Harry Potter and the Guardians of Kandrakar

As of Nov. 2017, I have gone through this fic and touched up some plot points that bothered me, as well as attempting to fix any errors I can find in general. Refurbished to the best of my ability, here is the new and improved story, which I hope to continue to completion.

Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling; W.I.T.C.H. was created by Elisabetta Gnone. I do not own either of these works, I'm just having some fun in their worlds for a while.

Author's Note at the end may answer some of your questions, but for now, enjoy!

Chapter One

As she tortured the Muggleborn woman, Bellatrix Lestrange felt a sort of sense of purpose swell in her bosom. It was glee to hear the screams produced from the Cruciatus curse, so much of it that Bellatrix let out a cackle of giddy laughter as the twitching body of the woman convulsed around her swollen stomach. She flicked her wand, and the woman was sent hurling towards the back wall, where her head smacked against the stone with a sharp crack.

"Filthy Muggle! That will teach you to breed, polluting the world with more of your dirty spawn!" she spat, and turned to her Lord seeking approval.

Her master gazed upon the face of his most devoted follower, but not with a look of pride. Bellatrix quickly turned her focus back to the blond woman who was struggling to move, whimpering in pain.

"Crucio! Where is the book? Answer me, filth!" she cried, and a fresh sea of agonized screams were ripped from the woman's throat. Lord Voldemort shook his head in disgust.

"Come now, Bellatrix. You can do better than that," his high, cold voice spoke. Bellatrix quickly marched over to her victim and grabbed her by the hair.

"Tell us where it is, mudblood. Tell us, and I'll kill you quickly," she whispered venomously. The blond woman, desperate for her unborn child, pointed towards a desk.

"The... Under the floorboards..." she rasped out, before crumpling to the ground with another spasm of pain as Bellatrix released her and swiftly made her way to the desk. She used her wand to detect protective spells, and disabled the few she found.

"Accio book," she breathed, and an ordinary, brown leather bound tome shot up, splintering through the floorboards and into her hand. She cackled in delight and turned to face her Lord. He was smiling coldly at her, his hand barely outstretched. She walked over to him, and placed the book in his hand. His spidery fingers closed around it, and he stared at it for a moment before turning his red gaze to the struggling woman on the floor.

"Dispose of her."

Bellatrix smiled, and destroyed what was left of Halinor Clarkson.

o.O.o.O.o

Cornelia Hale looked up from the flowers she was tending on her terrace as her little sister Lilian screamed, running at an almost inhuman speed out of Cornelia's own bedroom. She ran down the stairs, still screaming, until she reached her older sister.

"There's a vulture in your room!" she squealed. Cornelia paled a little at this, but kept a disapproving look on her face.

"And just what were you doing in my room?" she asked, and Lilian made a face.

"I was looking for Napoleon... and I found him! He's trying to kill a vulture in your room!" she said, growing more agitated by the second. Sure enough, the sounds of her beloved cat hissing could be heard coming down the stairs, and Cornelia then bolted through the door, up the stairs and into her room. It was not, in fact, a vulture, but a large black barn owl. It soared around Cornelia's ceiling, trying to escape Napoleon who was swatting at it from her vanity (and knocking her makeup all over the table in the process). She marched over to the cat, picked him up and handed him to Lilian.

"Take him and keep him in you room while I try to get this... thing out of my room," she ordered. Lilian lugged the squirming cat outside and Cornelia closed the door behind her. No sense in letting the bird fly all around the house. To her surprise, when she turned to face the thing it was perched quietly on one of her bedposts. Clutched in its beak was a letter. Approaching it cautiously, she held out her hand and the bird dropped the letter into her hand. Eyeing it suspiciously, she turned to look at the letter in her hand. It was addressed to her, but in a most peculiar way.

Miss Cornelia Hale

The Tidiest Bedroom

Posh Flat Complex

Heatherfield

She turned the letter over, and found instead of a return address, a crest. It featured four animals grouped around a capital H. Opening it carefully, she pulled out two thick pieces of parchment. They were both written in emerald green ink, and Cornelia focused on the first page.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorceror, Chief Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confederation of Wizards)

Dear Miss Hale,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.

Yours Sincerely.

Minerva McGonagall,

Deputy Headmistress

Cornelia's brain went into overdrive. Did someone know her secret? Did the other girls get similar letters? Would they have to ask the Oracle to wipe someone's memory again? She quickly looked at the second page. It held a list of curious, strange items that she assumed was the supply list.

Students will need:

- 3 sets of plain work robes (black)

- 1 set of dress robes

- 1 plain pointed hat (black)

- 1 pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)

- 1 winter coat (black, silver fastenings)

- 1 wand

- 1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)

- 1 telescope

- 1 set brass scales

Books:

- The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 6) by Miranda Goshawk

- A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot

- Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling

- Intermediate Transfiguration by Emeric Switch

- One Thousand Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore

- Advanced Potions Making by Libatius Borage

- Fantastical Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander

- Defensive Magical Theory by Wilbert Slinkhard

- Confronting the Faceless

- Unfogging the Future by Cassandra Vablatsky (if attending Divination)

- Numerology and Grammatica (if attending Arithmancy)

- The Monster Book of Monsters (if attending Care of Magical Creatures)

Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad.

If this was a joke, Cornelia gave props to the creator. It was very detailed, and that frightened her. It couldn't, perhaps, be real? She must have been in a daze, for suddenly the paper was ripped from her hands by her little sister.

"What's this? Ooh, a magic school! Corny, you didn't tell me you were magic! I wanna go too!" the little girl said, while Cornelia chased her around the room.

"Give it back! It's probably Irma's way of pranking me or something. Lilian, it's not real! Give it back!" she yelped, and finally tackled her sister onto her bed. Ripping the parchment from Lilian's hands, Cornelia got up and pulled out her mobile phone. She dialed Will.

"Corny? What's up?" Will answered, and Cornelia didn't fail to notice the waver in her voice.

"Did any barn owls drop off the mail by your place today?" she asked, while shooing Lilian out of her room. Lilian refused to budge, and was staring intently at the owl still perched on the bedpost. It had a rather bored look on its face, as if it had received this reaction plenty of times before.

"Uhh.. actually it was a screech owl... but the mail did come in a weird way today. Mom doesn't know about it yet, but I'm figuring that when she comes home from picking up William and hears..." she was interrupted by a loud screech.

"That," Will continued "then I'm sure I'll have some explaining to do." Cornelia sighed into the phone.

"Same here. But so... do you think it's a joke?" she continued, and was suddenly interrupted by a beeping noise. Taranee was trying to call. "Hold on, other line" she said, and pushed the middle button.

"Cornelia! There's a huge... owl in my room!" Taranee frantically whispered into the phone. "Peter's the only one here, but mom is going to be home any minute!"

"Just calm down; just get the stupid bird out and let's meet up with the others at the Golden in a few. I have a feathered companion sitting on my bedpost as we speak. And yes, he brought me a weird letter, before you ask." Taranee choked in a breath on the other end, and Cornelia sighed again.

"O...ok, I'll meet you there," Taranee finally managed to choke out, and hung up.

"Will? I told Taranee to meet us and the others at the Golden in a few minutes. Let's get the birds out of our rooms and get over there with these letters, ok?" the blond said, while throwing her keys and the letter into her pocket and grabbing her jacket.

"You and I think alike. I just told Irma and Hay Lin the exact same thing!" Will stated, and Cornelia could feel her friend smiling through the phone. They hung up, and Cornelia turned to look at the owl.

"Erm..." she began. It looked at her, expectant. Lilian observed the scene from the door. "Could... could you please, err... wait outside? On a tree branch or something?" she asked it, feeling silly. Surprisingly enough (yet not really... plenty of weirder things had happened to her before), the owl took flight out her open window into the summer heat. She watched as it settled in a tree right across from her complex. Shaking her head, she ran out of her room and straight downstairs. Her mother was coming in the door that very moment, and so Cornelia smiled and waved before attempting to escape unnoticed.

"Now just a minute! Where are you going, young lady?"

Cringing, Cornelia turned to her mom. "Out to see the girls. I don't have to watch Lilian anymore, you're back! So... bye!" she said as convincingly as possible, while giving Lilian a warning look that clearly stated 'if you speak of the owl incident, you are SO getting it.'

Her mother sighed (much like Cornelia had been doing for the past few minutes). With that, the blond Guardian bolted for the elevator.

o.O.o.O.o

Irma Lair was never one to freak out. Ok, well, maybe if there was a gigantic cockroach on her floor, or maybe if she had back talked a teacher and knew she had gone too far. But usually, Irma was pretty chill. Nothing much phased her, and she tried to keep it that way. However, giant white owls swooping into her room through her window and dropping a letter on her floor could be considered a great time to let out a holler. It was due to this incident that she and her four best friends were now grouped at their usual booth in the Golden, a local diner that the girls had been using as a meeting place for many important discussions. Sipping on her milkshake, Irma listened carefully to Will's account of her own, very similar owl incident.

"And it just swooped out and perched right above my window. Then I ran 'cause mom and William came home, and I didn't have time for babysitting duty," the redhead finished. The five Guardians had been through some odd situations, but this one was getting progressively odder.

"It seems that we all got these letters, and they were all delivered by owls, and they all seem... well, authentic if you ask me," Taranee put in, a crease furrowing her dark brow as she stared at her own letter. Hay Lin nodded, and twirled a bit of her glossy hair in between her fingers.

"I think it's real. The Oracle would be able to confirm it, and I'd kinda like to take a trip to Kandrakar and ask more about it all but... at the same time, I don't want to go bothering grandma about this if I don't have to. She has a lot on her mind, trying to track down all those magical kiddos for us," she spoke, and all the Guardians nodded in agreement.

"So what do we do about this, girls?" Cornelia asked, placing her clasped hands on the table. Irma shrugged.

"I say we go. Sounds like a way cooler school than ours. Plus, we could learn some new tricks for our magic," she stated, sneaking a french fry from Will's tray. Hay Lin nodded again.

"I agree. I say we send out replies to this place, via owl I'm guessing, and ask them how the heck we can get there, where to buy supplies and all that stuff." Irma grinned. Hay Lin was her best friend for a reason. Taranee looked skeptical, but after a while also nodded.

"It would be nice to get away, study abroad... and not have to hide our magic. In fact, we'd be improving it! It's so hard to control even now, even with the roots of our powers helping somewhat... I think this school could really benefit us," she finished. Irma's grin widened. She had though Taranee would have been the most difficult to convince that Hogwarts was a good idea, but she was pleasantly surprised to find the Fire Guardian on her side. Cornelia and Will didn't look too convinced, however.

"What about the kids? Who will teach them while we're gone?" Will asked, obviously thinking of her little brother William.

"There are plenty of older magicals who can keep an eye on them until we get back for the summer. They just need to wait for their own Hogwarts letter, I'm guessing, then we won't have to teach anymore. Being a teacher is tiring," Irma stated. Will looked more relaxed at this, but Cornelia still had a sour look on her face. Irma mentally facepalmed. 'Of course, Miss Lovey-Dovey Hale won't want to leave because of Peter. Crap.'

"I don't think we should split up from our families and, er..." she began, but Irma cut her off.

"Corny, honey, think about it: a whole YEAR without Lilian! And if you honestly start to miss her, which I wouldn't understand, you could come back for the Christmas holidays or something. And you and Peter are on the rocks anyway, don't give me that look, so some time apart might do you good! Come on, Corny. Hogwarts sounds awesome! You know you want to go." Cornelia bit her lip, and after a moment or two's hesitation, she nodded. Irma fist pumped, and pulled out a pen.

"Hey, Hay Lin, do you have any paper? I'm writing this reply now, before any of you guys chicken out on me."

o.O.o.O.o

The morning after sending their respective replies (and questions) back with the owls, Will awoke to a tapping on her window. She groaned in frustration as she shuffled over to the latch, undid it, and had to bite back a scream as another owl flew in. It dropped another piece of parchment on her bed, and this time it flew off without a backward glance. Groggily, she picked up the parchment and read it.

Dear Miss Vandom,

I am very pleased you and your friends have accepted attending Hogwarts. However, all five of you are a very interesting case, for the usual age for first years at the school is eleven. You and your friends range from fifth to sixth year (seventh being the final year). Thus I have employed a very reliable, and if I do say so myself, pleasant guide to help you with your purchases and traveling to Hogwarts. Please be in Heatherfield Park on August 28th with all of your belongings that you wish to bring with you. Your guide will arrive and take you to Diagon Alley for you to purchase your supplies. Enclosed is a key to your Vault at the Gringotts Bank, set up by myself and other sources. There should be plenty in there for your purchases. I have also taken the liberty to create a "cover" of sorts for you to present to your family, in explanation of your absence. I look forward to meeting you at the Welcoming Feast!

Signed

Albus Dumbledore

Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, etc.

With the letter also fell out a small, intricate golden key, as well as what looked like a packet for an International Gifted Students School that only hand picked the most select of students based on their abilities, and in Will's case, it specified on swimmers, with all expenses paid. Will, stunned, sat down on her bed softly. It was still surreal to her that such a place really existed. For some reason, that letter from Albus Dumbledore seemed to reassure her and dismiss all of her suspicions. This place could be somewhere she could get away from all those fears and uncertainties she felt while in Heatherfield; it could help distance her from Matt...

She stood up determinedly, and whirled around to look at the calendar. Grabbing a black marker, she circled August 28 and crossed out the current day, which was July 31. About a month from now, and she and her friends would be starting a new adventure she knew was going to be life altering.

o.O.o.O.o

The five Guardians crossed out the days on their respective calendars avidly, in anticipation of August 28th. They packed their suitcases and would occasionally unpack and then repack, just to find something to do. They would call each other constantly during these packing sessions, worrying about what to bring and what to leave behind, giving each other travel advice, and simply daydreaming about Hogwarts.

Finally, the day arrived. The girls said long goodbyes to their parents, who at first insisted upon driving them to the airport, but the girls brushed them off, telling them that they would take a taxi. Their parents, after some prodding and begging, agreed. They were all extremely proud of their daughters; living away from home for a year was a very big step in their lives, and to be accepted into such a prestigious school was quite an accomplishment. The Guardians therefore met in Heatherfield Park, lugging their respective suitcases to a park bench.

"Oof, I hope I don't have to carry these much longer!" Cornelia groaned, setting her two large pink suitcases and Napoleon's cage down on the bench. Irma snickered.

"And how many cosmetics are stashed in that bag, Corny? No wonder you're having a hard time!" she jibed, earning a glare from her blond friend.

"I'm just hoping that whoever comes to get us gets here soon! It's boiling hot today!" Will mumbled. Suddenly, a loud POP sounded out from directly in front of them, and all five girls let out little yelps as a young woman with bright green hair materialized out of thin air.

"Hey girls! You must be WITCH! Am I right?" she asked, her voice friendly and distinctly pleasant as she looked them over. They nodded their heads in sync.

"How did you..." Taranee managed, but this eccentric woman cut her off.

"Apparition, of course! You learn how your sixth year at Hogwarts! I'm Tonks, by the way. Are you ready to go?" she asked, surveying their pile of luggage and raising an eyebrow.

"Godric, that's a lot of stuff. I'll have to shrink it. Hold on, girls," she said, and then pulled a wand out of her waistband (she was wearing a purple robe over jeans and a white shirt). With a flick and a murmur, Tonks had reduced each bag into pocket size luggage. The girls gaped.

"I need to learn how to do that," Cornelia whispered.

"Ok, now get your stuff! The portkey will be leaving soon, we can't miss it!" she said.

"What's a portkey?" Hay Lin asked as she pocketed her bags, still a bit in awe of this awesome woman who stood before her.

"It's an object that can transport the person holding it to another location, so long as you have a finger or so on it by the appointed time. Ours should be... there!" she said, and pointed to an old, deflated soccer ball.

"That?" Cornelia had managed to find her voice again, holding on to Napoleon's cage as they made their way over to the ball. Tonks smiled and nodded.

"It'll take us straight to the Leaky Cauldron, and then we can go shopping for your stuff down Diagon Alley," the witch said. 'Shopping' was all Cornelia needed to hear, and she took hold of a bit of the soccer ball gingerly.

The rest of the girls followed suit, and heard Tonks murmur '3...2...1!' and they were jerked off the ground, as if something was tugging behind their navel, pulling them who knows where. They twisted and turned a few more seconds, before landing (Irma comically on top of Cornelia) in the middle of a dank old pub.

"Are we in London?" Taranee gasped as she picked herself up and adjusted her glasses.

"Muggle London, yes," Tonks stated, and continued explaining before Taranee could open her mouth again. "A muggle is a non-magic person. The Leaky Cauldron is a place where magic folk can go to access Diagon Alley... or a pint if they wanted one!" she finished.

Tonks then ushered the girls upstairs with a wave to the barman, who nodded and shouted 'Rooms 11 and 12!' which Tonks acknowledged with another wave. Will, Cornelia, and Taranee dropped their stuff off in one room, while Hay Lin and Irma shared the one across from it. Tonks excitedly pushed them back down the stairs.

"Let's go! We need all day to shop!" she exclaimed. "Plus, I want you to meet some friends of mine. And who knows how many cute boys you'll get to see! I love shopping trips!" she said, reminding Irma of a kid at Christmas.

"Cute boys? I'm all for it! Direct me to the boys, Tonks!" she joked. Tonks grinned and opened the back door, leading them out into a smallish courtyard. They were facing a brick wall.

"Umm... Tonks?" Will began, but Tonks shushed her, and began tapping certain bricks with her wand. Before the girls had time to gasp, the wall started to unfold before them, revealing the most spectacular sight they had ever seen.

"Boys this way, Irma. Welcome to Diagon Alley!"

Chapter One: Complete!

Hopefully you guys enjoyed; please forgive any mistakes in grammar etc. as I am my own Beta for now.

Yes, a few minor changes will be occurring throughout this fic. It follows the canon plotline of HBP pretty much to the letter, with the added component of the Guardians and what they bring to the tale. Eventually we will deviate more as major events occur... For a start, Tonks is seen as being her normal self for now, but soon she and Lupin will get their respective missions and her 'depressive' state will become apparent. Also, if you have only seen the cartoon for WITCH, and are confused by some references I made (like Will's brother William, Yan Lin as the Oracle, or their magical teaching jobs) then I suggest you go to Wikipedia and read the articles on the comic series. That's how this story is mostly going to be written.

Review and let me know what you think!