From the Author's Mind (June 2011)
Merry New Year/Christmas/Chanukah/Kwanzaa/Ramadan/Other Religion. There. No idiot lawsuits about me being racists against religions _; As 2006 (EDIT: OH MY GOD WAS IT REALLY THAT LONG AGO? GOOD GOD) approaches and Irealize I'm going to be a Senior (EDIT: In high school… at the time of this editing, I'm a Senior in college…) before long, I'm hoping my writing improves. It's been a while since we've heard from our dear friends at Whitestone Academy, and they're here to spread their insanity once more. From dark wizards to screaming portraits to some potato chips to duct tape, it's gonna be a fun chapter. Enjoy the Edited Version!
Chapter 5
It was late at night at the end of the first week at Whitestone Academy. Many of the students, the ones with magical abilities anyway, made their way towards Potions. Actually, that was a complete lie. Only sixteen brave souls had decided to weather Snape's wrath for almost an hour, each looking more nervous with each approaching step than the next. When they finally reached the building, they had to go right into the basement. Snape seemed to keep his fetish for sub-ground rooms alive.
"Enter," he said, coldly, sweeping them all inside, "And stand at the front of the room. I want to split you up myself."
"More assigned seats?" moaned Lloyd.
"Your name is Lloyd, correct?" asked Snape.
"Yes," Lloyd replied nervously, "Give me your name and I'll give you mine."
"I can't believe he just did that…" muttered Ron, looking aghast.
"Lloyd, you idiot," hissed Genis.
"Well, now," said Snape, smoothly, "It would appear we have a smart-mouth in this class. And there is a flaw in your little scheme, Mr. Irving: you already gave me your name, and I see no need to give you mine. I will, however, give you a detention. Pity we don't have houses here to dock points from…"
"We could," said Luna, happily.
"Miss Lovegood, when I want your opinion, I will ask for it. Five points from… gah… old habits die hard…" Snape said, sweeping to his desk, and picking up his wand, "Here is your seating chart. As you can undoubtedly see, you will be seated two to a table, with two tables in each row. First row: Potter, Tak, and Male Weasley, Lloyd."
"Aw man… front row again…" sighed Lloyd.
"If you'd kept your mouth shut, you might get a row back a little," muttered Sheena.
"Great. I get to sit next to him…" muttered Ron.
"Good luck. I get to sit next to the second best Potions witch in this class," said Harry with a grin.
"Second row… Dib, Zelos, and Genis, Lovegood," Snape said.
"Aw, Professor… why the crazy kid with the big head?" asked Zelos sadly.
"My head is not big!" hissed Dib.
"Yes it isssssss," sang Girtrude.
"Luna? Oh great…" Genis said as Luna smiled happily at him, "We're all gonna die…"
"Third row. Gaz, Iggins, and Sheena, Girtrude," Snape said.
Gaz looked like she was going to combust. Her eyes widened, her face muscles tensed, and the fire erupted around her again.
"HOW COULD YOU?" she roared while Iggins looked equally disdainful at sharing a table with her.
"Ack… I'm gonna die, too," Sheena said, taking her seat next to Girtrude, who was rocking back and forth and singing "Yankee Doodle," under his/her breath.
"Final Row. Other Weasley, Zim, and Granger, Colette," said Snape.
"Victory for Zim!" Zim screeched, sitting in the back row with a superior look to Dib and Tak.
"Great. Just freakin' wonderful," Ginny spat, also taking her seat in the back. She made a point of slamming her bag down, though the textpackets made less of a bang than books would have.
"Oh no…" muttered Hermione in a small voice.
"Hermione, we get to be partners," said Colette happily.
"That's… great… really," said Hermione, forcing a smile past her face, though her eyes looked very, very sad.
"Now that you've become acquainted with your partners," Snape said, with an evil gleam in his eyes, "We can begin our first lesson. How many of you have mixed Potions in here before?"
All of the students (allegedly) from Hogwarts, as well as Girtrude and Colette, raised their hands. Snape looked around at all of them for a few minutes and shook his head.
"Pitiful. And I'm supposed to teach you all up to a high standard by the end of this year. I don't know what I did to deserve this, but I hope you all prove at least mediocre in producing Potions. And for some of you, that'll be the greatest miracle since the Blue Death," said Snape.
"Professor!" Colette said from the back row, her hand in the air, "Girtrude and I tried to make a Potion earlier, but it blew up. Could you tell us where we went wrong?"
"What Potion was it, girl?" asked Snape.
"The Potion of Increased Giddiness!" said Girtrude, "It makes you HAAAAAAPPPPPYYYYYY!"
"And why on earth would you make such a Potion?" asked Snape.
"Because Sanchez is depressed," said Girtrude, holding up the fishbowl. Sanchez looked more murderous than depressed, and his eyes darted around, as though trying to decide who would die first.
"We hoped it would cheer him up," said Colette.
"Well. I don't know why anyone would bother trying to mix that Potion, especially on a first attempt. I don't expect my O.W.L. students to be able to make one of those, let alone some first-timers. Now, if there are no more pointless interruptions, may we begin?"
"Professor!" Genis asked, raising his hand.
"Is it pointless, Mr. Sage?" asked Snape.
"No, sir," said Genis, earnestly, "I was just wondering if there were any materials we are required to have for this class."
"Fortunately for you all," said Snape, "When the school was constructed, the budget was actually made for Potions ahead of time. So we were able to provide all necessary ingredients. And I supplied my own textbooks, taken from Hogwarts before it was closed. Which I think we can all thank Miss Granger for."
"Hermione?" Tak asked, looking around, "You're the reason the house elves went crazy?"
Hermione looked down at her feet, tears in her eyes. Harry and Ginny made noises of protest and anger, but it was Ron who actually voiced something.
"Give it a rest. We're not at Hogwarts anymore, you have no one to favor. No point in giving us hell anymore, right?" he spat.
"On the contrary, Mr. Weasley," said Snape, "Without Slytherin to favor, I can spread misery to everyone! I'll start with you: you will join Mr. Irving in detention tomorrow evening."
"I… oh, forget it," said Ron, flatly.
"As I suspected. Get some backbone, Weasley," Snape said, turning before Ron could say anything else, "Now, since we have wasted so much time, it is foolish to even try and make chocolate milk, let alone a full-fledged Potion. Because of your time-squandering ways, you will have to read the first six chapters of those books, practice all the Potions found inside of them, and have samples for ten of them by Monday. Dismissed!"
"He's evil," said Sheena, as they left, "Pure evil. But at least we made it through one class alive."
"Looking at our lab partners, that's probably the last one," said Genis.
"One of the few times I'll agree with you," said Hermione, walking in the other direction.
"Hermione, where are you going?" asked Ginny.
"Where else? My dormitory. I won't be caught dead taking Symphonian Magic," said Hermione.
"What about you two?" asked the younger Weasley while Harry and Ron followed Hermione.
"One less class, one less bit of homework each night," said Ron with a grin, "But you have fun!"
"Just wait until she learns Indignation," said Genis, "You'll wish you'd taken the class."
"Hey, isn't Neville taking this one?" asked Colette.
"No, he gave up magic," said Luna dreamily.
"What?" Everyone asked, coming to a stop.
"He said he was sick of failing. He said he wanted to become a Nurse, like the computer told him," said Luna.
"He could at least take Healing Magic, then," said Genis.
"Hurry, let's go," said Genis, rushing ahead, leading the group of them towards the classroom.
"Harry, Ron, I'm going to go work on Potions. Care to join me?" asked Hermione.
"In a minute, I wanna get my cauldron," said Harry, heading towards the dorms.
"I'll go with ya," said Ron, who also headed towards the room.
"I'll wait here," said Hermione.
"Oh, wait, Ron, my shoe…" said Harry, bending down to tie his shoe.
"It's alright, mate, I'll get the stuff," said Ron, rushing ahead.
"Thanks!" called Harry.
"I've never seen him go so quickly to get Potions homework before," Hermione commented.
"He's just afraid your offer of help will expire before he gets back," said Harry with a grin.
Suddenly, there was a rustling in the bushes. Harry and Hermione perked up, and drew out their wands. The two teenage magic-users stood there for a second, before a familiar voice came from the darkness.
"Be not afraid," Presea said, "All is fine. For now."
"What are you talking about?" asked Hermione, her heart pounding.
"She was playing with a crystal ball and saw something," said Gaz, who was with her. The two girls stepped out of the bushes and into the moonlight. Presea looked a little frightened, and her eyes were a little bigger than usual.
"They're coming tonight," said Presea, looking possessed, "The enemies of Harry will arrive here at midnight, and attempt to kill all that are here. We need an item from your headquarters, as it is the only way to stop the Death Eaters."
"Death Eaters!" shrieked Hermione, "Harry! What do we do?"
"Calm down, Hermione," said Harry, "Presea, do you know what this thing is?"
"No," said Presea, shaking her head, "The magic surrounding your headquarters is too great, so you'll have to take me there yourself. But hurry, there isn't much time."
"It's already ten, Harry!" Hermione squealed, "Go with her, and hurry!"
"I'm going too," said Gaz, "Otherwise I'll have to go to class."
"How in God's name are we going to get to Grimmauld Place and back?" asked Harry.
"Harry! You're a wizard! Apparate!" Hermione shouted at him.
"Why don't you do it, then?" asked Harry angrily.
"You're the secret-keeper, remember?" Hermione shouted back.
"Oh yeah… well, then, let's go. Just hold tight to my arms, and we'll be off," said Harry.
"I'll go warn everyone else," Hermione said, rushing towards the dormitories, "We'll be ready for you when you get back. Send your Patronus into the sky to let us know where you are!"
"Good luck!" Harry called, "Okay, girls, here we go…"
Meanwhile, in Symphonian Magic…
"It's good to see that we have a large group interested in the study of Symphonian Magic," said Kratos, "This is a very different magic than any you have experienced before… unless you've tried to learn First Aid and other such spells in Healing Magic. Who can tell me the main differences? Genis?"
"Symphonian Magic has a much longer casting time than Traditional Magic, but the spells are much, much more powerful, and often combat-oriented," said Genis, promptly.
"Very good," replied Kratos, "Also, unlike your other magic classes, this will be an independent study course. You will decide on which spells you wish to learn, and will attempt to learn the spells of your own accord. I will help you, of course, but you might not need it so much after a couple weeks."
"Can we have a demonstration for those of us that haven't seen it before?" asked Ginny.
"I suppose…" said Kratos, "Genis, would you care to show them one?"
"Which one?" asked Genis, rushing to the front of the room.
"Hmm… how about Cyclone?" asked Kratos.
"Sure," said Genis, and then he began to focus. Around him, a weird, greenish-colored wind whipped up around him, and his hair started to fly in all directions, "Gentle winds… gather before me and transform into blades of air... CYCLONE!"
The whirlwind of green air spun right to the back of the large room, where a large area was completely empty to allow for spell casting. However, part of the wind caught Zelos, and he was flung into the wind and whipped around. Tak gasped and attempted to stop the wind with her wand, but she was also sucked in.
"I wanna be able to do that," said Luna, eyes bugging.
"In time, maybe," said Kratos, "But first, you would need to learn the basics. Wind Blade is a good one to start with. Now, then, let's get you all started on your beginner spells…"
And in the Dorms…
"RON!" roared Hermione, barging into the boys' room. Ron jumped, dropped the cauldron onto his foot, and yowled in pain.
"What is that matter with you?" cried Ron, hoping around.
"THE DEATH EATERS ARE COMING!" Hermione shrieked.
"The… D… Death Eaters?" Ron said, paling, "How do you know?"
"Presea had a vision or something!" Hermione screamed, looking mortified, "We have got to warn everyone else!"
"Why? What good will it do?" asked Ron, sitting on the bed, "If You-Know-Who is with them…"
"We can prepare," said Hermione, "We can be ready for them. We have dozens of wizards here. I'm sure we can do something…"
"Many of whom can only use basic magic," Ron said.
"And we have Weapons," said Hermione, "If Raine or Kratos or Snape can infuse them with the right magic, they can be used in combat!"
"Hermione, this is You-Know-Who we're talking about!" Ron roared.
"EVEN VOLDEMORT IS HUMAN!" Hermione screeched at him, causing Ron to shiver, "And if you don't get used to his name, I'm going to hit you in the face and arms! Let's go, we have to get the school ready!"
Halfway around the world… (roughly…)
Meanwhile, over in England, Harry, Gaz, and Presea landed out front of Number 12, Grimmauld place, though only Harry could see it at first. All of them took a few seconds to recover from the trip, feeling like they'd just been shoved into a can. Gaz actually thought her ribs had imploded.
"Where is it?" asked Gaz, staring at the empty lot.
"Oh… yeah… the Headquarters to the Order of the Phoenix… uh… is right there," said Harry, pointing.
"Oh. What a dump," said Gaz, after the building re-materialized.
"Shall we continue?" asked Presea, "We have only an hour and forty-five minutes and twenty-four seconds to get back."
"Right," said Harry, walking in. The corridor was even darker at this time of night, though they could clearly make out Mrs. Black's portrait at the other end.
"Yeah, it is a dump," said Gaz, flatly.
"Shh… we can't wake that picture up," said Harry.
"Why?" Gaz asked, raising her voice, "What is it gonna do?"
"Gaz! Shut up!" hissed Harry.
"HEY! YOU! UGLY, CANVAS THING! AWAKEN!" shouted Gaz, throwing a pebble at the curtains.
They flew open just in time for Mrs. Black to be hit in the eye with the pebble. She shrieked, put her hand to her eye, and began to shout some horrible things about Harry, Sirius, and everyone they'd ever known.
"Jesus! Now look what you've done!" roared Harry over the noise.
"Why do you have her there?" asked Gaz.
"She put a Permanent-Sticking Charm on it. We can't get her down," snarled Harry.
"So you just let her shriek like that?" asked Gaz.
"Nothing stops her!" Harry cried, "And we've tried everything. Silencing Charms, Stupefying Charms, Sirius even tried Avada Kedavra when he got pissed off one day, but nothing works!"
"What about setting it on fire?" suggested Gaz.
"Too risky, we'd probably burn down the whole headquarters," said Harry.
"So you jut let her shriek like that?" asked Gaz, looking incredulously at Harry.
"YES!" Harry snarled.
"… Why must I deal with this stupidity?" asked Gaz to herself, walking forward.
"What are you doing?" asked Harry.
"Be quiet," Gaz replied, digging into her bag for something, "I'll deal with this."
"… AND WHAT IS THIS? A MUGGLE? A MUGGLE DARES TO DEFACE THE ANCIENT, NOBLE HOUSE OF MY FOREFATHERS? YOU ARE A DISGUSTING INSULT TO MY FAMILY! THAT DIRTY POTTER BOY BROUGHT YOU, DIDN'T HE? WELL, I HAVE A FEW CHOICE WORDS FOR YOU, MISSY—" Mrs. Black ranted.
"Be QUIET," snarled Gaz, finally getting something out of her bag.
"WHAT? YOU DARE TO ATTEMPT TO SILENCE ME IN MY OWN HOUSE? THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN DO THAT WILL—"
Gaz didn't let her finish. She took the thing from her bag and rolled it across the face of Mrs. Black. Her mouth, nose, eyes, and ears were covered, and there was no way to speak at all. The only thing was a muffled noise coming from her throat. Gaz turned to the other two, holding the only thing on earth that surpasses magic itself: duct tape.
"Problem solved," said Gaz in a superior tone, shutting the curtains once more with duct tape.
"… I can't believe we never thought of that," said Harry in a small voice, "Uh… thanks…"
"Whatever. Let's get that thing," said Gaz, "Presea, where is it?"
"Up there," said Presea, pointing, "We have to hurry, our time is quickly running out."
"Right. Let's go," said Harry, leading the way up the stairs.
Back at Whitestone…
"Fireball!" shouted Sheena, pointing her card at the wall. A small flame came from the card, but it went out just as quickly, "DAMMIT!"
"You need to focus, Sheena," said Genis, who was practicing his Freeze Lander spell and continuously pelting the wall with ice spears.
"Easy for you to say," said Ginny from his other side. Her eyes were screwed up in concentration as she tried to learn Stone Blast, but she had even less success than Sheena.
"Oh! Professor! I felt a breeze!" said Colette happily, "Did I learn Wind Blade yet?"
"Uh… Colette, I think that was just the air that was displaced by your arms waving like that," said Kratos.
"Oh… well, am I close yet?" asked Colette, looking only a little embarrassed.
"You know," said Kratos, "One idea is to make an incantation for yourself. As you saw with Genis, and even Zelos, incantations help you focus your mind so you can worry more about generating the correct mana for the spell, rather than whether or not you are doing something right. They're not required, but, as I said, they're good for focusing."
"Alright," said Ginny, who began to focus, "I command thee, Earth, to attack my enemy! Stone Blast!"
This time, she had a little bit of the wind whipping her hair around, but there wasn't any spell effect. She looked ecstatic, however, and began to repeat this process.
"It's time to burn! Fireball!" Sheena called, waving her cards around. This time, the flame was bigger and one of her cards caught fire. She hastily stamped this out.
"Whee! Wind Blade!" Colette said, waving her arms. This time, she actually got some results, as the wind had whipped around her and a slice of green had flown from her to the wall.
"Water, Giver of Life, show us your dark side. AQUA EDGE!" Tak said, waving her hands gracefully. Like Colette, she had the blue-mana flowing around her, causing her hair to fly around a little. But, better than Colette, the water actually formed around her and spun towards the wall, though it died halfway across and became a puddle.
"Not bad, maybe you could teach me how to do that," said Zelos with a seductive grin.
"I don't think you could handle that. Or me," said Gaz.
"Oh! Burn!" Iggins screeched, but then accidentally shot a fireball from his hand.
"Has anyone seen Gaz?" asked Luna, "Wasn't she taking this class?"
"That's right," said Ginny, "I wonder…"
The door burst open, and in ran Hermione and Ron. They skidded to a halt in the front of the room as the whole class turned to stare at them (Sheena not realizing that Tak had just lit her hair on fire while she and Zelos laughed silently behind her).
"I thought you said you weren't going to set foot in Symphonian—" Genis began haughtily, but he was cut off.
"THE DEATH EATERS ARE COMING!" shrieked Hermione for the eightieth time.
"What?" gasped Luna and Ginny, "Are you sure?"
"Presea had a vision! And… and… she and Gaz and Harry went to England to get something to fight them with," Ron replied quickly.
"What's a Death Eater?" asked Colette.
"They're the most evil dark wizards on earth. They're headed by a man named Voldemort, and he's killed countless people. He tried to kill Harry, but failed," said Ginny quickly, "I'm sure Ms. Bitters will be happy to tell us more in Social Study, but we have to get all of you out of here…"
"I think it would be best to evacuate all the students," said Kratos, starting to dash for the door, "I shall alert the other teachers…"
"No!" Hermione cried, "Mr. Aurion, we have to stay! Without the students' help, there will be no way you'll survive against the Death Eaters!"
"Then what are you suggesting?" asked Kratos, "We don't have much time, I assume?"
"We have until midnight," replied Hermione solemnly, "That's as much time as we'll need."
And back to England again!
"So where is this contraption?" asked Tak as they dug through Sirius' old room. There were many treasures they'd missed the last time they were here, and Harry often stopped to look at them, which slowed down the process considerably.
"I saw it, finally. It's a swirling, silver sphere…" said Presea, digging in a box, "I saw a picture like it on one of Ron's order forms for his brothers' shops. It looks like a Remembrall."
"Oh! Is it this?" asked Harry, picking up a sphere that matched Presea's description.
"Yes… yes it is…" said Presea, taking it in her hands. Her eyes shone as she held it, and then she looked up, "Do you know what this is?"
"No, what is it?" asked Harry.
"It's a very powerful mind-control artifact. It was created in the seventeen hundreds by a man named Eric Rodinhiemer. No one ever figured out the use for it because Eric died of malaria before he had completed it. It's been bought and sold many times over, but no one really knows what it did. Until now."
"How did you find that out?" asked Harry.
"One of the books in Ms. Bitters' secret room," said Gaz, who was beating a small, fanged box over the head with a golf club, "There's a lot of interesting stuff in there."
"Yes, but we shall save that discussion for another time. We have to get back to Whitestone, it's nearly time…" Presea said, pointing to Harry's Whitestone-timed watch.
"Oh no! Let's go!" Harry said, "Grab on!"
They quickly attached themselves to Harry and, with that, they disapparated.
Where the hell are we now…? Oh… right… Whitestone.
"But… but… my Tallest!" Zim pleaded with the small screen that showed the faces of his masters. It was past Earth-23:30, and he was sitting behind a rock in the courtyard, contacting his leaders to update them. However, they had just found a new way to get out of it.
"I'm sorry, Zim," said the Red Tallest, "But you know the new law."
"New Law?" asked Zim and the Purple Tallest at the same time.
"You know, the one just passed? About the time limits?" hissed Red.
"Oh… oh!" Purple replied, catching on, "That law. Well, there's been so many, I've just…"
"I never heard about that law," said Zim, interrupting. "What's it say?"
"It states, and I quote, 'Invaders may contact the Almighty Tallest for a restricted number of minutes based on their rank (aka: height) in the Invader League.' Zim, you're very, very low right now. Your two minutes are up," said Red.
"But, Sirs, I—" Zim began.
"Sorry, Zim, we have to make sure all people follow the law. You can call back in… the next millennium. Okay, bye!" Purple said as the transmission ended.
"Oh… now how will I get my Tallest to understand my new plot?" asked Zim, looking depressed.
"They're not very nice."
Zim screamed and jumped, looking around furiously. Luna was leaning over the side of the rock, the same expression as always on her face. Zim pulled out his laser and pointed it at the girl.
"How much did you see?" he hissed.
"About two minutes of it," said Luna, "… I guess that would mean all of it."
"I'm going to have to destroy you now," said Zim.
"Oh. That's a shame. But they seemed kinda mean. How do you increase your Invader Rank?"
"Eh? Oh… well… uh… conquer a planet, have a growth spurt, or make them happy…" said Zim. "But it might take a while for that first one…"
"And you're very short," Luna pointed out unhelpfully.
"… yes…" said Zim, "But I don't know what to make them happy with…"
"Well, what do they like?" asked Luna, brightly.
"Uh… well… puppet shows…" said Zim, thinking for a minute.
"So put on a puppet show!" Luna suggested.
"But I'm bad at that… and Gir... trude… always ate the puppets," said Zim.
"I could help, if you want," said Luna, "But until we arrange a show, what else would they like?"
"I… guess they like snacks," said Zim, "But…"
"So send them some chips and chocolate," said Luna, "Everyone loves chocolate. But I prefer caramel, it's so… caramelly!"
"Th-that's a brilliant idea! INGENIOUS!" Zim roared.
"You're welcome," said Luna, brightly, "Want me to help?"
"Um… well… I guess you could… BUT IF THE TALLEST ASKED, I HYPNOTZIED YOU!" screamed Zim.
"I like getting hypnotized," said Luna, "This one time, I got hypnotized in Transfiguration, and I accidentally changed Zacharias Smith into a weed, and then…"
"Yes, yes, fascinating. Oh… and… uh… Luna, right?" asked Zim.
"Yep!" Luna replied.
"T… T… Thank you," Zim said, "You're the first worthy human I've ever met."
"You're very welcome," said Luna, "Oh, and by the way, a bunch of dark wizards are coming to kill us all in about five minutes. Better get ready."
"Eh?"
The Central Grounds of Whitestone
Most of the school had assembled by quarter of midnight. Only a handful, the British wizards among them, stood in plain sight. The melee teams were hiding in the bushes, the long-ranged and protection magic students hid on the roofs, and the long-ranged weaponry students were spread between the two. Ms. Bitters, dressed in a Nazi officer uniform, stomped back and forth, delivering a speech.
"… and make sure you defend to your last breath! If you have any trouble at all, make sure you raise your wand and fire the red spikes into the air! Any questions?" she said, "Remember! This is the reason you were born! If it ends in your doom, then you can die knowing this was your ultimate goal in life! And your parents will get a nice gift basket from the school."
"Where will they get the money for that?" asked Dib from the bushes.
"Irrelevant," said Ms. Bitters, "Now, BE AT THE READY!"
She took her scythe in her hands, which was glowing an eerie blue color, and slithered into the bushes. Hermione, Ron, Neville, and Ginny, who stood at the front of the small group of students (which also included Genis, Zelos, and Kratos), shivered with anticipation. As the time grew near to midnight, the tension rose. Then, with two minutes to go, they saw two figures approach.
"I found Zim!" Luna called happily, "We're ready!"
"LUNA! GET OVER HERE!" roared Hermione, "IT'S ALMOST TIME!"
Luna skipped ahead, leaving Zim to monologue.
"If I can find a way to join these so-called Dark Wizards, I can join them in taking over the world… and… then… DESTROY THEM ALL! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"Zim! Get out of the way!" called Ron.
"Er… right! I'm going to make sure Girtrude and… Consuela… are ready!"
"His name is Sanchez!" called Girtrude from the bushes, "And it's okay, I already locked him in a room with a switchblade."
"You gave a knife to the fish?" called Sheena, stunned.
"Be quiet, all of you!" Ginny exclaimed. "It's time!"
The clock struck twelve soon after she said this. Just as the last chime came, there was a popping noise. And then another. Then a whole series of them. Materialized in front of them was a group of about forty Death Eaters, hooded and ready for combat.
"HARRY POTTER!" came a loud, female voice that the Hogwarts students recognized as Bellatrix Lestrange.
"He's not here!" called Hermione much more bravely than she felt.
"Liar! We know he came here! We want him!" called another Death Eater.
"Well, you'll have to kill us all first, because he's not here!" called Ginny.
"Fine, we'll just torture the answers out of you. I prefer it this way, actually. Get the smart-mouthed girl!" Bellatrix called. The Death Eaters advanced, wands raised.
"Steady…" Ron said.
They drew closer, their raucous laughter beginning. Around them, students began to get really nervous and shaky.
"Hold it…" Ron continued.
The front Death Eaters fired Stunners at the group, all of whom ducked and allowed them to slam into the buildings behind them.
"NOW!" Ron snarled.
Each of the students flung spells at the attackers. A few seconds after, Genis, Zelos, and Kratos fired a combined Fireball at the dark wizards. Taken aback, a few faltered and tripped, some knocked out from the attack. They began to advance more quickly then, firing jinxes in all directions. Then, a lone figure stepped into the center of the courtyard and raised her staff, focusing only for a few seconds.
"FIELD BARRIER!" Raine roared, and suddenly everyone on the Whitestone side was covered by a semi-transparent barrier that would shield from many minor jinxes and curses. She leapt back into the bushes just as Bellatrix attempted to cast Crucio on the woman. She missed, and Raine rolled behind the shrubbery.
"We've got them now!" called one, and they began to advance much more quickly.
"CHARGE!" Ms. Bitters roared next, leading a pack of students from the bushes. From all directions, more students closed in. The teacher slithered ahead of the group, scythe gleaming. She immediately got into a fight with one Death Eater, who was attempting to use his wand as a sword. She cut it through and began to attack him with the scythe. Around her, many other students joined the fray, though most of the Death Eaters conjured up weapons to rival them.
Lloyd and another Death Eater each fought with two swords, though Lloyd had the advantage of knowing moves such as Demon Fang and Tempest. Sheena had managed to find Bellatrix, and was now dueling furiously with her. She continued to duel, with the thought of Summoning never occurring to her. Dib, though inexperienced, was holding his own in a traditional sword fight with another Death Eater, who was equally inadequate.
Iggins was swinging his mace around randomly, though not really trying to hit anything. He only stopped when one of the Death Eaters was able to cast Crucio on him, which he did with much enjoyment. Iggins' shrieks were lost among the sounds of combat around him.
"May the merciless embrace of frost take you," Genis said, a white mana around him, "ABSOLUTE!"
A large, swirling mass of ice enclosed itself around a group of twelve Death Eaters. They were encased, and Genis was forced to cease the casting of spells so he could hold the large ice enclosure together. Meanwhile, Regal was attempting to help Dib, but was then attacked by Anton Dolhov, who tried to use the same spell as he did on Hermione. Regal jumped, did a mid-air jump, and screamed, "EAGLE FALL!" He knocked the Death Eater into the ground and left him unconscious.
Then, from the sky, they saw the silvery stag charge to the ground. Hermione shrieked with joy and ran towards it. She saw Harry, Gaz, and Presea arrive, pursued by Death Eaters.
"Catch, Hermione!" Harry shouted, chucking it. He overthrew, however, and Girtrude picked it up.
"I got it!" she called.
"Use it! Mind control device!" Harry shouted.
"Harry! Look out!" called Hermione, raising her wand.
"Expelliarmus," came a lazy voice.
Harry and Hermione's wands were taken away by the spell. They were completely helpless as they saw a matching pair of pale faces approach them. It was the Malfoy men, both of whom sneered at their defenseless enemies.
"Well, this is a pleasant scene. The heroes without their weapons," said Lucius.
"Oh, very good, father," said Malfoy, who had just spotted Neville. He disarmed him easily, but was then almost attacked by Ginny. Luna wandered over, handed her wand to Malfoy, and skipped back over to join her friends. They were all without any way to defend themselves, and neither Luna nor Ginny could summon the mana to cast a Symphonian Spell.
Meanwhile, the rest of everyone else wasn't quite ready to give up. Presea and Gaz added quite a bit of power to the fight, and they weren't showing any signs of quitting. Gaz was as fearsome as Ms. Bitters with her scythe, and they charged through the crowd with little difficulty. Presea and her ax were becoming the bane of many existences, as she screamed "BEAST!" every few seconds and sent a handful of Death Eaters flying each time.
Then, Raine stood up from the bushes and raised her arm.
"Ready? Focus!" she called, and began to focus. Behind her, eight students, all of whom showed promise in Healing Magic, followed suit.
"We call upon the Divine Might to aid us in our battle," they chanted. "Let fall thy heavenly light, and run them through! HOLY LANCE!"
From above the group of Death Eaters, nine different sets of swords, each made of light, plunged themselves into the Death Eaters. They shouted and screamed, but it only stopped a few of them. Then, there was a loud bang from one of the rooftops. The Malfoys had tried to get everyone's attention to show they had caught the people who organized the battle. A few people, oblivious to this, continued the good fight, though a majority stopped and watched. Zim took this opportunity to approach the nearest hooded person.
"I am ZIM!" Zim cried, "And I wish to join your elite group of wizards. I assure you, my powers go unmatched."
The Death Eater turned and pulled down his hood. Zim looked at him, and then screamed like he'd never screamed in his life. Now it was his turn to have the bane of his existence shown. There, standing before him, in all his annoying glory, was Keef.
"ZIM! BUDDY! HOW ARE YOU?" Keef cried, hugging his friend.
"No! Why!" wailed Zim.
"This is great! You get to make new friends, and play with magic, and look, we even get a tattoo!" Keef said.
"But… why… my… my plans…" Zim said, looking crushed.
"ZIM! If you join, we could be bestest friends again! And we could go everywhere and do everything and hurt people with each other, and it would be awesome! Join us!" Keef.
"NEVER!" Zim cried, and then retreated into the nearest group of people.
"But Zim, it's fun!" cried Keef, chasing after him.
Somewhere on a Roof above the Brawl
"YOU ALL THOUGHT YOU COULD DEFEAT US?" called Draco from the building, "WELL, LOOK WHAT WE HAVE HERE: YOUR LEADERS. AND NOW YOU WILL SEE WHAT HAPPENS TO THOSE WHO CROSS THE DEATH EATERS, AND THE DARK LORD!"
"Harry, where's that thing?" whispered Ginny.
"I threw it at Hermione, but I missed," said Harry.
"Who got it?" asked Ginny.
"Well, Girtrude picked it up and—" Harry began, but stopped. If Girtrude had it…
"We're doomed," said Neville, looking like he was going to faint again.
"WATCH AS WE MAKE THEIR LIVES MISERABLE. THIS IS A MESSAGE TO ALL OF YOU!" roared Lucius, "BRING FORTH THE GIRL!"
"I WANNA DO IT!" called Bellatrix.
"ALRIGHT, FINE, GET UP HERE!" Lucius called, "But be QUICK about it!"
"Wait! Look!" called another person.
Girtrude walked to a raised platform on the grounds. She held the mind-control device in her hands, an insane grin on her face. The sphere was shining now, though it was a weird shine. Almost… a dark shine, if you will. She held it above her hand.
"LOOK! IT'S SHINEY!" Girtrude cried happily.
"DON'T LOOK AT IT!" cried Lucius, "IT'LL CONTROL YOUR MIND!"
He was too late. Many of the Death Eaters now had their entire focus on the sphere, including Draco and Bellatrix.
"It's so… pretty…" muttered Bellatrix, "It makes me feel things I haven't felt since I married my husband…"
"I want one, Dad!" Draco demanded.
"Get a hold on yourselves!" roared Lucius.
"Okay… okay… let's play some games!" Girtrude called gleefully, "This will be like Simon Says, only you'll just do everything I do. Okay? Sound fun?"
"YES!" replied the Death Eaters.
"Hit it, Delilah!" cried Girtrude.
The same girl Zelos had used hit another boom box, which blasted out the Macarena. Gir began to dance. All the Death Eaters also began to dance. It was the strangest sight: three dozen hooded, evil wizards dancing to a Mexican song. Girtrude allowed three rounds before she began to riffle through a list of commands, which each of the Death Eaters fulfilled almost instantly.
"Okay… okay… now… spin and drop and spin and jump and clap, clap, clap and raise the roof WHOOT WHOOT, raise the roof WHOOT WHOOT and drop it down and spin and break and dance and break dance and twist and twist and do-ce-do, and trip and fall and break your neck, but don't do that or you'll be dead, so jump and flitter and glitter and happy hands and twinkle hands and twinkle fingers and touch your head, touch your friend's head and drop and jump and drop and do-ce-do and jump and jump and blow up—BOOOOOOOM!"
Girtrude exploded suddenly and the mind-control device flew far enough to reach the roof the wizards were on. Below them, two Death Eaters also exploded, though many just jumped into the air and landed very badly on their spines. Harry quickly picked it up and rushed to the edge of the roof.
"Dissaparate to England and forget you were ever ordered here!" he screamed.
Unfortunately, only half of the Death Eaters were listening at that point. They all left, though Lucius was the only one on the roof to remain. He shot the mind-control device out of Harry's hand, where it fell to the ground and shattered on Iggins, who was mercifully released from the Crucio. Lucius' hands closed around Harry's neck and he began to strangle him to death. There was one person still going, however, and no one had paid any attention to her during the fight since she'd been messing up constantly. But now, she thought she had it right.
"Thy faithful servants asketh for thy blessing and honor us with a special…" Colette was saying, but then realized she'd done it again, "Uh… whoops… I messed up again…"
But, suddenly, she felt a very strange power building inside of her. She could feel it filling up her skeleton, threatening to burst. She felt as if she would explode, and then, she felt the pressure release in the form of Judgement and Holy Song at the same time. The weird power of restoration filled itself to all the students while beams of light struck down upon the remaining Death Eaters, who quickly disapperated.
Harry, now released, collapsed on the roof, breathing heavily. Ginny rushed over to him, and helped him stand. Sheena appeared from the stairs and rushed over to him as well.
"First Aid!" she said, throwing a card at Harry. It struck him in the face, but he felt better. He could breathe, anyway.
"Thanks," said Harry.
"Oh my God! Girtrude!" cried Colette, rushing forward to where Girtrude lay in a few pieces. Her eyes were closed and her head was upturned. Everyone stopped, some feeling sick, some feeling sad.
"She gave her life for us…" said one person, "Poor, dead child."
"I can fix that!" Raine said, "BRING BACK HER SOUL FROM PURGATORY! RESSURECTION!"
Girtrude flew back together and sat up, looking happily around at everyone. There was a great cheer, and both Colette and Girtrude were lifted onto the shoulders of the students and staff. The two unlikely heroes were paraded around the grounds in an impromptu ceremony. Zim, finally escaping Keef and throwing the brochures he'd received about being a Death Eater in the bin, also joined the crowd, mainly to find out why Girtrude was being celebrated as a hero.
Suddenly, there was a crash from inside one of the dormitories. Girtrude looked horrified. She extricated herself from the crowd, screamed "SANCHEZ," and ran to the room. She was followed by many of the students. They entered, and the sight that met them filled them all with fear.
A Death Eater was lying, dead, on the floor, the switchblade embedded into his chest. Sanchez swam around in his fishbowl, looking, for the first time, content with his surroundings. As he faced them, a smirk played across his face, and he winked at the crowd.
From the Author's Mind: (June 2011)
Apparently I wrote this entire chapter in 3 and a half hours. Go me.