A/N: C: Miss me? Oh...it's just been a day! Well, I've actually not been writing anything in this story for the past 5 or so days, just been updating what I have. Tomorrow I post the last pre-written chapter, but luckily I have no school for the next three days, so I can work on it some more! Yay~

And remember, what looks like the end is not always the end.

DISCLAIMER: I dun own anyfink. c8

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The New Dawn

Chapter Eleven: A Sky of Green

"It seems that fighting is a game where everybody is the loser." ~Zora Neale Hurston

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January 23, 2000

Paul took off toward where he could feel his packmates and the Cullens grouped. The Cullens had managed to get eight of their 'army' members to La Push, but it seemed like their time was up. That left – sixteen vampires and fifteen wolves. Thirty one against fifty.

How did this happen? Weren't we patrolling? Paul was shouting in his mind. There was a clawing fear in his belly and his mind kept flashing to Harry, Harry, Harry. What would happen if he was killed? The imprint bond was strong, and Paul knew that if Harry died, he'd be in terrible mental, emotional and physical pain for a long time.

Calm down, Sam hissed. It's kind of hard to contain fifty vampires when only two wolves are patrolling. We knew this would happen, remember? We knew that, when they began to leave the clearing, we'd have to back down and regroup.

Paul's mind tried to calm itself, but he found that he couldn't make his heart slow down. They had known it – they'd planned on it, actually.

We're going to fight, aren't we? Seth asked.

Paul could hear Edward echoing everything that was said, but otherwise the clearing was silent. A harsh wind blew across the dry grass. The trees were so dense in this part of the forest that the snow hadn't managed to penetrate past their branches and touch the ground.

We are, Sam rumbled low in his throat.

Paul looked at Edward. The man-slash-boy (because really, a seventeen year old wasn't a man) was telling the vampires that they would be fighting.

Good luck, Paul thought. They'd all need it. There weren't enough of them to fight two-on-two, so they'd be alone...and likely one-against-two. Stay away from the crazy lady.

Edward nodded, lips quirking in a smile, and then the vampires were gone.

The wolves huddled into each other, brushing against one another for good luck. Then, with dread in each of their stomachs, the wolves filed out.

Paul was fighting immediately.

Fifty vampires were swarmed like infectious larvae in all parts of the forest. They weren't leaving it, they were waiting – for something. However, that didn't mean that inside the forest was off-limits, because as soon as they saw you, they attacked.

This man was blond, and angrier than Paul had ever seen a vampire. They all seemed riled up, like they couldn't wait to get their teeth into something but hey just couldn't reach it.

Paul attacked forcefully, hating how the man had to speak as he fought.

"You! There is no use attacking me when the rest of the army is still alive. We will get our revenge!"

Revenge?

As if answering his thoughts, the blond man hissed out,

"We've been waiting two long years for our mistress to escape, for the ability to avenge the death of our Lord. He who killed the Dark Lord shall perish at the hands of one thousand vampires!"

Alright, now that's just plain dramatic, Paul thought with a snort. Behind him, he heard what could only be Edward's laugh – which wasn't good, because the woman Edward was battling was twice his size and took that moment to batter him around pretty good.

Paul wanted to tell the blond in front of him that there were only fifty of them, that nobody said 'shall' anymore, and the Dark Lord was a movie cliché and he should probably get his head checked out. As it was, he didn't have a human voice right now, and instead just growled some more and took a chunk of hard skin off the vampire's shoulder with his teeth.

Something bit his leg – by the searing pain in his calf, which only vampire venom could cause, Paul knew that it had been a vampire. It wasn't the blond vampire in front of him, but a ginger with a bad attitude who was apparently the blond's mate.

It was near-impossible to fight them both at the same time, so Paul found himself slashing back and forth. It was hard, very hard, because every time he got a one-up on one of them, the other would pop their arm back into socket and bite him again.

He had a feeling this wasn't going to end well.

– – –

Harry knew something was wrong as soon as Paul left. He didn't spare a second glance at the food before him, instead running out the door. Nobody was on the streets because it was just much too cold. Harry hadn't noticed it earlier, when Paul was next to him, but now he was shivering in his clothing.

On the last turn to his house, he stopped flat. People were coming out of their houses, whispering and pointing, and Harry dreaded looking up.

But there was only one thing that could cause this much attention and fear, and that thing should not be in the sky, especially not above his house –

He looked up.

The sky was covered in thirty or forty Dark Marks, and it made Harry sick. All the lights in his house were on. He'd turned them all off. But the wards wouldn't let anyone who meant him harm in – they couldn't – he grasped his wand tightly and shoved his way through the crowd and surging into his house.

He had his hand ready to cast a Killing Curse, but Ron was the first person he saw.

"Harry."

Relief flooded Ron's face.

"We thought you were – that you were –"

"Dead," Harry said bluntly, almost coldly. "I know. I saw the Marks. But I'm not dead, so who is?"

"We haven't found anybody," Ron murmured. "Nobody who could have cast the Marks, either, except Bellatrix."

Harry shook his head, denying it. "There's no way she's in La Push, Ron. No way. Except..."

He closed his eyes, thinking back to the huge wolves. One of them, big and gray, the one who had hurt him. The howl twenty minutes ago, and the look of pure panic on Paul's face as he fled the diner. The soft look in his eyes as he spoke of love at first sight, and the reference to Taha Aki, and how Seth had pulled him along to the bonfire months and months ago.

"Except something is," Harry finished. "And I'm not sure if they're all friendly."

Without explaining, Harry wheeled around and out of the house. There were curse-breakers surging through the crowd to make the Marks disappear, and Obliviators wiping memories. He pushed through them all, and found Ron's Auror squad following him.

The mouth of the forest was four blocks from his house, but it seemed like he was stepping inside it in moments. He made sure the Aurors were still behind him and shifted, liquid magic melting his body and resizing and reshaping it. He was warmer now, the mane of fur covering his ears. Though he knew it would only draw attention to him, he roared, long and loud.

Someone had meant to kill him tonight, and that someone was going to pay.

He shot off like a bullet.

Something was not right within the forest, it smelled weird to his Animagus form – a little too sweet to be pleasurable, but not sweet enough to burn. He let out a distressed whine, though he wasn't sure why, and continued on.

It wasn't far before he realized what was off.

Deep within the forest, where the trees were too close for the snow to touch the ground, vampires were swarmed. And those vampires were all crying for vengeance.

There were wolves, too – giant ones. Before they noticed him, Harry looked around. He noticed the Cullens, and glanced at the Aurors.

Shifting, he slammed his hands into Ron's chest. "Don't hurt the wolves," he pleaded. "And-and don't hurt that blond man over there, or anyone he seems allied with. Everyone else is fair game."

He heard Ron relaying this to his squad, but he didn't care. He was liquid again, and then feline, pawing the ground and launching himself at an unsuspecting vampire duo attacking a gray wolf.

The wolf was shocked. So were the vampires.

– – –

Paul glanced at his new fighting partner. It was the lion that he'd injured – it was Harry, but somehow not Harry, his wolf wouldn't accept it. The lion whined softly, and Paul responded with a rumble in his throat.

Then they were fighting again, and it seemed much easier now – a group of ten or twelve humans off to the side were fighting, light splashing out of sticks they held in their hands as they screamed Latin words. Vampires fell, left and right, unmoving though they hadn't been burnt. The Cullens weren't touched, but the pixie – Alice – had to warn a ginger boy (who looked to be the leader of the group) off of Tanya Denali.

Wherever Paul went, his fighting partner followed. Only a few vampires remained standing now, and he saw the Cullens beginning to burn the bodies when the group of humans froze.

"Bellatrix."

This was echoed through their mouths, and his fighting partner slipped into an angry crouch. Everyone stopped what they were doing, even the remaining rogue vampires, and turned their heads.

There was the crazy woman, and she looked as if this had all amused her very much.

"So where is your little friend, then, Weasley?" she asked, her voice high-pitched and whiney.

Weasley, the ginger who'd tried to hurt Tanya, growled. "You're not touching any of my friends – ever again."

"Oh, really? I'll have you know that I'm very capable of escaping t hat prison you lot put me in. As you can see. And I doubt you''ll ever catch me, anyways, ickle Weasley."

Weasley was getting angry, and lifted his wand. "Yeah, well, you won't be going into the prison again – because I'm going to murder you. This is for Ginny!" he screamed, and as he screamed, the lion roared, launching itself at the crazy woman.

Mid-air, the lion was Harry, fully clothed, a stick in his hand. Light flew from it, but the crazy woman was quick. She let out a maniacal laugh, sounding as if she was just off her rocker, shooting back light.

Back and forth, the two went, screaming insults and Latin at each other.

Paul vibrated with worry as one of the lights came to close to Harry and blood rushed down his arm, but the boy didn't stop – not for one second. He shot a bright green light, the Latin sounding something like Abra Kadabra, and the crazy woman looked shocked.

"This won't be the last you see of me!" she warned, and then turned on her heel and was gone before the light could touch her.

The clearing was silent.

Harry dropped to his knees and let out the most pained shriek-slash-sob Paul had ever heard. Weasley dropped to his knees, wrapping him in a tight embrace, and they both cried together.

"G-Ginny," Harry whimpered.

"Shh, I know," Weasley responded. "Calm down, Harry, calm down."

The wolves were changing back, pulling clothes on. Paul wiped some sweat from his eyes and limped to Harry, tilting his head up.

"You're amazing," Paul told him, offering a hand. Weasley let go of Harry and watched, eyes slightly knowing, as Harry took Paul's hand.

"What are you?" Paul whispered. Everyone in the clearing could hear it, from the Cullens standing with their Denali cousins, to the wolves opposite them, to the humans with the lights behind Harry.

"Wizards," Harry responded, that one word carrying across the clearing better than anything before them. "I'm a wizard."

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Review? c:

Last chapter: "It's alright, just wait and see. Your string of lights is still bright to me." ~Taylor Swift "Innocent" (I dunno, for some reason this song just really struck a chord in me)

Question: Will you check out "Harry Potter and the Sarkany Flame"? j/k; real question: Have any pets with weird habits?