Graveyard Scream

It had been two deadly tasks so far, facing a dragon and diving into the depths of Black Lake. The final task seemed less deadly only due to the fact that the maze had a limited number of obstacles. Some were better than others as deterrents. So when Harry found himself at the end with Cedric, he grinned. At least the two of them made it with their subpar teachings.

“We made it,” Harry said to Cedric as he watched the taller brunette smile at him.

“We did, should we show unity for Hogwarts and take the cup together? Without you, I would never have been prepared for the Dragon,” Cedric said.

“Together, that way they can have the champion they want,” Harry said as he smiled back at Cedric.

“Okay then, on three,” Cedric said then proceeded to count them down and both of them grabbed a handle of the cup.

Blissfully unaware, the two felt the hooking feeling of a portkey attaching behind their navels and whisk them away in a flurry of colors.

At this point they were ready to stand together when they were seen by the spectators and judges.

When the two landed, Harry felt his leg give out beneath him as pain blossomed behind his eyes. He couldn’t figure out what was going on. Everything felt like it was screaming that they shouldn’t be there, that they were in danger.

The cup fell from both of them after Harry fell. Cedric was surprised as he moved to kneel next to Harry. “Harry!” Cedric said, noticing just how much the younger male seemed hurt. “I can try to get us out of here,” Cedric added as he scanned the area. “Something doesn’t feel right about this,” he finished.

“I get that feeling too,” Harry said through pain gritted teeth. “Everything feels wrong about this place, we need to go,” he gasped out as the pain intensified. As he knelt there in pain he knew that if he made a sound it would give them away so years of conditioning were put to good use as he bit down on his own lip to keep sounds from being heard.

As the two knelt there Cedric in a position to protect the injured Harry they could hear the sound of approaching footsteps. It did not take long for them to be noticed.

“It seems there were two caught in the trap,” said a voice that haunted Harry’s nightmares about third year.

“Kill the spare,” said a cold impersonal voice that seemed to be trying to go for haughty noblesque tones.

Then it happened in a mere moment of action. The words that branded his very soul were called out, Avada Kedavra. Cedric collapsed before Harry could react and fell to the side and then the Scream was ripped from his very soul as he watched the fellow student fall.

As the scream resonated out from him it felt like something broke inside him. The something that shouldn’t have been there in the first place was finally removed and with a moment of clarity it surged forward to protect and claim what was theirs by right as the scream continued to pour out of his mouth.

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Draco was sitting there waiting for something to happen. As everyone was getting restless the two foreign champions were removed from the maze. As they waited it felt like things were taking so long for the champions, especially Potter, to either give up or die. As he sat there he heard a high scream that no one else seemed to be hearing.

Deep down he felt the eyes looking over the crowd and his instincts screamed at him to hide before he was summoned. So with determination he carefully stood and walked as if he was trying to get higher to see into the maze. As he reached the top he subtly casted a notice-me-not spell and jumped off as he felt the portal open below him as he felt his body begin to shift and claws ripping out of his fingers.

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Charlie couldn’t always explain why dragons accepted him being closer than your average wizard but in times like this he was ever so grateful for that oddity that he had. As he was much closer than was advised to check on a nesting mother he was trying to make sure that the dragons that had been taken for the tournament were settling more readily. So he had his notebook out and began to count the hatchlings that the Hungarian Horntail was trying to wrangle.

As he was counting the hatchlings, he did find that all of the eggs hatched which was a good thing considering the stress that the mothers were put under when they had to transport them and their babies for the stupid first task. As he paused in his writing, he thought about the date, It was the date of the final task. He began to wonder how Harry was doing.

As he shook himself and began to detail all his findings he felt the hairs on the back of his neck raise. Something was wrong, something was very wrong came the realization as Charlie sat up. As he sat there, he could hear something calling out to him. As he tilted his head to try and hear it better he felt himself being pulled away. His fingers shifted as he ripped through the pages of the book he had been writing in as he dropped it and the quill.

Right before he left he felt something attach itself to his leg.

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Bill sat right behind the twins. He was trying to be the buffer between the twins and their mother. Bill could see the tension that was radiating off the twins as they waited for any sign of the youngest contestant. Bill felt how restless the whole audience was but something started to set off his mage sight.

As he sat there he saw a wave of shifting light that looked like the iridescent scales of a creature and it was heading towards his twin brothers. Reacting immediately, he carefully but quickly grabbed onto the twins knowing that if they were whisked away they would appreciate an extra wand to help wherever they landed.

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Raspen was working through a few requests that had hit his desk as the crown royal. He was thinking about his next meeting between himself and the other crown royals. He looked at one of the stacks of paper that had notes he had to give Dawne from the clan chiefs. There were so many specificities that allowed the hunt to be successfully planned and executed every 10 years.

Running a hand through his hair, Raspen sighed as he looked up at the knock on his office door.

“Come in,” he said and then watched as Riven came into his office. The mage seemed tired as he wandered in.

“Welcome back Riven, How were your travels?” Raspen asked, setting aside his paperwork.
Riven looked at the young crown royal and smirked. “Busy as always and half as dangerous as the last time, what made you in such a good mood today?” Riven snarked back.

A warm laugh filled the office from Raspen. “Fair enough, My good mood is due to not a lot of drama cropping up today. Tea?” Raspen offered.

“I have enough time for a sip,” Riven said as he moved to take an open seat. As he was moving he tensed due to his magic sparking in warning.

“You had to say something,” Riven said, a light glare being sent to Raspen.

Both men looked up as they heard the scream, their eyes widening. ‘A soulscream,’ was the only thought they both had before they were pulled through the soul magic portal, setting off wards and alarms throughout the Earth Court.

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Hadrian was standing against one of the walls as he listened to everything that was being reported on for Death’s Court. He looked up at Lord Aiden Arythmoor and wondered why he was letting the meeting drone on from all the reports. It felt almost pointless for him to be here when the hounds were the ones that were giving reports. But the rules of the Court stated that only those who were locked in could be a part of the meeting and the court went on lock down once the meeting started.

It was dull and he wished something would happen to bring the courts to action of some sort. He rolled his eyes internally as another round of reports were beginning. As he stood there, he turned his head when he heard something that sounded like a scream. He didn’t see any others reacting to it so that could mean only one thing. A soul scream was about to pull him. He cursed as he realized that he had been wanting something to happen, but this was not what he had been wishing for at all.

Hadrian looked up at Aiden as he readied his blade. He didn’t know what was going on, but he knew that either Aiden or Jascha would let Mariana know what was going on. So when the wave of Soul magic hit him, he didn’t fight it and let himself be pulled.

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Magnus smiled as he walked into the training room and saw his lovely pair finishing up a round of training. “Alec, Jace Loves, how long have you been working out today?” He asked as he watched the two gorgeous Gheyo that he found and bonded with to keep his magic in line. As Magnus watched, the two shirtless Gheyos looked up at him. He smiled as he watched them each grab a towel and began to towel off.

“We were just finishing up our daily workout, we had only been at this for maybe two hours,” Alec said as he looked at his lovely Mage.

“Yeah, we were just about to message you when you wanted to go for lunch,” Jace said as he smiled at their third.

“Well lovelies, let me clean you up,” Magnus said as he moved and used his magic to clean off a few bits of blood. As he looked at them, he felt the hair on the back of his neck raise up.

“We might need to make a raincheck on that lunch, I think we're about to be called,” Magnus said.

The two Gheyos nodded and put their kits on as they moved closer together and pulled weapons from sheaths. With the warning, the three of them were prepared when the wave of Soul Magic hit them and they were portalled to where they were summoned, weapons out and magic ready.

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Whikn was leaning against the wall of the clinic. He was on healer duty again this week for talking back to the Ace again. He had a few new wounds that were to remain until they healed the natural way. He was not actively bleeding now, but he knew if they were healed by any magic it would just be worse the next time he had to take his place in the ring with the ACE. So Whikn watched as the Alphas brought in their Submissives and tried to control the appointments. When the cute little healer that was a newly minted Master healer called for backup he was quick to respond.

Especially today, he felt on edge, he didn’t know why but he felt especially close to the feral edge again. He watched as a submissive was brought in hurt with a youngling. His eyes that stayed a steady pink started to darken. This would never be acceptable. The submissive and youngling were rushed through triage just in case the Alpha came to find them. So Whikn stood more alert as he held a dagger in his hand.

Sure enough, ten minutes after the healers began working on the submissive, an Alpha came in growling and demanding to see his submissive.

“Calm down before you are barred from this establishment,” Whikn warned.

“Shut up you little Faerie,” the Alpha said which darkened Whikn’s eyes.

“You can leave now, unassisted, or you will be escorted out with injuries,” Whikn said as he pushed off the wall.

“Don’t get between me and my submissive you unbonded brat,” the Alpha snarled.

Whikn lashed out quickly and hit the Alpha where it would take him down to his knees.

“Dahlia, need a little help taking out the trash,” Whikn said as he made a quick spell to bind his hands.
“Alright little fighter,” Dahlia said as she walked over and helped Whikn stand the Alpha up and proceeded to walk him out.

“Do not try to come back in until you are calm, if you cannot find your own calm, the Patrols have a cell you can sit in until you calm down,” Dahlia warned as she glared at the Alpha.

The Alpha huffed as he stalked off.

“Good job taking him down to begin with Little fighter,” Dahlia said as she walked them back inside.

Whikn hoped one day to have an ACE like her that would give compliments when you did a good job, as well as teach without hurting you. Shaking his head, he returned inside as he felt like a weight was starting to surround him.

He heard something being said about a soul scream. He looked at the Ace and said. “Being called,” He then felt the wave of soul magic hit him when he crouched into a fighting stance as he saw the ACE nod and send off a notice.

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It had been a duo fight that just finished between the Joker Pair. They barely seemed phased as they stood there looking at their opponents. They could not be lethal and had ridden the line of acceptable moves for regulations. They turned to walk away, the once Queen-Prince pair that turned Joker due to a training accident. They seemed to still hover in each other’s orbit, so with a familiarity breed from training and time together Damyar noticed a wound on Viczion’s shoulder. He moved to the Joker’s side and began to tend to the bleeding wound.

“Damyar, you know you don’t have to do that anymore,” Viczion said as he raised a hand to stay Damyar’s hands which were trying to draw runes to help heal it without scaring, not that they cared even as a duo before their rank shift.

“I know but let me do this for old times sake,” said Damyar as he let his pale eyes inquire to the depths of his partner's own eyes. Many would have thought they would have been Air and Earth with the colors they sported but, their elements had always been different then the colors they sported. Damyar was pale and icy blues that could go gray in a heartbeat like a rising storm. Viczion, on the other hand, had always sported the Earth tones that many would have enjoyed, but he also didn’t draw attention like the shadows he controlled. He knew that when it came time for true fighting where they were not having to hold back, his shadows would bleed across his hair and skin like ink dropped into the dirt destroying anything that resembled what it once was.

Viczion nodded as he smiled at his fellow Joker. While many knew they were friends, they didn’t drift far from one another. Damyar finished tending to his wound when he tensed and locked eyes with his partner. It was finally happening, the one thing they had been wishing for since the incident.

“Do you hear the call?” Damyar asked, hopeful as he watched Viczion nod. They moved to clear the cage and stood back to back as the wave of soul magic hit them and pulled them to their soulmate with a flash.

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Quinn was there when the submissive and the youngling were rushed into the rooms. It was always sad when younglings are brought into the clinic. While the submissive was taken to one room, Quinn looked over the youngling. There were only a few minor cuts that Quinn had been able to take care of quickly. As he looked at Kyle, he let his dislike be known. When they heard the Alpha come into the Clinic Quinn felt the youngling hide behind his legs as they were not sure what was going to happen for a few minutes.

Kyle carefully coaxed the youngling from behind Quinn’s legs and took them over to the submissive once they were healed enough to have the youngling with them. While Kyle was gone giving the all clear for the youngling to the other healer, Quinn found himself tidying up the room. As he worked to finish the paperwork,he caught himself rubbing against his chest. Something was not right.

Standing up he walked out to meet Kyle to see if they could get done for the day. As he stood there in the hall he felt a wave ofsoul magic crash into him. Eyes widening, he saw Kyle stepping out and seeing him as the magic encased him.

“Quinn!” Kyle said as he rushed to try and make it to the healer but the magic pulled him before Kyle could get more than a step towards him.

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Parchment and books were everywhere across the table as the young Pareya was working hard on different research projects that seemed to be intertwining more and more. As the young male moved between his reference materials he looked up as he heard someone entering the room. He nodded his head in acknowledgement as he tried to finish looking over the information that he had pulled.

“Ethan, you need to calm down, you don’t have to try and finish the projects all at once,” said the male who had come inside.

“I know that Jamal, I just have a feeling if I don’t work hard now something is going to disrupt all of this,” Ethan said as he sighed.

“Why do you feel that way? Have you had anything to eat lately?” Jamal asked as he walked over to his little brother. He always worried about him even as he tried to watch out for him.

“I don’t know. It has been a feeling that has been building for a few days now, I just feel like I’m about to get behind and there is nothing I can do to stop it,” Ethan said as he sighed as he looked over his notes. He frowned as he saw his brother’s hand close the book of notes.

“Well then you need a break, let's go get some air and a snack then we can come back and I can help you if you need it before I have to go,” Jamal said smiling to his little brother.

“Bu-,” Ethan started as he got a look from Jamal that said it was not an order from him but their parents.

“Alright,” Ethan said, giving in knowing it was easier to just take care of himself. Then, he could be left alone for several hours to work.

Jamal nodded and smiled as he pulled Ethan into his side as they carefully walked out of the study room. He let the librarian know that they would be back shortly and that Ethan was not done with his study materials.

The two walked in silence, it was not far from the Archives to somewhere to get a decent snack.

“Is mama wanting me to come home for dinner tonight?” Ethan asked to break the silence.

“Of course Ethan, you shouldn’t get too deep into your studies that you cannot make it home for dinner,” Jamal said, tempering what he had to say.

“Alright Jamal, I will wrap up what I am looking over before dinner time today,” Ethan said smiling at his brother.

“That’s all we ask of you little one. We won’t deny you being able to pursue your studies, just that you make it home, especially while you are still young,” Jamal said.

“I…I just didn’t want to lose time for these projects, and they are becoming so intertwined it’s hard to keep them individual instead of letting them naturally merge,” Ethan said as he felt his hand move to rub the center of his chest.

“I know Ethan. That’s why they try to assign these topics together, so that you will learn how to keep everything separate and learn how to filter through facts better needed for each topic.” Jamal said as he watched Ethan.

“You alright little one?” Jamal asked as he moved closer to the young pareya.

“I…don’t know” Ethan said as he looked up, tilting his head as he heard a scream.

Jamal saw the tilt and let his eyes go wide.

“Don’t fight it little one,” Jamal said quickly as a wave of soul magic crashed into Ethan catching him off guard. At his brother’s words, he nodded and let the magic whisk him away.

Jamal watched where his brother had been standing as he sent off a message to their family that Ethan had been called by a soul scream to places unknown.