Magic of the Night (Harry Potter/Twilight Crossover)

Chapter Twenty-Six:

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX:

I could feel my heart pounding in my chest, beating a furious rhythm against my rib cage. Sweat plastered the cotton material of my shirt to my back, and stray strands of hair had escaped my tight plait. I relied on my magic to warn me of the incoming attack, the vampire too fast for me to actually see rush towards me, and I let my magic explode out of me, defending me from the incoming predator.

A brilliant shield burst into existence, and Jasper collided with it, an instinctive snarl escaping him as it sent him back. A hasty twist of my wrist, fingers clenched tight around my wand, had the shield expand, surrounding me like a vortex. I could see Jasper prowling in a circle around my shield, his features even more inhuman then usual through the shimmering silvery defense. My heart was still pounding wildly in my chest as adrenaline raced through me, and a bead of sweat rolled down my hairline.

"Enough," Jasper finally said, standing back up straight, the veneer of predator stalking its prey falling away as his golden eyes fixed, evaluating, onto my own. I let the shield fall and my wand arm lower. Edward darted over, his hand brushing my shoulder in comfort, helping ease the tenseness. I leaned into his touch, and he wrapped a supportive arm around my waist.

"You can defend yourself against an attacking vampire," Jasper said, his golden eyes still assessing my reactions, "and against me, at that, which means that defending yourself from Victoria, should she show up, would not be a problem for you. The problem is that you cannot let your shield spell drop, which means that you can defend, but you can't attack her- it's a stalemate."

"Let's try something new, then," Luna says, stepping forwards. Her dirty-blonde hair is gleaming silver under the light of the waxing moon, and her skin looks almost luminescent. Luna had explained the traces of fae blood that ran through the pale blue veins I could trace along her thin arms, but it was never more obvious to me then when I looked at Luna under the moonlight, and saw an almost entirely different being. She had always looked ethereal under the moonlight.

Luna takes her place beside me, and Jasper gives no warning before he disappears again, in a movement so fast I don't even register it, don't even try to register it. Magic is... unpredictable. There are few true laws in which magic can be contained, barely any limits that magic itself cannot break. It is the person in control of the magic that limits its capabilities, whether that is because of their resolve and belief or their power levels. Magic in and of itself is sentient in a way. It will react to ensure its survival and the survival of its user. Vampires move fast and my spell needs to react faster then my mind can actively form the spell, so my magic reacts to the intentions I form in a split second, casting a silently summoned shield to encompass Luna and I, the shimmering barrier springing into existence, wrapping around us, in time for Jasper to once again hit it.

Unable to reach us, to breach the shield, I could almost see the humanity bleed from Jasper, his movements becoming more feline, the black dominant in his golden eyes. He stalked in a circle around us, while Luna twisted her wand, her lips mouthing something I couldn't hear. The brilliant beam of light left an afterimage behind my eyelids, a lingering visual impression. Jasper blurred, too fast for the spell to hit him, and then Luna twirled her wand, spinning in a graceful movement. A beam of vivid red light whipped around us, almost like a ribbon, the spell trailing from Luna's wand, almost giving the impression that Luna was a rhythmic gymnast, with her wand as the handle, and the brilliant, thin scarlet beam of light her satin ribbon.

Jasper lets out an instinctive loud, furious growl as the ribbon spell tangles his wrist, forming a shackle, holding him in place. His agitation is visible as he tries to rip through the 'ribbon', only to let out an even louder snarl as every time his fingers try to touch it, they go straight through the spell like it's not even there.