Dance of the Fairies, Flight of the Phoenix

by Fergus Flamacron

Six years after the attack by Acnologia, a catastrophic event leads the entire island of Tenroujima and everyone on it to be flung headfirst into another world. A world with different people, different magic and different threats. What happens when Dragon Slayers meet with the Boy Who Lived? Pairings mostly, but not entirely, the same as canon. DISCONTINUED

46. To Rise Again

Dance of the Fairies, Flight of the Phoenix

Chapter 46:- To Rise Again

---

The bulbous, twisting trunk of the Tenrou Tree carved a line right up to the sky in a manner that reminded Voldemort of how he imagined the beanstalk in the old fairy tale he heard growing up in the orphanage would look like - the one where some kid named Jack traded a cow for magic beans and ended up climbing the stalk to steal treasure from a giant or however it had gone. And the thick platform of foliage at the top of the tree definitely looked like it could be the home of a giant. It was just that massive.

Despite himself, he was impressed. But he wasn't certain why Morgana had decided to bring them here. And he made his confusion quite evident.

"I do not understand. If this island is the sacred ground of our enemies then why are we going to it? I highly doubt this will make an appropriate base for us given that Fairy Tail are likely to know exactly where it is. For all we know they could be down there right now. And even if they aren't, if we try to claim this as our own they'll launch attack after attack to reclaim it from us once they figure it out. Hardly the ideal place to set up operations."

"It isn't meant to be," Morgana shook her head. "You're quite right. Strategically this is not a good place to make camp. But we're not here to make camp. I have something very different in mind for this island. And in all likelihood we won't be here long."

"Perhaps you wish to make a statement?" Rustyrose asked. "If Fairy Tail were to return to find their island in ruins that would truly devastate them. Aah, their face. My fragment shakes at the thought of their outrage."

"Is that wise though? To antagonise them any more than we already have?" Voldemort asked.

"It would certainly be amusing… but no, I do not wish to destroy it either. When we have successfully eradicated Fairy Tail off the face of the earth, I do believe that this island could be of wonderful use to us, in a variety of different ways. Destroying it now would be folly."

"How have we managed to find it anyway?" Bluenote asked. "Master Hades told us that Tenroujima was surrounded by protective enchantments that made it almost impossible to find."

"Most likely those enchantments were broken when it was pulled out of its own world, but even if they are still in place I knew where it was the moment it landed. I was watching through the crystals in the cave, intrigued by what had just struck my prison, so I believe I could find it regardless. But to answer the most important question of all - why we are here - there's a couple of things on this island that I want."

"Magical artefacts from the dimension of Fairy Tail?" Voldemort guessed. "You would wish to use their weapons against them?"

"Not… quite," Morgana snickered. "Anyway, most likely Fairy Tail aren't there. I've been watching them when I can and its very rare for them to visit the island. So listen carefully - here's what I have in mind."

Not far away, oblivious to the conversation going on at the fore of the airship, Freed was pursing his lips grimly at the sight of the island. He was grateful beyond words to see it in one piece. If Acnologia's Roar had failed to decimate the island then that meant every single Fairy Tail member who'd been on it had been protected by a Fairy Sphere, not just himself and the others back on the ship trailing slowly after them. But on the other hand there was something about it that bothered him. Something… different.

And then he realised… it was the climate. Tenroujima sat in the middle of clashing ocean currents which affected the weather to such a degree that it was effectively summer all year round upon the island. Or at least it was supposed to be. But he could see that that clearly wasn't the case anymore - he could even see a scattering of snow across the rocks on the island. Which could only mean one thing.

Tenroujima had moved! It wasn't where it was supposed to be!

"What in the world happened after that dragon attack?" Freed muttered to himself.

"Attack, attack," said the doll in his lap, which very much disconcerted the green-haired man for a moment because it was usually just Bickslow they copied.

But that was a question for another time. What was more important now was ascertaining if there was anyone he knew on the island. Grimoire Heart's airship was making a beeline straight for it - perhaps intending to launch a second attack upon his comrades. They needed to be warned, and quickly. So Freed somersaulted backwards off the end of the airship, his wings flashing into existence to catch himself in mid-air. He swept out in a wide arc in a bid to avoid being noticed by anyone on the ship, piling on speed to get ahead of the airship and reach the island first.

When he arrived he scoured the island, only to find it devoid of human life. There were still a few animals around - a pack of wolves drinking at one of its watering holes, the enormous Doscadon stretched out across the rocks trying to sunbathe in what limited sun there was and a few Clippers sweeping in at him from the sides to try and peck at him every so often. But no people.

"Where are they?" he whispered to himself. "Where did everybody go?"

Eventually he gave up after calling a few times and swung in low to the ground, watching as the airship came to a surprisingly fluid stop for such a huge vessel upon the southern beach. Landing on a rocky outcropping he peered down at the disembarking group. Most of the people there he didn't recognise but there was one person that caught his eye - that guy with the glasses they'd fought before was there… what was his name… Rustyrose? Yes, that was it. He was down there, looking no worse for wear after their last bout. In fact, he looked completely healed and Freed remembered well how troublesome a mage he had been.

Taking them on now would be a bad idea. Freed wasn't like Natsu - he wouldn't just go charging in without a plan unless absolutely necessary and if nobody was here then there was no reason for him to panic just yet.

"What could they be after?" he murmured. "Last time they were here for Zeref… but Zeref isn't here this time. Or is one of them down there Zeref and they've come back for something else?"

He bit his lip, thinking hard, but then he remembered something. Cana had mentioned how one of the Grimoire Heart members had been trying to find the First Master's grave in order to try and obtain Fairy Glitter. Now, with only himself on the island until the Master, Laxus and Bickslow could arrive, there was nobody around to protect the grave site. Nobody but him.

"You won't be getting your hands on any of our Three Great Magics," he muttered to himself. "Not today."

And he hurried off towards Route E from the first trial. He'd have to work fast to set up the runes to protect the grave but until back-up arrived he would do what he could to stall whatever they had in mind.

And on the beach below, the group began to split up, fanning out to explore the island… and find what Morgana was seeking.

---

Professor McGonagall had been far from easy to convince. Dumbledore was currently away from the campus on business for the Order which meant that she was in charge of the school and when Neville came to her with the prospect of visiting Tenroujima, she had been very opposed to the idea.

"Absolutely not!" she'd cried. "No student is to leave the safety of the Hogwarts wards except on scheduled trips to Hogsmeade. Not for any reason."

But Neville had been right. It wasn't just him who was interested in going. As soon as he relayed the information to Harry and the others, they'd been extremely excited at the prospect. After all - they'd all heard the Fairies talking about their sacred ground with reverence and the idea of exploring it for an hour or two… well they were raring to go.

Eventually, after about an hour, McGonagall had relented. But only after Hagrid, Flitwick and Sprout had all been informed as well, and had all expressed an interest in visiting the island themselves. And even McGonagall had to admit she was intrigued. So far only a few members of the Order had had the opportunity to visit it, and always during times where she herself was too busy to attend.

"…Very well," she eventually sighed. "But let me make something crystal clear to all of you. From what I have heard there are some rather dangerous creatures on Tenroujima so if we do this then we do this safely. Under no circumstances are students to go off on their own - everyone must be accompanied at all times by at least one Hogwarts teacher and one member of the Fairy Tail guild. And this will not be a long visit. No more than an hour at maximum. And when we go we will need someone to keep Dolores occupied lest she come looking for any of us."

"Perhaps Severus could help us out in that regard," suggested Sprout. "But perhaps we should come up with a good story for why we're absent just in case."

"Or else prepare a powerful Memory Charm when we return," Flitwick squeaked in assent.

One by one the teachers filed their way to the Room of Requirement in accompaniment with the students of their houses who had expressed interest in going. McGonagall had by far the biggest group - a great many Gryffindors were eager to get a chance to see the Island of the Fairies for themselves. Neville had been joined by Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Fred, George, Dean, Colin, Dennis, Parvati and Lavender. From Ravenclaw, accompanying Professor Flitwick, was Luna, Cho, Terry and a semi-reluctant Marietta - who appeared to have been talked into it by Cho. And all the Hufflepuff members of the DA had decided to join Professor Sprout - Ernie, Hannah, Justin, Susan and Zacharias.

This last member caused a groan or two from the Gryffindors when he arrived into the Room of Requirement. Most of them had been hoping that he'd have no interest at all. Zacharias' critical attitude towards Harry had not abated and he was easily the least popular member of the DA. And he still regarded Fairy Tail with a great amount of suspicion. Some of the DA suspected that the only reason he hadn't blabbed about them yet was that he was afraid of what the other DA members might do to him if he did.

Or maybe what Fairy Tail themselves might do.

But he was there to join the expedition so there wasn't much they could do to turn him away without further alienating him. Which would be quite a bad idea at this stage.

The Rollidillo had been moved into the cage at this point, though it was so large that it only just fit inside, length-wise. Lisanna was in their with it, exerting her magic over it constantly to keep it calm otherwise it would probably be freaking out, while Hagrid had managed to acquire a large slab of meat of some description and was hefting it through the bars for the Rollidillo to snatch it up and scarf it down like there was no tomorrow.

"Amazing," he looked almost tearful in his delight, reaching his enormous hand through the bars to brush his fingers over the reptile's flank. "Absolutely ruddy fantastic. Don't suppose you could lend 'im out to me for a Care of Magical Creatures lesson could yeh, Lisanna?"

"I'm quite certain that Rollidillo's don't really need to be taken care of for the most part," Lisanna giggled. "They're more than capable of looking after themselves after all."

"Well he's a damn fine specimen. Not as excitin' as a dragon o' course but quite magnificent nonetheless."

"Figures you'd like it, Hagrid," Ron laughed as he approached the cage to get a look. "Me, I'm just glad its in there."

"Wouldn' your brother Charlie like to see 'im, Ron?" Hagrid asked. "He's part of the Order. Can he not come with?"

"Bill and Charlie both have Order business to attend to tonight," Remus replied. "It's all hands on deck at the moment considering… recent events," he coughed, remembering at the last second that many of the students in earshot didn't know a thing about Morgana's apparent return. "The only reason I'm here is because last night was rather rough."

"And the only reason I'm here is cos I'm practically useless beyond providing a convenient house for the Order," Sirius muttered. "And even that's not as useful as this place."

"Are we going or not?" Zacharias interrupted, glowering slightly at Sirius but keeping several people between himself and the Animagus. Clearly he didn't particularly trust Sirius either.

"Is there anyone staying behind this time?" Hermione asked. "If there's nobody in the Room of Requirement then we may not be able to transport ourselves back into it when the time comes. It may have reverted back into whatever usual form it takes."

"Yeah, I'm staying," Gildarts raised his hand from where he was kicking his feet back upon a pouffe that he'd asked the Room to conjure into existence. "I've been to Tenroujima more times than the rest of this lot. I'll hold down the fort until you all get back."

"Well then if everyone else is sure they want to go," McGonagall said as she stepped her way to the front. "But remember the rules. No running off on your own under any circumstances, understand? Even if one of you wants to go do their business you don't do it alone, got it?"

"Aye sir!" Happy and several of the DA members cried at the same time - something which perturbed McGonagall greatly, but she nevertheless shook her head.

"Well then if everyone would care to gather round and grip a bar of the cage, we'll get this trip underway. Lisanna, please do keep that lizard calm if you would."

"I'm all over it, Professor."

"I hate this part," Natsu muttered as everyone shuffled for position around the enormous cage.

"At least its over quickly this way," Lucy pointed out to him, smirking slightly as she leaned and whispered, "Unlike train journeys which go on for hours… and hours… and hooouuurrsss…"

"GHMMGH!" Natsu almost barfed right then and there, to the great amusement of most of the onlookers. But that was the precise moment where the Portkey was activated and what felt like half a second later many of the group were lying flat on their backs in sand, having been thrown clear by the powerful jerking motion of their transportation. The Rollidillo clearly didn't like it either as it bellowed and stomped its feet, but Lisanna was quick to calm it once again.

Harry looked up as he scrambled to his feet, and the moment he did his jaw fell open with absolute awe. In that moment, the Whomping Willow back at Hogwarts had suddenly lost its place as the most impressive tree Harry had ever seen. And he seriously doubted there would ever be another that could top this one.

"Whhoooa…" he whispered, a sentiment echoed by many of those around him.

"It's practically touching the sky," Parvati agreed.

"Amazing… a… amazing…" Neville was exulting, clearly as overjoyed by this tree as Hagrid was with the Rollidillo. Maybe more so. "I didn't think it was possible for trees to even get that big. How deep beneath this island must its roots go? Does it… does it have a conscious mind or is it just amazingly big."

Professor Sprout looked similarly excited. "If only we could grow one of those at Hogwarts… oh but wherever would we put it? It's probably taller than the castle itself!"

A faint giggling interrupted her reverie and the group looked up to see Mavis hovering above them. "If you're that enthusiastic about plants then you should meet one of my oldest and best friends. His name's Warrod. He specialises in magic that can grow enormous trees out of nothing in an instant. Even ones that can grow as tall as the Tenrou Tree."

"An instant?" Sprout gasped. "Are you serious?"

"Very serious," Mavis beamed. "I met him on this island you know. This was the place where I grew up before I founded the Fairy Tail guild."

"It was?" said Gray. "I didn't know that."

"I did," Levy smiled. "I read all about the history of Fairy Tail. Isn't it true that one of the founding members of the guild alongside you was Master Makarov's own father, Yuri Dreyar?"

"That's true," Mavis nodded, her smile turning slightly melancholy. "Yuri was an amazing friend. A little exuberant and greedy when we first met but he became a wonderful man. If you like I can take you to the place where I was born, right here on this island. The ruins of the village that was once here can still be seen if you know where to go."

"I'd love to," Levy grinned. "Anyone else want to come with?"

There were nods of assent from most of the group, but not all. "Actually, if its all the same to you guys," Lisanna said as Hagrid hefted the heavy doors of the Portkey cage open and the Animal Soul Mage stepped out, slowly guiding the placid Rollidillo behind her. "I'd like to take this guy out into the forest, make sure he gets settled back in. And maybe check on some of the other animals - this isn't exactly the climate they're used to after all."

"True," Mavis agreed, looking up at the rocks. "I've never seen snow on this island before."

"I'll come with yeh," Hagrid said eagerly. "I wanna see what else this island has to offer."

"Oooh, I'm torn," Hermione bit her nails slightly. "I want to see the other animals on this island but I want to hear about the history of Fairy Tail too… which to go for."

"Well, you can hear about the history of Fairy Tail anytime you like," Ron pointed out. "You've only got a limited amount of time on this island to do the other thing."

"Good point. I'll go with you, Lisanna."

"And so will we," Harry nodded, nodding to himself and Ron.

"Well if you're going, I'm going," Sirius grinned, morphing himself into a dog and running in circles around the Rollidillo, barking loudly.

"Sounds good to me," Natsu grinned. "Lucy and I will come too."

"Eh!?" Lucy blinked, pointing towards Mavis "But I wanted to learn about…"

"RACE YA INTO THE FOREST!" Natsu cried, grabbing both Lucy and Lisanna by their wrists and hurtling across the beach towards the treeline, despite the loud, "WAAAAHH!" sounds that came from both the girls.

"Ah, Natsu," Happy shrugged, before he followed on behind them. "You can't race them properly if you pull them along behind you like that."

"I'm coming too… I want to check out the trees," Neville nodded.

McGonagall nodded. "Well, in that case, Hagrid keep an eye on them. And Remus, would you go too? You're an old teacher so you count as Hogwarts supervision in my book. The rest of us will follow Miss Mavis."

"Of course, Minerva," Remus dipped his head and set off, following the Rollidillo which was now hurrying after the three Fairy Tail mages with Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville, Sirius and Hagrid behind him.

"Well, if the rest of you would like to follow me," Mavis smiled and skipped off in a different direction with the much larger group in tow.

---

"We totally missed this part of the island last time we were here," Levy whispered, enthralled as they walked through the wreckage of what had once been a small village, but which had now been mostly consumed by nature.

"Not all of us did," Gray pointed out. "This is where we ended up fighting against Capricorn last time, isn't it Cana?"

"Technically that wasn't Capricorn doing the fighting but yeah, this is the place. Didn't really have much of a chance to explore it though."

"It was here that I grew up," Mavis said from where she was now perched on the roof of a small shack which was now so rickety that if Mavis had actually had any substance to her body it would probably have collapsed under her weight. "The entire community of this island was based around the mage guild Red Lizard. There were very few people who lived here who didn't have at least one family member in the guild."

"And yet something happened here," Luna murmured as she bent down to examine a shattered signpost on the ground. One which just barely read 'd Liza' on what remained of the wood. "Something terrible."

"What makes you say that, Luna?" Ginny asked uncertainly. "Couldn't everyone have just… moved away for some reason?"

"I just get the feeling that this place has seen great sorrow, that's all," Luna shrugged mildly. "That, and a great many of these houses don't look like they've just fall apart. The damage looks consistent with them being blasted by something."

"…You're pretty intuitive, Luna," Mavis said sadly. "Yes… something did happen here."

"Let me guess," Gajeel grunted, placing a finger against a wall and pushing lightly, only for the wall to crumble before him and kick up a small dust cloud. "Another guild was involved? The kind of damage we're seeing here… it had to have been caused by magic unless someone managed to sneak a bunch of cannons onto the island or something."

"You're right Gajeel. This was before the Interguild Dispute Interdiction Treaty that forbids guilds from acting aggressively against one another was formed… mage guilds fought one another quite often over trading rights and Dark Guilds especially were running rampant at the time. Red Lizard had a particularly sour relationship with one such Dark Guild called Blue Skull."

"Yeah, I know about that guild," the Iron Dragon Slayer muttered.

"You do?" Levy blinked in surprise.

"Yeah… Master Jose mentioned it to me a couple of times while I was in Phantom Lord. Blue Skull was led by a man known as Geoffrey… and it was the founding members of Fairy Tail who destroyed Blue Skull before setting Fairy Tail up in the very town where they'd been based. But Geoffrey ended up sloping away to form a new guild of his own with the intention of taking Fairy Tail down. And Geoffrey was Master Jose's grandfather… or possibly great grandfather - can't remember."

"Wait… so… you're saying…"

"Yeah," Gajeel turned to offer Levy a wry half-smile. "The feud between Fairy Tail and Phantom Lord ran a lot deeper than a desire to be the strongest or the richest guild in Fiore. Those may have been Jose's main motives for finally deciding to defy the Interguild Treaty when he did, but even without those one of his family might have snapped eventually. Would have happened a lot earlier if the treaty hadn't been signed. Guess it was just… bad luck… that it happened at a time where you got caught in the middle of it, huh?"

Levy bit her lip when Gajeel avoided her eyes. She'd still been avoiding him somewhat over the last few days and now that she suddenly found herself talking to him, she was suddenly kicking herself. She could see at that moment that her refusal to go near him was making him feel more guilt than he'd been letting on.

"I wouldn't say it was bad luck at all," she said before she could think her choice of words through. "After all, if Jose hadn't snapped when he did then you and Juvia might never have become a part of Fairy Tail. And if that was the case… we'd have lost two amazing friends forever without even knowing it."

This response was met by smiles from almost everyone who'd been listening, most especially the other members of the guild. Juvia wiped at her eye slightly, but Levy was only looking to Gajeel, who stared back at her without expression for what felt like a painstakingly long time. But eventually he snorted and said, "Yeah… perhaps." And then he turned around and walked away without another word.

Levy smiled… but as she turned away too she ended up locking eyes with Erza, who had an incredibly knowing smirk written across her face at that moment. Levy suddenly coloured and started shaking her head wildly, but Erza just rolled her eyes and turned away with a chuckle to continue exploring the village with the rest. The Hogwarts students were just as enthralled as Fairy Tail themselves were - poking around every nook and cranny of the village where it didn't look like something might fall of them if they did.

After all, in that moment, they were the ones effectively in another universe instead of the other way around. Tenroujima might now be within the walls of their own dimension, but this was a civilisation born from another. And if any of them had doubted Fairy Tail's word that they were from another universe before… well… those doubts were all very quickly pushed aside in this place.

"The Ministry of Magic would have a field day if they came here," whispered Ernie in astonishment.

"I wish we could have seen it in its prime," Cho agreed.

"Don't wander too far everyone," McGonagall called out, though even she was finding it hard to overcome the sense of amazement settling over her. "Everyone stay where you can be seen by a teacher."

But as the group explored, Gajeel ended up moving to the edge of the village, where paused. His studded brow furrowed and he lifted his nose up into the air, sniffing deeply.

"Oi… little girl…!" he called out behind him. Wendy looked up - even though there were many here who could be described as little girls, she knew that he was talking to her.

"Yes, Gajeel-san?"

"Do you smell that?"

Wendy paused and sniffed deeply as Gajeel did - she'd been too enraptured by Mavis' hometown to pay much attention to her nose. But as soon as she caught a whiff of what Gajeel was smelling, her pupils abruptly shrank.

"Oh no…" she whispered, before she turned around and shouted, "Erza-san! McGonagall-san! We have to get everyone back to the Portkey Cage now!"

---

"Magnificent," Hagrid whispered as he watched the Rollidillo waddle its way off into the trees, dabbing at his eyes with a handkerchief that could pass for a tablecloth. "Returning to the wild where he belongs… I'm glad yeh invited my ter come an' see this. Makes me think o' what Norbert might 'ave looked like when 'e was set free in Romania by yer brother, Ron."

"I'm sure Norbert's happy with his own kind right now, Hagrid," Hermione said, patting the half-giant's huge arm reassuringly.

"I know, I know… but I still wonder if part of his misses his Mummy," Hagrid sniffed, blowing his nose mightily.

"I'm a bit concerned though," Lisanna said as she walked back to the others from where she'd let the Rollidillo go. "It's quite a bit colder than usual and Rollidillo are designed for hot climates. Maybe we should think about setting up spell around the island to keep it warm for its inhabitants."

"If we want to warm things up, I can do that!" Natsu grinned as his hands burst into flames, only for both Happy and Lucy to suddenly yell:- "FIRE WON'T SOLVE THAT PROBLEM!"

"I've got to admit though, this place is amazing," said Harry. "Wish we had a place like this at the end of the campus instead of a dark, dangerous forest."

"Just as long as there are no giant spiders here," Ron muttered. "I'd be all for that."

"Yeah, I don't… think… I'd like that idea much either," Lucy shivered, before she suddenly blinked and said, "Hey… you know, I think I recognise this place. We're not that far from the tunnels where we did the first trial for the S-Class exam. Cana and I took a little swimming break in that lake there."

"Ghhhmm…" Natsu muttered, folding his arms and sulking slightly. "Man, those Grimoire Gits really ruined that exam… wish they were here now so I could blast 'em away all over again."

"There'll always be other exams, Natsu," Lisanna chuckled.

"It's weird thinking of you guys having exams as well," said Ron. "Studying for our OWLs feels like its killing me."

"Are you kidding, Ron? You've barely begun the year," Sirius grinned. "Trust me, it'll get a whole lot harder later on."

"Well our exam isn't really the kind you study for. You only train for it," said Lucy. "But that means we're also not far from the First Master's grave."

"We are!?" Natsu blinked.

"Ah, looks like he forgot you told him that the grave was on Route E," Happy sighed. "Not far from where we fought Gildarts."

"Well then perhaps we should go and pay our respects," suggested Lisanna.

"Why?" Ron frowned in confusion. "I know she's dead but she still hangs around with you every day as a ghost. Wouldn't paying your respects to her in person make more sense?"

"There's just something about a gravestone that inspires reverence I suppose," said Lupin. "Considering Mavis' lifelike complexion, its probably easy to forget that she's dead. A gravestone… well… it's hard to argue with one of those."

"I wouldn't say that," Sirius muttered. "After all, Wormtail got a gravestone, didn't he?"

"I am almost ashamed to admit I used to visit it often," Lupin agreed.

Lucy led the way over the rocks until they reached the rocky uprising riddled with large tunnel openings that marked the end of the catacombs where the first trial had taken place. And it didn't take long for them to find the grave site, not far from a section of the tunnel which looked like it had been the recipient of a meteor strike - the chamber where Gildarts had faced off against Natsu. The gravestone was unmarked and comprised of six separate stones of two differing heights, but despite the fact it had moss and vines growing upon it, it still seemed to command respect from them.

"That's quite an impressive grave," Sirius noted as the mages stepped up to form a line before it, dipping their heads low before it. "Mavis must have been really something when she was alive."

"Very well loved," Hagrid agreed, his handkerchief still out.

"She still is now," Lucy muttered.

"I wonder if her real body is buried somewhere nearby," Neville whispered. "That's a rather… disturbing thought actually."

Happy looked up at Natsu, but blinked when he noticed the Dragon Slayer's face had creased into a frown. He was sniffing the air, looking around in bewilderment. "Something up, Natsu?" the little cat questioned.

"…I smell Freed."

"Huh?" Lucy and Lisanna both looked up at the same time. "Freed?"

"Isn't he one of the few members of the guild we have left to find?" Hermione asked excitedly.

"He was here," Natsu said excitedly, dropping to all fours smoothly and sniffing the ground - which weirded the Hogwarts students out slightly until Sirius morphed into a dog and started doing the same thing. "Just over an hour ago I think."

"Well then he must be on the island somewhere. Maybe the others too!" said Lisanna, equally eager.

"You think you can track him, Natsu?" Lucy asked.

"Have you forgotten who you're talking to, Lucy?" Natsu grinned. "Course I can track him."

But as Sirius romped around the chamber following the scent of the strange man he ended up bumping his head against an invisible wall, yelping loudly and stumbling backwards. For a moment, purple letters sprung out of thin air all around the gravestone before they vanished into thin air once more.

"What was that?" Neville asked in alarm.

"Those were Freed's runes," Lisanna whispered. "He's set up a protective barrier around the grave."

"But why would he do that unless…" Lucy began but stopped as realisation hit her, Lupin having to finish the sentence for her.

"…unless there was something on the island that might seek to damage it?"

"…Oh crap!" Natsu whispered and a second later he was off, dashing back the way he had come with Harry and Ron having to dodge sideways to avoid being ploughed over. Lucy, Lisanna and Happy all immediately raced after him, and it only took a couple of seconds of deliberation before Harry was doing the same - Ron, Hermione and Neville on his heels.

"Harry! Wait! Don't run off without us!" Sirius shouted as he morphed back into human form and joined Lupin and Hagrid in chasing after the group.

"Hold on, Freed," Natsu muttered. "We're coming!"

---

Freed wasn't in danger at that moment but he was starting to grow ever-more nervous. Not for his own safety, but he couldn't for the life of him work out exactly what these people were doing on the island. They'd split up to wander through the forest and there was no way that he could follow them all, so he'd decided to stick with the larger group. And the one that contained the two Grimoire Heart mages he was familiar with - Rustyrose and Kain Hikaru.

But at the moment they were all just… standing around at the base of the Tenrou Tree and doing something which Freed couldn't properly make out from his hiding place in the branches of a tree above them. Several of the men in black cloaks now accompanying them had brought lit candles with them and were placing them carefully upon the ground, while the Grimoire Heart mages looked on quietly, but impatiently.

Freed decided to risk getting closer and swept silently to another tree, where he could pick out some of the conversation between Grimoire Heart and a woman in a long black grab that looked like a combination of a dress and a robe. "…this will work?" Rustyrose was saying.

"Certain? No." Morgana replied with a shake of the head. "But I do know that there is no magic in the world that cannot be broken. That cannot be undone. It's only a matter of finding the right spell and putting enough power into it when cast."

"But your magic isn't exactly the same as our magic," pointed out Bluenote.

"It doesn't need to be. An animal isn't exactly the same as a plant but they can still affect one another whether by eating them, poisoning them or forming a symbiotic relationship with each other. That's all part of nature, and so is magic. So even though I can't use your magic, there's nothing stopping my magic from playing off yours. Now… I think all the preparations have been made. Allow me."

"Good… good luck!" Kain offered a quick thumbs up. "I hope this works."

Morgana turned and strode towards the candles, the Death Eaters falling back before her. Freed pressed himself down against the branches, watching carefully and trying to analyse the situation. It seemed as though they'd set the candles up in a circle around another large multi-trunked tree - considerably smaller than Tenrou Tree of course but still fairly big. And with over a dozen eyes on her Morgana spread her feet wide and inhaled deeply, gathering her strength. Instantly all the candles in the circle flared up, their little flickering flames whooshing into small towers of fire to create columns around the the tree, forcing some of the Death Eaters to step back away from the circle.

But Morgana just calmly raised her arms up to either side as she stepped slowly towards the tree with her eyes closed, beginning to chant loudly in a tongue that none of the onlookers recognised.

"O þrilic gyden, Ic gelaidie þē in ágifian uppan mec ēower scinncræft, ac ālyfan mec tō fulfealdan se wicung bufan þas hæle. Nīwian cræft scéawian hine ac forhwierfan hine eft fram bēam scippien. Hweorfan stefn ac ālyfan hine tō treddian hwīlan mā uppan sep eormengrund. Ic besécan ēow… bregdan hine bæc!"

Nobody had any idea what she was saying but whatever she was doing it was clearly having an effect. The tree was beginning to warp and twist, its thick trunks heaving and convulsing like it was having a seizure, flexing like it was trying to pull itself out of the ground, roots and all. Freed could feel a rush of immensely powerful magic washing over him and he could only watch, wide-eyed as the tree began to shrink. It spasmed the whole way, but it was beginning to sink into the ground or… no… it was looked more like it was… ungrowing - that wasn't even a word but it was the best description that sprang into Freed's mind.

"It's working," Kain whispered, poking his fingers together anxiously. "Woo… woo-wee… I can't believe its working…"

As the tree warped its way downwards it began to take on another shape, the leaves shedding and falling to the ground in a green shower around the lump of wood that was forming upon the ground. And Freed's eyes widened as the wood moulded itself slowly into the shape of a man… a large man. The bark began to recede, revealing dark skin along with green and orange clothing underneath. The wood covering his face was the last thing to peel away… and the man had thick brown hair atop his head and a prominent goatee. And then, with a final rush of magics, the last of the tree roots were sucked into his back.

A tree had just transformed into a man. A man with the symbol of Grimoire Heart on his left shoulder-pad.

His eyes opened.

He sat up.

He looked out at the astonished crowd amassed before him calmly - not a hint of panic or confusion on his face anywhere.

And then he turned to look straight and Morgana and said, "Well, well… this is an interesting development. I suppose I owe you one… whoever you are."

"I am the Lady Morgana. And you… unless I am very much mistaken… are called Azuma, aren't you?"

"I am," Azuma, of Grimoire Heart's Seven Kin of Purgatory, got to his feet and folded his arms. "It seems much has happened since I paid the price for overusing my magic. I would appreciate a full update as soon as possible. But first I must ask… how did you know which tree was me. For that matter, how did you know that I had even become a tree? None of my other comrades were around when I transformed."

"Straight to the point I see," Morgana smiled. "I rather like that. And to answer your questions, I've been examining this island through magical crystals from afar for a while now, reading its magic, exploring every inch with my mind. I didn't know who you were, but I could sense your great power and knew that you were no simple tree. After that, all it took was a quick talk to your comrades over there about their fellow members of Grimoire Heart and their abilities to realise what you truly were."

"Fascinating," Azuma stated. "I can sense your great power too… I am certain you would make a worthy opponent if we were to battle. And I thank you for returning my to my original body. Your magic is quite something."

"The capabilities of the Old Religion are practically limitless, if you know how to use them."

"Ah, what fortune," Rustyrose cried as he stepped forward with arms sweeping out wide dramatically. "What joyous fate it is that we met the Lady Morgana for her to bring our team that much closer once more. To reunite us on the same ground that rent us all asunder."

"Well I see you haven't changed much, Rusty," Azuma noted dryly, though his mouth did twitch upwards at the corners ever so slightly. "But its good to see you all once more."

"This is great!" Hikaru clapped excitedly, bouncing on the soles of his enormous feet and causing little tremors in the ground as he did so. "This is wonderful. Can we all go have a celebratory dinner now - I'm famished?"

"Unfortunately now is not the time for celebrations," Azuma said as he strode away from the circle of candles, several Death Eaters moving aside quickly to let him pass. The big man pressed his palm up against the trunk of another tree and closed his eyes, seeming to focus slightly. "When I was a tree, I was part of the land… connected to the magic of the Tenrou Tree but powerless to wield it. But I could still sense things…"

Suddenly he dived straight into the tree-trunk, his body melding with it until he disappeared into the wood. A split second later a giant woody fist sprouted out of the tree right next to Freed and hammered him straight in the back with a mighty blow that took him completely off guard. "GGAAAHHH!" the Rune Mage cried as he was flung from his perch in the tree, dazedly grabbing for his sword before the woody fist lanced downwards to seize him and slam him straight into the ground amongst the Death Eaters, pinning him there.

"…Things like a Fairy Tail mage hiding nearby," Azuma said, from where he was now standing where Freed had been on the branch above.

"A SPY! A SPY!" Kain shouted, his hand jabbing the air accusatorially. "IT'S A FAIRY TAIL SPY!"

"I know this one," Rustyrose grinned triumphantly. "This one's Freed Justine… one of the members of the Raijinshuu I think. He's one of the ones I fought against when last we were here."

"And one of the few that hadn't emerged from their respective Fairy Sphere when I arrived a few days ago," Morgana noted. "My, my, I wasn't expecting to encounter you here."

"But he's not alone," Azuma stated as Freed wrestled with the wooden fist constricting his body, grappling to draw his sword but unable to given how his arms were pinned. "Many other Fairy Tail mages arrived a short time ago. And some other people too… with magic similar to this lot," he gestured at the Death Eaters without looking at them.

"So they came to us," Bluenote clenched his fist. "Then let us bring the battle to them!"

"Come!" Rustyrose cried, gripping the nearest Death Eater - Travers - by the shoulders. "Let us strike now while we have the element of surprise!"

Travers didn't dare argue and Disapparated rapidly, many of the others popping off and taking Kain and Bluenote with them which left Azuma and Morgana alone with the struggling Freed.

"You know you can't beat us," Freed growled, straining with every ounce of his strength only for the huge fist to crush him down even harder against the ground. "You lot lost before… you will lose again."

"He's right about one thing," Azuma looked up at Morgana. "We can't kill them - not yet at least. The barriers hiding the island may have broken but the divine protection upon all those who bear the Fairy Tail mark still remains intact. I can potentially get rid of it as I did before, but it will take me a while to connect with the magic of the land once again."

"Perhaps we cannot kill Fairy Tail at the moment," Morgana smiled. "But we can kill their allies. And we can certainly wound them. Enough to render them out of action long enough to get them off the island, where we can kill them. Speaking of which, would you like to do the honours and dispose of this spy?"

"You are the leader of Grimoire Heart now?"

"More like their guide… to getting what they want. And this will be the first step so its fitting you do it, is it not?"

Azuma smirked. "I suppose it is. Fairy Tail is an amazing guild. Yet if they continue to wage war against Grimoire Heart… my comrades… there's only one clear option."

Freed yelled as the wooden fist suddenly scooped him into the air and flung him through the air. He tumbled over, drawing his sword, but four large tree roots exploded out of the ground around him and pummelled him straight into the trunk of another tree. Freed yelped as the wind was completely knocked out of him and his sword was sent skittering across the rocks nearby. He collapsed to the ground but before he could recover Azuma appeared out of the tree behind to seize him by his long green hair and heave him around, tossing him through the air until skidded to a stop at the base of a pile of rocks.

The Rune Mage looked up, coughing as he tried to catch his breath from the sudden, relentless assault, but Azuma had already raised his hand and suddenly the air around Freed with little sparkling lights. And the Great Tree Mage was smirking triumphantly.

"BLEVE!"

BOOOOOM!

A huge explosion ripped through the air around Freed, engulfing him in light and smoke. Azuma lowered his hand, waiting patiently to see if it had worked… but he started when he saw that the blast had arced its way around Freed and was being sucked straight into the mouth of someone else that had just barrelled onto the scene.

"What the…" he whispered.

"Natsu!" Freed gasped, pushing himself to his feet and clutching his bruised chest, but there was no hiding the grin lighting up his face as the Fire Dragon Slayer's stomach momentarily bulged on sucking up the last of the tremendous explosion. "Where the heck did you come from?"

"Doesn't matter," Natsu muttered, looking to his comrade with a smirk. "What matters is I just found someone trying to harm one of my friends. And now that I've eaten I'm all revved up."

"Natsu!" a voice yelled from nearby as Lucy and Lisanna dashed into the clearing, Happy overhead, followed closely by Harry and the rest of the group. The lot of them pulled to a stop behind Natsu and Freed when they saw what was going on - Hagrid almost crashing straight into the rest of them because he nearly didn't stop in time.

As soon as Lisanna spotted Azuma a gasp was torn from her throat and her hand lashed up to point at him. "You!" she cried.

"Hoh?" Azuma wrinkled his nose at her. "I remember you. You look like you've recovered well."

"You know this guy, Lisanna?" Sirius asked.

"He's from Grimoire Heart. He's the one who trapped me in roots that were set to explode and defeated Mira-nee. The one who uses tree based magic."

"Then that means he's the one who tried to steal our magic before," Lucy said. "But… I thought Erza said he'd transformed into a tree because he'd used too much magic."

"That's correct," Azuma nodded. "Until I was handily transformed back by this lady here." He swept a hand out towards Morgana, who was watching with what appeared to be great amusement, but not with any obvious alarm.

"I have to admit," she said. "I wasn't expecting to meet you this soon… Harry Potter."

Harry's spine went absolutely rigid. He'd never seen this woman before but that voice had been etched into his memory forever. The moment she spoke he knew who he was looking at and without thinking his lifted his wand and aimed right for her chest warningly. "Morgana," he whispered.

There was an instant reaction amongst the rest of the group. Ron went white as a sheet, Hermione gasped and almost fell over, and both Sirius and Remus instantly put themselves in front of the Hogwarts students protectively. Hagrid whipped his umbrella out from his coat, looking like he was trying to decide whether to try and use it as a wand or a club. But Neville just scared and confused at the exact same time

"M… Morgana… did you… did you just say Morgana? As in… THE Morgana?"

"That's me, Mr. Longbottom," Morgana purred, holding her arms out wide as if inviting Sirius and Remus to try and jinx her. "In the flesh. And I can't tell you how flattering it is that people still fear me this much after even fifteen-hundred years of being isolated. It tells me that I really left my mark upon the world.

Neville looked like he was about to faint, but looked to Harry and whispered, "How can she be here… and… did you guys… know about this?"

"Neville, not now," Harry hissed back. "So… it's true then? You've joined forces with Voldemort and Grimoire Heart."

"It seemed the logical choice," Morgana shrugged. "I knew in advance that I wouldn't be able to approach you or Dumbledore to ask for help in getting me back to my rightful place as Queen over magic and Muggle alike. Voldemort and Grimoire Heart on the other hand… well… we all share the same vision, do we not, Azuma?"

"My desire is merely to have battles with strong people that put the life on the line," Azuma shrugged. "But many of the others of the guild, yes. They wish for magic to reign supreme. And I am not opposed to it."

"Harry, we're getting out of here!" Sirius hissed, grabbing at Harry's shoulder and ushering them backwards but Morgana suddenly thrust her hand into the air and cried, "Gestillan hwā fram lobistan būtan deorc gemælan!"

There was no visible effect other than her irises flashing gold, but half a second later Sirius seized both Harry and Ron while Remus grabbed Neville and Hermione, both of them attempting to Disapparate and take the students with them… but nothing happened.

"What…?" Sirius cried. "What's going on."

"Oh, that was just me casting a spell cancelling all forms of magical transportation off this island," Morgana chuckled. "Well, for anyone other than me and those with a Dark Mark that is."

"Bugger!"

"That magic," Lisanna murmured, "That's the magic of the Old Religion." As the spoke she morphed herself into her Dragon Soul shape, wings sprouting from her back and taking Freed and Azuma completely by surprise, though Morgana took it in her stride.

"Lisanna… what…?" Freed gasped.

"My, my," Azuma said with a smile. "It looks as though you've received something of a power-up since last we met," he raised his fists up in a fighting position, ready for combat to begin. "Care for a rematch? You fought well last time but you were hopelessly out of your league. Allow me to test exactly how far you've come. Perhaps this time you'll provide me with a challenge."

"Hey no fair - I wanna be the one to fight you," Natsu grinned as his fists burst into flames.

"I'll take all comers," Azuma replied simply. "Lady Morgana, can I count on your support?"

"I have other business to attend to," Morgana said, her fingers gently stroking over the edge of the coin that Bellatrix had stolen from the museum as she said it. "Even I cannot kill Fairy Tail here, and I am not the one destined to fight against Harry Potter and his friends. I have my own enemy to prepare for. But do not fret. You'll have back up soon enough. I'll see you soon."

And with a rush of wind she transported herself away into thin air, leaving Azuma alone facing four Fairy Tail mages.

"Well, this should be an interesting match," Azuma chuckled.

"I think we've stood around talking long enough," Natsu growled. "I'M GONNA KICK YOUR ASS!" And without a second thought he thundered forwards, fiery blasts powering his steps to fling himself forwards in an attempt to crash into Azuma headfirst with his Fire Dragon's Sword Horn. Azuma twisted swiftly out of the way swept his hand up, tree roots heaving out of the ground in front of Natsu and dousing him in earth, half burying him under a sudden shower of soil. And from there, everything devolved into chaos as Lucy, Lisanna and Freed all sprang into action as well.

Freed charged across the battlefield to retrieve his sword while Lisanna sprang into the air and blasted fire from her mouth, dousing Azuma with a colossal blast of flame only for him to reveal that the ground beneath him had split open when the smoke cleared, allowing him to drop into the earth and rush through the tree roots to leap straight out of a nearby tree trunk and slam his fist into Lisanna's back. Lisanna went sweeping away just as a sudden flurry of arrows surged in towards Azuma, courtesy of Sagittarius. Instantly tree branches curved downwards and whipped into circles to form a shield before opening up and allowing Azuma to fire a volley of razor sharp seeds in retaliation. The seeds were consumed by flame as Natsu sprang back into the action and sprang into the air, fire forming above his fists as he roared:-

"KARYUU NO… KOEN!"

"BLEVE!" Azuma yelled again, another fierce blast erupting through the air to intercept the fireball that Natsu flung down at him, the two attacks cancelling each other out. Undeterred, Natsu blasted straight downwards with his fist aflame, pummelling it into the ground with a huge blast of flame that Azuma as able to dodge by having two tree branches whip in from behind him and seize his arms, yanking him out the way like he'd been fired from a slingshot. But even as he flew backwards something else came in from the side to pummel him straight to the face with a metallic fist and send him sprawling across the ground. It was Freed, now clad in black armour complete with a silver face-plate that made him look slightly demonic.

Freed charged forwards with his sword flashing through the air, but Azuma thrust his hand forwards and another huge wooden fist blasted out of a nearby tree towards Freed. This time though he was ready for it and yelled, "YAMI NO ECRITURE! MOYASHIMASU!" before slashing his sword against the fist which promptly exploded into shreds. He span about and cleaved the air, leaving a purple glowing rune hovering in space, which glowing pink and morphed into a laser that blasted in towards Azuma, who dodged by warping into another tree trunk with the laser burning through the bark a second later.

"You fight well when prepared for it," he said from above where he was now standing on a thick branch fifty feet above the ground. "Perhaps with all four of you this will be a fight worth remembering."

Lisanna flared her wings up as she drew level with him and defiantly said, "You won't hurt a member of our family again."

"Is that so? Are you going to show me now how much you've improved?"

Lisanna didn't reply. Instead she just said, "Fyllan telga."

Suddenly the branch that Azuma was standing in snapped off the tree like it was a mere twig. Startled, Azuma ended up plummeting towards the ground with it, wide open for Lisanna to swoop in and seize his arm, swing him down and then crash her tail into him. Azuma fell like a stone, but as he fell he spun around and clawed his arm through the air in preparation to send a volley of seeds up at Lisanna, only for his wrists to suddenly be seized by a glowing blue whip. Lucy had unleashed her Fleuve d'etoile and quickly retracted it, bringing Azuma shooting in towards her. Natsu and Loke were standing on either side of her and sprang through to intercept him, hammering fire and light covered fists into Azuma's flank at the same time with a colossal burst of both.

"NNGH!" Azuma grunted as he was flung towards the ground, his clothing smoking and singed. But he was still able to land on his feet and skid to a halt just in time for Lisanna to blast another gout of fire down upon him from her mouth.

"BURST CLAW!" he yelled, slamming his fist down upon the ground and several green energy blades lashing out of the ground to cut through Lisanna's flames and crash into her with a vicious explosion. "AAAH!" she cried, as she was knocked back out of the air, but that hadn't hurt quite as much as she'd been expecting, perhaps due to this form's resistance to magical attacks. But Natsu had already sprung forwards, inhaling the remnants of Lisanna's flames and seeming to channel them into his foot, which he lashed in straight of Azuma's head.

"Yes, this is it!" grinned Azuma as he summoned a wall of roots to block the attack and skidded backwards as they exploded, sending three large branches to lash around Natsu's body and pin him to the floor until Freed slashed through them and charged in towards Azuma, dodging several spear-like branches raining down upon him and managing to slice off a bit of Azuma's hair as the Tree Mage dodged aside and slammed Freed away with another massive tree-fist. "This is the high I crave. Show me once again the bond of your guild, just like Erza Scarlet did."

The Fairy Tail mages seemed to oblige as Loke and Lisanna thundered in for another go. And the whole thing was being watched by the astonished Hogwarts students standing nearby. For Ron, Hermione, Neville and Hagrid, this was the first time they'd seen Fairy Tail mages in a real fight, and their breath was being stolen away.

But Remus and Sirius was a little more clear of mind.

"We can't just stand here gawking," Remus eventually said. "We have to find the others. We have to warn them that the enemy is here."

"We can leave this guy to them," Sirius nodded. "We have to…"

Suddenly he stopped, his pupils shrinking slightly as he looked over Harry's shoulder, right at the same moment that Harry felt a burst of pain from his scar. He yelled and keeled over, clutching his forehead. But he already knew what he would see when he looked up and joined the others to see what Sirius had seen.

"Well this is certainly an unexpected encounter, Harry," Voldemort grinned as he strode through the trees towards them, flanked by Bellatrix, Dolohov and several other Death Eaters. "And you brought your friends with you this time. What a pleasure it is to meet them all at last."

"…Oh God…" Ron croaked. Both he and Hermione looked like they were about to wet themselves, but Neville's face had twisted into an odd mix of terror and rage when he saw Bellatrix standing there grinning smugly. Voldemort chuckled and raised his wand with a triumphant sneer.

"I hope you don't expect to get away this time."

---

"You're absolutely certain that's what you smelled?" McGonagall asked as she ushered several frightened pupils along, all of the members of the DA surrounded by Fairy Tail and staff members as they hurried back towards the beach where the Portkey cage awaited them.

"Bluenote Stinger is definitely here on this island," Wendy nodded. "I don't know how he found it, but he's here and there's a lot of other people here too. I don't recognise the smell of most of them, but I definitely caught a whiff of him."

"And we know he's joined up with Voldemort," Mirajane agreed. "Which means he could be here too."

Those words sent quite a wave of terror through the DA members and McGonagall cursed to herself. "This school trip was a foolish idea," McGonagall muttered. "I allowed myself to get caught up in my own fascination and put students' lives in jeopardy."

"You weren't to know," Erza assured her. "We never thought they'd find the island so quickly either. This is on us as much as you."

"If we can get out of here quickly enough then they need never know we were here," Flitwick agreed.

"But what of Potter? And the others that went into the forest?"

"We'll worry about them when we can," Gray said. "If only Warren was here… we could really use a telepath right about now."

"I'll go see if I can find them," Mavis said as she arced away through the trees. "The enemy won't be able to see me after all."

"Bring them back safely, First!" Erza called, placing her hands on Parvati and Lavender's shoulders and ushering them quickly forwards.

But just as the beach was coming into sight ahead:-

*CRACK!* *CRACK!**CRACK!**CRACK!**CRACK!**CRACK!**CRACK!**CRACK!*

Almost two dozen Death Eaters appeared out of the air all around them, their faces obscured by their skull masks and their wands raised. Several DA members screamed but Gray was the fastest to react, spinning around and slamming his hands into the floor.

"ICE MAKE: BARRIER!" he bellowed and suddenly a wall of ice erupted out of the ground all around the group, catching the Death Eater's first barrage of spells - many of which were green - and protecting the students from attack. "Come on!" he shouted, opening one section of the wall like a doorway to provide a way out. "Let's get out of here!"

Fairy Tail had already sprung into action. Erza, Mirajane and Evergreen surged into the air over the top of the wall to descend upon the Death Eaters with furious force. Erza morphed into her Soaring Armour and zipped across four of them before they could blink, cutting through their wands and sending them flying with vicious kicks at the same time. Mirajane hammered one away with a punch to the gut and blasted another two away with a burst of dark energy from her claws and Evergreen whipped off her glasses and turned another three to stone with a single glance.

Elfman and Gajeel hurtled out through the doorway that Gray had made ahead of the others. The former morphed into his Beast Soul and sprang forwards to seize two Death Eaters in his massive hands and fling them into the distance before leaping a great height to pummel a rocky outcropping another was standing on and reduce it to rubble, sending the Death Eater rolling away. Gajeel clouted three aside with a wide swing of an Iron Dragon's Club and seized another by the front of his robes, slamming their heads together with a solid metal clang that knocked the Death Eater unconscious.

Juvia, Levy, Cana and Wendy and the two Exceed joined the Hogwarts Professors in shepherding the students out and dashing towards the beach with Gray bringing up the rear. But the period where Fairy Tail dominated the battlefield was rather short-lived when suddenly the ice wall was crushed into powder a second after Gray had got himself out of it. The ground beneath it buckled and sank several feet, half the battlefield coming to a standstill as Bluenote made his entrance.

"Quite the gathering of Fairies here," he said as he strode forwards imperiously. "And yet no sign of Gildarts anywhere. I don't know whether to be relieved or disappointed."

"Get out of here!" Gray roared to the Hogwarts students as he belted forwards to release a volley of ice lances from his hands, each viciously pointed tip homing in on Bluenote's torso. The Grimoire Heart ace's eyes flared and the lances were also slammed downwards and crushed and Gray was sent flying backwards over the heads of the students without Bluenote even having to move.

"Gray-sama!" Juvia cried, whipping around and charging towards Bluenote along with several of the other Fairies until they were slammed unceremoniously into the ground by Bluenote's magic, pinning them against the floor.

"You care these children I see," Bluenote muttered. "Well, let's see what happens when I wipe them off the face of the world!"

A huge magic circle suddenly appeared above the students and their legs buckled beneath them as every one of them was squashed downwards by the increasing gravity. Bluenote clenched his fist and the gravity surged to a bone-crushing point, the ground buckling underneath them. But in the same moment, Cana raised a hand and bellowed, "CARD DIMENSION!"

Instantly all the students and Professor's alike were warped into two-dimensional space, trapped in little cards and rendered safe from Bluenote's attack.

"You!" Bluenote glowered. "You're the one with Fairy Glitter! Give it to me at once!"

"You still on about that!?" Cana growled, trying to push herself to her feet. "There's no way I'm giving anything to you!"

Bluenote glowered, but suddenly he was cut off from whatever he'd been planning to do next when a stream of water rushed across the ground towards him, running through the cracks in the turf until it was free from the effect of Bluenote's gravity, whereupon it leapt off the ground and flew straight into his face, engulfing him and sending him reeling backwards.

"Water isn't quite so easy to pin down!" Juvia's voice echoed across the battlefield. Bluenote tore his hands into her attack, trying unsuccessfully to peel her away and he lost his grip on his magic, allowing the others to surge back upwards and continue fighting. Mirajane was the first up and she blasted forwards with wings out stretched, slamming herself into Bluenote's stomach to bear him far away from the rest before he managed to kick her away.

Cana decompressed the others from the cards and was met with all round expressions of gratitude, even from Zacharias Smith.

But Bluenote was hardly alone.

Erza spun around just in time to deflect something that came streaking in towards her from the side - something that resembled a five clawed metallic limb. But she gasped as her swords shattered under the blow and she was sent skidding backwards, summoning new ones from the air as she flipped back onto her feet.

"Good instincts," Rustyrose grinned as he swept his new metallic sword-arm out wide. "You must by the Titania… I hear you'll provide me with a good battle."

"You call that a sword arm!?" Gajeel roared as he thundered forwards and sprang into the air, hammering his arm downwards and transforming it into an Iron Dragon Sword to cleave at Rustyrose's head, only for him to raise his other hand and morph it into a golden shield that took the blow with a solid clang and a shower of sparks. Undeterred, Gajeel withdrew his arm and aimed himself at Rustyrose, only for something very large and unexpectedly very fast to charge in from the side and hammer its palm straight into Gajeel's face, sending him crashing across the ground and forming a trench with his body as he went.

"WOO-WEE!" Kain Hikaru bellowed as he stamped his foot and squared his arms against Gajeel in readiness for the next attack, whatever it may be. "There may be less of us this time around but you can bet we won't be going down without a fight!"

"Indeed!" Rustyrose thrust his arm high. "We now have a feel for your strength, Fairy Tail! Now we'll be sure to give you all of ours!"

"I had enough of your weird posing last time!" Elfman yelled as he leapt forwards and crashed his fists down on Rustyrose, only for him to sprout wings on his feet that allowed him to zip out of the way.

"Ah, a re-match born from reprisal, Elfman," Rustyrose laughed out loud, wrenching his arm to slash Elfman across the stomach and knock him backwards. "I don't imagine it'll go much better than last time! For you or your girlfriend!" And to prove his point he whooshed upwards to clout Evergreen across the front with his shield hand and knock her right out of the sky with a scream, before whipping around and bellowing, "Come forth, Devils of Abbadon! Rain you wrath upon the light of these Fairies!"

Instantly about two dozen red devils riddled with black markings with blue wings, sharp noses and miniature horns whipped into existence around him and descended upon the Fairy Tail mages, hacking and stabbing at them with their tridents and whipping their spaded tails into their faces.

Erza was quick to spring up into her Heaven's Wheel Armour and send a volley of swords flying upwards that skewered eight of the devils on the spot as she hammered the blades in her hands against Rustyrose's shield. He was pulsed back and spun around to fire his Jet Black Sword at her and she countered by summoning half of the shield of her Adamantine Armour into one hand and parrying it, but the sword still tore a huge rent in the shield.

"What!?" she gasped.

"Even adamantine can't hold up to the cutting power of the Jet Black Sword," Rustyrose cackled.

Down below Pantherlily had swept himself away from the Hogwarts students to throw himself at Kain Hikaru, sweeping into his battle form at the last second and hammering his fist right into the middle of Kain's face. "WWWAAHHHH!" Kain bellowed as he was knocked over and sent rolling but he was back on his feet and charged back in with frightening speed. Lily didn't have time to pull his sword from his back before Kain crashed into him headfirst and knocked him sprawling. But then he was forced to jump backwards as an Iron Dragon Sword descended upon him and sliced through the rock where he'd just been standing.

"Nobody does that to my cat, pal!" Gajeel snarled as he landed nearby and morphed his arm into a spear. "TETSURYUUSOU: KISHIN!" he fired a massive volley of projectiles towards Kain but at the last second the enormous man suddenly transformed into metal, the attacks bouncing off him with loud clanking sounds.

"What!?" Gajeel blinked, but Kain grinned and held up a small doll with a single black hair sticking out of it, except the doll was also made of metal.

"I'd like to introduce you to Mr. Cursey," he said triumphantly. "With my bristle in him, I can change myself to iron when I change him into iron."

"Well you're not the only one who can do that," Gajeel grinned, his Iron Dragon Scales spreading across his skin as he flung himself forwards again, slashing through one of Rustyrose's demons as he went. Kain thundered in to meet him and transformed Mr. Cursey into mist which allowed the charging Gajeel to pass straight through his body, though Kain turned back to normal a split second later and seized Gajeel's ankle, heaving him up and over and slamming him into the ground three times until Gajeel turned his leg into an iron club and extended it rapidly to kick Kain straight in the face with it, by which time Lily came sweeping back in from the side to sweep Kain's legs out from under him with a blow from his huge Musica Sword. Kain landed right on his fat face, but he was still able to roll to his feet again as if nothing had happened.

"THAT HURT DAMN IT!" he bellowed. "NOW YOU'RE REALLY GOING TO GET IT!"

The entire area had turned into a full-scale brawl, and it if it wasn't for the fact that Wendy, Charla and Levy were still ushering the Hogwarts students along they would have been absolutely stock-still, unable to stop staring in amazement at the tumultuous fighting spreading out across the rocks before them. Seeing them train and seeing them actually battling were two very different things.

The Death Eaters were similarly stunned, which was why it took them a while to recover their senses and when they did they quickly noticed that the students were escaping. "Leave Fairy Tail to that lot!" Yaxley shouted as he jabbed his wand at the retreating students. "Get them! Let's take some hostages for the Dark Lord!"

There was a roar as the Death Eaters surged back after the students, some of them running, some of them Apparating to get in front of them. Yaxley himself appeared in front of Ernie and Dean and slashed his wand in a bid to stun them, but McGonagall suddenly got in front of him and deflected his spell with a swift Shield Charm. She retaliated with a two rapid Impediment Jinxes, both of which Yaxley was barely able to dodge before suddenly all the rocks around him transformed into eagles, which flew at him and started tearing at him with their talons. Yaxley screamed and beat at the air, trying to claw them away, but McGonagall took advantage of his distraction and fired a Stunning Spell that smacked him right in the chest, sending him flinging backwards to crash upon the rocks, unconscious.

But McGonagall had no time for a break - she turned around and hit another Death Eater in the side with a spell that turned him into a cucumber right then and there, flicking her wand to send another Death Eater's robes tangling up about his face before she zapped him away with another Stunner.

And she wasn't the only one fighting. Flitwick was proving his status as a champion dueller despite his tiny stature, deflecting two Stunning spells aimed for Padma and Luna right back at the Death Eaters who cast them and diving forwards to avoid a Blasting Hex before flicking his wand at the man who cast it, who promptly started punching himself in the face until he collapsed. And Sprout swept her wand around to knock Terry and Hannah out of the way of an errant Killing Curse and her next spell triggered some nearby grasses to grow at alarming rates and snag at the Death Eater's necks and heave them down onto the ground.

But there were so many Death Eaters and so many students that the three staff members couldn't hope to defend them all.

Which is why it was fortunate they didn't have to.

Ginny whipped around within the throng of panicked school kids and gasped when she spotted a Death Eater crack into existence just in front of Parvati, seizing her by the shoulder and dragging her out of the crowd. Knowing she likely only had a moment before the Death Eater disapparated, Ginny's wand flew through the air and a jet of blue light pelted the Death Eater right in the face. Suddenly snot streamed out of the Death Eaters nose through the holes in his mask and transformed into what looked like ugly green bats that swarmed around him and scrabbled at his face and neck. He yelled and let go and Ginny ran forward to grab Parvati and pull her back into the group.

"What the heck are we all standing around panicking for!" she shouted over the noise of the battlefield. "What's the point of learning to defend ourselves if we panic and run at the first sight of trouble? We're Dumbledore's Army, damn it! Let's bloody well act like it!"

"…That's our sister, ladies and gentlemen!" Fred suddenly laughed and he raised his wand. "Keep on your feet everyone! Just like Harry, Erza and Mira taught us!"

"I got the first one!" George chimed in and grabbed Colin to pull him out of the way out of a wayward Reductor Curse that blew up the ground where he'd been standing. "Expelliarmus!" George cried and a Death Eater's wand flew out of his hand, allowing George to catch it neatly and Fred to Stun him half a second later when he couldn't shield himself.

From there, the DA began to get themselves in order and spread out. They hadn't had the opportunity to learn much duelling in the DA beyond Stunning and Disarming but that didn't mean that they didn't have other spells they could use. Cho managed to hit another Death Eater in side with a Rictusempra spell which made him double over with laughter at the tickling sensation he felt surging through his body. Dean made another Death Eater's toenails grow so quickly they burst out of his shoes and he ended up falling over in a panic and Justin hit another with a spell that glued his eyelids shut, leading him to stumble around blindly like a headless chicken.

Not that it was all one way fighting, far from it. Hannah was blown backwards by a fiery explosion that singed her uniform and left her arm covered in burns, but Wendy was quick to run over and heal it while Charla had to seize Dennis by the back of his robes and hoist him into the air to prevent him from being hit by another Killing Curse.

"That's it everyone, fight on!" Wendy shouted as she pulled Hannah to her feet with some help from Levy. "We have to push our way back to the cage!"

---

Voldemort grinned down at Harry as if he'd already defeated him, striding down the slope and completely ignoring the furious battle going on in the background between Azuma and the four Fairy Tail mages. "I must say," he said gloatingly. "I'm rather disappointed in Dumbledore for making this so easy. Does he even know you're here, Harry? Did he believe you would be safe on this island? Did you believe that? You should know by now, Harry, that there is nowhere in this world where you are truly safe from me. Not even Hogwarts."

"Stay away from him!" Sirius growled threateningly, putting himself firmly between Voldemort and Harry, his wand held at the ready.

"Oh look Bellatrix, its your dear beloved cousin," Voldemort chuckled. "What a lovely family reunion this is."

"A filthy blood traitor, nothing less, my Lord!" Bellatrix replied, looking like she was ready to pounce on Sirius at any moment. "I'll take great delight in killing him. Maybe I'll make it slow. Niiiice and slow."

Neville was almost trembling with anger as he glared at Bellatrix but she barely even seemed to notice, preferring instead to focus her attention upon Sirius.

"Harry, run!" Remus ordered firmly.

"You can't expect me to leave…"

"Get out of here now! You can't defeat him!"

"Neither can you!"

Voldemort laughed. "You're both quite right. But you have no idea how much power I am gaining now, Harry. I see you're already semi-acquainted with Lady Morgana's work," he nodded towards Azuma as he knocked both Lucy and Lisanna back with a large tree branch swipe at the same time. "But before I kill you and your precious friends, I want you to see proof. Proof that we will not only defeat you and Dumbledore, but Fairy Tail as well."

"And how are you going to show me that?" Harry spat as he pushed himself back up to his feet.

"Remus Lupin," Voldemort said suddenly. "As I understand it, you taught Defence Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts a couple of years ago, didn't you? Tell me this. How much did you teach Potter and his friends about… Inferi?"

Hermione squeaked and Ron and Neville both looked suddenly terrified. Harry though looked blank and glanced at Remus, who was quick to explain. "An Inferius is a reanimated dead body. A creature like a zombie but not a zombie. It's not really undead - its entirely lifeless. Just a puppet really. It's incredibly dark magic to create one and the only real defence against them is fire because they dislike light and heat."

"Indeed," Voldemort grinned and he stepped aside, the Death Eaters behind him falling away to create a path to the back of the group where a single figure stood in the shadows, rocking slightly from side to side and almost limp in the way it was standing. But quite suddenly it lurched forwards at frightening speed, barrelling through the Death Eaters with an unearthly screech, past Voldemort and towards Harry and the others.

"Stay back, Harry!" Lupin shouted as he and Sirius hurried jabbed their wands forwards and yelled, "INCENDIO!" at the same time. Fire blasted into life around the charging creature's body in a huge burst of flame, drawing the attention of the fighting mages nearby. The creature stopped dead in its tracks, prompting Sirius to lower his wand with a slightly cocky grin.

"Well, that wasn't hard," he said.

But then he stopped… and stared… as did everyone else… when they saw the fire coiling through the air and rushing straight into the creature's mouth in a style very reminiscent of a certain Dragon Slayer they all knew. Natsu himself noticed and his eyes widened… because when the fire fully disappeared they all finally got a proper look at the man. His skin was emaciated and semi-rotten, his face slack and gaunt, and his eyes entirely blank… but the wild yellow hair and his yellow and dark-blue robe made him totally unmistakeable to the Dragon Slayer.

"Zancrow…" Azuma whispered, looking as shocked as Natsu himself.

"May I present to you our newest servant," Voldemort grinned. "Zancrow the God Slayer. An Inferius entirely immune to fire!"