AUTHOR'S NOTE This story takes place before the episode "Rosetta," so I had to come up with some way of making Clark learn that his birth name was Kal-El. Think of it as seeing your life flash before your eyes before you die. Except of course, being Superman, Avada Kedavra doesn't kill him. And thanks for sticking with me during my 2 ½ month hiatus – I'm back now!
Since the advent of the Review Reply feature, I try not to reply to individual reviewers here in chapters, but when the reviewer stays anonymous, I can't do it that way. So in response to "Mister," here are some answers hopefully to your questions.
First, the timeline. If you go by the dates in both canons, Harry was born in 1980 (the date is given in Chamber of Secrets as 1992 – 1993, the year he turns twelve) and Cho is a year older than him, making her born in 1979. Lana was born in 1986, making her three years old when the meteor shower came in 1989. So yes, Cho is seven years older than Lana. Lex was nine when the meteor shower hit, making him the same age as Harry.
In regards to Cho's seemingly scattered disposition, yes she was in Ravenclaw, but I would hardly call her actions in Order of the Phoenix level-headed. Everything Harry does turns her overly emotional. Yes, she is older here, but she has just found out that Dumbledore, the man who she had once trusted with her life, betrayed her. She doesn't know what to think, hence the adoption-abandonment-kidnapped confusion. The Kents are too freaked out to help her before she runs away again. She's supposed to be dead, remember?
Finally, you are right about Voldemort not being around when Clark gets there. That's my error. But he was regaining strength for years, so it is possible that he was somehow made aware of it. And anyway, this is fanfiction.
Thanks as always to my incredibly patient beta Lauren. And as one final note, remember that this story does not follow Deathly Hallows.
DISCLAIMER I don't own anyone.
"Bellatrix," Cho whispered. She still held Lana in her arms, who was nearly hysterical. "What do you want from me?"
Bellatrix laughed and Harry and the others cringed. "Why my dear Liza – "
"My name is Cho!"
Bellatrix flicked her wrist and Cho was hit by Goyle's Crucio. Lana took the opportunity to fling herself at Whitney's body, but Clark ran to hold her back just in time. Instead she buried her face in his chest and sobbed. Clark held her and kept a hand by her face to keep her from staring at Whitney.
"As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted," Bellaxtrix said haughtily, "I don't want you at all, Liza my dear." She leered at Lex and Clark. "I just want to meet your new friends."
Cho froze as she saw Lex stand in front of Harry and the others. "No," she whispered, shaking her head.
"What do you want from us?" Lex asked.
Bellatrix cocked an eyebrow. "Oh little Luthor, you know what I want!" She stepped closer to him. "Or should I say who?"
Clark let go of Lana. "Kal-El," he whispered. "Leave him alone!" he shouted.
"Clark, no!" Cho said. "You don't know what she's capable of!" Clark glared at her.
"She's right, you know," Bellatrix purred. "I can be very, very dangerous. But lucky for you, you aren't the one I'm looking for." Then her wand was out and pointed at Clark's chest. "Or maybe unlucky. Avada Kedavra!"
Clark knew that he couldn't move or the curse would hit Lana, who had moved behind him. She was screaming, but he was only dimly aware of it. He did not know what the Killing Curse would do to him, but he knew what it would do to her.
The pain that spread through his chest as the curse hit was unlike anything he had ever felt from meteor rocks. Lex and Lana both cried out, but Clark was experiencing something very strange and barely heard them.
A vision blossomed before his eyes, unfolding into stars and planets and a giant red sun. A voice spoke in his ear. "You are the last son of Krypton, Kal-El. Make us proud."
'It's me,' he thought as he hit the ground, unable to move. 'Bellatrix is looking for me.' And then everything went black.
…
"Clark!" Lana sobbed as Clark's body fell in front of her. He landed next to Whitney and didn't move again. "Oh God, oh God, no!"
Cho wrapped her little sister in her arms as tears gathered in her eyes. Both of the men Lana had loved were dead. Her voice cracked as she spat at Bellatrix, "You bitch! Just leave us alone!"
Harry stepped up. "Just take me and be done with it!" he cried. "End this!"
With a shake of her head and a cluck of her tongue, Bellatrix just said, "Not everything is about you, Potter."
Meanwhile, Bill and Hermione had taken Ron, Gabrielle, and Lex toward the dark fissure in the back of the cave wall. They froze when Bellatrix smiled coldly at Lex. "Today, it's about him."
Cho's heart sank and desperately she cried, "Run!"
Hermione grabbed Harry while Bill gathered the others and took off into the blackness behind them. It took all of Cho's strength to carry Lana away. Bellatrix just grinned before she and her followers Disapparated.
…
"Quick!" Hermione cried. "Into the cornfields!"
Cho carried Lana cradled in her arms, tears blurring her vision. Lana was shaking with sobs and Cho tightened her grip as they ran. Finally, somewhere in the middle of the cornstalks, the group came to a skidding halt, clustered in a circle and gasping for breath.
"Did we lose them?" asked Lex.
Harry grimly shook his head. "I doubt it."
Lex absorbed his words and nodded. Harry grabbed his shoulder as Lex stumbled, a blank look on his face. He looked up at Harry with lost eyes. "Where's Clark?"
Harry swallowed the lump in his throat and replied as gently as possible, "Clark's dead, Lex."
Lex's eyes glazed a little and more of his weight fell onto Harry. Harry took a deep breath and scanned the corn stalks around them. Ron was at his left shoulder. "We can't stop, Harry. She'll find us."
Panting, Harry nodded. "I know." He glanced at Lex and then at Lana still sobbing in her sister's arms. "We need to get them out."
"Well where – "
Ron froze in the middle of his sentence as thunderous cracks startled them from just beyond the clearing. Almost as though in some kind of twisted slow motion, Bellatrix emerged in front of Harry and Lex.
Lex blinked and seemed to return to his senses. "You killed Clark," he said.
Bellatrix broke into a wide smile. Lex shakily stood his ground as she came toward him. "You," she purred. "You're the one we're looking for."
Lana, Cho, and the rest of the group looked at Lex, wide-eyed. Lex looked at them, then back at Bellatrix. "What are you talking about?" he demanded.
"Come, come, little alien, you can't hide from me. You repelled the Imperius curse. You seem to be the black sheep of a rich and powerful family. How can you not be the creature that fell from the sky?"
"You little lapdog Draco can resist Imperio and he's from a rich and powerful family too," Ron snapped. "You don't think he's an alien, do you?"
Bellatrix lazily motioned to Draco behind her, who leveled his wand. "Crucio!" he murmured, grinning. Ron fell to the ground screaming.
Lex shuddered. "Look, lady, I don't know who you think I am, but you've got it all wrong!"
"I think not, little Kal-El."
"What?" he sputtered. "Who's Kal-El? You're insane!"
"Gee, you're just now figuring that out?" Ron managed to say before screaming again as another red bolt hit him from Goyle's wand.
Hermione couldn't take it anymore and dropped to Ron's side. "Stop it!" she cried. "You're killing him!"
Bellatrix laughed. "Once Kal-El gives himself over to me, I will let the Weasley go."
Hermione, Bill, Harry, and Gabrielle all turned to Lex. "Do something!" Hermione pleaded.
"I'm not him!" he said desperately. "I swear! What do you want me to do?"
Cho had finally set Lana down, but was still holding the girl up. "What's she going to do to Lex?" Lana whispered fearfully.
Cho blinked back tears. "She's completely crazy. She could kill him if she wanted to."
Lana buried her head in Cho's shoulder as Bellatrix pulled out her wand. "I'm not going to ask you again. Come with me or your friends all die." Lex's eyes filled with fear as she pointed the wand at his heart.
…
Clark blinked woozily and sat up. "What the Hell was that?" he asked groggily. There was no answer. He looked around. "Hello? Where is everyone? Lana? Lex? Uh, Harry?" he called, but got no reply. He put his hand to his forehead and tried to shake off the heavy blanket-like feeling that seemed to envelop him.
He remembered the woman with the dark hair holding a wand out toward him. She said something strange and then a bright green curse hit him square in the chest. It was pain unlike anything he'd felt before. Suddenly it occurred to him that the others were in danger too. That woman must have taken them after he'd been knocked out. He struggled to stand.
Sharp pains assaulted him from where the curse had hit. He gasped and doubled over. It was felt like he had a particularly large meteor rock strapped to his chest.
The others needed him. He had to get to them, but the pain was so intense that he wasn't sure he could make it. 'Lana's out there,' he thought.
He tried not to look at Whitney's body as he passed. After a second thought, he turned and painfully leaned down to close the boy's blank, staring eyes. Then he summoned every last ounce of strength and ran for the cornfields.
…
Lex tried to ward off Bellatrix with his hands outstretched, although he knew that it would do him no good. "Look, lady, I know you think I'm an alien or your lost savior or something, but I swear to you I'm just human!"
She sniffed. "No mere human would be able to resist my Imperius curse."
To everyone's surprise, Lex laughed dryly. "You think I'm an alien because you're losing your touch? You're kidding."
That made Bellatrix angry. "How dare you!" The look of ugly hatred melted into sick amusement. "I'll prove to everyone that you are Kal-El." With her wand aimed, she shouted, "Avada Kedavra!"
The bolt of green energy hurtled through the air toward Lex, faster than he could move out of its way. Cho screamed and Lana sobbed as she fell to the ground. The others watched in silent horror.
No one saw the blur as Clark sped onto the scene. He threw himself in front of Lex. He screamed in pain as the curse seared his hand and cradled it against his chest. When he finally looked up, he saw everyone staring at him in shock, friend or enemy alike.
"Clark?" Lana whispered.
Bellatrix narrowed her eyes dangerously. "You're alive," she hissed. "That's impossible! The only person to survive that curse was him," she spat and pointed a long finger at Harry. Harry glared defiantly back.
Gabrielle laughed coldly. "Yes, it was that whole motherly love thing. Nothing important."
"Crucio!" Bellatrix cried in frustration, as though she were dealing with an impudent pet. Harry dropped to Gabrielle's side, holding her as she writhed in pain. Bellatrix leveled her wand at Clark again. "You should be dead. How did you survive?"
Clark ignored her and looked around him. "Are you guys alright?"
No one answered. Lana had climbed to her feet and was looking at him in wonder. Everyone else just looked confused and thankful.
Lex looked at him, dazed with fear and relief. "Clark, how did you survive that?" His expression turned strange. "How did I survive that?"
Bellatrix took the opportunity to hurl a Cruciatus Curse at Clark, but the red bolt bounced off of him harmlessly and sizzled when it hit the ground. Her eyes widened in horror. "Who are you?"
Clark saw Lana, Lex, Harry, Cho, and all of the others staring at him, all wondering that very same thing. He took a deep breath and knew he had no choice.
"I am Kal-El."