your will… King… Release!"
The effect was immediate. Many looked at Ron in awe at the amount of power he display, as well as unlocking the initial release of his magic
Voldemort, however, looked extremely bored as he took in every detail of the youngest male Weasley's new power. In the boy's hands was a rather ordinate golden scepter encrusted with rubies.
'Typical Gryffindor…' he mentally scoffed, but upon further study, he noticed something odd about the scepter. For one, it was a bit flat on the bottom. For two, the head of the scepter was unlike any he had ever seen and took the shape of a crown… A king's crown. Voldemort's slitted eyes narrowed. 'A chess piece…?'
"Knight to A4!" Ron shouted, pointed his wand at Voldemort. A large projectile, like a tombstone with a horse carved on the top went flying at Voldemort. The Dark Lord laughed at the boy's poor aim as he missed, until the giant chess piece made a ninety degree turn- right towards him.
Voldemort swept his wand towards the projectile and it immediately exploded into dust. However, Weasley was already on the attack once more.
Pointing to his left, Ron swept his scepter towards Voldemort, shouting "Bishop to A4!".
Voldemort was better prepared for this strike and with a flick of his wand, redirected it with little effort. Ron, meanwhile, thrust his scepter forward, "Rook to A4!" This one came straight at Voldemort, who slashed his wand from the ground to the air. The "Rook" was sliced in half. However, Weasley wasn't done. "Queen, A4!"
This piece, like the Rook, came straight at Voldemort, however, unlike the others, this one was glowing. Voldemort did not know the significance of this, but he didn't really care either.
He reached out with his left hand and, to the astonishment of everyone- Ron Weasley especially- caught the Queen with his bare hand. Voldemort then poked the giant chess piece with his wand and sent it back at its' creator.
Ron's eyes widened in horror.
"Pawn, G4!" he shouted, pointing the scepter at the ground. As many would expect, a giant pawn rose from the ground and collided with the Queen, who promptly blew up, sending Ron tumbling back towards the other students he fought to protect.
"Ron!" Hermione screamed. Many held her back from aiding her friend.
Voldemort chuckled in amusement. "You've amused me. You must fancy yourself to be quite the tactician. Too bad your opponent was I; Lord Voldemort, or else it might have worked."
Ron shakily stood up and walked towards the Dark Lord once more.
Many were impressed by Ron's show of bravery, despite the fact that he was fighting the Dark Lord alone and was completely outclassed. His eyes were set and narrowed, his gaze centered on Voldemort. He may have been battered and knocked around at every turn, but he most certainly wasn't beaten.
Yet.
Even Voldemort seemed to be impressed with Ron's resolve.
While on the outside, Ron was a fierce lion protecting his pride. On the inside, he was a bundle of nerves. Ron had put a lot of power into those attacks and Voldemort, who hadn't even activated the initial release on his magic, deflected each one with minimal effort. Hell, the Dark Lord even went as far as to reflect his most powerful attack back at him with his bare hand and a simple jab of his wand! He had known that Voldemort was powerful and far above him in magical power and skill, practically outclassed in everyway, but this was unreal!
Still, he would do his best to remain firm. "If you liked that… You'll love this… Final Release… CHECKMATE!"
Voldemort's eyes widened a fraction as Ron used a final release on his magic. Others gasped in shock, but none were more surprised than Hermione, who had no idea Ron had made it this far.
'I was not aware of this transformation… Potter and his friends are gaining too much power too fast. At this rate, they might actually become a threat…' Voldemort thought as he narrowed his eyes at the lone Gryffindor.
Magic permeated through the air, saturating everything around them. Suddenly, everything surrounding Ron and Voldemort turned black as a grid appeared underneath them. Ron's cloths turned into a red tunic and brown trousers, much like the ones worn by the knights of old. He began to glow, and a golden breast plate, pauldrons, grieves, and bracers appeared on him, and then a golden chain mail hood, and a sword with a golden hilt encrusted with rubies and a red scabbard and a golden crown with rubies materialized.
'Typical Gryffindor…' Voldemort mentally scoffed.
Finally, a red cape with a fury, white trim with black dots appeared around his shoulders as the grid turned into a giant chess board. Voldemort noted that sometime during the metamorphosis he had been shifted so that he was no longer right in front of Weasley and was standing on a white square. It wasn't fully apparent to him why this happened until he was suddenly surrounded by giant black chess pieces.
'A giant chess board…' Voldemort noted, 'Both are the kings of our respective sides.'
"Now I'm truly impressed…" Voldemort appraised Ron, "And I had thought that only exceptional wizards like myself, Dumbledore or Potter could achieve such a feat at such a young age. Despite how… Mediocre… You appear, you are truly a king among paupers. It is for that reason alone, that I acknowledge you as a worthy opponent."
Ron had to fight the blush that threatened to appear due to Voldemort's praise. He had never been praised so highly before and it felt nice, even if it was praise from his best friend's nemesis.
"However, it was all for naught, as the end result will still be the same," Voldemort added as he raised his wand.
"Magic won't work here," Ron informed him. "And in this world, you can only move according to the rules of the game."
Voldemort knew he was a more than competent chess player, having bested Gryffindor's pride and joy, Minerva McGonagall on more than one occasion, while they had attended school. However, the Weasley boy's Initial and Final Releases were Chess themed and thus there was a lingering doubt in his mind that the boy might actually be able to best him, within the rules of this pocket universe.
"Ah, but you forget, I am Lord Voldemort," the Dark Lord stated as he held his wand by the handle, pointed downward. "I will show you the difference between those who have achieved their Final Release and those who have truly mastered it. Arise from the depths, Lord of Serpents… Raze the land with your gaze… Basilisk… Release."
Lightening surged from Voldemort's hand and his wand became a long black staff with the head of a Basilisk (which was silver) at the top, the eyes of which were amber colored. Ron felt sickened by the feel of the Dark Lord's power.
Voldemort then slammed the end of the staff on the board. Glowing yellow cracks instantly appeared and webbed out through the rest of the board, even the pieces. Once every inch of the board was covered, it and the pieces shattered and dissipated into nothingness. Even Ron's armor dissolved into thin air, leaving him with only what he was wearing before and his golden scepter.
Ron fell to his knees, exhausted. 'Damn it…'
"Good bye, Weasley," Voldemort pointed the end of the staff at Ron, and a bolt of yellow magic shot from the eyes straight at Ron.
There was a 'pop' and suddenly Hermione Granger materialized in front of Ron, her right arm thrust out in front of her and in her left hand, a book that was rapidly flipping through pages. Once it stopped, she cried out, "Aegis Fortis!"
A dome of translucent silver magic engulfed both her and Ron. However, Voldemort's stream of magic was too strong and shattered the shield and struck Hermione in the chest.
"HERMIONE!" Ron shouted as she flew over him and was sent sprawling onto the ground between him and the others. She did not move once she hit the ground. Upon impact, the book she held in her arms tumbled out of her slackened grip. It began to glow and then burst in a myriad of colorful sparks, Hermione's dragon heartstring and oak wand was left in the place of the large tome that had slipped from her grip.
"Herm… Hermione…" Ron whispered hopelessly.
"Foolish girl, such a futile effort," Voldemort mocked with a chuckle. Ron didn't appear to have heard him as he continued to stare at Hermione's seemingly lifeless form, his back to Voldemort. "You're shaking, finally afraid Weasley? As you should be. This is the price that all pay should they defy me."
Ron was in fact shaking, however, when he faced the Dark Lord, his face was a mask of pure fury, his eyes glowing with power.
"So you do have some fight left in you…"
"More than that…" Ron spat. He raised his scepter, seemingly focusing everything he had into it. Much like his eyes, it was glowing as well, "King's Sacrifice!"