A/N: Here's Chapter Fifteen for you all. I hope people aren't too disappointed with the removal of the one-update-a-day system, but honestly, you lot were spoiled anyway. University is taking its toll…I could have tried to pump out two chapters this weekend, but I had other work to do. Now, I haven't read White Night yet since some people are just too inconsiderate to illegally copy the book and put it up on the internet, so Molly's behaviour and use of magic may be a little off-character, but, what can I do?

For the rest of that day, Harry stayed inside the vast library of Hogwarts, content to browse the shelves for books specialising in subjects he was weak in. Although Meciel had amassed a great amount of knowledge about charms and curses, especially fire-based spells, she was definitely lacking knowledge in some of the other subjects, including both Potions and Transfiguration. Harry doubted that he could brew the simplest of potions and the most he could do with transfiguration was to turn a match into a needle and even then he tended to burn the matches into cinder during mid-cast.

Amanda also kept to the library but she was less content than Harry was, and while she had spent an hour or so curled up in one of the chairs as she scrawled in her diary, it didn't take her long before she snapped her diary shut and turned to Harry, who was sitting at a nearby table, with a bored and annoyed expression on her face. For a moment it looked as if she wanted to stand up but a sharp glare from Harry was enough to keep her in her seat.

“Come on,” protested Amanda, her eyes pleading with Harry, who remained submersed in his book “Why can't I go anywhere else?”

“Because I'm reading,” Harry replied shortly, his eyes never straying from the book as he idly flicked over a page.

“So?” asked Amanda with a childish whine in her voice. “I won't get into any trouble.”

“What if you do?” Harry asked coldly, looking up from his book with irritation on his face as he stared into her blue eyes, remaining unaffected by her pleading glance. “What if one of Nicodemus' men, or the bastard himself, manages to kidnap you and take you away?”

Amanda fell silent as she ducked her head, avoiding Harry's dark gaze as he leant forward menacingly, digging the point in deeper.

“They will make you scream before the kill you,” He said softly, his voice almost a whisper yet it seemed to echo in the small study area that Harry and Amanda had occupied. “And it will hurt so much so that you'll wish that you had killed yourself. If you stay with me then I won't let that happen to you. So, shut up and stay in the library.”

Amanda watched as Harry sat back and turned back to his book, a disgruntled expression on her face as she pouted, sending a mild glower at him as she folded her arms across her chest.

“You can't keep an eye on me forever,” She muttered.

“I don't need to keep an eye on you forever,” Harry said, rolling his eyes as he looked up again. “I want to make sure that you're safe while I wait for Nicodemus to make a move against your sister.”

“Do you think he'll try it here?” Amanda asked, genuinely curious.

“He'll try,” Harry muttered darkly. “I know he will, and when he does try then I'll be able to save your sister, rid myself of the life debt and get the hell out of this place before Dumbledore tries something.”

“Rid yourself of the life debt?” Amanda asked slowly, staring at Harry with a questioning look on her face. “What do you mean?”

“Well, I saved your Mum's life, Daniel's life, Mathew's life, Alicia's life, Hope's life, Harry's life - the little one, not me,” Harry answered, ticking off the names with his fingers. “I saved your life at Salem by stopping those wand-wizards from killing you. Now I just have to save your sister's life and the debts gone.”

“Then why aren't you with her then?” Amanda asked slowly, gazing at Harry carefully, almost as if she were disappointed.

“Molly's with Dumbledore for the afternoon, in a meeting over something or other,” Harry answered. “The guy's a lot more powerful than he lets on and he won't let any harm come to her. Besides, I get the feeling that your sister isn't a pushover.”

“Oh,” Amanda uttered and fell silent as Harry turned back to his book.  For a few moments, silence reined in the small study area, until Amanda opened her mouth again, a pensive frown on her face.

“Could she beat you?” She asked in curiosity. “You know, Molly.”

Harry rolled his eyes and looked up, annoyance painted on his expression as he was interrupted yet again.

“No, she couldn't,” He said flatly. “Now shut up and let me read this. I have no idea why you just can't transfigure something into gold and I'd like to find out.” He paused, as if he was listening to something elsewhere, and a small mischievous grin came over his face, lighting up his green eyes and making him seem almost childish. “Yes Meciel, I know. She is an idiot.”

Amanda made a face at him but she fell silent, her eyes glazing over as she stared into nothingness. A moment later, she shook her head, opened up her diary again and picked up her quill before she began to scrawl another entry into the small, battered book.

Harry didn't know how long he had been sitting at the small table in the library, reading his books and occasionally going to the shelves and picking out a new one as both he and Meciel tried to wrap their minds around the concept of Transfiguration. Admittedly, Harry acknowledged that Meciel seemed to be doing a better job than he was and there were some pages in the book where Harry just paused at for a brief second, allowing Meciel to user her photograph-like memory to memorise the words for later use.

Still, after a while, Harry had to reluctantly agree with Amanda as the boredom set in and despite Meciel's words of protest, he placed the book down on the table with a thump and grimaced as he rubbed his stomach, feeling it rumble in hunger. He looked through the nearest window and blinked with shock as he saw the darkened skyline.

“It's night?” He muttered in surprise and glanced around the library, seeking Amanda's presence. Sure enough, the blonde girl had done what she had been told and was curled up in her chair, her eyes closed in a peaceful expression as she dozed off.

Harry blinked at the angelic sight in front of him and with careful, deliberate movements; he softly stepped out of his seat and tiptoed around the table, leaning his head down next to Amanda's. With an almost tender movement, he placed his hand on the side of her face and the girl sighed softly, leaning in against the warmth as Harry lowered his head. He approached her lips but then veered off until his lips touched her ears and he took in a deep breath and screamed loudly.

His voice echoed in the library and he jumped back as Amanda screamed in fear, blinking tiredly as she shot up from her seat, an expression of shock, fear and surprise on her face. She swung her head around quickly, taking in deep breaths, and found Harry standing in front of her, an expression of amusement on his face.

“That wasn't funny!” She hissed angrily but she could feel her cheeks heating up as she blushed under the boys gaze, averting her eyes away and a furious expression came over her face.

“Eh, maybe,” Harry replied, still smiling. “But I suppose you just had to be there.”

“Shut up,” Amanda muttered angrily as she bent down to pick up her diary. She placed it in her robes and stood back up, glaring at Harry with a petulant expression on her face. “What did you want anyway?”

“Dinner, actually,” Harry answered as he gestured to the darkened window. “It's probably just starting, so come on. I'm hungry.”

Amanda made a face at his back but she followed him out the library, blushing again as a prim-faced librarian glared at them from over her desk.

A few minutes later, Harry and Amanda entered the warm and bright Great Hall. Chattering students mingled with each other, black-robed Hogwarts, furred-coat Dumstrang, blue-cloaked Beauxtbatons and crimsoned-robed Salem. The long tables were devoid of food but gleaming silverware glinted under the candlelight, which reflected off the clear, dark illusionary sky above. At the other end of the hall just in front of the head table sat a small wooden stool. On top of this stool sat a curious device, shaped like a goblet and sparkling with flames.

Harry vaguely remembered seeing something like it at breakfast but he hadn't been paying attention. He wasn't paying attention now either as his eyes roamed the head table, a frown appearing on his face as he saw Dumbledore chatting softly to McGonagall, his blue eyes sparkling, and Snape glowing at him with great fury, his dark eyes shining with hatred. What he didn't so, though, was Molly and there seemed to be a single, absent seat next to the ancient Salem Headmaster and a tiny, white-bearded man.

“Where is that idiot sister of yours?” Harry said slowly, his eyes narrowing with irritation and perhaps a bit of worry.

Amanda certainly looked worried as she frowned in concern, raking her grey eyes over the hall as if she sure that Molly was hiding behind one of the tables. As a crimson-robed Salem student walked by, a particularly tall, dark-haired boy with brown eyes, she turned around and called after him.

“Hey, Richard? Have you seen Professor Carpenter recently?” She asked.

The boy turned around with a polite smile on his face as he addressed the younger girl.

“Sure, Amanda,” He said easily. “She was out by the lake a few minutes ago, getting ready for her upcoming classes.”

Amanda thanked him as he walked away while Harry sighed in annoyance, a glower of irritation on his face.

“Idiot,” He cursed softly, before he gestured to one of the tables and raised his voice as he addressed Amanda.  ”Look, sit down and stay there. I'll go and get your moronic sister.”

“Okay,” Amanda said slowly, eying him strangely, but she saw Hermione waving her over from the Gryffindor table and her expression cleared as she beamed at the fourth year Gryffindor. The bushy haired girl alternated between smiling back and glaring at Harry as Amanda skipped over while Harry turned and left the hall.

Harry walked out of the castle doors, slightly flinching as a cold breeze struck his head. He wrapped his robe around him, his face annoyed, and stalked through the courtyard and down the cobbed-stone path. If a regular Hogwarts student had been there to see him, they would have commented that he looked exactly liked Snape in a bad mood as Harry's cloak billowed out around him, his eyes glittering angrily in the darkened night.

He approached the large lake surrounding the castle, which glittered beautifully as the bright moon and stars twinkled down on it. Through the light, Harry saw a womanly figure near the dark and ominous forest and without a second's hesitation, walked towards her. It took Harry several minutes as he stalked over and stopped behind her, keeping his silence as he faced Molly's back. The professor tensed as she heard him but she didn't look away from the lake, her blonde hair swaying in the cold breeze, her fingers clenching as her back straightened.

“Were you dropped on the head as a baby or are you just an idiot?” Harry asked quietly, but there was anger in his voice.

“Excuse me?” Molly exclaimed and spun around, a scowl on her face.

“You do realise that there are people trying to kill you, don't you?” Harry continued coldly, his eyes boring into Molly's blue orbs as he glowered at her.

“Really, do you think so?” Molly spat out sarcastically, her blue eyes sparkling in anger.

“I don't think it, I know it,” Harry growled and gestured to the darkened surroundings with both arms. “If you know this then why are you out here, alone and defenceless?”

Molly narrowed her furious eyes and using one slim hand, reached into her dark-crimson robes and pulled out a small, wooden rod. Harry saw that there had been runes carved into it and many of them were the same runes that had been carved into his sword, designed to help the user channel and cast evocation with a greater degree of control and power. This was the weapon of a true wizard and Harry felt wariness despite himself.

“I have my blasting rod,” Molly responded angrily as she gestured with the wooden rod. “I can take care of myself! I don't need a Denarian to look after me!”

“Really?” Harry said, sweetness dripping from his voice. “Well, I'm sure Nicodemus will be very impressed when you show him that little stick of yours as he's raping and torturing you.”

Molly paled and she flinched as if she had been struck. Her eyes glittered with a sudden rush of anger and with a wordless snarl the blasting rod in her hands flew up as she levelled it at Harry. A golden nimbus of power surrounded her, true magic only visible to one like Molly or Harry, and the tip of the blasting rod glowed in a dark-green light. Molly's lips were pressed firmly against each other and although her entire body was shaking with anger, her arm remained steady and unwavering.

However, the moment she had moved, Harry had embraced Meciel's dark powers. A roaring wave of fire and sulphur flowed into him, an intoxicating rush of pleasure and the darker desires filling his mind, threatening to overwhelm it but he remained firmly in control. His hand reached into his robes and his wand whipped up just as quick, greasy smoke curling from the carved runes along the side as hellfire poured into the wand-wizard focus.

Both Denarian renegade and True Wizard stared at each, unmoving and silent. Molly glared at Harry with a hard look of anger mingled with disgust, as if the boy revolted her, and Harry returned her glare with look of irritation mixed with cold determination. Given a few more moments, it was likely that a brawl might have started and Molly, even as a True Wizard, would have probably lost to the more experienced Harry.

However, it didn't come to that as Harry suddenly saw something behind the tall, slender blonde. It was a flash of movement, two gleaming red eyes glittering in the darkness. For a brief second, Harry's eyes widened as he stared at some kind of deformed dog or cat, with tough, leathery skin, large, gleaming fangs and tusks protruding from a snarling snout. In front of him, Molly's gaze flickered past Harry's shoulder and she let out a startled yelp, her eyes widening as she faltered for an instant. But Harry moved as if he had been expecting it, the warm, throbbing presence of Meciel quickly spurning him into action as he redirected his wand.

“Exturbo Arduro!” He bellowed furiously, his voice full of raw anger that fuelled the dark spell as wand-magic poured through his wand.

It emerged as a blinding blast of heat and fire, a bright glare in the darkening night, shooting forward and over Molly's shoulder. The girl gave a yelp as it singed her cheek and lanced towards the dog, striking the deformed creature in the face and driving it into the ground. Flesh sizzled as the dog went down with a pained bark, whining piteously as its once crimson eyes burned away, before it fell silent in death.

But Harry hadn't watched to find out if the dog would stay down and spun around, his wand flying forwards in a fast, long, sweeping movement as he channelled more wand-magic into it, his eyes glittering intensely as the first stages of bloodlust sang in his veins.  

“Irruptus Ardor!” He hissed dangerously as he moved and the tip of the wand, still in the middle of the long sweeping movement, glowed with heat as multiple burst of yellow-red fire blasted forward. Two of them struck the ground with small rumbling explosions, sending small showers of dirt and grass through the air, but the third caught a lunging dog in the flank, blasting it away in mid-jump and sending it into the ground, where it let out a single, pitiful whine before falling silent.

“We're surrounded!” Molly said loudly, her voice panicked and Harry whipped his head up, his eyes narrowed as quickly looked around. His green eyes met the bestial gaze of almost a dozen gleaming red eyes staring back at him. Jaws snapped in the darkness, low angry snarls bursting from several of the creatures as they circled the two humans warily, standing no more than twenty metres away.

The smell of singed fur and seared flesh filled the air as the bodies of the two dead dogs flickered with small flames, glowing softly in the night. Molly levelled her blasting rod in front of her, her eyes panicked but her face grim and Harry gave an experimental flick of his wand, turning around. Together, True-Wizard and Denarian Renegade stood back-to-back as one of the dark dogs let out a piercing howl, before the entire pack lunged forward.

Acting simultaneously, both Harry and Molly struck out with their magic against the snarling dogs. Molly screamed out an incantation, which sounded vaguely Arabic in nature, and furiously gestured at the ground with her blasting rod. The earth in front of her shuddered, dirt quavering and grass vibrating as a huge rumble went through the ground, knocking several of the charging dogs off their feet. The dogs let out surprised yelps as they tumbled over, their balance lost, but one of them managed to avoid the rumble and jumped forward, its eyes gleaming with animalistic bloodlust. However, a long soil-covered tree root burst from the ground and wrapped around the deformed dog, squeezing it mindlessly as the dog howled in agony, its burning eyes dimming as Molly directed the root to crush the dog to death with a short, sharp flick of her rod.

At the same time, Harry gave a short sweep of his wand, his eyes burning with grim pleasure.

“Profundo!” He snarled, his voice clear and sharp, and from the tip of his wand came a powerful rush of glistening water.

As the blast of water sprayed through the air with great force, Harry gave another short flick of his wand and jabbed it forward, a menacingly smile curving his lips. Although there were no flames, a powerful and invisible heat shot forward from his wand and struck the blast of water, which hissed and spluttered as it boiled over and, propelled forward by the pressure of the heat, billowed out into a cloud of steam that struck four of the dogs head on. The dogs disappeared in the billowing cloud of steam, letting out pained cries as they were driven back by the pressure of the blast, while Harry shifted on his feet and turned to face two more of the rushing dogs, which had almost cleared the twenty metres in a matter of seconds.

His wand whipped up into a whip-like movement and he brought it down on the dogs. From the tip of his wand came a blazing whip of dark flames glowing brightly with the enhanced power of hellfire. The whip coiled forward and with a snap, struck one of the dogs in the lank and gouged a large searing gash into the leathery skin. Flesh sizzled and minute hairs burned as the dog fell to the ground with a whine, while the whip coiled back and then wrapped itself around the second dog, leaving Harry's wand. The dog let out a screeching howl of pain as it disappeared into a cocoon of fire and sulphur, a brightly glowing bonfire that lit up the lake as the dog was incinerated in a matter of mere seconds.

Molly gestured violently with her blasting rod, a fumbling and clumsy movement but it worked and the ground where the dogs were jumping back on their feet slightly rumbled. Suddenly, the earth exploded with a loud thundering clap as a geyser of stone and dirt flew up into the air as if the ground had just been struck by artillery. The concussive blast knocked the staggering dogs off their feet for the second time in seconds, sending them sprawling to the ground. But for the dog that had been standing where the blast originated, it was not so lucky and was instantly shredded apart by the force of the spell, its body torn apart.

“Siagrus!” incanted Harry quickly, a bloodthirsty grin on his face as he gestured his wand at the earth in front of him. A shimmering pulse of near invisible magic blasted from his wand and struck ground around him, which hissed with steam and smoke as the earth boiled to magma in a matter of moments.

Then, with a quick flick and a snappy incantation, Harry sent forward a fiery blast. The streak of fire, fuelled by the darker emotions and hellfire, lanced forward but missed both of the approaching dogs. It exploded on the ground, creating a small fountain of heated debris and a loud, thundering clap of noise as both dogs lunged forward. The first struck the small patch of magma and let out a piercing whine of anguish it caught alight, its body blazing with fire as its legs literally liquefied under the heat and it collapsed into the magma, dead. The second dog jumped over the magma and jumped for Harry, its eyes gleaming as its leap for Harry's throat. But Harry made a short, sharp gesture with his wand and the dog didn't even make a noise as a deadly shimmering arc of silver magic sliced forward, gutting and killing the dog in an instant.

Harry and Molly's initial volley of violent magic had been very effective in the first ten seconds of the fight, but now several of the snarling dogs had closed in and the danger had suddenly gotten more real. Molly, with her back pressed at Harry's, frowned in concentration as she visualised her spell carefully. Three dogs approached her at a sprint and when they were no less than five metres, they jumped for her throat, baring drooling fangs menacingly, while one more limped after them.

Suddenly the ground in front of Molly exploded with a rumbling roar as dozens of sharp stone stalagmites sprouted upwards, impaling all three of the jumping dogs with great force. Molly made another furious gesture with her staff, her lips pealing off a foreign incantation, and another geyser of earth exploded in front of her. The limping dog managed to avoid most of the blast, dirt and stone raining down upon it, but it suddenly shimmered as fire jutted into its body, crushing its skull with searing heat and impressive force.

Molly blinked in surprise and she turned her head despite herself. Surprise clouded her features as she saw Harry turn away from her, his wand whipping through the air as a dog covered in searing burns approached him.

“Everto xuro!” He shouted with a maddened laugh, his eyes alight with bloodlust, and a jet of fire sprayed from his wand like a flamethrower. Billowing clouds of smoke flooded into the air and the flames struck forward towards the dog, no more than six or seven metres away. The dog howled in agony as it was devoured by a constant jet of fire, disappearing underneath the blazing inferno. When the spell broke two or three seconds later, the dog had been reduced to a pile of sizzling flesh and charred bone.

Molly turned away and cleared her mind as she whipped out her blasting rod again, a furious incantation leaping off her lips. The ground shuddered as the earth rolled forward, pushing away some of the wounded and yelping dogs. Suddenly she saw a flash of movement in the corner of her eye and she shifted on her feet, her head swivelling around. Molly saw a dog lunging forward; it was close enough that she could see gleaming fangs about to strike her throat, and she took in a deep breath as if she were about to scream, her blasting rod swinging around in vain.

When the dog was less than thirty centimetres away from Molly's throat, a cone of fire zapped forward and struck the snarling beast, the fire radiating with an unholy dark light. Crimson veins of red and violet light flickered through the intense cone of heat and flame and the sharp smell of sulphur filled the air as it dug into the snarling dog, propelling it backwards as it vaporised the large chunk of its flank with a flash of bright light that pained Molly's eyes. She swivelled her head shakily and saw Harry standing behind her, his wand levelled in front of him as he gave her a superior smirk. Suddenly his eyes widened and his gaze swung to her left and Molly whipped around, her eyes widening again as another dog took Harry and Molly's brief moment of distraction to attack.

It leapt for the slender blonde but a wing of sharp bone lanced forward, impaling the creature with sharp hook-like points. Dark blood dribbled down bones of the purest white as Harry extended his wing forward; his eyes alight with both demonic rage and an intoxicating pleasure. He hurled it away with great force and the creature landed on the ground with a dull thump.

Molly turned around again, eyes wide with both astonishment and no small amount of fear, but Harry ignored her gaze as he lowered his wand. The runes in the slim piece of wood glowed like embers as smoke curled upwards; smelling faintly of burnt wood and sulphur. Harry looked both grim and excited at the same time, his green eyes darkened with pleasure and bloodlust as he surveyed the area, noting three limping dogs that disappeared within the dark forest before them. He let go of Meciel's power and almost sighed in disappointment as the power left him, taking the intoxicating feelings of pleasure with it. Next to him, Harry saw that the girl's glowing golden nimbus was slowly fading as she lowered her blasting rod, still staring at him with wide eyes.

“You saved my life,” Molly murmured in surprise, staring at him and shaking her head slowly. “You saved my life, twice!”

“And here you were telling me that you could protect yourself,” Harry said smugly and watched as Molly flushed. “Well, so far, I'd say you're doing a bad job. Not that I care anymore, since I'm outa here.”

Molly regarded him with confusion and Harry rolled his eyes, but his good mood would not be ruined as he patiently explained what he meant.

“The life debt has been repaid,” He said. “I saved your family, Charity and her brats, from Nicodemus' men. I saved Amanda's life from those wand-wizards and now I saved your life from those weird-looking dogs. That's everybody except your father.”

'I do not include him in the debt anyway,' Meciel said in agreement, her voice softly whispering into his ear. 'He was in the party that wounded you in the first place. You are right, beloved. You are free of the debt and you have kept the honour of the Old World. I am very proud of you.'

“Nicodemus will be back,” Molly said slowly. “He won't stop here and he won't let this stop him!”

“That's not my problem anymore, is it?” Harry responded cheerfully, almost glowing at Meciel's praise as he idly retracted his bloodied wing back into his back. “I've repaid the debt and I've made that bastard slow down and reconsider his next moves. It's been a good couple of days.”

“So, now what?”  Molly asked carefully, a hint of relief in her voice as if she was glad to be getting rid of him. “You'll just leave us alone now?”

“There's nothing that ties me here anymore,” Harry said, shrugging his shoulders as he placed his wand back into his robes. Still, his emerald eyes kept scanning the forest as he watched out for anymore dogs as he kept talking. “So, I'll grab my stuff, leave this stupid castle and hope we never see each other again.”

Without another word, Harry turned around and quickly made his way back to the castle and after a few seconds, Molly joined him as the two of them left a scene of devastation and death behind, the broken, bloodied and burnt bodies of the dogs slowly dissolving as the magic that kept them animated broke away.

“…and the Triwizard Champion for Salem Wizard and Witch's Institute is…Richard Banks!” Dumbledore finished with a flourish of his hands and twinkling eyes.

The Great Hall erupted with polite claps from the Hogwarts, Beauxtbatons and Dumstrang students and a wave of furious cheers from the crimson-robed Salem students, who howled and cat-called as a tall, dark-haired and brown-eyed boy stood up, blushing under the scrutiny as he quickly walked through the small doorway he had been directed to.

Over at the Gryffindor table, Amanda clapped absently as she eyed the Great Hall doors with a worried frown on her face. Where was Harry and Molly? They should have been back by now and Amanda felt a wave of dread as the possibility of an attack entered her mind. She barely heard Dumbledore speak again as she bit her lip in worry, frowning anxiously.

“Now, for the tournament, I expect that…” Dumbledore started amongst the whisperings and mutterings of the Great Hall but he stopped, looking surprised as the goblet of fire flared with red light once more.

The spectacle was enough to draw even Amanda's attention as the hall fell silent with surprise and confusion.

“Aren't there only meant to be four champions?” Amanda heard Ron whisper to Hermione, but the bushy-haired girl impatiently shushed him and he frowned, turning back to the goblet of fire.

Amanda watched as a torn piece of paper was spat out of the goblet amidst the astonished gazes of the entire hall, Professors, students and visiting dignitaries alike. Dumbledore reflexively caught the paper, moving faster than one might assume for a man of his age it, and glanced down. When he looked up, Amanda shuddered as he twinkles gaze turns upon her, searching around her for somebody. With a start of surprise, Amanda knew exactly what name the Headmaster was going to call out as the wizened old man opened his mouth, his voice reverberating through the hall.

“Harry Potter!”