The Crimson Arrival
"Red," Harry said softly.
The small dragon, who until that moment had been staring in confusion at the ground where enemies lay fallen—ones he hadn't defeated himself—lifted his head at the sound of Harry's voice.
The instant his eyes locked on the woman, he growled fiercely and charged at full speed. He leapt with claws outstretched, aiming to rip off one of her arms without hesitation.
But the woman merely turned slightly, and from the ground erupted a massive hand made of insects that caught him in midair. Red roared, using his claws to tear chunks out of the writhing swarm until he broke free, landing backward and crouching low. His tail lashed like a whip, his foreclaws dug into the ground, hind legs tense, ready to pounce like a predator. His eyes stayed fixed on the woman, glowing with an uncharacteristic seriousness.
"Interesting creature… looks like a dragon, but the wings are different," the woman observed in a soft voice, tilting her head. "And I can feel a rather intense connection to you," she added, now turning her gaze to Harry.
Harry, floating slightly in the air, raised a hand. Dozens of golden swords materialized around him and shot forward in a deadly volley toward the woman.
Without a hint of fear, she lifted her hand, and a dark mist enveloped her. The swords pierced through the shadow… but the body they were meant to hit was no longer there.
"Fascinating magic… I've never seen anything like it," her voice whispered—now directly behind Harry.
Harry's eyes widened in surprise. The others looked at him in alarm, but before he could react, a flash cut through the air—a spell flew past the woman's face, forcing her to step back.
Sirius stood there, his expression deadly serious, though anger burned in his eyes. He moved his wand in silence, and the ground beneath the woman rose like a guillotine, separating her from Harry.
She glanced at him with a flicker of interest, just before the wall bristled with spikes that fell toward her. She dissolved back into shadow, drifting away as the spikes crashed into the floor with a deafening impact that made the scattered gold in the chamber vibrate.
Sirius traced a circle with his wand. From the ground, black snakes emerged one after another, devouring thousands of insects in seconds.
"So you know some interesting tricks as well," the woman said, smiling with genuine curiosity.
She exhaled a violet mist that slithered toward Sirius like living poison. He twirled his wand, forming a whirlwind that sucked the mist into a green circle, trapping it.
He then aimed at the ceiling, conjuring stone spears that rained down on her. She calmly clapped her hands, producing a transparent barrier above her head, deflecting each spear and turning them into black droplets that splashed against her.
Then Sirius turned to the children. With a flick of his wand, he shoved them all—including Red and Harry—into a corridor, raising a wall of stone to block the entrance.
"Sirius!" Harry shouted, his voice carrying something he almost never showed: genuine concern.
"Stay there," Sirius said, giving him a fleeting smile before the wall sealed shut. "I'll buy time until your parents arrive."
"Mmm… so you noticed," the woman said, baring her teeth in a predatory grin. "But it seems it's already too late for you."
Dark veins began spreading across Sirius's neck as the poison coursed quickly through him. He glanced at his wrists, watching the black creep further, and gave a wry smirk.
"Great… I'm going to end up with a trauma about redheads," he muttered before raising his wand.
The ground trembled as a gigantic serpent of rock burst from a circle and lunged at the woman. She sidestepped the snapping jaws, but Sirius drew more circles; from the great serpent's body sprang dozens of smaller ones, leaping with fangs bared. A black fire burned them to ash one by one—but she didn't notice the ones that had coiled around her legs, turning into stone shackles.
"Fiendfyre," Sirius intoned—and for the first time, he spoke an incantation aloud.
A torrent of fire erupted from his wand, taking the shape of a massive dragon that roared and hurtled toward her.
The woman raised both hands, her body releasing black mist, insects, green smoke, and dark magic. The collision was a clash of light and shadow, a struggle devouring everything around it.
Suddenly, she became mist again and appeared behind Sirius. He turned his head slowly, meeting her mocking smile and seeing that entirely blackened hand reaching for his neck like the cold touch of death itself.
But before she could strike, an explosion tore apart the wall where the children had been. A red blur shot toward the woman, forcing her to retreat.
Sirius turned to see Red… but he was no longer the same. A crimson aura surrounded him, his body larger, claws sharper, two black horns curling from his head, and teeth that looked like they could pierce anything.
Behind him, Harry floated over the rubble, entering slowly. His eyes burned with a deep, glowing red at their center, streaks of crimson ran through his black hair, and his expression was one of cold fury as he raised both hands toward the woman.
All the insects around them were seized by Harry's crimson aura. With a single motion, he crushed them, their bodies cracking with a sickening sound and leaving the air tinged with a metallic scent. Then, with both palms, he lifted the gold and stones from the ground, sending them surging forward like a gleaming tidal wave toward the woman.
She smiled—a smile that now carried dangerous excitement. In an instant, her body unraveled into mist, gliding straight toward Harry.
But Red, now airborne, crossed her path with a roar. His fangs grazed her neck, forcing her to veer away on instinct. She rematerialized a short distance away, frowning—and looking in shock at her own shoulder, where thick black blood was now pouring.
"How…?" she managed to ask before a spell whizzed past her cheek. She turned, and there was Sirius, smiling with cold determination.
The spell struck the wall behind her, and from it burst hundreds of chains, lunging straight for her body. At the same time, the wave of gold and stone surged toward her, and from the other side, Red sprinted along the wall and the wave itself to ram into her.
"Enough!" the woman roared, throwing both arms wide. A black pulse exploded outward from her center, blasting away debris, chains, and Red. The dragon landed on his feet, growling, and advanced again with claws ready.
"Let's be clear," she said, her voice dripping with contempt. "Just because I amused myself for a moment doesn't mean you stand a chance. This is no longer entertaining… it's annoying." Her tone turned venomous. "Tsk… I'll just kill you all and leave. Filthy wizards and witches, always serving non-magicals as if they were superior. You should all let the plague wipe you out!"
From her feet began to seep a different kind of black smoke—heavy and corrosive. "Die here… let your parents find your rotting, decorated corpses before they join you."
But then she noticed something. The children, Sirius… even Harry, who now stood atop Red's back in his normal size, weren't looking at her. Their faces didn't show fear of her—but of something behind her.
She frowned and turned.
And there she was.
A woman in red floated in the air as if seated, legs crossed, chin resting in one hand. Her crimson hair moved like living flames, and a dense, suffocating red aura surrounded her. Her eyes—identical in intensity to Harry's moments ago—looked at her as if staring at a corpse. Or worse: as if the sentence had already been passed.
The insect woman took a step back, and for the first time in centuries, she raised both hands in fear. A torrential surge of black magic, insects, and green smoke poured from her body, rushing toward Wanda.
But Wanda didn't even move. Everything that touched her turned into red butterflies and rose petals, drifting gently to the ground.
With a simple flick of her hand, the black magic vanished as if it had never existed. The enemy, now trembling, clutched her hands to her chest, unable to comprehend what was happening. Sweat trickled down her face; the word death was no longer a concept—it was a certainty.
Wanda descended slowly, ignoring the woman as if she were nothing more than an insignificant obstacle. She walked toward Sirius and the children, who instinctively huddled together, embracing one another, watching her like deer frozen before a predator.
"When you earn our trust to take care of the children," Wanda said, looking straight at Sirius, "and you pull stunts like this… you remind us why we expect so little from you as an adult worthy of their respect."
Guilt was written across Sirius's face as he clutched his chest, the poison still darkening his veins.
"A-Aunt Wanda… it was our fault," Hermione said quickly. "We wanted to come. He didn't force us, even knowing it was dangerous."
Harry let out a quiet sigh. Draco and Daphne looked ready to speak up, but Wanda cut them off:
"Then it seems all four of you will be punished." She smiled sweetly… though to them, there was nothing sweet about it. "No… all five."
Her gaze fell on Red, who trotted up to her with a golden golem's arm in his mouth, trying to win her over. Wanda barely glanced at him; the dragon's ears drooped, he dropped the trophy, and quickly hid behind Harry.
Everyone turned to glare at Hermione, as if she were the reason for their punishment, even though they had all wanted to defend Sirius. Better to have a single scapegoat. Hermione met their looks with open annoyance.
"Mom… can you help my godfather?" Harry asked, his tone carrying genuine worry for the first time.
Wanda stroked her son's head, then looked at Sirius. With a small motion of her hand, a red aura enveloped him. The black veins receded, the pain faded, and Sirius ended up coughing out a black liquid that evaporated into the air.
The children stepped back, grimacing in disgust.
"It's better if we go home," Wanda said. It was not a suggestion—it was an order.
"But what about that woman who—" Daphne began, but when they all turned to where she had been, there was nothing. It was as if she had never existed.
"What woman?" Wanda asked calmly, her lips curling into a gentle smile.
Sirius, silently, thought to himself: Redheads really are terrifying.