Hello everyone again!
I thought long and hard about how to proceed with this… I don't want to make it AU (well, non-canon even for the epilogue) but would you mind terribly if it does so become?
Anyway, onwards! Chapter 27.
***
Lighting the way forward, Isis led the way out of the Chamber of Secrets from the old, ancient passageway that was originally made, not what the castle adopted for it as innovations like plumbing and inward bathrooms were incorporated into its design. Isis loved the way stone and earth worked; despite the evolutions, it never erased the past etched upon it, except upon total annihilation. It was really her element. And when she found her Key…
First things first, she admonished herself. Gut two wizards, bloodlet a suckling, and get out to assemble what is needed to raze down the rest. She side glanced at Osiris, who moved stealthily like a shadow next to her, wand in hand.
"Do you feel the pull of the one whose blood you need, Ausar?" she asked, pausing just before they were to emerge in the areas of the main castle.
"I do," Osiris said rather hungrily. "And he is moving."
"Excellent," Isis said. "Go then, Ausar, and take what you need, and I will see to it that I harvest the rest for the canopics."
Osiris nodded, and waved his wand once in a flurry of light-feather movements. The shadows that had been dispersed by Isis' lumos spell seemed to reach over them and swath them like thready shrouds, rendering them nearly invisible.
"Open the passage, Usat," Osiris said. "Use Wadjet's bestowing and speak her tongue."
Isis smiled with superiority, loving it when Osiris intoned words of worship for her that were slightly like charms of their own. She breathed in, raising her right hand palm inwards. With her golden-tipped finger she traced the figure of a knot on the skin under which her pulse was visible, invoking the power of the one who was more powerful than her, and taught her everything she knew.
"Mother Wadjet, let me speak through you."
As she spoke those words, to Osiris' ears Isis' musical cadence changed into the hissing whistle that was the language of the Cobra. And a moment later, the wall before them groaned, and an opening was formed. The two prime wizards stepped into the empty, deserted corridor, no more than shadows upon shadows. The ancient passageway to the Chamber groaned closed. Isis gestured for Osiris, and he ran off quickly, following the scent and pull of living blood coursing through veins which had already fed him and nurtured him before Nikos Galanos had nearly sent him back to latency in his sarcophagus.
Isis' eyes flashed as she murmured another spell, to know where to be pulled to the other two beating, powerful hearts.
"You have some nerve," came a superior voice from the wall opposite her. Isis turned to look, curious that any of the lesser wizards would have been able to see through Osiris' Pall that rendered her invisible. But it was not a wizard, she realized. It was a portrait- one's likeness she knew well.
"Salazar's portrait." Her tone was almost jeering. "I do not converse with dead things."
Salazar smiled, his grey eyes twinkling with hungry menace.
"That does not make my statement incorrect," he said with a smile, as he watched Isis' figure glide past swiftly.
"Attero Ovis!"
Isis swore to herself as Osiris shadowy cloak of invisibility dispersed by Headmistress McGonagall's well placed curse. Salazar's portrait had distracted her. She smiled nonetheless, spreading her fingers, the gold upon them shining threateningly.
"Thank you for walking right up to me," she smirked, and intoned: "Traho Pectus Pectoris!"
Minerva's eyes widened, but she bellowed:
"Servo Vita!" as she ducked for good measure. The spell missed by a hair, bouncing off her brilliant shield- but it was so powerful that this bounce at a tangent was enough to shatter it. It served as a good warning. The dark corridor resonated with the spell light flashes. McGonagall went on into the offensive, using the most powerful spell she trusted to be able to control:
"Incendia Spiritus!" she hissed, then threw her wand-hand forward, making the whole air around Isis conflagrate. She turned to glance at her backup. "Now!"
Professor Bai seemed to materialize from some passage behind a portrait- Salazar's Portrait!- and hissed at her:
"Incindere crudus quod sino poena!" making wand moves that Isis had no chance to see while being busy dousing the powerful fire spell. And so, while she doused with her magic Minerva's most powerful spell in fractions of a second, Guiren Bai's Antahiga hit her squarely, making her scream in pain as her blood began to boil, threatening to break though her veins before it made her skin erupt.
If Isis was not who she was, the fight would have been over and lost.
***
Osiris felt Hatnofer's Heart Scarab squirm and shudder as he ran, pulled, guided, to where the blood the Anchor demanded was. It thrilled him, and though he didn't quite like to admit it, Isis was brilliant in bringing them in the castle Godric had been so proud of its fortifications. And the corridors were empty, the student curfew keeping the way clear for them to reach their targets fast and swiftly.
He was, of course, prepared to kill anyone who happened to be in his way- he was not the god of the dead for nothing- but it was far more convenient to simply go to where he wanted without hindrances.
And finally, he knew he was there. He couldn't quite see his quarry in the semi lit room full of beds- it looked like a healer's bay- but he didn't need to when his prey's blood just called to him. But what he did see, did amuse him. Wasn't this the insolent dog that had dared attack him, lying there helplessly upon the bed? Osiris could feel there was still life in that limp body- life he would take, as punishment. He swished his wand wordlessly towards where Nikos lay for a quick kill. The air hissed as the very atmosphere was manipulated to make a ghostly blade, traveling towards Nikos' exposed throat.
"Confuto venificus," whispered someone, and the spell came to a halt- but did not disperse. "Reus hostilis!"
To Osiris' surprise, his own spell bounced back at him- the most dangerous kind of combined attack and defense, because it forced the offending wizard to essentially guard against his own attack. And in Osiris' case, that was extremely powerful magic. Rasmus, hidden under Nikos' bed, did not wait for the prime wizard to defend- he attacked again, quickly.
"Sectumsempra!"
Osiris had to duck his own ghostly blade to avoid getting his throat slit- it was a wordless homing in spell of his own invention- and inadvertedly got caught in Rasmus' Sectumsempra. Immediately lesions began forming across his body, in a nasty faded memory of Seth's attack that had taken Osiris life. He growled, gripping his wand tightly, and muttered the counter spell- but Rasmus kept going, shouting his father's spell continuously, hoping not to allow Osiris any time to regroup or go onto the offensive again. Because if he did, Snape's son had no doubts that he would be out of his league.
Osiris ignored the harsh slashes into his flesh that were forming just enough to make his attack, and once again without words a spell burst from his wand, pulverizing the bed Nikos was on and throwing both Rasmus and Nikos on the far side of the infirmary. Nikos groaned, but didn't seem to be stirring any further, and Rasmus was certain he had broken something in his left leg. Idiot! Coming here was a mistake!
Poppy chose that moment to enter the infirmary, wand out, but Osiris was too angered and too quick for her. He hissed something that sounded alien and, although Pomfrey did manage to yell a protego, it did nearly nothing to protect her from the curse, and she flew back through the door in a sickening, crushing thud.
"Impudent little kefa," Osiris spit as the slashes from Rasmus' sectumsempra healed, under the power of Hatnofer's Heart Scarab pulsing in his chest. "You shouldn't try to make me waste your blood. That's mine."
Rasmus hissed another spell through teeth serrated from the pain, but Osiris blocked it with the ease of blocking a fly. He jerked his wand upwards once, and Rasmus' wand hand twisted around and up with a resonating crack. It was all he could do not to scream his heart out- and his wand rolled away towards Nikos' still form. He felt himself being pulled by magic to the loathed enemy- he was classes above anything he had ever seen in dueling, including his uncle. Nobody had managed to beat sectumsempra without needing to run away, without needing full attention to reversing the spell. Osiris had done it in mere seconds, and without chanting anything as far as Rasmus could tell.
Suspended as he was in the air, with pain shooting up from two limbs so terribly and disarmed, Rasmus' mind reeled to try and focus enough to set in motion the insurance he had had the time to think up in his mind. He was not given the chance- Osiris was extremely quick. The prime wizard's eyes began to shine with an odd deep green colour as from his wand a blue ribbon-like wisp like the web from a spider's spinneret timidly ensured. Rasmus began to try and whisper his own defense, but the bluish web-like thing shot forth and held him fast as Osiris chanted:
"Vaahana rakta, rudhira maanasa jiivita."
And all thought for defense left Rasmus as he yelled in agony. The webbing crawled around him swiftly and dug into his chest- and as soon as that happened, it turned blood red. Osiris kept chanting it, and Hatnofer's Heart Scarab pulled from the blood of Aello's son the saturation it had been denied by Nikos.
"Tarantallegra!" yelled a voice from outside the infirmary, and Osiris found himself needing to stop yet one more of those jokes of a spell- and it would have made no difference normally, even as the bond of blood was still active, but the quarry's fight had taken energy from Osiris that he didn't have, not without his Anchor properly satiated. And so the brilliance of the crimson webbing that sapped Rasmus' blood began dimming, though it didn't break, as Osiris waved his wand to stop the jinx, and kill the one who cast it.
Finn had been shocked beyond words at what was taking place in the infirmary, terribly regretting following Rasmus out past curfew. He had nearly turned his back to leave, while whatever devil had killed Pomfrey did not yet notice him- but something in that bloodcurdling yell made the fifth year stop in his tracks and consider if a hit and run could not be done.
He was, of course, wrong. Not only did that green-tinted man curse him to the spot by simply glancing at him, he was about to kill him without even stopping whatever torture he was putting his friend under. Stupid, stupid! You should have left when you had the chance!
"Servo omnimodus! Beat it kid!"
Someone yanked Finn backwards, away from the spot where the curse intended for him gouged a hole in the floor, and Finn just kept on running, not caring who it was that had saved his life- though he did think it had been someone he'd heard before.
It took all of Harry's determination to not freeze in his tracks upon the sight that met him after the Slytherin student bolted. Though he knew he would be facing Osiris, it was one thing to be told about him, and quite another to look upon him. He grit his teeth, knowing Ron and Hermione had his back. He only hoped Bai and McGonagall would be enough for Isis- and whoever else the headmistress had solicited help from. I hope she got help from more.
Harry pointed his wand at Osiris, decided to gain the man's full attention, and break whatever spell was taking place before it killed Snape's son.
"Avada Kedavra!" he bellowed, fully intending to floor the nearly two-meter tall wizard if he got that lucky. Ron, beside him, shouted the exact same curse. The bolts of green lightning shot out towards Osiris, who indeed turned to fully face them. He chanted something, and the two curses diverted and ricocheted, and Harry and Ron had to duck behind the infirmary's door not to get hit by their own spells.
"Did you see that!" yelped Ron, but showed no signs of wanting to retreat.
"We need to keep going at him," Harry growled. "Distract him somehow."
"Expecto Patronus!" was Hermione's answer to Harry's bewilderment, as she had been a little further back.
A huge silvery otter burst forth towards Osiris, scurrying around him and keeping him from doing anything more than swat it away. Ron immediately followed her cue and unleashed his own patronus, while Harry shot the killing curse at the prime wizard once again.
Osiris growled again and made swift wandwork, blocking the killing curse by reversing it again, and dispersing the patronuses- and he also cast a massive spell that sent all oxygen out of the air where the three attacking wizards were. It sent Harry, Ron and Hermione gasping and racing to counter it. But in doing all of it, he stopped paying attention to his quarry.
And it gave Rasmus the capacity to push the pain back and grit his teeth as he called, raising his good arm towards Poppy's shelves.
"Accio Pepperup Potion!"
Several bottles of the thing flew towards him, and Rasmus cried from the effort as he pushed the bottles to fall at Osiris' feet, where several of them smashed. He direly wished for his wand, but he had no time, and could not afford to be disarmed by Osiris while he had this small window of opening that had been bought for him.
He raised his arm again.
"Accio Skele-gro!"
The whitish bottles followed the course of the other ones, and smashed over them- and the result was spectacular as the potions blew up all around Osiris with such violence that the man's leg was nearly blown out of its socket. Osiris was the one that growled in pain this time, and Rasmus was dropped in a heap upon the floor, the web-like connection that siphoned his blood to Osiris severed.
"Accio wand!" rasped Rasmus and his wand flew in his shaking left hand.
Then he turned and glared at the one who had twice stolen from him, and pointed his wand.
***
And that's the first part over! I hope you enjoyed this. There is a very valid reason why Rasmus was in the infirmary, that inadvertedly led Osiris there. As for the two medicinal potions that blow up when mixed, I searched for any that actually do that in canon, found none, so I used the one which makes impressive smoke, and another that promises to have some sort of highly reactive agent in it. If you have a better combo to suggest, please tell me!
And yes, Rasmus is a wiz with Potions. :D
Okay, now for the spells. Apart from the bad latin, there's also the 'ancient' ones in Sanskrit. The 'servo' ones are strong shielding spells. "Confuto venificus- reus hostilis" is really bad latin for 'reverse spells' like a mirror bouncing combo spell. It is one of Nikos' creations.
The words for the Sanskrit spell more or less say 'transfer blood and imbue with life' but in a sly way…
Osiris calls Rasmus kefa which is ancient Egyptian for 'servant/ slave'. Oh, and Wadjet, is the most ancient Egyptian goddess, the Egyptian Cobra goddess, and is considered the most powerful of them. Isis is always an affiliated goddess of sorts, and she did seem to have her aid against Ra when she blackmailed him into learning his 'real name' and thus order him around. For this story, I made Wadjet a prime witch and Isis' mother.
If I forgot anything, ask and I'll answer :)
Melora: thank you for reading and the offer. However I simply have no time for role play- I do write professionally as well, and have scientific work to do too. But I really appreciate it.
Duj: Very true… but he was not really going to fight head on. It just didn't play out the way he wanted it. We'll see what he'd aimed for later.
Tuber: well, in that case I am not the author for you. I tend to let the characters tell their backstory when they are ready to do it, rather than pump it out of them by force.
RebeccaRoy: Yeah… I hope I won't have to today.
Sindie: No need for apologies! I literally didn't see your review and added a response later, which is why I wasn't certain if it hadn't been eaten again. Thank you for this great review! Rasmus kind of doesn't care about Hogwarts. He just isn't going to sit back and let the murderers of his mother and almost of his godfather walk. It would be dishonour in Greek code, and Rasmus isn't about to let that happen. And I'm happy you feel Severus is still Severus, while being a dad.
Zoe Bright: yup! But Rasmus would smirk snarkily and say 'well too bad he's too dead to act on it'. Of course there's still Nikos… for now…
So that's that! Tomorrow, the second and most likely final part of the fight! (it's not a battle, is it?)