The Crystal of Tempest

Chapter 1: A Lost Parchment

"Your highness, get over here right now!" A shout rang throughout the Royal Palace of Godric's Hollow. Six-year old Crown Prince James Potter, named after his grandfather, ran through the courtyard of the beautiful royal grounds, laughing his little heart out. He had messy brown hair and emerald green eyes. Aside from his hair color, he was a virtual carbon copy of his father and if you ignored his green eyes, of his grandfather as well.

"Catch me if you can, Lavender!" shouted little James, laughing his heart out. Lavender Brown, the nanny of the Royal children gave chase after the hyperactive child who was running away, zigzagging through the legs of the many servants of the palace. In this process of chasing, Lavender ended up colliding into Lady in Waiting Parvati Patil and the two ended up sprawled on the floor, very annoyed. James started laughing hysterically.

"Oh, when will James ever grow up," said the voice from the courtyard. It had come from James's twin sister. Her name was Lily, named after her grandmother, but people preferred to call her Lin. She had bushy brown hair and slightly large teeth. In fact, if you ignored her green eyes she was a carbon copy of her mother. "He just had to interrupt my reading with his antics."

"What's 'antics'?" asked a slightly shyer voice from right next to Lin. It was from James and Lin's younger sister, five-year old Virginia. She was also a carbon copy of her mother from the bushy hair to the brown eyes, but in her case, her hair was black. Lin was currently reading to her.

"Antics are basically what James was just doing," said Lin with a cute smile to her sister. "Running around and making a fool of himself."

"Oh," said Virginia. She was a shy girl and didn't share James's hyperactivity or Lin's bookishness. She often spent a good deal of her time in her mother's lap simply being cuddled although she did like having Virginia read to her.

James was still laughing at Lavender and Parvati who were unsuccessfully trying to detangle themselves and get up. Lavender did not look very happy. "Your highness, when their majesties hear about this..."

"I would imagine Harry to be delighted to hear that his son is growing up his and his grandfather's footsteps," said a voice from behind the two women.

"Grandpa Sirius!" shouted James, looking delighted. He ran into the outstretched arms of Lord Sirius Black.

"Ha ha, Jimmy. You sure are growing up quickly. Your at least more heavier than I remember," chuckled Sirius.

"Grandpa Sirius!" Lin also came forward and leapt onto Sirius. Sirius stumbled a little from the added weight but kept his balance. He laughed as he placed the twins down.

"You two really are growing up so fast," said Sirius. He spotted Virginia who was hiding behind a pillar nearby. "Come on Virginia, give your Grandpa Sirius a hug," he said. Sirius crouched down and outstretched his arms.

Timidly, Virginia walked forward and Sirius gave her a strong hug and picked her up, much to her surprise.

"Oh, you're getting big too," said Sirius. "As far as I'm concerned, you guys grow up too fast, right Remus?"

"Too true," said Lord Remus Lupin as stepped forward. James and Lin tackled him and gave him a huge hug as well.

"Grandpa Remus!" they shouted, huge grins plastered on their faces.

"Hey little ones," said Remus while laughing. "Are your Mum and Dad here?"

"They said they wanted to be left alone for a while. So Romantic time I assume," said Lin sounding very know-it-all like.

"What's 'Romantic'?" asked Virginia.

"Know-it-all," coughed James. Lin glared at him.

"Well then, I suppose we can see them later," said Sirius. "So, why don't you three show us around the city?"

"OK!" shouted James looking excited. "So long as you two tell me what's been happening outside these days."

"Deal," said Remus.

"James, Mum said we're not aloud outside of the palace!" hissed Lin.

"Don't worry about that, Lin," said Sirius. "Your Mum and Dad trust us and they wouldn't mind so long as we're with you."

"Come on, let's go," said James as he dragged Lin along. Virginia timidly followed behind them.

* * *

"So what's been happening these days?" asked James as they walked through the streets of Godric's Hollow. "I want to know all the details."

Sirius laughed out loud. "I can see a lot of the Potter blood in you little one," he said. "Well life's pretty much the same as it was the past six years, the Alliance is at peace, the citizens are happy, Mage Knights don't have much of a job, for which we are all very thankful for."

"Did the Mage Knights really go around fighting bad guys and saving people?"

"They sure did James, and they still do. That's their job."

"I'm growing up to become a Mage Knight," declared James. He struck a heroic pose that caused Lin to roll her eyes while Sirius and Remus burst out laughing.

"You will be one, James," said Remus. "Just you wait, when you turn eleven, your Mum and Dad will send you to Hogwarts to begin your training as a Mage Knight. And Lin will probably go with you as well."

"I'll decide whether to become a Mage Knight myself or not, thank you," said Lin, sticking her nose up into the air. James started laughing.

"Well, whether you decide to become one or not, I'm sure your parents will support your decision no matter what," said Remus. Lin beamed at him.

"And how about you, little Virginia?" asked Sirius smiling sweetly. Virginia simply squeaked and timidly ducked behind Lin. James rolled his eyes.

"You'll have to forgive her, she's very shy," said Lin.

"Too shy," said James, leaping around Lin and Virginia. "Come on Virginia, you're a Potter. Only wimps hide like the way you are."

Lin scowled at James.

"Well, we better get you two back home, now," said Remus. James started to pout as Sirius dragged him back to the palace.

* * *

"Where have you three been," asked an exasperated Hermione Granger-Potter as James, Lin, and Virginia came running up to her. Hermione was wearing queen-like purple robes, and her bushy golden brown hair showered out from below her silver tiara. Although the tone of her voice was stern, her brown eyes were shining with mirth.

James grinned sheepishly and said, "Grandpa Sirius and Grandpa Remustook us outside, Mum."

"You shouldn't have gone outside," said Hermione, sounding stern, "even with your Grandpa Sirius and Grandpa Remus." She sat down on a sofa and gave James and Lin a look that Hogwarts trainer McGonagall was known to show her trainees. James and Lin cowered a little from the look while Virginia sought her safe place and crawled into Hermione's lap.

"I told Grandpa Sirius and Grandpa Remus that you told us to stay in the castle," said Lin. "But James dragged me outside anyways."

"Lily, what did I tell you about pointing fingers?" said Hermione. Lin immediately shut up.

Sirius entered the room with Remus right behind him. "Aww, Hermione have a heart. I just thought that we could spend some time with the kids while you and Harry had your 'romantic' time," he said.

Hermione blushed and said, "I'll speak to you about this later."

"Sirius, Remus, you're here," called a voice from across the room. Harry Potter, king of the Kingdom of Gryffindor strode forward, wearing kingly scarlet robes. His black hair was as messy as ever and his emerald green eyes were filled with glee.

"Dad!" shouted James and Lin. They ran up to Harry and jumped into his arms.

"Ah, so what did you two do today?" asked Harry as he ruffled his son's and older daughter's hair.

"Grandpa Sirius and Grandpa Remus took us outside," said James escitedly.

"Didn't your mother tell you to stay inside?" said Harry. When James looked sheepish, Harry grinned and said, "Next time, I'll take you out myself instead of Grandpa Sirius and Remus."

Hermione rolled her eyes and said, "You're no help." Harry laughed and kissed her on the temple.

"Well, as much as I love seeing my godson spend time with his family," said Sirius, "we should really discuss the issues of the Kingdom. That's why we're here after all."

"Right," said Harry. He ushered James and Lin out of the door. "You two go play somewhere in the palace, your Grandpa Sirius and Remus have some grown up stuff to talk about with me and your mother."

"Aww, Dad. Can't we stay?" pouted James.

"Well sure, if you want to here about tax cuts in the agriculture or trading with Hufflepuff," said Harry.

James grinned. "Uh, I guess not. I guess we'll go then." He ran down the hallway dragging Lin with him.

Virginia had fallen asleep in Hermione's lap so Hermione gently picked her up and strolled out of the room. "Go ahead and start without me," she said. "This little angel probably missed her nap time. I'll go put her to bed."

"OK," said Harry. He gently kissed Hermione before she left to take their little daughter to her bedroom.

* * *

"Hey Lin, look at what I found," said James. He was at the end of a secluded corridor of the palace and appeared to be studying a crack in the wall.

"What is it?" asked Lin. She saw that James had found a small protruding of rock sticking out of the crack. James grinned like he had struck gold.

Alarmed, Lin warned, "James, don't touch that." However, James ignored Lin's warning and pushed the protruding into the wall.

There was a low rumbling sound and one of the brinks suddenly slid out like a drawer. Looking excited, James examined the brink and discovered that it was indeed a hidden drawer. He looked inside and discovered an old parchment.

"What's this?" he said. Despite Lin's protests, he pulled out the parchment and glanced at the names written on it.

"James? Lily?" he wondered out loud. "I've never seen this parchment before. Why does it have our names?"

Lin rolled her eyes. "James, itsprobably our grandpa and grandma's names. Their names were James and Lily. We're named after them."

"Why did Mum and Dad give us these names? Its so confusing."

"They wanted to have our grandparents remembered through us."

"All well that doesn't matter," said James. "What matters is this parchment. Do you think its something important? Lets go read it some place where no one can bother us."

"James, we should show it Mum and Dad."

"Oh come on Lin, what Mum and Dad don't know won't hurt them"

"What won't hurt us," came a kind yet stern voice from behind the twins. Startled, James looked up sheepishly to see Hermione looking down at them.

"Mum! James found a parchment in a secret drawer," shouted Lin.

"Really?" said Hermione while raising an eyebrow. "Well then, hand it to me James."

James scowled at Lin and handed the parchment to Hermione.

"Hmm. What is this that it would be hidden here?" Hermione wondered out loud. She noticed the signatures of Harry's parents. Finally, she read the first sentence on the parchment:

"Here follows the account of James I, king of Gryffindor and his Queen, Lily Evans concerning the Crystal of Tempest and the Eight Rings of the One Deity."

Hermione thought her heart had stopped and it suddenly became hard to breathe. Herr face visibly turned pale and beads of sweat were forming on her brow. She nearly lost her footing but managed to barely keep her balance. Yet the words, "Crystal of Tempest" continued to reverberate back and forth through her head.

"Mum, what's wrong?" asked James: both he and Lin and looks of concern on their little faces.

Hermione slowly staggered out of the corridor. "I need to speak to everyone," she whispered and ran down the hall, leaving behind a confused James and Lin.

Chapter 2: The Children of Tempest

"Well, that's a wrap," said Remus, as he wrapped up a map of the kingdom.

"I still think we should lower the commercial taxes," said Harry. "And maybe we should consider having another census..." They were abruptly interrupted when Hermione barged into the room looking distressed. Harry was up at her side in a second.

"Hermione, what's wrong?" he asked concerned.

Hermione took a moment to catch her breath. Finally, she handed Harry the parchment. "Read that," she said, her face very pale.

Harry noticed his parents' names on the parchment and skimmed the writing. His reaction to the words was not good: his face became deathly pale, beads of sweat formed on his face, and Harry's own heart felt like it had stopped.

"Harry, what's wrong? What's written there?" asked Sirius.

Before anyone else could read the parchment, Harry hurried over to the fireplace and threw floo powder onto the flames. He yelled, "Hogwarts!" and disappeared in a whirl. Hermione immediately followed him.

Sirius and Remus shared a confused glance with each other before they too proceeded to Hogwarts through the floopowder. They tumbled out of the fireplace in Dumbledore's office, only seconds after Harry and Hermione had arrived.

Dumbledore was currently in a meeting with Hogwarts Trainer Severus Snape. Snape did not look too pleased at seeing some of his least favorite people come through the fireplace.

Dumbledore smiled, his twinkling. "Harry, Hermione, Sirius, and Remus, what a pleasant surprise," he said. "What brings you here this time of day?"

"We were wondering that ourselves," said Remus.

Wordlessly, Harry handed the parchment over to Dumbledore, still looking pale. Dumbledore nodded and began to read out loud:

"Here follows the account of James I, king of Gryffindor and his Queen, Lily Evans concerning the Crystal of Tempest and the Eight Rings of the One Deity. We feel grievous this has come up during our times and dearly hope it will not come to affect our children.

For the past ten years, the Alliance has been at War against a former Mage Knight by the name of Tom Marvolo Riddle, now known as Lord Voldemort. Dark Lords and Evils have always plagued Magiterran but had always been crushed by the Mage Knights and the world at large believes Voldemort to simply believe the next in a long line of Dark Evils, soon to be crushed by the Mage Knights once again.

However, about a year ago, Lily was plagued by mysterious dreams about a mysterious crystal, which she believed to have been the lost Crystal of Tempest. Seeking answers, Lily set out on a pilgrimage to DeisRowena. What she learned there has practically sealed our doom.

For Voldemort is not simply another Dark Lord like many believe. He is in fact, the very incarnation of the root of evil himself, Tempest. This is the one secret that must be sealed for all time, for if the masses were to learn that Tempest himself had returned, the chaos that would ensue would be catastrophic. What this news signals, is the destruction of Magiterranand the end of our fair world.

And yet, there is still hope. Hidden somewhere in Magiterran are eight rings, eight rings presented to the founders by the One Deity himself: Phoenix, Lion, Serpent, Dragon, Unicorn, Badger, Eagle, and Sphinx. These eight rings contain portions of the power of the One Deity himself and it is these eight rings together alone that can defeat Tempest.

We have managed to learn the location of two of these rings, the Lion and the Phoenix. Their location is hidden within the Mirror of Erised and it must be noted that only a Muggle-Born can take these rings. We will tell these facts to Albus Dumbledore and tell him that they are necessary for the defeat of Voldemort. However, we shall not tell anyone, not even Albus Dumbledore about Tempest's Incarnation until we have learned the locations of the remaining six rings. If less then eight rings are used, then Voldemort would be stopped. However, the effect would only be temporary and he will return more powerful than previously, for with each rebirth, Voldemortgains more of the power he lost as Tempest. For him to be truly defeated, all eight rings must be used against him.

We leave this account behind in case we ever leave this world prematurely. It is a burden we wish to never have had on our children and pray that they will forgive us. The Eight Rings must be found for the sake of not only Magiterran but of the world. I simply hope, our children will find this parchment before it is too late. Our prayers go out to the generation who find this parchment. May the power of the One Deity be with you, always."

By the time Dumbledore had finished reading the room was deathly quiet. Sirius, Remus, and Snape were extremely pale, and seemed to be shocked. Dumbledore's eyes had lost their twinkle and his face was grave. Harry and Hermione, whom had already read the parchment, were sitting in chairs and clutching each other's hands.

"So what does that mean?" whispered Sirius.

"It means you fool, that Voldemort is going to come back some time soon, more powerful than previously," yelled Snape. Sirius scowled at him.

"I never knew any of this," said Dumbledore. "James and Lily had good intentions but I wish that they had at least shared this with me,"

The silence of the room was suddenly disrupted when Hogwarts Trainer Minerva McGonagall burst into the room, looking clearly distressed. She seemed surprise to find Harry, Hermione, Sirius, and Remus there, but she quickly composed herself.

"Yes Minerva," said Dumbledore, "what is it?"

"Albus," she said, clearly out of breath, "Godric's Hollow is under attack!"

* * *

Ron Weasley was feeling content with his life. He lived in a large mansion on the outskirts of Godric's Hollow with his beautiful wife, Margaret Chapel-Weasley and his four-year old son, Christopher.

As he walked into the Nursery, Ron sighed at the sight of Margaret playing with Christopher, whom was a miniature version of Ron himself, down to the red hair and freckles. Hearing the sigh, Margaret looked up.

"Ron, what is it?" she asked, her long auburn hair swaying and her hazel eyes brimming with love.

"Oh, just admiring the view," said Ron. "The sheer beauty of it. Sure wish you were able to see it."

Margaret smiled. She stood up and made her way over to Ron and they kissed passionately. Christopher looked up at his kissing parents with curiosity in his eyes. "What arwe Daddy and Mommy dowing?" he asked.

Ron and Margaret broke apart to make an embarrassed grin at Christopher. "Daddy is just showing Mommy how much he loves her," said Ron.

"Daddy and Mommy wuves Chris too, wight?" said Christopher.

"Of course we do," said Margaret. She picked up Christopher and kissed him on his cheek. Ron grinned and circled his arms around Margaret who leaned back on him.

'I could stay like this forever,' thought Ron, as he held his wife and son close to him.

Suddenly, there was a loud explosion in the city. Alarmed, Ron and Margaret broke apart just in time to see a wall of fire go up in the main street.

"Oh my God," whispered Maragret.

Without a word, Ron dashed downstairs. He was just about to leave when the front door burst open.

Three hooded figures in black cloaks walked in, their swords drawn. The first thought that crossed Ron's mind was 'Death Eaters!' However, instead of the Dark Mark, these figures had images of a heart shaped, blue crystal on their torsos.

"Sir Ronald Weasley, surrender to us to executed or be killed by us right here," hissed the leader of the three.

"Oh, so I can surrender and die or fight and die, lovely choices," said Ron. "Who are you and what are you doing in my house?!"

"We are the Children of Tempest," said the leader.

Ron thought his heart had stopped. "Tempest?" he whispered, visibly pale.

"Crucio!"yelled the lead figure. Ron ducked and narrowly avoided the Cruciatus Curse. He willed himself to emit a dazzling display of white light and in a split second, his blue aristocratic robes had transformed into his familiar red and silver armor of a Gryffindor Mage Knight.

Ron drew his sword and lowered himself into a battle ready stance. "You're going to pay for that," he hissed.

"Crucio!"shouted another one of the figures. Ron rolled forwards and dodged the curse. He leapt to his feet and with a yell, swung his sword down at the lead figure. The leader caught the blade on his sword, and the sound of metal hitting metal rang throughout the mansion.

Undaunted, Ron continued slashing his sword at the lead figure, the two blades constantly clashing against each other. Finally, he landed a high kick on the figure's chin and knocked him back.

Another one of the figures had crept up behind Ron and was about to curse him. Ron however, spun around and shouted, Expelliarmus!" To the figure's horror, his sword flew out of his hand and into Ron's. Ron then bashed the hilt of his sword onto the figure's head and knocked him out.

The third figure leapt at Ron, brandishing his sword forward. With a quick turn over, Ron managed to fling the figure through the window out into the yard. Ron carefully stepped through the broken glass into the yard just as the figure was standing up.

The figure brandished his sword and charged at Ron. Ron twirled around the two swords in his hands and deflected all of the figure's blows. He then spun around, his own sword first hitting the figure's sword, then the sword of the disarmed figure knocking it out of his hand, and finally he landed a high kick on the figure's chin. The figure reeled back.

Not finished yet, Ron threw the sword of the disarmed figure at the other figure. It twirled through the air and finally, the hilt hit the forehead of the figure, knocking him out.

Satisfied with his handiwork, Ron turned around and saw a horrifying sight. Four more hooded figures had entered the yard. They were holding a frightened Margaret and a crying Christopher at sword point.

"Surrender or they die!" shouted one of the figures. Margaret, though frightened, shook her head vigorously, trying to tell Ron to not surrender.

Ron however, would've rather died before Margaret and Christopher were harmed. Defeated, he started to turn his sword over into a surrendering position.

"Stupefy!" A stunner that had been fired from behind suddenly hit one of the figures. Not missing his chance, Ron darted forward and swung his sword at the figure that was holding on to Margaret and Christopher. The figure immediately let go of them to defend himself. Margaret and Christopher managed to scramble away as Ron knocked the figure out.

The remaining two figures tried to get away, but were suddenly stopped by the red haired, female Gryffindor Mage Knight whom had fired the stunner.

"Ginny!" shouted Ron. Sir Virginia Weasleysmiled at her older brother once before turning toward her adversaries.

The two figures pulled their swords out just as Ginny pulled hers out. Without a word, the two figures charged at Ginny. Ginny simply lowered herself into a battle ready stance and waited patiently.

The first swung his sword down at Ginny. Ginny twirled her own sword upwards and deflected the blows of the figure. She swung her sword forward but the figure managed to deflect her blow. Ginny spun around and landed another blow on the figure's blade.

The other figure finally caught up and swung his sword at Ginny. Ginny twirled her sword around and deflected all the blows. Finally, she managed to ram her hilt into the faces of one of the figures.

Realizing that he was now alone, the last figure disapparatedaway. All of the unconscious figures also disappeared as well.

Ginny breathed a sigh of relief and made her way over to her brother's family. Ron was holding Margaret and a crying Christopher close to him.

"Are you OK?" he asked.

"Yes," said Margaret. "I'm all right. Oh, but Ron, Chirs."

Christopher was crying into his Dad's shoulder. Ron hugged his young son close to his chest. "You'll be OK, son," he said.

"Daddy," wailed Christopher.

"Ron," said Ginny, "The city, its still under attack."

Ron nodded. He turned to Christopher and said, "Son, I want you to do me a favor."

Christopher managed to will himself to stop crying. He sniffed and nodded.

"Chris, Daddy has a job to do. So I want you to protect your Mommy while Daddy is away."

"OK," sniffed Christopher. Ron grinned.

"Good Luck," said Margaret. She kissed Ron sweetly.

"Come one Ron, lets go," said Ginny. Without a word, the two Weasleys ran as fast as they could to save the city.

A/N: Well, here are the next chapters to the last installment of this series. I sure hope you enjoy them. Just remember, female Mage Knights are referred to as "Sir". So, read and review and tell me what you think.