07 Albus Potter and the Crossroads of Fate

by Colin Creevey

As Albus Potter returns for his seventh and final year at Hogwarts, things change. The school governors are killed, control of Hogwarts is shaky Incommodo is imposing himself, plans are being made, and Albus finds his life in danger. Albus has saved the DA from betrayal but the war with the Reservation looms with Albus involved and peace with the Arsenal may not last forever.

39. The Final Battle

The Crossroads of Fate

Chapter 35: The Final Battle

Laura and Fauna continued to stick together throughout the battle. Laura was getting exhausted, even her adrenaline failing. She knew she couldn't go on much longer but sheer willpower kept her going. Born from Professor Cora Redgrow, Fauna waved her wand in a slashing position. The grass on the once clean and kempt courtyard Lycah and Hagrid before her always looked after was uprooted from the ground and turned into burning iron. Laura widened her eyes in impressed shock as it struck an Arsenal member from the horde clean in the face. She threw herself to the ground to avoid a jet of green light, rolled away from a Cruciatus curse, and fired a Trip-Jinx. Another tripped over and fell back into another. Both tumbling Arsenal members met a blast from Fauna's wand.

Kabe was meanwhile firing spells madly. He was still twelve, barely knew more spells than most twelve years but his role as Hufflepuff's new Heir seemed to come so naturally. He hid himself so well, rushed through the Reservation members and the Arsenal members, going right through them, even hurting them if he appeared as a rock. He made his way to where Hugo was. Fora would've wanted Hugo to be alive and sane. Kabe had to save him.

Hugo was still being tortured. Hugo was still being tortured, writhing from a merciless torture session from an Arsenal member. They did not let up at all until Kabe, Laura and Fauna united at the same point. Kabe jumped, "NO!"

Lily was on the ground, Alpha, who had evidently tried jumping in to protect them was also down, Frank unconscious, and Hugo being tortured for who-knew-how-long. "Stupefy!"

"Avada Kedavra!"

A jet of green light burst from behind a bush and the Arsenal member fell dead. Quick jets of light took them all out and Fauna moved the earth to unbalance them as much as possible. Proxima crawled out, looking weak and loopy but nonetheless strong enough to do what she did. She nodded shortly at Fauna and bent down by Alpha while Kabe checked Hugo. Laura seemed distracted by Mark who was on the floor. She was not with the events now but Kabe was trying to calm Hugo down. Hugo was still hurting, still screaming, even after the Curse had passed. Albus tried picking him up but he screamed "NO" and nearly hit back at him.

Hugo looked unhinged. Not completely insane but unhinged. Something in him had snapped and it was too late to put it back together. Only time could do that, if anything. Alpha, who had just woken up by Proxima's wand, bent over Lily and tried reviving her next before getting to Frank. Lily seemed ok as she took Hugo into her arms and hugged him. That at least seemed to calm him down somewhat but he still shook, breathed heavily, clutching her shoulder tightly. He wasn't screaming anymore. He was just shaking, his eyes widened in shock and terror, shaking his violently as if trying to knock something out of him. At least this area was almost clean, most of the fighters by the forest and the lake.

Limbo…

Bursts of light erupted from Albus' very essence. He knew who he was fighting, and he fought almost desperately. He also found himself far more capable to use nonverbal spells. Just thinking of the spell itself send it spiraling towards Voldemort. Or should he say Tom Riddle? The young, handsome man stood against him, far more powerful in actuality, but in a soul battle, the two are equal. Albus caught sight of the Partnership Rune of Tom's forehead. He kept thinking of vanishing spells or erasures, but none of it seemed to work. It was always blocked or parried and Albus found himself forced to dodge jets of light.

The two were both holding back, both unwilling to kill. If Albus died, he dragged Tom with him and if Tom died, he dragged Albus with him. He had to trick the sliver of the soul. He had to fool it. He stopped and eyed him steadily. That was it. It was just a sliver. Which meant, while souls might have been equal, halves were just that. And slivers were even less which meant Albus only failed because he did not go all out.

He ran forth through the white haze of limbo, leaping on Tom. He blocked an anticipated spell, bursting with explosive energy. He felt himself weaken, dying, his own self just ceasing to exist. Tom yelled a curse but Albus ignored it, enduring it as he thought the vanishing spell with all his might. He rolled off as Tom exploded in jets of green light. Albus sent his own curse, feeling even more weakened, like his knees would give way at any second. If they did, he was dead. Finally, after firing a jet of red light against the jet of green, the two fought it out. The Killing Curse was usually unblockable but with Voldemort so weak and Albus a little stronger, he managed to push it back against him.

Albus snapped awake just before it hit, hearing a cold, high screeching scream in the night. Or in his head. Somewhere far off.

Albus found himself in the castle. His body must've been moved. Albus looked at his own forearm, thinking first of Mark. Was he ok? Or did he die too? The Rune of Partnership was still there. Albus knew Voldemort was disconnected from it, but that meant he and Mark were still connected. What this meant about Incommodo, Albus did not know. Would he drop dead again when Incommodo was defeated? Probably not.

Albus got up and looked around more. It looked to be a dungeon room. He found many bodies beside him. Most of them were DA members. The Patil twins, even the former Minister Owen Cauldwell. That meant Albus was thought to be dead. He wondered who moved him. Seth? Albus sat up and looked around. There were also students. Thankfully, no one he knew. They were students he hardly knew. He thought he even recognized the bodies of some of the girls who used to follow Frank. Once or twice, he even caught a Slytherin student and two Ravenclaws.

Alexis…

Albus rushed out as fast as he could in his present condition. He felt better now he was not using his own essence. He had a wand, something to channel the magic through. He was safer. He rushed up from what seemed to be a dungeon room, up the staircase and to the entrance hall. The rubble was all over the place. The staircase was collapsed, the ceiling above, or the first floor, was demolished. He thought he saw more bodies but he ignored them. The fight was still going outside. Incommodo was still visible fighting and two red-haired figures, what had to be Alex and Eric, were huddled around a spot. A fallen form. Mark.

Albus rushed over, withdrawing his wand. The more active he was, the better he felt. The more alive and stronger he felt. It was strange, but he had to save the situation. He was free now.

Mark was on the ground. Albus knew he might've collapsed from the effects of the Rune spell. But if Albus could survive it, what about him? He jumped in front to face Incommodo. Mark looked to be breathing but Incommodo- Incommodo was different. He truly looked mad, almost insane but Ink was still there, still inside. Though Ink was inside against his own will, Herpo was back and he had come to England. He did not seem entirely stable though, he looked mad, almost crazy, his eyes wide and yellow, just as Incommodo's were, but his form was a tad bulkier but also slender and shorter. The beard falling was a tad longer too, and whiter and his scepter was brimming with energy. From the corner of his eye, Albus could see the yellow glow he was not supposed to look at.

Alex and Eric were still firing as support from behind, trying to get around Incommodo but Incommodo always stopping them. Twice, Eric looked to be dead before it turned out Alex had defended him. Albus stopped and raised his wand. Avis. A burst of twittering birds came from his wand and flew at Incommodo. Incommodo raised his scepter and let out a blast to kill them just as Alex waved his wand. The earth rippled and moved but Incommodo seemed unaffected. A force, some invisible energy, repelled them from getting closer and Albus was forced back. He could not get closer. The Orb was too dangerous and the scepter itself too powerful.

Eric waved his wand in fast, squiggly motions, using the earth and tree branches, even fallen tree trunks to twist and turn around them, holding them off. "We need a plan, a way through."

"Use the tree trunks to wrap themselves around him?" Albus proposed.

"Never," Alex sighed. "He'll just enflame them with- Eric!"

Eric was blasted by a wave of Fiendfyre. Alex was certain he was dead when he saw his left arm in a different angle than his right, clearly broken and blackened. Eric was heaving as Alex bent down and Albus turned to Incommodo to hold him off desperately. "Sectum Exosso!"

Eric's arm was taken clean off, separating it from the rest of his body before the cursed fire could spread. Alex was worrying over Eric now, leaving Mark defenseless and Albus standing over him. "Fulgeo!"

A straight red beam of light shot straight out so fast, it was nearly impossible to dodge or block in time. But it just seemed to veer off tangent. Albus dived to the side from a jet of green light, and then a wave of green light he was forced to back away from, using the trees to hold it back, but killing the trees in the process. They were fighting in the forest now. At least Albus moved the battle away from Mark, to a safer place.

"Stupefy!"

It was parried in an instant, and Albus looked away from the orb's yellow glow, shielding his eyes but costing himself the sense of sight when Incommodo fired "Artus Confusus."

He felt a curse hit him straight in the stomach and he fell over, staring up, unsure of what hit him. He didn't feel different… He got up, intending to use what his brain told him was his left arm, only to find his right leg moving. He moved his head but instead, his shoulder moved. Albus was disoriented. Incommodo mixed his limbs up, he mixed up on what was what according to his own brain. He was going to die now. This time for sure. He braced himself for the second jet of green light to hit him when, before he knew it, Apollo walked in. The boy stared ahead, his eyes rather wide. Incommodo turned to him. "You."

"Me," Apollo said calmly. Apollo walked over to him, uncaring towards the danger. Incommodo raised his scepter but it shuddered. He stopped, possibly remembering the last time he faced Apollo. Unlike the last time though, Apollo did not seem scared. Albus did not know how Apollo managed to face this monstrosity, but he did. Incommodo decided not to risk it either, and allowed the orb to color itself yellow. Apollo just stared straight at it, his body going stiff for a second, nearing death. Albus stared at Apollo, worried, not daring to turn to the orb, if he even could. That was it, once it glowed, Apollo would drop and die.

Then, out of the trees, an arrow sailed through the air and struck the orb, cracked it, and took the color from it. All glowing stopped and Apollo blinked shortly as Incommodo stepped back, regarding Apollo curiously. "Your effort is doomed."

"Avada Kedavra!"

Without a third wand, the scepter did not release a wave but just three jets going off in different directions. One barely missed Albus but another made straight for Apollo. The boy stepped aside calmly as a herd of centaurs cantered from beyond the trees. They stared threateningly at Incommodo. Then…

A wave of darkened fire, so liquid and fluid it looked like lava, rushed through the area. The Centaurs galloped away, scattered away and Apollo was just left alone. Like a bubble enveloped him. Then, he started showing emotion. Albus understood now. The boy was scared. He was terrified. One false move would give him more pain, he just erased his face of emotion when facing him. Albus wished he could jump Incommodo but he was still disoriented. Apollo rolled aside, staring up and Albus tried getting to him in vain as Incommodo repelled Albus with a burst of energy from the scepter. It seemed hopeless. And then…

Mark jumped from the entrance to the forest, firing jet after jet. Albus sighed in relief as Mark Wallader rolled away from one jet. He faced the cracked orb of the scepter and raised his wand, "Accio Scepter orb!"

The orb shuddered but stayed in place. However, as it shuddered, Incommodo found himself trying to retain his grip on it. It was charmed with anti-theft defensive charms but it still reacted. As Incommodo gripped it more tightly, Mark used the five-second interval to dive to the ground and fire a jet of fiery red light. Albus thought he might have had a chance but a simple burst of energy repelled it and Incommodo raised it again, "You'll need stronger than that, boy! You've picked the very wrong old man to mess with! Don't you see? I'M IMMORTAL! AVADA KEDAVRA!"

Mark used a trees branch to multiply itself and wrap itself around thin air in front of the blast simultaneously. Always defensive and always, since first year, difficult to get a spell through to him, Mark flicked his wand, "Firmo Animo!"

The branches left came alive, took all movement and leapt from the air, climbing on top of each other like little stick men to attack Incommodo. At the same time, Mark sent a burst of birds at Incommodo and twirled his wand to send a burst of fire, a cheapened form of fire very unlike its darker form but still strong and ferocious. He dove away from a jet of green light and watched as Incommodo faced them. The birds disintegrated in thin air, the fire turned on Mark and the sticks and branches snapped themselves apart. Albus yelled for Mark but it was easily dealt with. "Ignis Concedo."

Mark rushed headfirst into the fire. All Albus could see was a bunch of flames as Apollo crawled away from the noise. Centaurs were rushing back in now in greater numbers, but this time going for the battle itself. The scepter flew from the flames and landed just a few feet away. Apollo crawled over to it, seizing a wand from it and snapping it in half before throwing the pieces away. He rolled to the side, away from a jet of green light. Mark rolled out of the fire next, still whole and alive but scratched and bruised. The fire disappeared and the scepter flew back to its master, who looked absolutely furious. Mark raised in the air, his air lost, strangled, struggling and touching his neck, his face going blue.

"DIE!" Incommodo screamed madly.

The next two arrivals were girls. Aries and Laura rushed for two sides. Aries lifted all curses on Albus while Laura rushed for Incommodo. Laura was half of a pair that rushed him. The next arrival was Dubium himself. More fighters were making their way there, dueling their way into the forest. Arrows started firing nonstop as Laura fought Incommodo while Dubium turned his wand on Mark. That was when it happened. Mark was released and Incommodo was forced to repel all arrows and protect his Arsenal members that had arrived but Dubium stepped back, eyeing Mark with intense dislike as he yelled, "Avada Kedavra."

Mark was so nearly hit, Mark and Aries widened their eyes. Aries managed to protect him by lengthening a thick tree branch nearby to take the blast. Mark stepped back as Laura took a position in front of Mark, firing a jet of red light just as Dubium turned on Aries. Aries blocked Dubium's jet just as Laura fired. Dubium blocked it and Mark's jet at once, and re-angled one from Albus. The stray jets hit Albus and knocked him back, winding him but Incommodo swooped in on Aries, preoccupying her just as Dubium turned to Laura, who was standing bravely protecting Mark.

"Terminatio Morbus."

Albus' stomach sank. Laura was hit with it, the same curse that nearly killed Simon… and Simon was lucky. She widened her young eyes as she fell back as Aries rushed for Incommodo next and Dubium turned and fought them both, once again engaging in a three-way fight. Mark gasped and reached out as Laura fell. She fell into his arms, staring up. Mark was shaking his head, "No, No, Laura, Laura, don't- don't you dare. Laura."

Albus crawled over as Aries dueled Incommodo madly. She kept him occupied, the three were dueling their way back to the grounds, the Arsenal members occupied fighting the Centaurs. Albus could see Harry, Ron and Hermione fighting to get close to Dubium and Incommodo. Scorpius was ducking around him too, trying to get to a weak point and Lucy was distracting him. Albus needed to help but- Mark and Laura…

"Mark, go on," Laura muttered weakly. Her eyes were fluttering open and closed, Albus knew she would not last much longer. It came from the scepter. "Fight them… it's what you're good at."

"You're gonna be fine, ok?" Mark told her. "Just- stay. Breathe."

"Don't make a promise you can't keep," Laura told him. Her body was resting now, her breathing getting lighter. Albus felt her, desperate to save her but knowing nothing could be done. "I- I could not…" she smiled weakly, "Maybe now… this world will be safe. The only sister I have left can- she can… I"- she sighed, eyes shut tightly. Albus' eyes grew watery as he touched her. Laura's eyes opened a tiny fraction and she said, in a weak, almost faded voice. "I could not possibly ask for a better way to die."

"Laura, please, not you, not you, please…" Mark muttered, but she rested now, her breathing steadily getting weaker. "Laura, Laura, No. Please, no."

"I love you, Mark," she muttered one final time.

Laura rested now, her eyes half open but sightless, useless, just staring into the canopy of the trees. Mark was in disbelief. Albus held him tightly, letting him rest, letting him cry. He just kept repeating, "She's dead. She's gone… I'll- I'll never see her again. Why? WHY?"

Mark felt numb inside. Laura was his final childhood friend and she was dead. Not only, her final words were words of love. She loved him, after all that time, she had never moved on. Something stirred in him. An angry monster, something that wanted to rip and tear whoever was responsible for this to shreds. He needed someone to blame. It was not purity, now Mark was convinced, it was destruction. People were evil. People took his mother and father, his best friend, his fiancé's father, and finally his childhood crush. He just looked- upset and angry all at once. Mark got up, looking furious and truly angry.

Mark screamed, shook himself, shook his head, pounding the ground, kicked the branches, anything to let out his anger. Laura was laying on the ground, staring up, and definitely dead. Laura. Laura Creevey. Little, wholesome, eager and innocent yet full of love… and she had died. Albus held Mark tight, trying to calm him, not sure what to do except tell him, "It's ok. Her pain is over. It's ok, Mark. It's ok."

"She- she…" Mark blinked once and looked up. The fight between Aries and Dubium and Incommodo was raging but the two were overwhelming Aries. She would be the next to die. Mark stared, "I'm gonna kill him."

"Wha"-

"I've HAD IT!" Mark screeched. "IVE HAD IT WITH AWAYS LOSING SOMEBODY I LOVE! I'VE HAD IT!"

Albus scrambled to get up, to follow a furious Mark who dove straight into the fight next. Albus called after him but Mark was ignoring him. Dubium was still strong and Mark fired a ferocious burst of fire from his wand at him, separating him from Aries and Incommodo. Albus arrived to help him too, the two finally facing Dubium. Perhaps, with their Rune of Partnership, Dubium might have trouble. Might. Dubium was still very powerful. He cast up defenses, cast down opposing enemies, and even uprooted trees to attack anyone nearby as clubs. Dementors were still hovering around him too, protecting him, attacking anyone who tried coming near him. Now he was separated, Harry, Ron and Hermione tried fighting him but the Dementors and his power together repelled them all. Harry stayed back.

"Expecto Patronum!"

Harry summoned his old stag, Ron his terrier as Hermione fired out her otter. The three rushed the Dementors around him and tried fighting them back. Indeed, Dubium was still a threat. Mark began firing at Dubium wildly, the twins quickly joining in as support as usual. No, not support. This time, they took the front, they defended Mark insistently, no jet able to make it to their cousin. Albus was distracted by the far distance a body laying down, surrounded by Simon and a weakened Sophie and a hysterical Sierra. Seth was motionless, his mouth clamped shut and shaking his head as Simon tried picking him up.

"I dunno what happened," Simon insisted. "He- the dementors attacked and he- he just collapsed. I made sure they didn't take his soul so- I dunno what…"

"Al…" Seth said weakly. "You're- you're alive… oh, good…" Sierra supported him up. Seth sat up, his eyes glassy and faraway. "I'm sorry… I'm sorry for everything." Seth looked horrible. He just kept muttering an apology. Apologies to Simon, Sierra, Sophie, and even Albus. He was supported now, Sierra and Sophie were holding him up while Simon took the front, "Well, we've got a man down. We're getting this man to safety, Al take my side."

Albus did so, not even questioning the orders. They started casting spells through the area, however few Arsenal and Reservation members there were. Alexis was fighting not far off, beside Alpha and Lily. Maria ran out from inside the castle, alone looking unhurt. "What happened?" she demanded.

"How- how'd you know we're here?" Sierra demanded back.

"The Orb lets me know," Maria said. "Here, inside. Quick! Cruento!" A powered Blood Curse sent a Reservation member down after smashing through the defenses. Albus got them all through, his eyes now on Mark and Dubium. The two were surrounded by Dementors that Harry, Ron and Hermione could not seem to break through. They needed an extra Patronus. "Go on, I've got unfinished business."

Albus rushed. "Expecto Patronum!"

Albus' crow flew straight at the Dementors surrounding Dubium and with the otter and the stag repelled them all. Albus ran in to fight him one-on-one, hoping this time to use his condition to his own advantage and defeat him.

Albus' stomach sank. No. Albus raised his wand at the Reservation leader as Alexis' flames covered him. Albus thought Expelliarmus.

Dubium sent a strong blast of heavy water to douse the flames. The mixture of fire and water together blocked the disarming charm as well and Dubium laughed, taking the fire in his control and turning to Pierre and Cherry who were not far off. He sent it at them. Before the fire hit, a wand sucked them in like a vacuum and standing in its way was Mark Wallader. Albus gasped. Mark was standing, eyes wide and glassy. Then, "I'M GONNA KILL YOU, YOU MONSTER!"

Albus stepped back as Mark leapt at Dubium wildly, bravely and stupidly. Dubium laughed as Mark dueled him with very quick motions. Perhaps born from reflexes of Quidditch training, dueling practice or simply being Aries' future soul mate, with the temporary Rune leg given to him by Aries, Mark dueled madly. As madly as Dubium. As what happened between two angry duelers, the air combusted at some points but only Dubium attempted to use that to his advantage. The combustions in the air were merged at one point and he jumped back to create a fiery throwing star which made for Mark immediately.

Mark's response was a burst of dark water which crashed on Dubium immediately. He crashed Dubium into the lake but an invisible string took Mark by the legs and dragged him in too. The waves were slopping wildly, both casting even in the water, the water itself being used against each other, being formed into spheres of water to suffocate the other. Fish actually floated to the surface as did the Grindylows, many animals in it died in the battle as collateral damage before they took it out of water. That was when Dubium set a jet of green light at Mark.

Mark barely avoided it, actually rolled out of the way of another, and fired a jet of red light to impact Dubium in the face. "We need to beat him," Scorpius said, running up beside Albus, facing Dubium fearlessly. This chance was too rare to pass up. Dubium could be defeated. "Ready for a third round with him?" Scorpius asked Albus. "Al?"

"Don't slack, Scorps," Albus responded.

Scorpius and Albus rushed in next. Dubium let out a burst of force which suspended Mark in midair as he did with Hermione. Seeing what was about to happen, Albus sliced his wand, "Sectumsempra!"

The cut was blocked and instead of being killed, Mark landed against the beech tree where the golden trio were resting, exhausted from the fight. It seemed fighting the Dementors took a lot out of them. Dubium started dueling ferociously. It started with Dubium firing a spell at Albus, who jumped up, his jump magnified by a feather-light spell Scorpius used on him, and flipped over to land behind him. He blocked off a jet of yellow light and conjured "Geminus Contego" to shield himself from a jet of black. He threw the shield at Dubium fiercely which was dissolved easily.

Scorpius meanwhile wasted no time. He went all out, not thinking of the spells he was using, just using what came to his mind, getting as vicious as he could, as vicious as even Proxima would allow herself to be. He fired the Cruciatus Curse and stepped aside from the Killing Curse before the night was illuminated with green light again, this time from Scorpius' wand. It was coupled with a fiery spell Dubium had to block off while Albus fired a Blood Curse.

"Malfoys are messy," Ron muttered to Harry who was watching from against the beech tree he, Ron and Hermione used to sit under. Harry had been weakened from the battle.

"We've had Scorpius over sometimes," Harry agreed. "He's always been calm, but when he duels… he's evil."

"So's our niece, it seems," Ron smirked tiredly.

Lucy had run in next, firing jet after jet wildly. Lucy was doing something new though. She was absorbing spells with a Vertex Curse, sucking them all up as one. "Vertex! Vertex! Vertex!"

One after another, it acted as a shield but sucking spells into a different dimension altogether. Sucked into nonexistence. Even Killing Curses. "Now… that is an interesting Curse a Malfoy invented," Hermione noted. "Absorb spells with it. Magic."

"Absorb?" Harry repeated. "Then, couldn't she send it all back?"

Hermione grinned weakly. "Yes… she could," he said.

Lucy wasted no time. She ducked under Dubium as Scorpius fired another Killing Curse at him. Dubium had to raise the earth all over again but just as he did so, Lucy yelled "Praeter Vertex!"

Ron grinned widely as Lucy's new curse expelled all the spells ever sucked by her back at Dubium's earthy shield. It blew up and Albus raised his wand and yelled, "Planto Postulo!"

Mark yelled, "Coverto ad Gladium."

The rubble turned into needles and swords at once, making for Dubium. Albus cast a Disarming Charm at him just as the swords and needles attacked. A burst of fire erupted, Fiendfyre, meant to attack them mercilessly but Scorpius and Lucy came together and worked. Mark conjured Cursed water again while Lucy took control of the little fire left and sent it back at Dubium. The water fell on Dubium next. Albus was not sure if it engulfed him or not nor what would happen if it did.

"Stupefy!" Mark yelled from where he was. Dubium raised his wand to block it, re-angle it at Albus but he conjured a shield to send it back at him twofold. As Scorpius kept the flames under his control and dealing with Dubium, Albus waved his wand, "Terra Permoveo!"

Dubium was too occupied with parrying Mark's spell and Scorpius and Lucy, the fire crashed over him and the water crashed over him, both cancelling each other out but Mark and Scorpius used the steam from it to keep him down. The ground could not be stopped at the same time. This time, it hit. Dubium screamed as Mark grabbed hold of him and used a spell to send them high into the air. Albus sent a Knock-back Jinx at Dubium. It seemed to hit but being in the air did not make it mean much. A blast of orange light illuminated the skies as they fought in midair, Mark and Dubium. Dubium, still fierce and powerful, refusing to allow Mark a firm hold on him. Mark kicked him instead and they fell to the ground. Scorpius softened Mark's fall as Albus fired, "Incarcerous!"

As Mark bounced off the ground, he fired a well-aimed Blood Curse at Dubium's heart. The Curse was quick and true. Dubium was hit in the chest and he stared ahead in shock. The last millisecond of his life was spent marveling at how three young students had managed in a time when he could take on three adults and those same students. Mark stared with wide eyes, disbelievingly. He'd done it again, he'd killed someone. But this time, he had done without the use of the Dark Arts. Dubium fell back. "No…" Scorpius muttered.

"You- you killed him…" Lucy muttered. "You?"

"Me… I killed Soto, did you doubt me?"

"No," Albus grunted, staring at his body. "But the last time you killed someone, you used Dark Magic."

"Well, now I just proved Dark Magic is useless," Mark grunted. "You just act too impulsively."

"Well- what happened to"-

Scorpius was interrupted by Alex and Eric rushing forward. Alex seemed bloodied up and Eric barely standing, his arm no longer there. "Mark, you ok? What happened?"

Mark looked up with a final look, "Laura's dead."

Scorpius blinked in shock. Lucy looked from Mark to Scorpius, unsure of what to say. Mark lost his balance and his knees gave way, finally sobbing over Alex's shoulder. Eric had crawled over to hold him and Albus sighed, falling down too, unsure of where to go from there. The Reservation was finished. Or at least Dubium was. What Seth would do was beyond him. At least until the next five minutes passed. As Dubium died, the Reservation members all stopped and looked in fear. They looked clueless as the Arsenal seemed to be taking over instead. The Goblins actually fled into the forest with the vampires and Werewolves, Lancet and Neil chasing after them. Acromantula fled in too and the Centaurs gave chase, ready to police their own forest, possibly take over the Unseen Lands.

Then… "Turn on each other," an emotionless yet weak, almost deadened voice sounding like Seth's blaring through the grounds. "Your… second Praetor commands it."

No choice. None at all. Any who disobeyed would definitely die now. Seth just watched with a neutral expression from a high window as the Reservation members acted. Albus expected them to turn, but they did not. Instead, most of them turned their wands on themselves, refusing to take an order from Seth, some willing to go down with their own beliefs. Some, few, turned on each other, others tried fleeing. But no matter what happened, the end was the same. Every single one of them, from Lady Ruse to Kalia, all Reservation who were in the grounds that night ended up dead.

Aries was now dueling with Incommodo directly, scepter to wand. Incommodo looked set with fury, casting madly at her, showing his most powerful spells to kill her and everyone around him. Few could get near enough to aid either party though as the air around them was reaching boiling point, sparks combusting at different area and even being controlled and sent. Many fighters, including a loopy Hugo and a semi-conscious Lily as well as an impressed Albus actually stopped to watch their duel progress.

"Ignis!" Incommodo yelled and from his scepter, enhancing it tenfold to a level of a lava lake.

"Aqua! Unda Imperium!" Aries summoned a great amount of water from the lake to take the fire and even froze it. Incommodo shattered the icy block into thousands of little icicles which were sharpened and sent at her. She raised her wand nonverbally to reduce them to nothing more than water which fell in droplets to the floor again.

So quick in her motions, the droplets transfigured into icicle daggers and rushed at Incommodo so swiftly, if his scepter did not expel a repellant upon mere movement, he wouldn't have been able to parry them all. "Terra Golem Imperium!" Incommodo growled ominously, and a great mound of earth rose up to attack her.

It looked like some kind of earth golem and Aries had to activate her Amulet to stop any physical contact. So weak from its lost power, the shield shattered on impact but it left her safe. It still shook the ground as it made contact with the shield and she backed away. A burst of air from her wand disintegrated some of it, eroding some of the earth at an accelerated pace but the golem was still moving. She looked far outmatched. Once again, Incommodo sent a burst of fire at her, surrounding her, and Aries did the same, using her own fire to stop his from coming closer. This enflamed the whole area within a few yards though and a great amount of smoke came up from both sides like both wands were spewing volcanoes. The ash and soot in the air around them created a hostile environment and as their smoke clouds clashed, lightning struck dangerously towards Aries just as the earth golem struck and a jet of green light burst towards her.

Aries ducked behind the earth golem, letting it take the blast instead while raising her want at the lightning, "Fulgur Imperium!"

The lightning was controlled and it struck at Incommodo and the Golem at once. A wave of the scepter redirected some of it at the castle and destroyed the Astronomy tower easily while another part was allowed to sizzle around him as he summoned a greater amount of water that Aries ever did and mixed it with the lightning. He sent the electrified jolt at the girl before turning around. Aries moved the earth enough for the golem to take the blast instead and it fell apart at the legs, making it motionless. Once again, Incommodo sent Fiendfyre at Aries but she countered it with Cursed water as Scorpius could do. Just as what happened with Dubium, their clash created something like cursed steam which Aries barely avoided and raised her wand at the Golem. "Imperium!" The earth from the motionless golem rose up and she yelled again, "Terra Entrappa."

The earth covered both Incommodo and the steam in an earthy dome. It had looked like she had won, trapping him with cursed steam when the earth blew apart and the steam evaporated into the air. The pieces of the earth flew at Aries again which she repelled easily, disintegrating them into sand which was blown at Incommodo along with some fire, accelerating its transformation into glass. Incommodo moved his scepter to have the glass shatter and fall into pieces as he fired a jet of green light.

Aries responded by throwing up a Vertex similar to Lucy's and absorbing the jet of green light. She did not wait though. Jumping from a ring of lightning struck from Incommodo's wand, she summoned another wormhole and the jet of green light flew at Incommodo from behind just as she sent a burst of fire and lightning at once. The lightning was redirected again at the lake which electrified a great deal. Incommodo took control of it and sent it at her but she summoned a Tiger with a Rune Spell and it took the kill instead as Incommodo cried, "Terra Dimoveo!"

The earth split up easily into deep trenches which Aries was forced to fall into. Finally having stumbled in, Incommodo waved his scepter easily and the earth buried Aries. She barely managed to free her upper body but she was motionless, the earth having buried her legs. Once again, a jet of green light was fired, this one like a dome, similar to what he had done to Albus one year ago. It looked like there was no escape. Luckily, the watchers were too far away to be effected but Aries touched her Amulet and a great shield surrounded her, a dome just like the green dome expanding towards her. The two clashed and the earth shook, like the Killing Curse actually being blocked created a great disturbance. Eventually, Aries' shield shattered again and the Amulet lost its glow while the dome continued on its course.

As if responding to her mere thoughts, the earth she was trapped in moved her further back as if responding to windless, nonverbal magic. The earth shaking cracked the ground enough for her to break free with an extra curse and she raised her wand, "Stolidus Tardus!"

"Legilimens!" Incommodo cried.

"Avada Kedavra!" she yelled.

The Retardation curse was cancelled upon attacking her own mind at the same time she yelled the Killing Curse, actually pitting them both against each other in a soul battle. It lasted such a short time though.Aries leapt at Herpo the Foul himself, ignoring the shaky boy beside him. Even there, the battle was intense. Burst of magic expelled from both bodies, the battle was dangerous to both of them. Neither stopped to reconsider such a fight and jets of green, red, and gold burst out of both bodies, exhausting both of them. The boy of seven screamed as he ran away, begging for it all to stop. It was only at the very last minute when Mortimer himself fought back and attacked not Aries but Herpo. The battle stopped there.

Both fighters were exhausted, both furious, especially Incommodo. He raised his wand with a shaky hand and yelled, "Terminatio Morbus."

"Terminatio Morbus," Aries muttered back, allowing the two to clash in midair. The two curses cancelled each other out just as Seth had insisted the year before. Incommodo was still looking exhausted but Aries was slowly recovering, her Amulet accelerating her healing.

Just as Incommodo sent yet another burst of Fiendfyre, Aries actually Imperiused a Reservation's vampire to take the blast instead and she threw the remains at Incommodo who raised his scepter determinedly, "Crucio!"

Aries' wand conjured a small orb of light at the tip which absorbed the curse more and more. More and more, the curse continued going and more and more, Aries absorbed it. The battle, it looked, was reaching its conclusion. With a wave of the wand, the earth moved under him suddenly and she blasted the absorbed Cruciatus Curses at him with all their power. This curse made full impact and she raised her wand again, "Sectum."

The scepter broke in two. Incommodo screamed in fury and set off another burst of green light from one last spare wand but this was easily dodged. Sensing victory, Aries propelled herself forward, raising her wand a final time. She did not cast a Killing Curse but something sharp extended from the tip of her wand, impaling itself into Incommodo's stomach. She kicked him off and sent Fiendfyre at the scepter, destroying the last of whatever was inside. The battle was over and the crowd cheered. Aries did not even nod in self-conceit or arrogance. She just sat down, breathlessly, staring ahead like she had used up the last of her magic and without a warning, fell back into nothingness.

Upon Incommodo's defeat, his own body disappeared, disintegrated almost, leaving nothing but a familiar body behind. Mortimer Ink was finally free, staring up sightlessly at the morning sky. The Arsenal members stopped, terrified at the defeat of their master. Aries was unconscious, many actually tried killing her, convinced her death would bring him back but Louis and Fred jumped in front to fight them off and so did Harry and Ron. The rest were forced to flee the battle, some back to Hogsmeade and some into the forest, many begging for their lives.

Limbo…

Albus knew what happened when it did. He found himself at the crossroads once more. The remnants of the Partnership Rune seemed to have temporarily knocked Albus out again but he knew this time it was temporary. Incommodo falling put him with Ink inside, the two still probably connected even though the Rune had expired. Albus sat across from the seven year-old boy. Mortimer Ink.

"You're free now," Albus told the boy.

"The Wizarding world will never forgive the name Mortimer Ink," the boy said in a small, quiet, uncertain voice.

"The world of the living is separate from the world of the dead," Albus told him. "It doesn't matter anymore. You can be at peace, now."

"I'm sorry… for everything," Mortimer said genuinely. "If I knew what trouble the Scepter would've caused, I would've never… it was so painful. The entrance of a whole other soul into my small body… I think he kept me alive. If it was any other soul, I… this shouldn't have happened. The scepter, Greece, my murder of Abraxas, the war, everything…"

"Mortimer"-

"And your ancestor, Albatross Potter," Mortimer recalled. "I destroyed his life and his brother's life."

"You're free," Albus told him. "You can go. Don't think about it anymore."

Mortimer's eyes grew teary as he looked down, tears dropping from his eyes, hiding them, shaking his small body so hard. Albus did not know how to comfort someone like this. He was tragic. The boy knew what he was responsible for in adulthood. He must have been dead for so long, trapped in this limbo for so long. Now, of all times, after over a hundred years, he was free. Would he take that opportunity? Albus could not tell. He had a feeling what his choice would be though. Mortimer slowly looked up, looking from one road to the other. It was time, Albus knew, for both choices to be made. Albus himself would choose too, eventually, when his own time came.

"I need to go back," Mortimer whispered. "I… I never wanted to die. Maybe then, my name might be acknowledged. I'm sorry… I must reject death."

Mortimer did not wait for any comment. Albus stayed silent as he watched him walk the path of the serpent. Albus did not know what the road looked like to him, but he knew where Mortimer would return to. He was a ghost now, Albus thought as he disappeared into the serpent's cottage. A ghost in Hogwarts, perhaps a ghost to seclude himself on the Astronomy tower as Incommodo had done in adulthood. Albus watched the boy disappear before turning back to walk back into life once more. And for the first time in a while, he smiled.