Witches and Monsters

"I see you have improved," Stormy said slowly stepping over her fellow Death Eater's or Maligno's man's dead body, who she just sacrificed to save herself. 

"You know, Stormy, it's hard to see your opponent's improvements when you only fight with them when they are bound or at their lowest or both. I thought you forgot how to fight in a real duel," Chris said without taking her eyes off Stormy. Chris's voice had a mocking tone but her face showed no sign of humour. She didn't forget the last time they faced each other, the way Stormy tore off her necklace and blasted it off to find the Keys, the way she walked away from Hogwats leaving a smirking glance thrown at Chris, while she was reeling from her teacher's murder.

"Good thing then I came to redeem myself," Stormy replied with the same lack of humor as Chris. She started to walk around Chris, but Chris mirrored her, preventing her to get away from her sight. "It's high time that I show you your place in this world."

"And where would that be?" Chris asked as they circled each other like two predators. 

"Under the feet of the greatest wizard of all time, my Master," Stormy spoke with a confident and blissful smile.

But Chris only chuckled at her statement. Stormy was completely brainwashed like every follower of Maligno. 

"And here I thought I would have cured all your delusions by now," Chris smirked and to deepen the effect it was having on Stormy, she added, "I guess killing Ethan didn't send the message I was hoping for. Your 'Master' sent another disposal witch to die by my hands."

Chris air quoted the word 'Master' making her tone more insulting and Stormy's eyes flared with anger, surprise, and indignation, just the reaction Chris was hoping for. 

"You don't know how to recognize your betters, do you?" Stormy glared as she pulled her wand back and thrust it forward with full force, a huge fireball erupted from the tip of her wand and flew towards Chris.

Chris waved her wand and the fireball blasted itself before reaching Chris and just small sparks fissured around her. Stormy raised her wand again, looking angrier. Chris smirked, this was exactly what Chris wanted. Chris was planning this encounter for a long time. She knew Stormy was powerful and extremely strategic, and she could easily play with Chris's mind if Chris gave her even a little chance. That's why she needed Stormy to be angry and emotional, in this state, she could send a thousand spells but she could not be strategic about it, which would work as an advantage for Chris. Without her smart brain working, Stormy was just a strong opponent and Chris have defeated many strong opponents by now.

The next attack of Stormy also didn't land on Chris. Stormy's powerful watery ropes dissolve midair as Chris directed them back to Stormy transforming it into a live snake. Stormy hissed with the snake as it reached her but she quickly blasted it off.

"You still fight like a little girl," Stormy said sending another blasting spell at Chris but Chris maneuvered it and threw it back at her. Stormy was about to throw the attack off when Chris sent another spell of her own. Stormy didn't see it coming and sharp icicles almost pierced her. But she jumped out of the way last minute.

"Do I?" Chris asked laughing as she watched Stormy gain her balance after dodging the icicle spell.

This time Stormy didn't reply, she wasn't stupid, she finally understood what Chris was doing. She fired five or six deadly spells back to back. Chris dodged most of them and managed the last one with just a slight difficulty. But Chris didn't hold back either. Within seconds the hallway turned into a battleground for two witches, who knew their powers. Neville and the others fighting had to move away as to not get in their frenzied slashing wands and sparks of powerful spells. Many of the spells hit the surroundings as Chris and Stormy dodged and blocked each other's deadly blows.

Chris had no idea how long their battle raged but she realized she was getting tired and so was Stormy. The powerful spells they were using had started to take a toll on them. Chris decided she needed to finish this fight fast, and as soon as she saw an opening she sent a strong impact wave at Stormy. Stormy didn't realize what spells were coming toward her and before she could react, she was thrown back for several feet. Stormy abruptly and painfully collided with the wall and hit her head with a crunch. Stormy's eyes went hazy and disorientated but she still tried to get up, however, just as Chris was about to knock her out, a great blast shook the entire castle. 

Chris was about to look for the source when the air exploded. Chris felt herself flying through the air, and all she could do was hold as tightly as possible to that thin stick of wood that was her one and only weapon, and shield her head in her arms before she could hit the ground. But before she could make any impact with the ground or the flying debris, something hummed in her chest and a cold vibration swept inside her skin.

Chris landed softly on the ground and even though the blast had affected her initially, the coolness on her skin calmed her nerves down slowly. She looked down at her chest as the shock started to wear down.

Oziyat's blood locket. 

Chris saw mesmerized as the last drop of Oziyat's blood soaked inside her skin from the broken glass vial and healed all the injuries she had until now. Her heart rate also slowed down to normal. Oziyat had saved Chris's life again.

A scream tore through the air, disrupting Chris's calmness. She hurried to the hole in the wall that had just been created with the blast, what she saw chilled her to the core. Hundreds if not more Inferis were entering through destroyed Hogwarts' high walls, the others were climbing over the walls, along with large hybrid monstrous creatures, who were crawling inside.

"No . . . No . . . NO!" Chris screamed.

"Chris! Are you ok?"

Neville and Cedric, who were blasted off as well and had to crawl out from under the debris, came running toward her -- or at least tried to. Both of them looked extremely injured and Neville was limping a bit.

"Yes, but you two -- my god," Chris examined them both. Cedric winced when Chris tried to hold his arm. "Cedric, your arm is broken."

"I will be fine, don't worry," Cedric assured but Chris wasn't convinced, so he added, "I know how to heal broken bones."

"Then do it," Chris said looking around. "Find a corner and heal yourself, both of you, before you go running to fight."

Another blood-curdling scream, which sounded very close to a person's. Chris's heart skipped a beat and started to race in terror as Neville and Cedric also looked out and saw the Inferi and the monsters.

"Oh, my God! What are those?" Cedric asked the horror in his face mirroring Chris's.

"Who cares, we need to help," Neville tried to run but his hurt leg interfered.

"Neville, stop," Chris stopped him quickly as she finally took the surroundings in. There were several people -- including both Death Eaters, Maligno's Minion, and Hogwarts people -- stuck under the rubble. Chris didn't care about the Death Eaters or the Minions but she cared about their people. "Neville, please you and Cedric help our people here, who are affected by the blast. Take them to a safe room, treat them, take help from Madam Pomfrey, whatever you need to do. I will handle the outside."

"But Chris --" Neville was about to argue but thought better of it. "Ok, go."

Chris didn't wait for Cedric's response as the screams outside were getting multiple. Chris did however try to look around remembering Stormy but she was nowhere to be seen. Chris hoped she was somewhere under the rubble and not running to do something.

Chris ran down the stairs and straight outside. The sight that was waiting for her was horrifying. The Order members and a few of Aurelia's people were fighting the Inferis and the sea of monsters relentlessly. Some were winning but many were losing. Chris saw a student getting tossed away by a monster's huge tail and another scream echoed in the cold air. As Chris jumped into the frenzy with stunning and burning Inferis left and right, she saw a huge ring of fire overhead, which slowed down the Inferi and the monsters. Chris looked up to see Professor McGonagall sending powerful fire spells from a tower to help the people fighting down here. 

Chris took the opportunity and started throwing fireballs and blasting spells as fast as she could. The Inferis looked scared to attack with fire everywhere and a few of those evil creatures got burned but the bigger looking ones were just more pissed. They lunged for people more ferociously, Chris saw a blur before a huge creature looking somewhere between a tree and a bear pounced on her, Chris rolled out of the way but the bear creature trapped her with its paws and opened his mouth to sink its poisonous looking teeth into her neck. Chris's heart pounded as she tried to raise her wand but before she could, the bear was blasted off of her. 

[To be continued]