Unofficial Portkey Archive

Ch 12 Dueling Death

"Neco Dormitas!" was shouted by Samuel at the same time as Harry roared "Corpus Rumpore!" Trapped between the two wizards, Aardus struggled in vain to dodge both spells.

Samuel's powerful sleeping charm struck a glancing blow off of Aardus's shoulder as a blast of blue energy shot out of Harry's wand and struck Katie hard in the side, tossing her twenty feet to the side where she crumpled to the ground. Her whole body continued twitching involuntarily, as small blue sparks danced around her form. More powerful than a full Body Bind spell, the Body Break spell created painful electric currents that not only disrupted muscular control but prevented coherent thought. Eyes wide, Aardus sprang after her.

"Potter! How could you miss at that range?!" cried Samuel in disbelief as he charged after the quickly moving Aardus. "Damn!" he cried. "This is worse than I thought, Potter. That sleep charm was strong enough to knock out a troll-only an undead creature would have been able to shake it off like that, since they don't really sleep. Your old buddy over there is a vampire, Potter!"

"I know," came the low reply as Harry distinctly heard the spells Gladius and Neco Flamen which changed Samuel's wand into a long, tapered sword that began emitting a bright, silvery white flame as he sprinted after Aardus.

"You what?! How long have you known?"

"For about thirty seconds." As Harry ran after Aardus and Katie, his own voice echoed the spells cast by Samuel moments before and his own wand transformed into a slender, curved blade that glowed with its own blinding light. Then Harry drew out Drughaig Bior de Argid, the sword of Godric Gryffindor and stalked warily closer to Aardus. As Harry and Samuel closed in on Aardus, who was now picking up the still shaking body of Katie Bell, his mind raced through his options.

"If you have any brilliant ideas, Saldar, now would be the time to suggest them."

"Kill the one thou callest Katie first. It is more dangerous than the vampire."

"What?! I can't kill her-we need to talk to her!"

"Have you gone insane, Potter? Who are you talking to? We have to save her and keep him from killing her!" shouted Samuel, still a few steps away from the vampire and his intended victim.

"Master Potter, it is far too dangerous. Thou shall get no useful information from it. Its kind cares nothing for life, not even their own."

"You know what she is?"

"Yes. I have never faced one, but I have heard of them. And I fear there is only one way to deal with them. Slay them before they slay you."

Before Harry and Samuel arrived within striking distance of the quicker vampire, Aardus took advantage of the opportunity to finish the job he had begun. As his clawed hands crushed and tore the neck of the motionless girl he held in his hands, Samuel leaped forward, swinging his sword with insane fury while Aardus dodged desperately at the last moment. With a howl of intense pain, Aardus threw the lifeless body at Samuel, knocking him backwards to the ground as a blistering, smoking line of flame appeared along his shoulder and arm where Samuel had struck him.

"NOOOO!" screamed Harry as he realized he had been too slow. He stabbed with both swords low, catching Aardus in the thigh with one blade, and just below the knee with the other. Smoke and flame erupted from the punctures as Aardus hopped backward awkwardly. "We needed to talk to her first!" shouted Harry.

"Potter, it had to be done. Hermione had to be protected from her. Now she will be safe."

"Potter! Quit chewing the fat with him and put a sword in him where it hurts!" screamed Samuel as he regained his feet.

Potter swung both blades from low to high, his left leading his right, leaving parallel smoking scratches on Aardus's chest as he arced backwards, almost out of reach. As Harry launched his next attack, Aardus stepped backwards, closer to Samuel, who nearly decapitated Aardus with a fierce swing of his own glowing blade as he quickly ducked.

"Don't kill him, Samuel. He needs to answer some questions first," screamed back Harry.

"You don't talk to vampires, Harry. You stake `em with silver or wood-whatever's handiest. I thought you'd learned your lesson by now!"

Ignoring Samuel, Harry focused on Aardus. "Aardus! There is still another Yonnua out there. It may be looking for her as well."

With a cold gleam in his eyes, Aardus announced, "Then I will kill that one, too. Farewell for now, Potter. Guard her better in the future." As Samuel stabbed again with his sword, Aardus's body dissolved into smoke and dissipated quickly with the light breeze.

Samuel's furious gaze fixed on Harry. "You've got thirty seconds to explain to me what just happened. After that, I'm guessing you've got about five minutes before this field is crawling with Aurors wanting to know how you miscast a Body Break spell on this poor girl so that damned vampire could rip her throat out." Raising his sword menacingly, he finished, "Start talking, Potter."

Looking calmly at Samuel, Harry whispered "Finite Incantantum," and resheathed the sword of Gryffindor. Then he spoke. "First of all, this girl, Katie, isn't the real Katie Bell I know. It was one of those Yonnua you warned us about. The last time I met Aardus, he nearly escaped a web spell I threw at him. I had thought the spell was defective, but I got trapped in one myself. They're strong enough to hold a small giant. Aardus nearly broke out of one by himself without a spell. There was no way the Katie I knew from Hogwarts could go toe to toe with him in a wrestling match. And why was she using a dagger instead of a wand? A witch would go for her wand, not a dagger. Since she was a Yonnua, she wouldn't have been able to cast any spells with a wand-if she wanted to defend herself, it would have to be with something else. I think she was after Hermione."

"You're not going to believe that vampire, are you?"

"Look, Samuel, there's something different about him. I've seen vampires before-and they don't give off any heat at all. They're more like a black hole, they seem to suck in warmth and energy instead. But with Aardus, it wasn't like that…I'm not sure…"

"What? What do you mean you could see…"

"With my infravision. And when I looked at that thing," Harry looked at the body of Katie Bell, "I saw her head glowing-a lot brighter than yours. Just like you told us. She was a Yonnua, Samuel. And there is something strange about Aardus-I don't know quite how to explain it."

"Well, don't give it much thought. He's a vampire. That's enough for me. The next time I see him, I'm going to put him back in his grave." Looking at the body of Katie while Harry went to check on Hermione, Samuel asked, "Uhh, Harry? If this girl is supposed to be a Yonnua, why hasn't she changed forms?"

"Huh? How am I supposed to know? You're the expert on the Yonnua, aren't you?"

"The abomination will not change form, Master Harry. When they perish, the accursed Yonnua remain forever in the form of their last victim. That is why it hath been so difficult to prove their existence."

"Not really," replied Samuel. Thinking for a minute while looking at Harry, he continued. "Look, I believe you Potter. But I'm not sure the Aurors who are going to arrive here any minute are going to buy this story. We can't really explain to them about the Yonnua without creating a huge panic, and I doubt they would believe us anyways. I've read what your Ministry thinks of you half the time, and I know what my reputation is here. I think we better take Hermione and leave."

Harry looked at him coldly. "Katie's parents deserve to know how she died."

"Potter, we don't even know where the real body is. I don't like it anymore than you do, but there's not much more we can do by staying here. And there are a lot of problems that can be avoided if we go now."

Harry glared at him for a moment, and then both turned at the sound of approaching steps.

"Harry!"

"Are you alright?!"

"Did you find Hermione?"

"Ohhhh…"

"NOOO!" finished Fred as he ran towards Hermione. George sprinted to Katie's body.

With a final, angry glance at Samuel, Harry replied quietly, "Hermione's still alive, but we need to get her some help. Katie didn't make it. There was a vampire and Samuel and I couldn't save her in time. Don't touch anything though, I'm sure the Aurors will want to look around." Harry crouched down, and held Hermione's hand. It was cold and clammy to the touch. Whipping off his cloak, he wrapped it around her and looked at Fred. "Go back to Hogsmeade and get someone from St. Mungo's. Please."

Fred disappeared with a pop, and a few moments later there were three more pops. Dumbledore appeared with two Aurors from the ministry. Looking with concern at Harry and Hermione, he opened his mouth to speak, but Harry cut him off.

"Hermione is hurt, I'm not sure how bad, but she's still alive. Katie is not." Picking up Hermione in his arms, he glanced quickly at Samuel, and then looked at the two Aurors, glad he recognized one of them from the final battle against Voldemort. "Fred Weasley will be back with a healer from St. Mungo's any minute now. Hermione and Katie left the twins and I at the Three Broomsticks so they could talk for a few minutes. I'm not sure how they got out here, but I got a bad feeling when they were gone for a while. I freaked out a bit at the inn, and made the twins come and help look for them. When I finally found them here, Hermione was already down and out, just like you saw her on the ground. Samuel got here about the same time I did. Katie was trying to fight off what we first thought was a man, but turns out to have been a vampire."

The Aurors gasped. Dumbledore's eyes focused more intently on Harry as he continued. "Samuel and I had him cornered, and we cast our spells at the same time while the vampire tried to dodge. Right over there." Harry pointed with his wand. "Samuel's sleep charm bounced off his shoulder and my Body Break spell hit Katie, knocking her about twenty feet over there. When the sleep charm failed to drop him, we realized he was a vampire and we both cast the Gladius and Neco Flamen spells, to try and finish him off. But we didn't get there in time. The vampire beat us to Katie and tore her throat out. We got a few hits in, but he managed to escape before we could put him down for good."

The Auror who Harry didn't recognize looked in shock at first Harry and then Samuel. "But neither of you are Death Stalkers, how did you manage to survive, how did you know the Flame of Death charms?"

"I've seen them used before, against Voldemort's Dementors," replied Harry. An involuntary shudder shook the Auror as he tried to meet, and then avoid Harry's gaze. The other Auror listened quietly and then moved over to question Samuel and George.

Dumbledore reached over and laid a hand on Harry's shoulder and whispered, "You have done enough for tonight, Harry. Take Hermione to the Burrow and get some rest. You will both need it. I will take care of this here. I will send the Healers there when they arrive."

With a grateful glance at Dumbledore Harry nodded and whispered so that only Dumbledore could hear, "We need to talk later sir. The vampire was our old friend from Greece."

"I see," he replied with a stern face. "I will stop by later to check in on Hermione and yourself. Now go."

Harry made sure he had a secure hold on Hermione and then called to the Aurors, "Unless you have any other questions for me, I will be taking Hermione to the Burrow now."

One of the Aurors moved forward and extended his hand. "I'm sorry to bother you, Mr. Potter, but I need to check your wand." Harry passed him the wand. The Auror muttered the necessary charm, and a wisp of white smoke emerged from the wandtip and coalesced first into what looked like a small cloud which exploded violently, then a flame with the image of a skull in it, then into a long sword, and finally into the form of a body which twitched slightly.

"You can go now, Mr. Potter," replied the Auror. "If we have any more questions, we'll know where to find you."

"Thanks," answered Harry, and disappeared with Hermione. A few moments later, Fred and three Healers appeared. Dumbledore informed them that Harry and Hermione were at the Burrow and showed them the little glass globe that displayed the image of the Burrow so that they could apparate there. Then the twins and two of the Healers disappeared. The third Healer waited until the Aurors were done inspecting the body for evidence, and then took the body with her when she returned to St. Mungo's.

Dumbledore moved over to examine more closely the site of the battle. He found a few ashes on the ground which he pointed out to the Aurors. "Probably burnt vampire flesh. You might want to check that." One of the Aurors pointed his wand and muttered an identification charm, and nodded his head when the ashes glowed a bright green for a brief moment. He then scooped up the ashes into a small leather pouch and labeled it. The other auror examined Samuel's wand and then cast several detection spells around the area of the battle, to see if there had been any other magical disturbances.

His face pale, he looked over at Dumbledore. "There are traces of very powerful Dark magic here tonight, more than I would have expected from a vampire."

Samuel glanced at Dumbledore, and then replied, "It may have been a very powerful vampire."

The two Aurors were wrapping up their investigation. Looking at Samuel, one Auror told him, "All of the evidence that we have examined seems to corroborate the story you and Mr. Potter gave us. But don't plan on leaving anytime soon, in case we need to talk with you further, Mr. Hunt."

"He is currently a guest at Hogwarts," explained Dumbledore, "and if you need to speak with him further, please let me know."

"Very well. Good night then." And the two Aurors disappeared with a pop, to file their report with the Ministry.

Dumbledore looked at Samuel and he asked, "Care for a stroll through the forest before we check in on Miss Granger?"

Samuel chuckled and replied. "Looks like a lovely night for a stroll."

A few minutes later they were deep within the Forbidden Forest, heading to Hogwarts.

"How did you become involved in tonight's activities Samuel?"

"I was watching Potter. I figured the Yonnua were probably hired to go after him, Potter being the reason for Voldemort's downfall and all that. I thought nothing of it at first, that girl bumping into them at the inn so I watched the inn for a few minutes. I thought it was strange that they headed out of the village to have their private little chat, but I didn't give it much thought at the time. When I heard Potter scream Hermione's name and come barreling out of the inn with the Weasley twins on his heels, I knew there was a problem. Of course it all makes sense now. The girl was a Yonnua. Instead of going directly for Harry, it was going to kill the person closest to him. And then go after him. Harry would never have known what hit him. As it is, I don't know how he figured out…"

"Harry and Hermione are no ordinary couple. I'm not sure that any Yonnua would have been able to trick Harry into thinking it was Hermione. Or vice-versa."

"Come off it, old man. You're kidding, right? I mean, yeah, the kid's a great wizard and all that, but detecting a Yonnua? I think he just got lucky."

With a slight smile, Dumbledore asked Samuel, "Do you? When Harry cast the Body Break charm, do you think he hit what he was aiming at?"

Samuel thought quietly for a moment, replaying the battle over in his mind. "Yeah. He did. At the time, I was furious-I couldn't figure out how he could have missed as close as we were. But he didn't miss. He hit the target he was aiming at."

"Hmmm. Tell me, Samuel. What do you think of Harry's potential as an Auror?"

"You're kidding me, right? The boy defeated Voldemort, weren't you there?" laughed Samuel.

"As a matter of fact, I was there. And I have never witnessed a more powerful display of raw power and courage in my entire life. There is no doubt that Harry is a very powerful mage. But I would like to know your opinion of his potential as an Auror."

"Why are you asking me? Ask one of the Aurors he trained with, or one of those who fought with him against Voldemort. You know I was never good Auror material, that's why they booted me from the American Ministry's Dark Ops Group. You know how rough that crew is. You've got to be a real misfit to get tossed out of the DOGs." Samuel laughed bitterly.

"Yes, I know Samuel. That is why I am asking you."

"What? Why?" Samuel stopped to look at Dumbledore. Then a thought struck him. "You don't think Harry will cut it as an Auror, do you? Oh, he's got the talent and the power, and certainly the drive, but you're afraid he might not have the temperament for it, is that it?"

Dumbledore glanced over at Samuel, but did not answer as he kept walking.

"Fine. Keep your secrets to yourself, greybeard. Let me tell you what I saw tonight. I saw a kid, he's what-barely seventeen?-handle himself more calmly under pressure than most of the men I fought with while in the service. His mental concentration is nothing short of incredible. He can focus on several problems simultaneously without getting distracted, and deals with them in the proper order of importance. He makes the right decision and he makes it quickly. He doesn't hesitate-he acts immediately and effectively when needed. He fluidly adapts new tactics to a rapidly changing situation. He is fearless without being foolhardy. While he is very effective by himself, it's possible that he would be even more effective with a partner, but it would have to be someone very intelligent and intuitive in order to keep up with him.

On the down side, he may have a tendency to be too soft on an opponent-I'm not sure he has that killer's instinct you sometimes need in a really tight situation. He seems to want to understand more than he needs to in order to do his job. And that temper-he needs to gain a little better control of his emotions." When Samuel noticed the corners of Dumbledore's lips raising in a smile, he admitted, "Fine. So I'm still working on controlling my temper. But you wanted to hear about Potter. Tell me, how does he deal with rules and authority figures?"

Dumbledore chuckled, "Not very well, I must admit. Minerva and I long ago lost count of the number of school rules he and his friends bent or broke during their time at Hogwarts. And there is no way to count the number of laws and regulations he broke during his training last year."

"I suspected as much. Finally, that girlfriend of his, the Granger girl. She could be a weak link for him, a soft spot an enemy could exploit. They nearly did tonight."

Dumbledore looked at Samuel thoughtfully. "Actually, Hermione is the key to Harry's incredible strength and power. He would be a much weaker wizard without her, and most likely, a very dead one."

For several moments, the two walked in silence.

"Speaking of Granger, how did she survive?" asked Samuel. "I'm not sure anyone has ever survived a Yonnua attack before."

"That is a question we will have to ask her," replied Dumbledore.

-----

When Harry appeared in the living room at the Burrow with Hermione in his arms, Molly gasped and ran forward to meet them.

"What happened Harry?" asked Molly.

"The same thing that always happens," muttered Harry bitterly. "The bad guys come after me and someone I care about gets caught in the middle."

"Is she hurt badly?"

"I don't know. Fred is supposed to be bringing some Healers from St. Mungo's. She's been out cold for a while now. Could we put her in one of the bedrooms?"

"Of course, dear. Follow me. And don't blame yourself, Harry."

Harry and Molly had just gotten Hermione situated in Ginny's room when Fred and the Healers arrived. Pushing Harry aside, they asked him to leave. When he refused, Molly spoke with him softly and convinced him to follow her outside the room. For the next hour, Harry paced the hallway outside, refusing to sit down or talk to anyone who came upstairs to try and visit with him.

Molly left him alone and went downstairs and noticed the twins talking rather heatedly with Ron off to one side of the room. As the discussion grew louder, Molly went to pull Ron away from the twins-all three of them looked as if they were about to start swapping punches any moment. She led Ron, who was still snarling comments over his shoulder to his older brothers, into the kitchen to talk to him by herself. Half an hour later, she went back upstairs and sat in a chair outside of Ginny's room and watched sadly as Harry paced back and forth.

When the Healers finally emerged, Harry rushed to confront them. "How is she? Is she going to be OK?"

"We cannot tell for sure, Mr. Potter. We're sorry. We've done everything we possibly can here. She is stable now, and resting comfortably, but she still shows no signs of consciousness. There are a few more tests we can run at the hospital, but you must prepare yourself for the worst, Mr. Potter. She may never regain consciousness."

"NOOO!" screamed Harry. He angrily stepped forward towards the Healers and shook off Molly's hand as she tried to place it on his shoulder.

"Once we have spoken with her parents, we will take her to St. Mungo's where we might be able to help her more."

"No! NOO!" Molly moved to his side and made as if to speak, but he ignored her as he glared angrily at the Healers. "You are not shipping her off to that floor at St. Mungo's with Lockhart and the Longbottoms! She is not a lost cause! I am not giving up on her!" Harry pushed forward past the Healers, but they grabbed his arms as he brushed by them.

"We understand your anger and deeply regret that we cannot do more. But there is nothing more that can be done right now. There is nothing you can do for her right now, why don't you go back downstairs and wait with the others."

Harry's eyes flashed as he slowly uttered every word. "You…understand… NOTHING!!! Now let go of me and stay out of my way!" Slightly frightened, the two Healers released Harry and backed away slowly.

"Harry! They're only trying to help. Now calm down," urged Molly as the temperature slowly rose.

"I will not! Now leave us alone!" roared Harry and then he disappeared. A moment later, the door on Ginny's room slammed shut so hard it shook for a minute. Then it shuddered again as if someone had slammed it with a battering ram. One of the healers reached forward to turn the doorknob and was knocked backward down the hall about ten feet. The other Healer quickly ran over to help him up. Astonished, they made their way downstairs, muttering loudly about temperamental young wizards.

Standing in front of the door, but not daring to touch it, Molly, struggling to control her own temper, shouted out to Harry. "Harry, come out, dear. We're only trying to help. Come downstairs and we'll talk…"

"Go away!" came the shouted response. Then a moment later, "Please, Molly. Just leave us alone."

Molly turned and quietly went downstairs. Pausing on the landing, she met the anxious glances of Dumbledore, Lupin, and Arthur. The Healers were speaking with the Grangers, who had just arrived with McGonagall. As Molly descended the stairs, Lupin asked, "I guess Harry's locked himself in there with her?"

"You heard?"

"Neither Harry nor you have the quietest of voices, dear," explained Arthur.

"Yes, he's locked himself in there with her. He put a very nasty banishing charm on the door by the way. I think that Healer is lucky the spell didn't knock him through one of our walls. Unless the Grangers want to see their daughter right away, I suggest we give Harry some time to cool down first."

"It seems he already has," noted Dumbledore looking out a window at the calm evening.

At that moment, Mr. and Mrs. Granger approached Dumbledore. "We would like to see our daughter." Mrs. Granger's eyes were red and puffy, and she leaned heavily on her husband, who supported her with an arm around her waist. Dumbledore nodded and they followed him slowly up the stairs. Pausing in front of the door, Dumbledore held up his hand in front of the Grangers. They looked at him in surprise as Dumbledore explained.

"Molly informed me that Harry placed a banishing charm on the door. What that means is that if you touch the door, you will be repelled, or pushed backwards. I will need to remove it first."

Standing in front of the door, Dumbledore raised his hands and moved them slowly in an intricate pattern as he whispered quietly. "Impressive, Harry. Ahh, very clever. Hmmm. There. That should do it." He reached forward, glanced over at the Grangers, then slowly turned the knob. Nothing happened and then the door swung slowly inward.

Dumbledore stepped in first and glanced quickly around the room, checking rapidly for any other charms that Harry had left. There were none. Then he moved closer to the two motionless figures by the bed. When she entered, Hermione's mother gasped loudly and moved forward until Dumbledore grabbed her wrist.

"I understand your worry and concern, but please do not touch either of them right now."

Over his wife's shoulder, Fred Granger looked at the thin form of his daughter covered by the bedsheets. On one side of her bed was the still form of Harry Potter. He held one of Hermione's hands in his own, their fingers interlaced. His other hand lay on her forehead, and he was leaning forward, resting on his forearm with his eyes closed.

"What…is he sleeping?"

"I do not believe so, Mr. Granger. Let me try to explain. Your daughter and Mr. Potter share a very special connection…"

"Are you talking about telepathy? Hermione told us something about that."

"Excellent. Yes, they share a very strong mental link. Several months ago, the last time the both of you were at Hogwarts, when Harry was so badly hurt, Hermione used that mental connection they share to help Harry. I believe that is what Harry is trying to do right now. He is looking for your daughter."

"Can he help her?" asked Mrs. Granger.

"I cannot say for certain. But if there is anything at all that can be done to help your daughter, Harry will do it."

She began sobbing and turned to her husband who wrapped her up in a huge hug trying to console her.

"Hermione could not be in better hands right now. Harry will not rest until she is better."

"But the Healers said…I thought you weren't sure he could help?"

"I am not sure that he can. I can only hope, for both of their sakes."

"What do you mean?"

"I do not believe Harry will return without her."

Stunned, the Grangers turned and looked at Dumbledore in awe.

"Is there anything we can do?"

"Nothing but wait I am afraid. And try to make yourselves comfortable." With a flick of his wand, Dumbledore conjured a comfortable chair for himself and a sofa for the Grangers.

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