Oath Of Devotion
Chapter 5
Disclaimer: Alright, I own nothing. All belongs to J.K. Rowling.
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Headmasters office, Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardly
Albus was both relived and terrified, Arthur just finished his retelling of what happened after he was brought back to Hogwarts unwilling. Harry might be alive, but at what cost. He closed the ancient book of mythological diseases he had been studying and laid his palms on top of it. What Arthur described as a charred peacock, and Fawkes own fear earlier toady, it only confirmed his suspension. But, the question is why would a dark creature take children.
"I believe, from a very frustrating conversation with Fawkes that we are dealing with a foul creature, but more about that in a minute. I have found what I think answers the test results Doctor keen has given me." He waved his hand and a old decrepit looking book appeared. "Inside I found an ancient spell used a thousand years ago to bond a husband and wife, but has since been replaced. One reason is the ritual needs to be blessed by a creature of the purest light. The other reason is it gives the couple the power to draw on each others magic, this was considered a gift of the highest regards. Until one day they found out if one spouse dies of core exhaustion the other gains their magic."
"THEY ARE MARRIED." Bellowed Molly as she stood.
Arthur placed a hand on her shoulder to force her to sit. "I don't think that is the part we should be focused on. Do you think the two accidentally bond to each other in an old marriage spell? Is that why her core began to give out after school ended?"
Albus gave Molly a few moments to calm herself. "No, I think they somehow triggered a variant of the old ritual. It is only one sided Harry will slowly drain her until she dies." Molly gasped "unless he willingly gives it back. He will have to concentrate and project his magic through a physical connection. I believe Harry somehow found this out and was in the posses of such a thing, that may have attracted the dark creature."
"What was it Albus?" Asked Artur.
"Only a few have been documented, and even those documents said little." He fought against one, it was under the control of Gellert Grindelwald. Why Harry? Was it looking for a new dark master? Did it feel what I think may be piece of Voldermort's power that resides in him?
The cool night air tugged at Albus's blood splattered robes. His mind and body weary from his recent battle with Gellert's best duelist Ginko, he found it hard to focus. but he was needed to do a job so he turned toward the keystone. He tried to concentrate on taking down the wards of the simple, but elegant building before him. Grindelwald believed himself safe inside, but tonight his old friend would fall. The masterful wards almost broken, but his concentration was faltered as Fawkes flashed in. Then a vile aura erupted around him. An aura filled with loss, shame and most of all corruption. It felt greasy, like he was bathed in cooking oil. Before him, hovered on wings of burnt feathers, was a perverse creature, Gellert's phoenix. Once enchanting beyond words now repulsive that no length of colloquy could put into words. Under the beast was his once charming friend, who's own beguiling smile was known to end arguments, now was a sneer that mirrored his repulsive phoenix.
Albus watched calmly as his own wand moved to give him a quick defense if needed. He was waiting for Gellert to make the first move as fear slowly engulfed him, he never in the past bested his once best-friend. He was scarcely aware of fighting further out along the wood line, either he would win or die so another could take Grindelwald out.
"Albus" Gellert sneered. "It has been to long my friend." his fingers slid from the creature's tail feather. "I take it you will not be staying for tea, piety we would of made a fine team. One that would of ruled the world in our own image if only little softhearted Ariana didn't interfere." A stillness of peace seemed to fall over the area as he mentioned his long departed sister. His eyes bore into the deep darkness of his rival's eyes, and as their mind touched the battle began.
XX
Harlan Potter, his eyes shining with battle lust, turned toward his wife as she threw up a shield to block the incoming spell aimed for his head. "What a glorious anniversary date, don't you agree love" Harlan asked as he wiped the blood from his forehead. "We must thank Albus for his wonderful invitation to this delightful gathering?"
"It will be glorious if you would keep your head down, for I think making me a widow would make a loathsome anniversary gift." she sneered as another reducto crashed into their cover.
Harlan's eyes shifted to overwhelming love as his wife of nineteen years bushed bits of mortar off of her cloak with her nose turned skyward. His marriage to Isabella Greengrass was a contracted marriage made to bring the Potters further riches in the growing market of herbs. But, no one could say love didn't exist between the two. "Isabella have I told you today that after nineteen years of marriage I am head ove..." He felt himself tugged out of the way off another reducto.
"Harlan Potter, God willing I will not be made a widow tonight." He smiled at he like a child caught stealing a cookie from the kitchen jar." Twenty-two years."
"Sorry, love. Twenty-two are you sure?"
Her look was the only answer he needed.
"What can I say you make me loopy."
His wife grumbled a response, but he felt warmth fill him as a small smile tugged at her lips.
Suddenly, a rummble of thunder was heard as green bolts lighted the house on the small rise. Two figures of such reverence stood with only a few feet between them. Spells of unimaginable power shock the very ground under Harlan. He like everyone in the wood line stopped dead, all seemed petrified as they watched in awe as someone single handily took on the most feared dark lord to rise since the middle ages. The man in white robes stood tall with a hallowed glow about him. With a flick of his wand seemed to shrug Grindelwald's spells off like one shrugged out of a cloak at the end of the day.
"For the light!" the man in white bellowed out as he called lighting from the clear sky. Harlan turned to his wife as she brushed his hair behind his ear, but his awe turned to horror as she slowly fell backwards toward the ground. He collapsed to her side as he quickly brushed the blood from his beautiful wife's throat, only to have it bubble back up.
"NO" he cried out as he started at her vacant eyes.
XX
Albus heaved his worn body to stand. His once pristine white robes bellowed out as he twisted his wand to shield against the incoming rock storm. His throat burned and his body ached, I can't take much more he thought. He turned to dodge out of the killing curse's way, only to stumble and fall. His nemesis was on him. Albus instinctively threw up a reflective shield intime to rebound Gellerts banishment spell. He watched as the man flew over the low garden wall and vanish behind it.
Albus took his hard earned relief to turned to the sound of Fawkes's howl. His familiar broke way from his aerial assault with his counterpart and it looked like he took a nasty cut along his side, one that seemed to smoke and burn with a black like fire. Albus jumped out into the open to lunched a volley of ice like arrows at the dark creature, but missed. He twisted his wand in a reverse loop and shot a buffet of hurricane like wind in between the two. He hoped he gave his Phoenix enough of an advantage to get away.
He heard the spell begin cast, but his weary muscles refused to listen until pain erupted along his side as Gellerts spell twisted his shoulder around and out of joint, luckly not his wand arm. Albus turned and ran. He hit the wall and stumbled around the corner toward the front of the house just as his familiar flash out. At least Fawkes will be safe.
He cast the charm to heal his shoulder, but it seemed he was to exhausted to perform even the smallest bit of magic. He knew the end was near as Gellert step around with a smug smile. His cursed familiar swooped down and landed on a nearby mailbox. "So my dear friend it now ends. I will of course drag your deprecate body to your home, maybe Aberforth will wise up and join me in your stead. If not he will soon join you" he gloated. "Maybe I will enslave your phoenix as well, mine has proven useless of late." Albus watched as his wand waved in a complex pattern. Green bolts jumped out of Gellert's wand moving across the small expanse toward him.
Then something inside of him kindled, small at first. Then it seemed to grow. Magic flooded into him as he heard his phoenix cry out in victory. His song filled him, drove him to his feet.
Gellert fell forward onto his hands and knees as red flames rippled across his back, Fawkes again cried in victory as he launched from his perch, Gellert's back and was chased over the roof by his corrupt counterpart.
A spell long forgotten since he found it in the restricted section at Hogwarts during his final year jumped to the forefront of his mind. "For the light!" he bellowed out, as the final upward loop of his wand completed the spell. His core groaned as it powered the lost spell.
He watched as Gellert conjured a doom of light. The lighting crashed into it with a blinding light. He fell to his knees as the spell drained him beyond what he thought his limit was, but he vowed he or Gellert died today as he forced the last of his magic into his spell. The lighting increased as did the smell of burned ozone that started to filled the area. Then before darkness fell over him he watched as the last bolt crashed through both the shield and it conjurer. Gellert's blood splashed across the well manicured walkway like soup against a kitchen floor. As Albus's eyes slowly closed he watched as the light, no matter how small, faded from his dear old friend.
XX
"Albus?" He shook himself out of his sad reverie.
"Albus?" This time Molly tried as she covered one of his old hands with hers.
"Sorry, thoughts of time best forgotten. I believe what you speak of is a dark phoenix." Spoke Albus. The two others present jumped as the silent companion of their revered leader of the light chirped in agreement.
"But, the children. what are we going to do?" Cried Molly. Arthur ran his hand over her back to give her comfort he himself didn't feel.
"Yes, the children. I will call forth the Order to spread out and look." He moved like a much younger man to his fireplace. "I will begin to call everyone, You two head back to the hospital and wait to see if they return have Bill wait at the house I will contact you with further instructions." Albus knew no one would find anything. Where would they begin to look for children stolen away by a dark creature, but albus had a few ideas of where one such creature might be hidden.
He watched as the two worried parents flew out of his office with renewed hope.
"A hope I dearly wish will come to pass my friend." Albus turned away from his phoenix and tossed in a hearty hand full of green powder. "I do hope he is safe Fawkes. If not for his sake, then for the sake of our entire world."
XX
Harry awoke to find the eyes of death's hell hound looking back. "Oh shit!" was all he could think to say .
A/N looking for names for the dark phoenix?