Harry Potter and the Order of the Magus

Prologue: Magus

Cauldron Alley, Magical New York, 1994

"Incarcerous!" The spell jetted from the black wand clasped tightly in my hand. The ropes snaked around the death eater, constricting his breathing and movement. I ducked behind a pillar belonging to the Boiling Box just in time for a killing curse to smack the stone. I had barely caught sight of the spell but it was enough to read the imprint. 'Jacksons. Merlin help us.'

Summoning up my courage, I leapt from cover. John Jackson came at me with a Bombarda, that bounced off a quick Protego. "Sectumsempra! Diffindo!" the cutting curses sliced through the air, and Byron Jackson stepped up to block both with a Shield Charm while Malcolm Jackson shot out a killing curse. I aimed at the ground and transfigured a pillar beneath my feet, shooting into the air and jumping onto Albert's Almanacs. The shingles sounded beneath my feet as I then took off at a dead sprint, spell fire at my back.

"Damn, I think I'm in the clear." I jumped to the next roof, brown coat flowing behind me, only to get a cutting curse fired at my leg. "Damn it all to hell!" I fell to the shingled roof, blood leaking from the gash around my calf.

"Caught you, Holloway. Can't run now." Black hair to his shoulders framed the sinister aristocratic face of Malcolm Jackson. His wand came face level with my downed form.

"Sorry, not this time Jackie boy. Magus!" I popped away in an instant. Wish I could've seen Jackson's face.

Diagon alley, Magical London, 1994

My back slammed into solid stone, popping and cracking exponentially. "Merlin, fuck the yanks!" I shot from the floor and bolted from the center of the room. Just behind me, the archaic circle on the ground began to glow a bright blue. With three pops, the Jacksons landed inside the circle, Death Muncher robes rippling as they fell.

"Did I get them?!" Miranda jumped excitedly into past me, cheering and waving her hands. Her blonde pigtails slapped me in the face a few times before she managed to calm herself as the Jacksons started firing an assortment of curses and hexes at us. They dissolved as soon as they reached the line, merely distorting the air.

Malcolm waved his hand, signalling a cease fire, and stepped to the circle. "You're lucky Holloway, so lucky."

"Oh Malcom, don't get your knickers in a twist. You were never even close. I would've put you down in the alley if the secrets in your feeble mind weren't so important." At my words, his hand smashed into the invisible wall, doing absolutely no good.

"I am going to get you once we-" "Imperio!" John Jackson's face contorted as he struggled against my spell. Malcolm turned to his brother and rushed to his aid, but stopped short as a wand met his face. Before he could speak, he was hit with Immobulus as was his shocked brother, Byron. I gave a gesture to Miranda. "Secondary runes." Two small circles ignited beneath the two frozen Jacksons and flared around them for a second before fading to the same blue glow of the larger circle. Sending my will to John, he released Malcolm, who immediately sat out for hi brother. He then promptly slammed face first into another invisible wall. I brushed a few stray brown locks from my face, chuckling at his plight. I laughed harder at the horrified face he made when his Imperiused brotherput a wand to his own bald head. "If you don't tell us what you know, John's going to kill himself… with a Blasting Curse."

He snarled at me like a feral beast would at it's captive. Thats actually a near factual analogy. "My brother would happily die for the cause. And if you wanted to know, why not just Imperius me?"

I let a cruel smirk spread over my pale features, my hazel eyes surely sparkling with glee. "This is more fun! Now if you don't answer my following questions and your brother does die, I will of course Imperius you. So think about it like this. I will know what I want to know, but is your brother going to survive the questioning?"

Malcolm idiotically attempted to exit the circle, banging on it with growls and curses flying from his tongue. He finally relented, turning to me in thought. "Fine," he finally answered "I'll tell you. What do you want?"

I stepped to the circle, looking at him with clear condescension through my brown bangs. "What's Voldemort planning for Harry Potter in the Third Task?"

Quidditch Pitch, Third Task, 1994

Harry had seen it. He didn't know what or how, but he knew not to touch the cup. Cedric had reached out for it but Harry grabbed him away. "Do you not see it Cedric? It's… it's wrong."

Cedric shook his head at Harry, leaving the boy with an astonished face. How could he not see it? Just then, he stepped forward. Harry reached out to stop him but he blocked his hand. "Just a Diagnostic charm, Harry." Cedric did as he said he intended to and cast the charm. After a moment, he began looking at it curiously. "It's a portkey. It probably just ports us from the maze. We should go."

"Cedric it's a bad idea, please list-" Cedric grabbed Harry's hand and touched it to the cup, grabbing it himself. His stomach received a tug and off they were.

Grave of Tom Riddle, Britain, 1994

Harry searched the ground for his glasses. he felt them under his hand just as he saw an approaching figure. "Kill the spare." green spell fire flew at Cedric, who just barely manage to throw a broken gravestone in front of himself.

He grabbed Harry and pulled him to wobbly knees. "Run for the cup!" was all that was given from Cedric as he took off for the goblet. Spells flew over his head and between Harry's ducked and weaved, diving behind graves and tombs to cover themselves. All the way, Harry's mind ran as fast as his legs. What was going on, who was firing spells at them, and why were they in a graveyard?

"Cedric, wait! The Goblet doesn't work anymore!" The cup had an aura to it when he'd looked at it last. Now it was gone and it appeared average, though quite beautiful.

"What?" Cedric paused for a second. a split second to ask a question. Then a Killing Curse slammed into his side and he spiralled away, smacking into a tomb.

"Cedric!" He ran for the boy's fallen body, but he was hit with an Incarcerous, jolting and then falling to the dirt wrapped in molded ropes. "Uff!" he wriggled and writhed. A figure approached from behind and as he drew close, it became apparent it was Pettigrew. "Peter, you bastard. You fucking traitor!"

Peter fliched away, but kept a tender hold of a black bundle in his arms. "I have to, Harry. You don't understand." He brought his wand up and began the incantation for the levitation charm. Then a banishing charm, slammed into his chest, blowing him from his feet. Seven men and Women in brown robes came appeared out of thin air, and Harry nearly shat himself to see Cedric among them, just slinging on his own brown coat and clasping the middle button.

Before harry could say a word, twelve Death Eaters appeared and immediately fired off curses and Unforgivables. They surged towards the People in brown with ferocity but they fought back. Soon, more Brownies arrived. They began whipping spells at the Death Eaters with force, spellfire connecting and surging through the darkness.

Soon, the Brownies had positioned themselves around Harry, forming a sort of shield. One dropped from the fold with Cedric following behind. "Grab Potter." the dark hair wizard monotoned to Cedric, who complied, ignoring Harry's confused face. Grabbing him up, he called out magus and Harry was once more pulled by the naval.