Disclaimer: Nil
Chapter Twenty-One
Climax
Rose and Scorpius ran through the rain back in the direction Scorpius had been coming.
"How do you plan on getting this to your mother, exactly?" he asked her as they ran through the downpour.
"I dunno yet," she said. He laughed as he threw open the doors leading into the closed courtyard. It was deathly quiet, the only sound the muffled rain pattering on the windows.
"Our best bet is to go to the Headmistress's office and use the Floo network—"
Rose suddenly took off at run in that direction, Scorpius hurrying after her.
"You're really keen on getting this potion to her, aren't you, Rosie?"
"Hermione Granger has been out of commision for too long," was all she said as she rounded the corner leading to the Head's office. The Gargoyle statue regarded them coolly, its stone face unmoving.
"You don't happen to know the password do you?" Rose asked.
Scorpius shook his head.
Rose sighed as she thought hard.
"Maybe if we asked nicely?" Scorpius offered, gesturing to the gargoyle.
"Wouldn't hurt to try, I suppose," said Rose. Raising her voice slightly she said clearly, "Excuse me—"
"No password, no entrance," said the gargoyle.
"But it's an emergency!" Rose protested.
"I don't care if Voldemort's been reborn, you're not getting into this room without the password!"
"But he's WORST than Voldemort!" Scorpius interjected.
"Eh, wot?" said the statue.
Rose grasped his curiosity and hurriedly explained, "We're under attack!"
"Again?" the statue questioned with amazement.
"Yes! Now please let us go up!"
The statue suddenly leapt aside, "Someone's coming down!"
Rose and Scorpius backed away from the doorway as the stairs revolved downwards into a spiral.
"This is difficult," Hugo huffed as his back appeared as he hauled his mother's wheelchair down the stairs.
"Hugo?" Rose gasped. He turned, his eyes wide with shock.
"Rosie?"
"Mum?"
"Hello, dear."
"What are you doing here?" Rose asked, still shocked to see her mother here of all places.
"Did you seriously think I was going to sit by while your father risked his neck to save you?" Hermione asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Dad's here?" Rose's mind was spinning. "Who else is here?"
Hermione nodded at Scorpius. "Draco and Astoria. The three of them tried leaving me behind. Just because I can't walk doesn't mean I can't fight—"
Rose suddenly pulled out the vial of crystal blue liquid and held it up for Hermione to see. "What's that?" she asked, perplexed.
"Hope," said Rose.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the castle, Sami was standing guard on the fourth floor, pacing back and forth between the set of double doors leading out onto the balcony that wrapped around the castle.
The storm was as fierce as ever and she was severely bored.
This wasn't at all what she expected war to be. Standing in the dark, the torches on the walls flickering tiredly, the wind moaning and pushing against the glass windows, thunder rumbling ominously. It was the perfect setting, but there was no action.
So she was bored.
And she totally jinxed herself by thinking that.
She started out thinking it was nothing but the wind, perhaps even just Peeves swooping around nearby, but then two of them appeared, seemingly out of the shadows.
Two black clad wizards holding staffs.
She forced herself not to laugh. What was this? The thirteenth century?
"It's about time," she muttered, extracting her wand, "I've been wondering when you'd show up."
The wizards didn't say anything as they advanced towards her slowly, wielding their staffs. As they came closer, Sami got a better look at their weapons of choice and noted the glowing red orbs of energy atop them. Coming to the conclusion that that was where they were channeling their magic, Sami decided to avoid the staffs at all costs.
"Gonna say something?" she jibed, placing her feet more firmly apart on the floor and wielding her wand at them.
The wizards had their hoods up, their faces completely hidden from view, and still they said nothing, which sent shivers down her spine.
"Guess not," she said, rolling her shoulders and cocking her head a bit to each side.
One of the wizards began moving, lifting his staff an inch or two off the ground. Sami eyed it wearily, raising her wand, a spell on her lips—
Suddenly, the wizard brought his staff crashing down against the tile, causing the whole corridor shake and the floor to ripple, looking as if it had turned into liquid. Sami lost her balance and smacked right onto her back.
"Hey! Unfair!"
Before she could get back up, however, the wizard repeated the notion, making it impossible for her to get up due to the shaking floor. So from her current position she took aim at the wizard and screamed, "REDUCTO!"
His companion thrust his own staff in front of the both of them and a large shield blew up around them, projecting her spell back towards her. Sami rolled out of the way and the jet of light smacked into the place she had been only seconds before, blowing a small crevice into the floor.
"Craaap," she hissed.
The two wizards rushed towards her and she began firing spells, backing up farther down the corridor.
Two pairs of hands suddenly seized her from behind and hoisted her up to her feet.
"You boys really don't play fair, do ya?" Sami observed. "Fine. Be that way."
She suddenly reached behind her, seized one of her captors around the neck, and using all of her strength, tossed him over her own shoulder and sent him sprawling on the ground at her feet.
Not giving his friend enough time to realize what happened, Sami seized his arm and bent it behind him, causing him to make the first noise out of all four of them as he yelped in pain.
With her free hand, Sami seized control of his staff and, mimicking the wizard from before, smacked it against the ground, causing the corridor to shake once more and to send the other two crashing to the floor.
"Now I'm mad," she snarled into the last wizard's ear. "You're gonna wish you didn't make me mad. PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!"
The wizard keeled over, quite frozen.
To be safe, she performed the same spell on the other wizards.
"Wow," a familiar voice said. "I was gonna help, but it seems you didn't need it."
Sami looked up and grinned at Crow. "Yeah, well, I was mad."
"I see that," he said, stepping over one of the unconscious wizards. He picked up one of the discarded staffs and tossed it to her. She caught it with a questioning look. "You disarmed him. It's rightfully yours now."
As he spoke, the red orb of energy on top of the staff suddenly turned to blue.
"Sweet," she said, getting use to the feel of it in her hands. "How'd you know I was fighting these goons anyway?"
"Half the castle was shaking," he said with a shrug. "I said to myself, 'That must be Sami'. I figured you'd need help, but you proved me wrong."
"Do you think I'm incapable of defending myself, Crow?" she asked with a smirk.
He shrugged again. "I thought you were just a surveillance officer."
"I'm also a spy," she said, wiping a hand across her mouth. "The Ministry isn't going to send me undercover without the ability to defend myself."
"Good point."
Octavius narrowed his eyes at Scipio, who was speaking in quiet tones to one of his hooded followers that had shown up only moments before.
Seeing that Scipio was distracted, Octavius began inching back towards the grand staircase.
"Oi!"
Thick ropes suddenly shot out of thin air, wrapping tightly around his torso and causing him to trip.
"Octavius, you insult me."
Satisfied in thinking he couldn't escape, Scipio returned to his conversation with his hooded friend.
"Four of our number has been taken out of ranks, my lord," the hooded wizard informed him.
"They're dead?" Xavier snarled.
"No, just taken out of commission."
"By whom, exactly?"
"Collins."
Xavier glanced over his shoulder at Octavius, who was struggling against his bonds, oblivious to their conversation.
"Dispose of her, would you, Kubach?"
Kubach bowed his head and hurried towards the staircase, passing by Octavius without a glance.
Octavius hoisted himself up, grimacing in pain as the ropes rubbed his skin raw around the wrists. He could now watch Xavier as he sat down in the middle of the entrance hall, staring blankly at his hostage.
"I'm sure you have questions," he said simply.
Octavius glared at him. "I did," he said, breathing shallowly due to the tight restraints around his chest, "but now I…have no want…for your answers."
"Well in that case," said Xavier, getting back onto his feet, "I don't have to put up with you any longer. How would you prefer to die? The traditional killing curse or something a little more primitive? Or," Scipio's eyes began to glow a strange yellow color, "I could inflict upon you your father's curse."
Octavius remained mute, his eyes tracking Xavier as he paced around him in a circle, like a predator circling his prey. As their eyes locked, Octavius saw the beast behind the man.
"I am fully aware of young Mr. Malfoy's condition, by the way," Xavier said conversationally. "As young as the wolf inside of him is, he has come such a long way. My wizards told me of your little skirmish with him the night you killed Narcissa. Quite pointless, that. Why kill her? I know you said it was to make a point, but what was the real reason? Hmmm? Was it some primitive need to kill, Mr. Greyback? Was your father's true nature shining through you? Did he pass along his curse?"
Octavius's heart began beating faster, and he felt an unfamiliar snarl reverberating through his body.
Xavier paused in front of him, kneeling down to study his face closer.
"You know, your case fascinates me. When I heard of a werewolf reproducing, I was most perplexed. It's a different case for a Wolfman, but a werewolf? The genes must be passed along randomly, for Ted Lupin has shown no signs of inheriting the power from his father."
"You're carrying on a conversation I have no interest in," said Octavius, struggling more fervently against the ropes securing him.
"Don't bother trying to escape, Greyback. The more you struggle the tighter they will become."
"My Lord!" Kubach had returned.
Unable to look behind him, Octavius watched as Xavier stood up straight again, a cross look on his face.
"What is it, you dolt? How hard is it to dispose of a twenty odd year old female?"
"No, it's not that, my lord. Erik is taking care of her—it's Ford and Orrick. They've been killed by the one called Blood, and some woman and her apprentice—"
Octavius grinned. "My people are more dangerous than you thought, eh, Xavier?"
"Who's the woman?" Scipio demanded. "She wasn't part of your team."
"I have no idea," Octavius said smugly, "but she seems to be on my side, doesn't she?"
"How did you get this?" Hermione asked, staring at the vial of clear blue liquid Rose held up to her face for a better look. "Where did you get this?"
"It's a long story," said Rose, "but trust me; it'll give you your legs back."
Rose uncorked it.
"Cheers," Hermione said as Rose poured the entire contents into her mouth.
They all watched with bated breath as she swallowed. She shuddered, and suddenly one of her hands flayed, knocking into Rose's and causing her to drop the vial, the glass shattering against the tile.
"Mum…?" Rose looked at her uncertainly. Hermione blinked, looking around them. She suddenly seemed to surge with renewed strength as she leaned forward.
"Hugo," she snarled, "help me out of this damn chair."
"Yes, ma'am!" he said, a huge grin on his face as he took her by the arm and hauled her out of the wheelchair.
Once she was standing, Hugo backed away and they watched her sway a bit as she tried to gain her balance. She took a wobbly step forward and fell to one knee. Rose moved to help her but she shooed her away and hauled herself back to her feet.
Eyes determined, Hermione took another shaky step, and then another, until she had walked halfway down the corridor. She then turned to face them again, a huge grin on her face.
"It worked!" her voice cracked with happiness and with another surge of strength she jumped up, punching the air with her fist, looking like an excited school girl.
They all stared at her, small uncertain smiles on their faces.
"I hope it didn't scrape a few years off her brain," Hugo muttered.
"I hope it didn't scrape a few years off her in anyway," Rose said, brow creased. "Goodwin lost a few good years when he swam in it."
"Who's Goodwin?" asked Scorpius.
"Never mind, Scor."
Hermione walked back towards them, her eyes seemingly on fire as she zoned in on the wheelchair.
"Back up, kids," she said, taking out her wand and pointing it at the chair. "I want to make it burn."
"She's mad!" Hugo said as he pressed himself against the wall.
"Better the chair than us," Rose pointed out.
"Lacarnum Inflamarae!" A fire ball erupted out of the end of Hermione's wand and blasted the chair backwards, setting it in a blazing inferno.
"Well," said Rose, breaking the silence that had ensued as they watched the wheelchair burn, "that was rather dramatic."
Hermione laughed silently. "I'm sorry. You don't know what it's like to have to depend on a chair."
"I understand it must have been very frustrating."
"Aguamenti," water spewed out of Hermione's wand and killed the flames. She looked up at the two teenagers. "Now, let's go find your father." She suddenly frowned. "Where did Scorpius go?"
"What are you talking about? He's right—" Rose suddenly blinked, noting he had disappeared, "here," she finished lamely. "Scorpius!" she called, looking slightly frustrated.
But he had disappeared again.
"So I take it this is how Potter got to Hogsmeade in our third year?" Draco asked as he swatted a cobweb away from his face.
"That's right, Malfoy," Ron said casually, leading the way down the cold dark tunnel, their wands the only source of light. "And if I remember clearly, you got smacked in the back of the head with a handful of mud."
"And saw Potter's floating head," said Draco. "Which, I'll admit, was disturbing."
"I'll bet it was," said Ron, an amused crooked grin on his face.
"Are we almost there?" Astoria asked, anxious to get to Scorpius.
"It's just up ahead," said Ron, spurring them on faster.
Once they reached the end of the passage, Ron peered upwards into the darkness. "We have to climb up," he told them.
"Climb? You never said anything about climbing, Weasley!" Draco said. "I don't know why you insisted coming this way when we could've just gone through the Hog's Head—"
"Listen, Malfoy," Ron snarled, whipping around so fast Draco barely had to blink, "in case you hadn't noticed, we are on the brink of another war. That's the most obvious way to get in besides the front door. It will probably be heavily guarded. So shut your mouth and start climbing."
Draco glared at him for an intense few seconds before shoving past him and beginning the climb up to the hidden door. Once he reached the top, he threw his shoulder against the door of the passage, effectively knocking it open. He climbed out of the hump of the statue of the one eyed witch and found himself in the corridor near the stairs to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.
He reached behind him to help Astoria out, and then Ron came after. All three of them were coated in dust.
"Where to now?" Draco asked.
Astoria closed her eyes, holding up a hand to keep them quiet. Ron and Draco shared perplexed looks.
The seconds ticked by before Astoria's eyes flew open and she gestured for them to follow her as she hurried down the corridor, her robes swishing around her.
"How do you know where to go?" Draco asked her as he and Ron hurried to match her stride.
Astoria smiled slightly at her husband. "Motherly instinct, my love."
"Are any more on their way?" Avanell asked Blood, crouching to check the nonexistent pulse of the wizard at her feet. As he shook his head she added, "Are you absolutely sure?"
An irritated look crossed his face. "Yes, I'm sure. Now you need to go!" He glared at her, pointing into the Room of Requirement.
Avanell laughed. "No way! This is the most fun I've had in years!"
"Auntie, maybe we should," Edgard put in nervously. "The lad seems a wee bit unstable if you ask me," he muttered so Blood couldn't hear him.
"Ha!" said Avanell. "Then maybe he should be the one avoiding bloodshed! Come on, Ed, we're going to find Albus and the others—"
"You're not leaving my sight," Blood snarled, seizing her by the arm. Avanell stared from his gloved hand to his face.
"Let go of me, son, and you won't get hurt," she said venomously.
He chuckled. "I'm so scared of you, lady."
Edgard groaned, covering his eyes. "Now you've done it, mate."
Avanell yanked her arm out of his grasp for the second time, yielding her wand at him. "I don't want to hurt you," she said, "but if you do not permit to locate my team, I won't have a choice."
"Dude, she's been waiting for someone to pick a fight, and now you have," said Edgard. "I'd listen to her if I were you."
Blood's eyes danced with amusement. "Bring it on, Old Lady," he said with a grin, beckoning her forward with his hand.
"Boy, I'm gonna kick your arse—" Avanell began when she was caught off by a yell.
Crow and Sami came running down the corridor, eyes set in terror.
"RUN!" Crow bellowed, waving his arms furiously as he ran. "I said RUN!"
Blood, Edgard, and Avanell exchanged bewildered looks as Sami and Crow literally flew past them and on down the corridor. A moment later they saw what they were running from.
A roar shook the corridor as a great beast hurtled the corner, chasing after them. Its wide toothed mouth came first, then a clawed hand grasped the brick corner, tearing it off as it fought its way through the small corridor.
"Is that…is that a dragon?" Edgard asked in a small, incredulous voice.
"Ummm, I believe it is," said Avanell, staring wide eyed at the glistening white dragon as it turned its glowing red eyes in their direction. "I think we should do as your friends suggest and RUN!"
"Just what we need!" Blood yelled as he ran backwards, aiming his sword at the beast.
"What use is that gonna do?" Avanell demanded as he threw his sword and it merely bounced off the dragon's scales.
"Apparently nothing," said Blood.
"Brilliant!" Edgard retorted sarcastically.
The three of them spotted Sami and Crow running up ahead, and they felt heat on their backs as the dragon resorted to its infamous fire breathing ability.
"That must be a baby!" Edgard called to them. "To be able to fit in the castle!"
"Aren't babies usually more vicious?" Avanell screamed.
"Well…yeah."
"Brilliant," Blood snarled.
Sami and Crow ducked into a side door and waited for the others to run past before seizing each of them and pulling them inside.
"Quick! Seal it!"
"What use will that do?" Avanell repeated. "It'll just burn its way through, and then we'll be trapped!"
"Good point," said Crow, looking embarrassed. Edgard slapped a hand to his face.
"Who are you people?" Sami and Avanell said simultaneously.
"Never mind that," said Blood, cautiously opening the door to peer outside. "I think the dragon has passed. I'll go see where it's gone—"
"How can a dragon just disappear?" Edgard wanted to know as they joined him back out in the corridor.
"Ummm, I don't think it did," said Sami, pointing further on down the corridor to a gaping hole in the wall of the castle.
"Looks like our little friend escaped outside," said Avanell.
"Good. That means he's not trying to kill us," said Crow.
Blood silenced him by saying, "Don't jinx us."
"Look!" cried Sami, running forward towards the edge of the hole created by the dragon.
"Be careful, Sami!" said Blood, hurrying towards her side in case she fell.
"It's the dragon!"
"What's that on its back?" Crow asked, brow furrowed.
"Bloody hell—" Avanell smacked him on the back of the head and told Blood to watch his language, "Holy Hippogriffs," he said with an irritated glare thrown in her direction, "it looks like a person."
"Great. Just what we need. A whack job riding around on a dragon!" said Crow, throwing his hands up in the air as he walked back over to stand next to Edgard.
"Well, it seems to me we're not in any immediate danger, so I'll be going to look for my team now. Come on, Ed—"
"I don't think that's a good idea," said Sami.
"Nope," Blood agreed. "I don't trust her."
"It's not a matter of trust, Blood," said Sami, "I just don't think it's safe for us to wander off by ourselves. We need to stick together."
"I'm not going anywhere with them," said Blood stubbornly.
"What is your problem?" said Crow. "They're Healers!"
"Healers that can apparently fight with Dark Magic!" Blood snarled, eyes flashing.
"What?" said both Sami and Crow, turning to stare at Avanell and Edgard.
"It's not Dark Magic—" began Avanell.
"Don't lie," Blood snarled.
"I'm not."
"My Aunt use to be friends with this one bloke, Oliver or something, and he taught her a few dueling tricks—"
"His name was—"
"I don't care much for your background story," Blood interrupted. "We'll help you find your team, and when we do, you're out of here, understood?"
"Fine," said Avanell coolly. "If our safety is so important to you," she added, knowing full well he could care less about her safety. "I think I know what your problem is, 'Blood'. You're afraid of me, because you know I could beat you in a one-on-one fight."
Blood flushed as Sami and Crow started snickering.
"That's not true!" he snapped.
"Sure it's not," said Avanell as she began walking down the corridor with Edgard.
"I'll prove you wrong!" he snarled as he and the others followed after her. "After all this is over, if you'd like."
"If this is ever over," said Avanell.
"Not that you're not excellent conversation or anything, Octavius," said Xavier, "but I think I'll kill you now."
"What? Without a fight? Where's the fun in that?" asked Octavius as Xavier raised his wand.
His arm came back down. "You're right…a duel would be entertaining. And if you were to try and escape, I could always rip your limbs off."
"Charming," he said sarcastically.
Xavier snapped his fingers and the ropes strangling Octavius suddenly dispersed, leaving him sucking in air, marveling at how much easier it was to breathe now.
"Well, stand up!" Xavier commanded. "Come on then!"
Octavius hauled himself to his feet and held out his wand. "Return my wand, please."
"Such the gentleman," Xavier hissed. "Saying please and thank you. Your mother would be so proud—that is, if she hadn't given you up first chance she got."
"Shut up," Octavius hissed.
"Can't say I blame her," Scipio went on, rolling Octavius's wand between his fingers distractedly. "After all, you were her rape baby—"
"I said shut up!" Octavius roared.
"Do not shout at me," Xavier said in an annoyed voice, turning the wand so suddenly on him he barely had time to register the cruel voice casting the spell that caused him to keel over in pain. "Did I touch a tender spot in the heart of the fierce Greyback? Does your Mummy hold a special place there?"
His only answer was another tortured scream ripping its way out of Octavius's throat.
"Did you really expect Fenrir Greyback of all people, to actually sire a child the moral way? Please, he was as much of a monster as I am," said Xavier. "Why, if he was alive, I'm sure we'd work brilliantly together.
"Ah, but this is no fun," said Xavier, looking down at Octavius in disgust as he continued to screamed. "I do like a good challenge—not that you could give much of a fight."
He withdrew from the curse and threw the wand down next to Octavius's shuddering form.
"Stand up and fight me. Take my taunting like a real man."
"I know I can't kill you," Octavius stated as he stood up shakily, still gasping for breath.
"Then why bother fighting me?" Xavier asked in a low voice, jabbing his wand and sending a fresh wave of horrible pain wracking his body.
Octavius fell back to the floor, writhing in agony. Xavier released his hold on him and his chest fell up and down as he sucked in more air.
"To distract you," Octavius rasped.
"From what?" Xavier asked with an amused glint in his eye.
"Him."
Octavius pointed at something behind Xavier—something standing at the top of the grand staircase, a deathly stare painted on his pale face. A horde of people stood behind him, wary yet defiant expressions on their faces. Xavier's face split into a toothy grin.
"So, I meet the infamous Avengers at last," Xavier purred. "Ha ha! And you sent a mere puppy to fight me? Ah, how frightening."
In one swift moment, Scorpius had lunged forward, changing effortlessly into his wolf form, his mouth opening into a deafening howl as he collided with Xavier's form, pinning him to the ground.
As if right on cue, all of Xavier's followers flooded into the Great Hall, seeming to step right out of the shadows, as if they had been there all along. The Avengers acted quickly, going out to meet them. Octavius, still weak from being tortured with the Cruciatus curse, dragged himself out of the way so as not to be crushed under the onslaught.
He took several deep breaths, grabbed hold of the railing of the staircase and hauled himself back up. Grasping his wand tightly in his hand, he pushed himself away from the banister and jumped into the fray.
"If I'm not mistaken," said Hermione, breaking into a run down the corridor, "the fight has begun."
"What gave it away?" Hugo asked as the castle shook with the impact of another war on its grounds.
"Then that's where Dad and Scorpius will be, right?" Rose yelled as they ran down a flight of stairs.
"Hopefully!"
As they were rounding the corner leading to the grand staircase, they caught sight of Albus and the two healers accompanying him coming from the opposite direction.
"Albus!" Rose cried over the ruckus coming from the Entrance Hall.
"Rose!"
They met each other in the middle, now looking over the battle playing out in front of them. It wasn't easy to miss the two giant wolves circling and growling at each other smack in the middle of the fight.
"Scorp—" Rose began to yell, but Hermione slapped a hand over her mouth.
"Don't distract him, Rosie. It could cost him his life."
Rose accepted her logic and watched fearfully as the large wolf swiped at the smaller wolf's throat. There was a distinct difference between the two. The one she knew to be Scorpius was much smaller and was inky black, while the large one that was obviously Xavier was a light gray.
"I believe the Avengers could use our help," Hermione continued.
Then Albus registered she was out of her wheelchair. "It worked! Brilliant!" he hugged her in his excitement.
Once again, Rose heard someone calling her name.
They all turned to watch as Ron, Draco, and Astoria tore down the corridor, wands at the ready as they prepared to jump into the battle.
Ron froze, gazing at Hermione in awe.
"What—how—?" he stammered, taking in her full standing stance.
"Later," Hermione said gently, putting a hand to his lips to silence him. "We have a war to finish."
"We're missing the fight!" Blood yelled, running like a madman down the corridor. "We're missing the best part!"
"Calm down, you blood thirsty cretin!" Avanell snapped as they all ran to catch up. "It's not likely to end in five minutes, now is it?"
"NONETHELESS!"
When they reached the Entrance Hall, the battle was in full swing—Blood wasted absolutely no time in jumping right in, screaming incomprehensible words as his battle cry as he hacked down Xavier's army, careful not to harm the Avengers.
"Shall we?" Crow asked Sami gallantly, gesturing to the fight.
Tears pricked her eyes, reminded strongly of Fuzz. As if guessing her thoughts, Crow smiled sadly at her. "Since he's not here, I thought I'd do the honors."
She gave a shaky laugh, took his arm, and allowed him to escort her into battle.
"Are you ready, Edgard?"
"Ready as I'll ever be."
Avanell smiled at her nephew and squeezed his hand. "Thank you."
"For what?"
"For everything."
He nodded, jaw set as he gripped his wand.
"Let's get on with it, then."
The battle raged around them, wizards firing curses at wizards, Blood and Crow surprising enemies as they wielded their choice weapons, and still the two wolves continued growling and howling, tearing at each other's throats.
Scorpius's anger was fueled by everything that had happened to him in the past few months—becoming a wolf, Astoria and Rose being kidnapped, his grandmother's death and his grandfather's withdrawal from the world.
He caught flashes of the battle going on outside of his focus on Xavier, the wizards screaming, the curses flying over their heads—he caught sight of the familiar faces of his friends flying by as they attacked the enemy.
Xavier lunged forward, his sharp canine teeth snapping inches away from his face—the wolf's face—and Scorpius threw his shoulder against him, knocking him back.
It took Scipio barely a second before he renewed his attack, his sharp claws scraping against his face, causing him to yelp in pain, backtracking quickly, shaking his head at the stinging from Xavier's claws.
Meanwhile, Sami was locked in fierce combat with two of the staff-wielding wizards close to the open doors leading into the Entrance Hall.
Sending curses flying too fast to be said verbally, she caused one to soar backwards, smacking against the wall. While she was preoccupied with them, another came up from behind, disarming her and sending her sprawling onto the floor.
She threw up her hands, as if they could protect her from his magic.
A word she couldn't hear formed on his lips, and just as she thought he would surely end her life, the whole room shook as the dragon from before came crashing through the great glass stained window above the doors.
"Now who said ya'll could start without me?" a painfully familiar voice rang across the room.
Momentarily everyone but the wolves paused in their fighting, staring awestruck up at Fuzz, who rode astride the dragon, holding his sword up high as he came streaking downwards, causing wizards to scream in fright, ducking for cover.
In one swift movement, Fuzz, his eyes burning with hate, swung his sword down at the wizard about to kill Sami, and effectively caused the man to topple over, quite dead.
"FUZZ!" Sami cried in shock as the dragon crashed onto the floor, squashing unnamed wizards. It was a win-win situation for him as Sami came running towards him, throwing her arms around his neck.
"Hey there, pretty lady," he said with a grin.
He went to kiss her, but she slapped him across the face and screamed, "You selfish bast—"
"Hey, hey, hey, calm down, would ya? I came back, didn't I?"
"Do you have any idea how hurt I was?"
His eyes lost their spark and he said sadly, "I'm so sorry."
"I forgive you," she said with a small smile.
"CAN'T THAT WAIT FOR LATER?" Crow yelled, running past them as they kissed.
"He's right," said Sami, pushing him away. She winked. "And you'll tell me later how you managed to tame a dragon."
"Yes, I will," he said with a laugh. "Stay safe, eh?" he called after her as she ran off.
She waved his concerns away as she ran.
As Sami was running past him, Octavius aimed a well chosen curse at a Wizard who had decided to begin to pursue her.
She spun around just in time to watch the enemy go down, shot a smile at Octavius as a thank you and promptly sent a round house kick towards another bad wizard that was trying to sneak up on a Blood.
Rose was in a state of shock. She had climbed back up to the top of the stair case for a better look at the entire battle.
What had become of Hogwarts? She asked herself as she looked across the Entrance Hall. Unlucky unnamed persons were strewn across the floor, carelessly kicked aside as the enemy fought the heroes and Scorpius and Xavier fought to the death. There was even a dragon—a dragon!—flying around, an ally on its back.
All around her the battle was becoming more and more intense, and she could feel it coming to either its climax or its end.
She felt she was miles away from the battle, the sounds of war were dim in her ears, her eyes were seeing things from the past—sitting underneath the beech tree with Scorpius, giggling with Jessica in the Girls' Dorm, playing Wizards chess with Hugo, scratching out the errors in Albus's homework assignments—how simple everything had been then, even if for just a short time.
Rose shook herself back to the present, and as she gazed down at the battle field, she tried to tell which side was winning. It was hard to distinguish the two teams, and mostly everyone was neck in neck with their magic.
She really just wished it would all end.
Just as she thought it, Scorpius lunged towards Xavier, his teeth sinking into the latter's neck, causing Scipio to howl in pain, the sound causing everyone to freeze. Once the Avengers saw it was Scorpius who had the upper hand, they quickly took the advantage and disarmed their enemies, everyone backing away to watch the battle between the two wolves.
Hermione and Ron, and the others who had witnessed the Battle of Hogwarts years previous, had a serious sense of Déjà vu, recalling the way Harry and Voldemort had circled each other, crying out to one another last threats and promises—
Scorpius backed away from Xavier, who was still whimpering in pain, blood matting his fur where Scorpius had bit him.
Rose ran down the stairs, joining the throng of wizards watching.
Octavius watched with rapt attention.
Scorpius was trembling, exhaustion threatening to overcome him, but he refused to succumb to it, knowing it wasn't over until one of them was dead.
Xavier looked up, his large luminescent eyes pained. He gave out a weak howl of protest.
Could it really be so simple? Rose wondered. She had always thought death was such a complex thing. Could life really be wiped out so easily? She felt tears welling up in her eyes—not because of sadness, but fear. She knew people said death was the next greatest adventure, but what lay beyond it? What happens after death?
Xavier stumbled, falling forward. He crossed his paws, lying his great head down upon them—surrender.
Blood was gathering around him in a puddle, pouring from the deep bite in his neck.
The wolf's ears were lying flat against his head, growling deep in the back of his throat, daring Xavier to get up.
"End it, Scorpius," Octavius spoke up, stepping forward.
The Wolfman turned to stare at him.
"It's ok, Son," Draco said, nodding his head. "It has to be done."
"They're going to ruin that young man," Avanell muttered. "Making him a killer even before he's graduated."
Rose heard several murmuring voices around her, ones that agreed with Avanell and still others that agreed with Octavius.
She tuned them all out, knowing Scorpius was at war with himself.
To kill someone, to take their life, was a thought that daunted her. She didn't know how she'd feel about Scorpius, knowing he had killed someone, no matter how much they deserved to die.
She was surprised. She had thought she'd want Xavier to die in the most painful way imaginable, but now, it was real, and she found she didn't want anyone to die in such a horrible way.
Then again, she reasoned, many people had already died because of this man.
"Do it, Scorpius!" Octavius commanded, his voice ringing loud around the room, causing the murmurings to come to an abrupt end.
Rose turned her face away, knowing what his decision would be.
A cry of shock rose as Scorpius bounded forward, making the final move, snapping Xavier's neck.
Shock turned to rage on Xavier's people's part. This time they took the advantage, turning on the Avengers.
In the confusion, Scorpius had disappeared.
Rose ran through the skirmish and out the doors, running across the courtyard, in the direction she knew Scorpius had gone.
Avanell didn't see the wizard coming upon her from the back. She was busying herself with dueling with a rather nasty looking fellow with yellowing teeth and dreadlocked hair, one who for some reason took Xavier's death as a personal insult.
Octavius came charging towards them, seemingly fully recovered from his little fight with Xavier earlier, effectively sending the wizard sneaking upon Avanell flying backwards and into the wizard Sami had been battling.
"One thing I can't stand," Octavius roared, knocking the recovering wizard off his feet once more, "is someone who attacks an opponent with their back turned!"
Avanell finished off her opponent and turned to thank him, only to freeze on the spot, gazing open mouthed up at him.
Octavius was equally struck.
"Griffins?"
"Greyback?"
The two adults were gobsmacked. "I can't believe it—you're the Healer Rose has been with?" Octavius asked, unable to hide his surprise.
"You two know each other?" Blood asked as he was running past to find another evil henchman to bully.
"I haven't seen you since…you know," Avanell said, suddenly frowning.
Octavius's eyes suddenly flashed, "As I recall, it was you who called it off."
"Called what off?" Blood asked as he did a back handspring to avoid his oncoming opponent.
"Me?" Avanell looked absolutely livid. "You were the one who called it off!"
"Where on God's blue Earth did you get that idea from?" he demanded.
"My father told me—" she suddenly smacked a hand to her forehead. "Of course my father told me that."
"Your father told me you never wanted to see me again," Octavius snarled.
"Who's father?" Blood interjected, wielding a dagger at the wizard attempting to blast him into a million tiny pieces.
"And you believed him?" Avanell demanded.
"Are you saying it wasn't true?"
"Why would I tell my father I never wanted to see my fiancé ever again?" Avanell yelled.
Blood's mouth dropped. "You guys were engaged?"
"Shut up!" they both screamed at Blood.
"Didn't see that coming," Edgard commented on his way past.
"To be married?" Blood went on, kicking his enemy in the chest.
At the same time, Avanell and Octavius pulled out their wands and blasted an evil wizard sneaking up on the latter.
"We're trying to have a heart to heart chat here!" Octavius roared at the wizard who had unsuccessfully tried in killing Avanell.
"Then why didn't you come back?" Avanell asked, more than a little hurt.
Octavius frowned. "I didn't know you wanted me to."
"It seems to me the whole thing was a misunderstanding!" Blood yelled, successfully disarming his attacker. "So kiss and make up already!"
"It wouldn't change anything," Octavius said, "would it, Nell?"
"Nell?" Blood repeated, looking slightly disturbed.
Avanell had tears in her eyes now. "I never stopped loving you."
"Oh, ick," said Blood as Octavius stepped closer to her, his face still shocked.
"After all this time?"
"Oi! In the middle of a war, in case you didn't notice!" Sami yelled at them.
"No time to get all kissy, Octavius!" Fuzz called.
"You're one to talk," said Crow. "I saw you and Sami snogging earlier—"
"We weren't snogging—"
"Everybody quiet!" Avanell snapped. "We'll talk later," she told Octavius.
"No, we'll talk now."
Everyone in hearing distance groaned and slapped their hands to their foreheads.
"Octavius, let it rest until we've won," Sami pleaded. "Everyone's gonna want to hear this."
"She has a point you know," chimed in Fuzz.
[Well, now that we had that random snippet of a romance know one probably ever thought of…hehe? Surprise!]
Rose ran through the pouring rain in the direction of the forest, seeing the black spot she knew to be Scorpius running across the grounds.
"Scorpius!" she yelled, pushing herself to run faster, feeling the strain in her muscles.
The wolf paused, looking at her, and his eyes nearly broke her heart. They were so sad, so empty.
Once she was standing in front of him, she dropped to her knees, the rain pouring in sheets down on them.
"Why won't you change back?" she asked him quietly.
He simply continued watching her, his large, luminescent eyes full of hurt.
"Are you ashamed?" she whispered.
The wolf began to whimper, and he hung his head.
"Oh, Scor—it's not your fault," she said gently, wrapping her arms around the wolf's neck.
She pressed her face against his neck, wishing things were different but also the same.
"It's ok," she whispered, "it's over. We can be together again."
He suddenly threw back his head and howled. Rose laughed.
"Would you like that?"
He nudged his head against her shoulder gently.
"I love you, too," she said softly.
Dead silence seemed to ring around the Entrance Hall.
"It's…over?" Blood's voice cracked with exhaustion as his sword hit the floor with a deafening clang!
"Not yet," Blaise said in his deep voice as he seized the heads of two wizards trying to escape and knocked them together. The two remaining wizards slumped to the floor out cold.
"Was that really necessary?" the Healer named Thalia asked him.
He grinned. "No."
Sami shushed them. "Avanell and Octavius are about to reconcile and admit their undying love for each other!"
"Don't be ridiculous, Collins," Octavius said, an odd pink tinge gracing his cheeks.
"What's all this about?" Hermione asked.
"Tell you later, Mum," said Hugo.
"We have more important things to discuss right now," Avanell said, looking slightly confused. "Such as, how many people we've lost, what we're going to do with the surviving followers of Xavier, where we'll bury the dead—"
She suddenly fell silent as Octavius took her face gently in his hands.
"Did you really never stop loving me?"
She gaped at him. "Well—I—"
Fuzz let out a loud whistle, casually wrapping his arm around Sami's waist. "Looks like Octavius has a bad case of the warm fuzzies!"
Sami rolled her eyes and pushed him away. "You just ruined the moment, Ben!"
Avanell and Octavius were oblivious, though. "Well?" he prodded.
She was spared answering as Rose and Scorpius—who was still in wolf form—entered the Entrance Hall from outside, soaking wet.
"Scorp needs some fresh clothes so he can change back," she explained, looking slightly embarrassed. She glanced down at her own clothes. "Me too, I think."
"I'll get an answer out of you, Avanell!" Octavius called to her retreating back as she went with Rose and Hermione.
She had a small smile on her face as she called back to him, "I'll hold you to that promise, Octavius!"
"I can't believe you use to be engaged to him," Rose told her.
Avanell shrugged. "Neither can I, to be honest with you, Rose. You can't help who you love."
Hermione snorted. "Tell me about it."
Rose took a deep breath, looking up at the dark winding staircase leading up to the Astronomy Tower.
Scorpius was up there. She was absolutely sure of it.
A sudden need took hold of her and she ran up the steps.
"Scorpius!" she called as she ran. She reached the top, bursting through the door.
He was standing at the railing, facing her. Without saying anything, she knew what he wanted as she slowly walked towards him, wrapping her arms around his waist, resting her head on his chest.
"Are you okay?" she asked softly.
He sighed, resting his cheek on the top of her head. "I've been better."
"It wasn't your fault, you know," she whispered.
"I had a choice, Rose."
"And you made the right one," Rose looked up at his face, and he quickly looked away. "Scor, Xavier was too powerful to be put in Azkaban. He would've escaped and started the whole thing over again—"
"But why did I have to do it, Rose?" his eyes looked torn.
"Maybe…maybe Octavius knew who had a need deep, deep down inside to make Xavier suffer for killing all the innocent people in his lifetime and this one," she paused, smoothing out the creases in his shirt distractedly. "Whatever the reason, what's done is done and there's no point in beating yourself up over all of this."
Scorpius smiled weakly down at her. "You know, you're very attractive right now."
She blushed. "I am?"
He nodded. "All I can think about right now is kissing you."
"Oh," she nervously straightened the Slytherin tie his father had insisted he wear for the celebration feast they had thrown together at the last minute only an hour before. "Why don't you then?"
"Because you're cute when you're lecturing me on how I should forget I just killed a man."
She blushed. "Well—I—"
"You're cute when you're babbling, too," he said with a grin, moving his face closer to hers. "And when you blush…God, Rosie, you kill me."
She hid her face in her hands. "Scorpius, stop it!"
"And when you get nervous, and bite your lip, I feel like I'll go insane," he went on, the grin in his voice so obvious it made her turn her back on him in humiliation. He laughed, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her towards him. He rested his head on her shoulder.
"I love you, Weaslette," he murmured, kissing her neck.
She snorted. "You have a hard way of showing it, you know. It took what? A psychotic lunatic trying to take over the world to make you realize you love me?"
He laughed. "Yeah, something like that."
"Well, for what it's worth, I love you, too."
"That's worth a lot, actually."
"Good."
She pushed away from him, smiling at him teasingly. "Our last year of Hogwarts starts in a few weeks."
"And?"
"I plan on making it the best year ever."
He laughed, gesturing to himself. "Obviously, if I'm going to be there."
She rolled her eyes, smiling. "I'll have you know, Mr. Hotshot, I'll be trying out for the Quidditch Team."
His eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Oh, really? And since when do you play Quidditch?"
"You'd be surprised," Rose's smile was vicious. "It just so happens I'm rather competitive, so you and your little Slytherin buddies better watch out."
His grin was wolfish. "Is that a challenge, Weasley?"
"I believe it is, Malfoy."
He smirked. "You best stay in the library, Weaslebee. The Quidditch Pitch is no place for such a delicate little thing."
"I'll be laughing once they're wiping you off the field!" She laughed and bolted for the door.
"WEASLEY!"
Scorpius ran after her, both of them laughing at the idiocy of the entire thing. The door slammed shut behind them, their laughter echoing around the staircase.
But before you begin to think the ending is disgustingly cheesy…
Kubach, Xavier's trusty follower, snarled at the two burly Aurors leading him from the castle.
"This isn't over," he spat at Octavius, who was cautiously holding Avanell's hand. Everyone else was still in the Great Hall, their happy voices drifting into the Entrance Hall through the open doors. Fuzz's "pet" dragon was probably halfway to Romania by now, having escaped sometime after the battle without Fuzz realizing, though everybody else had seen Sami set it free from whatever charm he had put under it. "Xavier was just a pawn! There are other, more powerful pieces! His death means nothing!"
Octavius gestured for the Aurors to keep moving. "Put this nutter under a sedation potion," he said tiredly, rubbing his eyes.
Avanell had a stern look on her face. "Shouldn't you investigate that? What if he's actually telling the truth? What if there are others?"
"Then we'll deal with it when it comes up," he sat down heavily on the bottom step of the grand staircase. "For now, let's enjoy being alive."
Avanell sat next to him. "Are we actually going to try and make this work?"
"Make what work? Us?"
She shrugged. "Yeah. I guess us."
He took her hand. "There are things I need to do first. Things I need to fix."
She raised an eyebrow. "What kind of things?"
"I can't tell you," he said with a frown. "But if you want, when I get back, we can try to work something out."
Avanell opened her mouth to say something, but they were interrupted by Fuzz and Sami.
"Octavius," said Fuzz urgently. "I need to ask you something."
Octavius raised an eyebrow. "I'm scared to hear your question."
"Can you perform marriages?"
"What?" both eyebrows were now up.
Fuzz threw his arms around Sami's shoulders. "I want to marry Sami."
Avanell slapped a hand to her forehead. "Oh, brother."
Things are getting cheesy again, so now here's a shocking twist:
Lucius Malfoy glanced around suspiciously, drawing his cloak closer to his neck. Satisfied he wasn't being followed, he quickened his pace, turning down a dark alley with a dead end. When he reached the brick wall he raised his cane and smacked it smartly against one of the bricks. The whole wall shuddered and slid into the ground, permitting him entrance.
Once he was inside, he removed his cloak, hanging it up on the peg nailed handily into the wall.
Walking quickly down a dark hallway, he then entered a plain room.
"He's back, Jaekob," a low voice announced upon his entrance. Lucius's eyes quickly adjusted to the dimness, immediately locating the high backed chair facing the single window in the otherwise empty room.
"Ah, Mr. Malfoy," a soft voice said from the chair, "thank you for getting back to me so quickly. Do you have what I asked for?"
"Indeed I do," Lucius said, stepping forward. The owner of the first voice appeared suddenly in front of him, blocking his path.
"Give it to Porter here," the one named Jaekob said. "He'll take good care of it, I promise."
Lucius unwrapped a package he held in his hands, gently taking out a delicate silver locket and passing it to the large man, who took it into his gloved hands.
"Be careful with it," Lucius growled. "It's very delicate—and very powerful."
"I know what it is, Malfoy," Porter snarled. He then walked to the chair and bowed, offering the locket to its rightful owner. A pale, fragile looking hand reached out and took it from him.
"How soon?" Lucius asked anxiously.
Jaekob exhaled softly. "Don't worry, Mr. Malfoy." A tinkling laugh came from the chair, sending chills down Lucius's back. He felt a suffocating sensation overcoming him, like always when he found himself in this room. "Your wife will be returned to you soon enough. But first, you must bring me her killer. I want Octavius Greyback. Dead…or alive."
What a chapter!
Sounded much better in my head, to be honest. Less random.
Bet you didn't see the whole Octo/Avanell thing coming, did ya? Neither did I ^^'
REVIEW!