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Author: Animus Story: Duelling Wands Rating: Teens Setting: Pre-HBP Status: WIP Reviews: 8 Words: 10,391
Chapter IV: The Last Stand of the Prewetts Short, quick breaths escaped Gideon Prewett's mouth as he stood in the middle of a now ruined living room. He was a tall and strong wizard; brown haired and dark blue eyed, and was wearing partially ruined black robes. His right hand steadily held his wand as his left one lay limply at his side, blood running down the length of his arm from his shoulder and dripping from the tips of his fingers. His eyes were quickly jumping from enemy to enemy, registering two hooded and masked figures with wands drawn out. Not good at all. "Hey, Fabian, are you all right?" Gideon asked the man behind him. Fabian was as tall and strong as his brother, but his hair was a shade darker and his eyes were dark green; he was wearing slightly burned and battered red and blue robes. Their backs were one against the other. "I'm fine, brother. Just a little battered, but nothing serious. I can still kick some Death Eater arse," Fabian responded, and both Prewetts let out an identical short laugh. "I have two on this side, and you?" Gideon whispered. "Two bastards here, bro," Fabian answered, his voice low but bitter. "Watch your tongue, little bro. What would mother say if she heard you?" Gideon reprimanded his brother, just like he used to do at Hogwarts when they were younger. "She would probably agree with me," Fabian countered, and then both brothers had to stifle another laugh because they realized four Death Eaters were ready to kill them. "Are you ready, brother?" Gideon said, his voice now serious and his whole being ready for what was to come. "Ready…" Fabian replied, tensing up as he also prepared for what was to be their last stand. The Death Eaters now surrounded them and, as one, they all released a different curse. * Gideon Prewett's brow was furrowed in deep concentration. His status as undefeated chess master and champion was at risk. One wrong move and all would be doomed. "Would you move already? I'm tired of waiting!" Fabian complained to his brother as he shifted in his chair. "For Merlin's sake, you have been staring at the board for a good ten bloody minutes!" "Shut up!" Gideon said in his most threatening voice. It also had a good deal of irritation in it. "Make me!" Fabian challenged back, but Gideon simply growled and glared at him as he surveyed the chessboard once again. If only that pawn wasn't in the way… "Aha!" Gideon exclaimed as he finally realized which move to make and confidently advanced his black knight two spaces forward and one to the left. Fabian quickly claimed Gideon's queen but Gideon simply moved his tower to the same line as Fabian's king. "Checkmate, little brother," said Gideon. Fabian, as an answer, swore loudly and dropped his head onto the chessboard. The chess pieces barely managed to jump out of the way and immediately started to yell at him. Some were even hitting him. Gideon just laughed. "Oh, well," Fabian said as he brought his head up. "It's a stupid game after all. Nothing like Quidditch, of course, where I am the champion," Fabian proclaimed and swatted the chess pieces in order to silence them. Gideon conceded the point and they picked up the chess set. "Where do you think Voldemort's next attack is going to be?" Fabian queried as he and his brother made their way to the kitchen, each holding steaming mugs of coffee. The room was relatively small as it only had the basic things and nothing more; in the middle was a table with four chairs and surrounding it were the different components found in a typical wizarding kitchen. It had entrances to both the living room and the dining room and a door leading to the garden. The brothers, who were two of the few wizards that were not afraid of saying the Dark Lord's name, were occupying two of the kitchen chairs. "I don't know, but wherever it is, we will be there to stop him. I mean, what can he do against the fabulous Prewett brothers? " Gideon replied, his voice low but secure, while his eyes held a gleam of humour. "Cheers to that!" And Fabian raised his mug and drank. As he was drinking, his eyes caught sight of a shadow moving just outside the window of the kitchen. Immediately he put down his mug and reached for his wand in a most natural way. His eyes never left the window. Gideon mirrored him. "A Death Eater?" Gideon asked, his voice barely perceptible. "I think-" but Fabian couldn't finish his sentence. The door leading to the garden was blown apart and three cloaked figures charged into the kitchen. They were hooded and masked in perfect black, and their wands were aiming at the Prewetts, who had just managed to roll out of the way of the blasted door. "Stupefy!" Both Prewetts yelled in unison. Twin jets of red light were fired from their wands. The Death Eaters dived for cover and the brothers ran out of the kitchen, feeling that their chances were better in the more spacious living room. Gideon arrived first and looked in dismay at how two other Death Eaters had made their way into the living room, both with wands raised. Gideon then had to drag Fabian to the ground in order to evade the curses the Death Eaters had fired. The curses zoomed above their heads like furious wasps and immediately the brothers sought to stand up. The most they could do was to reach a kneeling position before they had to defend themselves. "Protego!" They shouted at the same time, each one pointing at a different group of enemies. Their identical silver shields barely resisted the curses sent their way, which bounced away in all directions. The deflected curses wreaked havoc among the Death Eaters, sending them for cover, and began the destruction of the Prewetts' living room. A chair was destroyed and flames consumed a shelf full of portraits of family and friends. "Gideon, take the ones in the kitchen," Fabian whispered to his brother as their shields faded. Gideon nodded, and the two brothers immediately stood up and broke into a run, seeking the opposite sides of the kitchen and the living room, respectively. Fabian was the first to receive fire from a nearby Death Eater, but his speed and superior Seeker reflexes allowed him to roll under the green light and end up in a kneeling position. Without a second thought he released silver light, and the Death Eater's wand flew away from his hand and directly into Fabian's free hand. The younger Prewett smiled, but had little time to rejoice as purple light found him from behind. Fabian's vision started to grow darker by the second, all colours and forms washing away and melting into thick shadows. It seemed like all the light had suddenly been robbed from him, but Fabian knew it was the blinding curse, Oculumortis. Luckily, he knew the counter curse but first needed to take care of the Death Eater behind him. Thus, he turned around and with both wands pointing to the front he yelled, "Reducto!" Yellow jets of light charged like wild beasts against everything in front of Fabian, blowing it all apart and sending pieces of ruined furniture, among other things, in all directions. A scream coming from in front of him gave Fabian the cue to turn to where the other Death Eater had been standing and throw the Dark wizard's wand away, in hopes of luring the Death Eater away. Fabian then dropped to his knees and cast the Finite Incantatem charm upon his eyes. Blessed light and colour gradually returned to him, just as if a heavy black veil had been removed from his eyes. Gideon, meanwhile, had also received fire from three enemies, but as they all were huddled at the kitchen's entrance, he rolled under the curses and directly charged the Death Eaters, tackling one down while making the other two jump away. Gideon and the Death Eater struggled momentarily on the floor, both trying to stand up and punch the other at the same time. The Dark wizard landed a heavy blow on the right side of Gideon's face, but the older Prewett returned the favour by smashing his fist against the Death Eater's ribs and face. His opponent let him go, and Gideon half ran, half crawled towards the dining room. He could feel the biting heat of curses as they nearly hit him, one even managing to graze his head, but only causing a little cut. At last Gideon managed to reach the other side of the dining room and defiantly stood up, turning to face his opponents. The Death Eaters went against him, just like vicious beasts, purple light already leaving one of their wands. Gideon didn't fire back; instead, he evaded the attack and pointed his wand to a chair near one Dark wizard. The chair lifted from the ground and with a swish of Gideon's wand it rammed the Death Eater down with quite some force. The Death Eater fell. Gideon, however, had no time at all to celebrate, for he had to desperately seek cover from deadly green light. He ducked, and by doing so the curse soared above him and went on to burst in flames against the wall. Gideon raised his eyes just in time to see the other Death Eater also preparing to cast the Killing Curse, half of the incantation already out of his mouth. Gideon's eyes narrowed and, not fearing the Avada Kedavra, he focused on the Death Eater's mask and chanted a spell. "Incendio!" The mask burst into flames before the hated curse was finished. The Death Eater screamed in intense pain and, dropping to the ground, he frantically sought to remove the mask before more flesh could be burnt. Gideon smiled in triumph as his glare sought the last enemy. However, the glare turned into a look of utter surprise as he found knives, forks and other silverware darting at him. Out of the corner of his eye he could see the cloaked figure directing the projectiles at him. Gideon tried getting out of their way, but a knife and a fork reached him and pierced his left arm, making him wince in pain as he rolled under the table. Gideon quickly removed the utensils and looked around, trying to assess the situation. After having regained his vision, Fabian also took a moment to study the situation at hand. He was aware that they had to stay cool and controlled if they wanted to survive, and thus he had to plan his next move. While doing so, Fabian's eyes encountered his brother's from all the way across the house. Both brothers wore resolved looks as they nodded to each other, words no longer necessary between them, and at the same time they stood up, knocking or blasting away whatever was in their path, and ran towards the other under a myriad of curses and jets of light. The brothers met in the kitchen, but they quickly went back to the living room as they sought a good place to fight. Gideon saw that two of the three Death Eaters he had been fighting with had ran after him; the third surely was still writhing in pain due to the burned mask. The Dark wizard deserved that. The wizards Fabian had fought with were already aiming at them. Gideon and Fabian then turned to aim at the four Death Eaters around them as they were being surrounded… * The curses thrown their way seemed like a shower of mingling lights, each one soaring through the air as a bird of prey. Their speed was great and their power terrible. Just like all the curses from the servants of the Dark Lord. But they were facing the Prewetts. As if they were one, Gideon and Fabian raised their wands not to meet the curses, but upwards, and in one potent voice they did a double charm. "Defendo!" Thoughts of strength and power flooded the minds of the Prewetts. Their mind's eyes focused on the strongest, greatest things they knew. Gideon's mind was placed in the legendary strength of the magical sword Excalibur, the one weapon that no enemy, mortal or immortal, could defeat. The Holy power the sword had been rumoured to possess, one that could defeat all darkness, filled Gideon and in turn went into the charm. Fabian's mind was picturing the mythical strength of the Phoenix, the only being that neither flames nor death could claim. His heart and soul was filled with the memory of the Phoenix's song and that gave him strength and power beyond all things. He channelled them into the charm. And so, just before the curses could touch the Prewetts, a semi-translucent sphere - now gold, now silver - encased the two brothers and all four curses crashed against the shield as waves crashing against solid rock. The shield was intact. The Death Eaters all seemed amazed by the advanced charm of the Prewetts, but it only lasted for an instant as they began to throw curse after curse against them. The shield held on, but with each impact Gideon and Fabian winced, and their breath started to come in heavy gasps due to the effort of defending against four Dark wizards. "Hey, brother," Fabian called between gasps. "I'm tired of simply defending ourselves, how about if we attack?" In spite of having the shield sustain one quite powerful curse, Gideon smiled. His brother was right. The Prewetts were not to be cornered by a few petty murderers and followers of a mad man. "I hear you, brother. Let's show them our power." Fabian smiled at that answer and both turned their wands to point in the general direction of the Death Eaters. The thoughts of strength in their minds were turned from defence to offence. Excalibur would gleam with power as it hacked and slashed through the enemies of Camelot, and the Phoenix would sing from the depths of Hell itself, rising from the ashes to defeat the evil and the wicked. And they gave voice to this power. "Eradico!" The shield suddenly glowed bright and the Death Eaters froze at the huge power gathered in the bubble. A second passed, and then the bubble burst, releasing all the gathered power in one wave of mighty destruction. Its colour was that of blood, and the Dark wizards had no escape. Each one of them was blasted into a wall or shelf, and they fell, defeated and unconscious. In the middle of the ruined room, stood two victorious, but really tired brothers. "Ha… that should teach them to not mess with us," Fabian said as he surveyed the aftermath of the battle. Their precious living room, once filled with many memories and prized possessions, now lay in ruins. A few fires were smouldering here and there, their tongues slowly devouring all that wasn't already destroyed. But they had won, and that was what really mattered. Gideon said nothing to his brother, and instead went to check on each fallen Death Eater, petrifying each one of them so they would not give them any more trouble. When he was done, he turned to see that Fabian was putting the fires out so he decided to go ahead and contact Headmaster Dumbledore and the Magical Law Enforcement Squad so they could come and take these criminals to Azkaban, where they could rot in peace. However, as he walked to the fireplace, his eyes strayed to the kitchen door. What he saw froze his heart. There, standing with wand raised and pointing to Fabian, stood the fifth Death Eater, the one he had thought he had defeated by burning his mask and face. The Death Eater's face, long and pale, was indeed burnt in various places; but he was wearing a look of such hatred and madness that even Gideon felt fear for a second. The Death Eater then attacked with the most terrible Unforgivable. "Avada Kedavra!" There was no time to warn his brother. Inch by inch, the rushing death consumed the distance between the Death Eater and Fabian, who had turned around when he heard the curse and was now wearing a look not of fear, but helplessness. Fabian knew he was going to die, and the older Prewett could easily read that. But Gideon was not going to allow his little brother to die. Breaking into a run at top speed, Gideon knew he could intercept the curse… with his body. But that was okay - Gideon was no longer afraid of death. He had loved and had been loved, he had led his life with honour and righteousness, and he had always fought for what he believed in. Yes, he could die in peace. The only thing he regretted was never marrying and having children of his own, but that no longer mattered. Death awaited him. Fabian's mind and heart were frozen. His wand was up but he was unable to think of something to do. Green light was upon him, and he simply closed his eyes with frustration eating him at the fact that he could do nothing at all in these his last moments of life. Funny, how he was thinking about something petty instead of something more important. Anyway, there was no time left, and so, he braced for death, if such thing was possible. But it never came. Fabian only saw how his brother's shadow fell over him as Gideon received the impact in his place. Sickening green light surrounded and pierced Gideon as his life and soul were being torn apart. With a last flash, all light was gone. As a tall and strong tower whose foundations have been destroyed, Gideon crumbled down. Silence. "Gideon…" Fabian whispered with an empty voice. He couldn't believe what his eyes were seeing, and yet, he could already feel that an integral part of him had died. Ever since he could remember, Gideon had been there with him, not as a protective big brother, but as an equal. Their brotherhood was something sacred to him, and now it lay destroyed… War, hatred, darkness… his brother was dead. "Brother…" Fabian whispered once again as he crawled to his brother's body, the Death Eater totally forgotten, and saw Gideon's face. It was pale, but contrary to most victims of the Killing Curse, having their face marked by terror, Gideon's face was relaxed. In the end, Fabian realized, his brother had not feared death. Brave till the end, just like you taught me…Fabian thought as a lonely tear found its way down his cheek and to the floor. The tear fell, and with it, the Heavens cried. Fabian's mourning, however, did not last long. The Death Eater had recovered his breath and strength and lost no time in firing a new curse, once again towards Fabian. "Nex Flagellum!" He brandished his wand as if it was a whip. From the tip, purple fire sprung forth and then, with a slashing movement, the fire attacked. "Reflecto!" Fabian commanded with a cold voice, and in front of him the magical defensive mirror appeared. The smooth silver surface soon received the impact from the curse and the whole mirror exploded in a shower of crystals and tiny reflections. The curse, though, did not go through, and instead was bounced back to its origin— the Death Eater. The Dark wizard dove for dear life, barely managing to escape the bite from his own attack, and then quickly scrambled back to his own feet. His eyes, full of hatred, rose to meet Fabian's enraged ones. Both wizards were panting, their injuries and excessive effort at last taking their toll on them, especially on Fabian. The two wizards then slowly raised their wands, their eyes locked in silent battle, and aimed at the other's heart. Life or death – there was a fine line between them and one of them was about to cross it. In one more attack this battle would be decided, and so, the flames in the house and the wind above their heads froze in anticipation. "Avada Kedavra!" "Eradico!" And the curses rushed forth, hatred and vengeance propelling them. The curses met, and in a storm of green and red sparks they fought. Magic confronted magic, and he whose will and strength was greater would come out victorious, just as it has always been. Fabian was strong in both will and power, but the drawn out battle, the loss of his brother, and the continuous strain that fighting against reckless hatred causes made him weaker, and the Dark wizard stronger. And so Fabian fell, fighting the Killing curse till his last moments. He did not die with fear forced in his face. Instead, the mark of courage adorned his lifeless face. He and his brother were murdered by incomprehensible hatred and ambition, things that had not only consumed their lives, but were on the verge of destroying all that is good and right. The world was at war, and the Dark Mark glowed in the night sky as a beacon of fear and an omen of dread for all… yet, as long as there were people willing to die for what was right, then hope would not die… As heroes they lived, and as heroes they died. May Gideon and Fabian Prewett rest in peace.
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