Streets of Hogsmeade ~ January 7, 2029: Sevastyan’s Last Battle (Future)

Five members of the Kaminski family were on their way back to Hogwarts from having celebrated a spectacular birthday party this night. It was a small family get-together: a large crowd with the purgers still out for blood owing to keep to smaller groups when out in public. A larger party had been thrown at the castle for little four-year-old Ethelinda Kaminski: Sevastyan and Amaranth’s youngest-born daughter.

For such a young child, she certainly had an amazing attention span: the little girl in the Russian wizard’s arms was still content with examining the locket he’d rarely removed from his neck. Just this one time, he’d allowed it to be separated from his person. For his daughter. Happy and content, Sevastyan leaned to the side to kiss Amaranth on the cheek as they walked: Demyan holding his mother’s hand while Lara walked in front of her father with the youthful grace and pride that would have surely made the ancestors from both families proud.

From the corner of his gray eyes, he saw them. Eight of them. Sevastyan couldn’t see their faces, for they were covered with the hoods of their cloaks. Very familiar-looking hoods... the hoods not unlike Eleutheria DeLanquar wore the morning Kiara had been killed and subsequently resurrected.

Purgers!

“Oh sh*t! Stop!” Sevastyan hissed with panic, throwing his free arm out to stop Lara from continuing on the current path. After making certain she would not proceed he halted his wife and son.

((Theme song for the battle: Superstar by Saliva))

The leading purger at the head of the group raised its wand. Sevastyan couldn’t tell if the figure was male or female, but he could feel the blood draining from his face out of fear. His heart pounded in his ears and his breathing quickened as adrenaline rushed through his body.

When it came to fight or flight, Sevastyan tended to choose the former. Overwhelmed with the urge to protect his family, the wizard kissed Lynn on the forehead briefly before hurriedly pressing the child into Viper’s arms. “Take her and run! Please don’t argue vith me! Go! Run – all of you! I vill take care of them,” he pleaded, shepherding wife and children into a huddle and putting himself directly between the purgers and his family.

If they wanted Viper and the kids, they’d have to go through him first! Sevastyan bore the name Kaminski for a reason. And if Charles DeLanquar’s subordinates hadn’t learned what dealing with a Kaminski was like before, they were about to find out what happens when someone attempts to mess with them!

If Sevastyan got his way, he’d be at the center of an eight-body pileup of deluded, corrupt fools. So long as it meant the safety of his wife and children, the man would go so far as to walk barefoot through the scorching flames of Hell and back as many times as Hades commanded.

Satisfied that they would get away unscathed, Sevastyan directed his attention to the cloaked figures. A fierce scowl adorned his face. The audacity of these people! Was nothing sacred?!

“Sevastyan Maksimovich Kaminski! ...We meet at last!” said one of the purgers. Sevastyan couldn’t tell which one it had been, though, but the voice was masculine.

“Vot do you vant from me?!” he returned with malice, fingers curling around his wand as he withdrew it. There was no telling when an assassin would begin their assault.

“You were a wanted man in Russia in the early two-thousands, if you recall... we’ve come to make certain you won’t be practicing any more Dark Arts, or their alleged Defense.”

“That vos a long time ago…”

“Precisely. It was time you were brought to justice, wouldn’t you say?”

Before Sevastyan could answer verbally, the group attacked. Several beams in many colors sailed directly for him. Without even thinking, he cast a shield spell. None of the attacks had that eerie green glow, so he would not be caught by surprise. Chaos and disorder were all around him as hexes and curses flew this way and that. Because they had formed a closed circle around him, Sevastyan had managed to dodge certain attacks that then hit other purgers. Had the situation been nothing but child’s play, the wizard would have laughed.

Eight against one was anything but playtime.

“AVADA KEDAVRA!!!!!!!!” came a female cry from the group.

Gray eyes widened to the size of golf balls before their owner hit the ground hard in an attempt to dodge. Avoiding the kicking feet, Sevastyan rolled to find that a purger had been hit by the woman’s killing curse. At this, Sevastyan allowed a laugh as he scrambled to his feet. Honestly: were they really that dense to not get out of the way?

“Diffindo!”

“Stupefy!”

“Impedimenta!”

Sevastyan winced as he felt the cutting charm glance off his bicep, blood flowing freely from the wound. He jumped away from the stunner and cast a shield to avoid the Impediment Jinx. Without words or too awful much thought he retaliated. It was only after the three fell to the ground that he realized one had been definitely killed while the other two were simply stunned: the green and red after-trails of the beams being indication enough for him.

“Incendio!” came a voice of indeterminable gender from behind him.

“Confringo!” another purger lunged for Sevastyan, realizing that its spouse had just been killed by their target.

Sevastyan lurched forward in surprise as hot flames licked at the cloth on his back, burning him, before being blasted backward onto the “flame assailant”. Immediately after hitting the ground, Sevastyan rolled off the other person and practically tore off their hood. A young man of no more than twenty-five stared back at him with alarmed blue eyes. Contemplating for a fraction of a second, Sevastyan dealt the man a physical killing blow before he could harm him any further. The Russian really didn’t want to kill, but it was necessary for the survival of himself and his family. They wouldn’t stop hunting them unless Sevastyan did something here and now!

Several cutting charms and a sectumsempra or two slashed at his robes and face, drawing blood in varying degrees, before he could stand up. With a grunt of pain, Sevastyan rolled away from the body and forced himself into a crouching position. A magical shield sprung up around him as he wiped what he thought was sweat from his brows and cheek...

......... only to find he’d really wiped away half a hand’s worth of blood. Sevastyan immediately dried his hand on the cloth of his trousers. That explained why he was feeling cold all of a sudden. But he couldn’t quit now... Sevastyan had no intention of quitting until every last one of these purgers until they were dead or until he himself gasped his last. Slowly, he stood up: a dark fire burning in his gray orbs.

He wasn’t going to hold himself back. The face of Daniel Lestrange swam transparently before his eyes. With steely resolve, Sevastyan reached for the hilt of the Vipera Dagger that his wife had given to him some eleven Christmases ago. Without warning, Sevastyan swung the weapon at the nearest purger with the ferocity of a madman but with the control of a master swordsman. With a grim smile, he couldn’t help but think that his wife was with him in some spiritual way while wielding the dagger. He suspected they would likely be at Viper Manor right now, awaiting his return...

“Crucio!” came the same masculine voice he’d spoken with earlier. Sevastyan barely had enough time to dodge this one; something the other wizard made a sneering gloat over as the Russian dropped to one knee in excruciating pain, clutching wand and dagger tightly in each hand.

“GotoHell,” Sevastyan choked out before a second purger cast the same Unforgivable on him. An agonized scream tore through his throat as the curse caused him to collapse onto the cobblestones, freely writhing in an attempt to be rid of the pain. He felt as though Healers were performing several amputations upon his limbs without having given him anything to knock him out or numb the pain.

AMARAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANTH! his mind screamed a completely different utterance than his voice. Sevastyan tried to fight the effect of the curse, focusing on the memory of a pair of emerald eyes he may never see again. I... I vill see them again, he panted to himself. I vill see her... and the children.........

“YOU VON’T BE RID OF ME SO EASILY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” Sevastyan bellowed and threw the dagger at the second purger that had cast the Torture Curse on him. The leading purger immediately lost his concentration on maintaining the curse, in his shock, leaving Sevastyan with a chance at survival. Shakily scrambling to his feet, Sevastyan approached the fallen purger and removed the dagger. Slicing into this one’s mask, the Russian felt no remorse in seeing that his assailant was a woman. Under normal circumstances, he would have felt something.

But this was moment was like Hell on Earth... and Sevastyan felt nothing but the need to save his skin and get back to his family as soon as possible. Remorse could be indulged in later, after they were all dead and the threat for the moment evaded.

Making sure his shaking hands had very good grips on both wand and weapon once again, Sevastyan rushed the remaining force of foes, assailing them with stunners and Unforgivables aplenty. He’d managed to take out three purgers, and one of their own took out another: that left four more to deal with. To Sevastyan’s great misfortune, the purgers scattered at his spells.

“Levicorpus!” – the assailant missed; the Russian’s footwork in avoiding the spell as well as several others aimed at him making him personally glad he knew a thing or two about Cossack dancing.

“Impedimenta!” – it hit, and Sevastyan was slowed... though the non-magical curses that came to his lips was speedy enough. The dagger was mere feet from being lodged in the lead purger’s chest...

“Avada Kedavra!” came the man’s cool, collected voice. It sounded ... so casual… as if he was merely conjuring flowers.

Gray orbs widened for the second time that night, as the curse hit him full in the chest. The jinx had made it impossible for him to dodge this time. As the green light temporarily blinded him, Sevastyan could practically feel his heart being torn in two. He wouldn’t be returning home alive after this, and he knew it.

Amaranth, I’m so sorry... Please, take care of the children. They’ll need you now more than ever...


“Nice dagger – can I see that?” the purger sneered, yanking the weapon from Sevastyan’s hand as said wizard fell straight down to his knees, and then sprawled backward like a broken toy. The azure phoenix pendant in his pocket pulsed with magical energy and light as he lay there. The magical object was just trying to protect its keeper from death. Unfortunately, one of the other purgers noticed.

“He’s not dead! Must have some magical device on ‘im!” came a female voice that sounded rather ragged; as if said woman had just run several miles.

“Leave him be… the curse will kill him soon enough. Our work for now is done. Shame the woman and her brood got away, though.” The purger strode the very short distance to Sevastyan and kicked the wand out of his hand just to be sure.

Sevastyan attempted to swallow the extra-large knot in his throat, wondering why he wouldn’t just die already. It was probably due to Kiara’s amulet, he reasoned calmly. Did that mean he’d have an hour of life, too? An hour of agony knowing he was going to die here, out on the street, all alone? There was no phoenix to revive so he could return to life...

This was the end.

“Any last words or wishes, my friend?” asked the purger that had cast the Killing Curse and was now kneeling over him.

Sevastyan blinked several times up at the man, trying to stay conscious. Perhaps if he fought hard enough, he would find a way to twist fate’s cruel hand. A look of confusion mingled with extreme pain crossed his features before Sevastyan realized what the purger was asking.

“Your face... cowvard... I vant to see... your face. Name vould be nice, too...” Sevastyan panted, feeling his magic and life slowly draining, returning, and draining again. It was really tiring. At the back of his mind, he wondered if this was what Kiara went through.

The purger laughed. “I don’t know what good or comfort it would do you, but I suppose I can divulge my identity.” With that said, the man slowly removed his hood to reveal a wizard with short brown hair that was starting to turn gray, and pale blue eyes. Sevastyan had no clue who the man was. Surely someone wanting him dead would be someone he was familiar with? “The name is Jason Groves, Mr. Kaminski. And before you lose consciousness, I should probably thank you for this.” Jason held up the Vipera Dagger and couldn’t help but smirk as the Russian’s eyes widened. Without another word, Jason yanked the sheath from Sevastyan’s belt and stood, replaced his hood over his face before walking away.

“Shouldn’t we wait until he draws his last?” one of the purgers asked.

“There’s no need. The light will leave his eyes soon enough. Even if help does arrive, it’s much too late for him,” Jason replied before motioning to the group at large. With a pop, all of the still-living purgers left.

Left Sevastyan to die – alone.


Images swam before Sevastyan’s eyes – images of the good and bad times of his life, though most of the flashes were of the recent past: of the family he had created with Amaranth. Their heart-wrenching split up, getting back together... finding out his then-girlfriend was pregnant. His proposal and their compromise to elope... In a nutshell images that would allow him to die with a smile on his face instead of a grimace.

At least I von’t be the only vone going to Hell this night... Sevastyan mused with a dark laugh. Said utterance was also a bit moist, what with the blood trailing from the corner of his mouth.

Kiara had been frantic to come to Sevastyan's aid, desperate in fact, but had needed to find Tav to watch his brother and sister, before she could leave. Ciaran had been on a mission and she couldn't contact him.

Moments before she could fire travel to Sevastyan location, she felt a coldness rush over her. It was a familliar coldness that could only be caused by the killing curse.

"No!" she yelled as she flashed a bright blue and vanished to Sevastyan's location, wand draw in case she needed to fight.

((she is now is Sevastyan's location))

In a flash of blue Kiara stepped out on to the street, she looked around franticlly, looking for any sign of fighting. She found no fighting, she did however see the prone form of Sevastyan on the ground, and she could feel she had been to late, as his life was already leaving him, Only slowly, a side effect from having her pendant for so long, and the fact they were so close, she wanted him protected only magnified that property.

Rushing to his side, but still had her wand drawn in case who ever the purgers were changed there minds and decided to come back.

"Oh Sevastyan I am so sorry I tried to get here as fast as could....." she said as she knelt down beside him, tears of course were in her eyes, she knew he didn't have much longer to live.

"Viper and the kids got away alright?" she asked as waved her hand concentrating on the Pheonix pendant. Asking it to take away some of his pain.

"Is there anything you would like for me to do?" she asked satisfied he was no longer in any really bad pain.

Tears still taveled down her face, she wished she had gotten here earlier.. it could have made all the differnce.

Bright light... Sevastyan mused numbly as his gray eyes caught the flash of blue. Was this what people saw when they died? This 'light' as it was often described?

"Oh Sevastyan I am so sorry I tried to get here as fast as could..... Viper and the kids got away alright?"

Blinded and deafened by pain, figuratively speaking, the Russian blinked slowly several times up at Kiara's weeping face. She wasn't dead, too, was she? For all he knew Amaranth could have apparated for help and went to Kiara, and could have been attacked... what if the worst happened and Kiara's spirit was here to tell him Amaranth was dying?!

Sevastyan couldn't handle that if this were the case!

Then his slowing mind processed that Kiara had asked a question about Viper... and the kids... she didn't know? Sevastyan wasn't sure whether to be relieved or even more concerned. "Nothing you could do... too fast..." he rasped, drawing in a shuddering breath. "I think they got avay... Manor..." Blood ran down his bearded chin and his brows furrowed even further as the pain snaked its way around his body.

He blinked with confusion at the wave of her hand. "There is no hope for me... it is over..." Sevastyan whispered with defeat, thinking that Kiara was attempting to restore his life that would not be returning. Seconds later, he realized the spell she cast was to ease his pain - to ease his passing. The furrowed raven brows relaxed with gratitude.

"Is there anything you would like for me to do?"

Sevastyan stared at her blankly for a number of seconds before slowly nodding. Wincing as though he were in pain, the Russian squeezed his eyes shut momentarily. When he opened them again a very long, silvery tear leaked from his eye. A memory one would put into a pensieve. "T-take it... Amaranth... should see. I can only pray she and the children von't hate me... for letting them down..." Tears streaked unabashedly down the Russian's face. The adam's apple in his throat bobbed as he tried to swallow.

He had one more true favor - and one superficial one - to ask of Kiara before he could be at peace...

Kiara shakily took out a small veil to hold the memory, when Sevastyan utered his last statement to her, she shook her head quickly and placed her hand on his shoulder.

"You have never let them down Sevastyan, and you are not now you hear me? Don't think you ever let them down, ever... Plus Vip.... Amaranth could never hate you, she loves you, As do your children" she said calling Viper by her first name, figuring he would want hear her name and not the nick name his wife had made for her self at hogwarts.

"I promise she will get it" she said her voice thick with emotion as she watched her best firend and adopted brother die and there was nothing more she could do, other then hearing his last wishes as it were.

"Is.... is there anything else I can do?" she asked in a whisper to him. Willing the pendant to give him long enough for him to say what he want to say.

Sevastyan wasn't as in control of his countenance as he would have liked to be. Gray eyes widened and then relaxed as they watched her hand, before snapping back to her face as she spoke. "Vait until they're teenagers..." he mumbled with the smallest of laughs.

Not trusting himself to speak with his throat in the chaotic state it was in, Sevastyan inclined his head in a nod of gratitude. Amaranth was far away and he knew he couldn't get up. He was so weak now...

At her question, Sevastyan made a pointed glance at and half-hearted stretch for his wand, which was just a few feet out of his reach. It could be seen as superficial compared to his last favor, but what he wanted to do - his final feat of magic - meant the world to him. And that's what really mattered, wasn't it?

Kiara gave a sad smile at his teenager comment, and she whispered "Be a pain in the but sometimes yes bt never will they truely hate"


Kiara blinked as he reached for his wand, and just come short of reaching it. It was at that moment she wished she could go hunting for these purgers who had done this. It was so cruel...

Concentrating on Sevastyan's wand she moved it in to his grasp, allowing him the able to grab on to his own wand on his own, to get it. It may have simply looked like it rolled in to his hand.

Sevastyan blinked but didn't speak at her returned comment. Though his eyes clearly held the hope that what she said would be true...

From his clouded vision, it seemed as though the wand had merely rolled to him of its own accord. Kiara could very well have put it into his hand for him, but yet he knew she was just trying to give a dying man some dignity. A contented sigh escaped him as his bloodied fingers wrapped themselves gently around the wand.

With a grunt and temporary lapse in consciousness, Sevastyan conjured a floating holographic image. An image of his three children's happy faces smiling down at him. Slightly higher above them, a similar image of Amaranth hovered.



A smile and a sob wrenched from him upon seeing Viper's likeness. It was as if she were blowing him a kiss goodbye...

In a lot of ways, to him: that's precisely what it was.

A stormy gray eye fixed on Kiara. "Tell them -" Sevastyan then settled onto to the conjured images again, "-all of them... that I love them. They vere - are - the vorld to me. Not even death vill stop my loving them..."

Salty tears continued to flow down his cheeks and into the bloody cuts on his face, though the wincing of his face was out of grief rather than pain. Sensing the end was only seconds away, Sevastyan blindly shoved his ringed left hand to Kiara, firmly grasping whatever it was he'd managed to get hold of.

"Lara..." he choked out, just before the flicker of life in his eyes faded to nothing.

Kiara understood the moment he cast the spell what he wanted it for. He wanted to see there faces, their smiling happy faces on last time.

His time was running out she could feel it, the Pheonix pendant's power was losing its effect. Even she could not coax any more life out of it.

When he turned to her she had hot tears rolling down her face, but she nodded her head that she would pass the message along. But really at that moment she would do anything for him.

"I will tell them that... I promise" she whispered,chocking back a sob.

When Sevasyans left hand held on to her wrist, and he gasped out his eldest daughers name. She was confuesed at first as to what he wanted her to do. But then his grip went slacked and the light in his grey eyes faded for the final time.

Her breath cought in her throat, he was gone..

"No..no, Sevastyan?...no..what do you want me to do? Lara what?" her voice was choaked and desperate, as she lghtly shock his shoulder her hope for some Miracle that here was al little more life in him vanished. As she let out a sob and looked down. Still holding on to his left hand. Through her watery eyes she saw the sparkle of his signent ring.

Could that had been what he wanted of her, to give the ring to Lara? It made sence, Lara was his oldest. Praying she was right she carefully took the ring off his finger.

"Forgive me if I am wrong Sevastyan" she whispered.

She left the gold band where is was, it was his wedding ring she figured that would stay with him in lfe and death.. She would never remove that off of anyones hand.

Plus she knew Viper would kill her if she even dared to.

Placing his hand over his chest she put his wand into his hand.

Kneeling next to him she cried for a minute.

"You were the brother I never had Sevastyan Kamiski, you were a member of my family, and I will miss you terribly till the day I die"

During her final goodbye to her best firend and brother the Pendant had floate back to it's mistress.

"Goodbye" she whispered through her tears as she fished throug her rodes and pulled out a black stone shaped like a crestant moon. And she placed it in Sevastyan's bodies hand. It scared her how easily and person, whom one loved every much suddenly became just a body.

"I said it many times before and I will said it agian, now "you are a good man Sevastyan"" as if they were the magic words Sevastyans body glowed and floated for a moment before being take to the prechoosen barrial site for them all if they be killed by purgers.

Kiara sobbed for afew minutes after Sevastyan's body vanished for her sight.

After she managed to get a hold of her painful sobs eventually she stood up... she had promise to keep.

With that though in mind she apperated out of Hogsmeade anf went to the Viper manor.....