“I knew I could depend on you to make the right decision, Wu.”
Bellatrix’s face split into a wicked grin as the familiar insane fire began to rage within her eyes. She slid her long pale fingers into the depths of her robes and slowly sheathed her wand. Anne looked steadily at Bellatrix as she did so.
Although it took Anne most of her energy and consciousness to remain standing, the shock of meeting Bellatrix was beginning to wear off, and some of her weariness was melting away with it. Now that she had the ability to think about it, she wondered angrily why she hadn’t realized it was Bellatrix in the first place.
Well, it was too late to regret anything or blame herself Anne thought grimly; but as long as they were going to duel, she would do it properly.
Besides, Anne knew that Bellatrix was already at a disadvantage. If there was any fatal mistake Bellatrix could have made beforehand, it was giving her the motivation of seeing Remus alive and well once more. With this powerful will burning like a flame of hope within her, Anne felt as if she could duel Bellatrix a dozen times and over.
Even with her hate for Bellatrix, she knew she couldn’t kill her, but that didn’t mean that she wouldn’t go down without a fight. She would do anything to stall Bellatrix from carrying out her plans to destroy her loved ones.
Bellatrix turned her wand upon Anne. There was an eerie flush creeping up her pale face.
“I hope you have some energy left,” she smirked. “Otherwise, you might not even last five minutes.”
“I hope you don’t chatter so much during our duel, or else I’ll have to start by cutting off your tongue,” Anne whispered back in a tone bubbling over in hate and fury.
The two girls gazed at each other for a fraction of a moment. In those few milliseconds was the final unuttered resolution between the two that their partnership was completely severed. There was no hope of restoring the past in the present. The folly friendship from what seemed like a millennia ago was finally and completely destroyed.
They blinked.
Bellatrix suddenly made a vicious horizontal slash at Anne, who immediately parried it with a vertical one. The force of the collision of the two curses created an enormous flash of purple luminescent light as bright as lightning. It cracked the blackness, and the sound produced resonated through the empty void, piercing it like a peal of rolling thunder. Both girls shielded their eyes against the burning light.
As the dazzling light threw itself over the two girls momentarily, it dawned upon Anne. With a jerk of realization, a sudden thought occurred to her.
As the light swiftly receded, Bellatrix ran out from seemingly nowhere and charged at Anne. Her wand was burning with black and purple flames, and there was a twisted look of loathing and insanity carved into her face. She lifted her blazing wand high above her head before bringing it forcefully down upon Anne.
Anne quickly created a large, dome-shaped shield about herself. It cracked as Bellatrix’s flaming wand crashed down onto it. The force of the crash caused Bellatrix’s hand to rebound, allowing Anne to shoot a powerful counter-curse that blasted Bellatrix off her feet. She landed with a sickening thud a few feet away.
Bellatrix screamed aloud in fury and pounded the invisible ground with her fist. She hastily tossed back her dark hair and scrambled onto her knees to get up.
But before she had so much as attempted to stand upright, Anne was before her.
In the blink of an eye, Anne quickly gripped the top of her wand with her spare hand and unsheathed it outwardly like a sword. As she did so, her wand transformed into a glowing blue dagger.
With a scream that carried all her anguish, grief, sorrow, and weariness, Anne plunged the dagger directly beneath Bellatrix’s left shoulder.
Bellatrix’s eyes grew wide with shock and fury. She slowly gazed up at Anne, who towered above her. She returned Bellatrix’s bewildered stare with equally wide eyes. Both of them were breathing heavily as if all the air in the world couldn’t quench their lungs.
“So…you really wanted to kill me?” Bellatrix whispered, as a dribble of what looked like pale blue saliva trickled down the side of her thin lips. There was pure hatred blazing in her hooded eyes.
“No,” Anne replied in an equally hushed voice. Bellatrix’s brow furrowed.
“I never wanted to kill you. I never wanted to fight you. But it suddenly occurred to me that you, who have always been a mastermind at duels, schemes, and the Dark Arts, would never risk your life in a battle like this- especially if there was a fair chance of you getting mortally wounded,” Anne murmured, as she drove the blade deeper into Bellatrix. However, no blood came forth from the wound. Bellatrix forced herself not to wince as the blade sunk deeper into her flesh.
“And I was right, wasn’t I? See, look no blood,” Anne pointed out to the silent Bellatrix. “I realized that there must be more to this whole thing just a second ago. This whole place is pitch black, but if it really was so dark how could I possibly see myself or you so clearly? You and I both know that it takes powerful magic to do that. Only Dark Magic could do this. And if you used Dark Magic to create my prison, why not use it to give yourself protection also?” Anne slowly sunk her blade deeper and deeper into Bellatrix’s chest as she spoke, until the whole dagger was almost completely buried within her bosom.
Bellatrix’s body tensed up in unfathomable pain, but she didn’t utter a word. She merely glared up at Anne, her dark eyes penetrating into Anne’s equally dark, yet far less empty, eyes.
“I don’t know how you did it, but it’s over,” Anne said in a barely audible whisper. “You lost. Now go. Go away and never come back to me like this ever again, or else I might really have to kill you.”
With these final words, Anne wrenched out the shining, pale dagger with a labored grunt. Bellatrix’s hollow eyes locked on Anne’s scratched and exhausted face before the deep wound Anne’s dagger had inflicted began to glow with a brilliantly blue light. Anne shielded her eyes as the light grew brighter and began to spread across Bellatrix’s body.
Bellatrix’s body tensed up before she finally erupted into a scream of pain and rage. She frantically clawed at her wound as the light continued to swallow her. She leaned backwards and began to fall onto her back as the light consumed the last bits of her body, so that she was alight in a pale but dazzling blue glow. Her screams seemed to shake the entire space. But before she had landed onto the ground, she had disappeared.
Anne slowly lifted her hand from her eyes as she realized the blinding light had vanished. Still gasping frantically for air, she looked about her bewilderedly. Her gaze returned to the spot where Bellatrix had disappeared.
She had won.
Anne’s eyes roved over to stare at the dagger in her hand. It was glowing as brightly as ever before. She raised it high above her head and brought it swiftly down in a horizontal line. With a bright flash, the dagger transformed back into her wand.
No sooner than she had done this, the spot on which she was standing above suddenly shook. A strange ripple erupted from beneath her feet and stretched out and beyond into the empty space.
Suddenly, Anne felt the invisible ground splinter. The darkness on which she stood upon began to shatter like fragile glass. Before Anne had time to make the slightest movement, the ground gave away and she was toppling into a black abyss.
As she fell down through the darkness, her tired and worn limbs flailing dementedly about, she knew that somehow everything would be all right. Bellatrix was no longer in a position to harm any of her beloved ones any longer, and that was all that mattered.
A calm smile spread across Anne’s blood-splattered face as she continued to plunge down into the black abyss.
Firenze’s hoofs gently plodded through the forest ground as he led Lily, Alice, and Sirius in a single file through the woods. James was still settled limply onto Firenze’s back, and his arms drooped floppily against Firenze’s muscular torso.
Lily and the others kept exchanging uneasy glances at each other and shooting furtive looks at the mysterious centaur, but kept silent.
Lily couldn’t make up her mind whether this strange being was good or evil, real or unreal, honest or another horrific trick. But somehow, as she gazed at his white tail and golden coat, which seemed to glitter in the night, she couldn’t help but feel that she could trust this mystifying and gorgeous stranger.
Now that Lily thought back on it, she realized that every time that she had encountered one of the evil traps set that night, she had felt tense, nervous, uneasy, and horrified subconsciously.
But as she walked along with Firenze, she felt a strange and pleasant warmth coming from him. She wanted to keep following him.
And besides, Lily felt as though she had met him somewhere before, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it.
Her eyes wandered onto James leaning limply against Firenze’s back.
Well, he looks more comfortable than he did on Sirius’s back.
Lily started out of her thoughts as she felt Alice gently tap her on the shoulder.
“Look at the ground,” Alice whispered into Lily’s ear.
Lily did as she was told and found to her great surprise and happiness that they had wandered onto a worn dirt path. The path however was rough, bumpy, and uneven as if dozens of hooves had created it naturally over years and years of continually plodding across it. The trees gradually began to line up like columns, creating a sort of wall on either side of the path.
“Be wary of where you step.” Firenze’s deep voice seemed like a drop of honey in Lily’s mouth. “Whatever you do, do not wander off of this path. Step nowhere but within the boundaries of this road. We are nearly there.”
“Why the hell would we wander off of it,” Sirius muttered, as he stepped into a particularly deep hole and twisted his ankle. He fell face forward onto the path, eating a mouthful of dirt in the process. A giggling Alice helped him up.
“Because you are a human, and therefore not nearly aware of your surroundings as centaurs,” Firenze replied simply, twitching his long sleek tail and not bothering to look back and check on the coughing Sirius.
“I don’t like him,” Sirius grumbled to Alice.
“You’re just jealous because he’s more handsome than you,” Alice chortled. Sirius merely snorted and shot her the evil eye in response.
They trudged wearily on farther down the path, their steps sending up a small cloud of dust. Soon, all three were envying James, who was comfortably unconscious on top of Firenze’s back.
Sirius was leaning heavily upon Alice, although his ankle had long since healed, and Alice seemed to be sleeping as she lumbered wearily on. Lily’s mouth was slightly open and her eyes felt like they had anvils for lids. The only thing that was able to keep her awake was the sight of James in front of her.
Firenze suddenly came to a halt, causing Lily, Alice, and Sirius to bump forcefully into one another and pile up in a tangled ball on the ground.
“What the hell, Fireballs? Why did you stop?” Sirius shouted irritably, as he untangled his head out from Alice’s right arm. Alice began to howl for whoever was sitting on her hand to get off now, only to discover that her own bottom was the culprit. Lily’s arms waved wildly about in the air, trying to free herself from the awkward scrunched position where her head had somehow ended up tucked under Alice’s left arm.
“Sirius! His name is Fire- oh dear Merlin!” Alice suddenly gasped, as she caught sight of the view in front of them.
Lily forcefully plucked her dazed head out from Alice’s arm, hastily stood up, and spun around. The sight that met her took her breath away.
The dirt path had opened into the most gorgeous clearing Lily had ever seen. There were three small waterfalls peacefully showering down the face of a small, smooth stone cliff into a pool of crystal clear glittering water. The ground was carpeted by long flat blades of soft green grass. A few round boulders dotted the ground. The trees were no longer jagged and unwelcoming, but lush, green, thick and tall. They grew side-by-side and formed a circular border around the whole picturesque setting.
Lily’s eyes gazed upwards towards the sky. The flourishing pine trees bent strangely at their tops so that they formed a green leafy ceiling. However, the very tips of their branches did not meet and came to form a perfect star-shaped hole directly in the wonderful ceiling. A beam of fragile moonlight seeped through the opening.
Lily’s eyes followed the ray of moonlight back down to the ground to discover a large mirror framed with thick entwined branches, which were further entwined with thin small vines of ivy. The mirror was positioned on a smooth black boulder and stood slanted at an angle. Lily noticed that smaller mirrors of the same likeness were positioned against all of the boulders. With a jolt of understanding, Lily realized that the mirrors were reflecting the beam of moonlight against one another, causing the clearing to be thrown into the pale blue light that only moonlight could give.
Lily had never seen anything more beautiful in her entire life.
“Please follow me,” Firenze said calmly, looking down at the three wide-eyed teens. He began to stride across the luscious grass.
Lily was the first to recover. Prodding Alice and Sirius hard in the ribs to make them snap out of their amazed trances and close their open jaws, she gestured to Firenze who was already far ahead of them.
Alice and Sirius quickly gave their heads a quick shake and gave a nod of acknowledgement towards Lily. Lily nodded back and took a step forward off the dirt path and into the cool grass.
She gave a small gasp of delight as she sunk nearly knee-deep into the blades of green, for the grass was much deeper than it had appeared to be. Cool drops of water covered their surfaces, and Lily could feel their refreshing touch soak the hem of her robes.
She turned around at the sound of Alice’s squeals of pleasure. Alice had taken off her socks and shoes. She was causing the blades of grass about her of rustle as she squirmed her toes about.
Sirius leapt down onto the lush floor. He glanced at Alice, then suddenly grabbed her hand and spun her around. They were soon dancing to Sirius’s lively S.M.S.O.B dance routine.
Lily smiled at the sight of her two happy friends, then turned around to follow Firenze. He was waiting patiently for her a distance away at the foot of a large, round, and grassy hill. The dewdrops made it sparkle like a mound of jewels as the pallid moonlight lit it up.
Lily quickly ran towards him, enjoying the feel of the grass brush against the sides of her hot and weary legs. As she rushed past the shimmering pond, she noticed that it was inhabited by many large golden fish happily swimming about in the refreshing water. A couple occasionally fell down with the three water falls, giving the falls the appearance that they were pouring down gold.
She slowed down and came to a stop before Firenze. He looked down at her, his blue eyes penetrating Lily’s own green ones. As Lily’s gazed into his handsome face, she suddenly realized that he looked about her own age.
“Come, follow me. I have things to discuss with you privately,” Firenze spoke in his soothing voice, as he held out his hand for Lily. Before she took it, she glanced back at where Sirius and Alice still were.
“What about my friends?”
“They will be fine. I would much rather if I spoke only to you,” Firenze replied, his steady gaze wandering towards Sirius and Alice, who were now doing a jig.
“I can see why,” Lily sighed, as she stifled a laugh. She placed her hand in Firenze’s, and he began to lead her up the hill.
“His hands are really rough. Probably from practicing his bow and arrow so much,”Lily thought to herself, as she climbed side-by-side with Firenze up the narrow stone steps concealed by the long blades of grass.
They soon came to the top, and Lily once again gave a gasp of delighted surprise.
A few feet ahead, stood an aged stone wall bordered with flourishing bamboo. A wide cracked opening in the center revealed a large lake with clear water scintillating in the moonlight. The water was still and looked like a floor of shining glass. Large and black smooth stepping stones carved an even path down the middle of the pale blue water and led to a what looked like the ancient Greek Parthenon, restored in all its beauty and magnificence. Its sturdy white columns gleamed in the moonlight.
“Inside please,” Firenze said, gently letting go of Lily’s hand and causing her to jump out of her trance.
She followed Firenze past the wall, and across the stepping stones. His hooves “clip-clop-clip-clop”-ed across the smooth solid stone. As Lily hopped carefully from one stone to another, she looked about her surroundings.
The aged wall seemed to stretch out infinitely on both sides. Between it and the Parthenon was nothing except the stones and the clear water, which Lily observed to be swimming with large fish also, except instead of gold they were silver and sleek like the moonlight bouncing off their shiny scales. She also noticed that a crescent moon was carved into each stone and on the top of the face of the Parthenon, the same symbol was also etched.
Lily hopped off the seventh stepping stone and landed on the bottom-most step leading up to the Parthenon. She caught a glance of Firenze’s gleaming tail swish out of sight at the very top. Using both her hands and knees, she grunted as she climbed up the seven huge steps leading into the edifice.
She arrived gasping on the last step. She tilted her head back as her eyes followed one of the colossal columns standing next to her. It stretched high above her and disappeared into the darkness. The ceiling was too far above to perceive.
Lily snapped her head back down as she remembered that she was supposed to be following Firenze. She didn’t need to search for him though. In front of her, about a football field’s length away, stood Firenze holding James and his sword aloft in his sturdy arms. Even from such a distance, Lily could feel Firenze’s eyes penetrating her own.
She slowly began to walk forward, her eyes locked with Firenze’s. Her steps echoed on the mosaic floor. The thousands of miniscule mosaic pieces added up to depict a crescent moon in the center of the floor, the same shape the stepping stones and the face of the building bore.
Lily walked steadily on, passing identical, soaring white columns lined up into a single file on either side of her. The moonlight flooded in from all sides, throwing the shadows of the columns down on to the floor so that as Lily walked on, she continually seemed to be changing colors by stepping into the shadows and then back into the blue beams of moonlight.
She reached Firenze at last. They held each other’s gaze for a long period of silence.
Firenze was the one to break it.
“This is a sacred place. Only powerful beings, such as centaurs, have the ability to break into it using extraordinary abilities in divination.” Firenze paused and looked deeper into Lily’s brilliantly green eyes. She remained silent as she gazed up into his equally beautiful blue ones.
“You were in grave danger, much more than you could ever have imagined. This place though, has the power to protect you. I cannot say any more than this, but.” He placed a hand on Lily’s shoulder. “I find it necessary to tell you some things that might help you to solve this puzzle upon which you have been forced to stumble upon tonight.” He paused once more.
“Firstly, I must tell you that centaurs are extremely gifted in the art of divination.”
Lily, who had been expecting some grand and amazing fact or clue, was taken aback. Firenze lowered his face until it was mere inches away from Lily’s. His eyes seemed to want to tell her something, but she couldn’t figure out what. She gave him a baffled look.
“Secondly, I must tell you that this is a building blessed by the moon.” He gazed ever more deeply into Lily’s eyes.
All Lily could do, however, was return a confused stare. None of this was making any sense at all.
“I can tell you no more than this,” Firenze murmured, finally breaking his gaze away from Lily.
“This boy, he risked his life for you, did he not?” he inquired after a while, looking down at James’s face.
Lily nodded.
“Then I suggest you return the favor somehow. It is not wise to live in debt,” Firenze said gently, smiling slightly for the first time. Lily gazed back in awe.
How did he know that I have feelings for James?”
“Sleep now. When you awake, I assure you that all will be much better than it is now,” Firenze turned his back on Lily. It was only then that she noticed that there was a large marble table standing behind Firenze. He laid James gently down upon it, throwing him into the moonlight, and placed the grand sword on James’s chest. He positioned James’s hand so that they were clasped around the hilt of the sword.
He turned around once more.
“I am still young, but I know that you two humans have a great destiny to fulfill together. Your future is rough, uneven. But, if you hold to one another, all will be well. Sleep now,” he said, as he began to trot past Lily towards the entrance.
“Wait!” Lily suddenly called out to him, as she jerked out of her stupefied state. Firenze, who was already half-way across the floor, turned calmly around.
“I know you’ve down so much for us already, but isn’t there anything more I could do to heal James?” she rushed breathlessly through the last part of her sentence. James’s safety was all that filled her mind at the moment.
Firenze stared back at her for a moment before answering, “There will be no need for that. Sleep now. I bid you good-night.”
He turned around once more and walked on. The sound of his hooves on the floor echoed about the building. Lily watched his golden body step down the steps out of sight. It was only then that she realized that she hadn’t thanked him.
“Thank you!” she yelled out hurriedly, and somewhat stupidly. There was no reply, but she knew that he had heard her somehow.
With a satisfied sigh, she felt the weariness of the events of the night finally settling upon her tired body. She turned around and stared at James.
He looked like a fallen knight of the Round Table, lying regally on the moonlight-flooded table. The whole appearance gave Lily the chills.
She gave her head a quick shake, and heaved herself onto the table beside him. She was surprised to find that the marble was pleasantly warm.
She laid down and gazed at James’s scratched and bruised face and body. She snuggled closer to him and placed her hand, covered with dried rivers of blood, over his own, clasped around the hilt of the sword.
She kissed him gently on the side of his lips before putting down her head and falling into the deepest of slumbers.
Lily woke with a start. She was flat on her back, both arms lying peacefully on either side of her on the scratchy grass. Her hands scrambled across the uneven lawn before she jerked her body up, sat straight, and looked wildly about her.
She was back on the Quidditch pitch.
She looked to her left and sure enough, Hogwarts was standing magnificently before her. She looked up at the sky to see a couple of stars twinkling merrily down at her. The thick clouds parted to reveal a thin crescent moon.
She screamed out loud as someone suddenly laid their hand on her shoulder. She spun around.
It was James.
“What happened?”
A/N: I absolutely loved writing this chapter! There’s such a change in scenery!
REVIEW PLEASE!