After two exhausting weeks training with Dumbledore, Severus was ready to face the creature causing him issues. After dealing with his first term exams of course. Which, for goodness sake why is he so behind everyone?
He groaned.
"Stop groaning so much, it's not going to do anything y'know. All you can do is study for your exams." Regulus chastised.
"I know, but who the hell decided to make Divination so much of a hassle. I've read this passage ten times already, I still don't understand anything."
Regulus sighed and stood up.
"Let's go for a trip to Hogsmead. Divination is your last paper before you duel that thing right?"
"Well, yes, but --" he got cut off.
"No buts! I miss you, ever since we got back you've been around my brother and his lot. You don't spend time with me anymore! That's not fair at all." Regulus whined, pouting.
Severus laughed, he wished Regulus knew how much he resembled his older brother when he pouted.
"Okay, okay. I haven't been giving you enough love have I? I'll make up for it." He said. Standing up to join Regulus.
They ventured to the Slytherin Common Room to get a warmer set of clothes. Soon leaving the castle.
"Our first stop is HoneyDukes, then we go for some butterbeer, after that we go to a new trinket shop I saw. Thought it suited you," Regulus stated.
"Your word is my command!" Severus replied, as if taking orders.
^_^^_^^_^
Severus did not know that the "new trinket shop" was one that had a range of artifacts that Severus could only dream about.
Maybe I should get this for McGonagall, he thought as he stared at the green hourglass necklace. It had green mist surrounding it, giving a sense of mystery, whilst also giving serenity.
"You have a good eye young sir! This piece is one of my masterpieces, unfortunately, it's not showy enough for most of my clients, so its usually ignored. It's very nice, no?"
Severus jerked back when he heard the man speak. Then he nodded.
The man smiled.
"I knew you would agree, I'm Raphael, the owner of this place. How about I give you a discount for your good eye."
"I'm Severus, nice to meet you sir."
"Severus, what an interesting name. Come, come, let's go ring you up for your necklace, whoever you're buying this for is extremely lucky. This neck piece is charmed to protect them and also boost their natural strengths."
"Why have you stopped young man?" He asked, rounding up behind Severus and looking in the direction that he was.
"Ah, you really do have great taste! This makes me so happy. I like to call those rings the three rings of fate." The man said.
"Legend ha--" The man stopped halfway, as he watched on with Severus as the rings started to glow, the detailing changing into that worthy of royalty.
"Are they supposed to do that?" Severus asked, confused.
"Uhh-- Uhh, not really. Actually, they should. Yeah, they totally should," the man said. Severus thought he was convincing himself more than Severus.
The man continued muttering to himself as he grabbed a purple pouch and three small ring boxes. He placed the rings inside the boxes carefully and then he placed the pendant in the pouch.
He looked up and grinned wolfishly at Severus, "I'll give you the rings for free actually. The trio you'll give them to will be very happy."
This made Severus' face burn. He did not want to admit that the people he thought of were the three Marauders that he's on acquaintance terms with. But the rings would look extraordinary on their fingers.
"Hey, don't think too much about it, you don't have to give it to them you know. You could keep them to yourself. But I would suggest that you give it to them."
This made Severus smile slightly, although it felt strained. He wondered why he'd be given such things for free. They looked so valuable, what would he want from Severus?
He sighed, looking towards the window. He might as well get Christmas shopping done with, he decided as he stared at the black and silver bracelet. It had tiny charms on it that screamed elegance. He decided to get that for Regulus, he thinks he would like it.
After half an hour of begging the shopkeeper to let him pay at least half of what he owed, Severus successfully exited the shop, meeting Regulus outside. Who left before he did to go stock up on stationery.
^_^^_^^_^
Raphael smiled as the black haired boy named Severus left his shop. He could not believe that he met a customer that was able to awaken the rings! He did not tell the boy, but the kid turned a bunch of musty rings into one of the most valuable things in the entire Wizarding world.
Legend had it that when a member of four lovers came in contact with the three rings, they'd lose their disguise of being regular antiques to being rings of great power and strength. The power dictates the magical prowess of the lovers, not just physically but also in regards to their magical core. The strength is in terms of their love, stubborn and conquering all that is in it's way.
But, the lovers aren't just ordinary people. They are a four wizards and/or witches destined to be. Their compatibility exceeds the comprehension of the wizards and witches around them. They just fit. However, not all these lovers get a chance to be together, some have killed eachother in battle, hated the others guts or never acknowledged the others existence.
Now, after decades of the rings being in the possession of his family he can finally see the power of a destined couple flourish and bloom! Just like his great grandmother said, this would be the best sale of his life. He already felt himself getting excited!
All he had to do was wait for the other three to come and awaken the gift of their beloved.
^_^^_^^_^
After a long week of exams the day came. The new moon, the night the monster would be at its weakest and also it's most ferocious form, Severus had to meet it head on that night.
"Good luck, I really hope that you can finally put that thing to rest," Regulus said, looping their hands together as they walked away from the Common Room.
"I want to hang out with you more when you're done with this all. Maybe my brother and his friends will stop stealing you from me too." He continued.
"Ugh! Speak of the devils! I'll see you later Sev, go see your boyfriends." Regulus complained as the three members of the Marauders appeared in their field of vision.
Severus laughed, "I love you too Reggie."
Regulus changed routes and left him be with the Marauders.
They stopped a few feet away from him. He smirked, he had not seen them since the day he talked to James, it's good to know that they are back to being friends again.
"So you've finally decided to stop being petty?" He jested.
They laughed, glancing at eachother.
"I'm glad. I never thought I'd say that in my life." He continued.
"Err--r sorry about that," James said, rubbing his nape.
"Heard you're going face to face with that thing today," Sirius said.
Severus sighed, "Yeah."
Sirius closed the gap between them. Swinging his arm around Severus' shoulder.
"Oh my dear Juliet, what woes you have. As your Romeo, I'm here to wish you luck. If you feel any fear just call out my name, I'll be by your side as soon as possible!" He said, dramatically thrusting his head back and placing his free hand on his chest.
Severus giggled, deciding to play along.
He removed Sirius' arm form his shoulder, opting for holding both of his hands in his own.
"Oh my dear Romeo! I shall remember your words, you must know that any time away from you feels like suffering! I know you will always protect me but I shall trudge this path alone. I'll see you only after victory, so stay strong my love," he said, minus the theatrics. However, he felt the statement was dramatic enough it made him want to cringe.
Frozen, Sirius' face flushed. From his neck to his ears.
He stuttered for a moment before Remus intervened.
"I think you've broken him Severus," He said, pulling Sirius out of Severus' grasp.
Remus sighed.
Pulling Severus toward hims, he hugged Severus fiercely. Engulfing Severus in the scent of dark chocolate and books. It was a comforting hug, so Severus hugged back and burrowed his head into the werewolf's neck. Relishing in the comfort it brought him.
"I'm scared," he admitted.
"I know," Remus replied.
"You must be terrified Sev. For Merlin's sake I'm terrified! But I know you can do it. I trust that you can do it, just believe in yourself, please."
Severus hugged him tighter, then he nodded.
"Good," Remus replied.
There was silence for a moment. Interrupted by a cough that came from James.
Letting go of him, Remus smiled at him encouragingly.
Severus smiled back, before being tackled into a hug that almost sent him to the floor.
The scent of James' cologne mixed with fresh grass attacked his nostrils. He reciprocated the action, smiling slightly.
"Come back alive and as the sarcastic little shit that you are, okay." James murmured, into his shoulder.
"Sure, I'll try," Severus said, chuckling.
"Hey I want a hug too! How could you leave your Romeo out?" Severus heard Sirius whine over James' shoulder.
Laughing, Severus decided that this was not so bad. He would appreciate days like this more often.
^_^^_^^_^
Severus heaved a sigh as he waited for the new moon to rise up to the centre of the sky. That was when Dumbledore would lift the veil that he placed on him.
"Remember my boy, I'll cast a charm that will form a barrier between us and the two of you the moment I lift the veil. It will only drop when you successfully defeat it. I cannot do anything to stop it's power while it attacks you. If the barrier does not drop after you destroy it then it means that it was not destroyed. Don't worry, I'm quite certain that you can do it, I'm also sorry that you have to encounter such a thing in your life here at Hogwarts."
For the first time in his five years at Hogwarts, that was the first time Severus saw the light in the eyes of his Headmaster dim.
Gulping, Severus nodded in response. He would do it as ordered, if everything goes as planned.
Looking up, Dumbledore muttered, "It's time. Let's do this shall we?"
The Headmaster pointed his wand at him and in a split second Severus felt something hurl into his stomach. After he stood up from the force dealt at his stomach, he looked around him and saw the barrier around him, it was dome shaped.
When he looked on in front of him he saw a hideous creature. It looked like a concoction brewed from a nightmare of muggle and wizarding children. It had limbs branching out of it, with a main body that did not make any sense, it was covered in mist, Severus sometimes glimpsing the limbs of a spider, a horse, a lion and something that seemed like a snakes tail as well.
The thing hurled a ball of black mist at him, he dodged successfully. However, Severus realised that speed was something that it mastered. He almost did not see that attack coming. This made him grateful for how fast Dumbledore was during their training sessions.
"You think those four actually care for you Severus," it hissed at him, prolonging the 's' in his name.
"They don't. They will leave you soon, only I will stay. Just like that mudblood, she left didn't she?" It continued.
Severus flinched, "Please don't call her that."
It released what sounded like a chuckle.
It send a blast of its magic again and Severus dodged, but he did not notice the second one coming. It blasted him across the field.
He stood up coughing, ready to stupefy it and then it separated, into four different bodies.
He surveyed them as they surrounded him. There were different levels of magic in each, two being extremely weaker than himself. He attacked those ones first, taking a risk by using wandless magic and his wand simultaneously.
"Katastrefo!" They vanished immediately after taking the hit. Before he could relish in his victory, he felt a cut being formed near his cheek.
"You dare destroy us!" The two remaining hissed.
Flicking his wand quickly, he shot a spell towards one of them. It missed. He thereafter felt his right arm, the one holding his wand crack. Screaming, he realised that a rope that looked like a tree root was wrapped around his arm.
It propelled him till he hit the barrier, making him cough up blood. His body felt like it was on fire. His ears were ringing and his skull felt too heavy for him to carry.
They momentarily ignored him, surveying their surrounding. This gave him enough time to get up and think up how to destroy them-- without a wand.
'Dark magic it is then.'
He started the incantation, asking nature to lend him it's strength, protect him and attack for him. Slowly, he watched as a corpse that resembled an age old centaur emerge from the ground. He hoped it could have enough strength as he felt his own body reaching its limit soon.
It turned and looked at Severus, it was female. He watched as she bowed his head to him.
"Thank you for granting me a chance to be at peace young wizard," she said, her voice airy.
She galloped at the two at lightning quick speed, hurling one to the ground and pummeling at it with the experience of a veteran warrior, Severus watched on in awe as it disappeared into a mist of darkness.
The only one remaining, the spider-legged one seemed to break out of it's stupor after the centaur successfully destroyed its comrade.
It launched an attack at the centaur but it did not hit her as Severus send a blast of magic his way with his good hand, straining it (as wandless magic has a tendency to do that to infrequent users).
It whipped it's ugly head at him and zoomed in at him, transforming into a cloud of black dust and engulfing him.
It felt like ants were walking on his skull, his body started freezing. He rolled around on the ground to ease the pain. In a loop, the bad memories he had with the Marauders, the injustices from his Professors, the loathing and the pain were all made vivid images in his mind.
"Young wizard! Remember what the old wizard said." He vaguely heard.
Recalling what Dumbledore said, he focused on making a platform in his mind that forced the condensation of the creatures magic into one spot. After what felt like a lifetime he was able to bring it together.
"Katastrefo,'' he said, using as much power as he could muster. As he was engulfed in the white light aimed at the creature he heard a scream, it could be his, the monsters, he didn't know, but that was the last thing he remembered before it all went black.
Author's Note : Hi!! Here's an update, hope you enjoy it. I quite like the way it went considering I winged a lot of it. Stay safe, vote and comment! Please give me feedback too!