HWFWM Part 2
HWFWM Part 2
Author’s Note: While you don’t necessarily have to read the first part, I would suggest it. However, this chapter should contain enough information to be read on its own. Now, on with the continuation!
***
Harry leaned back in his chair as he considered the magical cube set on the table. It was definitely an essence cube, one that he recognized no less. It was one of the first essences he had ever been shown and the first among his own essences. From it he had gained the ability Bag of Trick, which gave him a dimensional storage place and let him equip directly from it. Why was one here though?
This world was not supposed to have the magic of Pallimustus, at least not from what he had seen. While his dimensional theory wasn’t the strongest, he did know that worlds usually only had one magic system. That meant that wand magic or inner magic as he was calling it, was the primary magic of this world.
Could magic be evolving? Could the method that was used to bring Harry to this world have been enough to bring the magic of his home along with it? Not to mention the strange place for finding a Magic Essence. He would have expected something like Water or a related essence. This was something was going to have to be investigated and by more than just having Wormtail look for signs of things.
Sighing, he reached out and took the cube in hand before moving it into his storage space. One essence cube wasn’t enough to make a change in things and he would hate to give someone only one ability without being able to give them a full three and their Confluence ability.
Pushing that thought aside, he instead focused on the results of the second task. The three champions had proven thankful for the help with their hostages, even though Harry hadn’t been able to contribute as much as he would have liked. That led to them all agreeing to get together that evening to talk about the final task, as well as the other revelations he had given them regarding Dumbledore and their agreement. While that agreement might have been broken when Harry had threatened the Ministry after the first task, there was still the matter of the existence of Voldemort to deal with.
If only Harry had been able to question that Death Eater who had been partially responsible for summoning him. Barty Crouch Jr had information that could have been used to discover the current location of the disembodied Dark Lord. Which of the other followers of Voldemort were being used to facilitate his return? All the ones who had previously claimed the imperius defence were being monitored, at least according to Amelia, though she admitted she wasn’t able to keep as close an eye on them as she would like, due to budgetary limitations. That wasn’t something he was able to help with either, as other than Wormtail, none of Harry’s abilities really leant themselves to espionage.
Harry would have preferred to go out and challenge those worthies but several things stopped him. For one, he didn’t have any evidence other than the rantings of an escaped convict, one that Dumbledore hadn’t allowed anyone else access to. Two, he didn’t have the backing of a local branch of the Adventurer’s Guild like he would back home. Finally, he wasn’t quite confident in his abilities against the various Death Eaters that he might encounter.
While Harry was confident in his ability to fight any monster he might encounter in his world, based on the research he had done regarding the tournament, facing off against human opponents was another matter entirely. First and foremost, they knew spells that Harry hadn’t even heard of yet. The limited amount of studying and practice that he had been able to accomplish thus far wasn’t enough to prepare him for hardened killers. While confident he would be able to kill any of them from ambush, that wouldn’t get him the answers he needed. It was still tempting though.
Secondly, he had no way of knowing which ones were actually involved and which had truly tried to turn their lives around and he wasn’t willing to sacrifice the good with the bad. No amount of the Greater Good, as Dumbledore had pointed out, was worth that.
Sighing again, Harry felt he was sighing far too much. It was dealing with this world without the support he was used to. Without his family, both found and made. Without Pops or his team.
Perhaps it was time for another chat with Amelia. Go over their options again and try to find a way to discover what the Dark Lord was going after and who could help accomplish those goals. Maybe include the other champions, since they were being affected by everything as well.
***
“Thank you all again for meeting with me.” Harry looked at the gathered Champions, offering them a reassuring smile, then waved a hand at his companion. “For those of you who don’t know, this is Amelia Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. We’ve been discussing some of the things that have been going on with the tournament, from my summoning and the reasons behind it, to the stuff that you’ve seen in the news with my being the ‘Chosen One’.”
Glancing around, he waited until he got nods from each one before continuing. “With Voldemort’s impending return, we’ve all been practicing for more than just the tournament. However, I’ve asked Amelia if we can get some direct combat training from the aurors. Just recently Moody has been deemed recovered enough that he's going to be offering his services. That offer is extended to any of you who want to join.”
Getting quick agreement from the three champions, Harry then beckoned to one of the corners of the room. The shadows melted away to reveal the grizzled form of the retired auror, magical eye spinning.
“Alright Moody, it’s your show.”
***
Harry limped slightly as he made his way to his room, a smirking Amelia at his side. The crazy old auror really knew his stuff. For a man with a fake leg he could really move and his selection of spells was both inspired and devious. It was only his silver rank constitution that allowed him to keep going long after the other three champions had been exhausted. However, Harry was new to his silver rank, having been lucky enough to blitz through iron and bronze thanks to the monster surge. He didn’t have enough time in rank to truly take advantage of the superhuman abilities that were granted to him.
Sighing as the last of the pain faded away and he could walk normally again, Harry straightened up and turned a grin to his companion. Her smirk slid away to a slight scowl before she barked a laugh. “I wouldn’t have believed you about the way your magic worked had I not seen it myself. The shadow abilities I could wave away as a different way of doing wand magic, though your ability to do so without a wand beggars belief. The way you move and your endurance though… that is so beyond a typical wizard. Something someone would normally have to do a number of questionable rituals to achieve.”
Amelia narrowed her eyes at Harry who merely smiled back. “I’ve already explained my rituals to you. I’ve even shown you one! They’re nothing like the ones I’ve heard Voldemort to have done to himself.” As they reached his suite, he held open the door and motioned one of the chairs before settling himself into another.
“One of the things the magic of my world does is improve all physical attributes. I’m faster, stronger, and can track more things than anyone would expect and I’ll only continue to improve as I practice those abilities. I’m new to my rank though, so I haven’t been able to fully explore those capabilities. Back home I would have had other silver rankers to work with, all under the guidance of gold rankers. Those abilities will be truly superhuman if I can master them. The only way to do that is to push myself. Thankfully Moody seems to be able to do that. We’re going to need a bigger room to truly push it though. The ritual room the elves showed me would be better. We’ll meet there next time.”
***
Harry looked around in awe as the Come and Go Room revealed itself. Where before had been a ritual room for resummoning his familiars, there was instead one of the massive training rooms from the Remore Family School. There was even a bookshelf filled with titles that he recognized. His eyes narrowed as he considered those books. He’d never had the chance to read them so the room couldn’t have recreated them from his memory. Where had those copies come from?
Making his way over, he selected one title that was supposed to help with the mental aspect of things, teaching someone of silver rank to properly use their perception abilities to split their attention. He felt his eyebrows rise as he found the proper book! How had the Room been able to recreate the book? Could it create skillbooks too? So many questions. They would have to wait til later though. He turned away from the bookshelf to smile at the champions and Moody.
“Welcome to the Remore Family School! Now we can train like real adventurers.”
A series of training dummies manifested on one side of the room and began attacking the champions.
***
Harry looked at Amelia from across the table, nodded to himself, then reached into his Dimensional Pocket and pulled free the Magic Essence. Setting the cube on the table, he waved towards it. “That there is a magical essence, one of the essential types of magic from my world. It’s actually the same type that I was given as my first essence, setting me on the path to who I am today.” He trailed off for a moment before shaking his head.
“I found it during the Second Task, in the Merfolk Village. This magic is not native to your world. I have only a vague idea of how it got to be here and all of my theories have to do with my summoning, something which we still haven’t properly explained. Other than the Goblet having been affected by Barty Crouch Jr., who Dumbledore is still blocking from letting me interrogate him.” Shaking his head again, he then waved away Amelia’s attempt to make excuses.
“I know your hands are tied, between Dumbledore and the Minister. I don’t blame the DMLE for any of this. Considering that I’ve already been threatened by the Ministry, I’ve lost all trust in your government.” Reaching out, he gave Amelia’s hand a pat. “Certain members of that government excused, of course.” With a wry chuckle, he leaned back.
“The reason I bring this up is because of things that need to be brought up in regards to the magic of my world. Essences aren’t the only things that can manifest in the open. We could start to see monsters manifesting in the world.” Leaning forward, he stared into Amelia’s eyes. “What we really need to figure out is how widespread the phenomenon of this magic has become. Have other essences, quintessences, or the Gods forbid, monsters, appeared anywhere else? Can we get ahead of things and prepare for their arrival?”
Seeing the look of alarm on Amelia’s face, he shook his head. “There shouldn’t be anything too dangerous at first. Most places don’t have a high enough level of magic to manifest anything more dangerous than a lesser monster, like a tyrannical pheasant or potent hamster. A determined lady with a broom would be able to defend themselves, let alone someone with a wand. It’s in the more heavily magical areas, like Hogwarts and the surrounding areas, that we’ll really have to worry.”
Reaching out and taking back the cube, he returned it to his storage space. “If we can find two more essences, I can teach you the type of magic I do, or at least something similar, depending on the types of essences. When combined with the wand magic you already know, you’ll be a powerful force when it comes time to face Voldemort.”
Harry kept a smile to himself when he saw the lack of reaction from Amelia. All these conversations had really paid off in allowing her to dispel some of the fear that had built up from the war. “In the meantime, I invite you and some handpicked aurors to join the other champions and I in training. We’re already using one of your ex-aurors, so why not get some more in there and make sure that we give the Dark Lord a warm welcome.”
***
Harry pulled his dagger from the still twitching body of the spider, a thoughtful expression on his face.The Forbidden Forest had been growing more dangerous with the introduction of monsters. While most of the monsters were just normal rank, there had been a scattered few iron rankers among the mix. Unfortunately, iron rank monsters weren’t enough to push his skills and he was running out of spiders.
For a moment Harry thought about hunting down the boss spider, Aragog, then shook his head. He’d promised the Hogwarts Groundskeeper, Hagrid, that he would leave the big spider alone as long as the spider agreed to the same stipulations. They had agreed that the smaller children were allowed to hunt the adventurer to their heart’s content though. Not only were they a decent fight in a pack but the loot was fantastic. Or it would be if he wasn’t running out of them.
Sighing, he turned to regard the shadows. A rat scurried from between the trees and came to a stop at his feet, looking up at him. “You’ve got a visitor, Harry, one we weren’t expecting but an interesting one nonetheless.”
Harry raised an eyebrow at the rat before motioning him to return. The rat scampered off only to return a moment later leading a scruffy looking man in a rumpled suit and a rather unfortunate mustache. Something about the man tickled a memory, something about a toy broom… Harry felt his eyes grow wide as he stared at the man.
“Uncle Moony?”
***
Harry leaned back in the chair in his suite, a smile on his lips as he looked at the man meeting his namesake.There was something almost otherworldly about the encounter, but he couldn’t have been happier.
Moony the familiar looked just as curious about Moony the human. The two hadn’t said a word to each other, not that the shadowy werewolf was the most expressive of companions at the best of times. After a few more minutes of the two sniffing around each other, one settled onto his haunches behind the chair, chin resting on the high back, while the other turned to regard Harry with an amused glint in their hazel eyes.
“You look very much like your father, especially with you smiling like that. It’s the same smile he had when a prank went just right.” The last Marauder offered Harry a gentle smile. “It’s good to see that smile once again, even if you aren’t the Harry I had hoped you to be.”
Harry chuckled softly. “Things are never as we hoped, though sometimes they may even be better. I grew up with Pops telling me stories of the Marauders, the four people who terrorized the school and were closer than family. Especially considering the circumstances of their families.” He waved off Lupin’s comment before continuing. “No, I don’t know all the details of those circumstances, as I don’t think Pops was fully aware of them himself, and frankly, those bits of information aren’t the most important thing. I’d rather hear about the four friends and what they were like from someone who was there.”
He trailed off as he looked into the distance. “When I found out about the Sirius and Peter, I despaired of ever meeting the last of my family.” Turning back to Remus, he smiled. “I thought you were lost as well. I’m truly glad to see I was wrong.”
Remus shook his head with a fond smile. “I couldn’t stay away, not any longer. Dumbledore originally told me to keep my distance for your sake. To my regret I believed him to be right. That is, until I heard about what you had faced in the first task and then what the Ministry wanted to try. At that point I knew that I had to see you, to see what had become of the son of my best friend, even if he was from some parallel dimension.”
Harry leaned forward, resisting the urge to complain about Dumbledore. There were more important things to deal with. “Then tell me all about the Marauders!”
***
Harry turned away from his training with Remus as a rat emerged from the shadows. Fortunately the living Marauder noticed the rat as well and stopped his attack. Wands and blades were put away as the two settled into a meditative on the floor. The rat joined them in a comfortable position between the two.
“Harry, we’ve found someone you both need to see. We’re still not completely sure if we’re right but if we are…” The rat shook its little head before rubbing its snout with its claws. “We think we’ve found the lost Marauder.”
Both humans in the room stared at the rat and it was only through his training as an adventurer that kept Harry from gasping. Turning to look at the other man, he frowned. “I thought Peter had been killed by Sirius? Blown up in the same attack that killed a bunch of regular humans?”
Remus returned the frown before nodding. “That’s what we were led to believe. However…” He trailed off for a moment before shaking his head. “If that really is Peter, then that means Sirius didn’t kill him. And if Sirius didn’t kill him, what else didn’t he do? Does that mean my best friend has been rotting in prison for years because we were all tricked?”
Harry reached over and picked up the rat, placing it on his shoulder. “We’ll find out the answer as soon as we can. However, there is something else to consider. If Peter really was the one who betrayed my parents, that means he’s a Death Eater. Possibly even a marked one. And if he is, that means I’ve finally got a way to track down where Voldemort is hiding.”
***
Harry looked down at the rat trapped in a small stone cage on the floor of the Come and Go Room, one just big enough to accommodate a grown man. A swarm of shadowy rats surrounded the cage, their black eyes intent on the prisoner. Pacing in another part of the room was a pair of werewolves, one of which was in human form while the other mirrored the smaller in motion.
Prongs stood on the far side of the room, antlers glowing with barely restrained energy. Only Padfoot appeared to be relaxed, tongue hanging out where he was standing just over Harry’s shoulder. However, a glance out of the corner of his eyes told the adventurer that even the grim was intent and focused.
With wand drawn, he took a moment to signal Remus, who shot the rat with the animagus reversal spell. The rat shifted into a rotund human in clothes that had clearly seen better days. Harry couldn’t quite make out the details from between the bars, ones close enough that a rat wouldn’t be able to scurry free, let alone the fat man now nearly pressed against those bars. However, while Harry might not have been able to identify the man, Lupin seemed to have had no troubles, at least it seemed that way from the growl rumbling in his throat, one taken up by his larger name sake.
Those growls must have reached some primitive place in the former rat’s brain because his eyes snapped open and he looked around wildly, though he couldn’t move much. “What? Where am I? How did I get here?”
Harry settled back, wrapping himself in shadows, resisting the urge to go for his dagger, or let loose with some of the spells that Remus had been teaching him. They had agreed that the Marauder would handle the encounter, with Harry as the backup. That had been a tough ask, but he knew it made sense.
Remus stepped closer to the cage, with Moony looming over his shoulder. “Hello Peter. So good to see you again, safe and alive.”
Peter seemed to blink in the lights of the room, peering through the bars. “Remus? My old friend! It’s so good to see you! Can you get me out of here?”
“Get you out of there? I would love to do that, but you’re going to need to answer some questions for me first. Like how you’re still alive and what happened to our friends.”
For a moment it looked like Peter wasn’t going to say anything. Harry was tempted to step in. Suddenly the rat animagus started snivelling. “You don’t know how bad it was! There was no resisting the Dark Lord. When they came for me… when they came for me… oh Remus, it hurt so bad. I couldn’t stop them. They would have killed me! What should I have done?”
Remus snarled and took another step closer towards the cage. “Then you should have died! They would have died to save you! They did die to protect Harry. To protect all of us!”
“But they didn’t protect Harry! He died too that night! That’s why no one has seen him. Died and took the Dark Lord with him. That’s why I’ve been hiding. That’s why I had to trick Sirius, trick everyone. No one would have accepted my word, not with Harry dead.”
Another snarl ripped from the free Marauder. “Why didn’t you come to us when they found you? We could have protected you from them!”
For once there appeared to be some fight in those beady eyes. “You couldn’t have protected me from what was already done! You have no idea what goes into the oath they force you to take. To get the dark mark. It’s more than just murdering some muggle. You can’t fake it. You have to enjoy it.” His lips curled back from slightly sharpened teeth. “And I did! I enjoyed what I did to that girl. It’s not like anyone in the wizarding world would have given me the time of day. I was just the addon, Pathetic Peter of the Marauders.”
Remus recoiled like he was slapped. Moony behind him snarled and leaned down, resting one massive paw on the top of the cage. Peter only now seemed to become aware of the hulking werewolf standing over him because he gave an eep of fright and tried to push himself away from the bars, to no avail. The sound of the eep seemed to snap Lupin out of the temporary funk.
“Just how long were you a Death Eater? How far back did your betrayal go?”
“After their wedding. I just couldn’t take it. She had been perfect. Beautiful. Smart. Kind. She treated me nicer than I ever thought I deserved. And then he took her away from me. Severus had it right. James never deserved her. I just wish I could have convinced the Dark Lord to give her to me instead of Snape but Snape was more persuasive. Especially after telling our Lord about the Prophecy”
Harry couldn’t hide in the shadows any longer with that revelation. “So Severus was involved after all. We figured but didn’t have proof. Thank you, Peter, for giving us what we needed.” The displaced Potter Heir’s lips curled into a grin at the look of sheer panic and terror that grew on the betrayers face.
“Oh yes, Peter. I survived that night. I’ve been training in secret, waiting for my revenge and you, my dear Judas, will be making up for what you did that night. You and that lovely tattoo of yours. Then once we’re done, we’ll turn you over to the DMLE and free Sirius. Then, once I’ve dealt with Voldemort, I’ll convince the Ministry to let me make a clean sweep and have them give you over to me to face justice.”
Shadows wrapped around Harry, tendrils writhing around him. Only his eyes remained visible, glowing nearly the same shade of the killing curse. “And Peter, I will take my time educating you on just how badly you fucked up.”
There was a squeak and Peter’s eyes rolled back into his head as he passed out, slumped in the cage.
Harry looked over at Remus, who was looking back with wide eyes, though Moony behind him was grinning toothily.
“Too much?”
***
Severus paused as he stepped into his potions lab. There was nothing out of order that he could see, yet he felt as if the Dark Lord himself had returned and was standing over him. It was a feeling he did not miss from his time serving among the Death Eaters. A time that he cursed as it took away from him the only thing he’d ever truly loved.
Sighing, Snape reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose. He should have expected this, especially after the way he had antagonized the boy before realized just how much power had been held back. Seeing the demonstration against the dragon and the defiance against both the Ministry and Dumbledore left him with a fine understanding of just what his protections were worth.
“Come out, Potter. You can at least face me when you take your revenge.”
The voice from the shadows was just as cold and cruel as the one that haunted his past.
“Oh Snivellus, if I’d just wanted revenge, you would already be suffering. I wouldn’t give you the chance or privilege of being ready for it.” Harry Potter emerged, dragging the shadows with him. “Rather, I’ve come across the information that is no doubt the reason you’re working for Dumbledore. And instead of revenge, I’m going to offer you a shot at redemption and restitution.”
Severus looked at the shadow clad incarnation of one of his greatest tormentors. While the features may have been those that belonged to James Potter and thus forever a mirror into the past, the eyes were ever bit that of Lily in her fury. The kind of eyes she had when defending him against the Marauders.
“And why, pray tell, would you make such an offer?”
“Because I want your Dark Lord dead more than I want revenge for what you caused my parents. Because your betrayal wasn’t nearly as bad as Peter’s. And because I need your help to bait the trap.”
The Hogwarts Potions Master regarded the spawn of his hated nemesis with a level look. He didn’t dare try legilimency against those killing curse eyes but he still considered himself a student of psychology. After all, he’d managed to fool both of the greatest wizards of the modern era. From what he could tell, there was no deceit in those eyes, just a cold resolve to do what needed to be done.
“Indeed.” Waving towards his office, Snape turned his back on the extremely dangerous young man, knowing that his life was spared for the moment and that that continuance would be bound on what role he played in whatever plans Potter had for him.
***
The piece of magic that Potter and Lupin had been able to put together for tracking the magic behind the Dark Mark was truly masterful. Severus had never thought the magic of the mark could be used that way. He knew it was tied to the Dark Lord, in that it allowed them to feel his summons and for him to use to punish them should he choose. However, he had never made a study of the mark, other than what he needed to do to earn it. Some of the magic that he had learned that had been woven into it was worrisome. Or would be, had Potter not been planning on stopping the Dark Lord for good.
Rather than dwelling on the future, Snape turned his attention to the present, namely his presence in the town of Little Hangleton, where the link to the Dark Mark had directed him. Holding up the small compass-like device, he took a moment to orient himself, then headed off. It was not long before he felt himself cross a set of wards, muggle-repelling and notice-me-nots. Revealed to him was a dilapidated manor.
Striding up the steps, he pushed open the doors, his wand out and scanning the building. Only a single human aura was revealed, with something that was nearly human. More readily apparent was the stench of blood and potions, some of which Snape recognized. With a frown he headed towards the room with the single signature.
“You are not who I expected to see when I sought out the Master.” Snape cocked his head as he considered the man in the room.
Slumped in his chair, Quirrell simply nodded. “And you are the last one I expected to seek out our Master as well. When I had learned what had happened to Barty, I feared he had been betrayed by the only other Death Eater in the castle. Imagine my surprise to learn that Dumbledore had known all along.”
Pushing himself upright, the former Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher shook his head before waving towards the bundle on the bed. “Our Master isn’t quite in the best of states. I had originally planned on letting him possess me as a means of securing him a body, but with no ready way to transfer that possession, it would have limited the time we had to craft or find a new body. Instead, we agreed upon the method you see here. A homunculus. It allows me to communicate with him, though he is a mere shadow of his former powers.”
Snape looked to the bundle of rags that currently hid a manufactured body. Barely the size of a child, it would be just sufficient to allow the Dark Lord to possess the body, but without a magic core of its own, would be extremely limited in what it could do.
For a moment, Severus contemplated destroying the construct along with killing Quirrell. However, without the knowledge of how Voldemort survived the original destruction of his body, it would not suffice to truly banish the Dark Lord. Only postpone the meeting to another time and place of which he would have no influence.
“You have been faithful to our Master for half a decade. That is a long time to care for a homunculus. I shall provide you with the recipe to a potion that will help strengthen the body until such time as we can fully resurrect him. I assume you have a plan for such an event?”
A voice rattled from the rags. “Attend me, Severus.”
Raising an eyebrow at Quirrel, Snape then turned to regard the form of their Master. “Yes, my Lord?”
A grotesque face peeked out of the wrappings. “The Potter Boy? Can you bring him to me? Barty was supposed to supply us with the boy so that we may use his blood for the ritual. Blood of the Enemy, forcefully taken.” The voice wheezed for a moment before continuing. “Get me the boy and I shall return stronger than before.
Snape sketched a boy to the ragged figure. “It shall be done.” Turning with a swirl of his robes, he headed for the door, barely glancing at Quirrell before apparating back to the edge of the wards at Hogwarts.
***
Harry looked at the other champions and their defiant posture. Glancing over at the last Marauder showed no signs of support there. One would think the only adult in the room would want to protect the children from the realities of combat. With a sigh he returned his attention to the three students of magic. “You realize that this will not be a friendly encounter. We’ll be going for the kill on Voldemort and any allies he calls in?”
That revelation only seemed to make the others more determined. Shaking his head, he had to remind himself that he had become an adventurer at a much younger age and been thrust into life and death struggles from the beginning. Sure he had a ton of supervision and support during those struggles, but was the situation that different here? They would have all the adults, not to mention Harry himself and his familiars.
“Very well. I’ll contact Amelia and have you all added to the assault plan. Just remember, I’ll be going in first and that I’ll have to be captured for everything to work out. You all show up with the rest of the group!”
***
Harry watched with some fascination as the Dark Lord emerged from the cauldron. Somehow the man managed to remain dry even though he’d been soaked in whatever vile concoction had been used to resurrect him. Then again, on closer inspection it looked like the cauldron was empty. The entirety of the potion must have been used to create the body.
Testing the bonds that held him to the tombstone, he suppressed a smile. Severus had certainly done a good job of making the ropes look secure but he could feel the give in them. It helped that Wormtail already had a group of rats working on the restraints. While he could have easily burst them with strength, it would be better if they just parted and fell away.
The risen Voldemort turned to the other man in the graveyard. “Robe me, Quirinus.” The man scampered to fulfill the order, draping an elaborate robe across the Dark Lord’s shoulders. Once the clothing was properly settled, the man turned to face Harry.
“Harry Potter. The Boy Who Lived. You shall be the herald that announces my return. When the masses see your broken body in the atrium of the Ministry they will once again remember the fear and know their proper place at my feet.”
Harry watched as Snape fades back into the shadows and out of the direct line of fire. The last of the bonds were loosened and Harry felt his dagger drop into his hands, out of sight. All the while the Dark Lord was describing what he was going to do to the Wizarding World, before using the Dark Mark on Quirinus’s arm to summon his other minions. Soon the graveyard was filled with masked and robed figures. When the Dark Lord offered to duel to show his superiority, Harry knew it was time.
Signalling for the reinforcements was as simple as crushing a small glass sphere that was handed to him by a rat. Once that was accomplished, he pulled his arms free, dagger in one hand, wand easily summoned to the other, even as the shadows wrapped around him. A group of rats swarmed out of the darkness, scurrying over many of the robed figures and sending them into writhing acrobatics as they tried to free themselves of their furry visitors. Meanwhile, another pair of rats snatched the wand that was being presented to the Dark Lord, leaving Voldemort unarmed when Harry crashed into him, dagger darting out and stabbing hilt deep into his chest.
The sharp crack of apparition echoed through the graveyard as a multitude of aurors, hit wizards, and tri-wizard champions arrived, wands in hands. Some few looked around in seeming shock, those who hadn’t joined Harry and Moody in their training sessions. The rest instead went in with blasting and cutting curses, slamming into the masked figures. They were joined by the rest of the Marauders, both living and familiar.
Prongs smashed into the group from the side before lightning flashed from his antlers and through several of the gathered Death Eaters. Moony and Moony were in amidst the rest, literally dismembering many of their targets. Padfoot had his jaws around the throat of another, the mask doing nothing to stop those teeth from sinking in.
Harry only paid peripheral attention to the fighting around him, just enough to make sure it wasn’t going to affect him. Instead he focused on stabbing the man in front of him as many times as he could which, given his silver rank physical abilities, was a great number of times. He made special focus on the tendons of the arms so that it would be more difficult for the Dark Lord to hold a wand, should something incredible happen.
For a moment the adventurer felt the body grow insubstantial beneath him. Having been warned about the ability, Harry focused his aura on surrounding Voldemort, suppressing the powers for just a fraction of a moment, long enough to break whatever ability it was that was trying to let the Dark Lord escape.
Given the amount of blood and stabbings, Harry was understandably surprised when he was sent flying by a wandless, silent banisher. Flipping in midair, he was able to right himself and land facing an enraged Voldemort who rose into the air trailing blood and viscera. Even as he watched Harry could see some of the more shallow wounds starting to close.
“Enough! I am Lord Voldemort! You are all beneath me!”
“That’s because you’re flying. You’re not the only one who can do that though.”
Voldemort had only a moment to look up before he was smashed to the ground by a shadow dragon. One massive claw pinned the Dark Lord to the ground before the dragon opened its jaw and unleashing a torrent of shadowfire. It was only a matter of a few seconds before the body was incinerated and some form of shade erupted into the air. That shade appeared to be melting though even as the dragon continued to bathe it in fire.
Harry watched with mouth agape as his shadowdragon proceeded to completely annihilate what should have been an immortal spirit. The scream as the spirit burned away seared into his soul and it was only his experience as an adventurer and having his soul tested that allowed him to endure the sound without falling to his knees, though he did have to brace himself against those knees. The rest of the humans, those who had been left standing, collapsed for a moment, though some managed to brace themselves rather than end up in a crumpled mass.
Heaving himself upright, Harry made his way over to the dragon. The beast roared triumphantly into the air before eyeing its summoner. There was a malevolent intelligence in those eyes and even though the adventurer knew he was in command, he still respected the creature that he had brought to quasilife. He was still in awe at what had happened and reached out to give the dragon a pat on the snout.
For a brief moment the dragon did not respond, before a deep rumble vibrated the air and the creature leaned into Harry’s touch, nearly pushing him back. With a chuckle and a mental command, he sent the dragon back into the shadows from which he summoned it, a smile on his lips.
Moving over to the recovering humans, Harry found Amelia, offering her a hand up. “Looks like Voldemort’s been killed for good this time. I saw his very soul annihilated.”
The Head of the DMLE nodded, her eyes wide even as she looked around at the carnage. A couple of her aurors appeared to be injured but there were surprisingly no deaths among her men. The same could not be said for the various masked individuals, especially those that had been attacked by the Marauders. She looked at Harry before shaking her head. “Had I not been here I wouldn’t have believed this had happened. During the war we were getting hammered left and right.”
Harry frowned before nodding. “From what I read a lot of that had to do with the rules you were operating under. Dumbledore tied your hands pretty effectively by limiting your response to non-lethals. As you could see, when you put a man down for good with a bludgeoning or cutting curse, they don’t get the chance to be revived by their fellows. And speaking of Dumbledore, I trust you’ll help me put pressure on him to help me return home.”
Amelia merely nodded again. “Of course, though I’ll admit that I’d miss you if you went home.”
There was something in her eyes that Harry found himself admiring. “Then maybe you’ll have to work to convince me to stay. I bet we’ll have time.”
***
Author’s Note:
Here is part two of the He Who Fights With Monsters version of Harry Potter. I hope you enjoyed the trip. It’s officially the longest version we’ve had the pleasure of visiting.
If you like any of the version of Harry that have been featured here and would like to see one (or more) of them turned into a complete story, let me know in the reviews. Any chapter/version that gets over twenty requests will at least get the beginnings of their own story.
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Anyway, let me know what you thought of the chapter and what other versions of Harry you would like to see in the future!