Trust and Betrayal
Written By: JA_Japster
Inspired and partially based on the OVA "Samurai X"
Harry Potter is copyrighted to J.K Rowling and Samurai X and Rurouni Kenshin is copyrighted to their respective owners. The fanfiction is the product of JA_Japster and should not be reproduced in any fashion without permission.
Truth
Part I: The Assassin
It was raining...
It always seemed to be raining, but then again, Samuel Lock mused as he adjusted his top hat, it was England. At least he was dry though, standing in the doorway of one of the most elaborate mansions in the entire country. He stirred impatiently as he watched the rainfall from the dark heavens above, and licked his lips as he usually did when something was not going quickly enough for his liking.
Samuel Lock was an older man who was fast approaching his sixtieth birthday despite all denial and all attempts to halt the aging process. He was aging well though. He no longer needed the white rigs that the young used to satisfy their vanity, and he had not gone to entirely to seed either, which was more than he could say about some of his peers.
Yes, Samuel Lock was a man of dignity, wealth, and great influence given the crowds he entertained these days. This much could be ascertained by the casual observer, but what could not be seen was that as normal as Samuel Lock looked, he was anything but. Samuel Lock was a wizard, and one of the utmost importance, which was why he was standing there, framed in stone archways of Malfoy Manor, licking his lips irritably.
The door behind him opened and a young man stepped out to stand beside him. The man, if you wished to call him that, was little more than a boy at only twenty years old. He was a sharp looking young man with light brown hair and hazel eyes that gazed out into the night. Like Samuel, he also wore elegant black robes and a top hat.
"Umbrella, father?" The young man asked.
Samuel smiled and accepted the proffered umbrella. "Thank you, Theodon."
"How was the meeting with parliament?" Theodon asked.
"As well as can be expected." Samuel replied sadly. Theodon nodded understandingly.
Meetings with parliament were never welcomed events. All they did was serve as an opportunity for all the city governors and government officials to learn more of the ensuing chaos that threatened to tear apart England's magical community. The Order of the Phoenix they called themselves, a revolutionary group. In actuality they were little more than terrorists who stopped at nothing to topple a government they claimed was "stricken with corruption."
They made Samuel sick. Of course the government wasn't perfect, but it was stable and preserved the peace. He could not imagine what would happen if the rebels were allowed to have their way. Anarchy at the very least he suspected.
"Where are the rest?" Samuel asked.
As if on cue four men stepped out through the front door and moved into a protective box around Samuel and Theodon. They were dressed alike in non-descript black robes and muggle top hats, yet there was something distinctive about the way they walked and held themselves. Each was taller than Samuel, lean and muscular like Theodon, and radiated the same aura of assurance and confidence as they set off down the dark alleyway.
"You'll be safe with us." One of the men in black behind them said.
Aurors, Samuel decided with a small smile, the elite of the ministry's security forces. Trained in a dozen forms of dueling and spell casting and each one brilliant in his own right, Samuel could hardly ask for better bodyguards. There was something comforting knowing that the Ministry warranted him important enough to assign not one, but four members of their elite force to insure his safety.
The short walk down the secluded alleyway was necessary. Anti-apparation charms had been placed in a twelve-kilometer radius around the meeting point, and checkpoints of security forces created an impregnable wall surrounding the manor. Travel by broom had been made impossible by fierce winds and pouring rain. The walk would be a little less than two kilometers before arriving at a heavily guarded portkey that would whisk Samuel and Theodon halfway across the country to his manor.
Caution was necessary. These were dangerous times indeed.
During this parliament meeting, chairs usually occupied by three senior officials had been empty. They had been assassinated in the streets en-route to the meeting along with their contingent of bodyguards. No one witnessed the killings, but there was little question in Samuel's head the terrorists were behind the heinous act.
They walked in silence for several minutes. The rain was unrelenting, obscuring sheets of cold rain that thundered against their parade of umbrellas, creating a moonless night. Somewhere in the distance, a cricket chirped.
"Why don't you go ahead." Theodon said to the two lead Aurors. "Terrence and I shall escort my father the rest of the way."
The two Aurors hesitated, reluctant to leave their charge in the protection of only one of their own. Slightly annoyed, Theodon waved them away, and the Aurors finally bowed and disappeared down the path. Instantly they disappeared from sight, swallowed by the shadows.
After a few more moments had past, Samuel broke the uneasy silence. "So," he asked Theodon, "How is that muggle girl you're courting?"
Theodon cleared his throat. "I've told you before father she isn't a muggle. She's as proficient as a spell caster as I am and-"
"But she's a mudblood, son." Samuel interjected.
"She's as much of a witch as mother was." Theodon snapped.
"Your poor mother," Samuel said sadly with a soft click of his tongue, "Would be turning in her grave if she knew."
Theodon suddenly stopped. He glared at his elderly father, his face livid. "She's the grand daughter of Fudge, the Minister of Magic for Christ's sake, father! I thought that would be more than enough of a lineage to satisfy you!"
"An illegitimate child!" Samuel retorted.
Theodon's jaw clenched as if he dearly wished to say something angry but had the self-control to hold it back. He turned and abruptly and continued walking.
"You love her, don't you." Samuel said at last. It wasn't a question.
"I do. I'm going to marry her."
Samuel sighed and cursed under his breath. Since the day Theodon was born Samuel had prayed he would marry well. The daughter of a merchant or governor, but never had he imagined that his son would marry a mudblood though...
"We'll talk more about it when we get home." Samuel compromised. "Come. It's too cold to argue out he-"
He suddenly stopped speaking as something in the distance moved. The procession froze, and the remaining Auror raised his wand and whispered, "Lumos."
Half concealed in the shadows stood a solitary figure clad in black robes dripping wet from the wet. He stepped out into the road in the entire persona of a cat, slow and lethargic, lackadaisical and without haste. He walked wordlessly until he reached the center of the cobblestone path, captivating the mesmerized gazes of his audience, and then suddenly turned to face them.
The stranger was young, no older than Theodon perhaps, with shoulder long black hair and the sinewy physique of a soldier. His face was partially obscured by the locks of soaked hair matted against his skull, and yet two things particularly stood out, even from where he stood ten meters away.
The first was the lightening bolt scar etched across his forehead. It didn't look random or the result of a clumsy duel, but deliberate and meaningful, the product of some advanced magic. Never before had Samuel seen one such as it.
The second object of Samuel's fascination was the man's eyes. They were the purest emerald, glowing with energy as he beheld the Samuel and his bodyguards. An involuntary shiver coursed up Samuel's spine. The eyes were frightening, like the eyes of a predator examining his prey. Cold, meticulously calculating, devoid of any traces of fear.
They were the eyes of a killer.
"Assassin." Samuel whispered.
"Get back, sir!" The Auror bellowed, throwing himself in front of Samuel, his wand ready. Into the air he shouted, "Isaac! Thomas! Come quick!"
But the steady rainfall was the Auror's only answer. Again he called to the Aurors Theodon had early sent ahead, and again no response came.
"They won't come." The man with the emerald eyes said. His voice was as cold as his eyes, factually concise without the slightest trace of emotion.
"You killed them!" The Auror gasped. "Die, assasain!" His wand rose and a jet of light rocketed toward the man.
At the last possible moment the assassin drew his wand and with a vicious gesture deflected the curse into the side of the alley. It detonated into a giant fireball, half engulfing the young man, but before the smoke had cleared he was already charging down the passage, unscathed. Another spell went streaking towards him, but he ducked under it, and continued running, his wand held tucked under his opposite arm like a sheath around a sword.
The Auror's eyes widened in shock, but only for a moment. He raised his wand again. "Avada Kadavra!" He bellowed. A flash of green rocketed towards the assassin, and for a second Samuel was certain the man had no chance of escaping it.
But he did. With an astounding leap, the raven-haired assassin jumped over the blast of lethal energy and continued his charge. The Auror prepared another spell, but by then it was already too late for him. His assailant was already less than a meter away.
The assassin muttered something inaudible and swung his wand in a slashing motion against the man's chest. There was a flash of light and the Auror could only stare in surprise as crimson soaked through the front of his robes. He collapsed to his knees, blooding spilling from his lips, and then pitched forward onto the cobblestone, motionless.
Theodon stared at the assassin, his mouth wide in astonishment. Hastily, he broke out of his trance and pulled out his wand. "You murdering bastard!" He roared.
"My qualm is with your father, not you." The assassin said monotonously. "Step aside and you might live through this night."
Theodon didn't answer in words, but actions. He lunged at the assassin, a spell flashing past the man's head as he sidestepped it. The assassin's own wand flashed, but Theodon's knocked it aside and the spell gouged an gash out of a stone wall nearby. The duelists stepped back, the first blows exchanged without injury, and the dance continued.
Samuel watched helplessly as his son dueled with the stranger. He had once been an accomplished fencer ages ago and he knew talent when he saw it. The assassin that had come this night to kill him was more than just talented. He was exceptional. His footwork, the fighting stance, the perfect equilibrium of aggression and caution -the man was more skilled than any Samuel had ever seen.
Again their wands clashed. The air was thick with the smell of cast magic. They fought for what seemed to be hours with neither gaining the advantage over the other. Theodon fought with determination to protect both himself and his father, but the assassin never seemed to weary.
The man feinted with his wand and then thrust it towards Theodon. Theodon managed to deflect the force of the curse into the air, but it offset his balance and he stumbled backward. The assassin was relentless, and taking advantage of his opponent's opening, attacked one last time. His wand flashed, and an arc of light traced over Theodon's exposed throat.
And with that it was over. The man lowered his wand and watched passively as Theodon fell on back. Blood spilled from the deep gash in his neck, bubbling as he tried to speak Mortally wounded, Theodon managed to turn himself over and crawl across the stone path towards his father, ignoring the blood that spilled from his throat and left a crimson path in his wake. The pain was excruciating and yet he forced himself to continue. He had to protect his father no matter how dire his injury. He had his duty to fulfill.
"F-father…" he whispered weakly, stretching out his hand toward Samuel. "Run…please…"
"Theodon!" Samuel called to his son. He clasped his son's hand and held it tightly as tears trickled down the side of his face.
"Run…please run before-" Whatever Theodon's last words were ended in a bloody gargle as another spell pierced through his heart. His eyes widened and then slowly shut as death claimed him.
The assassin watched emotionlessly as the old man hugged his dead child, sobbing and caressing the boy's cheek. He watched this for a few moments until he grew tired of watching the morbid spectacle. "It's time."
Samuel looked up into the eyes of his killer. "How could you do this?" He cried. "He was just a boy."
"We all die." The man said. He lifted his wand and without remorse fired beam into the center of Samuel's forehead, killing the old man instantly. His body fell against his son's, their blood mixing with the rain as it seeped through the cracks in the sidewalk.
"Rest in peace." The assassin said. He knelt down beside the two men and from the inside of his robes produced a white rose that he placed on each of the men's bodies.
"Touching eulogy."
The assassin turned and spotted a man emerging from the shadows nearby. Obviously he'd been watching. The newcomer was a good head taller than himself, thin and lanky with freckles adorning his face and a mop of flaming red hair sitting atop his head. They shook hands.
"Good work." The new comer said eyeing the three dead bodies.
"It was necessary."
"It always is." The red haired man smiled. "Come on, Potter, we have more work to do."
Author's Notes:
Well there you have it. The first chapter hastily written in between exams and long sessions of Halo 2. It hasn't
been proof read (if you're interesting in proof reading the next chapter please drop me an email at JA_Japster@hotmail.com) because of time constraints and was a sort of spur of the
moment project after I re-watched Samurai X for the billionth time. God damn that anime is awesome. Kenshin is such a
hardcore mofo. Anyway, yeah, like the anime the story is entitled Truth and Betrayal because I couldn't think of
anything more original, and yes the story is heavily influenced by the anime to the point where some people might think
of it as a rip off. To those people I'd probably agree with, but I took certain liberties where I felt like it.
Comments, queries, complaints, praises, flames? Put them in the review section folks.