The Madness Within: Prologue
by
QuantumPhonetics
"The release of atomic energy has not created a new problem. It has merely made more urgent the necessity of solving an existing one." Albert Einstein, "Atomic War or Peace", Atlantic Monthly, November 1945
London, Ministry of Magic: Department of Mysteries, 3:17 A.M. August 31st, 1996
The footsteps were at first a dull throb, pulsating in turn with his heart. As he struggled to regain his breath the raven-haired young man slumped against the cold stone wall to the right. Although the faint glowing candles adorning the wall illuminated the dark hallway, it did nothing to soothe the dark thoughts revolving through his mind.
How could he have possibly known about group 935? And what was the real purpose of that strange red glowing stone?
While he pondered these mysteries Harry Potter afforded himself one luxury and closed his eyes to ease the throbbing headache he was experiencing.
14 13 05 12 19 41…..14 13 05 12 19 41…..14 13 05 12 19 41
"Bloody hell…", he breathed out as the familiar red numbers started to whirl around as soon as his eyes were closed.
Soon the numbers began to spin quite fast and he winced as he opened his brilliant green eyes. The glowing red numbers soon faded from his view and he shook his head lightly, his trademark long raven hair uncharacteristically flat upon his sweaty brow.
Had Harry been inclined to worry about his appearance he would have been astounded by the changes the last tumultuous year had wrought upon him. Gone was the innocent boyish quality that had endeared him to the female population of Hogwarts; it had been replaced with a determination and sorrow that lent years to his face. These were not the only changes that had affected this peculiar young man. Noticeably taller and with unruly shoulder length hair, Harry resembled his late Godfather Sirius more than his own father James, yet his sorrowful face still uncannily resembled the elder Potter.
Harry was suddenly broken out of his reverie by a loud crash down the hallway. The sounds of a spell salvo reached his ears and he knew that they would be upon him soon.
"Ah bollocks…he must really be peeved at me now," he muttered as he picked his weary body off the uncomfortable wall.
His doppelganger should have given him a few minutes respite, yet it seemed that this group was more highly trained than the last. The magical clone he had left down the hallway would have only a small fraction of his power and be a small distraction at best. Soon the sounds of battle had diminished and all Harry could hear was the soft thrum of the small stone he held in his cloak pocket. He knew that it would react to a gate if it was nearby, and the glowing numbers were an indication of a general location.
Who would have thought that it would be here of all places?
Before he could finish this thought the footsteps suddenly increased in volume and tempo and Harry glanced down the hallway to its source. Harry had no delusions that this could be an ally. The only people left in the Department of Mysteries were hardly friends. As the voices and footsteps got closer there was no mistaking Rufus Scrimgeour's severe tone reverberating off the cobbled stone walls. It seemed as though he was no longer being underestimated by his pursuers. From the sound it seemed as though Scrimgeour had amassed an entire armored hitwizard squad, and was directing them toward his location.
He already wore the marks of an intense conflict and his left arm hang uselessly at his side. It wouldn't be a fair fight; it rarely was in his case. Even though he could possibly hold a defensive position there was no point in stalling, time was of the essence. The dull red stone that burned against his thigh was another reminder of what was at stake. If the Ministry or even Voldemort gained possession of what Harry contained in his cloak pocket the consequences would be unfathomable.
Having caught his breath, he noticed a familiar door at the end of the opposite hallway. It was his destination and yet the uneasy feeling in his stomach did not abate. The room behind this door he loathed more than any other place on Earth. Even the Forbidden Forest or the Chamber of Secrets would have been a more welcoming location.
"Here goes nothing," Harry exclaimed to the seemingly empty hallway as he started to walk toward the heavy armored wooden door. The voices echoing around the hallway suddenly stopped and he noticed glowing balls of light illuminated against the far wall away from the door.
They were coming around the corner from the opposite side as well! Another separate squad?
Harry had no time to reflect about this turn of events as he realized that they would soon converge upon him. It seemed as if he would need one more distraction to allow him to access the mysterious room. The wand in his hand thrummed with anticipation and he readied his aim for the attack. As the first armored hitwizard turned the corner Harry unleashed a spell only two people had ever known, and one was long dead.
"Lux Invictus!"
It was a reminder of a simpler time, and despite the circumstances he had a slight grin on his face. It wasn't a very difficult spell and had no real defensive or offensive capabilities. Lux Invictus was an original spell conceived by Sirius himself and had a few useful applications. The most important, of which was producing a plethora of blinding light spheres that bounced off any surface; in this case the walls, the floor, even the hitwizard squad itself.
The unlucky hitwizard squad leader had begun to raise his arm in his direction but it was far too late. Harry knew it wouldn't do any good. The hundreds of balls of pure light erupted from his wand and immediately began to bounce around frantically like those rubber superballs Dudley used to play with in his youth. The first sphere hit the wizard full force in the face and he dropped like a sack of potatoes. The wizard was effectively blinded, and the numerous burns his face now sported added to the spell's potency.
Through the haze of glowing spheres he could barely see the silhouette of Scrimgeour waving his wand frantically in the air. The grin on Harry's face abruptly died when saw that they were particular wand movements that designated an attack.
"Squad Beta and Sigma…you have been authorized to use excessive force," screamed Rufus Scrimgeour, "just make sure that he is detained!"
The hitwizard squad immediately began to unleash a salvo of spellfire that even Harry, with his superb seeker reflexes, would have been hard pressed to dodge. Thankfully the lightshow provided an excellent distraction and the spells were fired blindly down the hall. Realizing that this was his only chance, Harry ran the opposite direction toward the door and once again readied his aim.
"Reducto!"
The door and even some of the wall simply disintegrated under the force of the spell. Silently thanking the "de-limiter" signet he wore on his right index finger, Harry burst through the remaining opening. In front of him in this circular room lay a familiar stone dais upon which a menacing veil covered gateway fluttered menacingly. His heart began to hammer in his chest as the visions of Sirius falling into the veil flashed before his eyes.
Sirius…
Shaking his head clear he stepped up to the stone dais and noticed that a glowing white light began to glow in the center of the veil. From within that light appeared the same glowing red numbers that had been a fixture in his life for over a year.
14 13 05 12 19 41….14 13 05 12 19 41….14 13 05 12 19 41
Within a few seconds the numbers had burned through the veil covering the arch and continued to spin, increasing in tempo with each passing second. Stopping only to make sure the Potter family signet was secured on his finger Harry stepped up to the dais. The hairs on the back of his neck began to raise and all he felt was a tingling sensation all over his body. The closer he moved to the gateway the more the strange stone in his pocket began to vibrate and radiate heat.
"Harry Potter! We have you surrounded!"
Harry didn't need to look to figure out who had shouted that last command. Quickly putting his hand in his pocket he retrieved the stone and held it in his left hand. Taking a deep breath he slowly turned around and even he couldn't keep the incredulous look off his face at what he saw. In front of Scrimgeour was an entire platoon arranged in attack positions, complete with a small contingent of armored goblins.
How the bloody hell did he get the Goblins to cooperate?
Standing at four feet tall, each goblin was adorned in blinding silver armor with matching jewel-encrusted hammer. To add to the ferocious image, each one stared at him with the utmost hate and a few even began to grind their pointed teeth together menacingly. A glittering symbol upon the lead goblin's breastplate almost made him take a step back when he realized who exactly this group of goblins represented. Harry Potter was now facing the Goblin Royal Guard, one of the most elite fighting groups in the world. And judging by the color and stripes on the hitwizard squad uniforms he was facing the human magical equivalent, the mysterious Unspeakable Combat Unit.
"Harry Potter you will drop your wand and walk slowly toward us," proclaimed the Minister, "or we will execute force!"
Although he could see over 20 wands pointed at his heart, the faces of the UCU soldiers belayed their nervousness. Even the goblins were subdued in their normal bloodlust and held back for further instructions. Clearing his throat Harry looked directly at Scrimgeour and one last look at the red glowing stone in his hand.
"What I do…what I have done," replied Harry with a sad smile, "I did for wizardkind, for mankind."
Not expecting any sort of reply to his confession Harry began to raise his right arm to submit his wand. The leader of the hitwizard squad, now sporting several nasty burns on his face, simply leered at him and began to move forward to subdue the young wizard. When he was but a few feet away Harry looked straight past his shoulder at Scrimgeour. The red stone in his hand now began to shake uncontrollably and a red haze enveloped his view. In his mind's eye the scruffy wide-eyed Minister of Magic was replaced by a hazy smiling visage of his former mentor Albus Dumbledore. As if he were mimicking his thoughts both he and Dumbledore smiled in unison. The pull from the stone toward the gate increased exponentially and he was jerked back into reality. The image quickly disappeared and Harry knew that this would be his final chance at providing a message to the others. He lowered his head and soon no one could tell where his gaze lay.
"A great man once told me," whispered Harry, "that life is but one of many great adventures."
The words seemed to float around the room as if magic and felt heavy on the shoulders of the two groups. Scrimgeour scowled and remained silent yet Harry felt certain that he would transcribe what was said and that those transcripts would fall into the hands of the Order. The pull of the stone was now becoming unbearable and Scrimgeour made a motion to apprehend the young wizard. As the soldiers came within a few feet of where he stood he looked up abruptly with a grin on his face and clenched the glowing red stone still nestled in his hand.
"Death…" yelled Harry just before thrusting the stone into the swirling red vortex , "is just the beginning!"
With a flash of red light Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, was gone.
*This is a prologue to my first story. Please review constructively and I shall decide whether to continue this story based on the reviews.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners (Treyarch & J.K. Rowling respectively). The original characters and plot are the property of the author of this story. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any previously copyrighted material. No copyright infringement is intended.