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[
Congratulations Contestant Kai D. Stormborn
You have triggered a Hidden Mission
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Hidden Mission: The Mournful Ordeal
Hidden Mission Grade: B-
Hidden Mission Summary: Lord Voldemort has returned, more powerful than ever.
Harry and his friends are surrounded by his Death Eaters, their chances of escape dropping to zero. Bruised, battered, and wounded, and with their thoughts clouded by the untimely death of Lupin, they neither have the strength to fight nor have the time to wait for Dumbledore's arrival.
Hidden Mission Objective: By any means, help the future Commanders of the Order of Black Phoenix survive this ordeal with no more casualties
Hidden Mission Time Limit: Not Applicable
]
…
As the children prepared themselves for a bitter fight against two dozen Death Eaters' onslaught, Voldemort's raspy laugh echoing in their ears, something… incredible happened.
It started with one of the Death Eaters casting a Stupefy spell.
The crack of the spell came hurling toward them, the magic taking a visible, blurry form under the moonlight.
However, it hadn't even crossed half the distance when something equally blurry, but much darker and much, much faster, appeared in front of it, the spell ricocheting off.
Then, as soon as it had appeared, it disappeared.
Silence.
Voldemort narrowed his slitted eyes.
Suddenly, a scream filled the cemetery, coming from one of the Death Eaters.
This scream wasn't merely painful, but it was like someone had stuffed a man's mouth with cloth before proceeding to… torture him to death in the most hideous and heinous way possible.
Then, the scream died.
All the Death Eaters scuttled to reveal the man who had been screaming.
It was dim, but Voldemort and the surrounding group from Hogwarts could still see the sight quite clearly.
Where a man must have been standing now lay nothing but a husk, propped on a bloody tombstone. The man's silvery mask had fallen, too. Now, hollow eyes and a gaping, empty mouth looked back at them, wearing a mask of pure terror on his face.
It was only the beginning.
Another slither.
Another horrified scream.
Another husk with hollow eyes.
"Reveal yourself!" Voldemort commanded, raising his wand. "Who dares stand against me?"
A jet of green light escaped the Dark Lord's wand and hung midair, washing the entire cemetery with a soft but bright glow.
The Death Eaters, now thoroughly spooked, looked around, trying to find anything that moved, but failed.
Not only theirs, but even Harry's and the others' heads were snapping left and right.
They couldn't tell what kind of monster had let itself loose upon the Death Eaters. Before they knew what it was, it would be a mistake to be thankful for its appearance. Months of Battle Workshops had already made them know of the horrors that this world possessed in the form of rogue magical creatures.
But even as the Death Eaters and Voldemort himself looked for the killer among them, they couldn't find anything.
It was then that one of the masked wizards looked up and stumbled in shock. "Ma… Ma… Master!" he cried, his wand shaking as he pointed it up.
All heads snapped up simultaneously, their eyes landing on the horror that had replaced the sky.
Against the green halo of Voldemort's spell, thousands of thin tentacles, dozens of feet long, were hanging, converging toward a single origin above. The green halo couldn't reach what it was to which these tentacles were attached, but, even in the darkness, they saw it… move.
It was moving…
Like a black sheet of water.
Like a starless image of night.
Like… horror and terror given form.
Then, even as Voldemort, Harry, and others gawked at the sight, stunned, steps rang in their ears, a distant rumble of a massive thunderstorm manifesting in their minds.
Crack-ckkk!
Green-black bolts of lightning cracked on the earth between Harry's group and Voldemort.
Surrounded by those thin bolts of lightning was a Wand… magnificent and regal beyond imagination.
With another rumble, those lightning bolts suddenly intensified.
And, no matter who it was, everyone experienced a hallucination as if they weren't eying a wand, but a majestic bird, all the lightning bolts outlining its twelve wings.
Slowly, the lightning faded.
Slowly, the green halo brightening the cemetery dimmed.
Slowly, the steps that had been drowned by the rumbles became clear again, a figure walking past Harry, Draco, Black, Ron, Hermione, and Sirius as they held onto Lupin and Daphne's bodies.
The Wand shot toward the figure and was caught midair.
Darcie Malfoy's long, golden-white hair was flapping without wind, her dark green eyes under the bloodied face reflecting Voldemort.
Slowly, the hundreds of tentacles that had filled hearts with dread came lashing down and… wrapped themselves around her, thinning and becoming small.
By the time all those murderous tentacles disappeared, a cloak had appeared on Darcie.
The cloak was flapping as well, but not like her hair.
It was flapping with a sentient deliberation…
It was… waiting for a command.
"Go," Darcie said without looking back. "I will join you soon…"
Harry and others couldn't do anything but keep looking at her, the cloak blocking their gazes, showing nothing but her hair.
"… I am going nowhere without you!" Draco managed to hiss out. "Nowhere!"
As if those words were a cue, Harry, Black, Sirius, Ron, and Hermione nodded as well.
"We will fight them together," Harry said, raising his wand. "We just have to wait for Professor Dumbledore…"
Darcie suddenly looked back over her shoulder.
Draco's entire face crumbled at the sight.
Half her face was covered in blood, and her left eye was completely shut, but… there was a smile on her face.
And she finished her command. "… Lilith."
None understood who Darcie was calling out at this moment.
However, in the very next moment, the cloak on her shoulders suddenly enlarged unnaturally, covering the entire group.
Voldemort's eyes widened, instinctively realizing what was happening, making him let out a hiss in anger.
"Attack!" the Dark Lord cried, raising his own wand.
Before he could cast a spell, though, Darcie's eyes landed on him, her green pupils flashing… black. A force, with the power of a train, hit Voldemort and sent him flying with a BANG. Behind her, with a CRACK, the Lethifold disapparated, taking away everyone with it.
In the silence that followed, Darcie looked around and eyed the Death Eaters and cracked her neck.
"Well, boys," she said, smiling wider than ever, "… shall we?"
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AN: Cinematic Image of Lethifold's true form over Thunderbird (made of green lightning) is available