CHAPTER 25: BLADES OF FRIENDSHIP
(Sirius POV)
Sirius Black, aka Padfoot, was actually wondering WHAT IN BLOODY HELL WAS GOING ON, and if not for the great shock he received, he would have been barking out loud like a rabid dog. The strange events of the day, James bound and helpless (which made Sirius really angry) and specially the presence of the girl who looked so much like Lily Evans, brought up so many questions and theories in Sirius' head, most of them leading to the conclusion that Snivellus is using Dark Magic to make someone look like Lily Evans.
Still, Padfoot was brought out from his reverie when the white-haired girl (under the instruction or control, more likely control, of Snivellus, no doubt about it), started harassing his other best friend Moony about his being a werewolf.
"So you felt that… "Then, please give me a good reason, as to why I should let you live, demon?" said the white-haired girl.
From the words she spoke and the way she said it, Padfoot, having a dog-like instinct, knew she was serious. The white-haired girl really did intend to harm, to kill Moony. Sirius' rage flared, and he was fumbling in his pocket for his wand, to blast the two people in the middle of the compartment. For all he knows it was just some random girl under some sort of disguise charm beside Snivellus. Yet…
What is this? thought the dog Animagus.
Sirius Black, the man who defied tradition, and was chosen as a brave, lionhearted (doghearted, perhaps in his case), member of the Gryffindor House, instead of the sly and cunning Slytherin's, found himself trembling, shaking in fear, as he felt the white-haired girl's murderous intent.
Now, Sirius Black was feeling nervous. Whoever the girl was, there was no way she could be just some random chick.
She might be a Death Eater! thought Padfoot, who was now really worried.
Still, despite the fear he felt, Sirius like the Gryffindor he is managed to overcome it, as he and his friends prepared to take down the two Dark Wizards (he had no doubt about it in his mind that they were Dark Wizards), Yet…
"WHAT THE HELL?" Padfoot found himself roaring, as he was, by an unseen power, forcefully pushed down to the ground, turning him from vicious guard dog to helpless puppy…
The situation suddenly turned from bad to worse, much worse. Due to whatever spell that either Severus Snape or Ilya Emiya, as he remembered the exchange between Lily and her almost-mirror-image, was using, none of them were able to move…
Sirius could do nothing but watch, watch, as the white-haired girl began chanting…
"May God have mercy of this soul"
"NOOOOOOO! MOOOOONNYYYYY!" roared James Potter.
Sirius wanted to yell, to roar, to howl out in anger and despair, seeing his friend Remus fall, but he couldn't, he could no nothing, he couldn't even scream, couldn't help his friend…
"Let me borrow this for a bit…"
He watched as Prongs, borrowing his wand, tried with all his might to break through Snape's defenses, but as the exchange progress, to get to Moony. Sirius knew he would have done the same thing, but saw how futile it was…
He couldn't help but feel horrified, yet awed, at the same time, at the brief exchange of Prongs and Snivellus. The greasy-haired git's Shield Charm was so powerful, that the messy-haired boy's attacks were apparently unable to penetrate. It was a rather frightening, yet amazing spectacle, both at the same time. Yet…
"PROTEGO!" cried Snape.
What horrified him the most, however, was the fact that Severus Snape was casting spells without a wand, as Sirius realized that whatever spell was being placed on him and the others was also being done wandlessly. None of the students at Hogwarts, not even those in their seventh year, could perform such a feat. Also, the only teachers they have ever seen use wandless magic was Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall. Sirius was not sure of their other teachers, but as all of the Marauders (except Peter, who was really horrible at Potions) were members of the SlugClub, he was pretty certain that the head of Slytherin House could not.
"Expeliiarmus!"
"No…way," gasped his best friend. "Impossible…"
Padfoot could do nothing but watch, as James was slammed to the compartment's door, knocked unconscious once again.
I'm useless, why the HELL AM I SO USELESS, thought Sirius bitterly.
"Ilya," Sirius heard Snivellus began in an inquiring voice, his voice sounding slightly alarmed. "What…"
"Everything's fine now, Sev," the white-haired bi..girl cut off the greasy-haired git in a cheerful tone. "You have nothing more to worry about. The demon… Remus Lupin… he's dead…"
-BREAK-
(Lily, Peter, Sirius, POV)
"I'll be taking these for now, thank you," said the girl who was identical to Lily in a cheerful voice. She was now walking on the compartment, in the direction of Remus (stepping over his body), Wormtail, Lily and Alice, taking each of their wands from the floor, one by one. When she had finished doing so, the white-haired girl returned to the middle of the compartment where she initially stood, putting out the fire and repairing the seats destroyed by James Potter as she strolled, and wandlessly as well.
"Now then, since the demon is dead," the white-haired girl began in a cheerful voice, a voice that sounded so much like Lily Evan's. "I suppose I can let you go free now." At these words, the great weight that was bearing down on them suddenly lightened, but remained crouching on the floor, unable to get up, partly because they were still exhausted from the effects of the spell, but more because their hearts felt heavy, and the weight seemed to be even greater than that of the spell that was cast on them…
No…Remus...please, no… thought red-haired girl who looked identical to the white-haired one.
Lily Evans was shocked beyond words, as tears started forming on her eyes. She could not move, she could not speak. It was hard for her to take in what happened. Death Eaters…what happened over the summer…the white-haired girl and her painful words…everything else was nothing compared to this…
"N-no! M-m-m-oony!" squeaked the little voice of Peter, as he crawled ever so slowly towards the body of his werewolf friend, tears flowing down his eyes…
"MERLIN BE DAMNED SNIVELLUS, LET ME THROUGH!" roared Sirius Black in a dog-like voice, who managed to stand up, as he tried to get through the invisible barrier, not to attack the two he believed responsible for what happened, but simply to get to his friend's side, but in the weakened state he was in, all he could was shout as loud as he could, as he tried to use brute force on the Shield Charm, but he almost looked as if he was just leaning on an invisible wall…
Lily, Peter and Sirius could not help but despair, as they looked at the lifeless body of their friend Remus Lupin…
"He's not dead," they heard a female voice speak, as Lily and Pettigrew thought something like a shadow passed by them, though they did not think it was as important to bother about as what the voice just said, as if whoever spoke it was only trying to deepen their wounds further…
"What do you mean he's not d…" began Lily, as the tears slowly began to pour down her cheeks, but her voice was drowned out as…
"SEV, WATCH OUT!"
…another female voice, similar to the red-haired girl's shouted.
"Ilya!?" asked the voice of Severus Snape, apparently confused. In almost the same instant, however…
CLANG!
They heard the sound of metal hitting metal, as sparks flew in the air…
Despite the sorrow they felt, the three friends could not help but gasp at what they saw…
The three of them, Peter, Lily and Sirius, did not recognize it at first, as it was the first time they heard her talk in such a tone. They now realized as to who was the owner of the female voice that just spoke.
It was their friend Alice, wielding four, small, pointed blades with a dark red handle, two held in each hand, like a cat's claw, metallic friction sound coming from it, as they were in contact with two pairs of similarly fashioned blades, held by the white-haired girl in the same manner, a look of surprise visible in her emerald green eyes that was so much like Lily's, as she defended the raven-haired boy from the unexpected attack…
-BREAK-
(Ilya POV)
Clang!
Whoosh!
Clang!
Clang!
Now, this is really is a most unexpected development, thought the white-haired girl, as she parried against the black-haired girl in front of her.
Fortunately for Ilya, her body's physical capability and reaction time, enhanced by Reinforcement, as well as the instinct she honed during the many battles she had fought in in her world, managed to warn her of the imminent danger. If not, the girl might have stabbed Sev in the back…
Yes, Sev was used to sneak and surprise attacks, Ilya noticed this much during the times they were training. Having spent years under attack from the Marauders may have been the reason behind this. Her boyfriend has improved greatly, his senses even better than before and his body can now keep up with his instinct. Sev was already good enough to sense it when others intend to harm him, and was thus able to prepare a countermeasure against it...
However, a well hidden hostile intent like the one just now was something that even Ilya found hard to anticipate.
It was something that Ilya least expected to happen. Before she released the Bounded Field's pressure, she made sure to take the wand from every single person in the room, a move which the white-haired girl was sure would disable them and thus make them harmless After all what harm could a witch or wizard do without their wand, without their magic…
That was a mistake. A miscalculation. Who would have thought that there was someone in this world who could take a beating from concentrated prana pressure and remain unaffected enough, not only to be able to walk well enough, but to still be able to move really quickly.
I shouldn't have underestimated her! I should've have realized it! thought Ilya, furious with herself, as she parried another one of the girl's strikes. She wasn't panting…she wasn't breathing heavily, and she didn't even try and hide it! How could I overlook something so obvious?!
The truth was, the white-haired girl was surprised by the black-haired girl's sudden movement. The girl went for Sev, and Ilya, thankfully, managed to parry it just in time.
The offensive strike was well-timed. The black-haired girl waited for the moment when their guards would be at their lowest, and struck…
And the shock was the reason why Ilya wasn't able to cast a Shield Charm in time. The girl was already at too close a proximity for Ilya to effectively cast one to block her. Reacting the only way she knew how to get out of the situation, Ilya Traced weapons to be able to counter, and the easiest one to produce at the time…
Would be the girl's two pairs of weapons, which, incidentally, turned out to be…
Black Keys? No they're not, Ilya retracted the thought, as in a span of less than a second, she acquired the battle knowledge and experience of the weapons…
The thin pointed blades the girl was using were not Black Keys that were used in Ilya's world by the Church against the Dead Apostles and other creatures they targeted, but they were similar, very much so, in structure and in composition. But the white-haired girl knew this wasn't the time to dwell on that, and instead focused on the battle.
Clang!
Clang!
Whoosh!
Clang!
Whoosh!
Clang!
Clang!
She isn't bad, I must admit, thought Ilya to herself, as she continued to engage the black-haired girl. However…
CHING!
"GUH!" the black-haired girl cried out, as Ilya, slightly modifying her copies of the blades in the midst of battle, by making the edge of her own slightly hooked, and pried the weapons from the black-haired girl's hands, which flew into the air and were stuck to the wall, as the girl fell on her knees, weaponless, and now breathing heavily…
Yes, she wasn't a bad fighter, and she could wield the blades well. However, Ilya was a far more experienced fighter than she was. The white haired girl was not also more experienced, but was also able to heighten her bodies' capabilities through Reinforcement. Also, while she was able to conceal it, the truth was the black-haired girl was also affected by the pressure of the Bounded Field, although not to the same extent as her friends. And also…
These weapons have experienced many battles. She isn't the first one to wield them, mused Ilya, as she looked at the copies of the blades in her hands…
Yes. The white-haired girl, an ability that she inherited from her brother along with the Reality Marble, is able to read a weapon's experience and utilize it as her own, therefore able to wield it with nearly the same level of skill as the previous owner… or owners, put together. The black-haired girl was at too much of a disadvantage. But that was not the only reason…
"Do you yield?" inquired Ilya, as she looked down at the black-haired girl kneeling on the train compartment's floor in front of her, as the white-haired girl pointed the blades at her…
"I…I yield," replied the black haired-girl, who was still panting.
Sensing that the black-haired girl had completely dropped her hostility, Ilya started walking towards her.
Lily Evans and Peter Pettigrew gasped in horror, fearing the worst.
"STAY AWAY FROM HER!" roared the voice of Sirius Black, who was still lean…struggling against Sev's Shield Charm. But they did not need to worry…
Allowing the copied blades to vanish out of existence, Ilya approached the black haired girl…
"That was quite a display of skill there," the white-haired girl commented, with a smile on her face, as she held out her hand.
"Says the one who just wiped the floor with me, and using the same style as mine at that," replied the black-haired girl, frowning slightly, and to the surprise of her friends, she took and accepted Ilya's hand, and was now also wearing a smile.
"Come now, I know you were holding back," commented the white-haired girl. "Don't try and deny it. I can tell you never intended to harm either me or Sev at all."
"Hmmp!" snorted the black-haired girl. "And what about you? I've seen the way you dodged the volley of curses the Death Eaters were throwing at you back at Lily's place...which reminds me, I haven't thanked you for saving us back there yet... so Thank You." The black haired girl, although talking conversationally, was, Ilya could tell, thanking her sincerely. "I wouldn't have been able to manage something like that. Even I can tell the difference in our skill from that alone."
"You're welcome...and regardless of what you say, you are an excellent fighter," said Ilya sincerely.
"Whatever," replied the black-haired girl, as she tried straightened her hair with her hands. "Anyway your name is Ilyasveil von Einzbern-Emiya, right?"
"Yes, it is," nodded Ilya. "But you can call me Ilya for short."
"I see," said the black-haired girl. "Then allow me to introduce myself."
The girl took a deep breath before speaking.
"Good day to you then, Ilya," began the black-haired girl. "My name is Alice Sera Chaucer. You can call me Alice. It's a pleasure meeting you, and sparring with you, as well…"
AUTHOR'S NOTES
Well, there you have it, another chapter out. I didn't really think I would manage to find time but manage it I did. After all, four free hours when your mind works is better than two whole days without being able to think of anything. Hope you like this chapter...
Later then people...