Here we go into the main action of the movie!
Enjoy!
~Silverleone
I sighed as I dropped into a chair.
"You're back early." I looked over to Akumu, who was currently studying a book she got from the local bookshop.
"Idiot boss doesn't know talent when he sees it." I said as I rubbed my face in exhaustion.
"You got fired?" She asked, surprised.
"Yeah."
"But, you were like, the MOST qualified out of everyone there."
"Apparently being able to do a standing backflip isn't as impressive as being able to conjure up a single, flightless bird."
"A penguin?" I sat up and threw my hands in the air.
"No! A literal flightless bird! It was a canary with one wing!" I collapsed with another huff. "Besides, it's not like I can't do the same spell, but better."
"Someone's in a crappy mood." I peeked at her through my fingers.
"Nah, what tipped you off?" She simply snorted and shook her head. I sighed and leaned my head back. "Sorry, not trying to tear into you."
"I know."
"I guess I'm frustrated that we haven't heard anything from the others in weeks. I mean, we left school almost two months ago."
"I get it. Voldemort is still out there, and apparently, Umbridge had got all of Hogwarts underfoot. There's nothing we can do." I blinked when we heard a slight tinkling sound from the other room. I raised an eyebrow at her, and she got up. I followed her into the kitchen as she picked up the golden coin that had laid dormant for this entire time. The coin said one word.
"Forest?" Akumu asked.
"…We need to go. Now." She nodded and we grabbed our gear. I shrugged my coat into place slipped my Pear wand into the inner pocket. We nodded to each other and stepped out of the room. We hurried down the steps and started speed walking through the crowds of Hogsmeade.
"There's no way we'll get there in time."
"I know. But we have to try." We finally broke from the crowd and traded a glance before taking off at a run.
««{{¤}}»»
We were both sweating by the time we even saw Hagrid's hut and stopped to take a small break.
"W-where are they, at in there?" Akumu's hair hung in front of her face as she dragged fresh air through her teeth
"I couldn't, even guess!" I said, just as tired. We took a short rest before we kicked into a light jog, trying not to lose ground. We entered the forest and hopped from root to thick root. I snorted as I leaped up and grabbed a branch, swinging myself across a small creek. "I hope they're okay."
"They wouldn't call us for a tea party Rai!"
"I know that!" I landed awkwardly on my right foot and had to roll. I hopped onto my other foot and tested my ankle.
"You okay?!"
"Not the worst I've had!" I grunted at my full weight on it but pushed through the pain. We continued running until heavy hoof beats came thundering through the forest. Along with some random, high pitched screaming, which I happened to recognize. "Hide!" We leaped into the trees and ducked as far into the lower branches as possible.
"Let me go! I demand it! I will not be treated as a common peasant! I will report this to the minister! You will not have a home after this!" I grunted and dropped from the tree, landing with a roll right in front of the Centaur herd. I raised my wand as they rumbled to a halt. One or two of the Centaurs raised their bows, but I paid them little regard.
"Move, young child." I grimaced at the Centaur that had spoken.
"Mr. Taiki! Mr. Taiki tell them to release me! Tell them to put me down!" I ignored Umbridge's incessant screaming.
"First of all, I'm more of an adult than this witch ever will be. Second, her shrieking is scaring the animals." I pointed my wand directly at Umbridge. "Tell me Umbridge. Can you survive in the forest, wandless and alone," I tilted my head in a mockery of her own movements. "And…silenced?"
"Mr. um, wh-what are you talking about?!"
"Langlock." Umbridge tried to gasp as her tongue glued itself to the roof of her mouth. "There. Now you don't have to listen to her incessant whining." One of the Centaurs lowered their bow slowly. They strapped it back over their shoulder and replaced the arrow while stepping forward.
"Who are you?" I replaced my wand and gave him a small smile.
"Just your friendly neighborhood wizard." The smile dropped and I looked at him earnestly. "Do you know where Harry Potter is?" He looked into my eyes, trying to read me, but it was taking too long. "Look, I don't have time to explain, but they need our help."
"Our, help?" At his question, Akumu dropped from her branch, standing at my heel, just a little nervous.
"Yes, our help. Harry and the others called us, but all we know is that they're here in the forest. If we don't get to them quickly, we may be too late." Another Centaur stepped forward.
"I will show you where they are." The others in the herd protested, but he held his hand up. "The young Potter boy has helped us before. If these are his friends, then why should we not help them?" The herd was silenced, and he nodded. He turned to Akumu and I, nodding. "I am Ronan. Follow me. I will take you to them." We nodded.
"Thank you." He turned and trotted off, Akumu and I on his…heels? Hooves? Whatever.
We were keeping pace with the Centaur for a while, but my ankle was starting to get to me, and I had to pause in our run.
"Da-! Gr!" I held back a curse as I leaned against a tree. "I…it hurts too much. I think I sprained it." The Centaur looked me over for a minute, looking to be seriously contemplating something.
"Come, young one." He bent his front legs and held out an arm. I raised an eyebrow.
"As new as I am to this place, even I know you don't let humans ride you like the common horse."
"This, is an exception. Get on." I tightened my jaw as Akumu helped me hobble over and straddle his back. "You as well girl." She hesitated but nodded and hopped on his back behind me. I held onto his shoulders as he stood up and started running at a faster pace.
"Akumu, you won't happen to know any healing spells, would you?"
"Fresh out, sorry. I was more focused on perfecting that blasted Patronus Charm."
"You are working on that particular magic?" The Centaur asked as he ran around a rather large tree. "May I ask why?"
"Never know when you need to throw lily petals at a creature that can suck out your soul." Akumu mumbled, more to herself than either of us. Ronan went silent as he charged through the forest. I turned to Akumu.
"Oh how I miss flying." I muttered. Sure, Ronan himself had a smooth gait, but a horse's hooves could never compare to dragon's wings.
««{{¤}}»»
Ronan ran into a large clearing, and I gasped.
"The Thestrals," I noted. I spotted Harry and the others. "There they are!"
"The planets said they should be here. Thankfully, they seemed to be cooperating." I quirked an eyebrow at Ronan's words but shrugged it off as a Centaur thing. He knelt down, allowing Akumu to hop off and help me slid off.
"Rai! Akumu!" Harry and Hermione ran over. I smirked as I tried to hide my injured ankle.
"Sup." Harry smiled tightly. "What's wrong?"
"It's Sirius. Voldemort has him." I blinked in surprise.
"Okay?" So why are you petting skin and bones over here?" Ronan snorted indignantly behind me and I turn to him. "No offense Ronan. Thank you for your help." He nodded calmly.
"I would suggest taking careful thoughts into your next actions, young Harry Potter." He said while looking to said boy. Harry nodded. Luna stepped forward, her dreamy gaze looking at me calmly.
"Rai, did you injure your ankle?" I grimaced. Of course Luna would notice.
"Yes, he did. Would any of you know magic to help him?" Ronan asked, "Unfortunately my expertise is not in the healing of others." Luna nodded and pulled out her wand. I gritted my teeth, ridding myself of any fear.
'Luna is one of the more capable witches in her year. Just because people bully her doesn't make her less apt for a simple spell. If anything, she is more capable than most.' She gave her wand a simple flick, and I felt the pain dim.
"It won't hold forever, Rai. But it should last for the rest of the day." I nodded at her.
"Thank you, Luna."
"Of course." I turned to Harry.
"What's the plan?" Something nudged my shoulder and I looked to see a somewhat familiar Thestral. "Oh, hello."
««{{¤}}»»
"This is awesome!" I called over to Hermione as she held on to her own Thestral with a white-knuckled grip. Akumu wasn't faring much better, her grip around my waist nearly crushing me.
"I hate flying!" She responded.
"Which is why I asked him to let you ride him," I said, pointing to the Thestral she was on, "You've already done it once!"
"That doesn't make it better!" She cried out as her mount shifted its angle, gliding away from us with a haunting cry.
««{{¤}}»»
We ran through the empty Ministry, the echo of our footfalls not bringing us any comfort.
"Harry. My gut is saying we shouldn't be here."
"What, and let Sirius die?"
"Harry…How did you even know?"
"I saw it, in a dream. Just like I saw Mr. Weasley! I have to help him!" Harry continued to run, while Akumu and I slipped to the back of the group to watch behind us. Akumu spoke to me in a low tone.
"I don't trust his judgment. He cares too much for this Sirius guy."
"He is his Godfather, so it's not a big surprise," I muttered back. I checked over my shoulder, but not only did my regular sight and hearing not pick up on anything, but both my magical and electrical cores were coming up blank. "I don't like this."
"Same." We entered a nearly black room, the others lighting their wands while Akumu and I stayed in the dark. Crystal balls filled shelf after shelf, which almost reached too high to see.
"He, should be here." I stiffened when I felt the presence of multiple people moving above us.
"Harry." Hermione called as a form walked out in front of Harry.
"Where's Sirius?" I squinted at the fair blond locks. He didn't look like a fun time. Neither did the crazy looking one behind him.
"You know, you really should learn to tell the difference between dreams...and reality. You saw only what the Dark Lord wanted you to see. Now, hand me the prophecy."
"If you do anything to us, I'll break it." The witch behind him cackled.
"He knows how to play! Itty, bitty, Potter." I saw Neville stiffen.
"Bellatrix Lestrange."
"Neville Longbottom, is it?" The sick glee in her voice made me shiver.
'Oh crap.'
"How's Mum and Dad?"
"Better, now that they're about to be avenged-!" Harry stopped Neville from moving forward and Lucius stopped Bellatrix. I broke my attention from them and focused on feeling out the closest person in the room. I slowly slid my wand back into its sheath and stalked off down a corridor without anyone noticing. I flinched when I heard Bellatrix shout, but sighed when it made everyone focus on her. I stalked down to the next intersection and moved down two isles, coming up behind the Death Eater. I snapped my arm around their neck and dragged them away, choking them out until they fainted.
"Nighty night." I whispered as I hit them with a Petrificus Totalus spell. I saw Akumu take out another guy and we traded nods. We moved in preparation to go around the entire group and take out Lucius and Bellatrix.
"…Give it to me."
"I've waited 14 years…" Lucius gave Harry a look of faux sympathy.
"I know."
"…I guess I can wait a bit longer. Now! Stupefy!" I booked it down the aisle, sliding on my knees under a spell from a random Death Eater. I jumped to my feet, my wand almost snapping from its sheath.
"Immobulus! Stupefy!" I snapped the two spells off without hesitation, freezing the man and knocking him back. Akumu and I met up, almost taking down another wizard before he vanished into a cloud of smoke. We rejoined the others as we blocked spells and shot back. I heard Bellatrix cackling in glee as she flew around.
"Reducto!"
*Smash* I spun around and saw the explosion a little ways off. The shelves shifted as the crystal balls fell, shattering
"Now you've done it Ginny!" I said.
"Get back to the door!" Harry called out. I waved everyone else past me before taking up the rear. Glass was shattering as the shelves fell on each other, and I would occasionally throw the only simple shield spell I knew over my head to stop the glass. We sprinted with everything we had, seeing the door right in front of us. Harry slammed it open with his shoulder and fell through. We all jumped, and the door shut behind us. We stopped falling mere inches from the floor, only to drop a second later.
"Oh, that hurt a little more than I'd like." I groaned as I rolled to my feet. I helped Akumu up and we looked around.
"The voices…Can you tell what they're saying?" I looked up to see Harry looking at a large stone arch. Hermione confused me when she replied.
"There aren't any voices Harry. Let's get out of here."
'Then why do I hear them…' Luna stepped up near Harry, wonder in her voice.
"I hear them too…" I blinked at her.
"Harry, it's just an empty archway. Please Harry." Harry spun around, but not to look at her.
"Get behind me!" I spun into a crouch as the black smoke rushed into the room in multiple streams. They flew down and rushed around us in a swirling fog. I felt a pair of hands grab for me and I instinctively reacted, blindly snapping my fists out to strike my assailant in the face. The smoke cleared, and I looked around.
"Well…isn't this an unfortunate turn of events…" I muttered as I slowly stood up. Everyone except Akumu, myself and Harry had wands to their necks. Lucius walked up to us, chuckling.
"Did you actually believe...or were you truly naive enough to think, that children stood a chance against us? I'll make this simple for you, Potter. Give me the prophecy now. Or watch your friends die."
'This one's a right git…great, now I sound like Ron.' I thought as I surveyed the situation.
"Don't give it to 'em Harry!"
"Sh!" Bellatrix pressed her wand against Neville's throat. I watched Harry closely.
'Obviously the prophecy is important…maybe we can work this out.'
"You're a fool if you think Harry's going to listen to you." Lucius turned to me, giving me a once over while looking past his nose.
"And just who might you be?"
"'My father will hear about this!' I'm pretty sure your son has whined about a couple of students who have completely disrespected him as their "betters." Obviously wasn't raised right." I paused in my next taunt as a bright light shined behind Lucius, and my eyes widened when I recognized the form that stepped from it. Lucius turned around and I saw him pull back a little as Sirius stepped up.
"Get away from my Godson."
*Bam* Lucius went rolling, accidentally knocking into Harry and tripping him. Harry dropped the prophecy, causing it to shatter in front of Lucius.
"No!" He cried out. Another light flashed down from the ceiling, bouncing off the floor and knocking into one of the Death Eaters, freeing that captive. It went for Bellatrix, but she turned to smoke and flew away. Soon, more of the lights appeared, and the room nearly doubled in its occupancy. Before we knew what was happening, spells were being tossed left and right. I ducked and grabbed Akumu's arm, pulling us out of the line of fire. I poked up over the rock and took aim, lashing out with three spells before ducking, the rock's top being blown off. I saw one enemy off to my left.
"Now's where the real fight beings!" I sheathed my wand and booked it towards the Death Eater, who snapped spell after spell at me. I leaped up, avoiding the spell, and pushed off the wall, landing a flying haymaker right in his face. I grabbed his wand and chucked it at the next nearest guy, who took the blow to the back of the hand, making him drop his own wand as I sprinted at him. I slid on my side to get past him, only to spin to my feet and kick out his knee, then lay him out with a solid punch. I ducked as another spell flew over my head, and spun to see Bellatrix standing there.
"You know, I really hate the stereotypical witch. Cauldrons and cackles, with a pinch of insanity." I said as I steadily pulled my wand out. She let out her cackle and I smirked. "And my way of getting rid of things I hate is this-!" I snapped my arm down, "Expelliarmus!" We traded spells, neither one of us connecting, until she looked away for a second. I shot another spell, but she blocked it without looking. She scowled and growled out a single word before disappearing into a could of smoke.
"Black!" I tried to shoot her down, only to freeze when I saw who she was aiming for. "Avada Kedavra!" A sickly green light flew through the air, striking a grinning Sirius in the chest, the incantation alone seemed to take the breath out of my lungs. The whole battle seemed to pause as the man turned to Harry. The grin turned to a sad smile before he fell back into the misty curtain, his body floating up and fading away. I watched as another man ran over and grabbing Harry, holding him back as he cried out, trying to comprehend what just happened. I watched as it finally clicked, and Harry cried out in pure agony.
'That was the last of his family…and he's gone…just like that…' I watched as Harry spotted Bellatrix leaving the room, and before the man holding him could do anything, Harry broke from his grasp and was in pursuit.
"…Harry." I shook myself out of it and took off after him.
"…Killed Sirius Black!" She laughed, "He's coming to get me!" I could hear the witch's crazed laugh, before I heard a second spell that was like a punch to the gut.
"Crucio!"
"OH!" She fell to the ground as Harry ran up, pointing his wand right at her. I stopped a few yards off.
"Harry. Harry stop." His head twitched in recognition, but he didn't break eye contact with the witch. Her lower lip was trembling and her eyes were wide.
'What was that spell, to make her shake in fear?' I froze when I heard a whisper, but I couldn't make out the words. I stepped back as another black fog appeared, but this one was smaller, more condensed. It formed the most inhumane being I've ever seen. The "man" was completely bald, pale, and skinny.
"Do it, Harry." Harry paused, before spinning around, raising his wand. My eyes widened as the man merely swatted the air, magically smacking Harry's wand out of his hand without effort. "So, weak." All four of us turned when one of the fireplaces lit with green fire. I internally deflated when Dumbledore stepped through.
"It was foolish of you to come here tonight Tom. The Aurors are on their way."
"By which time I shall be gone." He said which such ego, I'm surprised he didn't explode in a spectacular ball of flames, "And you, shall be dead." Both wizards raised their wands and the fight was on. Dumbledore knocked Harry away, causing him to slide to the other side of the hall. Bellatrix slipped through one of the fireplaces while everyone else was distracted. I ran behind the pillars and crouched next to Harry as he blankly stared ahead.
"Harry, Harry, we have to go. Harry!" He looked at me with tears in his eyes.
"He's gone. Sirius is dead!" I gritted my teeth and slapped him. He looked at me in shock.
"Grieve later you idiot! I get it, he's the only family you had left, and I'm sorry it happened! But this is no time to wallow! If you hadn't chased th-!" I ducked as stray lightning struck the pillar around us. I saw Voldemort flicking his wand towards us, trying to hit Harry. I cast a simple shield spell to at least minimize the debris hitting us. Voldemort saw he wasn't getting anywhere and tried a different tactic. A ball of fire appeared in his hand, which he then expanded into a huge fire snake. "Okay…Not gonna lie, I need that spell." Harry shot a half-hearted glare at me, to which I shrugged. The snake snapped at Dumbledore, who smacked it with magic, making it flick back. The fight continued with Dumbledore not appearing to have any trouble after capturing Voldemort in a bubble of water. Harry stumbled to his feet and I grabbed his wand. He tried walking over, but I pulled him back.
"Don't get so close to your attempted murderer you baka!" He looked at me.
"W-what did you j-!" I looked over to see Dumbledore drop the water ball. Voldemort stood up and shot what looked like a cloud of black dots at Dumbledore, who blocked it while nearly taking a step back. Voldemort drew in the power then shot it out, shattering the glass in the area, while also throwing all three of us back. I landed on my bad ankle and rolled it a little, making me gasp in pain.
"Gah!, Sonnva-!" I froze when I saw the glass flying towards us. "Oh, that might hurt." I ducked as Dumbledore conjured up a shield, which turned the glass to sand. It settled after a moment, and I saw the look of shock and disappointment on Voldemort's face. His eyes flicked over to Harry, before his body evaporated. I stared at the spot in surprise. Who knew that wizards could simply vanish?
'Heck, what do I know about anything magicals can do?' Harry grunted in pain and dropped to the floor, then started spasming.
"Harry!" I ran over and dropped to my knees, rolling him onto his back. His eyes were whited out and glowing. He glared at Dumbledore, who knelt next to me.
"You've lost old man." I gasped at the twisted voice. Harry gasped in pain and I looked to the Headmaster.
"Headmaster, help him!"
"Harry…" Harry spasmed more, shouting out in pain.
"Dumbledore!" I cried out.
'Why isn't he doing anything?!' Dumbledore leaned forward.
"Harry. It isn't how you are alike," I stared at him like he was an absolute loon, "It's how you are not." Harry contorted, a grimace on his face. I spun around, my wand up when I heard footsteps running in. I dropped my arm when I saw it was the rest of the students, along with Akumu, who was holding her arm. It appeared she was bleeding. Harry gasped and stared at his friends.
"You're the weak one. And you'll never know love, or friendship." I raised an eyebrow. "And I feel sorry for you." His body shook and he cried out again. He threw himself onto his back and the sand around him lifted up, almost pulling a black form from his chest. I fell back when the black cloaked form of Voldemort stood before us, surrounded by slowly rotating sand. He leaned forward, a smile on his face.
"You're a fool, Harry Potter. And you will lose, everything." I grunted and got to my feet, my wand coming up. I didn't know hardly any magic, but I wasn't going to let Voldemort take Harry without a fight. We all turned when a flash of fire sounded, followed by a few more. The Minister, along with a few more people, stepped out of some of the fireplaces. The Minister froze at the sight of the Dark Lord, who, in a swirl of sand, disappeared.
"He's back!" I nearly rolled my eyes.
'Yeah, figured that out a long time ago bud.' I got up and walked over to Akumu, pacing my hand on her free shoulder.
"You okay?"
"If I wasn't covered in blood right now, I'd slap you." I smiled and took her hand, gently pulling it away from the wound. It was still bleeding slowly, but it was way too clean to have been from a fall. "Some idiot snuck up on me while I was beating the tar out of some other guy. Nearly took my head off with that one." I rolled my eyes.
"You really should be more careful Akumu."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, keep yapping. It might kill enough brain cells so this doesn't hurt as badly." I smirked and chuckled that time.
"Can I borrow a knife?"
"What? Don't have one on you?"
"Normally yes." She grunted and used the hand not currently covered in blood to retrieve a blade from her belt. I took it, nodding in thanks, before bending down and started cutting my left pants leg off just below the knee.
"What, are you doing?"
"Making sure you don't bleed to death. Duh." I stood up and put the knife between my teeth so I could wrap the fabric around her arm. After securing it, I gave her the knife back, which she promptly returned to its rightful place. I turned to stand at her shoulder, placing my hand on it as Hermione and the others checked on Harry.
"…He lost his only family…didn't he?"
"It's going to be a long time until he recovers. In fact, with how there's no body, he might never. He'll probably wake up every once in a while in a cold sweat. Only to realize it really was a memory and not some nightmare." She raised an eyebrow.
"Sounds like you've had experience." I smirked, but there was only a hint of real emotion.
"I did live through that once." She winced and I gently tightened my grasp on her shoulder. "It's over. I'm fine." She nodded after a moment, flipping her hair over her shoulder.
"Well? What now?" I nodded and retook my place next to her, watching as reporters started filling the area, camera flashes nearly blinding us.
"Well, we can't go back to Hogwarts. I guess we just go back to our place." She nodded sadly and I started leading her towards the exit.
"Just a minute!" I turned to see the Minister bustling towards us.
"Oh great." Akumu mumbled as she shifted back a little. The Minister shot us a look.
"And just what are you two doing here?!"
"Saving the wizarding world while you sat in your home sipping tea I reckon." I said, pretending to check my nails. His mouth dropped open and I shot a glare at him, silencing any retort. "We are going home. Everything we could tell you, you'll hear from the others. I need to get my sister checked out, as she got injured in your war." I promptly turned and led her away.
"You stop right there!" I spun around, returning the glare I was getting. "You cannot leave the crime scene!" I scoffed.
"Crime scene?! This isn't a crime scene! This is a bomb that has just dropped on the wizarding world! You were in denial that the Dark Lord had returned, only to keep your power as Minister. You were scared that if he was back, you wouldn't be able to keep your cushy seat at the head of the British wizarding community. So what did you do? You had your most vicious, cruel, vile little creature take Headmaster Dumbledore's place. You had everyone who was under your thumb slander not just his name, but the name of a child who saw exactly what kind of dark magic Voldemort is capable of."
"Do not speak his name!" He stated, just above a whisper, red in the face and his blood pressure far above what it should have been. I straightened up, barely holding back a scoff.
"And you still fear a simple name." I stated, near mournful. I turned to the crowd of reporters who had been watching us. "Wizarding world of Britain, this man is the one who has been leading you astray! Not Harry Potter, nor Albus Dumbledore! He feared to lose his seat as Minister and sought to discount The Boy Who Lived as a liar. I ask you, why, if the so called Dark Lord is not back, why we just fought almost a dozen of his followers, including one named Malfoy!" The camera flashes nearly blinded me, and the shouting nearly deafened me. I raise my hand and a bolt of lightning lashed out, striking the high ceiling above us with a crack. Everyone ducked. The reporters, now silenced, looked at me in shock. "Harry Potter is innocent of any of the lies and slander that have been going around for the past year, and if I hear anyone discounting his integrity, they will be learning just how powerful muggleborns really are." I spun and led Akumu away.
"I think you just made an enemy."
"Ask me if I care." I said before my shoulders dropped and I sighed. "It needed to be said. If the wizarding world never learned the truth, they would never come to trust Harry or Dumbledore again. Then what? The Dark Lord would have free reign, able to build whatever army he is building behind the Minister's quivering back. Then, once he was comfortable, he would simply wipe out anyone who resisted him. He needed to be brought to the light." We stepped back into the muggle world and I turned to the closest person. "Excuse me, sir, would you happen to know where the nearest hospital is? My sister has been injured."
No, I didn't save Sirius. Rai and Akumu weren't experience enough to combat the adult spellcasters who have owned wands nearly their entire lives. Sure, they are experienced fighters, but mostly against each other, and not magicians who had full range of both distance and spells. Still, let me know what you think!
Till next week!
~Silverleone