[color=navy]^^Hmmm.. you just gave me a good idea, ate thisbe~ Maybe this would get me out of the rut.
Author's Disclaimer: The following is inspired from the world of Harry Potter books of JK Rowling. The author would like to give credence to JK Rowling whose works and words is the literary inspiration of the story below. In short, this is just FAN FICTION everyone!
AURORS: END TO DARKNESS
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As night fell, a city of electric light rose. Built of many colors and hues, the city held back the shadows into lonely alleys and distant quarters. A girl in a charming red cloak stepped from a well-lit corner and made her way towards a dark street, all by herself.
She hummed a happy, up-beat pop song and her shoes clapped on the pavement in accompaniment. Soon, the sounds of the city became soft and far. And all around her, the shadows grew.
The girl in red walked, not minding of the shadows, not minding a cold wind that blew harsh and sudden. Soon, she reaches the limits of the city lights—beyond is nothing but darkness where shadows bore a color darker than black. She still went on, deeper into the waiting darkness, humming the song with pure joy in her heart.
Then the wind blew harshly again and strong, even raising the heavy hem of her cloak. This time she stood still and silent, as if frozen still by the chill that surrounds her. She exhaled out and saw the faint white steam before it disappeared. She breathed and found it somewhat difficult.
A sound startled her. She turned swiftly to the source, a hand reaching inside the folds of her cloak but stopped as she saw the solid shadow shape of a man approaching her.
From what she saw, he was short and stumpy and dressed in worn clothes and shoes in bad repair. From what she smelled, she knew that the man was drunk and badly needed a bath.
“You lost, miss?” the man spoke, a hoarse whine that grated at the ears. “This no place for you. Dark, far away, dangerous— what you doing here eh?”
The red-hooded girl replied, her tone pleasant and calm. “I’m looking for something.”
The man padded his dirty clothes with his hands and finally found in his pant pockets what he was looking for: a cigarette and a cheap lighter. With these he lit himself a smoke and puffed out his words. “Out here, you’d find trouble, miss. Is that what you’re looking for?”
The girl decided to play the part. “Oh no! I don’t want trouble! Please”
The man shivered. His nerves wrecked, the cold wasn’t helping. He drew in another puff of warm dry smoke then he spoke again, “I could help you out—for a price.”
The girl smiled, even in the dimness the man saw even white teeth that shone clean. “How much?” she said with sweetness.
“All you got, miss—, “ he raised the cigarette for another puff while his other hand switched out the blade that glistened out like a bare wet fang. “If you don’t want any trouble.”
The girl quietly raised her hands forward out of the long folds of her red cloak, revealing the small bag that hung on the crook of her right arm. “Give it,” the short man said.
With no sudden movements, she pulled out her bag and offered it to the crook. To relieve his mote of conscience, the man told her, “You better get out of here, miss. Bad things about. Worse than me.”
“Oh?” The sound came out coy from the red-hooded girl. “What could be worse than you? Get out of here yourself.”
The man snatched the bag, turned and ran. He expected her to scream but heard nothing. He turned his eyes back to see the girl just watching him passively then turned around walked deeper into the dark.
The girl walked on, humming again until she saw of what little she was able to see that she was coming to a brick wall. Dead end.
A scream erupted out from the other end of the street.
She ran after the scream, the hem of her cloak raised our like the outstretched wings of a bird of prey. The girl did not have far to go to come upon a nightmare come to life. Down on the ground was the man who robbed her, his body stiff as a corpse, his face frozen pale in terror.
And hovering above his face was a shadow leaning down in a manner of a lover as if bestowing a kiss.
The shadow had no face only a wide maw and inside was a hungry darkness.
From the stunned man’s ugly and rot-filled mouth, came out a small, shimmering light— as bright and tiny as a distant star— rising into the waiting void above it.
The girl had to act now! She shoved her arm forward and a long slender wand of polished willow and ivory handle came into her hand. She directed its tip to the kneeling shadow and her voice sparked, “Expecto Patronum!”
A spray of silver mist burst forth from the wand and hurled itself against the shadow, shoving it away from the prone figure of its intended victim like a dirty rag.
The red-hooded girl came towards the man, knelt down to see that the tiny star falling down back into the crook’s mouth. Soon, the light of life returned into the man’s rheumy, blood-veined eyes.
The girl felt for a pulse— it’s there on the base of the neck, faint but its there.
She exhaled a sigh of relief, only to find it escape from her lips white with cold. Everything was seized with a chill. The moisture in the air became heavy in solidness— puddles of stagnant water freezing over and cracking in an instant.
With the chill, the surrounding shadows grew tall— almost ten feet tall and loomed over the red-hooded girl and her fallen companion.
Wand at the ready, the girl raised it high and aim towards the night sky. “Displodo bellicus!”
A flare shot out of the wand and rose into the sky like a rocket. There it exploded in a series of large, brilliant fireworks. The night became alive with showers of gold and red!
The shadows writhed in agony, their moans came out like howling winds. The light had stunned them but the girl knew that the light would not last forever. She stood up and eyed the writhing shadows, aware that as soon as the fireworks fade, the shadows would become mad with fury.
But she is not afraid for help was surely at her back. “You are late, Sebastian.”
“Late?! I apparated to your side the instant I saw the signal rising!” A young man was standing behind her, his back to her back, eyeing as the writhing shadows as she did.
The girl’s mouth was set in a firm line. “Your response time was three-fourths a second late than we exercised.”
“Oh you are so severe, Pansy! Haven’t you heard of ‘Better late than never’?”
Eyes watching the shadows, the girl pulled back her hood with slender hands. A cascade of dark brown wavy hair fell against the thick red cape. Pansy had a feline face, large round amber eyes set wide, small lips and wide cheeks that bloomed pink because of the cold. “In this situation, I would consider that, Sebastian.”
Sebastian grinned. Cloakless, the dark-haired youth wore rugged dark jeans, boots and a grey shirt. His tall, stocky frame was strapped with pouch belts and protective gear dulled by use. “Gosh, we’re totally surrounded. There must be hundreds of them!”
“Actually, 32—” Pansy corrected. “How you become an Auror without the ability to count is beyond me.”
“Beyond you? Now that, Pansy, is hard to believe.” Sebastian’s eyes matched Pansy’s in their feline fierceness. “32 eh? Doesn’t this call for appropriate measures?”
Pansy nodded as she aimed her wand towards the surrounding shadows. “Wands at the ready! Full force!”
Excitement shone on Sebastian’s grin. “Yes miss!” He drew out two wands, both oak wood, and held these in hands wide apart.
The gold and red flares in the sky blazed out and the darkness slowly resumed its place in the night. The shadows stopped cowering and began to rise in stature and strength. The air became dead cold as if the winter had come. The shadows floated toward Sebastian and Pansy who remained where they were, still as statues.
And the shadows fell upon them, blanketing them in a veil of the darkest black where only silence reigned. Nothing can be heard, not even the softest sigh.
Something sharp, silver and of the brightest moonlight tore through the shadow veil— causing the shadows to disperse writhing in pain, moaning chilly screams made colder by fear. Leaping into the air as if it were running on solid earth is a large lion, its body and mane silver bright, its claws and fangs diamond white. It roared with savage fury as it pursued and pounced on the fleeing shadows.
Sebastian watched with pride as the silver lion attacked the shadows, showing no weakness, no mercy. He turned to Pansy, “Now you know why I am an Auror!”
Pansy shrugged with a casual air. “Not bad, brutal—but not bad.” A shadow towered from behind her, decayed clawed hands came out of its dark folds about to seize her when a silver shape, swift and sinuous, leapt from out of nowhere and unleashed out a blinding glare of light.
The shadows were repulsed by the glare, screaming and moaning. Sebastian pulled out a pair of shades from a buckled pouch and placed it on his eyes to witness a huge silver dolphin, shining in splendor. “Every chance you get, you do like to shine.”
“I don’t even try.”
With their wands, the two directed their conjured Patronuses—pure, powerful positivity concentrated and fused in animal form to attack the shadows, driving these in a corner. Then by focusing their intense wills through their wands, they increased the powers of their Patronuses to rip these shadows into what they really were—nothingness and dust.
“There are still two left, and they’re running away!” Sebastian pointed to two shadows, hardly visible against the night sky.
Pansy turned to her Patronus as it slid behind her, waiting for her will. Using a unique enchantment that allows a Patronus to mimic the physical abilities of its animal form, Pansy relied on her silver dolphin to sense out the stray shadows.
The dolphin gave out a sweet coo, announcing its eagerness. Pansy unleashed it towards the night sky and it flew upwards in quickening speed that it became a silver flash! Somewhere up there, it collided with the escaping shadows in a light storm.
Sebastian smiled and wiped the sweat from his brow. The night had become warmer. His lion roared for the last time before crumbling into silver mist. Sebastian sheathed his twin wands and approached Pansy. “This area is now clean.”
“There is a blight of them nearby. Those 32 couldn’t have come out from nowhere,” Pansy spoke almost to herself.
“We’ll find out where they’re breeding,” Sebastian said. “And we’ll deal with them.” He looked down at the robber who still lay on the ground. “How about him? Shall I…?”
“A memory charm would be pointless, no one would believe the drunk.” Pansy frowned.
“Hey Pan, what’s up? You seem more disturbed than usual. What’s gotten your knickers in a bind?”
Pansy’s frown grew deeper and fire flashed in her eyes. “Aside from your pathetic display of concern? It’s these Dementors— they shouldn’t even be here in this city. And yet they are, and that many! It’s as if our 5 years training and working to contain them was all for nothing!”
“I wouldn’t think those five years were a waste.” Sebastian looked hurt. “At least we got to know each other very well.” Then he flashed a grin.
The girl rolled her eyes and hid her face back in her hood. She started to walk away in silence.
“Oi Pan! Oi! How about dinner? All that spell work got me hungry!”
“Our shift’s not over…”
“Aw come on! We just dealt with a hundred…”
“32!”
“…whatever! They were a lot! I’m hungry!”
“How is that my problem?!”
“Aw come on, Pansy! I just saved your life, you owe me! Pan? Pan?! Pan!”