The night air above the Forbidden Forest was cold enough to burn.
Wind screamed past them in a white roar, the world below reduced to shifting shadows and moon-slashed clearings.
The forest canopy rippled like a living ocean, treetops swaying in waves as Serepha sliced through the sky with impossible speed.
Sirius clung to one of the spines behind Cassius, hair whipping wildly.
"THIS IS INSANE!"
Remus, clamped to the saddle ridge, shouted over the gale, "THIS IS—THIS IS NOT SANCTIONED!"
Snape, wedged between them, hissed through clenched teeth, "If I fall, I will haunt you, Cassius."
Cassius didn't answer.
His eyes were locked forward, pupils thin and reptilian in the wind.
The connection between him and Serepha pulsed like a shared heartbeat—cold, sharp, purposeful.
Serepha banked sharply.
The professors screamed.
Cassius didn't even wobble.
They cut across the forest in wide arcs, passing over unicorn herds startled into frantic sprints, groves of luminescent mushrooms that glowed blue in the darkness, and patches of fog so thick they looked like standing clouds.
Twenty minutes in, Serepha suddenly stiffened mid-flight.
Her massive wings faltered—just a fraction, but enough that the shift jerked the others violently.
Snape swore viscously.
Sirius yelled, "WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?!"
She groaned—deep, resonant, ancient.
Cassius pressed a hand to her scales, listening through the blood-oath bond.
And then—
"She's found them."
Sirius blinked. "She what?"
Remus's eyes widened. "You mean—She could sense them?"
Cassius nodded once. "The Death Eaters. Their right below us."
Snape's hand twitched toward his wand. "Then land. Now."
Serepha folded her wings.
And plummeted.
Sirius let loose a scream so high-pitched even Remus glanced back at him.
They dropped like a stone, trees rushing up to meet them—until Serepha snapped her wings open at the last possible second, turning a lethal fall into a smooth, skidding descent.
She touched down with surprising lightness, talons digging into moss and stone.
The clearing they landed in was quiet.
Too quiet.
No insects.
No wind.
No forest whispers.
Just… anticipation.
Cassius slid down first, landing silently.
The professors dismounted with varying degrees of grace.
Sirius fell on his backside.
Remus slid off and immediately cast a perimeter detection charm.
Snape glided down with a sneer, brushing imaginary dust from his robes. "I despise all of this."
Cassius stepped toward Serepha and hissed a soft string of Parseltongue, the syllables sharp as carved stone.
«Can you erect a barrier? Something that prevents apparition?»
Serepha's massive head lowered, eyes glowing a molten gold.
'Of course,' she replied in that velvet mental voice. 'A trifle. The draconic runes Lady Draconis teaches me are far beyond wizard wards.'
Cassius nodded. "Do it."
The dragon rose to her full height—fifty feet of scaled majesty—and spread her wings wide.
Magic pulsed outward in a shockwave.
The very air rippled.
Violet light burst from her chest, spiraling upward into the night sky like a column of fire.
It twisted into a dome that expanded, stretched, and then set over the forest like a colossal shimmering amethyst bubble.
The professors staggered back.
Remus whispered, "Incredible…"
Snape stared, jaw tight. "This is beyond ancient magic. This is pre-founder era."
Sirius's eyes glittered. "This is bloody brilliant is what it is."
Cassius exhaled, watching the dome settle until its shimmer barely glinted against the moonlight.
"They can't flee now," he said quietly. "No apparition. No portkeys. No shadow-walking. No magical displacement of any kind."
Remus looked at him slowly.
"And what about us?"
Cassius's smile was razor-thin.
"We're not running either."
With Cassius in the lead as the only one who knows the enemies position, the others followed along wands drawn and sense heightened to their limits.
Serepha crooned about wanting to get a chance to help only to be denied by Cassius, this would be a real world training scenario for him, if he let her interfere the test would be utterly meaningless plus the chance to capture anyone without killing them would drop drastically.
But their approach itself was far from subtle, even if they were all asleep the flight of a dragon would be something hard to miss unless they'd drunk Draught of Living Death.
And so as the Hogwarts forces moved closer so to did the dark lords.
~
A shadow shifted deeper in the trees.
Then another.
Then four silhouettes stepped into view—slowly, confidently, like predators stalking into a lit den.
Amycus Carrow.
Alecto Carrow.
Bellatrix Lestrange—gaunt, wild-eyed, laughter humming beneath her breath.
And Peter Pettigrew, trembling but grinning with ratlike pride.
"Ahh," Bellatrix purred, licking her teeth. "The little prodigy brings friends."
Amycus sneered. "Doesn't matter. They walked right into our trap."
Alecto grinned nastily. "We even get the traitor wolf and the Black blood-traitor as a bonus."
Pettigrew's watery gaze flickered toward Cassius with jittery triumph. "M–Master will reward us for this… yes, yes he will…"
Bellatrix's eyes locked on Snape.
"And you… oh Severus, Severus… come to join us again?"
Snape's voice was cold enough to freeze fire. "Not in this lifetime."
Cassius stepped forward, expression calm, his wand rolling between his fingers partially raised ready to strike out without a moments notice.
Behind him, the professors readied themselves.
It was a near perfect setup a proper 4v4 Severus and Remus took Alecto and Amycus, meanwhile on the other side Sirius looked like a demented man already savoring the kill of his own friend turned traitor.
Meanwhile opposite him Cassius stared at Belletrix, her own face seemed rather put out for a little, she relished in killing specifically killing enemies of the darklord, or mudbloods for that matter.
But as she stared across at the handsome young man she was faced against she was a bit torn, he was a pure blood, blood-traitor or not, couldnt he just give up this foolishness and bend the knee as his father did before him and serve the dark lord as he and his closest followers attain ultimate power and immortality?
But her thoughts were cut off as a flash of blue light erupted from Cassius's wand and raced at maddening speeds towards her.