Harry Potter and the Berserker

The Eclipse

Disclaimer- Harry Potter is owned by J.K. Rowling and Berserk is owned by Kentaro Miura. I own nothing.

"Princess Charlotte, please wait!" Anna shouted as Charlotte climbed on a horse.

"That boy-Harry has been gone much longer than he promised," Charlotte told her handmaiden. "They should have returned by now. Do you not see what is going on over there? It's happening right where they would be."

It was a rhetorical question. How could anyone not see it? A giant whirlwind had touched down just as the moon had eclipsed the sun. Even from where they waited the two girls could feel the wild gush of wind from the enormous twister. There was no telling how wide the tornado was, but the funnel extended for miles into the sky, seemingly touching the eclipsed sun in the heavens up above.

The sight of it frightened Charlotte to no end. Midland was not known for irregular weather patterns, and a twister of this magnitude was unheard of by any standards. To actually go riding towards something like that would be a foolhardy idea which Anna took the liberty of reminding her of. "The Hawks did not survive by reputation, they have the skills to handle themselves, your highness. Please, I insist we seek shelter from that storm."

"The storm is not moving," Charlotte observed. For as gigantic as it was, the mighty whirlwind remained rooted in a fixed position to resemble something akin to a mighty tree branch that had sprouted from the ground, seeking to connect the deepest region to the highest heaven.

"That does not make it any less dangerous!" Anna insisted.

"But we owe it to the Band of Hawk to at least try to aid them," Charlotte argued. "They rescued me from the king," she shuttered at the memory of what he had tried to do to her that one night, "and I agreed that I would do whatever I could to contribute. I knew it wouldn't be easy, but I must make good on my word!"

Anna shook her head. "You've gained a fair amount of confidence, your majesty. I shudder to think what your manners will be like the longer you're exposed to some of these ruffians."

"Will you come with me then?" She hoped so. Riding toward that whirlwind was not something she wanted to do alone.

"As your handmaiden-it is my duty to follow in your wake. Especially when sound words of advice fall deaf to your ears." Anna managed to give a rather nervous smile to showcase the lack of good faith in Charlotte's decision. "Just know that-what in the heavens?!"

Charlotte followed Anna's gave to the sky, but her attention was not directed at the expansive twister, but instead a large dark shape flying toward it. Whatever it was, it was no bird. Birds did not have large leathery wings or goat legs, and especially no horns. Despite its size, the creature flew fast, unlike any animal she had ever seen before in her life. She might have hallucinated, but Charlotte almost felt like the great beast looked down towards them, but never breaking from its flight path.

The sight of it instilled a new fear in the girls, on par with the sound of hooves rapidly approaching them. "The king must have sent out mercenaries!" Anna shrieked. "We're done for!" Riding over the hill was a lone rider, tall and menacing in appearance, and much like the creature flying above he moved much too fast for something of his size.

The closer he got, the more Charlotte could distinguish the features of his horse and armor. His horse looked to be a skeleton, much like the armor he wore. A shield was fastened to his left arm with the design of a thorny rose embalmed on it. What stood out the most was his helm; it was a glowering skull-like helm with reddish-purplish eyes that seemed to glow from their sockets adding the only bit of life to his otherwise dead appearance.