A/N-- LOL, Alright, let's get this over with, everyone at once: "It's about time!" Thanks to all my fans that have been keeping with this story, and I hope to have the next one out soon. Enjoy!-- Black Rose
Angelic Wings
By
Black Rose
Chapter 12—Graveyard of the Past: Part One
Ten people stood in an open field. There was a beautiful sunrise and the air was filled with the smell of damp grass. The view was breathtaking as a light fog rolled across the waves of grass, and when the sun hit it right, it would make the grass shine. Those in the field were all glancing at a graveyard. It was a small graveyard, encircled by a rusty fence. On the other side was a cliff and then ocean. Silently inspecting the graveyard, the teens didn't know what to say when they were told that this would be their final trial.
Everyone had a confused look on their face, other than Harry, who looked like he was about to be sick.
"Why did it have to be a graveyard?" he asked more to himself than to anyone.
He felt a hand on his shoulder, and he glanced around to see his best male friend smile at him.
"You alright mate?" asked his best friend.
The black haired young man just smiled a little. The king glanced at his daughter, and saw a sad face. He then moved in front of them and had his back to them.
"It's time," he stated with an understanding voice.
His voice was so full of sadness that it got everyone's attention.
"Each of you will enter the graveyard, and you will learn to be the team you need to be," he started with sadness and a little anger about it.
"What's in there?" Neville asked, ready for anything, he glanced at the blond next to him and smiled—she had a determined look on her face that clearly read I will do anything to help my friends. He then turned to everyone else, Ginny looked ready to kill, but her eyes keep glancing at Harry with worry for him. Ron just seemed to be feeling ready but not too sure with what was going on. Hermione was about the same, but, like Ginny, was a little worried about Harry.
"Whatever you take with you," answered the princess, moving over to her father. As she then stopped next to her father, snapped her fingers, and their wands appeared in her hands. Each looked at their wands but they felt different.
"Neville you will enter first, then ten minutes later Luna and Ginny will enter, then after another ten minutes the Golden Trio will enter," stated Dahaka who turned around and had tears in his eyes.
"All the training you have gone through has led you to this final test, before you have to return to your world."
"What about Creda?" asked Harry, who seemed a little upset that she was a part of this. Creda smiled at him softly.
"Harry, I have already gone through this test, and I'm needed elsewhere in this test," she told him, and then glanced over at Ginny. When their eyes meet Creda's eyes flashed from their usual dark reddish-gold color to bright brown and then back to their original color.
Ginny just looked confused about why this girl was looking at her, but what neither of them saw was that a blond haired young woman was watching the whole thing, and was trying to put things together. She had an idea about what was going on, but didn't know all the information. As for Remus, he knew a bit about what was going to happen and the people he was worried about the most were Harry and Ginny, but he knew that he couldn't do anything about it.
"Alright, Neville just enter through the gate and walk to the other side," instructed the princess.
Neville walked past the king and princess. As he got near the front gate he heard his name called.
"Neville…"
He glanced behind him. It was Luna; she looked a little worried, put kept a brave face on. She had one hand on her chest and the other holding onto Ginny's hand.
He turned back around, but paused before he stepped through the gate, "Don't worry, Luna, I will be just fine," he stated with a smile on his face.
He then stepped through and was gone. Everyone was worried but had faith. After ten minutes Luna and Ginny started towards the gate, and stopped when they heard their names. They both turned around to see that Harry was talking to them.
"You two please be careful," he stated with worry and hope in his voice.
"Don't worry, we'll be just fine," Luna said in her dreamy voice, Ginny nodded and then they disappeared into the graveyard. The Golden Trio just watched the sunrise, and waited for their time.
As Neville walked among the graves he felt kind of peaceful. As he got closer to the end he heard voices, coming from all around him. He pointed his wand where the voice came from. The voice sounded like chanting, and soon the graveyard started to fade, and a new scene was taking its place. Neville looked around; he was in a stone room with a wooden door and some stairs leading to a secluded area with a broad full-length mystical mirror. He walked down the stairs, keeping his wand at the ready. From his training in the Ifrit forest he knew that an attack could come from anywhere.
As he got closer to the mystical mirror he heard a giggle from behind him. He turned around to see a young girl no older than eight. She had white hair and her eyes were light blue color. She was sitting on the stairs in a nice yellow sundress with a black cloak.
"Who are you?" he asked a little confused, but kept his guard up.
The little one just giggled again, and slowly stood up and walked down the steps until she was a little ways from the bottom.
"I'm Grace," she told him and glanced over to the mirror.
"Do you know what that is Neville?" she asked with a mysterious voice.
He turned around again and looked at the item that she was talking about.
"No," he replied and turned back to the little one.
She smiled a little, and walked over to his side. She put her small hand onto his wand hand and slow pushed it down so it was pointing to the floor.
"I will not hurt you, I only wish to show you that," she told him with a kind, mysterious voice and then pointed in front of her. Neville glanced behind him and saw a young man sitting in front of the mirror. He had to be at least eleven years old. He had black hair, and was wearing some nightclothes.
"I know him," Neville stated more to himself than to the little girl.
"You do, it's Harry," she stated and walked over to the little boy and sat down next to him. Neville walked closer to them and looked into the mirror, what he saw was not himself but his mother and father, along with this closest friends, but what shocked him the most was that Luna was in his arms. He glanced around and saw no one around him.
"What is it?" he asked, a little confused about what was happening, while glancing back to the mirror.
The little girl just giggled again. She got up and walked over to Neville. She smiled sadly at him.
"In his first year, Harry found a room with this mirror in it—it's called the Mirror of Erised, the inscription around the mirror says I show not your face but your heart's desire," she told him.
"It showed my heart's desire," he thought, unable to hide his shock because of what he had seen in it.
Grace just watched him with an amused look on her face. She pulled on his shirt. He looked down, and saw her looking at him funny.
"What?" he asked.
"Yes, it does, but what I wanted you to see is not what is in your heart, but what is in the mirror of your friend," she stated while pointing at the young man sitting in front of the mirror. Neville just nodded and walked over to the young man. He tried to put his hand on his friend's shoulder, but when he did his hand went through it. He heard Grace giggling at him. He glanced back at her.
"He is just an image, but what he sees is what the real Harry sees in it," she told him.
Neville had no idea where this was going and something inside him told him that he needed to find out what was going on. He stood next to the image of Harry, but every time he looked into the mirror it he saw the same thing. He glanced back to where Grace was and saw that she was just glancing around the room. He turned back to the reflection but again he saw what his own heart desired.
After awhile he gave up, and sat down on the steps with a sigh.
"Man, I don't know what to do," he told himself aloud.
Grace just smiled at him, walked over to Harry and sat down next to him, looking into the mirror. Neville watched them for sometime, and then he heard yelling and the sound of someone battling. He glanced around but couldn't find out where the sound was coming from.
"Grace, do you hear people yelling and fighting?" he asked from the steps.
The white haired girl didn't even glance back; she told him that two of his friends were in a fight. Neville looked shocked by this information, but he didn't know where they were.
"Do you know a way out of here?" he asked, getting upset as he realized his friends could be in trouble right now. Grace glanced back and told him that if he wanted out he had to see what Harry saw and then he would know how to get out. This didn't make Neville very happy. He started to think, and then it happened. He heard a small voice.
"Human, to see, become what you see," stated the voice and then it was gone.
"Become what I see…" he repeated to himself.
He looked over to Harry and Grace; they were sitting like one another. Then it hit him like a person learning to ride a bike. He walked over to them and sat down on the right side of the image of Harry, and this time when he looked into the mirror what he saw was something he should have known—Harry saw his mother and father, but there was something more his friends. He heard Grace giggle, he turned to smile but when he did she was gone, and so was the image of Harry.
"To get to your friend and loved one, walk through the mirror," replied her voice from all around the room. Neville started to feel like he knew his friend a little better now. As he got closer to it, the mirror started to ripple. He slowly put his hand to it and fell through.
As Luna and Ginny walked along the graveyard, they heard and saw the same thing that Neville had. Once again the graveyard changed, but for them it was different, for one of them they didn't wanted to be here again. They both landed in water. It was dark—there was little light coming from the walkway, which was bordered on each side with rows of snake statues. At one end there was a gigantic stone face of one of the founders of their school.
Luna felt her best friend tense up; she glanced at her friend and saw fear and panic. To say it worried the blond would be an understatement—her friend had always been the strong one when they were younger.
"Ginny, what's wrong?" she asked as she kept glancing around.
"No, no, no... Why did it have to be here, of all places? Any place but here…" Ginny started to say, unmistakable panic in her voice. She then fell to the wet floor and hugged herself. Her blond friend knelt down and put her arm around her.
"Ginny, do you know where we are?" she asked her with the calmest voice she could. He friend didn't answer her; she was too scared.
"She won't answer you. She never forgot this place, no matter how much other people told her it was going to be alright," stated a voice they knew.
For out of the shadows walked Creda with a different dress on, and a wand in her hand.
"Creda?" asked Luna with a little confusion in her voice.
"Hello, Luna," she started with a know-it-all smile. She walked over to the middle of the room so Luna could see her.
"What are you doing here? You told Harry that you already went though this test," the other blond stated.
Creda smiled at her, and glanced around. She then started to walk around the room.
"Yes, I did tell him that, but I also said that I have a part in this as well," she told her, and started to slowly walk towards them.
"Do you know where we are, Luna?" she asked, stopping a little ways from them.
"Maybe," replied Luna and had a feel that she just might, from the way the room was made and what was around it—it was the only place that could make her best friend get this way.
"The Chamber of Secrets," she replied already fearing that her answer was right before she said it.
"Yes, the Chamber, where it all started, and where it will all end," Creda stated with anger in her voice.
The other blond knew what was coming next and she pushed her friend behind a snake statue and threw herself down alongside. The spell just passed Luna's head.
"Now, now, Luna, I know you love her like a sister, but if she doesn't get out of herself, she will never save Harry," stated Creda, throwing another spell their way; chipping away the stone and making it fly everywhere. Ginny and Luna pushed themselves closer to the wet floor.
"What are you talking about, Ginny needs to save Harry?" asked Luna from behind the statues.
The older blond just laughed darkly, and threw another Reducto spell at the statue.
"Now that I think about it, you need to save Neville as well, but it looks like it was a waste of time, because you two are just hiding from yourselves—right Ginny!"
Luna glanced at her friend and saw that she was still talking to herself, and wasn't in any right mind to fight, but she could—if she learned about anything while with her new family, it was that she knew how to.
"Ginny, don't worry, we'll get out of this. Just stay here and stay down, and I'll come get you when this is over," she told her friend, making up her mind. She didn't wait for answer, she rolled out of hiding and into the open and put up a shielding charm.
"Stupefy!" Luna yelled.
Creda just smiled and side-stepped out of the way, and cast another Reducto spell at the statue that Ginny was behind and another spell at the other blond. Luna was shocked—she had seen the Death Eaters cast two spells at a time, but for someone her age it shouldn't be possible.
"Protego," stated Luna just in time to stop the spell.
The two started to move faster, and the spells were flying around like mad. Luna knew that Creda had the upper hand, but that wasn't going to stop her from trying to save her friend. She glanced quickly at her friend; she was still there. Luna knew that she could use some help, but her friend wasn't in any state to help.
"Ginny, come now, are you going to let your best friend in the whole world die because you couldn't overcome what happened in this place?" mocked Creda, who was just walking around, throwing spells at Luna, and sometimes at where Ginny hid.
"Impedimenta!"
"Expelliarmus!"
"Ferula!"
"Petrificus Totalus!"
"Protego!"
Luna was giving everything she had. Her training in the forest was helping immensely—she was ten times faster with her spells and movements, but she knew that Creda had much more training than she did and that was giving her the upper hand—it was like she wasn't even trying. Luna knew that she needed help, and the only person around was her best friend, the one that would stay up all night talking about boys, and what they wanted to do when they got out of school.
"Ginny, I need your help!" she called over to her friend.
While the fight was going on Ginny was not doing so well, her mind kept going around and around on what had happened in the chamber—she had put so many people close to death, even herself, and most of all the one person she loved the most, Harry.
She heard everything that was being said, and it sound like the fight was heating up; she wanted to help her blond friend, but she was scared to move. She then stated to hear singing and it was calming her.
"Where is that singing coming from?" she asked herself.
Memories of Sera and Melody singing out on the sand as they watched her swim flashed through her mind. She then remembered what Sera said.
"If you are ever in a place where you are scared, then let the Wings of Seraph calm you and your friends down," she stated.
"How?"
Sera smiled, "Close your eyes and listen to the song that plays in your heart, and remember that fear is the mind-killer," Sera told her.
Ginny smiled for the first time as she closed her eyes and, with everything she had, listened to her heart. She heard the song again and started to hum to it. She felt something wash over her. She reopened her eyes and glanced out into the fight; she was shocked at what she saw—her best friend was giving everything she had, she was getting worn down, but Creda looked like she wasn't trying, just playing with her. That made Ginny mad—she pointed her wand at the other blond and yelled.
"Bogies!"
As she yelled the spell, she ran over to her friend to make sure that she was alright.
"Luna?" she asked glancing all over her friend's body; there were some cuts but that was about it.
"Ginny?" she asked, keeping an eye on the other female.
"Sorry, but I'm back and ready," she stated and cast a Protego spell.
Luna glanced at her friend and saw a new fire in her eyes. Luna smiled—that's the girl she knew.
"Ah, so Ginny, you came to grip on what happened here," Creda stated, just standing there.
"Yes, but I want to know why you're fighting us," she yelled back.
Luna knew what she was doing; her best friend was giving her time to rest. The one thing that was really bothering Luna the whole time was how Creda fought—it was so much like Ginny's fighting style it wasn't funny, but how could she know how the redhead fought?
"Well, it looks like I'm going to have to try now," Creda stated, getting ready.
The redhead glanced at her blond friend and knew she could keep going. They kept looking at each other, and then Creda and Ginny yelled the same spell
"Incomotor!"
The two spells met in the air and canceled each other out. Then things started to heat up. It was a two-on-one fight, and it looked like Creda still had the upper hand.
"Why do I get the feeling that I'm fighting myself?" the redhead asked herself while moving out of the way of a spell and casting a new one.
After awhile Creda stopped playing and started to throw spells even faster—including some spells that the other girls didn't even know. One of the spells hit Ginny on the side, and another hit Luna on the shoulder. The best friends knew this wasn't going to last long, but if this was their end they were going to give it all they had. Then they heard something hit the ground behind them, Luna felt it, then Ginny.
"It can't be," Luna thought to herself.
She then glanced around quickly and saw the one person she was just thinking about. She smiled and knew this was going to be a whole different fight now.
Neville fell right into the water, he glanced up to see Luna and Ginny fighting another woman, and from the looks of it they weren't doing so well. He got up and ran up to them, firing off the first spell that came to his mind.
"Expelliarmus!"
Creda didn't seem surprised at all that Neville showed up. Indifferently she kept at it, she knew that she could win this fight with one move, but she wanted to know what they could do. Then she felt it, and knew it was time to end this game.
"You three, are very good fighters, but, as you can see, I'm toying with you. Let me show you what kind of power you one day may get if you let it," she stated with an understanding smile.
Her eyes started to change from their dark-red to a golden color. Fire-like wings came out of her back and started to flash. She moved her wand in front of her. The ground was starting to shake. Neville, Ginny, and Luna were now scared and the fact they couldn't move wasn't helping. The magic coming off Creda was nothing they had ever felt before, and they didn't know if they wanted to.
"Lunaticus!"Creda said very softly.
The next thing the three knew, they were falling back onto soft grass. The wind was knocked out of them. After they caught their breath they glanced around; they were no longer in the Chamber, but looked to be in the middle of a maze. There in the middle was a wooden goblet with a blue flame coming out of it.
"I know this may sound dumb, but is that what I think it is?" asked Neville, helping the girls up. The two girls nodded.
Then they heard a giggle again, and Neville knew who it was. He turned around and saw Grace stand behind them. She smiled at them. Neville smiled back; the girls saw this. It was Ginny that asked, "Neville do you knew her?"
Neville nodded.
"Alright Grace, what's the puzzle now?" he asked, not knowing if he really wanted to know.
The little girl just giggled and shook her head.
"No puzzle, I would like to heal your cuts, girls," she stated and walked over to them. She asked them to bend down. The girls did as they were told even though they thought it was odd. Grace put her hand on the girls' upper arms and healed their cuts they got from the fight.
"Alright, now all you need to do is take hold of the goblet at the same time," she stated and then disappeared. The three looked at one another, and on the count of three they took hold of it. They disappeared to a place they didn't know.
Back at the beginning of the graveyard, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were on their way in, and Remus, the king and his daughter, knew that for them and the other three this final test would try them all.
TO BE CONTINUED
Next Time: Harry, Ron, Hermione enter the graveyard to find themselves in a fight with the people they love. Will Neville, Luna, and Ginny get to them in time to help or will this be the last fight they ever fight? in Chapter 13—Graveyard of the Past: Part Two