The Soul Crystal

4. The Swarm

Harry Potter and the Soul Crystal - Chapter 4

If you've read this before, you'll be happy to know this chapter has been extended. There's an entirely new scene in the beginning.

Harry Potter and all the characters are not mine blah blah blah. The only characters/things I own are Wendy Potter, the bubble sprites, the Soul Crystal, the flamingo seeds, the razorum spell, the twindoma spell, the Magical Artifacts Throughout History book, the Soul Beast, the argot, the bright spots, Ardian and Rachel Tigerlilly. Please do not use them in a story without asking me first. Thoughts are in {}s.

Please read and review. Thanks! Let me just apologize in advance to all who like Percy. Really...REALLY apologize.

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Most of the sixth year students were standing in the field, waiting for their Care of Magical Creatures class to start. Ron was staring at the sky when he heard a familiar, annoying voice behind him.

"Enjoying your trial Weasley?" Draco sneered.

Ron spun around and glared at Draco. "Sod off, you ass!" he growled.

Draco's smirk grew wider. "Ah. Such a shame. Your bag just happened to be too close to Potter's."

All at once, realization and anger blazed across Ron's face. "YOU BASTARD!" he roared.

Ron's yell of rage got the attention of Harry and Hermione, who had been out of earshot due to the fact that they were trying to catch a particularly annoying field gnome who had stolen Harry's quill. They hurried over to where Ron and Draco were standing.

Hermione had a scowl on her face as she turned to Draco. "What have you done now, you little worm?!"

"Couldn't she come up with something a little more insulting?" Harry thought.

Ron pointed stiffly at the blonde haired boy in front of him. "HE put the mark in my bag!!!"

"What?!" Harry said in a raised voice.

"Heh. You should feel lucky Potter," he said, practically spitting Harry's family name, "If I wasn't in such a rush you'd be the one headed for Azkaban."

Harry's face fell. "You were after...me?" He felt sick to his stomach. His best friend was in trouble because yet another person had tried to hurt him.

Draco was more than gratified at the expression on Harry's face.

Hermione was about to make a venomous reply when she noticed Sirius walking towards the group of students. "Harry, look," she said, pointing in Sirius' direction.

Sirius had a severe look on his face and was slowly, and deliberately, looking all around. Harry felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. Sirius came to a stop just in front of Hagrid's hut. He let out a breath. "Everyone get back inside. Something's wrong. The wind doesn't smell right."

The students, amid much grumbling, turned to go in. The trio walked quickly to catch up to Sirius. "What's the matter?" asked Harry.

"You smell that?" Sirius said, looking toward the sky.

Harry sniffed the air. "Yeah. It smells like sulfur."

"I think we have a swarm of bubble sprites coming our way," Sirius warned.

"Bubble sprites?" Ron laughed. "That doesn't sound dangerous," he said, laughing even harder.

"Believe me....It's very dangerous," Sirius replied. Several students suddenly pointed at the sky. A cloud of bubbles was heading toward them, descending fast. Sirius's eyes widened. "Everybody run!!" he screamed. The students looked at him with confusion until one of the girls squealed in fright as a large number of the softball-sized bubbles surrounded her, flattened themselves out and linked together form one large bubble which lifted her into the air. All at once the previously calm students became a mass of panicked bodies all fighting to get ahead of the crowd and reach the safety of the castle.

Because the trio had been with Sirius they were now the furthest away from the doors. Sirius told them to go ahead with out him. Ten more students had been trapped in bubbles. The situation was getting desperate.

The bubble holding the first victim began to glow. The glow got brighter and brighter until the girl sank to the floor of her prison and finally passed out. At that moment seven more teachers, including Dumbledore and McGonagall, rocketed by the trio on their broomsticks, dodging bubbles as they went.

Percy was watching the attack and was about to go help when Tigerlilly spoke. "You don't have their experience, Percy. Stay back," she said. Percy reluctantly leaned against the wall. Sirius, Flitwick and Madam Hooch aimed their wands at the bubble, yelled a spell, and the bubble broke apart into separate sprites in midair. The sprites that had fed were now a bright purple color and had taken on their true form which looked like someone had made little people with pixie wings out of balloons. Madam Hooch flew under the girl and caught her. She then placed her fingers on the girl's neck to check for a pulse. She sadly shook her head. The sprites had drained all her life force. The other sprites that held prisoners, seeing this attack on their kin, flew away at enormous speed. All the teachers chased after them.

The trio were almost to the castle when Draco Malfoy knocked Ron to the ground yelling "Out of my way Weasley." as he ran by. Ron was quickly overtaken by the remaining sprites. Harry and Hermione didn't notice until Ron yelled for help. He was banging on the inside wall of his captors. "RON!!!" Harry and Hermione screamed.

Percy looked up at Harry and Hermione's cries. "NO!!" he yelled. Percy tried to go to Ron but Tigerlilly had a firm grasp on his arm. "Let me go! I have to help Ron!"

Tigerlilly stood her ground. "I will not allow you to help a Death Eater," she growled.

Percy looked at Tigerlilly with fire in his eyes. "RON IS NOT A DEATH EATER!!!" he bellowed as he tore himself from her grasp. Percy called for his broom and mounted it as soon as it got to him.

"Weasley, if you help him, you're fired," said Tigerlilly warningly.

"Sod off Rachel! He's my brother!" Percy yelled. He headed for Ron's bubble at lightning speed. The bubble began to glow. Percy pushed his broom even harder, panic filling every fiber of his being. He suddenly realized he didn't know the spell to free Ron. Instead he did the only thing he could think of. With an extra burst of speed he shot into Ron's bubble like a runaway javelin. Ron, and Percy's broom, were both pushed out of the bubble. Percy was now trapped inside. Hermione caught Ron and was knocked backwards from the impact. Both of them rolled to a stop on the ground.

"Ron. Ron! Wake up!" Hermione said urgently.

Ron's eyes fluttered open. "Mione? What the bloody hell happened?" he said.

"Percy saved you," said Harry.

Ron blinked in surprise. "He did?"

Ron looked up to see Percy trying to use his wand to pop the bubble. He stared in horror as Percy's efforts became more and more strained. Finally, Percy slumped forward and fell, face down. "PERCY!!" Ron screamed. A beam of light shot from somewhere behind them and lanced the bubble.

The angry sprites turned on the teachers. "Incendio!" McGonagall yelled and a huge ball of flame engulfed the sprites, killing them instantly. Harry turned to see Dumbledore and the other teachers had returned with ten weak but very much alive students. Sirius caught Percy and quickly landed.

Dumbledore told Madam Hooch to take the rescued students to the infirmary. The trio ran to the spot where Percy lay. Sirius was trying various revival spells while everyone looked on. Ron was breathing very quickly, close to hyperventilating. Harry was holding Ron's left hand, Hermione his right. Ron had tears streaming down his face as he choked back silent sobs. Eventually Sirius resorted to trying CPR. "Come on Percy. Breath dammit!" he commanded as he did more chest compressions. Five minutes went by. Sirius didn't give up easily but even he knew when something was hopeless. Finally Sirius looked up at Ron. Regret filled every crevice of his face as he spoke. "Ron,...I...I'm so sorry. He's gone."

It was as if a flood gate had opened behind Ron's eyes. "NO! Please. Th...there's gotta be something else you can try!" he pleaded with Sirius. Sirius just shook his head sullenly. Ron flung himself down on his brother's still form. "Percy, please! Please wake up!" he cried as he shook Percy's body. "You can't leave! You just can't!" he hugged Percy tightly. "Oh God! Percy! Percy! Peeeeerrrrrrcccccyyyyyyyyy!!!!"

.........TO BE CONTINUED

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Again, apologies to all Percy fans.

Text from our crawl of the site, 25 November 2014.

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