The Crossroads of the Forest PT 1/2
Percy, standing in front of Harry, stared fixedly at the hooded man while placing his sword before him, gripping it with both hands before settling into guard. A perfect stance, worthy of a knight, never once taking his eyes off his enemy. Behind him, Harry held his grimoire, opening it with a simple motion of his hand, while his other hand gripped his wand.
The man, even with his face hidden by the darkness of his hood, let a nearly mocking smile show as he looked at the two boys. Without warning, a sudden spell flew straight toward Harry.
Percy moved at the same time, stepping in front of him and striking the spell with his wooden sword, which seemed to deflect the magic to the side, making it crash into a tree. He did not think; his body moved on instinct. Upon impact, the trunk began to melt in a disgusting way, dripping slowly, the sight alone making Percy's grip tighten around the hilt.
For a moment, the man's interest could be felt, reflected in his fixed gaze on Percy's sword.
"Fire!" Harry shouted, as several fireballs formed around him before flying toward the hooded figure.
Once again, without saying a word, the man moved his wand with ease and a magical shield appeared, protecting him from every projectile.
Percy did not stay still; he ran toward the man, advancing alongside the spheres of flame.
The hooded man, covered by the magical barrier, moved his wand once more. The magic began to spin like a vortex that absorbed each fireball, the flames seeming to be drawn into his wand, only to be released again as a single massive fireball that he hurled straight at Percy.
With quick reflexes, Percy brought a hand to the necklace at his neck and traced a circle over it, letting go of the wooden sword at the same time. Instantly, another sword, silver in color, appeared in his hand. He gripped it firmly and raised it above his head, staring at the enormous fireball approaching with complete seriousness. For a fraction of a second, the heat pressed against his skin before bringing the blade down in a single downward slash.
To the hooded man's surprise, the magic was cut cleanly in two, splitting apart and passing on opposite sides of Percy and Harry. Even the heat it gave off seemed to divide in half.
Harry was already whispering something, while the pages of his magical tome moved on their own. Then he raised his wand toward the man and shouted,
"Freeze!"
At once, an enormous amount of ice formed, as if all the moisture in the area had been gathered and dropped to below freezing. The grass around them froze instantly, becoming completely rigid and unmoving.
The vapor of their breaths became visible almost immediately. The hooded man noticed his feet were trapped in the ice, but looking down was a mistake, because Percy was already right in front of him, leaping to attack, aiming straight for his chest.
This time, the man did not use his wand. He simply raised his hand and placed it in front of the sword, stopping it completely just centimeters from his palm, then moved his hand quickly, as if trying to snatch it away.
Percy, stopped dead in his tracks, reacted with perfect reflexes and released the sword almost instantly before falling to the ground.
The man showed a slight smile as he was about to touch the sword floating in front of him, but at that moment he saw a faintly golden flash coming up from below. Percy already had another sword in his hand, the new blade Harry had given him for Christmas, Riptide.
Perhaps out of greed for that special sword, the man was distracted for an instant. By the time he realized it, the blade was already cutting into him from the waist upward.
Percy's expression flickered with confusion, just before the man raised his wand again and pointed it straight at his face, a green spell about to burst forth.
In that instant, a sudden root wrapped around Percy's waist and hurled him backward with force, pulling him out of the spell's path. It passed right past him, and while airborne, Percy realized it had been Harry, just in time.
He twisted his body to adjust his fall and landed on one knee in front of Harry, cushioning the impact.
"Idiot, do not get distracted like that," Harry said in a serious tone, never taking his eyes off the hooded man, while watching him touch his own body in confusion, showing no sign of any wound.
"Harry, I think Riptide is broken," Percy said, looking at the bronze sword in his hand as if he did not understand. Then he tapped his necklace twice. Both Riptide and the sword that had been left near the hooded man returned as light into the pendant, and Percy drew the wooden sword once more.
"That is fine, we will figure it out later," Harry replied seriously, while noticing that the hooded man now seemed even more interested in them than before. His gaze moved between Percy's swords and Harry's book with clear greed, as if he had found a rare treasure.
A black mist began to seep out from the man's robe, moving around him as if it were corrupting the very air, making it hard to breathe. With a flick of his wand, he sent that mist toward Percy and Harry.
Percy immediately stepped in front of Harry, holding the wooden sword forward and using it like a shield, but Harry acted faster and shouted,
"Wall of fire!"
Tall flames rose in front of them, beginning to melt the nearby ice while protecting them, preventing the dark magic from drawing close.
Suddenly, from within the flames, several fast projectile spells pierced through the wall and flew straight toward Harry.
Percy struck them one after another with speed. There were many of them, and they were extremely fast, demanding his full concentration.
Harry, with his wand in one hand and the tome in the other, pushed forward. The wall of flames surged ahead like a wave, heading straight for the hooded man.
Suddenly, from the man's wand burst an enormous amount of water that extinguished the flames with ease, before transforming into what looked like a liquid serpent that rushed toward them. A massive cloud of steam rose instantly.
Harry showed a faint smile as he saw the ground completely soaked while the serpent drew closer.
"It is time for you to use a bit of magic, Percy," he said in a serious tone.
Percy, standing with his sword in hand, heard him and pulled his wand from his robe. With a confident smile, he aimed at the serpent and shouted,
"Catena Maris."
At once, as if all the water around them had fallen under his control, he moved his wand, tracing a circle in the air. The serpent began to deform, turning into a swirling vortex of water that rushed toward the hooded man, who looked stunned at having lost control of his own water spell, something that should have been impossible.
The vortex caught him immediately.
The water closed in around him, trapping him inside a massive liquid sphere. Within it, the man was violently shaken by the current, spinning without control.
Harry, wearing a proud smile, raised his wand as well, pointing it at the sphere of water.
"Extreme freeze!" he shouted.
The spell that before had only frozen moisture now seemed far more powerful. The cold expanded all at once, freezing even the nearby trees, as if the entire place had been dragged into a winter zone in an instant. The water bubble began to freeze rapidly from the outside inward, creeping toward the center, where the hooded man thrashed desperately, trying to break free.
But before the ice could reach him, spikes of earth shot out from the ground, flying straight toward them.
Percy lost his concentration instantly and grabbed his sword to protect Harry, deflecting every projectile. The half frozen sphere of water fell to the ground and shattered, freeing the man, who coughed several times after nearly drowning and freezing.
"You damn bastards… brats," he shouted for the first time.
His voice sounded strangely familiar, enough to confuse both Harry and Percy, though neither could recognize where they had heard it before. Perhaps that was why he had not spoken until now.
Filled with fury, the man began shaking his wand again and again, unleashing a barrage of spells without control. Explosions, ice spells, repulsion charms. Everything he seemed to know was thrown in continuous waves, and Percy deflected them one after another.
Harry, without time to prepare a powerful spell, responded with fast magic, hurling fireballs and arrows of wind. Even so, the man defended himself with the skill of a seasoned warrior.
"You had your only chance to trap me, and you wasted it. Now die," he shouted.
The speed of his wrist movements increased unnaturally, as if his joints no longer existed.
"Fiendfyre!" he screamed.
A completely different flame burst from his wand, once again taking the shape of a serpent, this time made of pure fire, charging straight toward them.
Percy raised his wand again and tried to gather the surrounding water to extinguish it, but the moment it touched the serpent, every drop evaporated instantly. Behind it, the man laughed maniacally, completely out of control, as if he no longer cared about Percy's sword or Harry's book, only about reducing them to ashes.