Alina
"About time you showed up, I was just about to leave," she said as Harry at last showed up to their potions lab.
"Sorry! I had McGonagall looking over some of my transfiguration spell creation theories. I think I finally have my spell creation project idea polished out," Harry said, sitting down and pulling notes out from his bag.
"Does that mean I finally get to hear what it is?" she asked him, hoping he would finally tell her.
"Only if you promise not to tell Hermione. I think I might actually have a shot for spell creations this year, and I want to see her face on presentation day if I manage to pull it off," Harry said, putting the last of his notes and books on the desk.
"Deal!" she said, excited to finally know what his project was on. If he thought it had a chance to compete with Hermione's complex time magic it had to be good.
"Okay, so me and Hermione were reminiscing a few weeks ago when we were having that picnic on the grounds," Harry started.
"You meant that date on the grounds," she teased him. She loved watching Harry squirm whenever she brought up the subject of he and Hermione possibly dating.
"It was not a date! I guess you don't want to know then!" Harry argued back.
"Fine! I'm sorry! Please continue!" she pouted.
"Like I was saying! We were talking about the time I had to go to the hospital wing in my second year when Dobby popped into this room halfway through my animagus ritual. Hermione told me that I was so high on the numbing potions that I kept saying weird and funny things. One thing I kept telling her was that wings were a good idea. I was so drugged on the potion I totally forgot about the idea until Hermione brought it back up. But since I remembered the idea I have been working on some theories and calculations to get my idea to actually work," Harry explained. He looked like a kid in a broom shop as he bounced in his chair excited.
"Still not sure I'm fully following you," she said, still a little confused.
"Here look," he handed her his notes. She looked the spell creation theory over and examined all of the math before she started to grasp where he was getting at.
"You want to give yourself wings? That is such a badass idea! How have more people not done this?" she asked him excited.
"I honestly don't know. I asked McGonagall earlier and she said it was most likely due to the fact that most people just learn how to apparate when they want to travel somewhere and that is good enough for them, and the spell will be tough as shit to actually get working. Here look at this." He flipped through a few pages until he came to a page that looked more like a work of art than a spell creation.
"I have no idea what I am looking at here," she admitted to him.
"Exactly. I have been trying to find a way to make the process easier, but there is pretty much no wiggle room with it. Right now I have the spell incantation down, but the casting process is just like the animagus process. I will have to add two additional layers to my animagus ritual it's looking like, one for each wing. And each layer will have to be added in between layers that are already created which is. . ." Harry explained.
"Pretty close to impossible," she finished his sentence.
"Yeah. McGonagall said though if I managed to do it somehow that I would be pretty much guaranteed to get tons of honors, publishing opportunities, and of course the 'M' mark in the course," Harry said, smiling ear to ear.
"I believe it to. Although we already knew you had the 'M' mark for your year. Has any third year ever completed a full animagus transformation and started going further like you have?" she asked him. It really was hard to believe.
"Not that I have heard of. McGonagall completed hers in her fourth year from what she has told me, and outside of a few doctors who have practiced transfiguring animal lungs into human lungs for medicinal purposes there hasn't been anything quite like my idea," Harry answered her.
"Damn. Well congrats Harry. I really am impressed. How long did McGonagall say until you are able to add the last layer to your ritual and complete your animagus form then?" she asked him.
"A little more than a week. She wants one of her colleagues from Belgium to come observe. They are doing a joint paper on felidae animagi so she asked me to wait until then. Speaking of which, she wanted me to take notes on your second layer today. Do you mind if she takes a copy of my memory of this and observes it on a pensive later with her colleague? She was going to discuss it with you in your next private lesson with her, but I told her we were doing your second layer today so she wanted me to ask," Harry said to her.
"No, of course I don't mind. What did she say when you told her we were adding my second layer today? She wanted me to wait a little while longer but I just can't, I'm too anxious," she asked Harry.
"She said the same thing. She wants you to wait a little longer, but you know that is just the parent side of her always wanting her kids to play it safe. I'm sure she knows you are ready," Harry answered her.
"I hope I am. I barely slept at all last night. I kept going over all my notes worried I was forgetting something important," she said honestly. Last night had indeed been hell, and the bags under her eyes were a testament to that.
"You will do fine. Your first layer came along just as good as mine did and you were able to master that layer in just a month. Today will be a walk in the park," Harry said, boosting her confidence.
"Thanks Harry. And Thanks again for helping me out today. I didn't want to do this alone," She said, giving her cousin a smile.
"Of course, I wouldn't miss it for the world! I told my dad by the way about everything, so I am sure your dad will be writing you today asking how it went, sorry," Harry told her, laughing a little at the last part.
"Thanks Harry! Now I'm going to have to write my dad everyday this week exchanging notes! What at least did your dad say about your idea?" she asked, dreading the onslaught of letters her father was about to send her.
"Said the usual he is proud and what not. He said he wants to come to the school with your dad when I do my final animagus transformation. He says it is best if you have some other animagus to run around with your first time. Plus I think he and Sirius are placing bets with some people at work about which one of us will be the fastest in a race," Harry laughed. That sounded like something their fathers would do.
"Wow, they would. So are you ready to get started?" she asked him, feeling like she could not wait anymore.
"The question is are you ready?" Harry replied.
"Yeah, I am," She nodded.
"Alright then let's go. Do you want me to do anything with the lights like last time or are you good?" he asked her, standing up and making his way over to the open space they used for practicing spells.
"No let's leave it bright this time please. I should be good with everything else, and you know the drill if I fuck up," Alina said, hoping she would not mess up.
"Alright whenever you are ready then," Harry replied.
She stood up and made her way over to near where Harry was. Today she would be adding the second layer to her animagus ritual spell. She had practiced her first layer spell countless times already with Harry and had seen him perform his second layer spell even more times. She knew she had this down, but she was still nervous regardless. The spell required immense concentration and focus. Throughout the entirety of the spell she would have to hold her magic open, concentrate on her form, and weave a new ring into the ritual.
She closed her eyes and steadied her breathing, trying to get it into a rhythm. As she felt her heartbeat slow and her breathing relax a little she began to picture her jaguar form. She imagined the tawny-yellow color of the base of her fur, and the rosettes that dotted it all over. She focused on the claws that would emerge from her paws once she began. As the image became clearer in her head she dropped to her knees and readied herself to begin.
Here we go. She told herself and began the ritual.
Even with her eyes closed she could feel the gold ring of the first layer of her ritual forming around her. As she continued to focus the feeling of her hands changing challenged her as it always did to keep a steady breathing pattern and a clear mind. There was the usual slight bit of pain that she had grown used to as her claws pushed themselves through her skin. Her hands grew warm as the fur thickened and she knew the first layer of the spell was just about complete.
Once the first layer was fully formed she took a few moments to collect herself and again make sure she was fully relaxed and concentrated. She could already feel the strain on her magic and knew it would take even more focus to get through this next part right and without any mistakes. She moved the image of the jaguar to the back of her mind and focused on the image of the gold ring she knew her second layer would take. Once the image was in her mind she pushed the magic out of her skin and started to weave the second layer around her feet.
As she could begin to feel the ring of the second layer begin to take form a new feeling began to come over her body, mainly in her feet. She allowed the feeling to wash over her, even though it was uncomfortable and her body was not used to it. She continued to focus on weaving the ring around her as the sensation inside her legs grew stronger. With the strain on her body and her magic she was finding it even tougher to concentrate.
She added the last few details to her second ring and pushed the last few bits of needed magic through her pores. As soon as the last line was drawn the sensation in her feet doubled. Sharp bits of pain went up her legs as she felt them begin to shift themselves under her. She could feel her bones bending and changing under her skin. Her toes felt as if they were expanding and contracting at the same time as they shifted into paws. The temperature in her legs grew hot as fur sprouted up along them. She focused more, making sure to imagine the exact colors and textures of a jaguar perfectly in her mind.
Only a few more seconds before it would be finished. The last shots of pain died down and the feelings in her legs returned to one that felt normal. She opened her eyes for the first time to look herself over. Her hands were now the paws she had grown use to and seen countless times already. For the first time though she got to see her animagi legs. They were long and slender, and looked to be built for running. Their fur matched the color of her paws and contained just as many rosette spots on them. After a few more seconds of examining her form she felt the rings disappear under her and her body quickly shifted back into her human form.
She had done it!
"Congratulations!" Harry said, extending a hand out to her to help her up. She took it and slowly got to her feet, feeling slightly dizzy as she stood up.
"How did I do? I think everything went perfectly!" she asked, feeling the excitement rise in her.
"It did go perfect, just like I said it would. Much better than my first attempt at the second layer," Harry answered.
"Well that wasn't your fault now was it?" she added, knowing that Harry's first at his second layer had gone awfully wrong even though she had not been there to see it.
"Sirius will be proud," Harry said, as he grabbed a seat at the table. She followed his lead, her legs feeling a little weak and wobbly still. She grabbed one of the pep-up potions from the table that Hermione had brewed for her a few days back and quickly chugged it.
"Ugh Don't remind me. He is literally going to write me everyday. I honestly feel like I should get a grade for writing him as much as I do. I think I have written more letters to him alone than I have essays this year," she whined.
"Oh stop complaining. You would hate it the second he stopped writing you so much. And it could be worse, you could have no parents to write to," Harry said.
"Please don't remind me. . ." she said, wanting to avoid this topic. The room got silent for a few seconds after that, neither one of them knowing what to say next.
"Well I was planning on hanging around her for a little longer to work on my potions project. You have anything else you need to work on?" Harry asked her, finally breaking the silence.
"Yeah I guess I should work on my herbology project. Sprout keeps telling me a Hufflepuff should always be number one in herbology," she tried to say with her best sprout impression.
"What where you ranked in herbology last year again?" Harry asked her, as he moved to grab some flasks from the cabinet.
"Third. Herbology and history were my only classes where I wasn't ranked in the top two," she answered.
"Who got one? Was it Ginny?" Harry asked her.
"No Ginny was second. It was freaking Luna Lovebad," she answered, making it a point to add some venom in her words.
"Oh," was all Harry said. She could tell he was trying to avoid talking about the topic with her. She honestly couldn't blame him.
"So, what are you working on this time with your potion's project? Did you ever find a substitute for hazelwood?" she asked him, trying to procrastinate longer on doing herbology work and change the subject.
"Yeah, I did. The twins gave me my solution actually. They use burnt pine instead of hazelwood in their self-writing-quill-ink because it is a lot cheaper and works the same. So I tried it out and it worked flawlessly," Harry answered her. He had already started to pull out some of the ingredients for his brew.
"I am always amazed that those two are able to do half the things they do. Did you really invest your entire five-hundred galleon research grant from this year on them?" she asked, hoping what Hermione had told her wasn't true.
"Who told you that?" Harry asked her curiously.
"Who do you think?" she answered.
"I should have known she would. Yeah I did. I figured it was the best way to use the money. Plus I like the twins and what they are doing. And besides they aren't too different than us anyways," Harry said.
"How are Fred and George Weasley anything like us at all?" she asked, wanting to know what on earth Harry was talking about.
"They are pushing the boundaries of magic just like we are, only in their own way. It may come as a surprise to you but Fred was ranked second in his year in charms and transfiguration, and George was ranked third in potions and first in spell creations. You can tell it too in their work. The amount of complex charms needed to create half the stuff they have created is impossible to fathom, and even Hermione was impressed when she saw the recipe and ingredient list that George was using in their Lucky Dip," Harry answered her.
"Yeah, I guess you are right. It is just hard to picture it in reality when they always cloud everything with jokes and sarcasm. What did you invest so much for anyways though?" she asked him.
"They just got official ministry patents on all of their finished products so far. They are going to start running a store to sell all their products hopefully starting this summer," Harry answered her.
"How are they going to run a store and go to school at the same time?" she asked him.
"They are still working a lot of the small things out. But they already have a storage area set up at their house. They just needed to buy a bunch of owls to ship the products when someone places an order. And that is why I invested, with that money plus a little more I promised to give them later on they will have enough owls to get off the ground, no pun intended," Harry answered, laughing at his own joke.
"I still think it was a dumb investment. You could have bought me something with the money," she said sarcastically.
"Oh you're right, what was I thinking?" Harry joked. "Here come help me grind up this bark," Harry said. She gladly accepted the invitation to help him and not work on her herbology project.
"So how. . ." Harry started to ask her a question but was interrupted as the entire room shook, knocking over a few vials of ingredients Harry had on the table.
"What the hell was that?" she asked Harry frantically, the room was still vibrating a little.
"I have no clue, maybe Peeves pulled a prank or something," Harry answered, picking up some of the vials that had spilled over.
"That was one hell of a prank, the room is still shaking," She commented, helping Harry clean up the vials. The two of them cleaned up the spilled vials and went back to working as the shaking in the room seemed to die down. After a few more seconds though the room shook again, this time a little more than the last.
"Okay, there is no way this is a prank. Baron would have caught Peeves by now," Harry said as more of his vials spilled over.
"Maybe we should go check it out?" she asked Harry.
"Yeah, I think we should," Harry answered.
"Let's go then," She grabbed her wand from the table and headed to the door. As soon as she opened the door to their potions lab panic instantly set in.
She could hear screams echoing through the walls of the castle. Behind the shrieks the sound of spells being fired could be heard coming from what sounded like every direction. She turned to look down the hallway of the dungeon their room was in and could see bright flashing lights from all sorts of spells reflecting off the walls.
What the hell was going on up there.
"Alina. . ." she heard Harry say from behind her as he made his way out into the hall, and was seeing what she was seeing.
"What is going on?" she asked him, clutching her wand tighter in her hand.
"Nothing good. Come on," Harry grabbed her arm and started heading towards the dungeon's stairs.
"Harry maybe we should wait down here," she said, not fully believing in her suggestion herself. She had no idea what was happening up the stairs though.
"No we need to see what is going on. It's just you and me down here which means if something bad is happening up there. . ." Harry didn't finish his sentence. It was okay though, she knew what he meant and was trying to say anyways.
"Okay lead the way then Harry," she said, following him up the stairs. When they made it to the top of the stairs it took a few seconds for her mind to fully grasp what she was witnessing. All around them students were running and screaming in panic. There were chunks of castle wall scattered across the floors, and a few pieces of shattered artwork and paintings among the rubble. Down the main hall towards where a number of their classrooms were she could see fire spreading on the floor. It was pure chaos here.
"Harry what the hell happened," she asked him, still in disbelief at what she was seeing.
"They did," was all she heard Harry say, his voice filled with malice. She looked to where he was looking down the hallway. Her eyes landed on a group wizards in dark black cloaks throwing spells at a group of students. At the tail end of their spells looked to be a few students who had decided not to run with the rest, along with a few professors who were returning spells.
"Death eaters. . ." she mumbled under her breath.
"Let's go, I need to find Herm. . ." Harry started to say but was interrupted as a large ball of fire came flying at them. Harry tackled her to the side and luckily out of the way of the flame. They both stood up quickly, wands raised. She reeled her head looking for the source of the spell that had been sent at them. She found a tall cloaked figure in a mask sprinting right at them from down the hallway.
"Stupefy!" She aimed the spell at the death eater charging them.
"Ennervate! Stupid little girl! Avada kedavra!" The death eater countered her spell and sent the killing curse right at her.
"Speculum!" she heard Harry cast the mirror spell next to her. The death eater's spell was reflected off the mirror and sent up towards the ceiling of the castle.
"Reducto!" The death eater without hesitating sent another powerful spell right at them.
"Protego totalum!" She cast the shield up around them.
"Legilimens!" Harry cast the spell as the death eater's reducto spell collided with her shield. As soon as the light from the spell vanished off the shield allowing her to see again she saw the death eater just standing still. After a few seconds he raised his wand, but instead of pointing it at them he raised it to his own head.
"Stupefy!" the death eater shouted the spell. The spell left his wand and collided with his own head. From that short of a range the powerful spell sent the death eater flying at extremely high speeds where he collided into a wall with a loud crack and thud before landing on the floor, unconscious.
"What the hell just happened?" she shouted at Harry, unsure of what she had just witnessed.
"Later! I need to find her," Harry shouted back and started to run.
"Harry, when you find her let's all meet back at the lab okay?" she asked him.
"What? No! You are coming with me!" Harry turned and shouted back.
"No I'm not. You have to find her and I. . ." she found that she didn't want to say the rest out loud.
"Have to find him. . ." Harry said quietly, walking slowly back to where she was standing. "Still?" Harry asked her.
"Always," she answered quietly, the words tearing at her throat like blades of steel.
"You don't have to you know," Harry added, putting his hand on her shoulder.
"I know I don't. Neither do you," she replied, resting her hand on his.
"I know," Harry said, leaving his hand on her shoulder for another brief moment before returning it to his side.
"The potions lab then?" she asked him.
"Yeah. The potions lab," Harry answered, flashing a smile to her.
"Be safe," she told him.
"You too Alina," Harry said, standing still for a few more seconds before he sprinted off down the hall towards the charms classroom, where Hermione was currently supposed to be in. She continued to stand still for a few moments, unsure of what to do, or where to go.
It's past eight on a Thursday. Which meant. . . He could literally be anywhere. . .
Deciding that standing still was not her best option she started to sprint down the hallway towards the front gate of the castle, maybe she would get lucky there. All around her was chaos. Fire, rubble, and dust were in whichever direction she looked. Every hundred feet or so she could see a body on the floor, either unconscious or. . . Most of the bodies were not death eaters.
As she made her way towards the Great Hall and the front gate the chaos only grew. More people were here than elsewhere in the castle. She could see professor McGonagall dueling two masked figures at the same time, and four death eaters trying without success to take down Flitwick who was completely in the zone, sending spell chain after spell chain towards the death eaters. Students, most of which who looked to be fifth years and up, had also taken to dueling. There seemed to be at least twenty different duels going on at the same time throughout the main hall alone.
She scanned over each duel, hoping she could find him. There was no luck though, she didn't recognize any of the students she saw. A loud explosion echoed through the main hall as a huge ball of fire burst through a wall to her right, sending chunks of the castle all over the place. The hole in the wall revealed even more chaos as she could now see into the Great Hall. Chunks of table, glass, and robes were flying all over the place as students, teachers, and death eaters dueled.
On top of two of the house tables five different death eaters were running while throwing spells at a Headmaster Dumbledore, who was countering each one with ease from atop the teacher's table. From her spot in the main hall Alina watched the Headmaster duel in awe. Without even a wand in his hand he had a chain of grey magic in one hand and was sending countless waves of odd colored spells from his other.
Each of the Headmaster's spells collided with pinpoint accuracy, sending one death eater to the ground after another. At one point two of the death eaters combined what looked like two powerful incendio spells together and sent them towards the Headmaster. Without even turning to face them the Headmaster flicked his wrist and collected the raging fire into a ball. The Headmaster transfigured the ball of fire in the blink of an eye into a raging ball of water and sent it at the death eaters. Alina watched as the two death eaters became stuck in the ball of water, unable to escape. She watched as they both drowned in the water and their bodies fell to the floor of the Great Hall limply.
Holly shit. . .
Even though almost every death eater inside the Great Hall had their attention on the Headmaster, Dumbledore was not the only one dueling inside the Great Hall. In between each of the house tables were countless number of students throwing spells at nearby death eaters, and having spells thrown back at them.
Maybe she should have stayed in the potions lab. She looked desperately at each duel taking place, pleading internally that she would see him. It was no use though, there was too much happening for her eyes to get a focus on anything. She ran into the chaos of the Great Hall, hoping she could find him.
As she entered the Great Hall she put herself on full alert, keeping an eye out for any spell that might have missed someone and could hit her. She found herself having to duck and dive more than a few times as she made her way further into the Great Hall.
"Incarcerous!" she heard a death eater a few feet away from her shout the spell. She turned her gaze to see who the ropes were aimed at. Luckily they were not aimed at her. A flurry of ropes left the death eater's wand and found themselves wrapping around a blonde girl who had her back turned to the death eater while she was dueling someone else.
That looked like Luna. . . She thought to herself. Part of her was saying good riddance, a large part of her was screaming for her to do something and help. She stood there unmoving for a few seconds having an internal conflict about what to do.
Fuck me! She shouted at herself mentally and raised her wand.
"Diffindo, rensa maho!" she shouted as she cast the spell chain. The first spell was a seam splitting spell that cut enough of the ropes to allow the blonde girl to get out of the ropes.
Of fucking course it is Luna. She thought to herself, cursing her luck. Her second spell was the chain magic spell, that sent a long black chain at the death eater. The death eater had his full attention on Luna and his ropes and never saw her chain coming. The strong chain wrapped itself around the death eaters neck and she threw him across the Hall into a nearby wall. She heard a loud crack as the death eater's head collided with the brick wall.
"Thank you. . . Alina. . ." Luna said to her as she stood up from the spot on the ground she had been tangled up in.
"Shut up! I didn't do it for you," she hissed back at the blonde girl.
"Expulso!" Someone cast an explosion at the two of them.
"Protego!" She threw up a quick shield and looked for the source of the spell. It came from another masked death eater that now had them in its sights. "Pay fucking attention!" she shouted loudly at Luna, and turned to point her wand at the death eater. "Stupefy!" she screamed out the spell.
"Protego, confringo!" The death eater blocked her stupefy and fired back with a flame spell of its own.
"Glacia carca, reducto!" She fired off another spell chain. The first spell summoned a shield of ice in front of them as the death eater's fire collided with it. Her second choice of spells was a powerful blast spell.
"Subduco, avada kedavra!" The death eater stole her blast spell and sent it back at them along with the killing curse.
"Reducio, deprimo!" she heard Luna surprisingly fire off the spells from next to her. Her first spell shrank the two incoming spells until they were the size of tennis balls, which she then sent flying back at the death eater with a powerful wind spell. She didn't wait around to see if Luna's spell worked.
"Luxluvia!" Alina added the white light magic spell she had created to the onslaught of spells Luna had sent back at the death eater.
Multiple rays of bright white light fired out from her wand towards the death eater. The death eater didn't stand a chance. The masked figure was able to defend against the two smaller spells Luna had sent back at the death eater but they did not have enough time to block the multiple beams of white magic that she had sent its way. The death eater was sent flying back against the wall, their robes burning from the energy in her spell as they collided with a thud and crack against the wall, only a few feet away from the other death eater she had just dueled.
"Where is Marik?" she shouted at Luna after they had disposed of the death eater.
"I don't know," Luna answered. Luna looked worried.
"What do you mean you don't know? You two have been joined at the freaking hip since the first of the year!" she shouted back, not attempting to hide her anger from the blonde girl. Luna already knew what Alina thought of her.
"He said he wanted to go for a walk on the grounds on his own earlier, so I was here eating by myself," Luna answered, she was shaking a little as she spoke.
"And you let him go alone? Ugh! Pay more fucking attention Luna, next time I am not going to be here to save your stupid ass!" Alina shouted at Luna as she turned to run to the door of the Great Hall.
Luna had said Marik wanted to go for a walk alone earlier. Maybe he was still out on the grounds somewhere. She made her way towards the large Great Hall doors, which by this point were no longer on their hinges. She was forced to dodge a good many spells along her way. When she made her way out of the Great Hall into the main entrance hall of the castle she could see that most of the chaos there was still present. It didn't appear at all like the death eater's numbers were dwindling at all. McGonagall was now dueling with a student against a large death eater who was deflecting each of their spells off into the walls of the castle. Flitwick was now dueling two death eaters at the same time, they both appeared to be struggling greatly though.
"Ha Ha Ha Ha!" A loud blood curdling laugh rang through the halls and stole her attention from all of the chaos. She lifted her head to see who it was that could possibly laugh at a time like this. Flying through the air, like smoke, with only her body from above the waist visible through the clouds of black was Bellatrix Lestrange. She flew through the main hall sending a number of green colored killing curses down like rain as she headed outside.
If Bellatrix is going outside the castle then. . . She quickly started looking around, her eyes darting frantically.
"There!" she shouted to no one, as her eyes caught a glimpse of what they were searching for. Slithering like a snake across the floor was a long black shadow moving quickly from the first floor stairs towards the door of the front entrance. She jumped over part of the Great Hall's door and squirmed her way through all of the people dueling until she made it to where the front door should have been.
The outside of the castle was just as chaotic as inside of the castle was. All around people were dueling out here just as the people were inside, only there was two other parties participating outside it appeared. She spotted the blue coats of the small number of aurors that had been guarding the castle dueling the death eaters. Over their heads dementors were swarming at high speeds diving on any person who fell to the ground. A shiver went down her spine as she watched the dementors glide through the chaos. Her body felt colder, as it always did whenever she saw them.
She scanned her eyes over the grounds of the castle, finding it impossible to see Marik's shadow in all of the darkness. She settled on trying to find Bellatrix, assuming she would find Marik wherever she found Bellatrix. After scanning almost the entire front grounds she spotted the witch still flying towards a cliffside by the entrance gate. She immediately took off in that direction. Sure enough as soon as Bellatrix landed on the ground she saw Marik emerge from his shadow's and send a spell towards Bellatrix.
You stupid fucking moron! Was the only thought that crossed her mind as she sprinted towards them.
"Sorbeo, yamipulso!" she heard Marik cast the two spells as Bellatrix threw a red colored spell that she could not hear at Marik. Bellatrix's spell passed right through Marik's left arm which evaporated into smoke before the smoke around where his arm used to be rebuilt itself. Marik had also sent a dark burst spell right at Bellatrix who was keeping it at bay with a spell of her own.
"Aeriacta!" She threw the wind explosion spell at Bellatrix when she arrived where they were dueling. The spell collided with Bellatrix and sent her flying over the edge of the cliff.
"Alina?" Marik said, as he turned to look at her. He looked shocked to see that the person he was dueling was no longer there and that she was now standing next to him. "What are you doing here? Go back inside now! It isn't safe out here!" he screamed at her, his face looking even more terrified now.
"No shit it isn't safe out here! And why do you think I am out here? I came looking for you to keep you from doing something stupid, but it seems I was a little late for that! Your welcome by the way!" she shouted back at him.
"This isn't your problem Alina! This is my problem! Leave me alone to deal with it! Go back inside! Please!" Marik argued back. She could sense the anger in his voice. Even in the darkness she could see him as clear as day. His eyes looked different out here tonight, the black lines that had appeared in his irises back in his second year looked like they had grown larger. She could swear she even saw outlines of green among them.
"You are my problem Marik! And I am not leaving you alone!" she shouted back, making it clear she was not leaving. Marik was about to argue back but a flash of yellow light flew over their heads interrupting them from their arguement.
"Aren't you two just the cutest! But this wittle one doesn't look too happy does he? Why are you so upset wittle boy?" Bellatrix playfully asked Marik. It appeared Bellatrix had found her way back up the cliff quickly.
"You know damn well why I am upset," Marik replied coldly, his voice shaking with anger.
"Do I? Hmm. . . I don't seem to recall anything specific. Maybe this will refresh my memory! Crucio!" Bellatrix cast the torture curse at Marik. Marik quickly summoned a shadow figure in front of him to block the spell.
"Incarcerous!" Marik shouted the spell as Bellatrix's spell collided with his shadow figure. Ropes flew out of his wand towards Bellatrix. She saw Bellatrix smile and knew she was going to be able to block Marik's spell.
"Stupefy, reducto!" Alina threw two spells towards Bellatrix right behind Marik's ropes. Bellatrix was able to easily block and dodge all three of their spells though.
"Now now Bellatrix, you don't get to have all the fun here. You are being greedy taking two of the fun ones for yourself," a voice from behind them said. She turned her head to see that another death eater had approached them from behind. This one, like Bellatrix, wasn't bothering to hide his face like many of the death eaters in the castle were. "How about you let me in on the fun huh? It's been so long since we dueled together," the newly arrived death eater asked Bellatrix.
"Of course you can join me Rhugar, but I get the boy! I want to have some fun with him!" Bellatrix's face looked to be one of very bad intentions.
"Fair enough. Reducto," The death eater Bellatrix had called Rhugar sent the spell at their backs.
"Protego totalum," both she and Marik cast the shield spell around them at the same time.
"Alina get out of here now!" Marik shouted at her, she sensed some fear in his voice.
"No way Marik. We do this together," she argued back, she could see him out of the corner of her eyes grimace at the fact that she was not leaving.
"You are always so difficult you know?" Marik said in an almost playful tone of voice that she had not heard in a few months.
"I know," she replied and flashed him a smile.
The two of their eyes met for a split second, and for a split second her mind drifted back to the night she had first met Marik by the lake. A sense of warmth came over her at the memory, but quickly left as their eyes returned to the two death eaters. She moved around until her back was a few inches away from Marik's. "Go," she whispered to him.
"Rensa maho!" She cast the spell chain quickly and sent a large black chain whipping at the death eater called Rhugar.
"Cometas maximum!" behind her she heard Marik cast the meteor magic spell. Her chain flew at high speeds at the death eater who was forced to summon a shield to block it from wrapping itself around him. Behind her she heard a few loud crashes as the large flaming rocks she knew Marik had summoned had collided with something.
"Crucio!" she heard Bellatrix shout from behind her, signaling that she had been able to block Marik's spell.
"Expulso!" The death eater Rhugar in front of her cast the spell.
"Erecto, azuflamen!" She erected a large piece of earth a few feet in front of Rhugar blocking his explosion spell. She countered his spell with a water blast spell of her own.
"Protego, yamipulso!" Marik countered Bellatrix's spell from behind her.
"Avada kedavra!" Instead of throwing up a shield Rhugar countered her spell with the killing curse. His spell and hers collided in between them and she had to focus to keep her spell flowing to keep his spell at bay. For a few seconds the two of them tried to overpower each other's spell, but neither one of their spells wavered.
"Lumos maxima, hori rei!" She quickly broke off her spell and dove a few feet to the right as she countered with another spell chain. "Marik dive and switch!" she shouted to him as she rolled to her feet and turned to face Bellatrix now. "Stupefy!" As soon as she was facing Bellatrix without hesitating she sent a stunner at her to give Marik time. She could feel Marik casting one of his shadow magic spells behind her.
Her first spell was one of her signature dueling tricks, one that Marik had used in his first duels and that she had taken as her own. Using the light spell to blind opponents had worked for her countless times. The second spell was another one of the white light spells she had been able to create this year. It worked a lot like Marik's shadow offensive spell. Her spell sent a numerous amount of homing beams of powerful light energy magic towards her opponent. She hoped her combo combined with Marik's would be enough to defeat Rhugar.
"Ennervate!" Bellatrix easily countered her stunner. "Crucio, acusio, avada kedavra!" Without hesitating Bellatrix sent an extremely high powered combo back at her.
"Protego! Move Marik!" She cast the shield spell in front of her and then dove a few feet over to her left. She hoped Marik would have enough time to dodge the spells, knowing her shield would not be strong enough to block all three of Bellatrix's spells.
Bellatrix's first spell collided with her shield and vanished along with her shield. Her second spell, one that Alina had never heard before, sent a flurry of sharp needles into the ground where thankfully she was no longer standing. Bellatrix's third spell however, the killing curse, was still coming right at her. It was to close for her to even summon a shield to defend against, not that one of her shields would be strong enough to block it anyways. Just as the green spell closed in a large shadow hand emerged from the ground, grabbing the ball of green light and taking it into the ground where it came from.
"Alina," She turned her eyes upwards from her spot on the ground to see Marik standing next to her, his arm extended out to her as he looked at her. For a brief second she just stared at him before she took his hand. As he helped her up she looked to where she and Rhugar had been dueling only seconds ago. She saw that his body lay on the ground, unmoving, a good fifty feet from where he had been standing before.
"Ha Ha Ha Ha! You two are too much fun! Tell me wittle boy when I kill this one will you be as heartbroken as when I killed your two muggle keepers?" Bellatrix asked Marik, she was smiling a creepy smile from ear to ear.
"So now you remember?" Marik asked Bellatrix, his voice monotone.
"Of course I remember, how could I forget the way that women screamed! It was like music to my ears! Especially after playing with the other muggle for a little while. I remember him being so fun to break! Ha Ha Ha!" Bellatrix laughed again. Alina could feel Marik's anger emitting from his body at Bellatrix's words.
How could she be so. . . evil. She thought to herself, unsure if evil was even the right word. Marik's magic was practically flowing out of his skin as he listened to Bellatrix. She could see wisps of black energy flowing all around him, resembling the smoke like appearance his robes gave off whenever he moved in them.
"Alina," She turned to meet Marik's eyes as he spoke her name.
"Will you help me end this?" he asked her, his voice still steady.
"Of course I will Marik," she answered almost instinctively. Marik gave her a nod and returned his gaze to Bellatrix.
"Awe I LOVE IT!" Bellatrix shouted as she continued to laugh. "Avada kedavra!"
"Finite incantatum!" she countered.
"Stupefy!" Marik also sent a stunner!
"Protego, ennervate!"
"Restituo!"
"Crucio!"
"Incarcerous!"
"Suincedius, silencio!"
"Protego totalum, tempesta!"
"Crucio!"
"Expulso, expelliarmus, yamipulso!"
"Ha Ha Ha! Meteolojinx recanto, protego totalum, avada kedavra!"
"Luxluvia! MARIK NOW!" she shouted at him as her spell collided with Bellatrix's green spell. She had used so much magic today it took all she had left to keep Bellatrix's killing curse at bay. Next to her she saw Marik raise his hand and send his shadow magic towards Bellatrix. She broke off her spell and rolled to her right, dodging the killing curse as it collided with the ground behind her.
"Hori rei, expelliarmus!" While Bellatrix was forced to counter Marik's powerful shadow offensive spell, which based off the sheer energy she could feel coming off of Marik she knew was extremely powerful, Alina threw her white light ray spell at her combined with a disarming spell at Bellatrix. Both of her spells collided with the witch sending her flying towards the edge of the cliff and her wand soaring through the air towards Alina, who caught it promptly as it neared her.
"Ha Ha Ha!" She could still hear Bellatrix laughing from her spot on the ground, even after she had been hit by Alina's spells. "Well done you two but I'm afraid that I don't need a wand to beat you both. Cru. . ." Bellatrix started to cast the torturing curse wandlessly as she rose to her feet.
"Silencio!" Marik slashed his wand through the air and silenced Bellatrix before she could finish the spell. Before Bellatrix could react and do anything else a shadowy hand sprouted up from her own shadow and wrapped it's hand around her neck, lifting Bellatrix's body up into the air as the rest of a tall shadow figure, at least seven feet tall rose up from Bellatrix's shadow. Bellatrix squirmed in its clutch, thrashing her legs around violently whilst she tried to escape. Her shadow stood still though, unaffected by her thrashing as its hand gripped Bellatrix's neck tighter.
"Marik. . ." she said calmly, bringing her arm up rest on his shoulder as she made her way to his side.
"She killed them. Alina she killed them!" She could hear anger, sadness, and loss in his voice as he spoke to her. She could feel the tears behind his eyes.
"I know Marik, I know," she said, tightening her grip on his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him. Bellatrix continued to thrash around in the shadow figure's black hands.
"I have to. . . I have to. . ." Marik struggled to get out words as tears began rolling down his cheeks. This was the first time she had ever seen him cry, she felt a sadness sweep over her at the sight of him so broken. Marik had always been someone who was so strong to her. He was the guy that beat everyone in duels, and had a grin on his face always. She had never seen him as the person who cried the same tears weak people like her did.
"It's okay Marik. Everything will be okay. You don't have to do anything you don't want to," she said in another attempt to comfort him and alleviate some of his pain.
"Yes I do. . ." Marik said, his voice sounding suddenly calm and untroubled. Marik raised his hand and she watched as the shadow figure followed his lead, raising Bellatrix's flailing body higher into the air. Marik clenched his fingers into a fist and the shadow figure again followed his lead and tightened its hold around Bellatrix's neck.
For the first time she saw the crazed eyes of Bellatrix Lestrange turn into eyes full of fear. Her eyes widened and her skin started to change colors, from white to a ghostly pale. Her legs thrashed around more and her arms flailed, trying to grasp at the smoke that was choking her. The shadowy figure only continued to tighten its grip though.
Alina just stood there watching. Watching Bellatrix Lestrange, the escaped prisoner, the murderer, and her relative take her last few breaths in life before her legs stopped thrashing and her arms fell to her side. Bellatrix's body just hung in the shadowy hands limp, umoving, and dead. For a few seconds she and Marik just stood there, neither of them moving an inch.
After a few more seconds though Marik collapsed onto his knees on the ground beside her. She turned to see his head in his hands. His back was shaking violently. She could hear him crying and dry heaving, trying desperately to catch his breath.
"Marik! Here!" She quickly came to her senses and conjured a small bag for him to breath into. Marik took the bag from her and started to breath frantically into it. His eyes met hers as he continued to struggle to catch his breath in the bag. His silvery-grey eyes, gazing into hers in a state of pure panic were only intensified by the green and black highlights amongst the grey.
"Marik keep looking at me okay? I want you to try and copy my breathing. Marik! Copy my breathing. Everything will be okay," she tried to say in a calm voice.
Marik continued to stare directly into her eyes as his body continued to shake violently. She made an attempt to over exaggerate the pattern of her breathing, trying to make it easier for Marik to copy it. After a few seconds his breathing started to calm down a little, although his skin was still pale as could be.
"That's better Marik. There you go. Keep breathing just like that," she told him, moving next to him to wrap her arm around him. For a few more minutes she sat with her arm around him while Marik continued to calm down his breathing. After a few more minutes of that loud pops could be heard all around the grounds of the castle. She turned her head to see aurors popping in every direction she looked. The remaining death eaters she could see on the castle grounds popped out of sight upon the arrival of the new aurors.
"Thank you Alina," Marik finally said to her as his breathing at last seemed to calm down. He removed the bag from his mouth.
"Your welcome Marik," she wrapped him into a hug, happy that she now knew he was okay. She couldn't help but smile as she did. The usual warmth she felt whenever she hugged him was still there. She had missed this, she had missed his warmth. It had been too long since she had had this.
"This wasn't how I imagined the circumstances would be when me and you were here for the first time," Marik said to her, his eyes looking out over the cliffside they were near. He still had tears cascading down his cheeks.
"What do you mean?" she asked, confused about what he was talking about.
"This is my spot. The spot I promised to bring you too when I met you by the lake. The spot I was going to bring you to after Hogsmeade," Marik turned his gaze to meet hers, flashing her a smile that she knew was forced.
"Oh. . ." she said, looking over the cliffside. Sure enough it was exactly how she remembered Marik describing it her when he had told her about it last year. From here you could see the Hogwarts Express Station along with the small entrance part of the lake where first years boarded the boats. He had not been lying about the view, it was quite a magical view, even under current circumstances.
"I didn't know that you were planning on bringing me here then," she replied as her eyes continued to scan the wonderful view.
"I'm sorry," Marik said to her. She turned to see his head slump over.
"For what?" she asked him, wrapping her arm around his shoulder again. She hated seeing him look like this.
"Not bringing you here sooner. The first time shouldn't have been like this," he told her, his words stuttering between tears.
"I forgive you Marik. Besides your first time at my spot wasn't much better," she said, giving him a smile and trying to dry his tears. "Call it even?"
"Yeah. . . We'll call it even. And Alina. . ." Marik started to say again.
"Yeah Marik?" she asked him, pulling herself closer to him and resting her head on his shoulder. It felt just as warm and great as it had the last time she had rested her head on his shoulder.
"I'm sorry for being such an ass to you," Marik apologized, resting his head against hers just like he had at Madame Puddifoot's Tea Shop. A familiar feeling of warmth shot through her body as he did.
"I'm sorry for being an ass to you too Marik," she apologized back.
She couldn't see it, and didn't want to move her head from Marik's comfy shoulder to check, but she was sure she could feel him smiling. This time his smile felt real, and warm. They just sat there looking over the cliff for a few minutes, it seemed neither one of them wanted to move from the spots they were in.
It was a full moon tonight. The moon hung in the sky, looking the same size and silver color that it had during the night she had spent with Marik by the lake. The only difference in the view was that this time the air around them felt warmer, and instead of staring at Marik in the reflection of the lake's water she was now leaning against him. After a few more minutes of sitting next to him, in a state of bliss though she couldn't hold herself back any longer. The tugging at her heart was just too much and she had to act now, she had waited long enough.
"Marik. . ." she said, feeling sad for a moment at the loss of warmth on her face as she lifted her head up from his shoulder.
"Yeah Alina?" Marik asked her, his eyes again staring into hers as his gaze turned to meet hers. She didn't say a word back though. She didn't know how to say what she wanted to with words, only actions. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in closer to her. She pulled his face into hers and without wanting to waste another breath brought his lips onto, and into hers. His soft lips without hesitation opened, welcoming her in, like this was something familiar that they had done a thousand times before.
She was kissing him, and he's kissing me. Before she could even start to collect her thoughts his arms were wrapping themselves around her too, pulling their kisses, lips, and tongues deeper into each others. She bent back her head as he kissed her, starting softly at first, and then quickly picking up the intensity. His lips continued to brush against hers, soft, but with a fierce intensity. Her tongue continued to find its way into his mouth, demanding to have more. For an eternity they stayed locked in bliss. She was only getting a taste but knew she would never have enough of this. This was heaven. . . This was perfection.
"Marik. . ." she whispered, pulling her lips from his. She hated herself the moment she did, already missing the feeling of his warm lips caressing hers. Thankfully he pulled her back in, and once again they returned to the perfection.
"Yes Alina?" Marik asked in an almost moan sounding whisper to her after a few more minutes of kissing. She was so caught up in the moment she had almost forgotten she had been the first to speak. She pulled her lips away from his again, and again hated herself for doing so.
"Marik. . . I lo. . ." she began to say, but was interrupted.
"MARIK!" a voice shouted from behind them, interrupting her. They both released each other and turned to see the source of the shout. It was freaking Luna Lovegood of course. Marik stood up quickly as Luna ran over to where they had been sitting. She followed Marik's lead and got to her feet. Leave it to Luna to ruin their perfect moment. The moment she had been waiting for for years now!
"Luna?" Marik seemed to say her name as if it was a question as the blonde girl ran over to where they were. Marik's eyes flashed to hers before looking back at Luna again. For a second she thought his eyes looked pained as they met hers.
"Marik I was so worried about you!" Luna cried out as she arrived where they were standing. Before Alina could even register what was going on Luna had Marik wrapped in a hug and was kissing him. . . Just like she had been kissing him only a few seconds ago. . . It took her a few seconds of seeing it happen to actually realise that it was in fact actually happening.
She felt her heart drop deep in her chest, as she watched Luna kiss Marik. The pain was horrible, the taste in her mouth like acid. She could feel herself slipping away into the pain.
Where was the bliss that she had just been in? Now there was only hell and fire. Not knowing physically how to act and scared she might have a panic attack if she stayed here any longer she turned and started to run towards the castle.
"ALINA! ALINA!" she heard Marik shout after her. She ignored him though.
She picked up her pace ignoring all of the aurors moving bodies along her path. Ignoring the students watching her as she ran through the castle towards the dungeons' of the castle. Ignoring the few professors that tried to stop her along the way down the dungeon steps leading to their potion's lab. But she could not ignore the pain that burst out from inside her as she opened the door to the lab.
"Alina what's wrong? What happened?" Hermione asked in a panic as Alina fell onto the floor of the room, her knees too weak to continue holding her up any longer.
"I love him. . . I love him. . . I LOVE HIM!" she screamed out in pain as she fell over and curled up on the floor.
Her eyes were already hurting from the cold tears that had started falling down her cheeks. Her chest was already aching from the heavy heaving she was doing as she struggled to breath. Her heart was already burning from the fire of emotions she felt churning inside of her chest, as the world around her seemed to collapse like the rubble of the castle's walls.
**Please favorite, follow, or leave a quick review if you enjoyed the chapter!**
**Please go to the series forum and join a conversation or start a topic of your own! Link for forum can be found on profile page!**
**Please Check out the Open Polls on my Profile Page!**