The Summoning of Champions
JANUARY 20, 1948
Somewhere in the North Atlantic Sea
“I’m surprised that you have decided, of all times, to finally revive our lost homeland, my mistress…”
“I don’t mean to object but…isn’t it too early to gather our lost brethren, my mistress?”
The said female merely looked ahead of the vast ocean that was dotted by a few small rocky islands as two of her most loyal proteges were voicing out their opinion. In the large metal ship where the three were staying stood 40 more men and they were all wearing black, monk-like robes. Behind the large boat were 30 more metal ships which looked like WW2 LSTs, each carrying more than a hundred individuals. While some of the passengers were also wearing monk robes, more than the majority of the people were wearing ordinary clothes and, judging from their appearances, were from all different walks of life.
“The fact that the second great war had killed more than two million of our own kind should be more than enough to finally return to and revive our homeland, which was lost due to its ancient inhabitants’ costly mistakes. But fear not.” The mistress, presumably the leader of the whole fleet, finally replied while letting the strong winds flutter her long, red hair. “We have learned, we have gathered enough knowledge from other cultures, and we have finally had enough numbers to rebuild our thousand-year lost nation of Mother Akal-Elana, the progenitor of our race. Stand back and watch you little snot-nosed brats why I was appointed the Grand Magus by my mentor…”
And with that, she stood near the bow of the ship and after uttering what sounded to be phrases of mystic prayers for the gods above, she then raised up her wooden staff. And before the eyes of those who were present, the pristine water, which was cold and waving, suddenly halted and quickly, bubbles began to form as if something was boiling beneath the ocean floor. After a few more seconds, something began to emerge from the boiling-like watery surface.
At first, it was just more solid rocky islands but just as quickly, those solid rocky islands would later rise up even more, eventually forming solid mountains that looked soggy as if they were formed from molten lava. Rapidly, those mountains and other rocky natural borders will later expand into surface land that was broadening widely and with such fast pace that the LST ships were forced to quickly steer back due to the large waves slamming up and down as the water had to give away to the expanding land mass.
“A-Amazing…”
“That’s our Grand Magus!”
“At last, our people finally have their own land restored—far from that crazy Gindelwald’s reach, far from the ICW’s interference and certainly far from people who like to see things as black and white!”
“But how large do you think our newly-restored homeland is?”
“Does it really matter?”
Only a few months later will the people on the ships realize that their newly-restored homeland was the same size and almost the same shape of the Ukrainian SSR, with a wide snake-shaped river crossing from north to south, effectively creating a literal border between the east and the west. If someone didn’t know better, they think the Ukrainian homeland was magically transported into the Atlantic Ocean. However, it had Mediterranean weather dotted with mountains and rugged terrain, in contrast to the almost-entirely flat terrain and the colder climate of Ukraine. The passengers of the LSTs, though, need not to know that yet as they have other things to worry about.
The Grand Magus nearly falters back, probably feeling the effects of the strain in her body due to the magical energy needed to revive the whole island. Quickly, her two disciples ran forward to aid their master, with the male one giving her a soldier pill.
“Thank you very much, Walter my dear…” The middle-aged Magus smiled at the teen called Walter, who just nodded serenely. “Carol, quickly tell each of the captains of the ship to disembark to the shores so that the people can finally settle down and build transit camps deep into the land before we can finally properly settle our population throughout our new land.”
“Will do, my mistress!” Carol bowed low before turning around and jumping up from the ship.
Once she was out of sight, the Grand Magus then called one of her trusted officers, “Gideon, Maurice, and Sigisbert!”
The said three men, who all looked to be in his late 30s, jumped out and near Carol while bowing.
“Being the commanders of the three main paramilitaries of our race, it’s time for all of you to disband those paramilitaries and instead, form a single military force of this fledgling state that will combine all those who come from your military organizations. That way, we can start instilling unity.”
“If I may?” Maurice raised his hands up, intending to speak. “I believe that Gideon here should be the first commander of the chief-of-staff of the new armed forces, then. He had the credentials that we lack. He fought in the British Mandate of Palestine and Transjordan, Nazi Germany, and in the USSR with the underground movement and he had extensive knowledge of how a military organization should be formed.”
“I had to agree.” Sigisbert nodded. “He also had a wide network of contacts who we could turn to in case we needed arms as well as aid.”
The Grand Magus thought of all of these before turning to Gideon. “Very well then. Gideon, would you accept the proposition of being the first commander of our fledgling armed forces.”
Gideon sighed before bowing, “If no one is really available to take it, then I had no choice but to agree. I’ll accept it.”
“Perfect. Now, do what you have to do. Dismissed.” The Grand Magus ordered them and the three men jumped out, intending to carry out their master’s orders to unify all their divided forces. She then sighed.
As much as she wanted harmony and unification with the other magicals in the old world and in the Americas, she knew that the recent events in the last ten years would mean that any hope of making peace with the International Confederation of Wizards is basically zero as the ideologies and beliefs of the two groups are like oil and water—they will always clash. Which is why their race were forced to mingle with the non-magical population, or they went underground in several countries like Switzerland, Yugoslavia, and the Nordic countries.
She then saw several of her own people born from Greece and Poland began to survey the land and the unknown frontier in front of them with glee and genuine excitement. Such expressions made the heart of the Grand Magus quiver with an unexplainable feeling, yet she can only smile.
She knew that the task ahead of them would be a formidable one given that they had to rebuild their long-lost country from scratch but she and her brethren had already made up their minds.
They would succeed.
They will gather their remaining brethren that are still stranded in mainland Europe, North Africa, parts of America, and in the West and Central Asia and they would be free in their own lands, away from the interference of those wand-brandishing morons.
OCTOBER 31, 20XX
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Hermione Granger merely sat on her chair as she and the rest of the House of Gryffindor waited. At any given time, Albus Dumbledore, the Headmaster of the school, would announce the Hogwarts Champion for the Triwizard Tournament, which initially surprised her as the games was said to be so deadly that it wasn't held for more than a hundred years before this date. But anyhow, she would just hope that whoever gets chosen to be the school representative can survive the whole tournament.
Beside her, Ron Weasley was busy nibbling some biscuits as he, too, was waiting for the whole affair to start.
Ten minutes later, the selection of the champions had started, and she watched silently as the name of Cedric Diggory from the House of Hufflepuff was called, much to the glee of the house of the badgers.
The 4th year tuned out the rest of the headmaster's speech and the selection of the champions from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons when the Goblet suddenly flared up again. What made the whole thing even weirder is that the flames were a combination of red and orange hue. Hermione was pretty sure the fire had always been blue.
Something then erupted from the ancient artefact and a piece of parchment was thrown out of it. Dumbledore caught it and stared at the paper with an unreadable look on his face.
“Harry Potter.”
The room went silent.
Everyone—even those from the delegations—knew that the Boy-Who-Lived had not been sighted ever since the end of his first year in Hogwarts and numerous and often times, impulsive attempts to find him have resulted in a few foreign magical governments banning Dumbledore and his lackeys from entering their country.
Unknown to everyone except Ron, she had gotten some updates from Harry Potter himself as to his whereabouts and the two of them along with the youngest Weasley male had been exchanging letters up until last year. Even if they both don’t get as much correspondence this year, she understood it as he already explained why he can’t regularly contact them. That and, if she was to believe in rumors, he can’t just simply communicate them impulsively due to…external forces.
The bushy-haired girl was sure that if it hadn't been for the fact that her best friend was out of town, the Boy-Who-Lived would be considered literally dead due to the fact that a month ago, the Dursley family who were supposed to be his adoptive family was involved in a horrible “fire accident”.
According to the official reports, the gas stove suddenly exploded which caused the huge flames and engulfed everything in the house, toasting the Dursley family to their horrible deaths. But even then, Hermione can’t help but feel as if something about the report was fishy, but she shrugged it off. It simply won’t take the Dursleys back from the dead and even if she could, she won’t do that as a tiny part of her feels they deserve it.
But even worse, more than a month later, the news was still referring to Potter as “The-Missing-Boy-Who-Lived”. It was honestly annoying, and Hermione could understand why her close friend would want to disappear. Still, Hogwarts was never the same ever since he delisted from the school in an unofficial manner.
“Harry Potter?...Harry Potter!”
No matter how much the Headmaster called out his name, there was no sign of Harry Potter appearing. Ron would have snorted but he knew the power of the Goblet of Fire, based on what Hermione told him. If the ancient artifact couldn't summon his best mate (and it was supposed to be able to summon its Chosen Champion) that meant three things: either he was dead (which was unlikely because he and Hermione were still receiving letters from him once or sometimes, twice a month this year), he was behind very powerful wards, or whatever land he was standing at had something capable of preventing the Goblet from forcefully kidnapping Harry.
If Ron was being completely honest, he was just glad that Harry decided not to come back from Hogwarts this year. The last two years were completely bonkers, with their second year nearly killing his younger sister Ginny, and Ron doubted that this year would be different, especially if it involved a tournament that had a track record of killing the participants. Honestly, the glory, fame, and prize are nice to hear but he wasn't sure he could risk his life for such an entertainment.
It took Ron and Hermione a few seconds to register in their minds the silence that had taken over the Great Hall. Nobody was because of the sudden mist that had appeared in the room between the student's tables and the teachers' table.
“Wh-What is that thing?” Ron and Hermione heard Anthony Goldstein from Ravenclaw ask his seat mate.
“Eh, I don't know…”
The source of the Jewish boy's curiosity was the phenomenon that was staring in front of them. The mist rose from the ground and started to take form until it looked like a giant rectangle almost like a giant 4D television.
Ron blinked as he thought that he probably should have seen it coming. Weird things always happened when his best mate was involved, even if right now, he was physically absent.
……..
Only when it was concluded that the screen was there to possibly help shed a light on Harry's possible whereabouts did the normalcy come back. Two Unspeakables who had knowledge on the subject of Magical Artefacts had inspected the whole thing and deemed it harmless.
Near the two Unspeakables were a large platoon of Aurors led by Amelia Bones as well as Cornelius Fudge, the Minister for Magic. When the commotion about the Goblet was up, Amelia, her aurors, and Fudge quickly went to help restore order although if the older Bones were to be believed, Fudge only went with them to score some brownie points for the next elections.
It was only then that the gigantic screen made of solid crystal lit up like neon lights.
“Hey Hermione. What's that thing going to do?”
Hermione frowned as she looked at the screen. “Honestly, I don't know, Ron. It won't transport Harry so it may try to help locate him instead. Besides, it's more concerning how Harry's name got out of the Goblet.”
There was just no way Harry put his name there anyway. He was not even at Hogwarts and he wouldn't have asked someone to put it there since coming back to Hogwarts isn’t a part of his future plans, based on his letters. Nobody would want to risk their magic like that so it had to be someone else. Even if he was here physically, it's not like Harry to chase something as frivolous as glory when he was already famous enough for allegedly defeating He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and it was honestly distressing enough. Amelia already suspected some kind of foul play was involved.
Someone out for The-Boy-Who-Lived's blood or something.
Suddenly, the chatter stopped once more as the lit screen started to show something akin to a television episode.
The screen opens up on the façade of a large hospital. Hurried footsteps are heard as the angle changes to show a corridor where various nurses and doctors busy themselves with trolleys. A figure with an average height wearing a white shirt, blue shirt-sleeved checkered polo, jeans, and red rubber shoes while sporting a Miami Heat cap treads past them, restraining himself from completely running.
The young man had piercing green eyes and if Hermione's guest as to the identity of the boy was correct, it seems the things are about to even get wilder in the hall.
Soon enough, she was right as just then, the angle of the camera changed to show the figure's face and Hermione was not surprised to recognize her best friend's face as it finally got students and guests all around her muttering, wondering what the hell was going on and why is Harry Potter in a hospital of all places.
And to the surprise of many and the consternation of one old Headmaster, the scar that had defined the boy who lived was missing.
The teenage boy continued to briskly walk until he was in front of a room with a plate ROOM NO. 96. He's out of breath like he just ran all the way to the hospital. Besides the door were two armed men who looked to be posted as guards. They wore forest green and dark green fatigues and had balaclavas concealing their faces. They had a ballistic vest and were clutching their shortened M16A2 rifles while one of them had an extra Ithaca shotgun slung in the back. They also had pistol holsters in their belts.
Wait what? Of course, it got many of the student's, the staff, and the aurors thinking if the patient is an important one that there were armed guards with muggle weapons that are posted in the door.
It seemed obvious to Hermione that he was there to visit someone, but she kept that to herself.
“Name?” One of the guards asked the newcomer with a hint of authority.
“Harry Potter.” Likewise, the boy now identified as Harry Potter answered with no emotions detected.
“Punic name? Or do you use an official magic name?”
“Eh, no but I have a registered Punic name. Here.” Harry fishes out what looked like to be his Identification Card as he hands it to the guard. “Hillel Ben-Porat, at your service. Sounded more Hebraic than Punic but it was the best I could come up with the first letters of my real name.”
The guards looked at the ID for what looked like to be a minute or two before handing it back. “You're cleared. Actually, Commander Draper was already anticipating your arrival but we checked your identity just in case. We’re in dangerous times, after all.”
Harry nodded, he can agree to that.
The guard who checked his ID glanced at his partner and said, “Archer003, he’s clean. Let him in.”
The other guard merely grunted before unlocking the knob, ushering Harry inside.
Hermione and Ron exchanged a look, wondering what was going on. They knew that unlike what all people present in the hall believed, their friend had not lived with his adoptive family for a long time. Well, he did live with a male guardian (a magic user) who, surprisingly or not surprisingly, was not Sirius Black—or at least, according to their friend. Things do seem very tense, and Harry was pretty evasive about some things, but he did tell them a couple of facts about his old life. They knew that he used to live with his horrible relatives that hated magic but knowing him, he probably knew exactly what that was telling them but just didn't want to get deeper into the subject as it was far too sensitive. They could respect that—even if Hermione wanted to hex muggle relatives without any limit for their horrible treatment of their friend.
They knew that he had left the Dursleys when he was around nine and that he met his current male guardian before that. They also knew that Harry loved his new family and was willing to burn the world for it.
They got a couple of correspondences since Harry supposedly went AWOL after their first year. How Albus Dumbledore never realized Harry didn't live with his muggle relatives for a very long time was beyond Hermione but then again...for a supposed Headmaster, Dumbledore seemed to be oblivious of Harry’s condition in Little Whinging. Maybe it was because he was holding three different positions of power at the same time that he had a lot of things going in his mind but something as simple as checking his relatives should have been easy enough. As much as she wanted to deny it, there was something wrong with the way the Headmaster had treated Harry and was still treating him.
Still, even with the letters they'd been exchanging since last summer, their friend refused to tell them anything of importance since their knowledge of Occlumency was rudimentary at best. Heck, they just learned right now of their friend’s alternate name, which was also a topic around the hall as everyone was curious why he got a different alias or why the guards were asking for a magical name. He did share to them some details about his life somewhere he was, but they are vague at best and did not describe anything very clear.
So, in short, they had no idea what was going on. They had no idea who this male guardian was, and they don’t know if he had some friends in whatever place he is right now.
Slowly, he walks further in the interior and takes a step forward. He stills, frozen when he catches the sight of something in the hospital bed. His eyes widen in shock and horror and a gasp escapes him.
Ron squirmed in his seat, waiting for whatever the screen was supposed to show. He thought he was ready for whatever they would see.
He was not.
Well, to be fair, nobody was. Not even Amelia Bones and that was already coming from a veteran in her line of work.
The angle changed to show them the inside of the room.
From the other side of the table, Ginny Weasley gasped, eyeing the screen in horror.
A lone figure lies down on a bed. His arms are covered in bandages and so is half of his chest. An oxygen mask covers his mouth. They are connected to several machines through tubes.
Gasps echoed in the room when they saw the image on the screen.
It was a man in his early 30s. He had a faded hair that was cut according to military standards and looked very thin in the big hospital bed. From what they could see of his face and what didn't cover his arms, it looked like he had taken a beating or an explosion hundred times the worst that they think it's possible.
The normally icy-stoic Daphne Greengrass was staring in horror, eyes wide in shock and incomprehension her skin had goosebumps. From what Hermione knew, the Greengrass sisters had grown sheltered from the realities of life but even she, who had grown normally, was horrified at what she was seeing. She could tell from Pansy Parkinson's and, funnily enough, Draco Malfoy's expressions that they were feeling the same way.
It looked like half of the man's body was either crushed or eaten by a gigantic creature, judging by the thickness of the bandages. However, his rough face and hardened features of his skin was telling Hermione that this man is not a stranger in facing dangerous people or any dangerous kind and probably ran into some bad luck due to his recklessness. She wondered if the hospital was a muggle type or if it was an establishment that catered to people from both the magical and non-magical sector. It looked like a typical ICU. Hermione would know as she recognized some of the machines that the man was linked to—a heart monitor, a breathing machine and a monitor for blood pressure among other things. She had seen those when they visited a relative of the Grangers who got involved in a truck accident.
Meanwhile, Ron was staring at the screen. The room contained a single person and, from what was happening alone, he could tell that the man was Harry's adoptive guardian but the multi million Galleon question was...
How the fuck did he end up in this state?
On the teacher’s table, Minerva McGonagall tears Dumbledore anew while asking him if he knew who the man was. She later accepted the fact that her old mentor probably didn't know seeing as he never even realised until this day that Mr. Potter didn't even live with his muggle relatives anymore. She just satisfies herself with the fact that at least, the boy was no longer living with such horrible people.
Harry stumbles through the room to stand beside the unconscious figure and all but collapses on the chair next to the bed as let his face fall into his two hands. An anguished noise was heard as he stayed like that for almost ten minutes.
Hermione’s chest constricted painfully at the sight of her devastated friend. It was truly saddening to see—two people, one unconscious and in a critical state and one who seemed on the verge of a mental breakdown. If only she was just there to hug him, and comfort him…
The screen blurred as the scene then changed. It seems that time has passed, and Harry is leaving the room. One of the guards was leaning against the wall in the corridor. He listened as the boy asked in a quiet voice if there were already the results of the medical report.
“Are you sure you want to know? It's honestly very bad.” The guard asked with a sympathetic tone.
“I can see that, thank you very much.” A hurting Harry replied rather sarcastically and cynically.
The guard sighed as he stood up straight. “I am already being generous when I said that it was honestly bad. When me and the rest of the Special Rapid Deployment Brigade were dispatched to help find the survivors of Operation Trojan Horse, we found him near the Juniper River half-dead and was almost infested with nearby maggots. To his credit though, he brought down with him 100 enemies that were surrounding him…”
Now, that caused an instantaneous reaction from the student body as some of the people, especially the first years, nearly vomited just by trying to imagine their number of maggots that must have been crawling in the wounds of Harry’s suspected guardian while the rotting corpses of his enemies were lying while waiting to be devoured by a scavenging creature. In fact, Ron had to stop eating for the moment due to the maggot comment as he drank some pumpkin juice to try to quickly flush down the biscuits into his intestine before he could spit them out.
“Is it me or does the guard have an American accent?” Hannah Abbott said, taking note of the accent that one of the guards used.
“...I think so, but does that mean that Harry’s in America?” Ernest Macmillan asked, not really believing he could be in the United States. If it was, it should have been all over the news.
“Maybe but I doubt it. The Headmaster should have tried to bring him back from the Yanks long ago if that was the case and even then, it would have been a diplomatic nightmare if that occurred,” was the reply of Justin Finch-Fletchley.
“Can-can you tell me what happened?” Harry asked shakily.
The guard nodded as he then recounted what actually led to the man’s current critical state. According to the guard, the man was leading his 15-man squad for a sabotage mission inside one of their country’s remaining crime syndicates that was still active. If Harry remembered it correctly, they were mostly involved in extraterrestrial material found in their lands such as magical polar dust as those kinds of activities could lead to unwarranted attention towards their nation and it’s not something the top brass would want to happen.
The mission was largely a success, but the price was heavy. Harry’s alleged guardian managed to assassinate the ringleader of the syndicate but in turn, he completely exposed himself towards their platoon of enemies, who quickly pursued them as the man and his men were forced to fight their way out of the thick forest where the syndicate bailiwick was located. It turns out that in order for the rest of his men to flee to safety, Harry’s alleged guardian volunteered to stay behind in the banks of the Juniper River to fend off all their pursuers, promising them that he would come out alive.
Well, he did turn out somehow alive but right now, he’s in a catatonic state.
“I…I see…” Harry nodded numbly. “Well…thanks for the tip, sir. I guess I have to be on my way. I’ll come back tomorrow.”
But before he could completely turn around, the guard stopped him. “Wait…”
Harry then turned back to face the guard, who seemed to be gathering his courage to say something very deep before eventually, he started talking. “Harry, me and Ezra Black, your guardian, have known each other since our days in the National Service. He…he was like a brother to me…”
“A Black?! That can’t be!” Fudge screamed rather girlishly. “That rascal Sirius Black should have been the last of their cursed blood!”
“The guard didn’t say anything about that man Ezra’s relations with the runaway criminal…” Amelia reminded their prime minister, who looked like he was about to explode due to getting corrected on the spot. “And it could have been a coincidence that they have the same surname.”
“O-Of course. It must have been a coincidence that his name was Black…” Fudge sputtered.
“Look…I know it won’t help much but I’m sorry that this happened to your guardian. If it makes you feel better, he did accomplish his mission to bring down the syndicate and remove one less threat for our country.” The guard offered his comfort as he pats Harry on the shoulder. “Don’t worry about the cost of the hospitalization. Everything will be covered by the government, including his surgery. Your tuition will also be fully subsidized for the rest of your education years while Ezra would be awarded the Medal of Gallantry, which had its perks. Trust me. The government’s doing everything it can to honor your guardian’s sacrifice.”
Even if it’s small, Harry conjured a smile. “Thanks sir. I do hope that everything will turn out alright. I can’t lose one of the very few members that I call my true family. But I must go now. Knowing Uncle Ezra, he’d probably send a fireball in my arse if he learned that I’m skipping my studies even if the reason for it was his hospitalization.”
“Well, you better leave then but come back soon to visit him. He’d be delighted to see you if he wakes up. Oh and by the way…” The guard pulls out a letter from his pocket and gives it to Harry. “You need to report to the Bayit-Tamuz Palace in the national capital of Tubalel City…specifically to the Grand Magus.” He said the last part in a low whisper.
“Huh…do you know why?” Harry was confused.
“No, I don’t. Only that your presence is required, and the meeting is urgent. Go on, then. You don’t want to make the Grand Magus wait. And here’s some money just in case you go hungry while you travel…” The guard pushes the bills in Harry’s hands. “Don’t hesitate. Take it. Tubalel is just an hour away from here in Tel Hammon but the traffic can be crazy sometimes.”
“Th-Thanks for your kindness. Mister?”
“Samuel Redd. But don’t shout out my name. There’s a reason we use codenames. Your guardian’s the only reason why I gave you my real identity.”
“Thanks. I’ll see you again probably the day after tomorrow.” Harry nodded and bowed to him in respect before leaving.
“Well…that was very informative…” Hermione muttered to herself, but Ron heard her anyway.
“Hey, at least we now know that Harry’s totally safe in whatever country this Tel Hammon is…” The redhead assured her.
“I’m more curious as to what is this Grand Magus that they were talking about…” Ginny joined their conversation.
“It could be their leader…” Fred Weasley butted in.
“...Or it could be their headmaster…” George Weasley connected his twin’s sentence.
“Eh…I don’t know about that…” For the first time since the entire thing happened, Neville Longbottom shook his head. “I mean, the guard sounded like he knew about this Grand Magus of theirs more on a more personal level. And he did mention a palace called Bayit-Tamuz…and it honestly sounded like the seat of their so-called nation…wherever that is…”
Now, the scene shifts again and finally, it shows that Harry Potter is riding a motorcycle while he looks to be on his way towards the national capital called Tubalel. This time, he was wearing a futuristic-looking helmet and a leather jacket. He is on a national highway and it wasn’t long before he took a left-turn in a junction and fifteen minutes later, the skyline of Tubalel was finally seen as the skyscrapers were totally visible from afar.
Now, 20 minutes later, after paying the toll fee, Harry was first met with the vehicles not going to and from the city before he was eventually with familiar sights that he was long accustomed: cleaning robots, the blimp airships broadcasting daily news for the public to see, people from all different social strata converging and walking in the streets, and windmills providing electricity for the city.
To say that almost every student was amazed was an understatement.
“Blimey! It looks like something I would have read in a sci-fi comic!” Dennis Creevey exclaimed.
“Sci-fi is totally underselling it! Did you see those cleaning robots? I would totally kill to have those at home!” An unidentified Gryffindor added.
“I don’t get it. We have magic though…something that I’m sure that place doesn’t have…” a Ravenclaw first year scoffed.
“Then why would Harry Potter stay there if that place has no magic?!” Dennis shot back.
The argument would have continued further if it wasn’t for their prefects, who told them to shut it as the scene is changing.
It didn’t take long before Harry had finally reached the palace called Bayit Tamuz. A gated property with armed guards roaming around, it had a style similar to the White House from the United States except that it is pure grey in color and had a dome in the center. Showing his ID and letter to one of the guards there, Harry was permitted to enter the Bayit Tamuz grounds.
Whistling to himself, he jogged in the stairs leading to the entrance of the building and when he entered, he was glad that for this day, there are not many people in the building trying to request an audience to the ministers working in their offices. Having been in the building a couple of times, Harry wasted no time walking towards a room with the plaque “GRAND MAGUS OFFICE” and quickly knocked twice on the door.
A woman wearing a muggle suit and glasses peered over after opening the door slightly. “Good morning, young man. I presume you are here due to being summoned by the Grand Magus.”
“Uh…yeah…” Harry casually replied, a bit too laidback.
“Do you have your letter?” The woman asked. Harry nodded and gave her the letter. The woman signalled for him to wait for a few minutes. After some time, Harry was then ushered inside.
The office was fully furnished with a large elaborate table, bookshelves, a small aquarium, a coffee maker in the side, a cleaning robot, and large windows that enabled the Grand Magus to see the entire city from his vantage point.
Speaking of the Grand Magus, the man seemed to be either unaware of Harry's arrival or he was just simply building up this moment to create a rather dramatic introduction as his chair’s back was still facing Harry.
But as Harry was about to speak, the man suddenly stood up from his chair and walked around to face the young Potter.
The man looked to be around his late forties and had an impressive body build of 190 cm and was wearing a three-piece black suit with a blood-red cape draped behind him, giving anyone who does not know him the impression that he is a street magician.
If Hermione was just being honest, this man's looks can quickly melt a woman’s heart and this is coming from someone who is not generally interested in boys right now. Or at least, that’s what she likes to believe about herself.
“There’s something very off with this guy…” A seventh year student named Beatrice Haywood muttered.
“Yeah. There's this mysterious but scary vibe around this man…like you don’t want to get to his bad side…” Seventh year Gryffindor Adam Pickering replied.
“Peace be with you, Sir Winston Tel…” Harry placed his right hand in his heart before bowing.
“Peace be with you also, Harry son…” Winston returned the greeting as he also bowed. “Look Harry, I apologize in advance if I had to summon you quickly but it is very urgent.”
“It’s nothing sir.” Harry simply said but with a tone of sighness. “I believe you won't summon me here for mundane reasons.”
“Of course, but before we get to discussing important matters, I would like to convey my deepest regret upon hearing the critical state of your guardian, Ezra Black. Rest assured that the entire security forces of the State of Akalelana are currently doing all they can to hunt down the remaining perpetrators behind the illegal dealings in our country.”
“State of Akalelana?”
“Is that a new country? I haven't heard of it before.”
“So, Potter's in a mysterious country?”
But while the general consensus among the students of Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang was that the State of Akalelana was an obscure new country that just simply got its independence recently, the same can not be said of the adults, who had varying reactions upon hearing the name of the unknown country.
“I-It can't be…” For the first time since the entire debacle had started, Albus Dumbledore was paling. Judging from his facial expression, he clearly had heard of the mysterious country and clearly, he did not have any good experience with its leaders.
“Akalelana? Isn't that the state that just became a member of the muggle United Nations just last year even though they were technically independent since the 1950s?” Minerva didn't honestly see the point of what makes Akalelana special.
Albus was about to reply but one of the Unspeakables beat him to it. “That's because while they were a wholly Magical nation similar to Magical Britain, they have been neutral from the affairs of the ICW as they were never admitted to the magical body, nor did they ever want to. Also, their type of magic as well as how they see magic and anything supernatural is…very different from ours. It’s difficult to explain if you’re used to the cultural norms of Magical Britain. I know because I got a chance to meet with one of them and we exchange ideas.”
“Preposterous! Whatever this upstart of a country is, they can’t just ignore the authority of the ICW!” Fudge bellowed.
“They did just that minister and they actually can do it.” Albus sighed.
He didn't tell them it was because the moment Albus once tried to send them a message as the Supreme Mugwump of the ICW, the Akalelani representatives replied with a passive-aggressive tone that they “politely” decline the invitation to join the ICW and if their neutrality was threatened, it would leave them with no choice but to reveal to the existence of magic to the rest of the muggle world as well as launch Operation Samson—a Mutually Assured Destruction-type of attack against their hypothetical enemies, mainly from mainland Europe.
That and coupled with the fact that Voldemort's legacy and influence are far from dead, not to mention that he might resurrect someday, Albus felt it was a waste of time to try to pressure a 40-million strong magical population of Akalelana to join the ICW as he had far more pressing concerns to deal with, so he let them be.
Now, however, he was kicking himself mentally as looking back, he realized he should have exerted more pressure against the previous Grand Magus—a white-haired old lady who was said to have resurrected the sunken islands merely by using her personal magic in her younger years—into joining the ICW, if only because it was in Akalelana where Harry Potter, the Child of the Prophecy, would hide for so long.
“Thanks sir. I do hope that his sacrifice doesn’t go in vain.”
“Actually…that’s part of the reason why I summoned you here.” Winston sighed as he pulled out two pictures from his desk. “I’ll go straight to the point. While the ringleader of the group was killed, his second-in-command survived. Heavily injured but still among the living…”
“Wait…what?!” Harry was understandably upset.
“I’m sorry to make you upset but we never found any traces of his corpse if he was truly killed. Actually, we suspected that he was the one behind that…pretty gruesome handiwork of his…” Winston then showed one of the pictures and the moment Harry Potter saw it, he nearly dropped the photo as his stomach churned coldly and sickly.
It was a message branded in the belly of Ezra. It says…
HIS LOVED ONES, YOU ARE NEXT
The moment everyone in the hallway saw the message, the majority almost lost their breakfast upon seeing the crudely branded message in the flesh of Harry’s guardian. Fred and George’s face looked like they had their puppy murdered in front of them. Even some of the professors were on edge as soon as they saw the carved message.
“Th-This…”
“Fortunately, the nurses from the hospital were able to stitch it up as soon as possible to prevent further infection. We also knew how upset that you would be so it was advisable that you see it here rather than in the hospital where you might end up disturbing the personnel there,” said Winston, folding his hands while taking a seat.
Harry then breathed deeply and exhaled deeply, repeating this process a few times before standing up straight. “To be honest, I was totally upset that I was not informed of this but right now, whatever your decision on this matter is more important for me.”
“I’m glad that you see it that way. Based on the carved message and the way the local mafia operates, they would target the relatives, close friends, and loved ones of our Star Hunters for various reasons, with revenge, kidnap-for-ransom, and hostage deals among the reasons why they do so. Although that kind of threat has since gone down dramatically, it still doesn't change the fact that the remaining crime syndicates still pose a huge threat…no…” Winston shoots his head. “If anything, they'll even be more dangerous right now since they’ll be more desperate as they are now basically down to three main groups, so they’ll do anything, even go as far as attack all the distinguished kosemim and koshephim in our society, especially those still studying in schools…including you…”
Kosemim? Koshephim? What the hell is that? Was the general question lingering among the minds of the student populace.
Sensing the confusion among the teens and younger children, one of the Unspeakables murmured something to Amelia before the latter cleared his throat and said, “According to our expert here, a Kosemim and Koshephim are originally specific terms to refer to occultists, sorcerers, and all practitioners of all mystical and sacred arts whose powers are levels higher than the ordinary wizard. He said that they originated from the ancient Canaanite societies before they were eventually invaded by the Seleucids and then the Romans.”
“So is Harry one, then?” Hermione can't help herself but ask.
Amelia looked at the Unspeakable, who spoke to her in a discreet manner for a few more minutes. She cleared her throat once more. “The thing is, we don't exactly know how the cultural norms there work as they are somewhat very guarded of their magical society from non-citizens. Even the only Akalelani guy that our Unspeakable knows isn’t very open and they only talked personally one or twice in the past. Only one thing that is certain is that generally, the Akalelani had a surprisingly innate aptitude for combat-oriented skills and therefore, their natural battle prowess isn't something that you would try to underestimate, especially in a one-on-one situation.”
Hermjone frowned but nodded. As much as she wanted to know more, what the Unspeakable shared to Amelia was more than enough to sate her curiosity and can at least picture in her imagination what Harry's society as a whole look like.
“And the fact that Ezra Black is my current guardian would mean that the surviving mafia would go after me as well…” Harry connected.
“Precisely. Which is why me and the school heads, and all provincial governors decided to station some plainclothes agents near the homes of those possibly under threat with a 24-hour shift. We have previously thought of housing you all in one compound but could possibly alert the remaining criminals that we are after then and thus, we might end up sabotaging our agents who are also undercover.” Winston explained. “Additionally, I know that both magical and non-magical means of combat is being taught in all academies but for this situation, you and the rest of the NEFILIM 12 will train together with some of our personnel from the military wing of our security forces so in case someone from the criminal society attacks you, you have enough power to fend them off.”
“I see. Is this all?” Harry asked.
Winston nodded. “Yes, you may be dismissed. You still need to rest after everything that you have learned so far today.”
“Thank you very much sir. May Anat slay our enemies and bring the souls of our deceased warriors into paradise.” Harry gave his closing remarks.
“And may Baal Hammon bring prosperity to our harvests and richness to our lands.” Winston returned the greeting. Harry bowed and then turned around before leaving.
Hermione and Ron looked at each other.
Harry did tell them before that in the society that he now belongs to; it was very normal to worship a pantheon of gods and goddesses. In fact, he told them, albeit briefly, that sometimes, he had personally witnessed their main magical priests and priestess offer a chopped heifer as an offering to one of their chief deities in which the animal would be burned in an altar made of blocks of chiseled stone built near a large temple.
Of course, Hermione was outraged and horrified at that the first time, but Harry simply shrugged it off. It was just simply how their world worked.
They were also told that it was very common for a particular place, especially in a provincial setting, to venerate one particular deity and often, sects with different occultists, priests, priestesses, saints, sages and wise men form to dedicate their veneration towards that particular deity. Having said that, Harry said that conflicts between different sects rarely ever happen and if it does happen, there is a council dedicated to settling down their differences.
“You surely don't intend to throw young Harry on the battlefield?”
Winston grimaced upon hearing the secretary slightly scold him.
“Of course not, my dear. However, considering it’s him, he will need every training that’s available.” The secretary raised her eyebrows. “Why? Is it wrong to be more relaxed around my dear wife? It’s just the two of us, Elena. My secretary got sick, so I had to ask you to help me.”
“Not that…” The brown-haired lady seats on the table as she crosses her arms. “I mean, don’t you think Harry’s too young to join in the fight against the remaining criminal groups?”
“We’re 13 when we had our first kill. And my father was barely 12 when he had to join the strike companies of the underground National Akalelani Military Organization to defend their communities from being persecuted by the supremacist factions of the ICW…”
“That was before.” Elena retorted. “Times had changed. Though of course, I personally won’t stop him as it is his right to avenge his family figure under the Shalem Charter, it does make me uncomfortable when youngsters have to go through the same kind of experience as us.”
“First of all, I don’t intend to throw him there unless he himself insists that he joins the manhunt against the remaining criminals. However, the reality is that people who would want to harm him won’t stop until they finally get to him. Have you forgotten the case of the prominent Benbenisti Family murder case?” Winston said, much to the exasperation of his wife. “They murdered almost everyone in the clan just because the grandfather had put behind bars their mafia godfather. Fortunately, the former redevelopment areas where the majority of the criminal groups used to flourish have finally been pacified for the last ten years but this is not to say the threat has been vanquished completely. “
There was a moment of silence between the couples before Winston continued. “I promise that he won’t be asked to join the manhunt against the remaining criminals but if he ever comes face-to-face with his guardian’s remaining adversary, he has no choice but to fight back. That’s why we’re giving him and the rest of those under our security net additional training. So that they can survive should they need to defend themselves.”
Elena sighed. “Okay, you win this round, dear but I will hold you to your promise unless you want to be the next target practice for me and my son’s daily elemental archery practice. “
Winston’s face suddenly fell upon hearing that. “O-Of course, my dear.”
Elena then changed topics. “Enough of this. There’s another thing that’s bothering me about young Harry. What’s the update on Harry’s original guardian—his supposed godfather, a man named Sirius Black?”
Now, this got the attention of Fudge, Amelia, and the rest of the Aurors as well as Dumbledore and the other professors.
Ron merely looked at the adults with a frowning look. Based on the information from The Daily Prophet as well as some tidbits from the Hogwarts grapevine, Sirius Black was the traitor of the Potter family who squealed their charmed located to He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named as well as murdering the Potter family’s secret keeper Peter Pettigrew.
Now, he exactly wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed but even he secretly knew that there were inconsistencies with the fiasco involving Black, who has since escaped from Azkaban since last year and is a wanted fugitive on the run. For instance, the older Weasley twins told him about the appearance of the supposed dead Pettigrew on the Marauders’ Map that they possessed. Second, when he checked upon the older papers about the supposed night Sirius murdered Peter and a dozen muggles out of mere curiosity, the bodies of the latter were found in the photographs but not of the former, save for a severed finger. Third, Harry’s reaction towards the escape of Sirius from Azkaban last year was…rather odd.
While Ron expected Harry to feel some fear—and a tinge of anger—towards the last line of the Blacks of Magical Britain, his response of “Oh, okay, mate. I thought it was something important” was completely beyond his expectations.
Whether Harry knew something about the peculiarity of Sirius’ case or not, he can’t completely tell.
“What of him?” Winston said, clearly not understanding what his wife meant.
“Well, didn’t Harry seek your petition to try to give that man a political asylum in our lands or at least, give him a trial in the Tribunal Palace of the Sophet?”
“No! I will not allow it!” Fudge screamed angrily
“Hmmm. It seemed that I remembered now.” Winston said as he pulled out a folder from his desk. He then opened it and began to scan a printed document. “And based on the newspapers given to me by Harry and the testimony of one of our undercover agents in Magical Britain, it seemed that Mr. Sirius Black wasn’t even given a trial to determine whether he did truly commit those crimes that he was accused of doing.”
Now, it all makes sense.
Fudge was now on hot waters as he was trying to dismiss the words of the Akalelani leader while sputtering gibberish about Sirius being a part of the infamous Black Family which is why it just makes sense that he would hand over the Potter Family towards He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.
Meanwhile, both Amelia and Albus were thinking very hard about the implications over Winston's words. The DMLE Head was busy trying to remember if Sirius had faced the Wizengamot tribunal and, to her surprise, she couldn’t remember any instance that the last remaining male Black alive had a hearing while being physically present at the Wizengamot chambers. Although she can’t tell for sure as she was sworn in as the DMLE Head only a few months after the fiasco happened. .
Albus, for his part, just kept getting surprised and surprised. First, Harry shows up in an upstart land where he is sure he is now Public Enemy No. 1. Second, Sirius Black could be possibly innocent? Admittedly, all the evidence back in 1981 was totally stacked against Black and honestly, his familial background, especially having a brother like Regulus Black, would have made him a likely candidate for a traitor, right?
And most of all, how did Harry manage to get to know all of these before he did? The thought that the young Potter is actually secretly colluding with Sirius is slightly worrying to Albus.
“Now, that’s a strong assumption coming from Harry.” Elena raised her brows as she sat on the table while crossing her legs.
“And I believe I can see where he is coming from. You see, their papers say that Sirius Black murdered this chap Pettigrew but their so-called Auror cops found no trace of his body, save for a severed finger and even that is highly unusual.” Winston shook his head as he showed another photograph which is actually the severed finger of Peter Pettigrew. “One of our forensic pathologists whom I asked to examine the pictures said that the only possible explanation for his death that he can think of is that Mr. Sirius Black had blasted everything in Pettigrew’s body and even then, the cut’s too clean and suspiciously straight-lined for a possible blasting spell. And even if that’s the case, scattered body parts should have been seen as well.”
Suddenly, Elena’s eyes shot up. “So, you’re saying that…this Pettigrew could have framed Sirius by cutting off his finger to escape alive?”
“That’s the same conclusion the pathologist came up with. I believe that and their DMLE had a lot of shortcomings with this issue. Though of course, if rumors are to be believed, the British side of the Blacks are somewhat…messed up which kind of contributed to his hasty imprisonment.”
There was an uproar as the Aurors, as well as Fudge, were angrily displaying their outrage at what they call an insult to their capabilities while a few were firmly insisting that Sirius Black is the guilty party of the Halloween attack against the Potters.
But more importantly…
“...British side? Is he saying that there are other branches of the Blacks?” Terry Boot asked around.
“None as far as I’m aware. If there are, they’re probably squibs that got banished from Magical Britain.” Lisa Turpin replied.
Amelia frowned at that. While it’s true that the last male Black alive was Sirius and any squibs or those who married to muggle-borns were banished from their family, he can’t help but wonder if there are those who managed to flee to Akalelana to hide. She just can’t seem to shake off the feeling that there’s the possibility that there were since blood-kin of Sirius who managed to flee to foreign lands. And if this Ezra Black was proven to be a distant relative?
Well, things can quickly become chaotic.
“Well…did Harry do this to try to help his true guardian evade illegally from the law?”
“Well, he did swear to the National Comptroller the Oath of Sedek or as the ancient Greeks or the Ancient English call it, the Oath of Athena before he gave his testimony to our national police…”
Now, every adult and majority of the sixth and seventh years as well as many of the Pureblood family heirs gasped loudly in shock at what Winston just said.
“I-it can’t be…” Fudge stuttered while many of the Aurors were rendered speechless.
“What is this Oath of Athena that caught everyone by surprise? Is it something that’s deadly?” Hermione asked anyone she could see at the Gryffindor table.
Neville shook his head. “Hermione, that Oath’s one of the most powerful supernatural vows in existence…possibly even the most powerful one. Basically, when you make that vow, you have to be very careful of every wording that you say as even a slight deviation from what you’re swearing will end up taking away your life.”
Hermione and some of the muggle-borns paled at that.
Amelia decided to enlighten every youngster in the building. “In the old days, the Oath of Athena was mostly used by magical tribunals to determine if a person accused of committing a crime is lying or is committing a perjury. However, it’s fatal reputation was mainly because it can also kill a guarantor who’s trying to defend a person as long as the latter has actually committed a crime, even if that oath-taker did not know that. It was the latter reason why eventually, the Oath of Athena was done away by the English and Byzantine magical authorities during the 1300s and was replaced by the Veritaserum or the Unbreakable Vow. Although it appears right now that the Akalelani must have successfully preserved the knowledge and use of that dreaded oath and is still being permitted by their law enforcers in the present times.”
A first year squeaked. “I-Is that why that Oath is not being taught in Hogwarts?” She looked frightened at the prospect of an oath killing a person just because he did not know that
Amelia nodded. “It was removed from the annals of English historical record and any surviving knowledge of the Oath was mostly passed down in the books of Pureblood families.”
Hermione nodded at that. If so, Harry must have been confident enough to use that oath if he feels like Sirius Black was not given a fair trial and by being alive after swearing that oath, that means…
Her eyes widened in the sudden epiphany that she had.
“Si-Sirius Black must have been innocent then, if Harry’s still standing alive…” She muttered mostly to herself, but she was heard anyway. At that moment, chaos ensued as every adult was now starting to angrily question Fudge, who can only become red with embarrassment as he hides behind Amelia, who sighed and said that she will try to rectify the whole issue about Sirius Black.
“I see. The fact that he’s alive means that this Sirius Black person is innocent…” Elena said.
“But that’s not all. There’s something more interesting with Sirius Black. Did you know that aside from those who were descended from the Phoenicians and other Canaanite race who absorbed the divine powers of the Holy Rocks of Elyon which fell from the heavens, there were also those who intermarried with the Akalelani?”
“That’s honestly common knowledge, Winston. From Magical Britain alone, there were those who were English non-magicals, squibs or those who did not want to be part of the newly established ICW hundreds of years ago who caused a schism with their Main Families and ended up marrying with their own. Most famous are the Weasleys, Bones, Jones, Abbotts, Bocklehursts, Turpins, and…the Blacks, unsurprisingly.”
“The Blacks…does that mean that this Sirius Black might be, in some ways, be related to Ezra Black.”
Winston nodded. “In fact, there’s actually a stronger connection between those two than I had first suspected initially. I have here the birth certificate and the testament of Marius Black, an Englishman who said that he was banished from his main family back in Britain because he was a squib. Based on research, Mr. Marius was the third child of Cygnus Black and a certain Violetta Bulstrode and upon further inquiries, Sirius Black’s Uncle was actually a brother of Marius, by some stroke of fate. But in the end, Marius decided to marry a commoner who happened to have a Punic heritage and had five sons, one of which was Zechariah, who would later on marry Rachel, the lone daughter of Gideon Steiner, who was the very first commander-in-chief of the newly born Akalelani National Armed Forces. As everyone knows, Ezra is the eldest of the three offspring of Rachel and Zechariah.”
“Well…bloody hell…” It’s extremely very rare for Amelia to be vulgar in her speech but in this kind of situation, she felt her reaction was justified based on all the new stuff that they are learning currently.
“I didn’t know that the Blacks had squibs…” First year Romilda Vane exclaimed.
“I think everyone does not know at all. Most members of The House of Black are blood supremacists which is why it’s not surprising to think that they will banish someone just because they are squibs or are married to muggle-borns.” Her best friend and seat mate replied.
“Are you glossing over the fact that the Grand Magus guy and his wife said that some of the English magicals had distant relatives over there in Akalelana?” Someone from the first years of Ravenclaw mouthed off.
“Considering that there were indeed two splits between members of all magical families—first when the ICW was established and second, when the British Ministry of Magic was put up…it was strongly possible that some of the ancestors of our British students here fled rather than to be under the restrictions of the two supreme bodies and ended up joining underground with the progenitors of the Akalelani population or mingled with the muggle population.” One of the Unspeakables said.
This made some of the family heirs even more curious as they want to see if they have Akalelani relatives present in the viewing of Harry Potter’s life in Akalelana. Of course, Ron, Ginny, Fred, and George were all eager to see what kind of relatives they would see as it was mentioned that a branch of Akalelani Weasleys is present in their country.
Not everyone liked this development, though. Dumbledore was somewhat nervous as he realized that if Sirius isn’t freed sooner or later, this Ezra Black would basically have more control in Harry’s life and considering that the man seemed to have a more militaristic approach in life based on what was said in the video projector, he feared that Harry Potter might end up having a similar mindset to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. And worse, he was sure that he was the subject of a prophecy that he had kept a secret from almost everyone barring Severus Snape.
It wasn’t wise, in his opinion, that Harry Potter moved out from his relatives’ house as the Blood Charms were broken quickly, evident by the fact that the Dursleys were murdered brutally although he decided to keep the latter part a secret from the others to prevent a mass hysteria from happening.
“So, if Sirius does manage to get his trial here in front of the Tribunal Palace in the event that the British Ministry fails to give justice to his case, will it mean that he will have to wrest the guardianship of Harry from Ezra?” Elena raises his eyebrows. “Currently, Ezra Black is the legal custodian of Harry Potter in the eyes of the Akalelani Basic Laws as his rights are protected under the Shalem Charter. I know because I was the representative of young Harry when he made an Oath of Loyalty to the State of Akalelana in the Tribunal Palace of the Sophet.”
“Then the Law will have to prevail. Sirius will have no choice but to make out-of-court settlements with Ezra if he wanted to gain access to young Harry and even then, he’d do so under a strict probation period.” Winston said.
The Grand Magus then stood up and stretched his arms. “Look, it’s almost lunch time. Do you want anything?” He said as he made weird hand signs before making a heart sign in his chest and before him, a large ring of sparkling fire appeared before the two of them.
“Considering that you made me go here just to fill up the time of your sickly secretary, at least give me some of the most expensive coffee in town.” Elena smirked as she puts her hands on her hips.
“All right, dear. The bill’s on me this time.” Winston sighed as he took Elena’s arm and they both entered the ring of fire portal in which they both disappeared as the large ring popped out of existence.
The giant television then went static before a sign saying “LOADING FOR THE NEXT VIDEO” was seen.
At that moment, pandemonium occurred as everyone was basically screaming, asking what the hell just happened.