Disclaimer: See Chapter 1
-oOo-
This time on The Magic of Amber: The rescue…
-oOo-
November 29, 1993
Caernarfon, Gwynedd, Wales
They were on the top of a hill overlooking the town of Caernarfon. I was a seaside town with a small fishing fleet. Out on a small peninsula was an old abbey. Yvonne wasn't sure why Harry and Sirius were so interested in it as they looked through binoculars.
"It's just an old ruin," Yvonne commented.
"You know this means the church knows about wards," Sirius said.
"Yeah, I caught that. The other two places weren't warded," Harry replied.
Sirius frowned.
"What are you two talking about?" Yvonne pushed.
Harry had been less than pleased that they had stopped at a small inn last night. He wanted to charge up to the address and get Lex and Hermione back. His magic was calling to him that Lex was near, and it was driving him around the twist. It was probably a good thing that Sirius had stunned then bound him last night until he listened to them to be more cautious. They had only met wards in a few places so far, and they were all at preserves and protected by goblin ward weavers, the wild magic of Hogwarts or the dark magic of Durmstrang. Something about this felt different. Even from a mile or more away, Harry could feel the difference. The magic wasn't nearly as refined, and it leaked power all over the place. He didn't know what it meant, but it had the hackles on the back of his neck up.
Sirius lowered his binoculars as Harry kept looking. "Wards are a permanent magic that are controlled by using runes to harness and direct either ambient magic or ley lines. If you are seeing a ruins, it means there are at least muggle distraction and avoidance wards. You wouldn't be able to get close unless you were touching Harry or I. I only know the bare basics about them. Remus was the one that wanted to be a Wardweaver, but he couldn't get an apprenticeship and the goblins wouldn't hire him without it."
"Stupid prejudices," Harry muttered. He was half listening as he saw two men in black cassock walking out a door and started to walk a circuit around the grassy lawns surrounding the large abbey. They had this about twice an hour but were too far away to know if they were the same people or not.
"Why not?" Yvonne asked. In the last day, she had asked more about them and magic than she had the entire time Harry had known her.
"Remus had a furry little problem," Sirius said with a fond smirk. Harry could hear the longing the older man had for his friend.
"A furry little problem? Was he a monster, or whatever you call them?"
"Creature. I hate that classification. Remus was the kindest, most loyal person I knew, except that he used to turn into a monster once a month." Seeing that Yvonne hadn't figured it out, Sirius said, "Remus was a werewolf."
Yvonne's eyes grew wide. "Bloody hell! Those things are real?"
"They were where we came from. Anders says there are still some at the Durmstrang preserve. What is that?" Sirius said, tapping Harry's arm. Harry looked over the rim of the binoculars. A black car was going up the drive towards the front gates. When it stopped, a man got out of the driver side then walked to the wrought iron gates. Harry put the binoculars to his eyes again.
The man was dressed a little differently than the others. His cassock -Yvonne had told him they weren't robes- were black with a white trim down the front, and short a white cloak on his shoulders. They watched as he undid the latch on the gates, pushed them open, then drove the car in before having to go back and close the gates.
"Well, the wards can't be that advanced if he has to do that manually," Harry commented.
"No. The magic they are using seems rather primitive, but it's magic," Sirius replied.
Yvonne was frowning. "The car disappeared shortly before it got to the ruins," she commented.
Sirius made a humming sound. "That means the wards are really only covering the grounds. Do you have any electronics that you can use to see if you can see it?"
She reached for a bag and pulled out a folder of information they had been able to get faxed to them this morning. "The InGen security team here in the UK didn't think this was an active site. Like me, they all though it was in ruins, but it was listed as an active account. None of the sensors that we know work on you were working here. One of the sensors was found to have an electrical short when it was checked out."
Harry frowned. "I thought that our magic could be detected here?"
"Looks like the church found a way to hide it. Must be why it was never found before," said Sirius.
"They never found the preserves either. I wonder if there was something in the wards that blocks the sensors," Harry said. "Maybe that was why it was never found back where we came from either?"
"Could be. The question is, are there other wards or not?" Sirius voiced the question concern Harry had.
"I also want to know how many there are. I've seen three patrols already, each with two priests, but I don't know if they are the same people," Harry said.
"So, what's the plan then?" Yvonne asked.
Harry and Sirius were silent for a moment. "As Aurors and Hit Wizards, we were taught how to search for ward lines and basic detection on whether they would alert others or get nasty. I need to be closer though."
"How close?" Yvonne queried.
"Within a few yards," Sirius told her.
Harry snorted. "There isn't anywhere to hide. It's all lawn up to the front gates."
"There are rocks by the water, and they don't know about Padfoot," said Sirius.
"I don't want you to go on your own, Sirius. If there are a lot of them, you could get captured and I don't trust Mister Greengrass or Karl enough to go in after you," Harry said. He couldn't say that he couldn't lose him either. It was bad enough with Lex missing.
Sirius put a hand on his shoulder and Harry lowered the binoculars. "It will be alright, pup. I'll be safe and stay out of the way. We need more information before we run in. Anders and Karl are not ready for anything like this. Its why I sent them back. Yvonne, do you remember anything else about the attack? How many? What they did?"
Yvonne huffed angrily. "I only remember we were attacked, but you know I'm the only one. Simmons and Mister Lockwood think we got into a car accident."
Sirius crawled back over the peak of the hill. "Harry, keep watching the grounds. I'll be back as soon as I can."
"Sirius, I don't like you going alone," Harry told him.
Sirius gave him a cheeky grin. "You aren't the only Gryffindor around."
Before Harry could retort, Sirius morphed into Padfoot and started to trot off towards the town.
"Bloody fucking blighter," Harry muttered.
Yvonne shook her head. "I swear you are both ten."
"Hey, I turned sixteen!" Harry whinged.
Yvonne looked back towards the abbey. "Two ten-year-olds that have the power to kill a bloody raptor without breaking a sweat."
Harry didn't respond. He put the binoculars back to his eyes to watch the man with the white cloak talking with the two that had been walking the grounds. Harry had an unsettled feeling about this.
-oOo-
A little bit later…
Lex was shaking. The thin blanket was doing little to keep the chill out of the air on the stone room. The cot was just a thick piece of canvas with no padding, but it was better than the cold floor. She couldn't see her breath, but she doubted it would take much for the temperature to drop enough for that to happen. So far, she had refused to pray when they took her to the chapel. The gnawing at in her stomach was the only sign that they were not happy with her resistance. In the last two days, she had only gotten a steaming bowl of some oatmeal type thing it in the morning. She was told that if she prayed, she would get lunch and dinner, but she refused.
As she tried to focus on something else besides how cold she was – the jeans and long sleeve shirt just weren't cutting it – Lex thought about the one thing that seemed to warm her. Just before Harry had left, they had had a heavy make-out session and his fingers had had her quivering for a different reason. Thinking of Harry had her also thinking about how to escape. Perhaps if she moved around some, she could warm up?
Standing on the cot, she tried to see out the window. She could just reach the sill with her fingertips. Pulling herself up, she was able to look out. The window was just above ground level. There was a green patch of lawn then an old stone wall. She couldn't see anything over it except grey skies. Twisting and turning she caught sight of a small garden to her left that looked dead for winter and a stone pavilion to her right.
Propping her elbows on the ledge, she started to bang on the edge of the window, hoping she could pop it open. It moved a little on rusted hinges, but not enough to let in fresh air and get rid of the musty smell in her cell. The window wasn't large enough for her climb through, but if she could get it open, that might give her an opportunity to get a message out or something.
She was about to hit the window again when the clank and grinding of the bar that kept the door locked echoed in the cell. She quickly dropped down surprised. It hadn't been that long ago that her breakfast had been dropped off and they hadn't come before noon time before. Well, Lex thought it had been around noontime.
Just barely having enough time to hastily pull the blanket around her as she curled into the corner, her eyes shot up to the opening door. A taller man with a cleanly shaven face, dark hair, brown eyes and wearing a black cassock with white trim and white cape that only sat on his shoulders stood in the doorway. There was something in his stern visage that had her feel very uncomfortable.
"Thank you, Brother Michael. If you would just make sure the door is locked," the man said. Something about him felt of wrong. Shuffling to move as far into the corner as she could, she eyed the man wearily. He put a straight back wooden chair just inside the cell, then stood next to it as the door was closed and then bolted again.
Lex put her chin up, even though she felt scared. When the man took an elaborate golden rod from a hook on his belt, she found she really wanted her wand. The man must have seen her fear.
"There is nothing to fear if you repent and pledge your services to God," he said in a deep voice. When he sat, he made sure his cassock was proper and then put the rod across his lap and his hands on his knees.
Lex didn't say anything back. As the silence dragged on, he regarded her like she was a fly on the wall. Lex shifted. After a little bit, she said, "You can't hold me here. This is kidnapping. My grandfather is a powerful man."
"Yes, Miss Murphy. I do admit that you are someone that is rather higher profile than we usually find. Your grandfather and his company have just recently made some waves that have garnered a lot of attention, and we already have missionaries that are going to talk to them. I am sure that once our missionaries are able to meet with him and your mother they will understand," the man said. It was obvious he was from the States, she just couldn't pinpoint his accent.
She didn't like how that sounded. "You aren't going to hurt them, are you?"
"We are the hands of God. We only bring down his righteous anger to those that do not serve in his image. Killing is not our way, but eliminating those touched by the devil is not a sin, is it?" the man asked.
The shivers were as much from the cold as this man. HARRY! WHERE ARE YOU! She screamed in her head. "Who are you?"
"A simple servant that specializes in the excising of the devil and bringing those to the light that our Lord views as divine. Do you think you can be brought around to the light, Miss Murphy?" the man questioned.
She swallowed. "I'm not a devil. Magic isn't bad. I've seen your priests use it and I see your rod."
The man had a grave expression. "I must humbly disagree. Magic and the arts around it are the plaything of the devil and those that worship him and his minions. Generations ago my brotherhood tried to eliminate this heresy, but it does seem to manifest from time to time. I have never seen a wand in all my years serving the Lord. I thought this art lost to the dust of time," the man said. He reached into a pocket to pull out two wands. She recognised her dark wood wand right away. It seemed to call to her. The other one must be Hermione's.
He waited a moment to see if she would say anything. When she didn't, he went on, "I am very curious where you got this, and more importantly, how you know how to use it? You were not using the Lord's prayer."
She swallowed. They wanted to know about Harry, Sirius and everyone else. Her eyes rapidly went between her wand and the man's rod. Could she make a grab for it before he was able to stop her?
"I wouldn't do that, Miss Murphy." Her eyes shot to his in panic. HOW HAD HE KNOWN!
"You see, God has gifted me with a special gift. I can generally tell what people are thinking. No, I can't tell exactly what you are thinking," he said with a small shake to his head. Her eyes widened. "I can tell your intentions. That is a better way of putting it. You want to escape. You want your wand. I assure you, if you try, our hospitality will not be as kind. If you refuse to repent and stick with the devil and not answer my questions, that is another way to earn the ire of God."
Lex swallowed. "Who are you?" she asked, thinking this man was more a devil than anyone she had ever met. He scared her.
"I am Father Ricardo. I can tell by your accent that you are American, most likely from the Maryland or Northern Virginia area. Why you are here in the United Kingdoms meeting with another devil that had a wand is of particular interest. Again, where did you get it and how did you learn to use it?" Father Ricardo questioned.
Lex was praying for Harry. "Fuck you," she replied.
The man sighed and put her wand back into his pocket. "I take no pleasure when excising the devil from people, but I do need answers and to understand if you will repent and join our cause for God."
Lex's eyes widened in fear as he reached for his rod. She had the insane desire to get away. She needed to get away. She had to get away.
Father Ricardo pointed the end towards her. "Do you repent?"
"Fuck off."
"Will you tell me where you got these wands and who is teaching you?"
"Screw you!"
The man sighed. "All merciful God, please grant my pray and purge this sinner of her sins."
Lex twisted as a sickly orange spell came out of the rod. There was a crack like thunder in the cell. The man was forced to cover his ears.
Lex, on the other hand, suddenly found herself being sucked through a dark and narrow tunnel that squeezed her rather uncomfortably. When she came back into reality, her bottom hit a firm surface. She rolled back without a wall to support her and cracked her head onto a solid surface.
It dazed her for a second before she realized that there was a stiff breeze blowing through the thin blanket and her clothes. It smelled salty, like she was near the ocean. More surprising, she was looking at the underside of a stone dome. Sudden understanding came to her she was in the pavilion. Realizing she was outside, she scrambled to her feet, frantically looking around to see where she was.
If she hadn't seen Harry and Sirius apparating and been side-a-long apparated by Harry, she would have had no clue what happened. They had said she didn't know enough to do this yet, but accidental magic could do almost anything and Harry had said this once happened to him when he was young.
Understanding this could be her only chance, she took off towards the stone wall.
Someone called out behind her.
"Fuck!" she muttered to herself, frantically looking for a way over the wall. She had no clue what was beyond it and Harry had said you couldn't apparate to a place you either couldn't see or hadn't been to before. She had no idea if she could do it again either.
A flash of something red caught her attention and she dove to the ground. A wave of red magical energy shot over her. She rolled and pushed up, getting to her feet as fast as possible. There were more shouts now. She caught sight of a man running towards her from a door in the wall. Hoping that was a way out, she rushed towards him. The man took out a rod. She screamed as a white light just missed her. Focusing on what Harry and the other guards had been teaching her, she reached the man as he was saying, "God! Grant me… oomph!"
Her fist ploughed into his face as her knee came up to his stomach. In her rush, she knew she didn't plant her feet right and tumbled over him as she took him down. Another red wave of magic just missed her as fell next to the man.
She flinched as another white light went wide to her left. She was now only twenty feet from the open door. Her feet slipped on the cold ground as she scrambled to her feet to make the door. Her lungs starting to scream for air. She had never been a strong sprinter, which was why she enjoyed swimming more than softball as she got older, especially since she did the longer swims.
She stumbled as the man on the ground reached out and grabbed for her. This time one of the white lights impacted her shoulder. It felt like a fast-pitch softball hitting her. She cried out in pain, tumbled over, then rolled into the stone wall. She whimpered at the impact, but with her adrenaline up, she tried to struggle up.
"Stop right there, Miss Murphy!" a powerful voice rang out through the yard. She stood up, panting. She wasn't far from the door. The one she had punched and kneed was getting to his feet. His nose was bloody, and he looked a little unstable. Her hand hurt.
Father Ricardo swept out a side door of a huge stone building that reminded her of medieval paintings of an abbey. She inched towards the door as six men in black cassocks made a wide semi-circle around her.
She had the desire to get away again but had no clue how she had apparated before. "You can't keep me here," she said rather defiantly, stifling the greater fear coursing through her at the way the man was looking at her. Father Ricardo pointed his rod towards her. All the others lifted theirs. She was still at least ten feet from the door, eyeing it out of the corner of her eye as she tried to keep the other on the priests or whatever the god damned things they were.
"I wouldn't try that," Father Ricardo told her.
She knew she wouldn't make it through that door. Not with seven rods pointing at her.
"If you let me and Hermione go, I'll make sure my grandfather leaves you alone," she said, hoping to buy enough time to just inch a little closer.
"I assure you, your mother and your grandfather will believe you came willingly. Miss Grangers parents already accept that she needs saving. Now, come back inside and we will continue our talk, or do I start the exorcism out here? I assure you it is not a pleasant process, and the cot will be much nicer to sleep on when done than the cold ground," Father Ricardo threatened.
Her hands were shaking. She had no clue if it was from fear, anger, adrenaline or the cold, blustery day. The sound of waves coming over the wall had her know she was close to escaping. If she could get away, she could then find a way to find Harry and then save Hermione.
"Asshole," she stated defiantly.
The man looked like he had expected that reaction. "Dear father, hear our prayers," Father Ricardo said.
"Please hear our prayers," the six others said around her. They then said something in Latin she roughly thought was 'Cleanse the sin.'
Lex could feel something in the air. She inched just a little closer to the door.
"Cleanse this sinner of her si…"
There was a soft crack just before her. She just had time to catch sight of Harry before seven bolts of that sickly orange spell shot towards her. Harry's wand arm was already moving in a large circle as his other hand drew his sword. He didn't say anything, but a shimmering translucent blue shield came up in a huge semi-circle around them. She had never seen him do anything like that.
The spells impacted the shield, and it glowed a bright, eerie blue. Lex screamed as the thundercrack. After a few seconds, the shield went back to a shimmering translucent blue. There was a power coming off him that she wasn't sure she had ever felt before. His normally messy black hair was sticking up like it was statically charged. She thought she saw small sparks of blue light going between some of the spiked tips. He was a viper ready to spring.
"Harry!" she cried out in relief.
"What the bloody hell do you think you are doing to my girlfriend?" he said in voice that even scared her a little.
Most of the priests took a step or two back, looking unsure of what was going on. All Lex knew was that they were totally fucked.
-oOo-
About the same time…
Harry and Yvonne were keeping an eye out for Sirius between scanning the grounds. About a half-hour later, they saw a black dog sniffing round the edge of the lawn by the ocean. There was a small cliff and rocks along the base. Padfoot dropped down a gully and they lost track of him.
"How long will this take?" Yvonne asked.
"No clue. Sirius hasn't taught me about this yet," Harry said. There was still so much he needed to learn.
"Why not?"
"We've been a little more concerned about training me how to duel, catching up with the course work he knew by fifth and sixth year and I've been a little distracted learning about dinosaurs and creatures," Harry replied testily.
"Got it."
He scanned the cliff and the grounds. Wherever Sirius had gone, they couldn't see him, which most likely meant that no one else could either. Looking back to the abbey, Harry saw another two priests walk out the same side door as before. "Two more," Harry said.
Yvonne looked down at her watch. "About every half-hour. How long do you think it is for them to go back inside?"
"I don't know. Maybe ten minutes. They walk all around the abbey and then go back in the same door," Harry told her.
"It's like they are patrolling. If Lex and Hermione aren't here, then there is something else going on," Yvonne commented.
Harry hummed in agreement. Something suddenly caught his attention on the opposite side of the abbey. He wasn't sure what it was, just some movement. He turned the binoculars to figure out what it was. It took him a few seconds before his eyes caught movement under a building with columns and a stone dome. Focusing on that, his heart leapt to see a familiar head of blonde hair. "LEX!"
"Where?" Yvonne asked, picking up her binoculars.
"There! Under that dome thing," he shouted. "Wait, she's running! Bloody hell, she's been seen!"
Harry threw the binoculars down and pulled out his wand as he jumped up. "Harry! Wait! I can't see and we don't know where Sirius is!"
Yvonne had grabbed his hand. He wasn't about to apparate to Lex with Yvonne when she might not be able to see anything inside the wards. "Get off!"
"Harry, wait!" Yvonne told him.
Harry shook her off and before she could grab him again, he was gone.
Harry came out under the dome. There were shouts. He spun around to see Lex being tripped by one of the priests. His blood was already up, but to see her roll into the wall and have a bunch of them threatening her had his magic rising up like it never had before. His wand came up and he started to run towards her.
Lex yell out, "Asshole!" before the seven of them rose their rods to point at her.
Seeing her threatened like that had him run faster. Instinct told him he wouldn't be fast enough. Sirius had said apparating into a spell fight was one of the stupidest things one could do. You didn't know where any spell was coming from. If you were hit while coming back into existence, it was easy to splinch yourself. Worst of all, you could be disorientated for a few seconds. Even the best Aurors were no faster than a second or two to recover.
He didn't think of that. He just knew he had to get to her. He wand arm started a large circular movement. His right foot hit the ground and he twisted. The short hundred fifty feet or so went in a blink of an eye. Having already started the spell, his wand arm whipped around to complete the large circle as he materialized. It didn't matter that Sirius said he couldn't do this, but before he was even stable where he was, his intent was making the largest Protego shield he ever had. Out of instincts, his other hand had reached for the Sword of Gryffindor. It was out and ready to be used as a bright blue light lit up the grey morning.
The anger that went through him as he realized all seven of them had just cast a spell at Lex had his eyes burning a dangerous green. The danger of someone getting hit by so many spells at once could be catastrophic.
"Harry!" Lex cried out in relief.
"What the bloody hell do you think you are doing to my girlfriend?" he asked in a tone that radiated his anger. It felt like his magic was unhinged. Several of the priest stepped back. The one with the white trim on his cassock looked at him with no little bit of malice.
"A demon," the man just about spat. Harry thought he felt something tingling the edge of his magic and his magic hammered at the sensation.
The man winced and grabbed at his head, bending over in pain.
"Lex, where is your wand?"
"Father Ricardo has both our wands in his pocket," she told him.
Harry flicked his wand. "Accio wands!"
Lex's eye widened as two wands were ripped out of the man's pocket. Harry didn't stop to catch them as they raced towards him. "I excise you!" one of the priests yelled before saying something in Latin he didn't understand.
Harry shifted his wand, the shield forming the more traditional oval shape and deflected the spell. He took two steps, blocking what looked like a stunner and then what looked an odd bludgeoning hex. His sword sung through the air, cutting one of the rods in half before he stepped up to the man and brought his elbow to the man's face as he spun to block another spell. He thought he felt the man's nose crumple. A huge arc of red light splashed off his shield. The man that was holding his face behind him dropped, as did the other one to his right.
"Lord! Stop this demon!" the one with the white trim shouted. Again, he didn't recognize the spell.
A nasty looking purple hex leapt from the staff. Harry slashed his wand down and brought his sword around. Side stepping the spell, his wand came up and he didn't hesitate to send a silent blasting hex at the man. The purple spell hit the rock wall behind him, and it send out a spray of rock shards. Whatever it was it was meant to maim or kill.
Harry's blasting hex hit the ground. The man screamed as he was through into the air. Dirt was splattered everywhere. Another man that had been standing next to the man had been thrown to the ground and was looking at his hand in shock. Harry took in the mangled state of the hand before he was blocking another spell. This one looked too much like a killing curse to be comfortable. He pulled up a chunk of the lawn and it exploded. Jamming his wand, he shot the debris back in the direction the spell came from. Harry didn't think about it as he stepped and apparated behind another man that had turned on Lex, who was scrambling for her wand.
Harry came out of with a much louder crack than normal. His sword was already coming down in a large arc. Instead of getting the rod, the sword sliced through the man's arm just above his elbow as he pointed the rod towards Lex. He started to scream before Harry was blocking another large swath of red light.
"Protego!" he was forced to yell. The arc of the spell splashed off his shield again. Harry jabbed his wand. A white, slim pencil thick bolt raced towards the man and went through his shoulder and out the other side. The man screamed before grabbing his shoulder.
Harry dove as another green bolt just missed him. He came up in a crouch, his wand jabbed a few times. More pierced hexes leapt from his wand. Two went wide before he realized where he was aiming. The third hit the man with the white frock in the stomach and the fourth went through the centre of his head.
The man dropped. Someone was groaning in pain.
Harry wiped his wand around, looking for more trouble. A soft crack came from his right. Harry spun on the ground, his wand coming up and Sirius raised his hands in surrender. "It's just me, pup!"
His adrenaline was high, and he almost sent a blasting hex at his godfather before he realized who it was. "Fuck, Sirius! I almost blasted you!"
"Easy, Harry. Merlin, did you leave any for me?" Sirius asked as he looked around.
Harry blinked then looked around. The lawn was torn up. There was a hole a good six feet wide and a few deep. One man was on the ground with an arm missing, another with a mangle left hand, a third clutching his shoulder as he groaned. Two more were just out while the man in the white frock was face down in the grass.
Harry blinked a time or two, unsure what he had just done.
"Harry?" an unsure Lex asked.
He turned to her, unsure what to say.
"HARRY!" Lex yelled as she suddenly ran to him. She fell to her knees and threw her arms around him as he still crouched down. He wrapped the arm holding his wand around her as she started to cry.
"Right. Potter men," Sirius said. "We can't stay. Lex, do you know where Hermione is?"
She shook her head.
"Right. How many more are here?"
She shook her head again.
"Harry, get her to Yvonne and come right back. We need to find Hermione fast," Sirius said.
Harry got to his feet. Now that Lex was with him, the rage that had taken him over the last few days was draining out of him. He pulled her to her feet.
"Harry, go! I need you back here!" Sirius barked at him.
Harry nodded, pulled Lex to him and twisted. They apparated to the hill. Yvonne was now by the car pulling on a Kevlar vest and strapping her knife to her waist. "Yvonne, take Lex! I have to go back!" he yelled.
"Don't leave me!" Lex said in a panic, wrapping her arms tightly around him.
"Lex, I have to go back and help Sirius. Do you know where Hermione is?"
She shook her head into is shoulder. "They had us separated. Don't leave me!"
"What the hell happened? Is that blood on you?" Yvonne demanded as she ran to them.
"It's not mine. Take Lex. We'll be back as fast as we can," Harry said, pulling Lex's arm off him. It was like a physical pain to do it, but Sirius needed him, and he wasn't going to leave Hermione with anyone that could use vile spells like that.
"Harry, no!" Lex said through her tears. Yvonne wrapped her arms around Lex and pulled her back as Harry stepped away.
"I'll be back, Lex. I promise," Harry told her.
"Harry!" Lex cried out.
He twisted and was back in on the lawn of the abbey.
"Pup!" Sirius had moved to the building and as looking inside an open door.
Harry moved towards, him, ignoring the men that he had killed or maimed. He could worry about that later. Especially since they had tried to kill him and Lex. "How many?"
"I can tell there are four more people inside. I'm assuming one of them is Hermione," Sirius answered him.
Harry nodded and cast his own Homium Revelio and a few creature spells, just in case they had guard dogs or anything. "Yeah. Two of them aren't far away and two are below us," Harry said.
"I want you to have a solid shield up. I don't know if they just have wands or guns too," Sirius said.
"They all had magic out here," Harry told Sirius.
"Harry, we don't know what they know or have. You remember the swords and guns we found at the last place," Sirius remarked.
"You think they will use those old things? Those were black powder muskets and pistols."
"And these people at one time took down Hogwarts and other magical places. We have Lex. We just need to get Hermione, then we are out of here," Sirius told him. "Don't let the rush of the battle go to your head. That almost killed James and I a few times when we were raw recruits."
Harry took in a deep breath and let it out. "Fine."
Sirius regarded him for a moment before nodding. "Let's go."
Sirius made an exceedingly small circle with is wand and larger duelling shield came up. He drew his sword and then plunged into the door.
-oOo-
Inside the Abbey…
Hermione was blowing into her hands. It was cold in her cell and the warmth from the tasteless gruel hasn't lasted long. She was cold, hungry and just wanted to go home. Tears were in her eyes as she sat there wondering where Lex was and how she was doing.
As she was wishing for a book for the third time that morning, she heard shouts from outside. Looking up towards the window, she was curious what was going on. Standing up, she realized she was still a good two and a half feet shy of the window. She caught the red glow of spells.
Hermione's eyes went a little wide. When an explosion went off a moment later, she squeaked and got off the cot to move to the wall away from the window. She heard some more shouting and screams before it went silent.
Her eyes were wide as saucers. "Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God." She repeated, unsure what was going on, but sure it was not right. Unsure what to do, she just stood as still as a statue near the door, watching fearfully up at the window.
A few minutes later she had an odd feeling go through her. She felt it a few more times before it stopped. It took her a moment to realize it must have been magic.
She was about to relax when what sounded like a large firework blowing up came through the floor above her. She screamed. There were two more loud cracks then an explosion that shook the building and rained down dust from the ceiling. She ducked down and put her hands over her head. More sharp cracks, then another explosion that rocked the stone. Hermione huddled into herself.
"I just want to go home," she muttered.
A moment later, there were more sharp cracks, but they sounded further away, more muffled. Then it was silent. After the last few minutes, the silence was ominous. She looked up when she thought she heard muffled talking outside the thick steel door.
The odd sensation washed over her again.
"In here," a muffled yell came through the door.
She blinked. "I'M IN HERE!" she shouted out. "HELP!"
"Hermione!"
She knew that muffled voice from Isla Nublar. "HARRY!"
"Hermione! Stand back from the door," Harry yelled through the door.
She moved to the side wall. A second later a long white blade of magic ripped through the side of the door. It hit the wall opposite and sent out a shower of rock chips. She screamed and covered her face.
The door was thrown open. "Merlin, say I didn't hurt you?" Harry questioned, sounding scared and worried.
She looked up to see a deep gash in the wall and the cot cut in half. She looked to Harry, her eyes wide as saucers again.
"Hermione, are you hurt?" the raven hair boy with burning green eyes asked. He was in khaki cargo pants, a thick black jumper, a wand in one hand and a bloody sword in the other. If she had ever had a fantasy of a knight rushing in to save her, Harry Potter would be it.
Sirius Black, the man that said he would train her, stepped into the door behind Harry. The man was moving gingerly, pain on his face and a bloody rag pressed into his side. "We need to go if you found her."
Hermione rushed Harry. She didn't care that she hardly knew him. He was here and she knew she was going to be saved. Harry let out a 'hmpphhh' as she barrelled into him, hugging him for all she was worth. Harry wrapped an arm around her. "It will be alright, Hermione," he said in a soft, gentle voice that held more emotion that she should have expected but soothed her in a way she had never known. She broke down, holding onto him like her life depended on it.
"Are you hurt," Harry Potter asked again.
She shook her head.
"Right, we have her. We have to get out of here," Sirius said.
"Right. Hermione, hold onto me. This might be unpleasant," Harry warned her before they were twisting. The world was suddenly tight. Too tight. It felt like her eyes might be squeezed out of her before she was suddenly back to normal. She just took in the smell of salty air before her stomach rebelled against whatever torture she had just gone through. Letting Harry go, she just managed to step to the side before she upwelled the gruel she had not too long ago.
"Where's Sirius?" a woman asked as she threw up even more.
"He was just behind me," Harry said.
She felt a hand touch her arm. Hermione started, looking up with frightened eyes. A woman dressed like Harry was with a Kevlar vest and a large knife and gun on her belt was at her side. "Easy, kid. I'm not going to hurt you."
A sharp crack behind her had her spinning. She took in the blond Lex wrapped around Harry. Quite literally. The girl had jumped up, wrapped her legs around Harry's midsection, her arms around his neck, her mouth all other his and his hands holding her up by her arse. Hermione's eyes widened. She felt this sudden anger rush through her before she realized it was jealousy.
Mister Black was limping up to them, his hand still holding a bloody rag to his side. The sight had her leaning over again to empty anything she might have left in her. "You can shag her later. We need to go," the man said as though in a hurry.
Lex pulled her head back. "You leave me like that again and I swear…" she said emotionally.
"I swear I will never leave you again," Harry told her. There was a magic in the air as they said it.
"Bloody hell, make your vows later. Yvonne, get the car started!" Mister Black ordered.
"What did you do?" the woman named Yvonne asked.
"Something I swore I never would," the man said.
Harry put Lex down.
"Come one," the woman said, moving her towards the car. They piled in. The backseat was crowded until Lex climbed onto Harry's lap as Yvonne hit the accelerator. Hermione let out a scream as the car fishtailed pulling out the gravel carpark. A moment later she sped through a stop sign onto a road.
"Bloody hell, Sirius. Is that…?" Harry asked.
She looked out her window to where Harry was looking. Her eyes went side again. It looked like a dragon made of fire consuming a huge abbey.
"I swore I would never be dark like my family," Sirius said, sounding angry and bitter.
"Fuck, what is that?" Lex asked.
"What the bloody hell is that!" the woman yelled. Yvonne?
"One of the worst curses in our world. Fiendfyre," Sirius replied. "I am not teaching any of you how to do that."
Hermione watched the fiery dragon destroying the abbey until they rounded a corner. She was unsure to be scared or be sick again.
-oOo-
Some point later…
Isla Nublar, Costa Rica
John was tapping his cane on the floor as he sat in a chair in the Control Room. For the last few days, he had hardly left the room as anything they could do was being led from here. Harry and Sirius had called them a few times and he was giving them all the resources he could from his private sources as well as InGen. The Greengrasses had returned this morning not knowing what Sirius and Harry were up to. Anders had been upset, saying he could have helped. John didn't know if the man could have or not, but he had a great amount of faith in the people that were going after his granddaughter.
Lynne was typing the book that Sirius had asked her find into a computer and trying a Latin translator that Raymond had been able to find. She kept complaining that half of it sounded wrong, but if it would help Harry and Sirius, she was going to keep at it until she dropped.
Timmy was watching the dinosaurs on the screen, fidgeting like any twelve-year-old would who wanted to go out and play. They had kept him from going out into the park the last few days. Lynne was too afraid of losing him too.
And with all this going on, he was still trying to support everything to get the park going. Dr Grant and Sattler were schedules to arrive in two weeks, just after the semester was over. They were taking a sabbatical so they could staying through March to study the beauties of the island. Since they had been huge advisors on the project, even though they hadn't known, John felt he owed them this. He was, after all, making their field extinct if things worked out the way he hoped. Or at least, he hoped it would be more like Jurassic Park would expand the understanding of palaeontology and dinosaurs. It was what his Margret wanted, and he wasn't vain enough to think they would find DNA of all the dinosaurs or be able to clone them.
There was a beep from the door. John slammed his cane down and looked up. The sounds had everyone looking towards the door. Muldoon walked in. The smile on his normally stoic face had John letting out a huge sigh of relief. "Umbridge just called. They have both girls. They are heading towards Lockwood's lab in Cambridge and should be on a plane by tomorrow morning."
Lynne let out a gasp and started to cry. Raymond let out a large puff of smoke.
John grabbed the top of his cane hard and shook it in triumph. "Thank god," he said.
The others in the Control Room clapped or let out similar expressions.
"Is everyone okay?" Robert asked.
"Sounds like some bruises and scrapes. Sirius was shot, but it sounds like he'll be fine in a few days," Muldoon told them.
"A few days? How bad was he shot?" Lynne demanded.
"I don't know. She said that a doctor had to take out a lead ball and stitch him up, but he was going to be able to heal himself once they get to Benjamin's," Muldoon answered her.
"Robert, please make sure they get back safely. Whatever expense," John told him.
"Don't worry. The security in Cambridge is as good as here," John told him.
"John, now that we know everyone is well, we have to talk about the scientist team that will be staying here over the winter," Raymond said.
"Yes, yes. Of course, Raymond. Lynne, will you be alright?" he asked his daughter.
Lynne was trying to wipe the tears from her face. "I'll be fine dad."
"Does this mean I can go out with Doctor Harding?" Tim asked.
John gave a small smile to his grandson. The boy loved dinosaurs more than he did.
-oOo-
Late that night…
Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England
Harry couldn't sleep. He was sitting on the edge of the bed in a bedroom that Mr Lockwood had given him for the night. The man was still having a tough time believing that he hadn't gotten into a car accident, but after Hermione and Lex had told them what happened, he was as upset as anyone else in the room.
His mind kept going through what Lex had said. He felt guilty for not being there to protect her, but at the same time, Lex should be able to do and go wherever she wanted. The way he had felt the magic pull on his shield when he finally got to her had him wondering if Lex would have survived seven of those things hitting her. His magic was still unsettled at that. The broken glass of water that had been on the table next to his bed could contest to how unsettled he felt.
He put his head down into his hands.
Then there was the fact he had killed today. Killing a creature or dinosaur was much different than killing a man. He had killed before. Quirrell for sure. He wasn't sure about the Department of Mysteries, but most likely someone in that graveyard. Those times though, he had been fighting for his life. It had been in self-defence, and he hadn't really meant too. He was just trying to survive.
Today… today he knew what he was doing. His magic was crying out to save Lex. He knew how to use the Sword of Gryffindor now. It wasn't like when he got lucky with the basilisk. Simmons, Sirius, Yvonne and others that had been training him had stressed what his magic, sword and fist could do to people. He knew it could kill. He meant to kill those men that had cast those dark spells and used those muskets on them.
The faces of the three he was certain he killed today were going through his head.
A glass pane cracked in the multi-pane window. He heard it and tried to reign his magic in.
A soft knock came at his door.
Harry tried to ignore it. He wasn't in the mood to talk with Sirius or Yvonne. They had helped him when he had nightmares or other issues in the last year, but tonight he didn't want anyone near him. He wasn't sure he had ever felt this out of control.
The knock came again.
"Go away, Sirius," he growled out as he blamed himself for things that had been out of his control and things that had been totally in his control today.
The doorknob jingled but he had locked it. The knock came again.
"Sirius, I mean it!"
"Harry, it's me," Lex's voice filtered through the door.
As much as he didn't want anyone around, he heard a tremor in her voice that had him jumping out of bed. He took a few large stepped to the door, struggled with the old skeleton key for a few then opened the door.
Lex was standing in the darkened hall. It was extremely late at night and only a small lamp or two was left on outside his room. Even in the low light he could see that tears had been streaking her face. Her blonde hair was half wild. Her arms were wrapped around her midsection. Even though he knew he didn't want to be around anyone, he knew she needed him… and he needed her.
He lifted his arms and she moved into them, wrapping her arms around him. To feel her pressed into him, his cheek on her silky hair and feeling her magic being just as unsettled as his had him calm some. The thick feel of magic in the air fell as she nuzzled her face into his shoulder. "I had to know you were here," she whispered.
Harry moved his left hand to cradle her head as his right arm pulled her close. "I promised I wouldn't leave you again," he told her, feeling just as emotional as she looked.
Her arms tightened around his middle. "I don't want to be alone tonight."
Harry swallowed. He didn't want to be alone either now that she was here. "Are you sure? I… I don't know…" he tried to say.
She leaned back enough so that her blue eyes were looking up into his. "You saved me. I don't care what you did to those men. They were going to hurt me. I think they tried to kill you."
Harry let out a stuttering breath. "Some of those spells would have."
"Then I don't care. I just don't want to be alone." She buried her head into his shoulder again.
Harry held her tight for a moment before using his foot to close his door. They shuffled to his bed. When they laid down, Lex didn't say anything as he pulled the duvet over them. She settled into his side, laying her head on his chest and a leg over his.
They didn't say anything after they both settled and stopped moving. He felt his magic calm enough for his mind to finally go quiet. The room was quiet except for the sound of Lex's breathing. He could feel her heart beating against his side. He had thought she had fallen asleep when she said in a hushed whisper, "I love you."
Harry's heart felt like it was pounding in his chest. They hadn't said that yet, but he had a strong feeling that was the way he was feeling about her. The arm that was wrapped around her back squeezed her to him. "I love you too."
She shifted to press closer into him. Soon her steady, easy breathing was lulling him to sleep…
-oOo-
Next time on The Magic of Amber: The church investigates their destroyed abbey in England. Jurassic Park takes it next step to opening. All this as the magicals of Isla Nublar try to decide what to do about the church and the family that Lex didn't get to visit.