CHAPTER 3: FEAR AND FIGHT
Ten nights have passed since Severus learned about the secret within the castle. Helping the headmaster and the other professors to strengthen the now fragile barriers that surround the school was not the problem; the problem would be keeping the secret of the school deep within his head away from prying minds, such us the Dark Lord.
True that he is a good Occlumens but it is rather hard to keep his mind to set still if both Dumbledore and the Dark Lord are breathing down his neck every single night of the week. Not to mention that almost all of his fellow Death Eaters and the Order don't trust him.
And to add to his pile of problems, the Headmaster had asked him to go to Japan and escort the new core to her new home. "Damn it," cursed Severus as he walked down the castle step, "Why can't he send Torrington down there." Up until now he hasn't come to term with the idea that the headmaster, will take a persons life and shut her in the bowels of the castle just to keep the magic that strengthen the barriers around the school. "I have better things to do than to fetch that child." He muttered again as he trotted down towards the school's gate. The once black velvety sky is now streaked with lights as the night gave why to the dawn.
When he reached the gate, he pulled a vial from inside his robe and swallowed the somewhat putrid-looking potion, "arrhhgg," he said grimacing while returning the empty vial inside his robe, "I should have added honey to this horrid concoction."
A soft tingling sensation started from the tip of his toes and it slowly rises until it reaches his scalp leaving a cool feeling to his body. His once greasy black hair is now a light brown and cut just above the nape of his neck and his once hooked nose changed into a rather straight Greek nose. The potion purpose is to change Snape's appearance and cover his magic during his mission so that both Ministry and Death Eaters can't detect any traces that might lead to them to where the new core is residing. "Let's get on with this insanity." He muttered a spell and 'popped' out of sight.
Somewhere in the Shikinejima Island, Japan
Running footsteps were heard outside the grounds of the Fujiwara mansion. Screams from both parties reverberated through the night. The mansion was under attack by a group of dark wizards and witches and other tennyos.
Acrid smells pervaded throughout the house as the eldest son of the Fujiwara clan fired a shot to a charging muggle, to protect his wife who was busy hurtling fire balls to the charging wizards. "Damn it, they are using muggles!" his wife shouted at the top of her lungs after the man that his husband shoot crumbled near her feet. "How is Azami doing outside--.Did?" But her sentenced was cut off by a loud blast outside that forced the glass windows to break, followed by a crashing sound as the youngest member of the Fujiwara siblings; dive in through the shattered windows from the turmoil outside. "You called, Columbella?" asked the black-haired girl grimly as she stood up. "Don't worry, the children are safe they are with Sasuke and Ayumi is putting the muggles to sleep with her singing while erecting a barrier around the island and now," she said through clenched teeth. "Let's finish these pests off." She inhaled and summoned her powers to surface. She raised her left arm forward and concentrated her power on her palm, a bluish ball of energy started to appear at the palm of her outreached hand, pulsing to life. When the ball grew twice its original size, Azami immediately hurled the energy ball to the remaining wizards that her sister-in-law missed a while ago. The energy ball exploded forcing the ceiling of the front hall to crash down on the intended targets.
"Azami, are you all right?" her sister-in-law called out.
"Yeah…" Azami coughed as she wiped of some dust off her hair. "Brother, transform already, Yuuhi and Hiro need your help outside!"
Her brother nodded and in one flash, he transformed into a Tennin, complete with wings. "I'm on it."
But Kaido stopped in mid-flight when both his wife and sister screamed in unison. Azami screamed in pain, while his wife in alarmed. "Azami!" screamed Columbella, running towards her sister-in-law. "What's wrong with you?" Azami was already lying on the floor, shouting and thrashing in pain. Columbella was frantically sending fire balls to a charging wizard that manages to deflect her every aim, while trying to clutch Azami's flaying hands. It was only after, she give the wizard a flying kiss of death did she noticed the bruises and wounds on Azami's arms and face. "Tennyo can heal their wounds fast but why is she bleeding fast and not healing?!" she asked herself. She turned here head, anxiously scanning the room for her husband. "KAIDO!" she screamed again. "DO SOMETHING!"
"I CAN'T" her husband replied, who was busy fighting with another Tennin. "I'M A LITTLE BUSY RIGHT NOW!"
"But I can" a voiced answered. Columbella whirled her head around, a fire ball ready at her hand. "And who the heck are you?" she hissed suspiciously to the new comer.
Severus groaned inwardly as he Apparated and landed ungracefully on hard ground. When he managed to stand straight without losing his balance, he hurriedly surveys his self to make sure that all his body parts were still intact. This kind of travel is made with the use of a portkey and not by apparating. I swear Dumbledore I'll hex you 'til the next millennia if I get through this, he muttered angrily. He hurriedly pulled his wand from inside his robes and waited for a moment for any jinx, curse or hex to come out of no where but none came. He was about to relax a bit when he heard a loud bang near by. Severus ran towards the origin of the sound but stopped short when he saw the chaos that greeted him. The mansion of the Fujiwara was burning; bodies were strewn on the lawn, and dressed in wizard robes, feathery robes and muggle clothes. Snape could see three men and a woman fighting with the remaining wizards and witches. "Am I to late to save her," He asked himself as he scanned the whole scene when another blast erupted near east side of the mansion. "Merlin's beard! What was that?" he was about to utter another curse when he noticed a young girl with long black hair that look exactly like the girl the mirror showed three nights ago, dive in through the newly shattered window. "Merlin, why me?" Snape asked himself angrily as he followed the girl inside the burning mansion.
The whole ground floor of the east side of the mansion is in ruins. The remnants of the front hall is about to collapse. And right in the middle of the room was four people. The young girl that Severus followed was lying on her back, writhing in pain, while another woman was hurling fireballs at the remaining wizards, and lastly Snape saw two Tennin fighting at each other.
Severus returned his attention to the two women and was ready to help them but stopped short when he saw that the advancing wizard stopped and collapsed. "What the--," the only thing that the woman did was send a flying kiss to her opponents and after a few second the man died.
The potion master was about to rack his brain for any explanation to help him understand the bizarre situation he just witnessed when the younger girl let out another blood-curdling scream. He snapped out into attention and ran and slide at the same time trying to dodge whizzing energy balls coming from the two fighting tennins, towards the two women.
The first thing that came to Severus mind as to why the young girl is writhing in pain was the Cruciatus Curse, one of the three unforgivable curses that the Dark Lord favors. He offered his help to the older woman as he skidded to a halt near them. Severus only smirked when he saw that the woman was ready to blast him to smithereens if he threatens the younger girl's life. "I am an ally." He can't use any counter spells because it may jeopardize his mission but he needs to calm the young girl before her power will affect the other residents of the island. He almost dropped a vial filled with Calming Potion when his hands to shake uncontrollably as he felt an unbidden wave of fear. He tried to fight back the coldness that started to take a hold of him as the young girl's grasped his hand when he let her drink the potion. His breathing was getting erratic and he was seeing the things that he wanted to forget that brought him pain and fear when he was still a child.
"SEV," he heard his mother voice. "Hurry run and hide, your father is coming. GOO!" and was followed by, "YOU THINK THAT I WILL BELIEVE YOU THAT FREAK IS MY SON!" a man shouted, his voice was slurred due to 2 bottles of whiskey that he finished from the pub next door. The shouting was followed by a long wail from his mother as his drunken father beat the life out of her.
"NOOO!" Severus heard himself scream. "It can't be." he said as he gulps for air. "No, it was a long time ago." He knew that he his father can't hurt him and his mother anymore. His mother died a long time ago and the git of a father has drunk himself to death long before he, Severus Snape entered his third year in Hogwarts. This continued until he felt a pair of hands, shaking him as if he was mere rag –doll. "Snap out if it." The voice shouted at him. He snapped out of his trance and looked around him; the cold atmosphere that nearly chokes him to death was gone. The room was quiet. "What happened?" He asked hoarsely.
"The fight is over. We manage to defeat the remaining wizards, witches and the other tennyos," a young man answered. "But the real question is who are you?"
Severus was about to answer darkly, embarrassed that he was not able to control himself a while ago when an elderly man replied for him. "He is one of our allies. He is here to escort Azami to another safe place."
"What?" the woman who Severus recognized as the one who did the 'kiss of death', asked loudly.
"My daughter needs to go to school where she will be trained to control her power?" the elderly man answered back, rather mournfully. "She is not safe here."
"Dad, what do you mean," Kaido asked, angrily. "She is safe with us!"
"But how about the people that surrounds us?" their father countered. "We almost lost Ayumi an hour ago when she put up a shield to trap the mounting power of Azami to stay with in the mansion's grounds. The people outside the ward cannot take the full impact of her power."
"Dad, Azami is not to be held responsible for what happened tonight." A young woman slipped in through the broken window. "We all know that Azami can control her power even if it reaches to its full height. She was manipulated by another tennin, I was busy putting a charm to the muggles to make them sleep that I was too late in nullify that pest's power before he manipulated Azami's power."
"Ayumi are you all right?" her husband asked.
"Of course I'm all right, husband" answered his wife wanly. "But Azami is not."
True, the youngest sibling of the Fujiwara family was not okay. Although the power that manipulated her was already destroyed, the result of it was not. Bruises that sported the different shade of purple, green, and yellow were all over her body. Deep cuts were also visible on her face and legs. Her eyes closed and her breathing was shallow and was accompanied by a moan every few seconds.
When Hiro checked Azami's pulse, he immediately turned white. "Kaido, is that the same-," he asked his older brother.
"I am afraid it is." Kaido replied through clenched teeth, "Damn why can't she have some peace."
"I should have killed that bloody--," cursed Yuuhi the third eldest siblings.
"But why did she immediately calm down after Ayumi nullify the tennin responsible for this." Kin qarried, he is the youngest among the four male sons of the Fujiwara family. "Who calmed her down? As far as I know you can't easily nullify that guy's power."
"I gave her a potion." Severus announced hoarsely as he tried to stand up. "It was a Calming Potion." He was about to ask another question when Kaido held a knife at his face. "You know what, you may have save my sister, my father may have answered to why are you here but you never really answered the question that I asked," Kaido transformed to his human form but he still held the knife that he was holding close to Snape's neck. "Who are you?
At that same moment Severus draw out his wand, ready to defend him if necessary. Orders or no orders he will teach this boy a lesson…a very painful lesson…no one not even one insult him went home unscathed, not even the Maureders. Severus will die first before he would let a arrogant pup start to insult him. They were about to go at each others throat Azami started to scream again.
"Enough! Kin, hurry…" There father hurriedly picked the screaming Azami while the youngest of his son transformed again into a tennin. A celestial wheel suddenly appeared; the rest of the Fujiwara stepped into the glowing circle. "Are you coming or not?" Yuuhi asked the Professor, "Well what are you waiting for? Sister what are you doing…this is not the time for you to dawdle!"
"I was not dawdling!" she snapped. "I found this in the rubble." She placed it on the outreached hand of her husband. "No wonder she could not control her power, it was broken." Laying on the Kaido's palm is a necklace with a circular pendant. The pendant was cracked in the middle, breaking the specimen within the amber. "I think Sasuke can fix this." His wife only nodded in agreement.
"Sir are you coming or not?" Kin asked.
Severus joined the family in the circle, clearly confused as to where they are going. "Yuuhi did you already charmed the place?" Mr. Fujiwara asked.
"Yes dad," replied his. "This place well look as if nothing happened to night and I already send the bodies to their ships out in the bay. The muggle will not remember any of the event that happen here."
"Well then," Kaido added. "Kin take us home."
AN: So what do you think of this chapter? Review please