*Gasp!*

Heather quickly sat upright in her bed, panting heavily. She was completely drenched in sweat from head to toe. The amulet beneath her night dress was glowing brighter than ever, pulsing and pounding like a beating heart against her chest. She placed her hand on her chest as she tried to catch up with her breath. For a moment she thought she was hyperventilating. Then, she thought she was dying.

‘’Oh no,’’ gasped Heather. ‘’No, no, no!’’

She thought she’d never get enough oxygen into her lungs as it took her about five minutes to catch her breath. It was a miracle that none of the other girls were woken up.

What had just happened? She thought.

What she had just woken up from wasn’t a dream, it was real, and it felt real. But she was still alive. Her mind was racing, asking itself a thousand questions by the second. Her heart was beating rapidly and she was trembling beneath the blankets. She looked around to see if she woken anybody.

‘’Why?’’ she asked herself, hoping for Emerald to answer.

Dumbledore wanted, or has to kill her. She now knew what had happened. She had just seen the future, an impossible future. But he would never kill anyone, would he? The vision felt so real as if it had already happened. She placed his hand on her forehead, feeling it boil like a pot on a stove. She slowly slipped out from beneath the stuffy blankets and walked over to the window. The room was lit with yellow and orange rays of light shining through.

It was dawn.

‘’Dumbledore is going to kill me,’’ she said under her breath.

She then turned around.

‘’He wouldn’t,’’ she said shaking her head.

The cold eerie hiss of a woman crept up behind her. Heather froze, wide eyed and unable to move.

‘’You know it to be true,’’ whispered Alys softly.

Heather felt as if Alys was right behind her, leaning over her shoulder and whispering into her ear. She could even feel her hair, trickling against her cheek and her gentle breath caressing her skin.

‘’Why should I believe you,’’ said Heather. ‘’Everything you have told so far is lies!’’

The amulet pulsed, sending waves of possessive energy all over her body. Alys didn’t reply for a moment.

‘’You are a strange wizard Harry Potter,’’ she said coolly.

Heather didn’t reply, fearing that if she turned her head that she would see something horrifying. She felt Alys’ disappear over her shoulder.

Then, she walked around Heather eyeing her from head to toe. She was beautiful, alluring, yet, frightening all at once. She retained an eerie glow making the room chilled and ominous. Heather let out a gasp of relief as she laid eyes on the Emerald Witch walking around her.

‘’You don’t act like a wizard,’’ she said softly. ‘’You refuse to excel your powers, accept your fate and — yes, you are very unusual Mr. Potter.’’

‘’I have no concern for power,’’ said Heather, feeling her blood beginning to boil.

‘’Oh I think you have, I can feel it swelling up inside you. It converges you,’’ said Alys. ‘’Makes you feel . . . predominant.’’

‘’Dumbledore would never do such a thing!’’ shot Heather, beginning to feel reassured of her faith in the Headmaster.

Alys chuckled as she continued to circle Heather. For a few moments she said nothing.

‘’I have something else to show you,’’ she hummed softly. ‘’Would you like to see it?’’

Something horrible was writing within Heather’s stomach, rattling its cage, desperate to be unleashed upon Alys.

‘’I have had enough of your trickery!’’ spat Heather through gritted teeth.

‘’Oh you’ll like this one,’’ said Alys, sounding so very happy with herself. She leaned into Heather’s ear and whispered. ‘’What if I could show you more of the future?’’

Alys backed away from Heather and sunk into a dark mist which formed around the dormitory. A loud droning horn shook the room to its very foundations as dust fell from the ceiling. Heather could feel something inside her head, moving about and pounding her brain with sharp fiery forks. She placed her hands on her head.

‘’No, no, stop, STOP!’’ she cried.

‘’Know you’re fate, know what will become of this world!’’ roared Alys violently.

Images of Hogwarts aflame in green flashed before her eyes. Dumbledore leading an army of wizards and witches circled about his mind; horrible visions of Ron and Hermione lying dead in the mud at the castle gates tore at her mind. It was as if Alys was unlocked the part of her brain which contained her fears.

‘’I will not look!’’ she protested as raised her hands over her eyes.

Then everything stopped as of somebody clicked their fingers. The dormitory returned to normal and oddly nobody was awoken. Heather wondered if it was all in her head.

‘’I’ll never turn!’’ said Heather, hoping for Alys to reply.

It took a moment before the cold whisper breathed down her back.

‘’Very well then,’’ said Alys calmly. ‘’But what I’m right about Dumbledore, what if these visions are true and you are wrong?’’

‘’If it comes to that then I’m going down with you,’’ said Heather calmly. ‘’You cannot tempt me with power and glory. You have failed Emerald. I am a wizard. Not a pawn in your little game.’’

Alys’ face wrinkled up into a cold sneer as she looked at Heather straight in the eyes.

‘’You have already performed extraordinary magic with what I’ve given you. There is no denying that you could’ve hexed the Weasley boy so. You have been given a special gift Harry but you refuse to use it,’’ said Alys coldly. ‘’How very foolish.’’

Heather stopped for a moment to think. Alys’ temptation had no effect on her beliefs but it did make her wonder about her new powers. The duel with Ron a few weeks ago was a prime example of Emerald’s destructive strength.

‘’You cannot deny that what you have foreseen is true. I have given you the chance to carry out the deed alone but I think now it’s only right that I take control of this troubling matter,’’ said Alys. ‘’You have been a good and admirable wizard Harry Potter but if you refuse to kill Dumbledore then I’m afraid I have no choice. You’re death is imminent.’’

There was a few moments silence between them. For a moment Heather thought Alys was actually being sympathetic but it seemed that she couldn’t say anything sincere without a death threat attached at the end of her sentence. She actually felt scared and Alys felt this too.

‘’Such a pity,’’ said Alys softly. ‘’You would have made a great sorceress.’’

She then vanished, leaving Heather standing alone in the sleeping girl’s dormitory. She felt transfixed and somewhat frightened. Her mouth was bone dry and her eyes were wide and emotional. She could hear her heart pound, as if it were inside her ears, reminding her that it was still there.

‘’You’re death is imminent.’’

The sentence continued to repeat itself in her mind until she shook her head and licked her dry cracked lips.

‘’Who the bloody hell were you talking to?!’’ said Daphne, sitting up in her bed.

Heather glared at Daphne, breathing in and out heavily like a swelling dragon.

‘’None of your business,’’ she said darkly.

***

Funny, Alys’ possession often put the taste of ivy in her mouth. Her joints often seized and her muscles felt oddly strong yet stiff at the same time.

Heather sat inside the window staring across at the tall green mountains. She spotted Fawkes circling over the Forbidden Forest crowing loudly. The sky seemed to be tinted with red as if an apocalypse was over the horizon.

‘’You do know don’t you?’’ echoed Alys voice in her mind. ‘’The longer you sit about the closer your death is.’’

She closed her eyes, willing Alys to the back of her mind. She began to think about Ron and Hermione. What were they doing right now? Had they accepted what their best friend had become, a monster, and a broken shadow of her former self.

She could feel her eyes welling up. The rays of sunlight glistened against her tears as it illuminated her pale sunken face.

***

Heather strutted down the corridor looking incredibly miserable. She moved down the Grand Staircase, tapping her foot impatiently as she waited for her stair to move around. When it connected to her platform, she walked briskly down the stair, entering a side corridor on the third floor.

Suddenly, something stabbed her into her chest. Or so she thought. A horrible stinging sensation engulfed her entire body. She felt as if several daggers were stuck in her. She grunted with pain, clenching her chest and squeezing her eyes shut in agony. She looked around for support, leaning up against the empty corridor hall in order to restrain herself from falling. The pain accelerated, reaching to the point of Heather letting out a horrible scream. For a moment she thought she was dying, then, the pain slowly died down.

She was left gasping for air.

‘’What the -,’’ she said breathlessly.

She looked around, her hand still on her chest as it puffed in and out. After a few moments of relieving herself, Heather felt a little weaker as she tried to walk. Her knee’s shook as she walked down the hall. She stumbled sideways up against a suit of armour causing a loud crash to echo. Everything went black for a moment, her vision focusing back to a complete blur.

She was disorientated and confused, trying to stand again but the stabbing pain returned to her chest. She moved up against the wall with one hand supporting her. She groaned in pain as she backed up against the wall, sliding down until her behind hit the ground.

‘’What is this Emerald,’’ she said, gritting her teeth and spewing saliva violently, ‘’another part of the curse yeah?’’

Emerald didn’t reply. She was left there on her own to deal with the sheer pain crashing down upon her. Yet, after a few moments the stabbing sensations vanished. She sat on the ground, exhausted and sweating. She looked down to see that something between her breasts was glowing, the amulet. She reached in to pull it out but she couldn’t. It wouldn’t budge as it bound itself to her skin.

‘’Come on Emerald, don’t get all silent with me now!’’ she said.

Emerald didn’t reply. Panic began to set in followed by frustration as she picked herself up from the ground. It was a miracle that nobody had found her. She looked around and continued to walk down the corridor. She suddenly felt very weak, as if somebody had sucked all of the energy from her body. She cursed Emerald for not replying to her when she wanted to.

She needed to be alone to think. Her eyes darted from each end of the corridor to the other as she walked in slow steady steps, feeling her legs shaking under the strain of standing. What was happening to her? Her knees nearly buckled beneath her several times as she kept her left hand on the wall.

She felt really old.

She decided to open the next door on the corridor, hoping with all her heart that it would be empty. She gained a little energy as she approached the arched wooden door, lifted the latch and pushed it open. The hinges creaked loudly across the empty classroom.

She entered and slammed the door behind her. Her breathing became more repressed as she wobbled and stumbled up against the nearest desk. She sat down on the wooded floor, coughing and spluttering violently as her skin began to glimmer with sweat. She felt as if she was breaking out in some sort of a violent fever. She sat on the ground for a few minutes before taking off her school jumper. She tugged at the tie and threw it aside, sending air in and around her chest. She quickly unbuttoned the blouse and looked down at the amulet.

It was embedded into her chest, literally. Skin was beginning to grow over the rims of the octagon shaped pendant as if it were sinking into her flesh. She let out a strained yelp as she saw what was happening to her. She looked around the room to check if anybody was there, just in case. She touched the emerald diamond with her nail, doing so sent cold shivers all over her body.

A shot of pain stung her chest once again. She let out a horrible screeching roar of pain for the first time. She felt as if her heart was on fire or her lungs were being stabbed repeatedly with deadly knives. The pain died down within moments and cold sensation ran down her spine. She buried her head over her crossed arms upon her knees, panting heavily.

‘’You’re dying,’’ said a soft, hypnotic voice.

Heather quickly looked up. Emerald was sitting against one of the school desks, looking more alive and healthier than ever. However she wasn’t smiling; rather she had a look of sorrow and pity on her cool soft face. She was still only dressed in the plainest of robes but her frightening beauty was more than visible to the eye. She sighed mournfully as she stared at Heather’s tragic state.

‘’I didn’t wish for it to come to this Harry,’’ she said coolly, ‘’but seeing as you refuse my help then I’m afraid there’s nothing else I can do for you.’’

Heather felt her heart pounding fiercely in her chest as the word ’dying’ played over in her mind. She didn’t know what to say back. How does one address somebody who was slowly killing them inside? She felt as if all sound was drained out of the room, all to be heard was her heart and breathing. She felt she had known for some time that her death was imminent. And now that she knew the truth.

‘’Dying,’’ she repeated, whispering lowly.

Terror washed over her as she lay on the floor, with that funeral drum pounding inside her. All those times she had thought that it was about to happen and escaped, she had never really thought about the thing itself: her will to live had always been so much stronger than her fear of death. Yet it did not occur to her now to try to escape, to outrun Emerald, but it was impossible. One cannot outrun something that lives within.

‘’As the sun goes down tonight you will pass your body on to me and you shall embrace death. You have been a good and faithful host for me Harry Potter but as long as you are unwilling to combine your strengths with mine then I’m afraid we cannot live within the same body anymore.’’

Heather felt her fingers trembling slightly but she made an effort to control them. Her fear quickly changed, mixing with her strong emotions of sadness and upset. She felt her blood beginning to boil over as her green eyes glistened with forming tears.

‘’So that’s it,’’ she said shakily, feeling a lump forming in her throat. ‘’You’re just going to push me out of my own body and take it as your own.’’

Emerald stared blankly at Heather as if she were some incompetent child.

‘’This is what I get, my reward; to die for something evil or to change into another person,’’ said Heather, her eyes arched, aflame and tearfully angry. ‘’Some choice,’’ she added darkly. ‘’Even if I chose to become one with you it would feel like dying, everything I am and ever was would die. Some new person goes sauntering away.’’

Emerald’s expression reeked with empathy and discontent.

‘’…And I’m dead,’’ added Heather shakily.

‘’You had your choice!’’ hissed Emerald, wrinkling her nose.

‘’It’s not a choice!’’ bellowed Heather, trying to stand. ‘’It is death either way!’’

She pulled herself up on her two feet, her hands shaking with terror and asperity.

‘’Tell me, Emerald, why did you curse me? Why did you lure me out of my bed that night? Why did you HAVE to put me through ALL of this?!’’ she roared.

‘’It was a random choice, it could have been anybody that night,’’ sneered Emerald, slipping off the table and walking close to Heather, face to face.

‘’Lies!’’ bellowed Heather, her voice breaking under the heavy emotions crashing over her. ‘’That’s all everyone has told me all my life, lies, lies, lies -,’’

‘’This is all irrelevant. You have no say in this anymore!’’ said Emerald, cutting across Heather.

‘’I have spent time after time coping with things coming at me but oh yes! You had to be one of them! You had to come to Hogwarts to curse me and transform me into a — into a — a GIRL!’’ she shouted tearfully as she paced about the room, ‘’because that’s all you’ve ever been Emerald, just there, your existence, waiting for me to be born so this could happen.’’

She walked around the side of a single desk, her anger building up to dangerous limits.

‘’And what do I get? Dying. WELL IT’S NOT FAIR!’’ she screamed, flipping a desk over, crashing loudly against the stone floor.

She felt months of locked up emotions escape from her mouth as she let finally let herself free of the curses boundaries. Streams of thunderous cries were begging to be unleashed but she repressed them, held them back, afraid of what she could be capable of. Her hands were held together behind her head as she bit her lower lip tearfully. As she walked she began to feel more alive, and more aware of her own living body than ever before. Her breath came slow and deep, and her mouth and throat were completely dry. She blinked, the tear drops squeezing out between her eyelids and dripping down her pale cheeks.

‘’This cannot be fate,’’ she muttered under her breath. ‘’It wasn’t supposed to be this way.’’

A wide heinous smile formed across Emerald’s face as she watched Heather stare down at her feet, obviously terrified and trapped in complete despair.

‘’You have until sundown,’’ said Emerald coldly.

She then vanished.

Heather was left alone in the classroom, teary and fatigued. She looked around the cluttered room. Her heart was leaping against her ribs like a frantic bird. Perhaps it knew it had little time left, perhaps it was willing to fulfil a lifetimes beats before the end.

She left the empty classroom, frail and weak. She did not look back. Like rain on a cold window, thoughts of fear and anger pattered against the hard surface of the incontrovertible truth, which was that she must die. I must die. It must end. But for nothing, in embracing death she would be unleashing a dark force over the world. In staying alive and bonding with Emerald she would also be casting something evil. It was unfair. How was it that nobody could have foreseen this? How come nobody had helped her? And why should she die for something evil.

The castle was empty. Everybody was either in class or in the Great Hall feasting on dinner. She felt ghostly striding through it alone, as if she had already died. The whole place suddenly seemed to be dead and eerily still. She was thinking; thinking about Ron and Hermione. They seemed a long way away, in a far off country; she felt as if she had parted from them long ago. In some sense she had. There would be no goodbyes and no explanations, she was determined of that. This was a journey that they could not take together, and the attempts they would make to stop death from coming would be too painful to watch. Nobody could help her. There was no way.

She knew she had just one thing left to do. She had to approach somebody and warn them that The Emerald Witch would return that night. Her return would be a lethal surprise upon the school and there would be most likely chaos, destruction and death. Perhaps this was her destiny.

She descended through the castle floors, at last walking down the marble staircase into the Entrance Hall. A tiny part of her wanted to be stopped by someone, to be cared about.

As she walked around a corner, Neville bumped straight into her. He looked down to see that it was Heather. His eyes widened with fear as he took a few steps back like a frightened child.

‘’Neville, it’s me,’’ said Heather.

‘’I know it’s you and — and I don’t want any trouble Heather — p-please,’’ he gibbered.

She looked at Neville who was literally shaking. Realisation dawned upon her. What have I become? She thought. Her friend, horrified to even look at her.

‘’Neville,’’ she said softly. ‘’You have nothing to fear, It’s me, Harry,’’ she said honestly.

Neville’s frightened expression softened as his crooked, frozen posture loosened up. He tried to look at her but he couldn’t, instead staring at his shoes. Heather walked closer to him.

‘’Neville, I’m so, so sorry,’’ she said, trying to get him to look at her. ‘’I — I’ve changed but you don’t need to worry anymore because I’m back.’’

Neville looked at her, suddenly knowing that it was Harry who was speaking and not Emerald.

‘’Harry…’’ he said, a slight smile forming.

‘’Yes it’s me,’’ smiled Heather, feeling as if a warm blanket was suddenly draped around her shoulders.

‘’What a-about the — the curse?’’ asked Neville confusedly.

Heather now knew who she would warn about the return of Emerald. She knew who would be noble enough to carry the message to Dumbledore. It had to be Neville.

‘’Look, that doesn’t matter right now,’’ stated Heather seriously. ‘’I have something to tell you. It’s important.’’

Neville’s smile vanished and his face changed to a serious, soldier like expression ready for duty. Heather didn’t quite know how to warn him without mentioning her approaching death.

‘’Neville, this might sound incredibly strange but you have to trust me on this, okay?’’ said Heather.

He nodded, listening to her every word.

‘’You are not to say this to anyone before night, understand?’’

Neville nodded quickly, looking a little scared at the seriousness of Heather’s mission.

‘’Tonight, something big is going to happen, something very dangerous. I need you to go to Dumbledore straight away and I want you to warn him. Tell him to get everyone in the castle somewhere safe. Tell him that he must hide.’’

Neville continued to listen, his face becoming stiffer by the second.

‘’Tell him that this comes from me,’’ said Heather. ‘’He will understand.’’

‘’W-What does all this mean?’’ asked Neville worriedly, his beady eyes beginning to glisten.

‘’Don’t ask questions Neville, you need to trust me on this one. Just go to Dumbledore and tell him that I’ve told you.’’

‘’Why can’t you do it?’’ asked Neville, beginning to feel untrusting of Heather’s simple yet possibly dangerous task.

‘’If you don’t then Hogwarts is doomed,’’ she said darkly.

Neville looked as if he was just blown away by a powerful gust of wind. The heavy burden of responsibility fell upon his shoulders like a terrifying yet wild conscience urging him to do the noble thing.

‘’It’s vital that you go now,’’ said Heather.

Neville stood rooted to the spot stiffer than a stone statue.

‘’GO!’’ bellowed Heather.

It was as if something electric jabbed him in the behind as he broke into a run down the opposite corridor. He stopped and turned back to Heather, smiling.

‘’It’s good to have the proper you back, Harry,’’ he said, beaming from ear to ear.

Heather didn’t smile back; rather she felt her heart ache with sadness. She suddenly had an urge to go see all the ones she loved, Hermione, Ron and Ginny. She felt that she would have given all the time remaining to her for just one last look at them; but then, would she ever have the strength to stop looking? It was better like this.

Then a shot a pain engulfed her chest. She grunted, gritting her teeth and tried to oppress the pain. The amulet sunk further into her chest, making Heather feel much weaker. She leant up against the wall with one arm, breathing and choking back tears.

‘’You cannot warn them,’’ whispered Emerald. ‘’It is too late.’’

Heather closed her eyes, trying to not let Emerald in. She pushed her into the back of her mind, repressing her dark thoughts. She wasn’t going to let Emerald tamper with her last hour in this world.

She regained her strength and limped back towards the Slytherin common room. She met several students along the way. They were blissfully unaware of the excruciating pain she was in. They had no idea what was to come that night. It was strange, being the only one knowing the future. When she reached the Slytherin dungeons she met Daphne and Blaise.

‘’Where have you been all day?’’ asked Daphne suspiciously.

Heather just walked straight by her, ignoring her as if she wasn’t there. Remarkably Daphne didn’t say a word. She descended down into the dark dreary dungeons and looked around. It was so dark, depressing and melancholic. She limped over to the girl’s dormitory, her legs frail and shaking. She fell to her knees at the foot of her four poster bed in front of her trunk.

She was exhausted. Her eyes were closed shut as she breathed through her nose, listening to her heartbeat. It suddenly seemed so beautiful, life itself. She opened her eyes, feeling a little regenerated. She opened the clasps on her trunk and looked into it. Her eye was caught by a leather bound book. She picked it up and looked at the brown cover.

A tear trickled down her cheek as she opened it to see a moving photograph of her, as baby Harry smiling with her parents. She looked into her parents eyes. They seemed more alive than ever before. They seemed to feel closer to her. She turned the page to see herself, as eleven year old Harry laughing with Ron and Hermione. Her heart ached mournfully. She felt as if she never wanted to take her eyes off of the picture. She couldn’t bring herself to look through the rest of the book so she gathered up all of her courage closed it.

She grabbed her invisibility cloak and ran her fingers through the soft transparent fabric. She heard muffled footsteps so she threw it over herself. Daphne entered the room with Millicent, cursing Heather for being a ‘’stuck up, snobby cow!’’.

‘’How dare she ignore me! How dare she!’’ she kept saying.

Heather moved around the dormitory under the cloak. She didn’t feel in the slightest but angry at Daphne’s comments. She had more important matters on her mind. The cloak was, as ever, impenetrable, perfect and she reached the dungeon exit, leaving the Slytherin common room for the very last time.

She moved through the corridors stealthily, moving in and around students like a cat. It seemed the castle suddenly became more crowded, carrying on with not a care in the world. Again, she felt ghostly as she glided around the hallways. Perhaps some tiny part of her hoped to be sensed, to be seen, to be stopped but she wouldn’t allow herself.

She stepped outside into the cold evening. It was already beginning to get dark and the sun was beginning to flare. Ripples of cold undulated over Heather’s skin. She wanted to shout out to the sun, she wanted everyone to know that she was there; she wanted everyone to know what was going to happen to her. She wanted to be stopped, to be dragged back, and to be sent home…

But she was home. Hogwarts was the first and best home she had known. Many wizards and witches had all found home here…

She moved around the silent castle grounds, her breathing making the air condensate beneath the cloak. She saw Hagrid’s hut in the distance at the edge of the forest. The lights were on and there was smoke rising from the chimney. All those visits to Hagrid, and the gleam of the copper kettle on the fire, and rock cakes and giant grubs, and his great bearded face, and Ron vomiting slugs and Hermione helping him save Norbert…

She could have sworn she saw the young Ron, Hermione and Harry leaving the hut, saying goodbye to Hagrid. They were memories long echoed from the past. She shook the hallucination from her head and moved on.

She walked about the castle grounds, feeling the chill of death breathing down her neck. She could no longer control her own trembling. It was not, after all, so easy to prepare to die. Every second she breathed, the smell of the grass, the cool air on her face, was so precious: to think that people had years and years, time to waste, so much time it dragged, and she was clinging to each second. At the same time she thought that she would not be able to go on. Her anger towards Emerald was the last thing on her mind. Some would say that she was giving up but the mere fact that her killer lies within is impossible to avoid. She had to face it head on.

She looked at the Quidditch pitch in the distance. The tall, towering stands draped proudly with the house crests and colours. The sun was sinking lower, lower, lower…

The sounds of thunderous applause, cheering and stomping echoed at the back of Heather’s mind.

‘’Harry Potter has caught the snitch! Gryffindor wins!’’ announced Lee Jordon, the commentator.

Heather gave a bittersweet smile as she stared at the pitch, the ghostly sounds of cheering echoing in her ears. If she was to die, she would die a Gryffindor. She let the cloak slip off of her body. She drew her wand and waved it over her Slytherin uniform. The green and silver on her tie and jumper changed to scarlet and gold. The serpent on the crest transformed into a courageous lion. The uniform tidied itself and neatened along with her pleated skirt, socks and shoes.

The stabbing pain returned to her chest once again and she moaned in pain. She nearly collapsed on the grass, bent double, she grunted as the pain slowly died down again. Breathing fast and hard, she stared down at her body. The amulet beneath her jumper and blouse had sunken further into her skin.

She gathered all of her little strength and limped painfully back towards the castle. She threw the cloak back over herself and noticed how strained her breathing had become. It felt like the walk of death, it seemed to go by so slowly yet so fast. The time was drawing closer.

She entered the castle by the west entrance hall, a part of the school not usually filled with many students. She glided around the castle corridors, taking in every precious second as if it were another year. She looked at her watch. It was near.

Then, as she walked around a corner, she found Ron and Hermione sitting down inside a window ledge with their arms around one another. Heather’s heart leapt and she stopped dead in her tracks. Hermione looked at where she was standing.

‘’Is somebody there?’’ she asked the airspace.

Heather wanted to say ‘’yes’’ so desperately but she couldn’t. If she said anything, she wouldn’t be able to bring herself to leave.

‘’Could’ve sworn I heard footsteps myself?’’ said Ron confusedly.

The two brushed it off as nothing and returned to their silence. Arm in arm, they comforted each other with warm forced smiles. It broke Heather’s heart to see that her two best friends were in so much pain, because of her. She moved quietly by them and stood, watching them both. She wanted to throw the cloak off and hug them both so badly that she didn’t care about the pain it would cause them. It was best this way.

Suddenly, the loud booming voice of Albus Dumbledore echoed across the castle, reaching every corner of the school. Every wizard, witch, goblin and elf jumped, looking around and startled by the sudden announcement.

‘’Hogwarts is threatened!’’ bellowed the thundering voice of Dumbledore. ‘’A dark force has penetrated the castle walls. Every student is to go to their dormitories immediately and remain there until further instruction!’’

His voice then drained out and there was silence. The castle was still and quite, everything suddenly changing from normal to unnatural. Not a word was uttered by anybody as they received the shocking news. Students gazed at each other, terrified. The announcement repeated once again.

Heather stood, feeling herself becoming weaker. Ron and Hermione looked at each other as the feeling of terror and shock dawned upon them.

‘’Heather,’’ they said simultaneously.

They then slid out of the ledge and broke into a sprint down the corridor leaving Heather standing alone and invisible. Her mind was racing. For a quick second she felt like acting out against this ‘’dark force’’ but then she remembered it was her who was the threat. It was all so surreal. For a moment she even forgot that she was dying.

She continued to move down the corridor, hunch backed and panting heavily. She walked out onto a hall packed with hundreds of students pushing and shoving their way to the dormitories. The loud shrieks of panic sent shivers down her spine. The sound of a hundred voices shouting and roaring caused chaos and pandemonium. The Professors, head-boys and girls tried desperately to keep order but it was impossible. It was a riot that nobody could control.

Heather turned and took a flight of stairs up onto the next floor. She opened the wooden door and stepped onto an empty corridor. The loud roars and screams of students drained out as the door slammed behind her. She was left in silence; all to be heard was the distant wind whistling. The long corridor joined onto the clock tower. She stared down the hallway which seemed to stretch on forever. She felt that it was the walk between life and death. She didn’t want to move. She felt like waiting there forever.

The amulet slipped further into her chest, causing her to wince. It should have been painful but it was not. She looked down, her eyes closed muttering to herself, ‘’don’t be afraid.’’

And she set off. She let the cloak slip off of her body as she marched mournfully towards the end of her life. There was no sound, nothing but deafening silence as she walked closer to the end of the hall. Her body and mind felt oddly disconnected now, her limbs working without conscious instruction, as if she were a passenger, not driver, in the body she was about to leave.

Then, a cruel stinging sensation engulfed her entire body. This time she fell flat on the floor, screaming and writhing, feeling as if her insides were burning and melting. She thought it would never end as the pain excelled to horrible heights. She wasn’t going to go out like this, not like a weakling. She gathered herself up and shakily stood on her two feet, her arm wrapped around her aching sides. She stumbled and slipped towards the door at the end of the hall, groaning tearfully.

The pain died down slightly as she opened the door and stepped inside the cold breezy tower. She looked up, thankful she didn’t have far to climb. She turned to the stone steps and placed her foot on the first, beginning the ascension to towards death. She walked up each step, feeling her body becoming more disconnected until she reached the large steel bell, hanging behind the cogs and gears of the gigantic clock face.

She walked around it several times, tears streaming down her cold stiff face. She placed her hand on her chest to feel the amulet. It was gone. It had sunken into her body completely. She felt her heart pounding harder than ever as if it were trying to make up for the rest of its could-have-been life. She looked down to see that her hands were emitting an emerald glow. She looked up again, trying to be brave. She limped towards the clock, facing the half hidden view of the distant mountains. Wind blew her hair back as it caressed her skin. She closed her eyes tight, waiting for it to happen.

‘’I don’t want to die,’’ she said shakily.

Her face then lit up, emitting an emerald glow like her hands. It was her choice when to die and it felt like she was on the edge of a cliff, hesitating to do something she didn’t want to die. She looked around at her body one last time then looked up, water filling her eyelids as she stared out at the sun, sinking down behind the tall green distant mountains. This is it…

Heather’s head flung back and her arms held upright like a star as streams of bright green magic burst like a cannon violently out from her hands and head. The clock tower shook, making debris and dust fall from the ceiling, rocking the very structure to its foundations. The entire castle heard as everybody’s heads turned to the tower.

All Heather could see was warm green flowing energy as her chest pounded in and out. She screamed loudly, as if she were in labour sending pulses of energy throughout her entire body. Then, in her eyes she saw memories flash before her eyes. Laughing with Ron and Hermione, hugging Sirius, Dumbledore nodding warmly to him from across the great hall, the picture of his mother and father waltzing and so suddenly, very quickly, for Harry James Potter there was nothing …

It was quicker and easier than falling asleep.

The body that used to belong to Harry was hidden behind a blinding green glow. The tower continued to rattle and the noise of falling debris was drained out by a loud horrid scream. Beams of energy flowing from her arms and head vaporised large chunks off of the stonework. The figure screamed as the light formed into mist. Emerald wailed as she took control her new body at long last.

Then, emerging from the green mist, was an icy surge of terror, the dark outline of a woman, tall and elegantly thin, rising out of a green mist.

Alys, the Emerald Witch, examined her body. Her long, slender fingers caressed her own chest, her arms, her face; the emerald green eyes, whose pupils were slits, like a cats, gleamed still more brightly through the darkness. She held up her hands and flexed the fingers, her expression rapt and exultant. She looked nearly the same as before bar the piercing eyes and the air of darkness that surrounded her cold merciless expression.

Dark wisps of matter floated about the green mist like fabric underwater. They were drawn to Alys’ body. They attached to her Gryffindor uniform, forming new robes and clothing around her thin body. The uniform vanished, being replaced with an ankle length jet-black dress, sleeveless and v-necked. High heeled boots, tight black corset, elbow length sleeves and a long black hooded cloak.

The green mist swept away and Alys took her first step. A slight smile formed across her face, a look of achievement, an expression of fulfilment. She had returned. She chuckled to herself, delighted that everything went to plan after so many centuries.

She walked around the steel bell, barely hanging from the hinges of the greatly damaged tower. She felt alive and in control of her own body. She no longer had to share with another, living off an engaged body like some sort of wretched parasite. She truly had returned to life.

The wind whistled eerily through the large steel clock, a complete contrast to the loud noise of destruction just moments ago. The sky was nearly dark as dusk turned into night. The moon loomed out of the dark sky as stars scattered across the deep navy sea. The entire castle was still, everyone held their breaths, waiting for something else abnormal to happen.

Alys continued to smile as her hand slipped inside her robes. She slowly drew the wand that used to belong to Harry Potter and lifted it up, admiring its simple, yet powerful capabilities. She bent it slightly and raised it to her ear.

‘’Holly,’’ she whispered. ‘’Phoenix feather.’’

She gave a toothy smile as she turned for the balcony to her right, the wind blowing against her long white hair, caressing her soft skin, filling her with new life. She walked slowly to the balcony, gripping her new wand firmly. She stepped outside, feeling a powerful gust of cold wind blow against her robes. She looked over the castle, beaming darkly from ear to ear. She raised her wand majestically and pointed it straight up, cackling manically as green lightning ignited from the tip of her wand, building up and firing up into the sky like a loud cannon ball. Her green lightening flashed amongst the dark clouds, the faint image of a face, flashing every nanosecond.

It was as if the castle had turned into an insane asylum. The atmosphere was chaotic as every living soul in the castle felt a cold stab of terror press unto them. Students became violent, punching and hexing their way through the crowds in order to get to the common room. People were wedged inside doorframes, struggling to get through as the Professors tried desperately to keep order. Dumbledore’s emergency message kept repeating, as if it were recorded, echoing throughout the corridors.

‘’Hogwarts is threatened! A dark force has penetrated the castle walls. Every student is to go to their dormitories immediately and remain there until further instruction!’’

‘’Hufflepuffs! STOP PUSHING!’’ cried Professor Sprout, caught within the mayhem.

The only house orderly enough to make it to the common room entrance was Gryffindor. Hundreds of students filled the corridors, some quivering with fear, others wanting to fight, and some simply wanting to be safe. The head-boy stood beside The Fat Lady portrait, a quick quotes quill ticking off each name of the student as they flooded into the hole rapidly. Ron and Hermione were the only two absent.

They were running; running as fast as they could towards the clock tower, skidding around corners at high speeds, panting and puffing as they gasped for air. Hermione was much faster as she sprinted up the staircase and pushed through wooden door, legging it as fast as she could down the long corridor that connected to the tower. Ron followed, exhausted and fatigued. He was carrying something in his hand.

‘’Hermione!’’ he gasped breathlessly. ‘’Look!’’

She turned to him to see that he had his hand out.

‘’What?’’ she said, raising her brow with confusion.

‘’It’s Harry’s cloak!’’ he said sacredly. ‘’I nearly tripped over it on the way here!’’

Hermione looked into Ron’s worried eyes as she prepared herself for the worst. They both stepped inside the clock tower.

It was like a ghostly ruin. The roof had been half blown off, large chunks of debris was scattered everywhere. Wind blew through the gaping holes torn in the side of the tower and dust blanketed everything solid. Hermione’s heart pounded against her chest as she looked up at the bell which was barely hanging from the latch. Ron stood by her side, his eyes wide and emotive as he stared up. Then, their hands touched. Hermione’s head turned to Ron and he nodded gently to her.

They climbed the stone steps one by one, hand in hand, fearful of what they might find at the top of the tower. Hermione’s breathing became shaky and tearful as they ascended further up the tower, coming closer by the second. They reached the top to find nothing but debris and a powerful gust of wind blowing in from the west. They walked around the eerily silent place observing every detail. Ron was the first to speak.

‘’Where is she?’’ said Ron. ‘’Where is Heather?’’

Hermione already knew what happened and it crashed upon her like an explosive wave of pain. Emerald had taken complete hold and her best friend was dead.

‘’Do you think Heath — Harry has -,’’

‘’Don’t!’’ cried Hermione.

She then ran to him and cried into his shoulder as the revelation dawned upon them both. Harry had died because of the curse. Ron wrapped his arms around her, shaking his head as he shut his eyes tightly.

‘’No!’’ he kept repeating. ‘’No, no, no! This isn’t supposed to happen!’’

Alys was elsewhere in the castle, walking down alongside the main entrance corridor with her hood up and her wand drawn. She had a look of determination on her face, a slight smile, an expression that said kill. She swept around the front courtyard loving the screaming of panicking students in the distance. Her boot heels clomped against the stone cobbled ground as she walked down a long pathway leading to the main entrance doors. She was breathing through her nose like a fiery dragon about to consume its prey.

Then, in the distance somebody was running towards her. Draco Malfoy, looking utterly petrified and panicked as he looked over his shoulder. He noticed Alys and his face formed into a wide smile of relief. Thinking she was Heather, Malfoy ran to Alys and gripped her in a tight hug. He surely signed his own death warrant.

‘’Darling, I was looking for you everywhere! We have to get inside now, the doors are closing and I don’t want to die tonight. We have to get out of here!’’ he said gasping, pulling down Alys’ hood.

He stood back, looking at Alys from head to toe, noticing that his ‘girlfriend’ wasn’t acting quite normal.

‘’W-Why are you dressed like that?’’ he stuttered as fear built up inside him.

Alys didn’t reply. She just stared at Malfoy straight in the eyes with her piercing cat-like eyes. Terror fell upon Malfoy like a cold wave of ice as he realised that the castles threat was standing in front of him. She had trapped him in a seemingly never ending gaze. Her stare horrified him but he couldn’t turn away, he wish he could but he couldn’t. Alys broke the gaze by walking by him, leaving him frozen and stiff.

When she disappeared around the corner, Malfoy gasped as he felt a strange tingling sensation engulf his entire body. He looked down to see the chest of his jumper tightening and the sides of his blonde hair growing rapidly. He let out a petrified scream of terror, echoing across the castle. His shoulders dropped in broadness and his stomach pressed in causing him to gasp for air. His thighs widened, his behind grew out and his legs grew long and slender. He raised his hands shakily to his eyes to see his hands were smaller and his nails were longer.

‘’Nooooooo!’’ he shrieked.

Meanwhile, Dumbledore was in his office, leaning up against the marble pillar beside the Pensieve, his face looking older, paler and sunken. His eyes glistened behind his half moon spectacles perched upon his long crooked nose as he stared into the basin. The image of an eleven year old Harry sitting on the stool with the sorting hat placed upon his head swirled about like dark ink liquid. He hummed mournfully as he clenched his chest, feeling that something special was lost.

The wooden door swung open, crashing against the wall as Professor Snape loomed through, his jet-black robes flaring like the wings of a bat. He was followed by Professor McGonagall who fixed herself upright and fierce. Dumbledore turned away from the Pensieve and faced them both.

‘’Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Gryffindor and Slytherin students are being checked into their common rooms as we speak,’’ said Snape, dead and unanimated.

Dumbledore nodded and simply said, ‘’good’’

‘’However,’’ Snape added. ‘’The probability that every single student will comply by these obscure emergency procedures is and seems very unlikely.’’

Dumbledore said nothing.

‘’To hide over a thousand students away within a matter of minutes is near impossible!’’ said McGonagall, wide eyed and outraged.

McGonagall moved around the office, her eyes bulging and emotional. She looked as if she was choking back the tears, attempting to retain her tough demeanour. She faced Dumbledore in silence, Snape standing in the background. The old Headmaster looked unusually calm about the entire situation and as a result it made McGonagall feel enraged.

‘’Just look at what you have brought upon this school,’’ she said in a stiff cold tone. ‘’Because of you refusing to take action against this dark curse inflicted on the Potter boy you have sentenced Hogwarts and its inhabitants to death.’’

‘’…Minerva,’’ said Dumbledore, raising his hand slightly to speak.

‘’You were meant to protect the boy! After all he has been through you sat by and watched him slowly die by hands of this dreaded curse!’’ said McGonagall shakily.

Snape was silent, knowing that he was as much to blame as Dumbledore seeing as he once agreed with his actions in the first place. He stared into a trance, feeling alien emotions welling up inside him.

Harry Potter, dead?

‘’I trusted you. We all did because we foolishly believed in you once again Albus,’’ bellowed McGonagall. ‘’Why is it that you have waited until now, until we were barely hanging on a thread, to take action, when it was too late?!’’

She took a moment to stop and breathe as she waited for Dumbledore to say something back. But he didn’t. He stood rooted to the spot, his eyes hidden behind the glare of his spectacles. If anybody could take a guess his eyes would most certainly be watery.

‘’Harry is not dead,’’ said Dumbledore softly. ‘’He will come through, I am certain of it and I stand by my actions as always, Minerva.’’

It was obvious that McGonagall couldn’t believe what she was hearing as her mouth hung open with shock. Yet she continued to listen.

‘’However,’’ added Dumbledore. ‘’I will take full responsibility if any living soul within the castle harmed tonight. I will face The Emerald Witch myself and I will redeem Harry to his former self.’’

‘’You assume too much Albus!’’ bellowed McGonagall. ‘’If what I’ve heard about this curse is true then I’m afraid Harry Potter has truly passed on!’’

‘’He is not DEAD!’’ bellowed Dumbledore.

He swept past Snape and McGonagall, carrying his long cloak with his two hands with a mixture of remorse, denial and duty on his face. Snape shook his head as his eyes followed Dumbledore across the room to the door.

‘’No, you can’t!’’ protested Snape.

Dumbledore turned his head before opening the door to listen to what Snape had to say.

‘’Albus, I must employ you to reconsider your options. Do not underestimate the power of Emerald. If the legend of her strength is true then I’m afraid you won’t stand much of a chance,’’ said Snape.

‘’All along we have been given a choice Severus, only one, we have no other.’’

He then left Snape and McGonagall alone in the office.

‘’I have no idea what has gotten into him recently,’’ said McGonagall. ‘’Perhaps his brilliance has long passed with time.’’

Snape didn’t say anything. He stared at the shut door Dumbledore had just walked through as if he were looking down over a cliff ready to jump but hesitant at the same time. The dust on in the air surrounding the door frame has not yet settled. He took a step forward followed by another.

‘’What are you doing Severus?’’ asked McGonagall worriedly.

‘’I’m going to help the Headmaster destroy The Emerald Witch once and for all.’’

***

Emerald stood outside the large wooden doors, towering fifteen feet above her. They were shut tight and protected by transparent magical barriers. She stood darkly, her face hidden and her wand resting snugly between her fingers. She drew her arm back as if it were an elastic slingshot, building up power within her wand. Then, a loud crash shook the very foundations of the castle as black streams of magic ignited from the tip of her wand like a canon. The forceful impact threw the huge doors off of their hinges with one swift crash, creating a large cloud of dust within the entrance hall.

She stepped inside the castle. The clomping of her heels against the stone floor bounced off of the walls creating a loud echo. The castle was almost silent. The only sound to be heard was the distant rush of students. She looked ahead through the dark musty dust. She brushed it all aside with the flick of her wand.

It was as if no soul had stepped inside the castle for thousands of years. The ghostly cries of students were eerie and a little disturbing to listen to. Alys’ eyes trailed around the castle walls, the suits the armour, the empty canvass hanging on the wall, the coat or arms engraved in stone above the Great Hall doors atop the stairs.

Alys growled under her breath as she walked up the stone steps. She waved her wand at the Great Hall doors and they opened themselves. She walked into the hall and stared straight ahead. The candles floated beneath the night sky, flickering as if everything was warm and cosy. But it most certainly was not.

She walked down the middle aisle, her heels clomping against the floor like heavy threatening boots. She reached the large windows behind the teachers table and looked up. She exhaled a massive breath of fulfilment. She was still basking in the pleasures of returning to full form. She was savouring the moment.

Then, she felt the presence of another, Albus Dumbledore. He stood at the opposite end of the hall with his wand drawn, not a shred of fear on his old worn face. Alys didn’t look over her shoulder but she knew well who was there.

‘’So you’ve come fight me?’’ said Alys coolly.

‘’If there were better circumstances then I would not battle you Emerald,’’ said Dumbledore calmly. ‘’But unfortunately you have left me with no other option.’’

Alys inhaled the presence of the old wizard as if she could feel his power swelling inside him.

‘’How does it feel to have the world atop of your weak old shoulders, Albus?’’ said Alys. ‘’To have so many people put their trust in you, to misuse your great power for the education of mudbloods and half breeds, to rest in a cradle of peace while you watch the grandeur of magical kind burn?’’

‘’You are in a different age now, Emerald,’’ said Dumbledore. ‘’A time of peace and harmony. I cannot let you tarnish that.’’

‘’Peace is a lie,’’ said Alys. ‘’You have accepted death Albus Dumbledore. I will make sure that it is quick and painless.’’

‘’I have fought your kind before and I can do it once again,’’ stated Dumbledore.

‘’Don’t be so certain!’’ snarled Alys finally turning to face him.

Something appeared from behind Dumbledore and caught him off guard. He turned and received a crashing blow to the face. He grunted in pain as he spun around. Another figure walloped him straight across the face, making him fall hard against the ground.

He rolled off of his back and looked up to see two identical Alys clones staring down upon him. They both moved close to one another and morphed into one. She raised her wand and fired the killing curse but Dumbledore vanished with a loud deafening crack.

‘’Avada Kedavra!’’ cried Alys.

She missed and the curse made a loud bang against the stone floor and Dumbledore apparated twenty feet from behind Alys. He fired a spell straight at her but she reacted and rebounded the curse right back at him. He stopped the ball of dark energy in midair and transformed it into a massive fiery phoenix with his hands. The phoenix shrieked loudly, flapping its flaming wings as it sent massive gusts of hot wind directly at Alys.

She was blown straight off of her feet and sent plummeting towards the stone wall. She crashed against the wall which sucked the very breath from her lungs. The phoenix darted directly towards her, screeching loudly as it went straight for its prey. Alys roared as she split the flaming bird in two and emerged from the flames enraged and infuriated.

Before Dumbledore could do anything else the tip of her wand ignited emerald sparks and exploded a massive stream of magic directly at the old Headmaster. He reacted by the nanosecond and fired his own identical spell, rather it was red. The two spells collided and flashed like lightening. The windows of the Great Hall shattered and imploded as the spells collided. The noise was deafening and could be heard all over the castle.

Alys’ laughed manically as she watched her spell slowly burn out Dumbledore’s. He began to look and feel unbalanced under the enormous pressure inflicted on his arm. Another wand slipped down Alys’ sleeve and into her left hand. Now with two wands, she fired her spare one up into the enchanted ceiling of the Great Hall. The starry night sky began to flash in green colour and spark bolts of violent thunder and lightning. The bolts smashed the remaining glass windows of the hall into tiny pieces and melted the wax candles floating in midair.

The loud brutal sounds of crashing and smashing echoed across the castle. Some cowered in fear whilst others were prepared to stand up and fight for their school. However, Ron and Hermione were not in the Gryffindor common room. They were legging it through the corridors as fast as they could.

‘’Hermione, slow down!’’ panted Ron.

The emerald bolts of lightning spread across the castle walls, creating a heavy static that threatened to kill every living thing. Ron couldn’t take his eyes off of the walls as he ran.

‘’Hermione,’’ whimpered Ron. ‘’What’s happening?’’

‘’Emerald is creating a binding force between her and the castle!’’ bellowed Hermione.

‘’Which means?’’

‘’She’s trying to turn the school on us by creating an army to oppose Dumbledore!’’ she said breathlessly. ‘’We’ve got to help!’’

Suddenly, the suits of armour began to move. They pulled their feet out of the stone floors, trailing copper wire behind as walked out onto the corridor. They were held together by the emerald force that Alys created with her second wand. Two suits of armour stepped out in front of Ron and Hermione and drew their swords and shields. Hermione screamed at first but she quickly acted by drawing her wand from her skirt. Ron did the same.

Alys’ spell was beating Dumbledore. The spell had weakened him so much that he was nearly on his knees as he stumbled from side to side. He cried in pain whilst Alys continued to cackled manically as the wizards distress.

Then, out of nowhere a loud booming voice bellowed ‘’EXPELLIARMUS!’’.

The wand pointed at Dumbledore flew out of Alys’ hand and gushed over her shoulder. She turned around to see Severus Snape standing at the hall entrance holding her wand in his left hand and his own in his right. Dumbledore gathered himself to his feet and rested his fingers once again around his own. Alys was distracted by Snape’s sudden appearance so Dumbledore fired another explosive spell towards her.

For a moment, a look of panic flashed on Alys face but then she doubled herself into two identical twins once again. Snape sent a fiery ball towards one of them but she vanished and appeared behind him, punched him across the face and retrieved her wand.

‘’Avada Kedavra!’’ cried Snape.

The lethal green spell shot over Alys’ shoulder, missing her ear only barely by a centimetre. She cackled in high pitched screech despite the fact she was almost killed outright.

‘’Is that all you’ve got?’’ she laughed.

The two broke out in a violent duel across the Great Hall whilst Dumbledore did the same.

Meanwhile, the castle was in chaos as students broke out of their dormitories to fight in the battle against the suits of armour which has turned on its own school under Alys’ evil Emerald curse. Students ran up and down the Grand Staircase, all with wands drawn, as did the portraits. The teachers tried to keep control but they knew it was useless. It was time to fight.

The suits swung swords, axes and maces at students as they fired defensive spells at them. Some missed and crashed there weaponry against the stone walls, sending massive chunks of debris across the corridors. Professor Flitwick was in the courtyard taking on three at once. To the surprise of some witnesses he raised them up in the air and crumpled each one into scrap metal as if they were made of paper.

Hermione and Ron took on theirs with great difficulty as they spent most of the time dodging the suits brutal attacks. Hermione rolled forward as the suit smashed its axe into the ground. Stuck, the suit pulled hard to wedge its weapon free from the stone ground. Hermione took advantage of the situation and bellowed ‘’BOMBARDA MAXIMA!’’ and the suit exploded into chunks of metal.

She had no time to rest as Ron was having difficulty with his own suit which was swinging its sword rapidly and swiftly like an out of control toy. All the ducking and jumping took its toll on his body as he was beginning to run short of breath. Hermione intervened.

‘’RON, DOWN!’’ she bellowed.

He turned around to see Hermione pointing her wand at where he was standing.

‘’Hermione, no!’’ he screamed.

‘’REDUCTO!’’

Ron immediately ducked down and the spell flew over his head, crashing into the chest plate of the suit and exploding into hundreds of tiny pieces. Then, there was silence. All to be heard was echoed sounds of the distant battle taking place over the rest of the castle. Ron gathered himself to his feet and looked at Hermione with his mouth hanging with shock.

Before he could say another word, the scrap metal that used to be the two suits of armour fused together by Alys’ emerald curse. Ron ran to Hermione’s side and watched the pieces of metal slide across the floor, attaching itself to the rapidly growing figure before them. Within seconds a suit of armour twice the size of the other two stood towering over them.

‘’Run?’’ suggested Ron, looking over at Hermione.

‘’Run,’’ she repeated, nodding breathlessly.

The two turned and ran away from the massive suit down the corridor. They legged it as fast as they could as the monstrous suit ran after them, swinging its mace around its masked lifeless head. The mace crashed into two large pillars which helped hold up the above floor. The ceiling fell down on top of the suit, seemingly crushing it under the enormous weight of the rock.

Ron and Hermione stopped running and turned around, panting with exhaustion. They looked at the pile of rock and stone in front of them glad that the monster was destroyed. Then, the pile moved and the suit emerged once again from the dusty debris swinging its mace.

They both sighed and continued to run away.

On the other side of the castle students had a much harder time battling the stone statues which were supposed to protect the school but Emerald’s spell had corrupted them to do her bidding. Professor McGonagall blew one of the statues to dust whilst Professor Sprout had difficulty with a suit and a stone statue at once. Hagrid wrestled a suit to the ground and violently ripped its helmet off which supposedly killed it.

A blonde haired girl in an oversized Slytherin uniform ran through the chaos covering her chest and face as if she were some sort of freak. But at that current moment nobody took notice of her. She ran into a group of busy Slytherin girls watching the violence as if it were an entertaining show put on for them. The blonde girl began shouting random gibberish about being turned into a girl by Heather Potter and how she was really Draco Malfoy.

‘’Yeah right crazy little cow!’’ said Daphne Greengrass. ‘’Now get out of our way, you’re blocking all the fun!’’

Suddenly, a suit of armour flew towards the group of girls. They all just stood there screaming and running away like cowards.

In the Great Hall, Dumbledore and Snape were fighting valiantly against the Alys clones. Alys and Snape stopped for a moment before lifting their wands simultaneously and firing the killing curse at each other. The loud crash of the spells colliding burst the ear drums of many nearby students and caused a bright white flash. The force of Emerald’s power was clearly seen as Snape struggled to keep on his feet. Alys was beaming widely from ear to ear, grinning psychotically as she felt the full strength of her long lost power. Her cat-like eyes rolled back into her head as she moved up the aisle, forcing her spell unto Snape.

The two clones morphed back into one and Alys was fighting two powerful wizards at once. Her right hand wand was focused on Dumbledore whilst the other was on Snape. Her killing curse was rapidly decreasing the power of Snape’s spell as the green streams of magic neared his wand. His face turned paler than ever as he stared at certain death straight in the face. Dumbledore broke Alys’ killing curse and turned it back on her. She dodged it with acrobatic ability as if she could see it coming at her slowly. There was a flash of blinding green light and a rushing sound, as though a vast, invisible something was soaring through the air — instantaneously Snape fell to the ground, unmarked, but unmistakably dead.

Suddenly, everything seemed to be suspended in slow motion. Dumbledore watched in horror as his faithful friend fell to the ground like a ragdoll. His eyes welled up passionately as his mouth remained tight-lipped and shaken. He showed no sign of anger as he stared at Snape’s body in the distance. Alys cackled as she turned to look at the Headmaster.

‘’Did I kill your friend Dumbledore?’’ she said as if she had just made an innocent mistake. ‘’Do you want to join him? Just give in! It is useless to resist!’’

Dumbledore simply stared at her and said, ‘’Never.’’

Alys then broke into a sprint towards Dumbledore firing thundering spells at him whilst he blocked and rebounded them straight back at her but she only absorbed them. She leapt atop of the old wizard and vanished into thin air, taking the old wizard along with her.

All space ripped open with a loud bang as Alys and Dumbledore popped into existence atop the astronomy tower. She walloped him across the face and he slammed against the metal grating of balcony. He grunted as he picked himself up to his feet, the gushing wind from outside blowing his long beard sideways. Alys watched as she allowed him to stand, confident that she could knock him over again.

Meanwhile, as the battle raged on across the castle students put all they could into destroying the suits and statues. Luckily there were almost no deaths but many were seriously injured or just skimmed being killed by a thread. One poor Ravenclaw has his whole arm sliced off by an axe. Another unfortunate Gryffindor’s legs were crushed by debris and one Hufflepuff suffered the excruciating pain of the having steel lodged in her back. The sounds of banging, smashing and explosives echoed across the halls and corridors. The screams and cries of students were searing to the brain and many were suffering from hearing loss due to loudness of the steel suits exploding coupled with the cries for mercy. All of the possessed suits must have been destroyed twice over but they continued to return fiercer and stronger than ever.

Peeves flew about the castle with a war horn chanting, ‘’the suits are coming, the suits are coming!’’ over and over again like a broken record. Nearly Headless Nick floated about attempting to stab one of the suits of armour, obviously failing because of his dead state.

Professor Trelawney observed the horror from her classroom window, shaking and unable to bring herself to fight.

Cho Chang was seen being thumped across the face by one suits swift metal arm. She jumped to her feet and ultimately destroyed it with one flick of her wand.

Fred and George Weasley ran around the corridors with their wands at the ready. They ran straight past Snape’s potions store room which was left wide open. Fred stopped dead in his tracks and stared at the open door as if it were the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

‘’George, come quick!’’ he bellowed.

‘’What is it Fred?’’ he said, joining his brothers side.

Fred raised his finger and pointed it at the open store room.

‘’You thinking what I’m thinking then Fred?’’ grinned George.

‘’I sure hope so George!’’ smiled Fred.

Ron and Hermione fought their way through the corridors with massive difficulty. They met up with Neville and Luna who seemed to be proving themselves as quite the fighters. The matter was increasingly getting more serious as the Auror’s office intervened and began to apparate across the castle, one by one, wands at the ready for battle.

Hedwig darted in and around the chaos searching for her master, Harry. She squawked mournfully as she glided over the battle with her yellow eyes trailing around. In the courtyard over two dozen students each took on a suit of armour to themselves. Some were thrown and flailed by the metallic monsters whilst other successfully took them down with explosive spells and curses.

‘’I don’t know how much longer we can keep this up!’’ cried McGonagall to Professor Flitwick. ‘’If Dumbledore and Snape don’t stop the Emerald Witch then there won’t be any school to go back to!’’

She, nor did anyone else know about Snape was lying dead on the Great Hall floor.

Suddenly, the roof of the castle burst open, sending chunks of wood and stone falling down upon the courtyard. The huge chunks of debris smashed into the cobbled ground as students screamed. They dodged the falling rubble and ran to find cover. Then, something massive rose out of the dusty hole in the roof. A loud droning horn shook the very foundations of the castle as a giant armoured suit titan climbed out of the gaping hole in the castle. It must have been over twenty feet tall, seven feet wide and was built up with scrap steel bound together by Emeralds hex. Some students screamed and ran away for cover from the huge titan whereas most put themselves into a brave fighting stance with their wands at the ready.

The titan swung its mace over its head and let out another loud drone that sounded like a ship horn. Many Auror’s apparated to the scene. A tall dark man dressed in purple robes, Kingsley Shacklebolt and a young woman dressed youthfully with pink hair, Nymphadora Tonks appeared out of nowhere and stared up at the titan which was beginning to take its first steps.

‘’Any suggestions?’’ said Tonks, gasping for air as she had obviously been very busy at her previous post.

‘’I suggest we get more backup,’’ said Kingsley, rubbing his sweaty bald head, ‘’and fast,’’ he added.

Inside the castle Mad-Eye Moody was facing six stone statues marching towards him. He was alone but not a shred of fear was prominent on his worn beaten face. His magical eye swirled about excitedly as he gave a hearty growl.

‘’By Merlin Dumbledore,’’ he grunted fiercely to himself. ‘’What have you been keeping from us?’’

He slammed his staff on the ground which sent a powerful force at the statues. They all lost their balance and fell to the floor like a sack of rocks. Moody then gave a quick swift of his wand and without saying a word the statues imploded into dust. Moody then coughed, turned around and limped down the corridor leading to outside to investigate all the commotion coming from the courtyard.

The titan swung its mace as it stampeded across the courtyard, smashing and crumbling the stone walls as if they were made of cardboard. It roared furiously as Tonks fired a boulder straight into its big metallic head. It swayed from side to side but it regained its balance and continued to wreck havoc on the school.

As this happened Alys and Dumbledore stood facing one another atop of the astronomy tower as the wind gushed in and out between them. The distant sounds of the battle below them were transmitted to their ears. Dumbledore looked older than ever, feeble yet strong and warrior-like. His face was blackened with blood and soot, his robes were torn and his beard had become wired. It was remarkable how he managed to keep his cool after he accidently murdered Professor Snape. Not a shred of guilt, fear and anger on his face.

Alys looked confident, cold and a little impatient as she stood in her robes, her boots and dual wands waiting to finish off the old Headmaster.

‘’Why?’’ asked Dumbledore simply as he strained in agony.

‘’Why what?!’’ snapped Alys sharply.

‘’Why -,’’ started Dumbledore, licking his lips and swallowing hard, ‘’ — why have you forsaken innocent children to this horrible fate. You should have left it between you and I to handle. There was no need to set an army on the school.’’

‘’There is only one way to get the attention of the ministry, slaughter of the innocent; once the battle is brought to me this world will burn under my powers. After centuries of being a broken soul, living off of people like some sort of — parasite!’’ spat Alys. ‘’But now, my chains have been broken and I am set free. This castle will rebuilt to become my fortress! It will begin here, tonight! The birth of a new era, one coloured in emerald!’’

‘’Yes, but I think you misunderstand me,’’ said Dumbledore. ‘’Why Harry?’’

It was as it Dumbledore and Alys were the only two people in the universe, eternally locked in a piercing gaze as the wind whistled in an unearthly fashion.

‘’I sensed much potential in him to build upon my strengths,’’ said Alys coldly. ‘’But I was wrong. He was weak, feeble and unworthy.’’

Surprisingly, Dumbledore chuckled.

‘’Do you have any idea who he was?’’ asked Dumbledore. ‘’In all those years roaming the earth did the name Harry Potter never reach your ears?’’

‘’I don’t remember much from my time as a phantom!’’ shot Alys. ‘’I was broken, a piece of what I used to be!’’

‘’And now you’re all better?’’ said Dumbledore humorously raising his brow.

He began to stroke his beard and pace up and down the room. His casual behaviour made Alys feel disgusted and frustrated She was used to frightening the life out of people but she couldn’t seem to shake this old wizard.

‘’Like I said to you before Emerald, you have brought yourself into a new age,’’ said Dumbledore.

Alys’ cat-like eyes followed Dumbledore around the room.

‘’By choosing Harry as a new body, as a host or a victim in this case you have doomed yourself Emerald,’’ smiled Dumbledore. ‘’Harry survived the killing curse by one of the darkest and most powerful wizards of all time. I’m almost certain that he can survive a matter of changing bodies.’’

‘’What has this got to do with anything?’’ shrieked Alys. ‘’Potter’s dead, I can feel it, he passed onwards!’’

‘’Maybe so,’’ hummed Dumbledore sadly. ‘’But always remember that if you are lucky enough to murder me, turn Hogwarts into your fortress and overthrow the ministry you will live the rest of your life in constant fear that Harry will return to consciousness.’’

‘’HE. IS. DEAD!’’ cried Alys at the top of her lungs. ‘’Can’t you see?! You are in denial!’’

‘’No Emerald, I am afraid that it is you in denial. Harry will return Emerald,’’ said Dumbledore. ‘’After all, he is The Boy Who Lived!’’

Alys let out a horrible shriek that would burst the eardrums of any unfortunate nearby. She lunged forward like a bat and tore into Dumbledore’s body. All to be seen between the two struggling figures was their robes flailing about as they flung over the balcony edge and they plummeted towards the earth. Dumbledore roared as he attempted to free himself from Alys’ strong grip on him but she refused. She screamed in his face as the overpowering gust blocked out all hearing. Then, a loud crack sounded and they both vanished into thin air once again.

Meanwhile, Ron was running through the corridor as fast as he could with a weeping look on his face. An army of stone statues were running after him, throwing spears and firing axes. He ran crookedly as he tried desperately to avoid the attacks. He quickly shot a curse over his shoulder.

‘’REDUCTO MAXIMA!’’

He missed.

His long skinny face was red with panic as he panted for air. He skidded around a corner and ran straight into a pretty blonde haired girl, Malfoy. She was crying her eyes out and panicking up to and beyond dangerous heights. Ron didn’t have time to ask who she was so he grabbed her hand and pulled her down the corridor as they ran for their lives. Tears streamed back Malfoy’s pale cheeks as her long blonde hair blew back like a flag, her breasts jumping and her running awkward and clumsy.

‘’What do you think you’re doing -,’’ bellowed Ron as he fired another curse over his shoulder, ‘’ - wandering down a corridor on your own?! Have you seen what’s going on?!’’

‘’Let go of me Weasley!’’ shrieked the girl.

‘’Not until you’re -,’’ Ron panted for air, ‘’ — not until you’re safe!’’

It was then that somebody growled, ‘’Get down you bloody idiots!’’

Ron dived straight onto his stomach, taking Malfoy with him. They covered their heads as a thunderous force flew over their heads and hit the army of stone statues all at once. A loud explosion threw them across the floor like two ragdolls. Malfoy’s echoed screams was all Ron could hear behind the ringing in his ear. He looked up to Mad-Eye limp towards them with his staff clomping against the stone for extra support. He gripped Ron by the scruff of the neck and lifted him to his feet.

‘’You alright son?’’ he asked.

Ron nodded as he squinted. His vision was blurred and uneven. He found it difficult to stand after the explosion.

‘’And you miss?’’ asked Mad-Eye, turning to Malfoy.

‘’Who are you calling miss your mad old git?’’ snapped Malfoy.

It was as if Ron had suddenly snapped out of his blurred daze as his head quickly turned to the blonde haired girl.

‘’Malfoy?’’ gasped Ron.

Malfoy turned red as if she had just remembered what had happened to her. She looked down at her chest before nodding sorrowfully. She looked as if she were about to cry but then her face wrinkled up into the classic Draco sneer.

‘’It was Potter!’’ she snapped. ‘’He did this to me! He made me — me — t-this!’’

Ron was suddenly reminded of Harry. If Malfoy had one he could clearly see Ron’s heart rip in two as his eyes began to water.

‘’He’s dead,’’ Ron put it simply.

The enormous titan was no longer in the courtyard, it was on the roof! It forcefully swung its mace into the side of Gryffindor tower. A huge chunk was taken from the side of the building and it began to creak due to lack of foundation. The titan let out another deafening drone before beginning to swing its mace again.

In the distant night sky a fleet of brooms flew towards the castle. They were Auror’s from the ministry.

‘’Alright men,’’ bellowed the captain of the fleet. ‘’Attack the beast centre eye!’’

They all broke apart and scattered around the castle roof, zooming in and around the titan like ants. Brooms whooshed from all angles as dozens of spells were fired at the metallic monster. It swung its arm in front of six Auror’s and they all fell off of their brooms and fell to their deaths.

It was like a fireworks display above Hogwarts as banging and flashing was targeted at the titan. But it was no use. It was much too strong. The sky began to darken as clouds gathered. A storm was coming. And fast.

Meanwhile on the massive stone aqueduct that bridged the castle to the rest of the world a loud cracking noise popped and Dumbledore and Alys apparated into existence. The dark night clouds continued to come together, blocking the bright moon from view. Suddenly, it becomes very dark as the sky rips open. The wind howled violently as rain, thunder and lightning began. The battle continued inside and outside the castle. The massive steel titan continued to pounds its mace into Gryffindor tower and the students and teachers carried on the fight against the statues.

It was Hogwarts most desperate hour.

Dumbledore picked himself up from the stone ground as the rain began to pour down upon him. He straightened up, swaying backwards due to his heavy injuries. Alys was finally starting to show signs of battle damage as her robes and clothing were ripped, her left arm was all bloodied and her face was bruised.

They didn’t say anything to one another as they began to duel once again.

Alys fired first followed by Dumbledore’s quick reaction. He blocked it. The rain was pelting down on them now as the sky flashed violently. Alys screamed as she fired the killing curse at Dumbledore but he rebounded it back onto her. She flipped sideways, dodging the rebound. She then raised her wand into the air and drew electricity from the sky. She formed a deadly orb of lightning and sent it flying at the Headmaster. He raised his hand and stopped it in mid air. He then doubled the power and sent it hurdling towards Alys’ chest. Miraculously, it hit her and she stumbled sideways.

She got back up onto her feet, infuriated as she fired dozens of spells at once. Dumbledore shielded himself with a force field conjured by the tip of his wand. Alys then summoned a huge amount of electricity from the sky and filtered it straight into her wand. Her eyes gaped psychotically as her second wand cracked open due to the huge amount of power passing through it. The lightening passed into her wand, through her body and out through her other wand pointed at Dumbledore. It charged up like a slingshot before firing the electricity at the Headmaster. The forceful lightening collided with Dumbledore’s killing curse and the entire bridge suddenly pulsed.

‘’Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeegh!’’ shrieked Alys as the electricity passed through her body.

Her hair began to float about as if she were under water. Her eyes lit up green and her veins suddenly began to glow in emerald. Her nails seemed to become longer and her teeth began to sharpen as a demonic expression formed across her once beautiful face. Horns grew out of her forehead as her height increased dramatically. Through the flashing and crashing Alys could be seen growing to an enormous eight feet.

Dumbledore didn’t stand a chance as he was too roaring, but in agony as the electricity rapidly drained out the power of his curse. The bridge began to shake and the very foundations began to crumble. The sounds of the distant battle could no longer be heard over the excruciatingly loud sounds of thunder and destruction. The bridge began to slowly collapse, rocks falling into the canyon below and vibrations pulsing through the stone.

Alys drew more and more electricity from the sky as her body transformed. She roared in what sounded like ten monstrous voices distorted and overlapped.

‘’YOU WILL BURNNNNNNN!’’ she screamed manically.

Dumbledore knew it was over. He had failed and The Emerald Witch had won. Beneath all the noise and mayhem he whispered, ‘’I’m sorry Harry. I have failed.’’

Then, everything stopped. It was as if time and space was forever suspended in a quite trance. The electricity and the battle in the castle stopped and Dumbledore fell down to his knees, weak and beaten by the force of nature as he gasped for breath.

Through the pouring rain and darkness he could see Alys standing in full demonic form looking down at her body. She then looked up to Dumbledore, her eyes completely green and expressionless. Slowly her skin began to peel and burn like ash. She didn’t scream. She could only wretch as if she could no longer breathe. Her cold echoed voice shrieked as her appearance painfully burned away.

‘’Noooooo!’’ she cried. ‘’Nooooooooooooo!’’

Her height decreased and the amulet buried in her chest began to pull itself out. Her skin burned away to horrifying screams whilst Dumbledore watched through the pouring rain. As her flesh melted another person was revealed below, Heather, before falling face down, dead.

A dark figure stood behind her. Dumbledore squinted as he tried to make out his rescuer. He had long lost his spectacles earlier in the duel. Then, over the body stepped Professor Snape holding his wand upright.

‘’It worked,’’ said Snape, not believing what he had just done.

Dumbledore didn’t say a word as he gathered himself to his feet. Rain drops poured down his old face and into his soaked wet beard as he approached Snape and the body of Heather. They both looked down on her. The curse was broken but her body still remained female, a common side effect to people dying whilst under the influence of a curse of potion. Her hair returned to its natural black and her lightning bolt scar was back, etched into her forehead, reminding people who she was.

‘’He is dead,’’ said Snape, looking as if his black inky eyes were about to finally tear up.

Dumbledore didn’t say anything. He didn’t have to. He leant down at Heather’s side and touched her forehead. She was so cold, so stiff, and so lifeless. A warm tear dripped down from Dumbledore’s eye and landed next to Heather’s body. Snape, due to exhaustion and distress fell back onto a rock as disbelief engulfed his face.

The rain didn’t stop to rest for one second. It seemed colder than ever before. The battle had stopped in the castle. The titan fell from the roof and crashed onto the ground, the stone statues froze and the suits or armour collapsed.

The Emerald Witch was dead.

‘’I have failed Harry,’’ said Dumbledore under his breath. ‘’And I will never forgive myself.’’