Nick Cleveland and the Coven of Lancre

Nick Cleveland and the Coven of Lancre

Chapter 05

by Technomad

Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, Scotland, Earth

Professor Flitwick had had the magical monitors that told him of Nick Cleveland's well-being moved to his office. When one of them started emitting a shrill whistle, he was in the middle of grading Charms homework. He started slightly, then stared at the monitor, before snapping: "House elf!" When the diminutive creature appeared, he told it: "Go get Professors Snape and Dumbledore! The monitors have gone off!"

"Yes, Master! I does that!" With that, the elf disappeared. In a few minutes, Snape came sweeping through Flitwick's office door.

"I do trust this is important, Filius?" He saw the monitor, and his black eyes went very wide. "Ah, I see. You were correct to alert me. I do wonder whether this could be used to trace our errant students' whereabouts?"

"I don't know, but I believe it would be unwise to try," put in Professor Dumbledore, who had just come in. "Does it say just how Mr. Cleveland is in danger?"

Flitwick looked at the monitor, and then pulled out a booklet from his desk. "It appears to indicate that he's in a fight." The Charms professor shook his head sadly. "He's tricky as can be, and an excellent student...but this may be one test he can't pass easily. The fact that the fight's gone on for some time tells me a lot."

Lancre, the Discworld

Nick Cleveland was getting worried. His Protego spell was holding up, but just barely. He had never dealt with anybody with as much raw power to throw around as this old witch, and his spells didn't seem to bite on her as effectively as he'd have wished. With what little part of his attention he could spare from his predicament, he cursed Gilderoy Lockhart, Quirinus Quirrel and the other useless "Defence professors" he'd been saddled with. He needed more offensive magic, and didn't have a lot to work with!

What he did have, though, he could use very effectively. His enemy had been taken off-guard by his Tarantallegra, and had danced helplessly for a few seconds while getting her equilibrium back, allowing Nick to figure out his next move. His Reductos had bounced off a shield she apparently had, but had done damage to the landscape; she had to know she was in a real fight.

Playing for time, Nick tried a tactic of desperation. He had never cast this spell under anything like real combat conditions, but he was willing to try anything. Summoning up the memory of the first time he and Melinda had kissed, he waved his wand and screamed "Expecto Patronum!" For a wonder, the spell worked perfectly, as his totem-animal leaped from the end of his wand and charged at his enemy.

*

Granny Weatherwax was not worried. She was, however, rapidly becoming concerned. Whoever this strange wizard was, he was skilled. The spells he had tried to hit her with hadn't penetrated her defenses, but she had noticed just how much damage they did to the surroundings. She figured that if she hadn't had her shields up, she'd have been splattered very effectively.

Whatever she tried to pound the stranger's shields with, they held up. She hadn't had to draw on so much magical power in a long time, and wondered with one part of her mind just how far she could go. She knew that too much magic was dangerous.

Just then, the stranger screamed some more words in that language she didn't know, and an unmistakable wolverine...silvery, but a wolverine nonetheless...leaped from the end of his wand and charged at her, snarling its rage. She threw a shield up to stop it, but the beast seemed undaunted, throwing itself at the shield again and again. With the power she could spare, she slashed at the creature, until it dissolved in a silvery mist. She had never seen such a spell in her life. If she'd been an Unseen University wizard, she'd have wanted to investigate it. As it was, she was in a contest, and she only knew one way for a contest to win. "Good try," "nice second place," and other such concepts were nonexistent in her mind, at least insofar as they could be applied to her.

*

Nick was horrified to see his Patronus dispelled so easily; he knew that he cast one of the better corporeal Patronuses at Hogwarts, at least outside of what the teachers could do. He thought of Luna, and of Melinda, with a second's worth of regret...and then threw everything he had into a furious barrage of offensive spells. As his magic lashed out, he threw back his head and screamed the ancient battle cry his distant ancestors had terrified the European coastal population with:

"Yuch-hey-saa-saa-saa! Yuch-hey-saa-saa-saa!"

Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, Scotland, Earth

Flitwick went pale with fear when he heard the unearthly scream echoing through one of the monitors. "Oh, dear! That means that Mr. Cleveland is in very bad trouble, and fighting for his very life!"

"What does it mean, Filius?" That was Snape. Dumbledore's eyes had gone very wide when he heard, and he stroked his beard thoughtfully.

"That, Severus, is an old Viking war chant. Mr. Cleveland's mother told him that his father and grandfather taught him it...and taught him that it is only to be used when the alternatives are death or glory! The exact phrase she used was 'Valhalla or victory,' but I knew what she meant." Flitwick shook his head. "I hope that Mr. Cleveland's either wrong about the depth of his difficulties, or is able to pull off a victory!"

Another yell came through: "Ho la,Odhinn! Ho la, Loki!"

"And now Mr. Cleveland is calling on his gods for aid," murmured Professor Dumbledore sadly. "He's Asatru, although not usually pious. He feels that the High Ones, as he calls them, are too important to bother with his mortal woes unless things are truly desperate. Usually, he contents himself with minor offerings to the spirits of place."

Snape looked away. "If his gods can hear him, I hope they can help him!"

Lancre, the Discworld

Nick was beginning to despair of victory. Whatever he threw at her, this strange witch was able to counter, and she had some tricks he'd never seen before. She had cast some tricky things on his mind, and only the Occlumency training that his mother had ensured he received had saved him from succumbing. As it was, it had been a close-run thing, and he still had to struggle to remember who and what he was sometimes.

Aye, well...guess it's pork chops at Odhinn's table tonight for me! Nick felt his lips peel back in an insane smile, as he gathered everything he wasn't throwing into his shields and launched an all-out, berserker attack. "Yuch-hey-saa-saa-saa! Ho la, Odhinn! Ho la, Loki," he screamed at the top of his lungs. He hoped that the Alfadhur, who had first learned magic, and the trickster-god who was his particular patron would not scorn his last fight.

*

Granny Weatherwax barely managed to contain the onslaught. She had almost never in her whole career been on the receiving end of such a wild barrage of spell-work. However, her shields held...just very barely, but they held...and she lashed out with all the power she had at her disposal.

To her delight, it worked, finally breaking through the stranger's defenses. With a nearly-soundless crackle of magical energy, it threw the strange wizard backward, his chest smoking and his eyes rolling back in his head, to lie senseless on the shingle.

Just as Granny was stepping forward to examine her fallen enemy, she was distracted by a wild scream of rage and hatred, and she turned...

*

Luna Lovegood had been having a very pleasant day. Nick had cut her lessons short, saying he had some projects of his own to get on with, and she had gone wandering off, looking for flowers to pick. She liked weaving flowers into chains, and thought that they livened up their camp considerably. While she still missed her Daddy, and her dorm-mates and cousins at Hogwarts, she did acknowledge that Nicholas was taking very good care of her.

She had noticed that he always made sure she got the more tender pieces of the game that they caught, and that if they were a little short of food, Nicholas would suddenly "not feel well" and leave her the larger share of what there was. She hoped that they'd get back to Hogwarts soon; she thought that her Daddy would be pleased to hear about how well Nicholas looked after her. He'd also be happy to know how much her magic had improved. There was nothing like intensive one-on-one tutoring, she had found.

Suddenly, she realized what she was hearing in the distance. From the sounds, it was a magical duel, and a ferocious one at that! Her eyes went even wider than they usually were. She knew that Nicholas was a good hand at sorcerous combat, so she didn't expect the fight to go on long. After a few minutes, she began running back toward their campsite. Nicholas was in trouble!

When she arrived, she took one look at what had happened and let out a scream of rage and hatred. Nicholas was lying on his back, his chest smoking where Luna knew that his Arrows-of-Chaos pendant hung, his eyes closed and trickles of blood coming out of his mouth and nostrils. A strange old witch was bending over him, and she turned toward Luna, her eyes widening with surprise.

"Nicholas!" Luna ran as hard as she ever had in her life, pulling out her wand as she pelted toward her friend. She reached his side, and pulled the pendant out from under his shirt; it was still hot, but not as hot as it apparently had been. Luna looked up at the strange witch, and felt uncharacteristic rage roil up in her heart. Her lips twisted into a snarl.

"You...hurt...my...friend!" Nicholas' wand was lying nearby, and Luna grabbed it up, pointing both wands at the unknown witch. "You hurt my friend...so I'm going to hurt you!" She raised her own wand to cast a spell, while waving Nicholas' wand with her other hand to cast a wordless Protego on herself.

*

Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, Scotland, Earth

One of the monitors in Flitwick's office began emitting a shrill alarm. Flitwick looked at it, and went white. "Oh, dear...Mr. Cleveland's down, and unconscious!"

Snape shook his head. "I hope you are looking forward to explaining this to his parents. They will not be pleased."

Lancre, the Discworld

Granny Weatherwax was seldom at a loss. This time, however...the girl she had been looking for had shown up, and she was anything but glad to see Granny. She was just as hostile as her companion, if not more. Her silvery eyes were hard and her posture screamed that she was not about to be trifled with. The most unnerving thing about her was her eerily calm expression.

Granny decided to try a little headology. "Come now, little miss, there ain't no need for playin' with them nasty magic wands..." This attempt was greeted with a magical blast that would have knocked Granny spinning, if her shields had been down. Her eyes widened. Apparently this little miss needs a lesson in respectin' her elders...

Just as Granny gathered her forces, a familiar voice from above startled her enough to stop her.

"Esmeralda Weatherwax! Have you gone mad? What d'you think you're doin', duelin' with that sweet little girl!" With a thump, Nanny Ogg came in for a landing, giving Granny a very hard stare.

END Chapter 05