Chapter 25: An Adventure
Earlier that month, Fred and George told Kaiser they'd be giving the map to Harry Potter, to protect him in case the mass murderer infiltrated the school again. It was a shame, now he had to avoid going to the RoR, in case someone was tailing him. But that also meant that all the pieces were in place.
The group of five students were making their way, following the direction the Harry's broom was believed to fall, while chitchatting on the way.
"What's that outfit, by the way? I've never seen anything like it." Harry suddenly asked.
"Dragon Hide protective clothes. It's spell resistant as well." Kaiser explained.
"And why are you wearing that? We're just looking for a broom, we won't be fighting Death Eaters." Ron snidely remarked, but Kaiser paid him no mind. He wasn't going to argue with Ron Weasley of all the people.
"Doesn't hurt to be prepared." Kaiser calmly said, but the lack of a retort seemed to fuel Ron's idiocy, making himself believe he won the 'argument'.
"Yeah, you're always on the lookout, aren't you? You also afraid of your own sha-" before he was hit, hard on the shoulder by Hermione, who was giving him death glares. "Hey, that was uncalled for." he whined.
"No, it was totally called for." Harry said this time, not very happy with his friend's jabs at his other friend.
"Did you guys know you can learn basic healing magic from Madam Pomfrey, as long as you ask nicely and help her every now and then?" Kaiser diverted their attention.
"Really?" Hermione said with shinning eyes, while Daphne was also interested. Kaiser brought that up for her, mostly.
"Yes. Though she would give you a few books to read beforehand." Hermione's eyes shined even more, while Harry was also a bit interested in the subject. An 'Urgh' was heard from Ron at the mention of 'reading' and 'books'.
They were making their way through the outskirts of the forest, when they heard a 'squeak'.
"Ouch!" Ron said, dropping the rat he brought with him for god knows what reason. "He bit me!"
The rat seemed restless and scared. It started running, and Ron following its tail. "Scabbers!"
"Ron!" Harry and Hermione screamed, while Daphne was shaking her head. "Idiot." she muttered.
They started running after him. And the forest was getting thicker and thicker, and Kaiser's frown was getting heavier by the minute. 'This is not the direction of the Shrieking Shack…' he thought.
They were running until they ran out of breath, but the rat suddenly stopped, terrified for some reason. Ron jumped at the opportunity and took the rat in his hands.
Kaiser was paying attention to his surroundings, when he noticed that there was a house nearby, albeit camouflaged by the greenery that surrounded it. A tree curled itself around the house, hiding it with its branches.
He silently cast a detection spell, and sure enough, he could feel that something was nearby. Ron, who was now facing them with a rat in his hand, suddenly yelled: "Behind you! It's the grim!"
Daphne reacted instantly, pointing her wand at it, about to reduce it to smithereens, but was stopped by Kaiser's whisper, puzzled. Yet she trusted his judgment, and did as he told her.
The grim barked, enraged, while the rat squeaked weakly, before it jumped at Ron. Harry and Hermione were petrified and could not respond. And Daphne sent looks at Kaiser, who merely shook his head.
"Ron!" Harry and Hermione recovered their ability to talk when they noticed the grim dragging Ron from his feet, towards a dark tunnel, but not their ability to think. They ran towards him and jumped, hoping to catch his hands, but it was pointless.
Daphne did not understand what Kaiser was trying to achieve, and sent him questioning looks.
"The grim is Sirius Black." He said, and her eyes lit in understanding. But she couldn't understand how he knew it. She didn't see him cast an Animagus revealing spell.
They circled the abandoned house, looking for another entrance, but it was difficult to make it out in the darkness, with all the branches covering it. Eventually they found it, but Kaiser stopped and jerked his head to the distance.
"There is someone else nearby. You guys go inside, Daphne and I will monitor the area." Harry and Hermione immediately went through the entrance in search for their friend, while Daphne was getting more puzzled by the second.
"What are you playing at?" she asked, unable to understand what was going through Kaiser's head.
"What? I'm not gonna interrupt a family reunion, am I?" he said nonchalantly.
After a few minutes, Kaiser suddenly pointer his wand and incanted: "Appare Vestigium." a yellow mist came out of the tip of his wand, while he was waving it in a circle around him. He could see a silhouette of a tall man through the mist.
"Hello Professor Lupin! Fancy seeing you here." Kaiser waved his hands, while Remus canceled his disillusionment.
"What are you doing here?" Remus asked sternly, making use of his authority in the situation. It was perfectly justified for a worried professor to follow students about to break the rules, right?
"Guarding the area for hostiles." Kaiser said. "You may enter, professor. Don't let me delay you. The reunion is about to begin." Remus was dumbfounded at his words. 'Does he know?' but he had more pressing matters to attend to.
"Don't wander around, the area is dangerous." he said, before going in. A few seconds later, they could already hear screams coming from the house.
Kaiser kept surveying his surroundings, and cast a detection spell every now and then, until he could sense someone else. Whoever it was, he has already seen his little trick, and couldn't use it again, as he would be prepared. "Show yourself, I know you're here."
"I didn't take you for the adventurous type, Mr. Lunar. What are you doing here?" he heard a voice far closer than he imagined, and jumped in surprise. Fortunately, it was professor Snape, otherwise he'd be dead meat by now. 'As expected of a spy, huh…' he thought.
"Just helping keeping a few irresponsible teenagers alive." Kaiser calmed himself and said.
"Need I remind you there is a mass murderer on the run in the area? I would expect such a behavior from a Gryffindor, but not from you." Snape said with his slow Snape voice, a master piece, it was.
"Oh, you mean Sirius Black? The innocent man sent to Azkaban without a trial, even though the Malfoy, Parkinson, and every Death Eater ten times worse than him got away with the Imperious excuse? Don't worry, he's harmless." Kaiser remarked sarcastically, and Snape was looking at him without blinking for a moment. Though, no emotions could be read from his face. Whatever level of Occlumency he reached, it must be significantly high.
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"Dumbledore testified he was the Secret Keeper, he was the one who cast the Fidelius." Snape said calmly, but he was far from calm. What he was hearing made him think a lot of things through, including how much he could trust Dumbledore if what he was saying is true.
"Dumbledore's testimony was merely based on what he saw. That's not how the magical world works. I can list at least two ways to change one's appearance. You're a potion master, professor, I'm sure you would know more." Kaiser responded. "Regardless, I have conclusive evidence that Sirius Black is innocent."
"And what would that evidence be?" Snape raised an eye brow at his declaration.
"Peter Pettigrew is still alive."
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Professor Snape, along with Kaiser and Daphne could see the group making their way out of the house, and taking their sweet time talking. Though there was another man with them, and a hint of a frown could be seen on Snape's face.
"It appears you were correct, Mr. Lunar." Kaiser nodded.
Ron's leg was bleeding, and Harry was getting to know his godfather. Professor Lupin was pointing his wand at the traitor, doing his best not to AK him. But it all went downhills when Lupin suddenly froze. Peter did not miss that opportunity, and immediately jumped and transformed into the rat he is, running and cursing his mother for not giving him an extra pair of legs to run faster. (A/N: Sorry, I always liked this expression xD)
Kaiser wasted no time, he ran towards him, surprising the others who thought they were alone, and banished the transforming werewolf away.
"Get away! He'll be fine, we're the ones in danger!"
They took a second, but they reacted to his words, and all started running, with Harry and Hermione helping the handicapped Ron, Snape, Kaiser and Daphne leading them, and Sirius keeping the rear.
They were now far from Hogwarts, and they'd need some time to reach the castle. The forbidden forest was making all kind of wrong movement, chilling them to the bones. They could see several beasts in the distance eyeing them like preys.
But things were only getting worse from that moment. Snape suddenly waved his hand, gesturing at them to stop. "Reveal yourselves." he looked around before saying.
Men in black pitch black clothing, wearing silver masks appeared around them in the distance. Blood drained from Kaiser's face. This was not looking good for them. He pressed something on a bracelet he had on his hands. It was a distress signal, alarming both his body guards and professor Flitwick. Kaiser cast a local privacy charm, to avoid his voice traveling to the enemies before whispering.
"We should leave the Hogwarts' wards. We can portkey from there. It will be faster." They all took covers behind trees. "Periculum!" Kaiser pointed his wand at the sky, and a red beam jumped from his wand towards the night sky, before bursting to red sparks.
The Death Eaters wasted no time, and spells started raining on them of different colors. Fortunately for them, they were out of range for the Unforgivables.
They started heading north, but the Death Eaters were closing in from the flanks, and the frequency at which projectiles were coming at them increased. They were surrounded, and they had no way out of it.
A Death Eater suddenly rushed at Kaiser's position, and pointed his wand: "Avada Keda-" he was hit by a silent stunner, followed by a Piercing Spell at his skull that exploded into a bloody mess. He underestimated his enemy, believing him to be no more than a child, and he paid the price. Harry, Ron and Hermione grimaced at the sight, and were ready to vomit if the situation allowed for it, but they kept it in.
Snape and Sirius were fighting against eight Death Eaters to a standstill, though they were on the defensive more than anything, while the others exchanging blows with the remaining four, though Ron did not have his wand.
Kaiser's face was looking grim. He was calculating their chances of survival at the rate the situation was devolving, and the results did not please him. He did not wish to die, not after being given a second chance, not after discovering the wondrous world of magic. The agonizing scream he heard did not make the situation any better. Hermione was hit on the thigh with a Bone Breaker, taking their handicaps to new heights. Kaiser steeled himself; he could not stay passive about the situation, he needed to create an opportunity for them, otherwise they were bound to lose.
He dashed at one of the Death Eaters, even though he was twenty meters away, boosting his momentum with his telekinesis abilities. His opponent failed to react to this sudden development, and was hit by the bombardment spell Kaiser cast with a thought. His body split in two halves with the resulting explosion, and flew at his comrade, who easily deflected the aftermath with a silent [Protego] (Shield). But he was enraged.
This mission was originally about fourteen Death Eaters slaughtering a bunch of children, but now they were the one taking casualties. They're strategy was to surround them and slowly weaken their defenses until spells started hitting, and they refused to take risks and sacrifice their lives, which is the reason why the fight lasted for so long, otherwise it would be done in a heartbeat. Yet now, the odds weren't looking well for them, or at least he thought so. The truth is they were close to victory, as Snape and Sirius could not last forever against eight Death Eaters.
He sent an over powered bombardment spell at Kaiser, but he, in turn deflected it back at the caster, who waved it off again. Kaiser followed by a piercing spell; it took the least time to cast from all his arsenal. Again, the Death Eater waved it off, along with the series of spell that followed: Stunning, Piercing and cutting spells, all were either canceled or deflected. He grinned at Kaiser a show of superiority, and Kaiser changed strategies.
Kaiser moved his fallen comrade's half body at throw it at his face, and that riled up him up. As he waved off the projectile, he failed to notice Kaiser whispering an incantation. A flash of blinding green light assaulted his eyes, and he raised his hand to cover his eyes, but the light itself wasn't the threat. It was the green beam coming to claim his life, that was, but how could he knew that a thirteen years old boy could cast a spell even experienced wizards struggled with?
Kaiser did not feel very good about killing, but it consoled him that they were not human. As far as he was concerned, they forfeited their humanity when they decided to kill their fellow wizards for no reason, not to mention the absurd amount of atrocities they must have done as Death Eaters.
Though, his opponent's reaction gave him a new idea. The last Death Eater was exchanging blows with Harry and Hermione, but they only sent disarming and petrifying hexes his way, while Daphne sent cutting and piercing spells at him. He noticed his friends defeat and immediately created space between him and the groups. The last thing he needed was having to fight on two fronts. But that was unnecessary.
Kaiser cast an overpowered Lumos spell, with a few modifications. He changed the propagation direction of the light, and made it converge at his face, blinding him completely. He reacted by casting a shielding spell around him, and screaming for help. Kaiser's shield breaker and Daphne's piercing spells finished the job.
Their escape route was clear now. All they had to do was run for their lives while giving assistance to the rear. The 'leader' of the Death Eater noticed how the situation was changing, and decided to change their strategy. He whispered something to his friends, and they started retreating slowly.
The leader flew a few meters above the ground, pointed his wand forward and cried: :"Pyronefas Infernalis!" A crimson flame came at of his wand, and took the form of a serpent that hissed at them. The caster was obviously not targeting Snape and Sirius: The serpent flew directly at the group of teenagers.
"Fiendfyre! Use the general counter spell together! Don't use water!" Kaiser cried at them, after regrouping with them. They all pointed their wands at the giant serpent at the same time, bracing themselves for the impact.
"Finite!" they incanted together, conjuring a wall of white light that fought the snake to a standstill. They were about to be overrun, when a silent 'Vipera Evanesca' from Snape hit the snake, reducing it to less potent flames. It appeared that once the spell lost its 'spirit', the potency decreased. They easily dispelled the rest of the flames. They were fortunate the spell didn't have enough power, otherwise it would've been a fool's dream to stop it that way.
On a side note, the trees caught fire. Not just any fire, but Fiendfyre. It would cause a lot of damage before it calmed down.
Kaiser immediately lifted Hermione and started running, followed by the others. With the handicaps they had, they couldn't run very fast, and would ultimately run out of breath. Especially since they had to guard from the Death Eaters on their tail.
Yet it seemed luck was on their side this time; they heard a Death Eater scream. A wolf bit his leg, and a few others of his friends stopped to help him, which decreased the load on Sirius and Snape's shoulders, albeit momentarily.
But it was followed by more wolves jumping mindlessly at them, even after they saw their fellow wolf decapitated. But that wasn't the end of it, soon horned bears, Acromantulas and various magical beasts (attracted by the fight/fire?) jumped at them with rage. They appeared enraged for some reason, but they didn't have the time to think about it. This was their life saving opportunity and they were not about to waste it.
They soon reached the end of Hogwarts' wards' influence, and a panting Kaiser turned to professor Snape: "Can you Disapparate, professor?" Snape nodded.
"Then we'll be leaving you. I'll bring them back to the castle."
They separated into two groups. One with Daphne, Hermione and Harry, and the other with Sirius, Ron and Kaiser.
"Mother Base." Daphne and Kaiser said simultaneously, and a blue vortex formed above each of their groups before it swallowed them with a crack.