Vanilla

Chapter 10: Mutatus Vita

"Reducto!"

The Blasting Hex did just that, turning a once solid, 4,000 year-old stone basin into dust. Unfortunately, the basin wasn't exactly the target in mind. The intended receiver of said hex was an animated marble statue of Bast, the protector of the pharaohs, to the right of it.

Huddled behind a wall of granite were two Curse-Breaker trainees, Harry and Hermione Potter. The wall was a specialty of Harry's, one he learned from studying earth magic in Australia. Thankfully for the pair, the arrows and javelins being tossed their way had no chance of penetrating Harry's near 25cm thick wall.

After firing off the stray Blasting Hex, Harry ducked back behind the wall. He cursed at himself for missing his animated enemy. Hermione however, had no sympathy.

"So, still sticking with your old stand-by Harry? You know it's not as effective as some others we know." Hermione asked calmly, acting as though she wasn't under attack from a dozen marble statues.

"Yes well... using the same hex at the same time as my lovely wife is just tacky sweetheart," Harry responded in a boring, matter-of-fact tone.

"That hex is so fourth year!" she retorted, trying her best to mimic a girl friend she met while in America, using the best valley-girl voice she could. "Now, let me show you how it's done, Mr. Potter."

Hermione took a deep breath, and quickly stood up, spun around and shot off a powerful spell they learned in Japan. "Bombido!"

The spell hit one of the statues square in the chest. The resulting explosion took out two more surrounding statues. Masonry was flying all over the tomb, and the resulting dust cloud made it difficult to see the other nine assailants.

Hermione ducked back down behind the wall, a playful smirk on her face. "See, much more effective that way, Harry."

Harry could only shake his head at the reaction of his wife. "You know, you are not the same bushy-haired, know-it-all, rule-abiding school girl I met on the Hogwarts Express over ten years ago. You've turned into some creature that's hardly recognizable from that innocent little thing. What happened? Oh, hold that thought..."

Harry spun around, and levitated a couple dozen small rocks on the other side of the wall. With a non-verbal incantation, he banished them towards the oncoming, animated representations of Bast. A split-second later, he casted an enlargement charm on the rocks, turning them into cannon-ball sized boulders. The effect on the statues was immediate and devastating. The flying projectiles tore through the remaining enemies. Some had their arms blown off, others their legs, some both, a few had their heads removed, still others had their bodies utterly pulverized.

After casting the spells, Harry had ducked back down behind the wall to avoid any debris that might rain down upon them. Both Harry and Hermione listened intently, trying to hear if their foes had fallen. Several seconds passed without a sound, and they both peeked over the wall. What they saw was pile after pile of rubble.

Hermione turned to her husband, and shook her head. "Show-off."

Harry nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders, and stood up. "You started it."

"What?" Hermione asked, a shocked expression on her face as she stood next to Harry.

"I said... You started it. You teased me about trying to take them out one at a time. You then proceeded to try and show me up by taking out multiple targets. I simply ended it. That's all. And I believe it's 123 to 95 now, Hermione."