Amicus Draconis: 1st Cycle - Cycle of the Badger

Yamato takes a deep breath to continue his little speech as two shadowy figures rush in. He falls silent and puts a finger to his lips.

"In a hole in the ground, there lived a hobbit."

"Space--the final frontier."

"It was the dawn of the third age of mankind."

"In a galaxy far, far away..."

"Something has survived."

"Right, as long as we skip the BMW adverts."

"Dude, what are you doing?"

"Uhm ... a trailer?"

"Nicking movie tags won't get us a trailer, idiot."

"Oh, let's skip the trailer. Let Sirius do it. Let him smile and take off his shirt and say ' It's Magic.' Then he's James Marsters and we're the geek trio, and everyone will be happy!"

"There's only two of us, mate, and we don't even know if Sirius will survive the war... just look!"

The velvet curtains are sliding apart, and an image appears before us on the SCREEN. It is night-time. Sirius Black is standing in the middle of a graveyard, and we see his wand falling to the ground in slow motion. Suddenly, tight ropes wrap around his entire body, and a group of mysterious people clad in long scarlet robes emerges from the darkness, surrounding him. Their faces cannot be seen under their hoods, but we hear one of them speak: "This is an important day to all faithful followers of the Dark Lord!"

"Turn it off, turn it off, you freak! We haven't started yet! You're spoiling it for our viewers!"

"I will make a speech."

"Thou shalt hold thy tongue!"

"Lemme do the Disclaimer, OK... Puhleez!

"This is a Harry Potter fanfiction, and it's - sort of - anime-styled, so don't get all culture-shocked on us. Friendly yellow letters: "DON'T PANIC. All characters, including us, belong to JKR, Bloomsbury and Warner Brothers. And all the quotes from books, movies or TV shows we use belong to their respective authors. This is not for money; it's just for fun, so don't sue."

"My turn."

"This story is basically plot-driven, but we'll have some slash and some het romances in it as well, some characters will be killed off (hopefully not us), and we have some spoilers on sale for PS, CoS, PoA and GoF. Not for OotP, obviously, since this was written in 2001. Well, that pretty much sums it up. Cycle of the Badger is the first of four cycles, and it has 13 episodes, which will be divided into 26-39 chapters in most archives. This is not a chapter; it's what you would normally call a prologue."

"And now for something completely different. Can we please start the trailer?"

"OK, what do we need?"

"Well, what do you need to do a trailer? War, love, death, action, kissing couples and maybe a shrubbery!"

"Nii, nii, nii, here it goes..."

*

*

Amicus Draconis

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First Cycle: Cycle of the Badger

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The Trailer

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CEDRIC

(Voice Over)

"Seventeen years ago..."

A black SCREEN. Slowly, clouds of red mist begin to appear.

CEDRIC

(VO)

"...darkness ruled our world."

Inside the mist, the Dark Mark starts to form - a skull, its mouth penetrated by a snake.

CEDRIC

(VO)

"Seventeen years ago..."

A dark liquid starts running down the SCREEN, forming a shimmering pool in the middle. Around the pool, the red mist becomes even thicker, manifesting itself in a metallic gleaming bowl, which holds the liquid.

CEDRIC

(VO)

"...we believed the darkness to be destroyed..."

Three slender women's hands appear, touching the liquid with their fingertips. At first, we only see tiny ripples, then bigger and bigger circles gliding out in all directions. And suddenly, an image forms inside the bowl.

CEDRIC

(VO)

"...for all eternity..."

The image shows Lord Voldemort advancing towards a small, dark-haired baby boy, wrapped in a blanket. Next to the baby, we see a flow of red hair, belonging to another person lying on the floor, but she's outside the SCREEN, so we don't see her. Then, a sudden flash of green light bursts over the SCREEN, accompanied by a loud bang that makes us jump in our seats (yes, guys, where's the THX robot?), and the black-robed figure of the Dark Lord dissolves in the green. The CAMERA is back on the baby; his forehead bears a lightning-shaped scar now. Also, the metallic bowl framing the picture has disappeared, and now the images are spread over the entire SCREEN.

HYSTERICAL WOMAN

(OS)

"This is not possible! How can our master be defeated by a mere child?"

CEDRIC

(VO)

"How could we have been so foolish...?"

IMAGES FLASH BY, changing rapidly. We see riders, clad in dark billowing robes, riding the skies on shadowy steeds - we see different-coloured flashes of light emerging from various wands - we see Diagon Alley in flames - we see people locked in a small dark room - and again and again we hear terrified screams.

DRACO

(with a sly grin on his face)

"So, you're blaming me for what? Ridding the world of some stinking Muggles?"

NEW SCENE: Voldemort's hand with its long, claw-like fingers slowing curling up into a fist.

VOLDEMORT

(triumphantly)

"The nightfall of the old world is the dawn of a glorious new age, my dear friends!"

NEW SCENE: Walden Macnair and Marcus Flint walking. In the back, we see some of the shadowy horses from the previous scene. Macnair is wearing red robes and Flint black ones.

MACNAIR

(politely puzzled)

"So, there's still Mudbloods left in London?"

NEW SCENE: Peter Pettigrew's head materializing inside a fire.

PETTIGREW

(hissing)

"Our master wants you to conduct a search of Diagon Alley."

NEW SCENE: Lucius Malfoy is sitting in an armchair, probably in one of his many rooms in Malfoy Manor. His facial expression is that of a sleepy cat, having just dined on an innocent little mouse.

MALFOY

(very self-complacent)

"I'm sorry, old friend, but the project Ragnarök must remain in secrecy at this point."

NEW SCENE: An old man with snow-white hair and features hard as stone - he's a character we haven't seen so far - sits in a chair made of stone. And it's not a drawing room he's in, but a dungeon. On his lap sits a red-haired girl about six. He's supporting her with one arm while holding a large doll in the other one. To his sides, two older girls are standing; they're maybe around twelve years old. One is red-haired as well; the other one's blonde. The girls' eyes shoot daggers at each other.

OLD MAN

(imitating a doll's voice)

"Why don't you want to tell us where your hideout is? Don't you see how sad you make the poor little dolls?"

The CAMERA moves to the other side of the dungeon; there we see Dumbledore, who is chained to the wall with iron shackles. His head has fallen forward, and a mass of dirty white hair is hiding his face.

DUMBLEDORE

(although he's in bad shape, his voice is remarkably calm)

"My life does not matter. There will always be more who can tell right from wrong, and they will never stop fighting your tyranny..."

NEW SCENE: A bunch of young witches and wizards racing in the air on broomsticks. If we look closely, we can see Harry, Ron, Hermione and many other familiar faces, such as Ernie Macmillan, Hannah Abbot, Lavender Brown and Dean Thomas. There might be all the students of Harry's year there, except for the Slytherins.

RON

(trying to sound heroic)

"You can tell your Dark Lord that we will never surrender. As long as one last breath is flowing through our veins, Harry Potter and the brave rebels of Gryffindor ... and well, I suppose Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, too, will fight for the freedom of all witches and wizards!"

MORE IMAGES FLASH BY: Harry and his friends race through the air - suddenly they're flying underwater and then they return to the air. They're fighting wizards in long red robes. A wand suddenly turns into a small rubber piglet.

NEW SCENE: Hermione is talking to a dark-haired eight-year-old girl sitting behind her on her broomstick. A four-year-old boy with dark blonde hair is sitting in front of them.

HERMIONE

(thoughtfully)

"Well, actually we're just a bunch of children who want to see their parents again. But I'm afraid you're right: it means saving the world. As long as Voldemort rules, nothing will ever be the same again."

NEW SCENE: A group of children is sitting on tatami mats, drinking tea from bowls. They're inside a house made of wood and thin paper walls. Harry and Hermione stand before them, along with some fellow Gryffindors.

HARRY

(determined)

"If we want to see our families again, if we want to have our lives back, we must fight for them. As long as Voldemort rules over the realm of magic, heritage is all that matters in a witch or wizard, and there's no such thing as character. Values such as love, friendship and compassion are stepped on and trod into the ground."

NEW SCENE: In the Forest, a dark moonless night. Two figures are facing each other, their hands entwined.

SIRIUS

(tenderly)

"You know what we vowed to do. We have to fulfil our mission even if something happens to one of us. You know I have to go now!"

NEW SCENE: Hermione's face in CLOSE-UP

HERMIONE

(nervous)

"So, am I right? Are you in love with Harry?"

NEW SCENE: Harry and Ginny are sitting on a rock in the middle of a waterfall. Harry has put an arm around her, but they're both looking in different directions.

HARRY

(softly)

"I'm sorry."

GINNY

(sadly)

"There is someone, isn't there? I mean ... in your life."

HARRY

(sadly)

"Yes."

NEW SCENE: Ron's face in CLOSE-UP

RON

(puzzled)

"But you're the one who's in love with Harry!"

NEW SCENE: Cho, wearing a seductive, purple, kimono-like dress is standing in a dark room at the window when suddenly a hand grabs her arm. Before her, we see a dark-haired young man bearing an unmistakable resemblance to Walden Macnair.

YOUNG MAN

(desperate and aggressive)

"Come back to me, Cho! I can't live without you!"

CHO

(angry)

"It's over! Just leave me alone!"

NEW SCENE: Hermione's face in CLOSE-UP.

HERMIONE

(utterly confused)

"But, if you're not in love with Harry, and I'm not in love with Harry, why in the world are we fighting for him?"

NEW SCENE: Night over London. Marcus Flint and Draco Malfoy are sitting on a roof overlooking the city.

MARCUS

(to himself)

"Power ... it's always about power! And what's all this power good for, if you can't be with the one you love?"

DRACO

(to himself as well)

"It's simply a question of how much power you have to gain."

FLURRY OF IMAGES: A car driving through the rain, when suddenly a red-haired teen-aged girl appears on the road - a cell phone, where a text message suddenly appears, as if written by a ghost - Narcissa Malfoy and an unknown red-haired woman, their eyes shooting daggers at each other (much like the little girls in the previous scene) - Draco and Cho standing on the balcony of Malfoy Manor, both wearing formal clothing - in fact, Cho is wearing the purple dress from the previous scene.

DRACO

(very cynically)

"Tell me, how often a year do you usually think of Cedric Diggory?"

CHO

(if she's cynical, she's sure hiding it well)

"About as often as you think of Pansy Parkinson."

NEW SCENE: Harry, Ron and Snape are in Dumbledore's former office, which seems to be Snape's now. Harry is facing Snape with fury in his eyes, pointing his wand at him.

HARRY

(yelling)

"I'm going to kill this traitor, even if it's the last thing I do."

SNAPE

(staying completely calm)

"I know you don't understand, Potter. You never will, and that is exactly the reason why you should leave this war to the people who do. With your ways, we can't ever win."

NEW SCENE: Ginny and Colin Creevey at the waterfall (the one from the previous scene).

COLIN

(trying to sound heroic to impress Ginny, but fails completely)

"I know I can be brave if I just get a chance to. But we won't get far with our old methods. Saving a few Muggles - it's not enough. We have to be more active; we must fight and not hide in here!"

NEW SCENE: Hermione and Hagrid in Hagrid's hut. (Doesn't seem to be the one we know from the books, although it looks similar.) Fang's lying on a fur by the chimney and Crookshanks swaggers past him.

HAGRID

(noisily setting his mug back on the table)

"Ay, if yeh ask me, yeh shouldn't be roaming about, getting yerselves into trouble. Should stay put like Dumbledore would want yer to!"

NEW SCENE: Harry and his former fellow students gathered round a huge table (again, it's Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw).

RON

(addressing the others, sounding slightly annoyed)

"We're down here, like the badger in his hole, and we can't do anything. Outside, the world's falling apart and we don't even notice. We have to..."

Suddenly, without any warning, the image is ripped apart like old paper, and a rotting Dementor's hand tries to grab us, as if it were reaching right out of the SCREEN.

A girl's desperate scream....

PANSY

(OS)

(her voice trembling with sobs)

"Please ... please don't! Not the Dement...

UNKNOWN MALE VOICE

(OS)

(coldly)

"Bear witness what happens to those who dare to oppose the Dark Lord!"

The hand curls into a fist, and again, red smoke fills the SCREEN. Slowly, the smoke forms letters....

*

Amicus Draconis - 1st Cycle - Cycle of the Badger

Episode One coming soon to your favourite radio station.

Original Airdate: December 2001

*

VOLDEMORT

(VO)

"This is only the beginning!"

....

"Hey, Fred?"

"Yeah, George?"

"I wonder, I wonder, do you know what I wonder?"

"Aren't we the best, or what?"

"What?"

"Awesome."

"Splendid."

"Simply magnifique!"

"God shave our radio station."

*giggle*

over and out