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Harry Potter

The Magi

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The Battle

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ooOoOoo

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"Oh, fuck!" he said.

Harry grabbed the handle for the ship alarm bell and started ringing it. Down in the ship, bells started ringing waking up the crew.

"Come on," Harry whispered as he focused the glass on the ship approaching from behind.

The huge ship was shaped like a giant black widow and was closing fast. Behind him, he heard the hatches open up and the dwarves boiled out of the interior of the ship where they ran to their weapon station. Gruff, Jalyla and Morick the Dwarf walked over to him.

"What's with the warning?" Morick asked as he pulled out his telescope.

"Neogi Death Spider closing fast from astern and below," Harry reported.

Morick spit over the side, and cursed as he raised his glass.

Jalyla pulled out her glass and focused it on the approaching ship and then turned to the plot table, leaving the telescope floating beside Harry. Harry closed his glass as did Gruff and Morick. Both turned to the plot table that had an image of the ship hovering above it.

"Speed is thirty knots. I can see all five heavy weapons with crews. Looks like orc slaves, Umber Hulks and several neogi overseers'," Jalyla reported.

"Don't forget they can ram with the legs extended," Gruff said.

"I know. Morick, I want you to concentrate all fire at the front of the ship here," Jalyla said as she touched the front spot of the ship.

"Want me to take out the helm, I can do that," Morick replied and left to give his orders to the dwarves.

"Gruff, have the crew put on their armor and ready their weapons. Also prepare to deploy the ram," Jalyla ordered.

"As you command," Gruff said and walked away.

"Harry, good job, now get to your post below deck," Jalyla ordered as the ship started turning and four loud twangs were heard.

"But…"

"No buts, you're not ready to fight them yet," Jalyla replied as she lifted her staff and a lightning bolt shot from her staff towards the incoming ship.

Harry turned and ran for the stairs when the ship shuddered.

"Minor damage to port stern from a ballista hit," Morick shouted out.

"Return fire," Jalyla shouted out as she sent a fireball towards the enemy ship.

Harry watched as the fireball impacted on the top deck near the rear weapons and the catapult blew apart as another volley of ballista bolts came towards them. The Blackwood turned out of the way of the incoming ballista bolts and he felt the ship shudder as the jettison was fired. Chunks of rock went hurling out of the stern towards the enemy ship. Most missed but two large rocks hit the bottom lower front leg and shattered it.

Several bolts of lightning were fired back from the Neogi ship and hit the port hull as the ship was turning in front of the enemy ship to bring her ballista's on target.

"FIRE!" Morick shouted and four heavy ballista's returned fire.

Harry watched as the four bolts flew through space and smashed into the bow of the enemy ship.

"Reload, we missed," Morick shouted and the Dwarves jumped to reload their weapons as two more ballistic bolts flew over the deck of the ship.

"Harry, get below deck," Jalyla shouted out as the ship turned hard to starboard.

Harry grabbed the rail as he felt the deck twist under him and he went down with a grunt as the rail hit his chin. Harry gasped out as he was yanked to his feet. Looking up he saw Gruff looking at him.

"Get below little one," Gruff ordered as he set Harry down on his feet.

"I can fight," Harry said as he showed his sword under his cloak.

"Aye, you can, but not up here. Captain would be hurting if you get hurt, so go below like she asked. Hide in that spot you found where your cloak and boots make you hard to find," Gruff ordered as he let the boy go and picked up his heavy crossbow.

With a sigh, Harry turned and headed down stairs just as the ship shuddered from another hit. Harry slipped into the narrow space between the stairs and the wall on the command deck. Pulling the hood of his cloak up, he readied his dagger. Harry waited there for what seemed the longest twenty minutes. He felt the hits on the Blackwood, and knew she was giving as good as she was taking because of the constant twangs of the ballista's could be heard and he felt the jettison discharge three more times before the ship came to a dead stop with a crashing sound that vibrated throughout the ship. He wanted to help, but at the same time he didn't want to disappoint Jalyla by disobeying her orders.

Harry stumbled out of his hiding place when all forward momentum came to a stop. Getting up, he picked up his dagger as he listened to the crew rush up on deck to engage the enemy. Harry stood there listing to clang of swords and pikes on shields and with a determined expression on his face; he headed up to the main deck with his sword and dagger ready.

Reaching the stairs that allowed them to exit onto the main deck, he climbed the stairs slowly. There were several bodies at the front of the stairs, but the clanging of weapons was coming from astern. Harry raised his head just enough so he could see under the bottom rail of the guard rail and he saw the crew and passengers in a half circle at the far end of the ship. Eight giant large, bipedal, insectoid aberrations with an ape-like build with giant mandibles that snapped at the crew. On the largest was a creature that looked like a cross between a wolf spider and a moray eel. It had eight segmented legs ending in claws, a bulbous spider-like body, a fairly long flexible neck, and an eel-like head with a mouth bristling with fangs.

'Crap, one Neogi and eight Umber Hulks along with twenty orc slaves,' Harry thought as he watched the battle. Looking behind him, he didn't see any more of the creatures coming aboard so he said a silent prayer that there weren't any more as he slipped up on to the deck using the bodies as cover.

The creature was directing the orcs and Umber Hulks in battle as Harry started working his way to the ballistae station. Harry had noticed that one of the starboard ballista was primed. Reaching the weapon he turned it until he could see the Neogi that was hurling spells at Jalyla. Just as he started to take aim at the creature, Harry saw Jalyla stagger backwards as several arrows hit her in the chest and she went down.

"NO!" Harry shouted as he pulled the trigger and the bolt flew through the air and slammed into the back of the Umber Hulk carrying the Neogi.

The bolt ripped through the back of the creature and partially out the front. The creature grasped the bolt as it turned around to see what had attacked it as the Blackwood crew surged forward and half the orcs and three of the Umber Hulks went down under pike, sword, mace and hammer attacks as Jalyla climbed back to her feet.

Harry stood there watching as the Umber Hulk walked towards him with the Neogi directing it towards him, "Oh shit!" as the Umber Hulk fell to its knees in front of him.

"You and everyone one on this ship will die, but first will be your captain," The Neogi said as it slithered off the Umber Hulk's shoulder to stand before the human and grasped for its arm.

Harry stood there shaking in fear as it touched him.

"Meat, that is what you are," the Neogi said as drool dripped from its hinged jaw, "You and every human are meat for me."

"NO!" Harry screamed out.

He thought of his adopted mother as pain flared through his body like he never knew before. It was like a damn bursting as magic flared out of his small body and hit the Neogi, the Umber Hulks and the Orcs like a tidal wave. The wave of magic picked up the invaders and hurled them off the ship and through the air bubble wall where they went stiff in the coldness of space.

Harry stood there on shaking legs. He was totally exhausted and before he could say anything to Jalyla who was running towards him, his eyes rolled up into his head and he fell to the deck.

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ooOoOoo

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Albus Dumbledore sat at his desk in his office at Hogwarts. His confidant in the Department of Mysteries had reported that they were close to finding his missing pawn. It had been fifteen months since he had vanished, and he wondered if he was still alive because the monitors he had placed on the boy all those years ago had failed a day after he had vanished. Even his heart stone monitor barely flickered with magic that told him he was alive, but was far away.

"Damn those Dursleys. I gave them simple instructions, but they didn't listen to me. No! I said I wanted him beaten down, not killed," Dumbledore mumbled as the fire flared.

"Albus are you alone," asked a voice from the fire.

"Yes, I am Misstep. Come on through," Albus replied.

Albus watched as the fire flared and his friend from the unspeakables stepped out of the fireplace, "What did you find out?"

"Where ever he is, he's only in the same area a few days at a time. It's like he's traveling on a ship or something. I was able to get a lock on him, but before I could open the gate, his magical signature moved out of range. I will keep trying, but Croaker is getting suspicious so I'll have to move the cupboard to my home so I can work in peace during my off time. I'll let you know when I get more information or if I can get a lock longer than two minutes," Misstep said.

"Keep trying, it's imperative we get him back. It's for the greater good that I train him otherwise when Tom comes back, all will be lost. Keep me informed," Albus stated.

"I will," Misstep replied as he stepped back into the fireplace and vanished.

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By TeNderLoin

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