'SSSSO.... YOUR BABY AUROR IS SSSSTILL ALIVE. GGGGOOOOOD...I SSSSHALL TAKE PLEASSURE IN SSSSEEING HIM SSSUFFER....'

The figure had come out of the woods. Floating silently about eight feet off the ground, its pitch black robes seem to taper to nothing from its thin body, and as it speaks it pulls down it's hood...

He floats over the unconscious body of Mr Gedward

'I SSSSEEE YOU HAVE DAMAGED BY TOY... AND RELEASSSED HISSSS PET.... NO MATTERRR....SSSSSOOOON YOU WILLL ALL BE MINEEE'

He gestures slowly as he speaks, and seems to ooze evil. He floats up and over the group

'AAARRRR.... I SSSEE A GTOMIK! WHAT WOULD YOUR FATHER SAY ASRIEL, IF HE KNEW THE HIER WAS CONSORTING WITH SUCH UNWORTHY CATTLE!'

Again he moves, floating totally silently and effortlessly.

'NOW...ENOUGHT CONVERSSSSATIONSSSS..... TELL ME WHERE THE BOOK YOU HAVE ISSSS.... AND I WILL MAKE YOUR DEATHSSSS QUICK AND RELATIVELY PAINLESSSS.... FAIL AND YOUR DEATHSSS WILL BE BEYOND COMPARASSSSON..'

His eyes glow a deep sickly red

'...OR KNEEEL BEFORE MEEE... AND SSSWEAR ALLEGIANCE TO QUETZALCOATL AND YOU MAY YET LIVE TO SEE THE DAY OF RECKONINGSSSSSsss...'

Marvo looks up and then around to the other, tied, frightened and injured. 'Oh Sh....

Niki stands taller, and glares furiously up at the thing. "I won't speak for the rest of these people," she shouts, "but I would never, ever bow down to you, or anyone else of your vile kind, even my m-," she breaks off quickly. "The only cattle I see here," she adds, "are you, and those you controlled." A veiled jab at Madison, perhaps? "You're the ones who gave in, whether through fear of Voldemort, or for power you thought you would possess. Are you happy? Is this what you set out to accomplish? I don't think so!" With that, she spits at the ground below Quetzalcoatl.

Madison stopped glaring at the thing, and whirled around to face Niki. Her old fire was back, stronger than ever. "You think I gave in? Is that what you think? You really think I'm that weak?" she demanded. "If you knew me at ALL you would know that I would NEVER agree to do any of this on my own free will...I'm sorry about your brother, but I wasn't the one that killed him...It was my body, yes...but I had no idea what was going on. If I could have prevented this, I would have...if it cost my own life. Don't go passing judgement on things you don't understand!" She turned to glare defiantly at the thing floating in the air, and spat at it. "That's what I think of you and your Day of Reckoning!"

Niki's face is tight. "I didn't mean that to you," she snaps. "If you say it's not your fault my brother died, of course I believe you."

'YOU DARE TO COMPARE ME TO THE IMBERSSSSEAL VOLDERMOURT! HE WASSS BUT A SSSSSNAKE IN THE GRASSSSSS OF A PARK.'

He gestures widely

'WHERE ASSSS *I* AM THE SSSSNAKE THAT SSSSWALLOWED THE WORLD!'

Then as Niki spits his eyes glow an even deeper red. 'YOU DARE!' With a wave of his hand (no wand!) Niki floats into the air and is thrown as considerable speed out of the clearing though fortunately lands in some bushes.

Kat turned to see the new addition to the 'party in the wood'. She too thought something on the lines that Marvo had. Now everyone knew. She had done so well in managing not to let it out. She may have hinted, but she knew that no one was supposed to know about him. Well it was out now and there was nothing she could do.

She had been so relieved that Marvo had woken up that even though her body ached from the magic drain through her and everything she had done so far, even for all that she felt her strength renewed. She looked at Marvo. The books.... Yes that was it... Marvo would have to cause a distraction while the four of them with the books did.... 'Oh, no. What was it we had to do?' She thought for a bit....

<When the time is right circle and point to the foe and call our names>

That was it. Surround him and call out the names of the founders. How would she communicate to Egreen, Yvette and Achel? This must be their enemy anyway. She looked meaningfully at the people around her. She had to call his bluff and hope the others understood.

She walked around behind him and withdrew her book from her robe. "This is my book. Embarrassing the Truth by Rowena Ravenclaw." She held the book out above her head for him to see, but out of his reach.

"Achel, Egreen, Yvette - show him yours, tell him who wrote them."

Insanius sweat dropped, he had just seen a man resurrected, and some weird looking guy levitate into the clearing, and to make matters worse, now Kat was holding up a book by the founder of his house. He inched his way closer to the edge of the clearing, waiting for all hell to break loose.

'THE BOOKSSSS! YOU HAVE ALL THE BOOKSSSSSS'

A look of glee and triumph comes over his face.

'GIVE THEM TO ME! GIVE THEM TO ME NOW AND YOU WILL LIVE IN PARADISSSSE FOR THE RESSSST OF TIME'

His flying becomes more erratic as he seems tom become fanatically excited.

Niki snorts, limping from the bushes, wincing at new scratches and bruises. "I wouldn't trust him any farther than I could throw him," she says, hissing something between her teeth. She then starts to say something else. Comprehension dawns, though, and she shuts her mouth.

"Don't give him the books," said Andy. "You can do whatever you wish with them. You can destroy them for all I care, but don't give them to him. He'll deceive you. He can't hurt us without the books. That's probably why he wants them so badly." Andy looked up at the...thing glaring down at them hoping, praying that he was right.

Quetzalcoatl Looks down at Andy, his eyes glow with pure evil. With a movement with looks slow, but somehow at the same time seems lightning fast he points his finger...

'CRUCIOssssss'

Ember had ZERO idea what Kat was trying to do, but she intended to buy as much time as she could in order to let Kat and the others finish whatever needed to be done.

"Look here, slinky," she said to the shadowy figure, "do you think for one second anybody with the sense the gods gave a frog spawn that we'd trust someone who murders innocent people without a second thought? Whatever you want, it couldn't be a good thing for anybody else if you got it, so I don't think you're gonna get your slimy, filthy hands on anything. And I think you really should see a speech therapist--that's one nasty lisp you've got there.

'TRANSSMOGRIFIssss'

Ember feels her body changing, slowly and painfully. Ember gritted her teeth, trying to ignore the pain, and continued to concentrate on the spell while she still had hands and a brain.

Yvette took a step back, hugging her book to her chest. Her curly hair was frizzing and her eyes flashed. She gritted her teeth and gave him a look that everyone she had ever fought with knew well.

She was mmmaaaadddd.

"NO!" She spat out the single word, managing to pack more spite into it than she would have put in a paragraph. She fumbled for her wand and held it, more for the reassurance than anything. She'd been fighting against the magical pull, and still was.

"That's right, Yvette," Niki calls. "Don't give it to him. By the way, who wrote your book?" Crossing her fingers, she prayed that Yvette would understand what she meant. "Quand le temps est bons cercle et point à l'ennemi et appelez nos noms," she adds, in French.

Yvette's face cleared, and then hardened determinedly. She set her jaw, silver eyes narrowed. "And THIS is Embracing the Illusion by Godfric Gryffindor, filth!"

Quetzalcoatl hand moves again and he points at Yvette

'CONJUNCTIVASSSS'

Yvette goes blind!

Everything was suddenly very dark. Yvette scowled, though on the inside she was so scared she felt like crying. Her ears picked up more than before, and she clutched her book as tightly as possible, like Niki, swearing quite fluently in French.

Then he points at Kat

'ACCIO TOMEUSssss MAGICUSsssss'

And Kat feels the books trying to pull away from her; her hands feel like they are burning as it pulls harder and harder.

Ember had to do something. She racked her brain for a counterspell that could help everyone at once and couldn't come up with anything.

But she COULD keep Quetzalcoatl from getting the books--

She tore her cypress wand from her sleeve, pointed it at Quetzalcoatl, and screamed the shielding curse she'd been taught at Leveau Academy:

"NOLI TANGERE!"

A whirlwind of scarlet light erupted from her wand and formed a shimmering scarlet barrier around Quetzalcoatl. It was a physical barrier that would not keep magic at bay, but would certainly keep the books from reaching Quetzalcoatl--for as long as Ember could hold it together...

"Whatever y'all are gonna do," she gasped, sweat already beading her brow, "DO IT!!!"

Niki screams with rage, and picks up a large stone to hurl at him. Unfortunately, just at that moment Ember conjures up a shield, so the rock thuds harmlessly to the ground. Niki curses fluently in French, adding something that sounds a lot like "Typical American."

This bad guy was obviously getting into the swing if things. "ACHEL!" Kat screamed. "YOUR BOOK! NOW! BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE!"

Achel pulls himself up and takes out his book.

I hold the Book 'Embracing The Light! By Helga Hufflepuff. And whatever power it has I hope it destroys you utterly!'

He looks over to Egreen, Still kneeling by his father and saying nothing. 'Egreen! NOW come on! Snap OUT of it!'

Marvo rolls onto his side, obviously in pain to get a better look at what is going on.

He sees the shield around the 'bad guy' and is impressed. Then he sees Kat struggling with her book, slowly being dragged towards 'Quetzalcoatl'

'Not on my watch' Marvo mumbles to himself and wincing with pain slowly raises his wand

'FINITEUS INCANTATUM'

The book goes limp in Kat's arms

Marvo looks up to Quetzalcoatl a very nasty look on his face.

'LEAVE MY FRIENDS ALONE!' he shouts and once more raises his arm

But the pain is too much for him. He cries out and falls back to the ground.

Kat sighed with relief at the release form the spell. She mouthed thanks to both Ember for her wall and Marvo for his end spell. She winces again as Marvo continues to roll around on the floor in pain.

"Egreen, please get on with it."

Very slowly Egreen stands, and turns to face Quetzalcoatl. If looks could kill you would all be on your way home now.

With both hands he raises the book up over his head and in a calm, clear voice he speaks

'Embracing The Darkness. Salazar Slytherin.'

An utter silence prevails the whole forest....

Within the dome of the shield Quetzalcoatl still smiles in glee, but then you notice the slightest hint of concern furrowing his leathery brow.

A light wind starts to blow, and the green mist seems to disaparate from the clearing, but still is visible surrounding the forest just within your view.

Then leaves and dust start to flutter off the ground, circling The shield like a mini whirlwind, still light, but obviously not usual.

Then wind them seems to condense, becoming a light white mist that spin's and flows around Quetzalcoatl, and he looks more worried, floating around inside the shield, from side to side as if looking to see what is going on. The mist swirling around him seems to glow with a white radiance and spin faster and faster until a circle of while light seems to surround him.

Then, at each compass point of the circle the mist starts to condense, and shapes seem to appear, while the rest of the mist continues to swirl...

The shapes seem to take form and soon you can see the outline of faces, four large faces and shoulder, about five feet high floating three or four feet off the ground.

As the faces become clearer and between you, you recognise them. It is the Founders! All of them look serious and concentrating.

Quetzalcoatl is floating faster round the circle now, moving all around and Hissing, zipping from side you side as if looking for a means of escape.

Then behind the founders you see other forms starting to appear from the mist, and soon you recognise them too... Serpent, Eagle, Lion and Badger.

The massive mist shrouded creatures slowly come into sharper focus and Quetzalcoatl starts to hiss and claw at them.

Then suddenly they strike! The four creatures flash forward leaving a trail of mist behind them and fly straight through the shield and INTO Quetzalcoatl's body.

He screams and starts to claw at himself as the white mist flows around him getting lighter and lighter until with a flash the whole dome is filled with a bright white fog that seems to be made of pure light.

The screaming stops....

Silence...

Then the dome EXPLODES into a million sparkling pieces and with a soul splitting roar a Serpent, at least sixty feet tall, uncoils from the mist, On it's back are two multicoloured wings of shimmering feathers and it's fangs are dripping venom.

It hisses and roars again, but the images of the Founders remain passive.

Then, within a blink of an eye the Founders enter the body of the winged serpent and it begins to writhe and twist as if fighting it's own inner demons.

Light begins to stream from cracks in it's skin and it's roar becomes loader and loader.

Then there is a silent explosion of light so bright that you cannot help but turn away....