Hogwarts, September 2, 1993…
The Forbidden Forest was an interesting place for a class, though it had a semi-cheerful ambience to it in the daylight hours. The canopy cast a slight green hue on things, adding to the inviting atmosphere. Huge trees cast shadows in the sunlight, towering over the students walking behind the half-giant Hagrid.
"Master Harry, wait up," whisper-yelled Dobby, jumping from branch to branch after his master. He wore the Assassins garb, shrunken to his size. He wore the same weapons as his assassin master, a hidden blade on his left wrist, a short blade across his back, a Syrian sword at his waist, a belt of throwing knives at his waist, and more on his boot and shoulder spaulder.
Harry had received his new over robe. Unfortunately, it was not long enough to change his shadow, like the Master Assassins, though it did the job of signifying his new rank. He was now Grand Assassin, a single rank lower than the famed Altair Ibn-La'ahad.
He leapt to the next branch, landing with a grace honed by years of practice. Ever since I could remember, I've trained to be an Assassin… now, one last mission before I attain my Master status.
He stopped, sitting on a branch far above the class. Dobby appeared at his elbow, shaking his head at Harry. "Master Harry should have waited for Dobby."
The Grand Assassin just shot a look at his house elf, smirking beneath his mask.
Hagrid had just brought out a trio of hippogriffs.
They are flying creatures with the head, wings, and forelegs of a giant eagle and the body, including hind legs and tail, of a horse. Hippogriffs are carnivorous and are extremely dangerous until tamed, which should only be attempted by a trained witch or wizard. That said, hippogriffs can and do live on insects, birds, and small animals such as rats and ferrets. A person wishing to approach a hippogriff should maintain eye contact and should bow first; if the animal bows in return, it can be touched and even ridden.
Hagrid explained this to the students, putting emphasis on how to approach a hippogriff, especially since they are notoriously proud creatures.
"First thing you wanna know about hippogriffs, is that they're very proud creatures, very easily offended. You do not want to insult a hippogriff. It may just be the last thing you ever do," he said, pausing to get his point across. "Now, who'd like to come and say hello?
A red-haired boy stepped forward after a moment of silence. "Well done, Ron, well done."
Ron approached the hippogriff, whom Hagrid called Buckbeak. He bowed low, maintaining eye contact with the eagle eyes of Buckbeak.
After a moment of silent contemplation, probably thinking that Ron looked like good eating, Buckbeak bowed as well, extending his clawed forelegs and bowing his head low.
"Well done, Ron, well done," said Hagrid, feeding Buckbeak a dead ferret. He walked over to Ron, who was now petting Buckbeak. "I think he'll let you ride him now."
"What?" asked Ron, just before Hagrid picked him up, put him on Buckbeak's back, and slapped the hippogriff's hindquarters, causing him to spread his wings and begin to fly.
The hippogriff flew out of the forest, giant wings flapping through the air. It was back in a few minutes, Ron hanging on for dear life, a terrorized look on his face.
"Well done, Ron, well done," reiterated Hagrid, smiling at his red-haired friend. He lifted him off the hippogriff and set him on his feet.
"That doesn't look so hard," said a pale-haired boy, his attitude very similar to his father's. The assassins watched as he walked up to the hippogriff, not bowing a degree. "I bet you're not dangerous at all, are you?"
"Malfoy! Back off, back off!" said Hagrid as he glared at Malfoy.
"Are you, you great ugly brute?" asked Malfoy, smirking at the hippogriff.
Both assassins shook their heads with disdain clear on their faces as Buckbeak reared up at Malfoy. He stumbled back, raising an arm to protect his face as Buckbeak kicked his forelegs.
A muted crack sounded as the human assassin teleported, reappearing behind Malfoy, eliciting a gasp from the students. He pulled back on Draco's hood, removing the Malfoy heir from the line of fire.
Malfoy fell flat on his back, looking up at the white-robed assassin now standing above him.
The assassin tilted his head at the Malfoy heir, a smirk on his face, before teleporting again, reappearing beside Dobby in their tree hiding place.
The class was awestruck at how fast the hooded stranger had moved, one brown-haired girl asking Hagrid how he had appeared and disappeared, since apparition was impossible due to the wards of Hogwarts, and others wondering why the stranger was so armed and armored.
The assassin turned to his house elf friend and jerked his hooded head away from the distracted class, back the way they came.
The house elf nodded, turned and began jumping from branch to branch, heading deeper into the Forbidden Forest. Their job was finished. One crisis was averted. All that was left was to wait for the next one, near the end of the year, according to the Seers.
The other assassin took one last look down at the hippogriffs, meeting the eyes of Buckbeak. The hippogriff nodded before leading the other magical creatures into the forest.
The assassins smiled before he, too, left the area.
Hogwarts, June 6, 1994…
Once again, the white robes of the assassins were present on the grounds of Hogwarts, though this time their target was not within the castle itself, but rather by the Whomping Willow planted on the grounds.
Their target was Sirius Black, the man supposed to have betrayed James and Lily Potter to Voldemort, fourteen years ago. The assassins knew he was innocent, so they never hunted him down when their brother had been killed at the Dark Lord's hands.
What I wonder is why the Order never bailed him out of Azkaban… thought Harry as he approached the aggressive willow tree.
It branches creaked ominously, subtly preparing it branches to pummel the two assassins approaching its territory. Both assassins exchanged glances before splitting up, narrowly avoiding an attack from the tree.
The house elf in assassin garb dodged as another branch nearly put him in the dirt. He stepped onto it as the willow raised the limb, intent on attacking again. He ran the length of the branch leaping to the base of the tree. In less than a second, Dobby had pressed the knot of the tree, causing it to freeze in mid-attack.
The human rolled out of the way, barely avoiding a horizontal attack from the willow. He sprang to his feet and caught the branch, redirecting it right past his head rather than into it.
A third branch froze an inch from the blade the assassin position behind his head, seeing the sneak attack from behind. He smiled as he replaced the blade and walked over to the house elf, nodding in admiration at the house elf's skills.
"Not bad… for an elf," he said, ducking into the hole at the base of the tree.
The house elf had smiled at this disguised compliment. The hidden compliment was due to his skills despite having only been trained for a year. Compared to his master, a Grand Assassin, he still had a large amount of skills to learn, even though he himself was a Greater Assassin. He followed Harry down the hidden corridor, tightening the straps of his hidden blade.
The gloomy tunnel went on for a few moments before leading to a staircase. Both assassins activated their silencing charms and made their way up the stairs, ready for anything. Sounds from the floor above caused them to pause, just in case they were discovered. A moment of silence passed before they crept upwards.
At the top of the stairs, a partly closed door hid the occupants of the room, though the pair of assassins could hear every word nonetheless. They crept closer, leaning around the door to see the occupants.
Ron Weasley sat on the ragged four-poster bed, holding a rat and his leg, a blood bite standing out against his pale face.
A curly-haired brunette stood by him, wringing her hands as she tried to figure out what to do.
A man leaned on the piano, looking haggard and tired, though his eyes were alight. He was staring at the other two occupants, nearly twitching with anticipation.
"Give me a reason, Black. Just give me a reason," said a black-haired, pale man, holding a wand at Black's throat.
"Excellent, Snivellus, just excellent. You've put your keen and penetrating mind to work and, as usual, you've come up with the wrong conclusion," said Black, sneering at him despite the wand digging into his neck.
"I could kill you now, though I've heard the dementors just hate losing their prey," said the man, stepping close to Black. "A demetors kiss is supposed to be unbearable to watch… but I'll try my best."
The assassins exchanged a glance, human looking down and house elf looking up, as they recognized the man: Severus Snape, Potions Master of Hogwarts
Black looked over Snape's shoulder, trying to find an avenue of escape. He looked at the door and his eyes widened, seeing a pair of white hoods staring back at him.
The assassin raised a finger to his lips, telling Black to be silent. He nodded nearly imperceptibly before looking back at Snape.
Snape mistook the widening of Black's eyes for fear. "What's that? A twinge of fear?"
Human and elf nodded and, as one, kicked the door open. The door flew open; crashing into the wall it was hinged to, the handle embedding itself in the wall. The room shook, dust falling from the new cracks ceiling caused by the combined power of the kicks.
Snape spun, bringing his wand to bear on them, though a snap of the elf's fingers sent him flying into the wall. His head hit the wall with enough force to knock him out, slumping onto the floor, his wand rolling away.
"Assassins," said Black, scooping up Snape's wand. "Nice to see you."
"Assassins?" asked the brunette, confused as the house elf tossed her wand to her.
"Never mind, Miss Granger," said the other man, taking his wand back from Snape. Nodding at the two white clad assassins, he said, "If you'll excuse us, we have business to attend to with the rat, as it were."
"He's Scabbers, not Pettigrew! I'm telling you!" yelled Ron from the bed, holding a near frantic rat in his hand. "He's been in the family for-"
"Fourteen years," finished Black, smiling at Ron. "Long life for a common rat, hm?"
"We are only going to cast a spell that will force him to resume his human form. If he's just a rat, it won't hurt him. I promise," said the other man, holding out his hand for the rat.
Ron silently held out the rat. The man picked him up and looked at Black.
"On the count of three," he said, readying his wand.
"One…two… three!" Black said. The man tossed the rat into the air and Black fired a silvery bolt at the airborne rat.
The effect was instantaneous. The rat morphed into a short man, wringing his hands. He had a rat-like face and a pointed nose, his eyes were small and watery, his hair thin, unkempt with a bald patch. He truly was the closest thing a man could be to a rat.
"Remus? Sirius? My old friends," he said smiling. He opened his arms as if to embrace them before trying to make a break for the door.
The door slammed closed, locked and a flaming rune branded itself into the wood. Just in front of the sealed door, the house elf assassin crossed his arms, his throwing knives floating in mid air in a ray of blades. He shook his head at the rat of a man, a smirk on his lips.
"Bad idea, Peter. Did you really think you could escape us?" asked Remus, pointing his wand at Pettigrew, his wand tip glowing in anger. "Did you think that we would just let you after what you did to James and Lily?"
"I never did anything to them!" cried Pettigrew, running to hide behind a wooden box. "I never touched a hair on their heads!"
Sirius Black, famed auror, part of the 'secret' Order of the Phoenix, was livid. He took a step and smashed a fist onto the box. A magically-powered blow to the rotting wood made it explode into dust, covering the cowering Pettigrew.
"You betrayed them! You betrayed them to Voldemort! You led him right to them!" roared Sirius, forgetting the wand in his hand. He looked angry enough to tear the former rat to shreds with his bare hands. "You should have died! Died rather than betray your friends! And you should have realized, Peter, if Voldemort didn't kill you..."
"We would," chorused Remus and Sirius, pointing their wands at the traitor.
"No!" shouted Hermione, causing everyone to turn to look at her.
"Hermione, this man led Voldemort to our friend's house. He betrayed them!" Remus said, still pointing his wand at Pettigrew.
"I know what he is. But we'll take him to the castle and after that, we'll give him to the dementors!"
Hermione Granger, student of Hogwarts, Gryffindor House, third year. Excellent grades… thought the assassins, reading the info their hoods had provided.
Sirius looked over at the assassins, the short one still guarding the door with his blades floating in mid air, a sinister smile on the elf's lips, the tall one leaning against the wall by the boarded-up window. "What do you think, Assassin?"
The elf looked to the human assassin, who pushed off the wall and walked over to the middle ground between Hermione and Sirius and Remus. He turned, walked over to behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder before jerking his head at the door.
"Fine, fine," said Sirius, walking over to where Snape lay stretched out on the floor. A muttered charm had Snape floating in mid air, following Sirius like a dog on a leash."Let's go, before I change my mind."
They made a ragtag band: a ragged man levitating a greasy haired man, walking down the tunnel, a weary professor and a brunette supporting a red haired boy with red hair, a rat faced man who was wringing his hands followed by a reasonably armed pair of assassins whose only difference was their species.
They walked in silence, navigating the darkness with ease, thanks to the lit wand tips of Sirius and Remus and the glowing bracer of the mysterious assassin.
They stepped out from under the Willow, the trio moving awkwardly due to Ron's leg injury. The assassins moved gracefully, casting a Freezing charm on the Willow, stopping the attack before it could begin.
Sirius looked up at the castle, turrets stabbing into the sky, windows agleam with magical light. The assassin walked up next to him and folded his arms, sharing the view.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" he asked the assassin, looking at the castle. "I'll never forget the first time I walked through those doors. It'll be nice to do it again, as a free man."
A moment of silence passed, assassins and convict listening to Ron and Hermione arguing about the chances of his leg needing amputation.
"That was a noble thing you did, siding with that girl. That rat of a man doesn't deserve it," said Sirius, disgruntled at his thwarted revenge. He had suffered in Azkaban for twelve years, awaiting the day when he would be able to kill the traitorous rat. Now, he looked up at the school, side by side with an assassin, the rat still alive, despite his feelings.
"James Potter would not have wanted his friends to become murderers over a rat," deadpanned the assassin, looking up at the stars. He smiled as Sirius shot him a look, shaking his head as he realized he was right.
"Sirius!" yelled Hermione, breaking them out of their reverie. They turned to find Hermione pointing into the sky, the full moon emerging from its absence behind the clouds.
Remus Lupin, werewolf, stared at the moon, a slight amount of horror crossing his face as he gazed upon the bane of his existence.
"Enervate," said the house elf assassin, pointing a finger at Snape. He came to, enraged and reaching for his wand, though stopped short as he saw Lupin standing there, just staring off into space.
Despite his feelings towards his childhood nemeses, he knew a problem when he saw it.
"Greasy professor will take children to school, quickly!" said the elf, pointing at Ron and Hermione. Despite the orders coming from an elf that was two feet tall in white hooded robes, Snape reacted at once, conjuring a stretcher for Ron and herding Hermione towards the castle, casting a calculating look back at the rapidly changing Lupin.
His skin had taken on an ashy hue, looking as if he were trying to hold something back. He fell forward onto his hands and knees, incoherent sounds of pain emerging from his mouth.
Sirius moved back, changing into a black Scottish deerhound, though his animagus form was bigger than the actual hound. I hope I can handle him myself… thought the animagus, preparing to go charging at the giant-sized, grey-furred wolf.
He looked to the assassins to see what they were doing. James had told him stories that bordered on the ludicrous. Let's hope those tales were true…
The werewolf attacked, heading for the assassins, ignoring the familiar presence of Padfoot and attacking the white clad strangers.
The assassin reached beneath his hood and tapped his tattoo, getting battle ready.
The werewolf lunged at the assassin, attempting to remove the hood with his teeth.
Werewolf bites transmit. Not claws… thought Harry as he plunged an uppercut into the werewolf ribs, sending it off target. It flipped over his head, landing in a heap behind him.
"Contain!" he shouted, pulling a tiny capsule from underneath his bracer.
The elf nodded and immediately ran a circle around the immediate area, drawing a ward with his elfin magic. As he closed the circle, a dome of blue energy sealed the werewolf, the giant black dog, and the assassin from the rest of the grounds.
The elf pulled back a fist, concentrated and slammed a fist into barrier. It rebounded with the sound of a gong, the punched area turning red for a second before turning blue once more. He flipped the other assassin an O.K. sign, smiling beneath the cowl.
The black dog jumped onto the werewolf, pulling at his ears, distracting him while the assassin readied himself for his own attack. Now, jumping onto a werewolf's back, which is of the same height as a shire horse's head, is not an easy task, though Sirius in his dog form did the job quite well.
The werewolf, it seemed, didn't enjoy the feeling of teeth in one's ear. He turned and went after the dog, which was crouched near the edge of the wards. He charged…
And ran right into the barrier as Sirius moved out of the way, moving himself out of the werewolf's attack path. Damn it, Remus, you're getting faster!
The assassin murmured a charm, restoring the capsule to its original size. Now, he held a syringe with a pale blue liquid held within.
"Hey, Spot!" called the assassin, yelling at the werewolf. "Come on!"
The werewolf shook itself, trying to clear his head. A werewolf can reach speeds that rival a cheetah, so a headfirst collision to a magical barrier can be a bit disorienting. After said shaking was done, his mind focused on the white clad assassin, who was currently telling him to 'heel,' 'play dead,' and 'roll over.'
Letting out a howl at the moon, the Lycanic Lupin charged. He leaped, trying to pin the assassin with his giant paws and rip off his head.
The assassin dodged back a step, letting the werewolf's paws crash down where he would have been. He quickly stepped forward before Lupin could react and slammed the syringe into the wolf's neck.
Lupin roared in pain as the syringe stuck in his neck as he staggered to the side, away from the white demon. He crumpled to the ground and was still.
Sirius transformed, standing upright next to the assassin, glaring at him. "What the hell did you do?"
"He's alive. Wolfsbane potion, with a little extra mixed in," intoned the assassin, watching Lupin struggle to his feet… er, paws. He looked at the pair, not with eyes crazed by the moon, but with eyes filled with the intelligence of a human and the trademark twinkle Lupin had. He walked over and nudged Sirius with his nose.
"Lupin? Is that you?" asked Sirius looking into the familiar eyes in a wolf's face.
The wolf nodded, bobbing its great head before looking at the assassins, quirking an… wolf eyebrow.
"Wolfsbane potion, though it has a few extra ingredients," reiterated the assassin, pulling the syringe out of his neck as he answered the wolf's unheard question. "We'll send you more, later."
The giant wolf nodded, turned and padded silently into the Forest.
The assassin and convict nodded at each other, relaxing as Lupin strode deeper into the Forest.
"Well… I'm glad that's over," said Sirius, stretching his back.
The assassin looked over his shoulder and smiled, despite the feeling of hopelessness that was filling him. "It's not over yet."
"Ah… fuck me," Sirius drawled, turning around to face the dementors, cloaks fluttering in the wind as they watched them from across the grounds.
"I hope you know the Patronus," Sirius whispered, drawing his wand and picked a happy memory, preparing his Patronus.
The assassin pulled a throwing knife out of his belt and cut a complex rune into his hand. Sirius paused mid-incantation as the assassin drew his sword, his bloodstained hand clasped around the handle.
"What are you doing?" asked a puzzled Sirius Black, having never seen such actions.
"Inviare loro all'Inferno," replied the assassin, his sword taking on a silvery hue. He settled into his fighting stance, glowing blade in hand. He lifted his empty hand and beckoned to the dementors.
"Come on!"
Sirius Black was awestruck. He just stood there, watching the assassin decimate the dementors, one by one. His blade, wrapped in the silvery hue, cut through each one, freezing it in mid-air with a ghost of the sword strike visible against the black cloaks.
In less than five minutes, one hundred and sixty-three dementors floated frozen in mid air. The assassin walked towards Sirius, sword still in hand.
"Now what?" asked Sirius, staring at the frozen dementors. "Just gonna leave them like that?"
"No," said the assassins, sheathing his sword. As soon as the hilt touched the scabbard, the sword marks on the dementors glowed brighter, and then exploded, turning the guards of Azkaban to dust.
"Wow," said Sirius, looking at the mounds of dust that had been his tormentors for many years. "Never seen that before."
"Sirius Black," said the assassin, addressing his companion. "You have two choices: come with us or fare on your own."
"Which will it be, Mister Black?" asked the elf, taking down the barrier with a snap of its fingers.
Sirius was silent, mulling over his answer. After a moment, he said, "I'll go on my own. I have some business to take care of."
"Very well," said the assassin, turning to go.
"Wait!" Sirius yelled, catching the assassin's arm. "Who are you?"
The assassin turned and smiled. He raised his hands and pulled back his hood, smirking at Sirius, green eyes flashing with contained humor.
Sirius let out a bark of laughter, recognizing the face and the eyes. He doubled over, laughing so hard he didn't even notice the assassin whistle, calling Buckbeak out of the Forest.
"Your ride waits," said the assassin, turning away as he put his hood back up.
Sirius stopped laughing and bowed to the hippogriff. After Buckbeak had bowed back, he mounted the eagle/horse hybrid.
"You really are your father's son," he said lifting off into the sky.
He smiled as he watched him fly off into the night. Nodding to Dobby, they teleported back to the fortress, leaving the grounds echoing the howl of a wolf.
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