§
He kissed back instinctively, desperately. For a brief moment, the war was gone, the scars had healed,and duty was disbanded... And then it all came crashing back with a force. Harry tensed, and pushed himself away.
Breathless, Ginny looked up with confusion. "Harry?"
His thoughts went in a high of color and screams. But one coherent stream was visible. It was the red-head, lying dead under Voldemort's red gleam and emerald flash.
"Ginny... I... I can't." Potter stumbled over his words, backing away with dilated chartreuse eyes.
"Why can't you?" The chaser rose her voice, a strained smile on her face. "Your goddamn chivalry is dead! I don't need to be protected!"
But the seeker kept fumbling away, apologetic eyes never leaving her. "I can't be responsible for your death too. I won't... it would kill me."
The dark-haired boy turned then, and sprinted off; leaving the girl to stand there, watching after him. Grasping the locket, her amber eyes watched him with the feeling of a driver who plowed into a deer. Then looked back and saw it gambling away with a fatal injury.
"Come with me." Weasley said softly as she snapped her memories shut for the volume of the present.
"What?!?" Aidan replied, not following her sudden train of thought after the long silence.
"Leave with me, when Harry comes." The young woman clarified, finally looking at him again with determination written all over her features.
The dirty blond blinked once before breaking out in bitter laughter. "Did you go crazy? I can't just leave. Hell, neither are you."
"I'm leaving with Harry." She stated firmly, a dangerous look for contradiction. "And you should come with me."
The older one rolled his eyes and snorted. "And why is that, Dr. W?"
"Because you don't belong here." Her bluntness still halted him.
The wizard narrowed his dark eyes. "Look this isn't some 'save-a-death-eater-day. I've told you before, I'm not turning against he-who-must-not-be-named. That's called suicidal. If you have those tendencies then I advise counseling."
Now it was her turn to roll her eyes and smile falsely with batting eyelashes. "Of course not; I wouldn't even have bothered if you were actually cut out to be a death eater."
"I—What the hell does that mean?" The man sputtered.
The Gryffindor 5th year gave a patient sigh, as though explaining why the sky was blue to a child. "You don't have it in you to be a decent death eater. Being a coward to protect your own life is worth something. But you'll come to a point where you will have done so many horrible things that all you want to do is die. Is that the future you want?"
Aidan narrowed his eyes at her rhetoric. "Why do you claim to know all this stuff? Death eaters—Harry Potter—the meaning of life? You're just a kid, even if you have faced... him!"
"I am fifteen, thank you very much." The captive stated firmly. "And my offer still stands. Professor Dumbledore can pardon you. Even if you don't work in the Order, I am sure he would help you."
The guard gave a hard smirk. "Not everyone is as stupid as you Ginny. The old man won't help me unless I give him something in return. That's the way the world is."
Her retort was sharp and well-directed. "And not everyone is as self-oriented as you, Aidan. Professor Dumbledore just likes to help people. That is all the reward he needs."
"If you believe that you are stupid."
"You've said that before. I'll say it again, I'm smart. However I'm not like Dumbledore or Harry. I want something in return if you decide to get rescued with me."
"Oh yeah, and what is that?" The warlock teased.
"A new broomstick. My old one hinders me in Quidditch a lot."
"...You're a freak."
§
It was impossible to say who spotted who first. Gold met crimson and all chaos expelled in hair's breath. She leaped, knouter suddenly in hand. He drew his magic to the fore-front of his hand, thrusting it forward. Red, white, black, and yellow swarmed together in the dusk of the forest.
"Nice to see you again, Aduru." The vampire lord flashed his canines at her.
"This'll be the last time, Draeg!" The fire immortal screeched in return, shaving off a layer of back skin and spattering them both with a sticky substance. Darkling hissed at the feel of his own blood, but continued to grin sickly.
"Why are you here?" He asked lowly, narrowing his eyes to examine the shape of the other death dealer.
"To kill you." Kryeen snapped back, twisting her provocative weapon again.
His lean frame twisted away, catching the tip of the whip with the pointed blade.
"You taste differently." The black-eyed man breathed deep, filling his sensitive tongue with samples of the air.
The woman stiffened momentarily, slacking the knouter so she could pull it free.
"You taste... of worry...and...No!" With each ellipse his tone grew in cackling hysteria.
"Madman!" The Eposis attacked with her flame this time.
Her enemy only blocked with his arms, still laughing.
"You did it again, didn't you?" The crazed light in eyes the color of fresh spilled blood emphasized the cackles.
The pronged whip lashed out again, wrapping itself around the night creature's wrist and snapping the sword from his grasp. Draeg didn't struggle, but rather trembled with spasms of malicious laughter.
"You did! You filthy wench, you actually made the same mistake—twice!"
The bird-like eyes dilated, pupils elongated and sharpening within their frame.
"Who is it? The boy? Did you actually allow your heart to grasp a mortal again? When will you l—" The white-faced man was but short by a powerful kick shoved into his gut, causing blood to issue from his mouth. But he continued to ignore it for the sake of laughter.
"It is the boy. Well then, Blair you know what I am going to have to do. Our master does not approve of your love for mortals. In fact, you were sent here to eliminate all ties to your human past. Pity," Darkling paused, managing to strike the Aduru Eposis through the shoulder with his blade. More scarlet was added to the quickly coloring shadows.
"Fuck off!" The DADA teacher hissed dangerously, missing another strike with her knouter as he leaped into the air.
From his tree branch, Draeg gave the final call.
"I'll have to kill him than."
§
Harry followed the death eater, or rather the sway of his dark robe. His eyes felt too heavy to look properly upward.
Ginny...
It had been his fault, and he knew it, damn it! No one could convince him otherwise. Somehow Voldemort had found out about that tastefully sinful kiss and taken her.
Be alright, please.
"You're so worried about your little girlfriend you can hardly walk straight, Potter." Malfoy sneered with a sharp glance back.
The boy-who-lived narrowed his eyes. "She's not my girlfriend. She is my best friend's sister."
A masked wizard walking beside Lucius spoke up in a silky baritone.
"Do you kiss all your best friend's sisters then, or was that your twin?"
A hateful, guilt-ridden glance met his back.
"What's that, cat got your tongue, Potter?" The blond aristocrat asked coyly.
"It's not nearly what he did to your face." The comment was suddenly hurled thanks to late sun-rays and early moonlight that decided to frame the criminal's face.
The once haughty, pure-blood features were marred with indents and deep scars. A long, diagonal chunk was missing from his forehead and a line split his lower lip in half. He could have competed with Moody for looks.
If possible, Lucius's face turned uglier. Hands trembling with rage dove into the robe for a wand. The teen celebrity felt his fingers itch for his own wand. Unfortunately, it was currently hiding in his escort's robes.
"You brat! I'll teach you some—"
"Lucius, no! He wants the boy unharmed." The second death eater commanded, turning around with a forceful air.
Still shaking, the pure-blood let out a snarl and shoved the instrument away.
Sensing that he was safe for now, the coal-haired boy decided to test his limits. Intelligent—no. Amusing—quite so.
"So what did happen to your face then?" The underage warlock baited lightly.
The Malfoy patriarch kept stomping ahead, apparently trying Snape's patented you-don't-exist method. The reluctant hero treaded after the two taller forms. The sky seemed to be getting brighter, somehow. As though the sun was bursting forth before the finale.
"Cat got you're—" The Gryffindor never got to finish his hook as the hated blond wheeled around, foaming.
"Your damn teacher raided our camp. I could see Dumbledore taking in animals, but monsters like her?"
"Hey, watch your mouth worm." Speak of the Devil. She was suddenly right in front of them, the cause of the sporadic light.
Lucuis was paralyzed as his partner began a disarming spell.
"I'm not in the mood." Blair snapped, her hair looking like woven copper in the dim light, reflecting from golden-bronze to dulled crimson.
With frightening lack of hesitation she went to work. Her powerful hands snapped the man's neck with an audible resound. The mask fell limply off and dark hair fell limply across glazing eyes. Without waiting for the other death eater to come out of his stupor, the DADA professor rounded on her student.
Harry could not fathom that look in her eyes for a moment—relief, anger, worry?
"Come on brat, let's go." Her tone was a burning whip which he took for another's sake.
"Not without Gin—" The seeker could not even complete his demand before an unnaturally warmed touch clamped his wrist and dragged him hastily through the black maze of trees.
"Damn you kid! You have to make this difficult, don't you?" Her voice was still scathing, hunting for blood.
"You came." Was all the 6th year could say before the breath was taken from him at the speed they ran.
§
Aidan was still mulling over his captive's words when two figures came into sudden sight.
"What the hell?" He murmured, turning to a suddenly tense witch.
"It's Harry... and Blair!" Her voice rose to ecstasy as the said people halted before the cave.
The kid actually made it. The death eater wondered, while some lesser part of his conscience growled at the saucy witch beside the celebrity.
"Brat, go now." The female spat, one burning eye of fierce yellow warning him of any intrusions.
Ignoring the possibly hostile tone of the older woman, Ginny turned to him.
"Coming?"
"Gin," Harry said softly, relieve flushing his face at seeing her safe.
"Oh alright." The blond man faked a sigh and stood beside his former prisoner.
"No! No more pathetic lifeforms!" The sexy one actually bared her teeth.
"Blair, it will just take more time to argue." Scar-face input after sharing a silent message with his best friend's sister.
Can he be trusted?
I am sure he is harmless. I wouldn't put anyone in danger like that.
I believe in you, so I'll put faith in him.
Cursing, the strange professor swiveled around. "Let's just go."
The small party exited the cave, sprinting for under a minute. The sun had completely faded, and an almost tangible night had swept over the forest. Even the bravest of the human trio felt there napes prickle in response to some ancient, looming force in the shadows of this nocturnal world. And then suddenly he appeared.
Draeg Darkling was a character that fed children nightmares between his handsome face to colorless skin, fathomless hair, and blood-colored eyes. Everything about him screamed the time old image of vampire. Even as the group stopped and everyone fished for their wands, the fear was not complete yet. It could not be, with a Professor Blair Kryeen crouching over them, giving some warning noise.
Then the king of darkness smiled, a haunting image to bear the iridescent fangs.
"His blood is mine Aduru. You cannot defeat me as long as you hold it. You are incomplete."
Harry looked, confused between the dialect. Abruptly, his teacher turned to face them, black slits in her eyes instead of the round balls of pupils.
"Run." She commanded with serious force.
The words didn't belong to her tongue, to her mouth. The wizard could only stand agape.
"Now!" The immortal added with heated emphasis, shoving the boy hard.
To Ginny, Blair gave directions. "The death eater camp is south of here. Any moment and they will hear of your escape, so you have to be fast. Travel east of the moon and make a long loop until you come to the edge of the forest. Go left at the gully and shoot off some sparks. It's close enough to the school and far enough from the slime."
It was her blood, Kryeen's blood, that choked all protest from the Weasley. With a slight nod, she gripped both male's wrists and began running off into the forest.
Waiting until they were taken by the trees, the Eposis faced her challenger with a feral grin.
"Now then..."
§
It was a while before the chaser felt his hand slip from her own, causing her to stop.
"We can't leave her." Potter said, determination and defiance written all over his face.
"Are you crazy? You heard the woman, we'll get killed if we go back!" The new wizard said, cocoa eyes bulging for exclamation.
Ignoring him in favor of his friend, the seeker pleaded with her to understand.
"Gin..."
"Harry, I know how you feel." The red haired witch began softly. "But this time... Blair was serious about us not turning back for her. I think we have to listen to her, for once. Besides, I have my doubts about whether or not she can die."
"The key to being a death dealer is to have died once."
The words found themselves somewhere into the hectic mind of the chosen one.
She's immortal. She can't die.
But that thing... it had looked all too ready to rip her heart out.
"Besides that woman... Blair was it? She seemed to able to handle herself perfectly." The oldest brought up.
Reason was reawakening into the charcoal-haired youth as confused irises focused on the newcomer.
"Who are you?" It wasn't rude, but the exhausted flat of someone who has been through too much to currently worry about propriety. Funny thing was that etiquette was not on any of there minds at that moment.
"Aidan, a friend." The runaway death eater added with hesitation.
"We had a nice chat before you arrived Harry. He shouldn't be any trouble." The youngest put in at a wary glance from her comrade.
"No, I hardly think that coward is what you should be worried about." A cold, trilling voice snared the party.
Instinctively, the boy-who-lived turned around. The thoughtless action probably saved his life, as a piston of red light shot a breath's away from him.
Two robed figures were menacing in the gloom. White masks and dark capes gave them away even before the traitor's stuttering exclamation.
"DEATH EATERS!"
"We finally found you, boy." The taller figure approached, nearly gliding beneath folds of shimmering oil.
Years of desperate situations and intensive Quidditch practices had made Harry Potter very fast at addressing and acting in life-death mode. So without another moment, he grabbed the wrists of both Ginny and the man. Silent magic shot a disarming charm at the advancing death eater before he kicked up his feet and called to his paused friends.
"RUN!"
§
It had become something of a dance between them. Her erotic movements, his handsome gestures. Hit, dodge, knouter, block, blade, cross-over kick, roll, hit... on and on it went through the growing night.
His sword and her whip fought for dominance, the iron prongs rung around its hilt as the edge continued to press toward her collarbone.
"You'll die tonight." Blair hissed through clenched teeth, enjoying the adrenaline and thoughtlessness of a battle.
Draeg laughed in response. "You may be the most powerful in Spirit, little Aduru, but without the completion of the ring you can never defeat a death dealer."
The weapon broke through, piercing just left of her heart and spurting blood. Bird-like eyes never winced. Tightening her ligaments, the arms enclosed in front, forcing the offending blade to recoil.
"I don't need your fucking power trips. I'm strong on my own accord." A strong punch managed to find its way past the vampire's guard, pushing him into momentum before catching his fall.
White fingers wiped the blood from his mouth. Darkling charged again, cutting for the chest and missing when a powerful kick redirected his blow. Both sprawled away from each other and panting, the lord of night began to talk again.
"Aduru Eposis: Fire Bird. You were blessed with the gift of flight by Astor, but your spirit is that of fire. Your soul is the light, giving birth to the flame. By killing Seraphina, you achieved your element. However, the third link—your emotion... you still don't have it."
Draeg was forced to leap as the old language sprung beautifully from her lips, causing a sudden combustion of the air near him. In response, he molded his mouth to accept the ancient words, creating stakes with the very shadows. One scraped her side, but Kryeen shrugged it off and continued her assault.
"And you never will. You continue to cling to your love for mortals, Aduru. That is your flaw."
Draeg flipped his blade around and thrust straight into he flesh of the offending person. Taking the sword through her stomach, Blair twisted her knouter expertly, managing to wrap it around a white neck, speckled with royal blue blood drops in some unholy artwork.
"Seduction—the force of the fire entity. It's the reason your body was molded into aroused shapes. But as long as you hold onto your human heart, you can never be the temptress... It's a vulnerability that should have been carved out of your flesh years ago." The dark death dealer laughed even as the barbs pierced his throat.
"DIE!" The once-human screeched, feeling her control slipping until the knouter contracted around her enemy's throat. Red eyes blazed with inner madness, black hair had become a raven hue from the blue blood it was moped with. A fading trickle of the life-sustaining liquid wound down from his mouth, showing brackish fangs. He was the embodiment of night—fear, mystery, and fallen grace.
The prongs cut through the jugular.
The DADA professor knew he was dead before she felt his body stiffen. The gateway opened to the side of her eyes, gray waters cascading around a soul that had evaded it for so long.
Releasing the weapon, the firecracker dropped to the ground, panting and bleeding. But a content victory still lingered in the wild light of her eyes. That is, until she heard the cry.
It wasn't loud or even tangible. Rather it was a deep summon of one soul to another. An ability she knew could only belong to one person.
"Brat..." The weakened immortal muttered, hulling herself up again.
The night was waiting.
§
A/N: Hehe, cliffhanger! Oo, and if you love me then leave me a pm message since I re-edited all my chapters and ff won't let you normally review ;-( Luv ya all!