Chapter 2: Death's Eating Habits
Hoping that Lord Anduin will not notice her departure in his meditation, Hermione went to wake Harry up. "Harry," she whispered as she opened the tent. "Yes, Hermione, what is it", Harry seemed worried if everything was all right. "Harry, you've got to come with me. There is a…How should she call him?...a stranger in the forest. He said he was going to test me. He is just sitting behind that shield of his, doing nothing to defend himself from my blasting curses, but…"
"And you just listened to him?!" Harry was furious. "Did you think you could be tricked by a Death Eater. That your visitor was someone under Polijuice?"
She shook her head. "No, Harry." He shown me sufficient evidence that he is no Death Eater, besides, only Voldemort himself would be powerful enough to transfigure all those minstrels at once. Besides, I've seen him in a book."
So that is why she trusts him, she knew Harry thought. "Come, I'll introduce you to him."
Harry tried to argue, but relented rather quickly, not wanting to leave Hermione alone, and also curious to see just who was she talking about. While they were returning to Lord Anduin, she told him about the lord's permission to use Unforgivables against his shield.
"He is either overconfident or insane", was Harry's conclusion.
"Shall we discover which one?", she asked him. In all honesty, she did not believe he was either.
They reached Lord Anduin, still meditating, a couple of minutes later. He did not appear to have noticed until they were ten feet from him. Then he opened his light-devouring brown eyes, smiling.
"Ah, it's young Harry. Let's see if you will have more luck at breaking my shield than your friend here. Impervio!"
Harry had his own ideas how to break the strange shield. He tried Setcusempra, stunners, conjured rocks and arrows, throwing fire, transforming ground beneath Lord Anduin into quicksand, and many other things. Once again Hermione was reminded just how better he was than her at dueling. Yet, nothing seemed to work. Lord Anduin was still meditating on the inside of the sphere, almost as if unaware of his attempts. Harry began to tire, and soon he had to admit that he had no way to get through the Lord's defenses. As he voiced his exhaustion, Lord Anduin dispelled the shield, standing up and holding out his hand for Harry to shake, which he did.
"You did well, young one. You are quite versatile in combat, and are not afraid to try new things. However, you lack raw power to deal with Impervio. But even if I gave this same task to Albus Dumbledore or Lord Voldemort, they would have had no more luck at doing so. Impervio is just that, impervious. Impervious to all magic up to and including Unforgivable curses. There is a way to break it, actually, ignore it, and burn the shielded target regardless, but no wizard can perform something like that. So, we can safely discard it as irrelevant for now."
"And what was the meaning of this demonstration?", Harry sounded suspicious, Hermione realized.
"To show you what I am going to teach you. You will need to have the knowledge I possess, and I will need you to have it. Not to win against Voldemort, but to survive what is going to come after he falls.", Lord Anduin sounded ominous, and more than a little dark.
"Teach us?" Harry was still suspicious, and was about to antagonize Lord Anduin. Hermione knew it was time to stop him, before he said something he would later regret.
"Harry, listen to me", she interjected. "We do have a lot to learn, and I believe Lord Anduin has more knowledge to offer than anyone at Hogwarts. You should respect his offer and accept it."
"Wise words, young one", Lord Anduin smiled at her.
"Okay." Harry grumbled, immediately asking: "What about Ron? He is my best
mate, and he knows nothing of this."
"And he will remain in his ignorance for now. I will teach him as well, but neither of you will become my apprentices until after Voldemort is defeated. Until then, you are to drop the Horcrux hunt, I need them intact for an experiment, and go to the USA,point you will return and lay low until Voldemort attacks Hogwarts, at which point you will return", Lord Anduin elaborated his plans for their friend and them. "Getting there will not be an issue", he added, opening what seemed to be a portal that led to the bottom of the Statue of Liberty. Then, a second later, he let it collapse. "But that can wait until evening. Now, I wish to show you at least a fraction of my own offensive arsenal. Now, if I could find some Death Eaters..."
"Something tells me you will not have to wait for long for them to come", Hermione grinned.
And he did not. Lord Anduin said the word "Voldemort" so many times over the last hour that the Taboo summoned over a hundred Death Eaters, who began apparating all over the forest that was surrounding them. While she was very worried and even a little scared and Harry about to rush off into battle, Lord Anduin simply looked content with the way the situation was developing. Then he turned to them, blinking. "All right, the two of you. Impervio! The shield will keep you safe from the consequences of what I am about to do."
Lord Anduin slowly walked towards the assembled Death Eaters, clearly visible to them. While he disillusioned Harry and Hermione, he had wanted himself to be easily seen so as to keep the enemy's attention on him, while also making them hesitate as they saw him walk towards their overwhelming numbers with cold confidence. He did not worry about their wands, not that the Death Eaters knew that. So they waited as well, certain that they could take him down on a whim. After all, they were all new recruits, low in rank, and thus a little hesitant to take a man's life. That fact made them even more unprepared for what came next. "You are in the presence of Lord Anduin Torrens, First of the Watchers and Lord of Twilight!", Anduin's voice boomed across the clearing as two long purple swords materialized in his hands. Then, he started to kill them. Their spells, including Killing Curses, simply dissipated upon hitting him as he ran through their midst, cutting them down in a whirlwind of blades. He then opened a number of gateways, and Headless Reapers came through, swinging scythes and cutting spells mid-air. Disapparation did not work, neither did running away from spectral horses. The few remaining Death Eaters cowered in fear, as Lord Anduin raise his hands towards the sky. "Mighty Jupiter, lend me your servant", he yelled, calling a portal to open straight into the middle of the Asteroid Belt, destroying an enormous section of the forest, miles' wide, and killing not just Death Eaters, but trees and grass and denizens of the forest. He then cast an arcane spell on the meteorite in the center of the crater, before turning to Hermione and Harry and lowering the shield that was protecting them. "See you in the battle of Hogwarts", he smiled, opening a portal that led somewhere deeper into the forest. He then stepped in, leaving them to see his message, magically carved into the meteorite. "To sons and daughters of the Inner Circle, both Magical and Muggle. I am Lord Anduin Torrens, and I have left this message so that you all know that The Eternal Watchers are on the move, and that the Legion of Twilight is returning. This message cannot be obliviated from ones' mind, nor removed in any other way. The Eternal of Order has spoken. Nothing escapes our sight."
It was one very confused couple of teenagers that was left to contemplate the meaning of the strange wizard's display of power. One thing was certain. Voldemort was about the become the least of their worries.