Hellfire

[Elaine Lyra Dupree]

Time was running short. Elaine knew it, her followers knew it, hell even the blast Order of the Phoenix knew it. She had been betrayed many times, and had always eluded capture. This time though, the secret revealed was too great. They knew that the Chamber of Secrets had been turned into her secret base. They knew she was alive, and they were on their way now, perhaps even had arrived at the winged boar statues that flanked the gates of Hogwarts. Or perhaps sitting down to dine with the staff and students in the Great Hall, where so many of them had taken their meals years ago.  Elaine took a deep breath, then downed the goblet of wine in her hands in one go, before tossing the glass into the fire.

At the sudden noise, her dragon, still just months old but growing larger every day, raised her head and squawked curiously at her mistresses sudden movement. Elaine, eyes softening ever so slightly, crossed over and laid a gentle hand on her head. How funny would Fin and Desi find this sight of Elaine showing care, any emotion really, to another creature. But Elaine had sacrificed much for her Welsh Green’s egg, coveted the idea of having a dragon she could one day use to rain fire down on her enemies. How she wished they had more time for little Gehenna to grow. Welsh Greens were common in Great Britain, and were rarely violent, but there were instances in history that showed the violence they were capable of. It was a rare talent, to tame a dragon, but instead of studying books like thousands of oafs before her, Elaine had relied on instinct. Her penchant for violence and bloodlust had allowed her to calm the beast before her, near six feet long now, into submission. No, not submission; Gehenna was not her follower, she was her companion. Dragons were noble creatures, and should be treated as such.

Elaine sighed as she looked up at the old clock she kept over the fireplace, the one she had taken from her parents house after their deaths. She was only delaying the inevitable, she knew, but she did not intend on being taken alive. Elaine Dupree would not succumb the same way as Desirae, her faithful and true best friend, dead in a duel that had ripped part of Elaine’s soul from her body. It had not been Desi’s skill that let her down, no, but a clever trick of one of the Aurors, that Desi had been most unfortunate not to notice the water so near her feet. That would not happen to Elaine. She had considered going out in a blaze of glory, firing her curses as the Order closed in around her, taking several down before she was eventually defeated. She knew many of those affiliated were out for blood, and would carry the glory of being the one to defeat Elaine Dupree. No, she could not allow that to happen.

Pulling out her wand, which had served her faithfully since she turned eleven years old, she drew a breath and began her incantation.  One of her final faithful followers had snuck a potion into the kitchens; anyone who dined at the Great Halls tables tonight would find themselves quite unable to run away from what she was about to do.  Most would be collateral damage of course, but if her timing was right, the death and carnage she was about to provide would be worth it, even if she wasn't around to revel in the disaster.  She watched as flames shot out of her wand, joining the flames in the fireplace as though they were one. Gehenna screeched and opened her mouth; dragonflame joining the twin flames. Elaine kept hold of her wand, never ceasing her spell as she slowly walked around the room. Fiendfyre was notoriously difficult to control, and more difficult still to put out, but Elaine held her ground. She sent the flames down the hall, towards the passageway that would lead to the girls bathroom on the second floor. How many years had it been since she had discovered the entrance? Seven, eight? The years had muddled together in her memory.

Elaine looked at her dragon, whose beady eyes were fixed on her expectantly. “Fly, my love. Fly through the flames to your freedom,” she whispered, a single tear gathering in the corner of her eye. Gehenna looked as though she wanted to disobey, to stay with her mistress, though she was too small to carry Elaine to safety. “Go,” she instructed, more firmly this time, and Gehenna screeched, spread her wings and flew, following the passage through the flames. She would burst out of the bathroom, for Elaine had been sure to open the passageway before she set to her task, the flames and smoke her dragons cover as she took flight into the evening sky. If anyone noticed her, they would perhaps think she was a thestral, her green coloring shadowed by the darkening sky and smoke. She would burn her way out; the castle was made of stone, but glass of the windows was easily melted.

Alone now, Elaine closed her eyes as she listened to the flames roar all around her. The room began to tremble, and she knew the stones were beginning to loosen, from the fires' relentless pummeling. She wanted to open her eyes, to see her final glory, but the smoke stung too much, and she knew the end was near. They would never find her, or anything remotely usable in this soon to be charred lair; she had made sure of it. She couldn’t be sure, but as the flames encircled her body, she thought she heard Gehennas final screech, a lament to her mistress.

Gehenna, her final thought as she sank into the flames, accepting her fate. It was a name she had found in her studies over the years, ancient Latin, a name that perfectly fit her greatest accomplishment.

Hellfire.

ooc: you can post your character reacting real time to this event by responding to this thread, or you can create your own thread.  have fun surviving!