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Author: Faelaern Story: Flotsam and Jetsam Rating: Teens Setting: Pre-DH Status: WIP Reviews: 11 Words: 46,036
It was a few hours before dawn when they suited up and got ready to hunt. They were dressed in practical sets of black robes, cut close to the body so that excess cloth wouldn’t get in the way. Their wands were clipped to their sides in holsters Jackob had provided. He had also given them each a small survival knife, which they kept strapped to their wrists. Aiden and Maxwell were dressed a bit differently. The Scotsman wore a thick greatcoat with his multitude of flintlock pistols strapped on the outside. Various pouches clipped about his person contained his homemade silver bullets. A cutlass was strapped to his back and he held a single-shot grenade launcher at the ready. Aiden had forsaken his usual black leather garments for a more strategically practical pair of camouflage pants and a sleeveless thick wool jacket. His bow and quiver had been replaced with a heavy backpack, which carried the boxes of white phosphorous grenades that they had brought along with them. At his belt was strapped a long dagger, and he carried a six-shot grenade launcher in his hands – a Russian make, he had explained, rare but useful. Glancing about the room, Harry saw a range of expressions. Ron looked almost petrified, though his hands were shaking, and his skin was paler than usual. Hermione was worse; she was wide-eyed and had already vomited twice. Viktor stood in the shadows to one corner of the room, cold and aloof. He didn’t speak at all, save when spoken to, and then just a few words here and there. Maxwell was kneeling with his rosary out, deep in prayer. He seemed oblivious to what was going on around him. Aiden was on his fifteenth cigarette and even Sully was puffing on a cigar. Harry understood that these behaviours were due to the group’s foreknowledge that they were going into a desperate fight that they probably weren’t all going to come out of, if any of them did. This was different from having a fight sprung on you all of a sudden; even a running fight like the Battle at the Ministry had been. There, there had been had no time to think on consequences, no time to think about being scared, they just fought and ran and fought again. Anything less and they wouldn’t have made it nearly as far as they had. It wasn’t even like knowing that Death Eaters were probably coming, and that you’d have to fight them. In such instances, there was always the chance that you were wrong; that the Death Eaters wouldn’t show. And furthermore, most of the Death Eaters were only human. Even Fenrir Greyback was limited to human strength, when not under the full moon. Not so, obviously, with the Nelapsi. Even during daylight hours, this was like hunting for a great white shark with only a wetsuit for protection. They were out of their element; on foreign ground, and they couldn’t leave until their quarry was ‘neutralised’, as Jackob put it. Read, ‘dead’. Harry understood that these emotional reactions would be sealed off and shut away once they were all on the hunt. He knew enough about everyone present to know that they would not choke up in the field. They would lock their fear away into that part of themselves that allowed them to function – and function well – while being afraid for their very lives. He also understood that he and Jackob had to keep calm faces even now. There could be no showing emotion, not for them. No showing fear. They were the leaders, and when a leader appears uncertain and afraid, those they are leading lose their cool and panic… and panic gets you killed all too quickly in a dangerous situation. Harry and Jackob took turns going over maps of the valley and contingency plans and moving around the room to offer encouragement to the others. Harry honestly didn’t know where his sense of calm came from, but he was glad for it. He wondered vaguely if this was the first instance in his time as a leader when he’d been able to act like everything around him wasn’t a horrible emergency, even though it was. He surmised that it probably wasn’t, but he couldn’t for the life of him pinpoint where the change had occurred. In the end, it didn’t matter. He had it now, even if might be for his last day on earth. As the first rays of dawn broke the horizon, they called the group to order. Harry and Viktor grabbed their Firebolts and headed for the door. They would act as scouts until and unless the rest of the group got into trouble on the ground, in which case they would join in the fight and try to pull any wounded to safety. Of course, they all knew full well that the odds of anyone hurt by the Nelapsi surviving long enough to be considered ‘wounded’ were little to none, but that didn’t mean it was impractical to plan for it. They were split into teams of two, even though they would be travelling as a large group. The reason for this was a practical one: each person watched the back of their partner and vice versa, rather than trying to protect everyone at once. This also dictated who they would Apparate with, as the trail leading into the valley was many kilometres from Liogat’s cottage. Ron and Hermione stuck close together, and Harry could see that they seemed to gain confidence in each other’s presence, now that they were out of the cottage and moving. The rest of the team was split up evenly between those who had magic and those who did not; Jackob was partnered with Maxwell, and Sully with Aiden. Harry gripped Viktor’s arm and with a brief chorus of hammers to his skull, they were gone from Liogat’s garden and reforming on a mountain top overlooking a densely forested valley. The trees were dark pine, and looked slightly sinister, even with the rays of the morning sun beating down on them like a lighthouse into the fog. The air smelled of mystery, and was somehow cold, despite the heat of summer. Harry willed himself not to shiver, and nodded to Viktor, who gave the slightest nod back. Without another word, they climbed atop their brooms and kicked off from the ground. The ground team made their way down the treacherous path into the valley. Jackob and Maxwell were in front, with Ron and Hermione in the centre and Sully and Aiden bringing up the rear. Harry and Viktor shot off ahead, and then to the left and right respectively, watching for signs of movement on the trail or any indication of a structure or cave that might serve as a lair to the Nelapsi, an entrance to the library, or both. The trail the ground team took was wild and winding; there were many twists and turns and they often had to stop to move brush out of their way with their wands. They were well down into the valley, with the noon sun now overhead, when Viktor flew over to Harry. “I’ve found somethingk!” he said. Harry could see from his expression that it wasn’t good. “What?” Viktor replied with a single word, “Bodies.” He turned his broom around and shot off towards where he had been a few moments before, a spot several hundred metres down the trail from where the ground team was now. Harry flew down and signalled Jackob to call a halt, then shot off after Viktor. The Bulgarian was hovering over a clearing in the trees. Harry flew over and Viktor pointed down. Harry looked down to the point indicated and saw a sight that churned his stomach. There were a large number of bodies hung from the trees at the end of the clearing. They were mostly animals: deer, wild dogs, and bear, with the occasional bird or two. There were at least fifteen human bodies, however, or what had once been human. All of the bodies were completely drained of moisture. “Do you think we ought to cut zhem down?” Viktor asked. Harry shook his head. “Too much noise, and it would take too long. Let’s go back and talk to Jackob. He may want to avoid walking directly through this area.” Viktor shuddered. “I vould not blame him.” They flew back to where the ground team was crouched in battle formation. “Bodies up ahead,” Harry said. “A lot of them. Hanging from the trees. They’re all drained of blood.” Jackob nodded grimly. “How long have they been dead?” Harry shook his head. “I don’t know. How do you tell how long they’ve been dead? ” “That, I think, is a lesson for another day,” said Jackob. “They can’t have been too long,” said Viktor, looking thoughtful. “Maybe a few weeks old?” “So nothing recent?” Jackob pressed. “I do not think so, no,” said Viktor. “Yeah, well, let’s not assume,” said Ron. “No, indeed,” said Jackob. “We will proceed slowly, and circle around the clearing, rather than going directly through.” “Viktor and I will hover over the middle of the clearing,” said Harry. “If there’s anything out there, we should draw its attention…and we can watch your backs from the air, as well.” “Sounds good,” said Jackob. “Let’s move.” They passed the clearing without event, however, and moved further on down into the valley. They found a second group of hanging bodies later in the afternoon. These looked more recent; Jackob surmised that some of them had only been dead for a couple of nights. “Where all these people coming from?” Ron asked. “They can’t all have been down here exploring the valley…” “No, I doubt if many of them came here of their own will,” said Maxwell. “This valley is where the Nelapsi dwells…that doesn’t mean he doesn’t leave it to hunt. He probably goes out into the surrounding area to hunt…paralysing victims, and bringing them back here to drain them of blood.” “Why does he have to do that?” Ron asked. He looked sickened. “I mean, if he can live off animal blood, why go after people?” “Living strictly off the animals in this valley would be highly impractical, if you think about it,” said Jackob. “He would kill all the larger animals soon enough, and the smaller ones aren’t enough to live on. It makes more sense to be ecologically sound…and only kill off the sick and weaker animals. However, there is no shortage of humans on this planet. He can kill them off with impunity, especially in a backwoods area like this. No influential Muggles will notice disappearances in a place like this; no one cares.” “That’s sick!” Ron said. “Is it sick to want to survive?” Jackob countered. “Killing people is wrong!” Ron said, raising his voice slightly. He was smart enough not to shout in a place like this. “You cannot live without profiting from death. That is a hard truth which I suggest you learn to accept. Regardless of whether you do or not, we’ve already wasted enough time standing here talking. Let’s get moving.” It was a quarter past five by Harry’s watch when they found it: a gaping cave entrance in the side of the mountain. The cave went in for five feet, and then there was a sheer drop to the floor some hundred metres below them. At the far end of the cavern floor was the entrance to another tunnel. They could just barely glimpse an eerie blue light emanating from the mouth of that tunnel. “Well, well,” said Sully. “It looks like we’ve found our lair. Maybe the library, too.” “I wouldn’t be surprised,” said Aiden. “It is getting late,” said Viktor. “Sundown is in an hour or so. Should we not Disapparate and return with the dawn?” “That would give us some time to alter our plans according to new information,” Hermione said. “Yeah,” said Harry. “More planning would be good. I suppose we could count this a reconnaissance mission.” “Very well then,” said Jackob. “Let’s get out of here.” They all linked arms with their respective partners and made ready to Disapparate. Nothing happened. “What’s going on?” Maxwell asked. “Why are we still here?” “Oh hell,” said Jackob. “This is not good. Not good at all.” “What’s wrong?” Aiden growled. “We can’t Disapparate,” said Sully. “None of us can. Something’s been cast on the valley.” “How? Nelapsi can’t cast spells!” said Hermione. “No, but Grindelwald could, and so can Voldemort,” said Harry. “But we Apparated in!” Ron protested. “No, we Apparated to the mountaintop on the perimeter,” said Jackob with a sigh. He and Harry had agreed that Apparating into the valley would be far too dangerous, given that they had no idea where the Nelapsi was. “We can fly out,” said Viktor. “Harry and I could each take a person out on our brooms. We drop zhem off at ze top of ze mountain, come back here. We could have everyone out in three trips.” “Can you guarantee you’ll know how to get back here, flying fast?” Jackob asked. “You came down pretty slow, considering.” Viktor frowned. “No.” “We have a little over an hour until we’re out of daylight,” said Jackob. “Maybe that’s enough time to get us all out of here and maybe not. If it isn’t, we would be substantially weakening the group by splitting up. Whoever gets out first would be safe, but they could be leaving the rest of us to our deaths.” “What do you suggest?” Hermione asked. “I suggest we move out like we came in and hope we don’t get noticed. It’s a long shot, but if we do get caught, at least it will have to fight all of us.” “That’s it?” said Ron. “If you have any other ideas, I’m open to suggestions,” said Jackob. “First, stop talking, and start moving,” said Harry. “If we’re going to be walking out of here, let’s start doing it now, while we’ve still got daylight. Second, I suggest that I stay behind and wait for the Nelapsi to come out of his lair. Once I see him emerge, I can take off on my broom in the opposite direction that you lot are heading in.” “Harry, no!” said Hermione. “The idea has merit, if you can avoid being seen,” said Sully. “He will not be alone,” said Viktor. “Harry and I will wait on ze top of the cave, up zhere.” He pointed. “Vhen we see the creature, we vill take off in opposite directions…both of vhich will be avay from where you are going.” “All right, then,” said Jackob. “Let’s move out.” “No!” shouted Hermione. “I can’t let you do this.” “On the contrary,” said Harry. “You can’t stop me.” Hermione crossed her arms. “And you can’t stop me. If you’re staying, I’m staying.” “Honey, if I have to sedate you and carry you out, it ain’t gonna be pretty,” said Sully. Ron’s wand was out in a flash and pointed at Sully. “If you touch her, I swear…” Sully smirked. “Put that away before I have to spank you with it.” Ron opened his mouth, to reply or utter a hex, Harry wasn’t sure which. With a growl, he stepped between his friend and the mercenary. They were interrupted by the sound of someone slowly clapping. Maxwell was looking at them all with contempt. “Brilliant. Just brilliant. I think we should have an argument at the foot of the lair of this beastie. Better yet, let’s have a fight! That’s sure to help things a whole lot.” Hermione sighed. “You’re right. I…I don’t like it, but you’re right. But…the both of you had better come back in one piece.” She ran forward and hugged Harry, then Viktor. “Don’t worry,” said Harry. “We will. Now get moving.”
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