|
|
(Cornelia) Change of Plans
Author: Griet
Date: 04-15-09 17:57
After carefully going over with Ella the various ways she intended on ejecting Minister Smythe-Jones from Hogwarts, Cornelia thought there was no time like the present and set about putting her plans into motion. With her wand in hand and Ella matching her every step, Cornelia left the dormitory room for the common room and then for the castle at large.
"It'd be a whole lot more convenient if I still had a guy who could supply me with a live deadly scorpion, but I've thought of a workaround," Cornelia whispered.
To Ella, Cornelia sounded like she knew what she was talking about. Cornelia herself felt confident in her abilities and could feel an adrenalin rush of past times, when she'd plotted against others who'd done her or others close to her wrong.
"So, you're going to try to kill her?" Ella whispered tentatively.
"Oh, no," Cornelia replied, laughing lightly. She immediately froze in place and listened intently for a teacher or someone else who might come stalking down the corridor, demanding to know what they were doing there. When it seemed no one had heard her, she pressed on with Ella always right beside her.
"It's like this. A few years ago I got this scorpion from this guy, right?" Cornelia began, softly. "Well, I was really mad at my sister and I put it in her book bag. Next time she reached in there to grab a book, it stung her. It didn't kill her, obviously, since she's still alive today..." Cornelia trailed off, not really knowing if what she'd said was true. "I mean, I hope she is."
After a moment's pause, she picked up with her previous enthusiasm and explained, "But it really, really hurt her. The scorpion injected some kind of poison in her hand and made it burn like crazy."
"I see."
"So, I'm thinking a couple of scorpions. Maybe some spiders. Anything else that might nip or sting. We get some of those, set them lose on that woman and her minions, and we'll have them running out of here in no time."
Ella wasn't the fan of creepy crawlies Cornelia was, but she nonetheless wanted to be along for the ride. "Just one thing, Cornelia. How are we going to get to the barn to get all those bugs when we're not even allowed outside?"
"Oh, we're not. We're going to go to the Potions storage closet."
"But there aren't live bugs in there... are there?"
Cornelia grinned and pulled a few crumpled sheets of parchment from her pocket. "That's why we're going to use this," she whispered, waving the parchments for emphasis. "I copied it from a book I snuck from the Restricted Section in the library. It's a resurrection spell. I've never actually tried it before, but I bet it'll work."
Because Cornelia sounded so sure of herself, Ella could hardly doubt that success would be the outcome. She walked with Cornelia in the direction of the Potions stores, but halfway there, both girls heard tumultuous noises coming from somewhere else in the castle. They looked at each other in surprise and alarm.
"What's that?" Ella asked.
"I don't know," Cornelia replied, "but I really want to find out!"
She picked up her pace, but didn't get very far when a pair of arms came out of no where and pulled her into the shadows of an alcove. Ella was likewise pulled aside. Both girls found hands clamped onto their mouths.
"Shh!" someone, a female by the sounds of it, hissed. "We're trying to help you!"
Cornelia didn't necessary trust her captive but she relaxed and turned slowly to see herself standing face to face with a young woman with long blonde hair. A small group of other wizards were with her.
"It's best if we get you two somewhere safe. You don't want to be out and about when the battle really begins."
"There's going to be a battle?!" Cornelia questioned, her voice no longer a whisper.
"Shh!" more than one person whispered harshly.
"Sorry!" Cornelia replied softly. "Can I help? Please!!!"
The woman with the long blonde hair shook her head. "I don't think that's a good idea. There's a closet over here. You two should get in and lock the door. Don't come out until it's all clear, all right?"
Cornelia wanted to sulk at being excluded from something so meaningful to her, but she pretended to go along with the lady's request. She took Ella by the hand and went to the closet in question.
"That's it," the woman said, smiling. "Just sit tight until it's safe."
Cornelia closed the door on her and Ella and whispered "Lumos" so that her wand lit up the small space. Ella, subsequently, locked the door.
"We should have stayed in the dorm," Ella remarked, turning her nose up at the small dingy space around her.
"I don't plan on staying here until it's all clear," Cornelia replied. "I plan on doing something to help. What about you? Are you in?"
Ella didn't have to think twice. "I'm so in."
Magic
Author: Kissy Isuki
Date: 04-15-09 19:09
Keeping both hands in plain view Kissy maintains steady eye contact with Ryland. She desperately wants to check on Declan and she's fearful for Jared at the hands of Amycus Carrow who isn't stable even on the best of days, but Kissy doesn't break her control. She'd seen others rushing into the Great Hall and would leave them to handle Carrow and to see to Jared and the other students.
Keeping her tone as level as possible, calling on all her Defense Against the Dark Arts training for keeping calm and not panicking, Kissy repeats to Ryland, "Let Zabrynna go. Use me in her place."
"With so many wands trained on me now? I don't think so, Kissy. Come with me though. Maybe I'll let the girl go when I'm not a target."
As he speaks, Ryland is moving backwards, working closer to Carrow and Jared. With each step he takes Kissy takes a step as well. With her getting closer, Carrow hisses, "Stay back!"
Now that they are so close Kissy does look at Jared. She can see his wand sticking out of his jeans pocket but so far the seventh year has wisely kept his hands where Carrow won't feel further threatened.
She says to Jared, "Keep calm and you'll be fine."
"Don't talk to him," Carrow spat. "Stay back!" he screams at one of the raiders.
Kissy can't see who it is but recognizes the voice as Ron Weasley's when he asks her, "You all right?"
"I am," she responds. Not being able to see Declan at the moment she doesn't know if he's still down or what. "How's Declan?"
"If he's who I think you mean, I don't know. He's clear though. Pulled to safety."
"The other students?"
"Out as well."
Kissy doesn't know about the Minister, at least one of her minions, and two students in the side chamber so doesn't ask about them. She also resumed eye contact with Ryland and Zabrynna right after she'd glanced over at Amycus and Jared so couldn't see all that was going on around her.
Ryland, who'd been silent these last few minutes starts inching sideways along the wall, going in the direction of the Great Hall doors. Sensing Ryland's movement, Carrow does the same. Kissy eases to the side as well, asking Ryland as she does, "You don't think they're going to let you two take students out of here, do you? Be rational, Ryland."
"I'll do what I have to, Kissy."
Carrow just snickers in a way that sounds somewhat insane.
"And you wonder why I always turn you down, Ryland," Kissy says, doing her best to ignore Ryland.
"I'm a great catch and you're deluding yourself if you think otherwise," he protests.
"You torment children. You're responsible for the death of a student. You're holding one hostage now, using her as a shield. Yes, such a great catch."
Ryland moves his wand a little from Zabrynna's throat. "You're just trying to make me angry so I'll make a mistake."
"Can't get anything past you, can I, Ryland. Ron?" Kissy asks without taking her eyes of Ryland and Zabrynna.
"We're all set," Ron says.
Trusting that Ron and the others in the room are indeed set to take Carrow down and get Jared safely away, Kissy says to Ryland, "I really did like Cammie and you did have potential. You just let your darker side out to play. Nonetheless, I truly am sorry, Ryland."
"Sorry for what?"
Kissy doesn't reply. Instead she levels a wand at him and shoots off a, "Stupify!" as it hits him Ryland's eyes have gone wide at Kissy going from hands visible with no wand to not only having a wand but firing at him, and he's asking, "How?"
Pulling a shaken Zabrynna away from Ryland's crumpled form, Kissy shrugs, "Magic."
Looking over, she sees Carrow also on the ground and Jared unconscious next to him. After making sure Zabrynna is all right, Kissy hurries over to see Jared herself to make sure he's okay.
Kissy hears Zabrynna ask, "How's Declan, I mean Professor Douglass?"
Ron shakes his head, "I don't know yet."
"Has anyone gone after the Minister? She's been in the side room. There are two students with her and one of her people."
Ron springs into action, galvanized by Zabrynna's information. He rushes out, calling Dumbledore's name. Kissy goes over to Zabrynna and guiding the girl by the arm says, "They'll take Jared to wherever they've taken Professor Douglass. Let's go check on them both, shall we?"
Leading Zabrynna from the room, going where she's directed, Kissy would like to have stayed and helped take the Minister and rescue whichever two students are with her but to her it looks as though Zabrynna's going into shock so it's more important that she personally take the girl to get looked after.
Storming The Castle Was Not In The Plan (Euphemia Smythe-Jones)
Author: Harry Potter
Date: 04-15-09 22:38
The sounds reaching Euphemia inside a side room off the Great Hall were not sounds Euphemia wanted to hear. None were the inspiring, uplifting sounds of triumph for her side. What's the point of having followers if they fall down on the job?
Next time she's in power, Euphemia's definately getting better minions.
Things were going so swimmingly. There were some kinks that in hindsight might have been avoided if Euphemia had done things in a different order or taken things slower.
Next time she's in power, Euphemia is definately going to kill Albus Dumbledore straight away. None of this clever, hide him away in a mirror nonsense. At the time, it hadn't seemed nonsense at all. It had seemed deviously and delightfully cruel to trap Albus Dumbledore in a mirror where over a very long period of time he'd fade away to a mere reflection of himself. Up until two weeks ago, that little pun always gave Euphemia quite the chuckle.
Next time she's in power, Euphemia is definately going to get rid of meddlesome twits who are known troublemakers. She'll personally see to their ends. Something fitting yet unexpected. For instance, Potter could be hit by green lightening or riddled with bullets from a Muggle tommy gun.
Euphemia snickers a little at that, causing the two students with her to stare and Dawson Inglewood to give her worried glances, wondering if she's going starkers.
The sounds from the Great Hall dissipate though Euphemia is sure it's far from safe to jaunter out there. She gives Victoria a shove. "Tell me what you see. Only open it a crack, mind you."
The chit moves to the door and opens it barely wide enough to see out of. After a moment she shuts it and says with a shrug, "Nothing there."
"Liar!" Dawson exclaims, going over and giving the girl a hearty slap.
"I'm not!" Victoria cries, hand going to rub her cheek.
"Of course there's something there, even if you can't see it," Euphemia says as if speaking to an extremely slow minded dimwit.
Dawson, pulling Victoria away from the door, asks with panic in his voice, "What do we do now?"
"Always have a backup plan or two. It's one of my mottos," Euphemia replies, pulling what looks like a lipstick from her pocket.
"Take my arm, Dawson," Euphemia instructs. She grabs Philippa with the lipstick free hand and nodding to Victoria says to him next, "Be sure you've got her in a good grip."
Holding the lipstick in such a way that she can easily give it a twist with her thumb, Euphemia gives it a twist then another. Less than a heartbeat later, the four are in the small house where she'd once lured Albus Dumbledore and trapped him.
Euphemia's turning her head to smile magnanimously at Dawson to say, "We're still on Hogwarts property so no apparating but the Floo works or you may use a portkey with me."
That's what she was going to say. What she says instead is, "Bloody hell, where did they come from?"
Dawson's too busy gawping at the wands pointed at him. Albus Dumbledore, looking larger than life, says to Euphemia, "I thought this is where you would scurry to."
Dawson starts to pull Victoria closer then thinking better of it, what with all the wands aimed at him, he thinks better of it. He shoves Victoria away saying to Euphemia as he does, "I know when to save the fight for another day. You're on your own."
Euphemia, with Philippa directly in front of her, coldly informs him, "Next time I'm in power, I am definately NOT making you a department head and warden of one of my prisons."
Albus Dumbledore politely states, "Next time you are in power, Euphemia, it will be, to use an old saying, a cold day in hell."
"As long as I am alive, there will be plenty of opportunities to seize power, and I plan on living a very long time. You won't kill me, Albus. You aren't a murderer and I seriously doubt you'll let any of your flunkies do it for you. You'd not be able to live with that on your conscience. Or would you? Afterall, you are the highly experienced and talented Wizard who let a child take on Voldemort time and again."
"No, I won't kill you, Euphemia, nor will any of those present now," Dumbledore confirms.
Euphemia, who has started backing up to where she knows a door opens onto a bedroom, says with confidence, "No prison will hold me for long."
"Alas, I fear that you are correct on that score, Euphemia. Azkaban is still a stronghold but it's been proven to have flaws. You no doubt have followers around the world who would be more than willing to help you regain your freedom."
Euphemia's reached the bedroom. If she can just get a second to grab the porkey she's got stashed there, she'll be out of this cottage, gone from Hogwarts, staring out at a lovely view of Mt. Fuji. She kicks the door shut with her foot, lets loose her hold on Philippa and reaches for the picture frame that's really a portkey waiting for Euphemia's touch to active the special charm she's placed on it.
She reaches but only when she's got the frame in her hand does she see it looks slightly different. Whirling in a full circle, eyes flitting from wall to wall, searching for the correct frame, Euphemia growls in frustration. She turns to grab the girl again, thinking to use Philippa as a way to hold off attackers until she can grab some Floo powder or get where she can apparate away, Euphemia's growl turns to a shriek of outrage at finding Philippa is no longer there.
Whirling around again, Euphemia jumps back when Dumbledore seems to step out of thin air. He has his wand pointed at her. She snarls, "You said you weren't going to kill me!"
"I spoke the truth."
Euphemia's got her wand pointed right back at him now at the same time she's taking small steps away from him. "Don't think I'm going to fall on the proverbial sword, Albus."
"I would never think that of you, Euphemia."
"What then? What?"
"Why don't you see for yourself?"
"What are you babbling about? Did you lose your mind in that mirror?"
"Not at all. I am not sure, however, the same will be said of you."
"You aren't making sense, old man!"
"On the contrary, I am making perfect sense," he replies as if he's just said the most sage thing ever. Albus lowers his wand.
Euphemia cackles as she fires off a spell, unable to believe he's let her have such an opening. Her laughter turns to sounds of puzzlement when the green light of her Avada Kedavra spell fizzles into nothing not even halfway to its target. Holding her wand steady, Euphemia repeats more forcefully, "Avada Kedavra!"
"What the...?" she mutters when that spell too fizzles to nothing.
Dumbledore walks up to her, practically nose to nose. "You'll find the wand only works for things inside."
"What in Merlin's name do you mean? You really should be checked in at St. Mungo's Janus Thickey Ward. You're terribly muddled. Not that it matters because I am going to kill you, you old fool."
"Not from where you are at present, Euphemia. Would you, however, prefer your son to think you died? Cooper has always seemed a good lad. It seems a pity to have him agonizing over you for years to come."
"Seriously, Albus, you've got brain damage, though whether it's from spells or just being ancient, who can tell? What is that strange fog. Every time you say something there's a funny fog for a few seconds. Also, back up. I don't like you in my personal space. Makes it harder to kill you for one. Maybe if I had a knife. A knife! That would do nicely!"
"Still haven't twigged on to it yet, have you?"
Euphemia shakes her head. "Enough of this talk. If wands aren't working in the cottage then by all means let's go outside and duel this out," Euphemia suggests, knowing full well she'd cheat in a duel and manage an escape once outside. Her lipstick will take her back to the castle and she'd find a way out from there, even if it requires hiding out somewhere inside that hulking structure a few more days.
Looking sadly at her, Albus moves to the bed and picks something up. He approaches her again, unfolding what looks like a bedspread. Euphemia flinches when he throws it at her, then when it doesn't hit her, she opens eyes she'd clenched shut and looks around in wonder. Where Albus had been is now dark.
"Albus? What did you do? What spell is this? You didn't make me blind because I can still see."
Euphemia reaches out a tentative hand towards the dark splot where Albus had been. His voice, sounding slightly muffled, reaches her. "I truly am sorry for this, Euphemia."
"For what, you doddering idiot? Is this a box spell of some sort? It's very strange. I don't think you performed it properly as I am only blocked by this one little section that's gone black."
The black area has the feeling of glass, cold and smooth. The shape of it reminds Euphemia of the mirror that she'd trapped Albus in.
Mirror!
Euphemia raps on the black surface. "Albus? Albus? You didn't? You can't do this to me! Do you know who I am? Next time I'm in power, I am definately turning you into a slug and them I'm going to impale you with a stileto heel before smooth you flat."
Euphemia listens for the sound of Albus's voice. When none comes, she raps on what she now understands to be the inside of the mirror that's been covered with a blanket or tarp. "Albus? Albus, answer me, damn you! Albus? Fine, I get how awful this must have been for you. You should be complimented that I thought you threat enough to take such extreme measures. Are you listening? Albus? Anyone? Hellooooo?"
In the living room of the cottage, Harry asks Professor Dumbledore, "What's to become of the mirror?"
"It requires special safeguarding. I know just the place."