The Good Son
Chapter Twenty
Cataclysm
Albus walked with a predatory grace, the grass shrivelling and blackening beneath his feet. Hogwarts loomed before him, magnificent and ancient. It was here that Merlin had stood during his last confrontation with Morgana. It was here that the four founders had raised a school that had stood for a thousand years. And it was here where his pain had begun.
But it was not the history of the school that had led him here; it was the convergence point of magical ley lines upon which it had been built. For magic flowed beneath the bones of the world, hot and untapped, converging only in a few isolated places throughout the globe. This was the source of Europe's magic and to The Lord of Shadows it seemed poetic that it all end where it had once begun.
In the distance he could see tiny silhouettes fleeing before his gathering darkness –Minerva seems to have sounded a full evacuation of the school. He found it amusing that they would run, thinking that distance would save them from his wrath. It was not so, for once he began there would be no safe place left upon this world.
But why did they flee? He was a saviour, sent to end the illusion that was life and the myth that was happiness. They should welcome him with open arms, for he would help them find the bliss of death.
A whisper from another life called out to him as he caught a glimpse of turquoise blue hair, one of Hogwarts professors, in the distance escorting the students to safety and trying to stave off the rampant lightning that struck the ground in a dozen places with his wand. He struggled, fighting to put a name to the wolfish, blue-haired man.
Terdey Looopeen. No that wasn't right. Or was it? He couldn't remember anymore, it sounded right and so therefore it was. There was something different about the man though, he was not like the other paltry humans which fled before him. His scent was not quite . . . human, more wolf, more beast than man. He would make fine prey.
But something a faint glimmer in the most forgotten part of his mind whispered:
"No, not prey . . . brother."
The Lord of Shadows dismissed the petty voice but continued on towards the castle nonetheless. There would be time to hunt after he had purged the world of suffering, if any of the humans survived that was. So he humoured the voice of the scared little boy within his mind, trapped within the Darkness that he himself had woven and extended his consciousness to the heavens. By his will alone the lightning seemed to ebb away from the turquoise wolf-man, instead striking the earth around him.
Besides, he had only one brother and that brother had dark brown hair and hazel eyes.
The earth trembled as he cast open the doors of the castle, a powerful quake causing stone chips and dust to fall from the high ceiling. There was a yell behind him, a small group or students and aurors standing on the entrance stairs with their wands pointed at him.
Fools.
He held his arm out towards them, his fist clenched and he watched them grow taut as his magic washed over them. A wicked grin lit his maniacal face as he smelled the fear, thick and cloying in the Ozone charged air, and then he opened his fist in a single, quick motion. Those who had stood to oppose him burst like flesh-filled balloons of blood and bone that had been pricked by a pin. Blood and gore splashed wetly across the stone steps, the first drops of rain making them run like a river of chunky red. A few drops landed on his lips and he reached out his tongue to lick them, savouring the coppery taste of death as he made his way through the deserted castle.
He reached his destination, the Astronomy Tower, and his Darkness flared. Like a whip it tensed before cracking, pouring from every fibre of his being as it poisoned the ley-lines of the world. The world trembled, harsh fissures opening across the globe as it was tortured. She, the Earth, bled molten fire from her cuts as her blue skies darkened beneath the ever growing storm clouds, the land reeling under constant strikes of lightning. The oceans roiled and rose like in waves of pure destruction, swirling winds descended from the heavens to cut through civilisation like hot knives through butter.
For he was a monster, a beast, a God.
But deep inside, beneath it all, he was just a scared, little boy who had suffered too much.
(*)(*)(*)
"Hermione?" called Ginny as she apparated directly into the Manor, James and Alison following close after; baby Trystane in her daughter-in-law's hands. He was just a month old, having been born a month premature and had inherited his father's dark near-black hair and his mother's pale green eyes. The family of four had been eating dinner at their home when Hermione's patronus had appeared at their table and commanded that they turn up at the Manor. She blanched suddenly at the sight of her criminal ex-husband lying whimpering on the floor, his body twisted at odd angles, every breath seeming torture to him. She felt sick at the sight, but managed to collect herself when she saw the livid expression on Draco's face as he paced the room; Hermione seemed furious and devastated in equal measure.
"What the hell is going on?" barked James, his eyes widening when a second set of apparitions echoed through the room, turning he saw Victoire appear with her two children in hand, her eyes grim and worried.
"Teddy just sent a patronus, they're evacuating Hogwarts," she said in a shaky voice as she sank into one of the couches, not seeming to notice the presence of the Potters. But she noticed Harry, and Ginny was stunned when the gentlest woman in their entire family reached out and slapped him hard, causing his jaw to shift and him to howl in guttural agony.
"Evacuating Hogwarts?" Alison looked ill, "Can somebody explain what's happening?"
"Ask him!" spat Hermione, gesturing to Harry with a disgusted look on her face.
"Albus . . ." murmured Cassiopeia, who Ginny just noticed was there. The young blonde woman was being held by her brothers Scorpius and Hugo, both of whom were glaring furiously at Harry. Ginny's heart sank as she saw the girl's tears, no no no, he can't be dead . . . I'm his mother, I would feel it.
"He isn't dead," said Teddy grimly, walking in through the fireplace with Rose in tow, "It's worse than that." Both of them were still wearing their work robes and were soaked through with rain and mud.
"What could be worse than being dead?" asked Alison as she rocked her son. Ginny noticed that James was stonily silent; he had angry tears in his eyes. Then he walked forward and slammed his fist into his father's stomach, growling as Harry spewed blood in response. Andrea Lupin shrieked and buried her head in her mother's skirts. There was a tense silence before two of Albus' friends, Ginny recognized them as Francesca – her son's new sister-in-law through her marriage to Hugo – and Katherine who was holding a baby of her own, hurried forward and declared that the children should be taken upstairs. Hermione nodded as Victoire and Alison followed the two girls up, herding the kids with them. Francesca looked especially ticked off, she had been on her honeymoon when Draco's patronus had shown up and called them both back to the Manor.
"What did you do?" snarled James as soon as the children were gone. He pulled back his fist to slam it into his father's gut again but was thrown back when the entire house seemed to quake. A few minutes later the shaking stopped and everyone stared at each other, wondering what was happening. Hermione and Draco just exchanged significant looks.
"He exhumed Leo, stole his hair and then used polyjuice to try and get close enough to Albus to kill him," said Scorpius in a harsh voice, stroking his sister's back as she broke into fresh tears.
"Albus lost control didn't he?" Ginny phrased it as a statement rather than a question, backing away from Harry as bile welled up in her stomach – too think she had shared a bed with such a monster – she remembered Albus storming into Grimmauld Place to rescue her all that time ago, remembered his power and how he uncontrollable he had been. She gave off a low moan f despair when Hermione nodded.
The earth shook again violently, this time there were loud crashes as several vases and other antique pieces of decor crashed to the ground.
"Ginny, I suggest you send patronus' out to the rest of your family; the Manor is the only safe place right now." Ginny nodded, her lower lip trembling as she got to her feet and walked a slight distance away from the others to send out the messages to her brothers and parents.
(*)(*)(*)
The earth shook again, a powerful tremor that they only managed to remain standing through thanks to the powerful magical spells and wards that were cast over the Manor. Teddy had informed them that Albus was at Hogwarts, which was also the origin of the magical storm that was enveloping the entire globe. From what they could gather, he was pouring huge amounts of dark magic into the earth and sky, thus creating what the muggles would call Judgement Day. Right now those members of the family with foreign contacts were trying to establish what the damage was so far. Harry had been thrown into the Malfoy dungeons but not before James, Draco and Scorpius had all taken turns to hit him with the cruciatus curses.
Cassiopeia had revoked her life debt to him when it became clear he was on the verge of death, when several had protested her apparent mercy she had responded in an icy tone.
"If he dies then he gets the peace of death . . . if he lives then he can spend the rest of his miserable life being tortured for what he's done. He's going to the Black Cells, and he is going to suffer there for as long he lives."
Nobody had raised a voice to contradict her or to defend him after her proclamation.
(*)(*)(*)
"A tsunami just hit the entire eastern seaboard of America," said Hermione, her face distraught as she stepped away from the floo, "Millions are dead."
Scorpius suddenly blanched bone white, grabbing hold of the wall to steady himself before he fell backwards into the sofa. "Lily and Orion are in America . . ." he whispered faintly. Ginny gave a small scream when she heard this before sinking to the ground with her head buried in her hands. Behind her Trystane began crying in his mother's arms – too young to understand yet somehow knowing that something was very wrong. Alison had left Kat and Victoire to look after the other children and had come back down with Francesca too see what they could do to help. James paced the room, his eyes closed, only one thought echoing through his mind.
He had failed Albus again.
"The Ring of Fire is active," said Draco as he walked in from the next room, his face ashen, "Volcanoes all around the world are erupting."
"I've just received word from Egypt," added Bill grimly as the patronus he had been conversing with flickered and vanished, "The Mediterranean Sea just flooded into the Sahara."
"Perhaps instead of checking the damage, we should be thinking of a way out of this mess," pointed out Molly Weasley, her voice remarkably calm as she settled on the plush arm-chair that Narcissa Malfoy had favoured in life.
"We just need to restore the wards around Al's heart," said Cassiopeia quietly.
"I've seen you do that before," said Ginny hoarsely, "Why aren't you there right now doing just that."
"Because I can't dammit," cried Cassiopeia in a tone that was so rife with despair that it cut everyone who heard her to the bone, "I love him more than life itself but I can't go that close to so much dark magic without hurting my baby . . . And I can't bring myself to risk losing another child." She was crying again, causing Scorpius and Rose to shoot Ginny with dirty looks.
"I can," said James suddenly, "I can cast the wards." Alison opened her mouth to protest but James held up a hand to silence her.
"Nobody can get close enough to him," pointed out Teddy Lupin grimly, he had been at Hogwarts when Minerva had begun evacuating the school. He had seen what Albus had done to those who had tried to stand in his way, "Anyone who gets within two dozen feet of him gets ripped to bloody shreds."
"He won't hurt me," insisted James, "I can get close enough to talk him back; I can recast the wards that hold back his darkness."
"James," said Alison gently yet fearfully, "What if he . . . you have a son, you can't put yourself in danger like that."
"He won't hurt me," said James, ignoring his wife, "He's my baby brother . . . he would never hurt me. I can save him." Draco and Scorpius both looked at him with pity in their eyes, Rose shook her head morosely before her eyes brightened, "And we can shield you," said Rose.
"Shield me?" asked James quizzically, nearly falling to the ground as the entire Manor shook violently. The wards could only do so much to negate the cataclysm affecting the world outside.
"Yes," said Hermione, catching on to her daughter's train of thought, "We can use our magic to shield you, it will buy you time to get close enough. But Albus is so powerful . . . I can feel his power from here and it eclipses Voldemort, a barrier won't last long against him."
"Not if we work together," said Rose, her years as a curse-breaker had thought her many tricks of the trade. Bill looked up with interest, effortlessly catching onto what his fellow curse breaker was saying when everyone else seemed lost to the meaning of her words.
"It's an old curse-breaker trick," explained Bill, "Usually in dangerous tombs, a team of us cast a barrier around one specific individual, who will then enter the tomb and break the curses from within. The barrier is maintained by the magical energy of his teammates and protects him from being hurt by the curses placed on the tomb."
"Exactly," said Rose, "We can shield James and then he can get close enough to seal Albus."
"I'll help," said Molly Weasley, "Show me how to cast a barrier." Arthur nodded in agreement beside her, stating that he would lend his magic as well.
"He's my son," muttered Ginny, "I'm helping too."
"And my husband," said Cass. Alison nodded, "You're not going without my protection James." The two witches shared a look of grim understanding.
All around the room people were nodding and lending their support as Rose and Bill showed them how to weave the magical barriers that would shield James from Albus' darkness. James didn't know whether to laugh or cry as he took in the room . . . Slytherins, Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws all were working together for the greater good . . . Weasleys and Malfoys working as a single cohesive unit to save the world.
You brought them together Albus . . . Now let me bring you home . . .
(*)(*)(*)
A/N: Just one more chapter and the Epilogue to go.
Review Please, If I get 10 reviews for this chapter and the next two each I reach my goal of 200. If I reach 200, then I will release the Prologue for the Sequel on Saturday.