A/N: Right, so I sat on these last few chapters for a while. I wasn't sure if this was the best place to leave this series after so long. But every story has to have an end and this is it. Thank you for everyone that has read, reviewed and liked this series and I hope you have enjoyed the ride.
xXx
Callum cursed as Blake went down.
"Lower the shield!" Callum barked and Bill quickly did as the man ordered.
Callum rushed forward with a blade of dark magic of his own. He swung it at the man crouched over Blake's form. Roman scrambled back and threw up a shield as Callum smashed his blade down on him with rage burning in his eyes. He pushed the man back, the dark magic pushing on him to kill. One glance at Blake silenced that voice. He was here to protect and not kill as he swung the blade back around.
Roman's eyes widened and he shouted something in French but Callum just keep pushing forward as he threw up a shield around Blake. Roman's eyes darted around before with a puff of dark magic he disappeared. Callum stumbled forward slightly before catching his balance with his sword out as his eyes darted around.
He stepped back towards Blake and could still feel the man's light magic on the air. He'd tried to do something with his light magic before he'd collapsed. He crouched down as Bill and Melissa hurried forward to cover him. He dismissed the blade and gently grabbed Blake's shoulder and gave it a pull. The man rolled limply onto his back, completely out. He touched his fingers to his neck and his pulse was strong under his fingertips.
"Did the dark magic touch him?" Bill whispered with wide eyes.
"Yes," Callum replied as he pushed the man's shirt up to reveal the vest under it.
Callum pulled the Velcro loose on the sides, then winced at the red line running across the man's skin.
"Give me a hand," Callum ordered and Melissa helped him remove Blake's shirt and vest.
Callum noticed Melissa's eyes catching on the man's scars over his back. He laid his hand on the red line and pulled at the dark magic burning into the other man's skin. Sweat came to his brow as he drew off the magic and cast it to the side. The red line started to fade from sight.
"He was tortured," Melissa said softly. "But these are old scars. Whip marks."
Callum looked up at her sharply.
"Yes," Callum replied shortly.
Melissa started and looked him in the eyes before giving him a hand to redress the man. Blake groaned and blinked his eyes open just as Callum laid him back down.
"Back with us?" Callum asked as he laid a hand on his shoulder.
"For now," Blake croaked and Bill held out a water bottle. "Any coffee?"
Callum gave the man a fond smile. Only Blake could take an attack like that and the first thing he asks for is coffee. Blake gave him a grin, but Callum could see the pain in his eyes. They were both good at hiding how they felt.
xXx
Harry laid his head back against the shield, that Bill had cast around them, once they'd made their way back down to the dance hall that they'd started in. He could feel the magic under him in the floor boards but it was fainter than last time. It had put a lot of magic in the image of Roman and the magic that the man had pulled on.
Harry looked over to Bill and Callum as they spoke quietly before he picked up the flask of coffee that Bill had had in his pack and kicked himself for not thinking of the same thing. Melissa stood off to the side and was picking at the invisible cord around her wrist that was connected to Bill. Her eyes darted over to him and he gave her a small smile but she just looked away.
The other two men strolled over to him and looked down at him.
"Yes?" Harry asked, drawing out the word.
"You are the senior here," Callum said with a smirk.
"Why thanks," Harry remarked in amusement. "Was there a point to that statement?"
"What would you suggest as our next move, boss?" Callum smirked.
"Nothing," Harry replied. "It's getting late. I think we should sleep in turns and we'll try again in the morning. The magic has settled for now."
"We're not leaving?" Melissa whispered, coming closer.
"No," Harry answered with a frown. "Why would we?"
"But the dark magic and you can't draw on your magic and…" She trailed off and looked at the other two men for help.
"Power and magic are not everything," Harry told her. "The house is thinking about its next move as well. If we leave, it could close the door behind us and everything in here could be lost."
"It's not alive," Melissa scoffed and Harry could tell she was frustrated.
"Isn't it?" Harry asked instead and Callum groaned.
"It's a house!" Melissa exclaimed.
Harry leaned his head back against the shield and looked the woman over.
"Are you a pureblood?" Harry asked and the two other men sucked in a breath.
"Yes," Melissa confirmed with a sniff.
"Then you grew up in a house like this?" Harry pressed.
"What does that have to do with anything?" Melissa asked with a smirk.
"When you were a child," Harry continued. "And you got into trouble, how did the house feel? Did it comfort you or help you out of trouble?"
Melissa went to say something then stopped.
"Did it call your parents to help you or defend you against your brother?" Harry prompted. "Did it protect you and give you comfort. Did it greet you when you came home from school?"
"They were just the wards," Melissa sneered.
Harry gave a lopsided grin as he looked at the woman mildly.
"Did it feel alive?" Harry suggested.
"No!" Melissa exclaimed but Harry could see that woman wasn't sure.
"What about your school?" Harry asked her.
Melissa snapped her mouth closed on her words.
"You have drawn on your dark magic," Harry pointed out. "Did it feel like it had a mind of its own? Like it's alive?"
"Of course not!" Melissa scoffed and Bill groaned.
She looked over at him before focusing on Harry and he raised an eyebrow in question.
"Then you do not understand the magic that you hold," Harry said simply.
Melissa reeled back from his words.
"You are still young and learning," Harry stated then looked over at Bill. "And in need of more lessons."
"But you don't look much older than Bill!" Melissa cried in frustration.
Bill and Callum both groaned this time.
"Looks are deceiving," Harry replied. "How old do you think Rolf Dracka is?"
"He's a vampire," Melissa countered. "He could be any age."
Harry gave the woman a smile as her eyes locked with his.
"And I hold the Deathly Hallows," Harry reminded her as he leaned forward and let his arms rest on his knees. "How old do you think I am?"
Melissa looked between them all.
"I've heard rumours about you," Melissa said into the silence.
"Some of them are true," Callum butt in before Harry could and he glared at the man.
Melissa huffed a breath as her eyes flicked between the three men before turning away. She walked over and knelt down before her backpack. She pulled it open and Harry gave her that. He was sure that his words had shaken her.
Bill crouched down beside him.
"She's still a child, Blake." Bill reminded him.
"Everyone is to me, Bill." Harry drawled in amusement. "Even Dracka…well, he's more like a randy teenager."
Callum barked a laugh before moving off as Bill clapped a hand to his shoulder before following the other man. Harry leaned his head back against the shield again and closed his eyes.
xXx
Melissa's eyes kept being drawn back to Blake but it looked like the man had just fallen asleep sitting there while she slowly ate the sandwich in her hand. Seeing her brother and the words that he'd spoken to her had shaken her. Her words with Bake had not helped settle her thoughts.
She hated feeling like a child and being looked down on. Blake had done both while sitting on the floor and making statements that just confused her. She felt like she was missing something and it put her on edge, this house was unlike anything that she'd dealt with before. Normally she would have just been tearing down, working up or making new wards. This was something completely new and different.
"Blake doesn't sugar coat his words, Melissa." Bill offered as he took a seat next to her. "And if he gives you warnings, heed them."
"Who is he?" Melissa asked.
"In what way?" Bill asked with a quirk to his lips. "He is Blake Sun."
"I've heard rumours…" Melissa let the sentence hang.
"You are best to think of him as Blake Sun," Bill suggested. "And no one else. You have met Harry Potter."
Melissa nodded and she had done what she was sure a lot of people had done lately and compared the two men. Looking for similarities beyond the Potter line.
"Is he really from the future?" She asked with a smirk.
"He is," Bill answered and that shut her up, she hadn't been expecting the man to confirm that. "And he will tell you nothing of what is to come unless he feels like it or gives you a warning."
"And the two Dark Lords that he's fought?" Melissa asked.
"Dead by his hand or his son's hand," Bill said simply and looked her over.
"Is he a Dark Wizard?" She pressed, unsure, since she couldn't feel any magic off the man at the moment.
"He is," Bill confirmed. "His words couldn't be more true, Melissa. Looks are deceiving and he is a living truth of that. He is a good man."
"He said that I'm under his protection," Melissa said softly. "What does that mean?"
"What he said," Bill answered in amusement. "He has decided that you fall under his protection and once he sets his mind on something. It's very hard to get him to change it."
"He barely knows me," Melissa whispered and started to think she hadn't thought her words through.
"He has been keeping tabs on you," Bill informed her with a grin. "You have been trying to get an apprenticeship with him after all."
Melissa blushed at those words and Bill gave a laugh.
"He won't take what I said against me?" Melissa asked and glanced over at the man.
"He can have one hell of a temper if you set him off," Bill warned her. "But he has been a teacher for a long time Melissa and you are still learning."
xXx
Harry started awake from a nightmare with the feeling of terror still running through his veins. He looked around for danger while Callum looked back at him with soft eyes. Harry sighed and ran a hand over his head as his heart started to slow down. He couldn't remember the nightmare, just the terror.
"Here," Callum offered while he held out a mug and he could smell the coffee.
"Thanks," Harry replied in a whisper.
Melissa and Bill were still sleeping and from the slight light coming through the windows, it was just past dawn.
"Still having problems sleeping?" Callum whispered as he took a seat next to him. His legs brushing against his.
"Yeah," Harry agreed as he sipped on the coffee. "Severus and Dracka are being good about it. I find my way to the couch sometimes just to give them a break."
"How is that going? With Severus and Dracka?"
"Still strange," Harry admitted as he rubbed his stomach absentmindedly. "Severus has a lot of patience."
Callum gave him an odd look.
"Not when he's teaching potions," Callum muttered and Harry snorted and gave the man a grin.
"I'm going to check out the magic in the house," Harry said softly. "Keep an eye out."
Harry closed his eyes and felt out the magic in the house. This didn't require him to call on his magic as he sent his mind out. He pushed the magical signals of the people around him to the side due to the fact they weren't moving as he pushed further out.
The floor they were on was clear and the floors above. He then turned his attention down and felt a thud of dark magic and turned towards that. He cast his mind down and found the heart of the house and the wards and he very carefully had a look. His stones had done a good job of creating cracks in the workings of the wards. He could feel the wards fighting against the corruptive magic but he knew it wouldn't be enough for the house wards to hold without a living relative.
He pulled back gently and took a better look around the basement level and how to get down before pulling away from that and casting his mind out to the grounds. Something was out there and he frowned. That's when he noticed the arch that he'd made and the thick ward holding the gate closed and cursed silently. That was going to be fun. He could only hope that when they broke through the heart of the house that the ward would fail.
He pulled back completely before picking up the connection with Severus. He frowned when he found the man awake at such an early hour.
'Why are you awake?' Harry asked across the link.
'Blake!' Severus called back but it was very faint and Harry kicked up the connection and felt a slight pain in his chest.
'Severus?' Harry asked and knew he wouldn't be able to hold the link like this for long.
'The gate locked behind you,' Severus said quickly, knowing he couldn't hold it. 'Are you alright?'
'Yes,' Harry replied. 'The dark magic in the house is alive. We are working our way through. I've seen the gate.'
'Why is the connection hurting you?' Severus asked in concern.
'I cut myself accidently,' Harry explained quickly as the pain started to increase. 'The house linked it in with the wards. It's stopping me from using magic.'
'I've been trying to use the connection,' Severus said, the words fading in and out as Harry held the connection.
'I have to let it go,' Harry said quickly and let it go.
Harry gasped as he opened his eyes and grabbed his head and Callum rubbed his back. His dark magic brushing against him and Harry took comfort from that. He lifted his head, once the pain had eased off, and reached for his coffee. Callum didn't say anything about the shaking in his hand.
"The heart of the house is in the basement," Harry reported, once he had finished the coffee. "We'll have to work our way down there. The gate closed behind us and a ward has sprung up blocking it. I'm hoping that when we break through the heart of the house, that will release the gate."
"All good news then," Callum said snidely.
"Oh, and there is something lurking on the grounds," Harry remarked as he pulled a bottle of water from his bag.
"Something?" Callum asked as he rolled his eyes. "I love your descriptions, Blake."
Harry bumped the other man's shoulder softly and the two men fell into comfortable silence.
xXx
Harry stood on the other side of the barrier spell that Bill had placed as he took in the magic around him. He couldn't dip into his own magic too far or the house would grab it, but it did give him an idea. He leaned back on the barrier behind him and heard Callum snort.
"Drop the barrier," Callum muttered to Bill and Harry glanced over his shoulder. "What?"
Harry just shook his head as he closed his eyes and cast his mind out. He could feel the house taking an interest in him since he was outside the barrier. He could feel that the magic was cautious on him now even with the limitations placed on him. He'd made a mistake and he would have to work around it and yet…Harry smirked.
He pushed off from the barrier and turned to the others with a smirk and Callum groaned.
"I know that look," Callum complained. "That's a Blake idea look…this can't end well."
Harry laughed and waved his hand.
"Then that's a warning for what's coming," Harry stated. "Bill you can lower the barrier. It's time to set to work."
The barrier dropped and Harry felt the magic in the house change, it was preparing itself.
"Bill," Harry ordered quickly. "Flare out with your light magic."
Bill did just that as he let his light magic flare out and a high pitched squeal sounded on the air. The magic retreated and Harry grinned.
"Callum, your turn." Harry stated as he dropped his bag to the floor and reached in.
He felt Callum flare out with his dark magic and felt the whispers in the back of his mind kick up as the house groaned. Harry pulled out a silver axe from his bag and held it up with a grin.
"Get ready," Harry called as he pulled his bag back onto his shoulders. "Bill, flare your magic again, then Callum on my mark."
Both men nodded as Harry stepped up to the closest wall and braced his feet. Bill flared out with his light magic and Harry grabbed the link that the house had made with him.
"Now," Harry shouted.
Callum flared out his dark magic as Harry flared his and felt that pain in his chest but the house had been distracted. Harry swung the axe and smashed it into the wall. A scream sounded on the air that raised the hairs on his arms.
"Again, Callum!"
Callum flared his magic again as Harry swung the axe and smashed a hole in the wall. A wind suddenly sprung to life as Harry readied himself and held the axe up. He could feel the magic building to take him on. Could almost hear the hissing of snakes and the screams from inhuman throats.
"Bill," Harry shouted.
Light magic flared out and the wind picked up as Harry braced himself and held that connection.
"Callum!"
Dark magic flared out and Harry added his to the mix as he swung the axe and smashed through the wall. He dropped his magic the second that he was through and before the house could grab it.
"Once more."
Light magic flared again then dark and Harry smashed all the way through the wall and into the basement.
"Ha!" Harry yelled. "Callum, blast that apart!"
Harry quickly jumped to the side before a ball of pure dark magic smashed into the hole that he'd made. Wood and plaster went flying as Bill threw up a shield before them. Melissa gasped as they looked through the wall to see the basement level of the house.
"How can that be the basement?" Melissa uttered in disbelief.
"Magic house," Bill added.
"Heart of the house," Harry explained as he passed his axe to Bill. "Get ready. Callum, if I go down. You have to get to that crystal in the middle of the room. You will need to use a silver weapon and be prepared for the backlash."
"Yes, boss." Callum answered as he summoned a dark magic sword to his hand.
Harry summoned his sword and stepped through the gap that Callum had made. The room was huge with bare earth and high ceiling. It reminded Harry a little of a cave but with a wooden slat roof. The house had gone silent around them but Harry knew that it wouldn't last. He took another step forward as the others followed him.
A mist started to creep along the ground and Harry kept a close eye on it. He knew that the house was thinking as Harry took in the large crystal on the pedestal in the middle of the room. He could see the cracks from the wards being linked in with the corrupted stones that he'd placed. The corruptive dark arts eating away at the magic.
Harry started when the mists suddenly swirled and a thin figure appeared before the crystal with his bone sword in his hand.
"Callum," Harry inquired as he brought his sword up. "Do you see the man before us?"
"No," Callum replied.
"Right," Harry remarked. "Spread out and keep an eye out, I'll deal with this."
"Blake?" Callum pressed.
"I have a feeling that I know what he is," Harry said and walked forward carefully.
Suddenly squealing sounded on the air as small shapes moved through the mists and Callum cursed. Harry didn't need to look to know that the monsters were cutting him off from the others and he could feel the cord on his wrist pulling. He used his sword to cut through the spell and took his sword in both his hands. He needed ease of movement more than the need to be connected with the others. He focused on the figure before him and took in his thin form.
"Just who are you then?" Harry asked as he stepped to the side carefully. "I'm guessing that you are a relative of the Lestrange family. Were you the man to build this house or unlucky enough to be the first person to die here?"
"Death is only the beginning," the man rumbled as he circled around. "With my blood the wards were born."
"Ah," Harry uttered in understanding. "That is why the wards were so strong. Blood wards were laid with a death. Did you go willingly?"
The man suddenly spun in close with inhuman speed and Harry skipped back a step. He brought his sword up in a two handed block and that bone sword smashed into the weapon. He grunted at the impact and pushed back against the man before him. The skeleton thin man bared yellowed teeth at him and pushed harder. Harry slid slightly on the earth under his shoes and knew he wouldn't be able to match the man on strength alone.
He slipped back on his right leg and twisted. The bone sword slid to the side and Harry quickly dropped his sword and let himself fall into roll. He quickly called his sword to his hand as he pushed himself to his feet and brought his sword around. Both swords collided with a ringing and Harry pushed to the side again and unbalanced the man. He tried to lunge forward but the man disappeared and Harry dropped to the ground with a grunt.
That bone sword whistled in the air above his head and Harry barrelled forward to tackle the man as he overbalanced. It was like crashing into a bag of bones and Harry cursed as the man disappeared again. Without magic, Harry couldn't stop the man from using the house wards. Harry quickly jumped to his feet and held his sword out as he tapped into his magic sight slightly.
He couldn't keep this up as Callum threw out a fire spell on the creatures attacking the others. Harry had noticed the barrier charm come up when he'd started fighting as he kept his eyes out. Suddenly the man appeared before him and Harry braced himself.
"We could come to a comprise?" Harry offered. "We don't want to destroy the house."
"No," the man growled. "My line is dead."
"We still have a connection by marriage," Harry tried.
"Not good enough," the man snarled. "Bound in dark magic and blood!"
The man blurred as he moved and Harry quickly flicked out his sword and pushed the man to the side as he danced to the left. He spun back around and the man blocked and pushed him back. Harry was panting now as sweat dribbled down his back and forehead. He was tiring and the other man knew it. Harry flicked his sword up as the man blurred and spun towards him. The swords clanged as they touched and Harry was moving. He saw an opening and went for it but he was too slow as the man slipped to the side.
Harry over reached with his next swing and he didn't have time to recover before the man's bone sword tore into his stomach. He gasped in pain as the man snarled and then ripped it loose. Harry fell to his knees from the pain as his blood splattered across the floor and he clenched a hand to the wound. He knew it was futile as he felt blood start to dripple down his back. The man's sword had gone right through him.
Then the man's skeleton face was in his and he could smell his rotten breath on the air as hands grabbed his shirt and pulled him forward. The man's face twisted up in a parody of a smile with a glint in his eyes. Harry met that stare head on even if he could feel the fire in his blood. Some moment of clarity came to him then as he could feel his blood taking his life and that cold stare before him. Harry's lips twisted up in a grim smile.
The house had inadvertently bound itself to him via his blood. It was time that he took control of that.
"Blood to blood," Harry whispered hoarsely. "Dark power to dark power. From master to apprentice, bound in blood and magic. With death, bound to be unbound. So, mote it be."
Harry felt the connection to Callum flare to life at his words. He reached up with bloody hands and grabbed the creature's skeleton wrists. The man yelled out and Harry felt himself hit the floor on his side as a secondary feeling to the pain that shot through him. He heard someone yell out and the clash of weapons but that was just background noise to him now. He'd been here before as that fire blazed through his blood and consumed his pain with glee. That dark power on the edge of his mind that just waited and he gasped in breaths.
"Blake!"
Harry tilted his head slightly to see Bill and Melissa before him, looking pale. His eyes rolled up slightly as Bill grabbed his shoulder and shook him. Harry gasped at the pain, his eyes flying open. He reached out blindly and Mellissa grabbed his bloody hand. He could see tears on her young face. That jolted him slightly, he was used to seeing an old face and he knew he was slipping. He tugged at that hand and Melissa lowered her face down.
"Be the person you are inside," Harry whispered, unsure if she could hear his words. "Not what your magic dictates you to be."
Harry went limp as that fire took over his body and mind. The sounds of fighting and shouts the last sounds he heard as the fire of the Deathly Hallows consumed him.
xXx
Severus gasped and stumbled forward a step as he felt the connection to Blake break. Dracka quickly grabbed his shoulder and he looked over at his pale face and knew he didn't look much better.
"Blake?" Dracka uttered but couldn't get much further as the gate before them swung open with a squeal.
"Aurors!" Kingsley ordered. "Fall in!"
A loud roar sounded on the air as a large beast of dark shadows appeared around the side of the house and focused on them with burning red eyes. Severus swallowed down his fear as he pulled his wand, he had to focus on what was before him. Not that empty feeling where the connection with Blake still tugged at his mind as the Aurors and goblins stormed the grounds.
xXx
Callum twisted to the side as Blake's silver sword cut through the air like it was made for his hand. He could feel rage and grief running through him as he fought against the creature that had hunted and stabbed Blake. He wasn't sure what Blake had done to make the man visible to him and he didn't care as he pushed the man back towards the middle of the basement. He couldn't even spare a moment to see if Blake was still alive as he fought with every shred of talent and dirty trick he knew.
The skeleton man just grinned as he twisted and turned to every thrust and swing, keeping just one step ahead. He could feel his dark magic pushing at him, that hatred that it loved so much as he ducked a swing and twisted to the side and flicked his blade out. He didn't grab a hold of that hatred, instead he grabbed the love he felt for Blake. The man that had been more of a father to him than his piece of shit biological one. He yelled out as he ducked then brought the sword around and struck out with dark magic cracking along Blake's blade.
'Hatred will only cloud your mind,' Blake's remembered voice whispered. 'And dark magic will corrupt it.'
The creature stumbled back as Blake's blade tore through its black cloak and Callum quickly pushed his advantage.
'That is a weakness,' Blake's voice added as Callum remembered this lesson well. 'Negative feeling will only lead you down a dark path. The easy route is not always the right way.'
Callum swung out with his sword, forcing the creature further back towards the large dark crystal. Bone sword met silver with a loud clang and Callum gritted his teeth as he brought his dark magic forward with a yell. The inhuman screech that came from the man brought the hair up on his neck as he pushed forward with his sword and magic. Holding onto the love, joy and understand that Blake had given him when he'd needed it most. That feeling of being accepted when every other person had looked away. Those sneers that he had received when people knew he held dark magic. Blake had turned bitterness into joy. Of understanding that he didn't need to be ruled by the magic in his veins.
He snarled as he pushed up against that bone blade and looked into the eyes of the creature before him as he bared his teeth and hissed something. He didn't care, he was a Dark Wizard but his heart was pure. He slipped his blade to the side and brought his elbow up into that skeleton face with the backing of dark magic. Light magic flashed as his elbow connected with the creature and he stumbled back as the shield that Blake had cast threw the creature back.
Callum panted with a grin, even now, Blake was trying to protect him. The man crashed into the floor and puffed away into black smoke as Callum planted his sword tip on the floor and leaned on it. It had been a long time since he'd had such a fight. He glanced over to Blake and his stomach dropped. He could read the message clear on Bill's face as he held Blake's hand. Coldness settled in him but he couldn't let that draw his focus off as the distant roar of a beast reached them. This wasn't over.
Callum stepped toward the dark crystal and brought Blake's silver blade up then paused. He pulled a small piece of gold from his pocket and slowly had it reeling out in a circle around the stand. He glanced over as Mellissa stepped towards him, her make-up had run down her face from her tears and he could see the pain in her green eyes, so much like Blake's.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, her voice breaking on the words.
"It's not over," Callum told her and she looked away. "Step back."
Callum pulled his magic forward, twisting his wizard and dark magic together as he lifted up Blake's sword. He took a calming breath, he didn't want to destroy, he wanted to grant freedom. He had to be careful with this as he pushed all other thoughts to the side. He didn't want the house to fall on their heads. He took a deep breath and swung the sword down.
Ding!
Callum cursed as he felt the jolt from the blade run up his arm. He lifted the sword for another go when he felt dark magic reach out to him. His eyes flew to Melissa beside him and she gave him a watery smile. There was something in her eyes that gave him pause. She just held her magic out to him in offer. He nodded his head sharply and tangled his magic with hers, bonding them together as he pulled on her magic and let it mix with his own. For a Dark Wizard to share magic like this, was a selfless act and Callum tried not to think on her reasons.
He raised the blade again and pulled in their combined magic and let it play along the blade. The thought that Blake was going to be pissed if he broke his sword came and went through his mind, he would understand. With a yell he brought the blade down on the crystal.
Ding! Crack!
Callum released the sword as he stumbled back. He flared the gold circle and cursed when he realised that Blake wasn't going to get his sword back. The blade was buried deep in the crystal where it had cracked. They watched as the magic built inside and Callum looked at it with wide eyes.
"Will that hold?" Melissa uttered.
"We'll find out," Callum answered as he grabbed her hand and they ran back to Blake and Bill.
The explosion rocked the house and grounds with a silent boom that was felt but not heard.
xXx
"Jesus," Dracka uttered and quickly grabbed Severus's arm to stop him from falling.
He could feel magic on the air but the dark feeling had him on edge.
"That wasn't Blake," Dracka whispered.
"That was Callum," Severus countered.
Dracka paled at the meaning then a loud crash had them looking over to the large beast that they'd been fighting. The thing just unravelled before them into dark smoke as its magic soaked back into the earth. The small beasts that had been terrorising them just puffed away leaving the grounds clear. Severus stood up straight as he looked around. Then a bird called out on the silent air.
"That's it?" Dracka asked and a goblin crackled a laugh close by and Dracka flashed his fangs at it.
"The world didn't end with a bang," the goblin laughed. "But with a whimper."
Dracka shivered at the goblin's words before Kingsley's voice rang out on the air.
"Form up!"
xXx
Callum placed his hand on Blake's cold skin and bowed his head. Bill laid a hand on his shoulder as he felt his connection to Melissa in his mind. He felt hollow as he just laid his hand on Blake's arm. He looked up with empty eyes as the door to the room was smashed open. He had a brief image of red eyes before Dracka was before him. He didn't flinch back from the vampire as he landed on the other side of Blake. The soft whine that he made ran down his back though.
"Callum?"
Callum looked up at Severus beside him and he jumped to his feet. The tall man pulled him into a hug as Callum buried his face into his chest and let the tears fall. It didn't matter how many times that Blake would die, every time hit hard. Never knowing if the man would wake. Severus just held him and gently stroked his hair.
"I broke Blake's sword," Callum confessed.
"You broke Blake's sword," Severus repeated.
"Shattered it," Callum added with a sob.
"His silver sword?" Severus uttered and Callum nodded. "Not never Potter has gone that far."
Callum snorted before stepping back and Severus quirked a smile for him. His face was pale but there was a glint in his dark eyes and Callum relaxed before they both looked down at Dracka and Blake.