Ye Old Disclaimer:Harry Potter and associated milieu, characters, and situations are owned by J.K. Rowling and her licensees. This is a work of fan fiction, produced solely for enjoyment. No infringement of rights is intended. J.K. Rowling owns it all, I am just playing with the Story. No money is being made by me in any way shape or form.
This story will contain a Dark but not evil Harry. Will Feature lemons from time to time, torture, blood, gore, and other nasty deeds. Like I said, Dark Harry but not evil. Definitely twisted though.
Chapter 10, The First Salvo"LUNA!" Harry called out to the flat while he walked into his workroom. He took off his mask and tossed it onto the table. Hedwig, who was walking behind him, picked it up and set it next to hers, which she had just taken off. Then, she started unstrapping his claws. Harry waited for her to finish before pulling off his cloak and throwing it over the chair as Luna walked in with a confused look on her face.
"Its time for your girls to earn your keep. I need Hannah and Susan too. Bring them in here, please." Harry pulled out his sniper rifle and moved over to the table to start taking it apart. He vaguely noted Luna walking out to do as he asked while he took the cleaning brushes from the kit Hedwig placed next to him. He was halfway through servicing the weapon when Luna walked back in with Susan and Hannah behind her.
Harry wasted no time and got right to it.
"Luna said you are very familiar with the workings of the Ministry." He raised his eyes to look at Susan and watched as she nodded stiffly. He took the sheaf of parchments in the folder that Hedwig was holding out to him and threw it on the table in front of him. "I need you to go over that to make sure that they are not trying to screw me over. The deal was for five hundred galleons per Death Eater and Two Thousand for Inner Circle, dead or alive. Make sure there is nothing in that contract that will haunt me when the job is done. At the meeting, the other day, Tonks said I was to have a license for the unforgivables, amnesty to kill enemies of the state, authorization to persuade captives in my custody to answer my questions with no restrictions on methods as well as freedom of movement through out the wizarding world. That is what I was promised. Go through that contract and make sure they did not try to add any legalese that would screw me over after it's all said and done. No reparations, no war crimes clauses, make sure it's the way it was promised. I need this done in no more than two days, please." Harry waited until Susan nodded. He turned to take in Hannah.
"Luna told me your family had a lot of contacts. I need you to ask a few favors from them for supplies. Here," Harry pulled a piece of parchment from his robes. "I need those things within the next week. The sooner the better. There are three men downstairs in case need to leave the flat. Take them with you. I'm not going to be around much in the next week, so your are going to be on your own."
Harry went back to serving the rifle. It only took him a few more moments before he had it put back together and had it ready for use when Hannah looked up from his list. "Harry, there are a lot of rare ingredients here, not to mention the potions themselves. Most of this is Ministry restricted, Auror Level and higher."
"Susan, if I don't have that kind of legal access already with this contract, add a clause so I can get my supplies." Susan paused her reading and nodded after a moment. Harry looked back to Hannah. "Can your family contacts get everything if I have the proper access?"
The brown haired girl nodded. "Yes. Father was well connected with several families that harvested or hunted for most of these things. If the Ministry agrees to give you proper access, I can get you the things you need in time. It will be expensive Harry. Especially the hazardous Class A items. You know how unstable Elerphant horn is and some of these runic stones cost a small fortune."
"I am not concerned about money but I would appreciate it if you could work out the best deal possible. The real money is in the Inner Circle members but I'm not sure they are going to be where I go and Voldemort only has about a dozen of them. Just get that list took care of for me as quick as you can. I hope I won't have to resort to using them, but it is a possibility. I need to service more equipment, so go ahead and start working on this, please."
Harry rose from his chair and put the rifle back where it belonged. He listened to the chairs moving and the girls leaving. "Luna, a word please." He took the pistols from Hedwig's holsters and sat at the table to take them apart. Once everyone had gone, he looked up and into Luna's eyes.
"Do I need to worry about those two?" He kept his voice down and neutral.
"Not that I know of Harry. They are pretty satisfied with what we have. We will not betray you." As usual, Luna's voice was dreamy, sounding as if she was there, but not really. Her eyes, though, were clear.
"I would hate to have to kill them Luna. Or you. You have always been good to me but I can't have any more people betraying me. I am doing this only because you asked me to. I brought them here because you asked me to protect them. Don't give me a reason to regret it."
Luna raised her chin a bit. "I understand how you feel Harry, but we are not your enemies." Her voice was strong, for Luna. Harry froze to slowly bring his eyes up to her. Hedwig froze as well, watching to see which way this would go.
After several moments of Harry looking her in the eyes he nodded slowly. "Bit harsh?" Luna smiled a bit and nodded. Harry blew out a breath. "Alright, sorry. I guess that came out a bit rougher than I meant."
"It's okay Harry."
"Good." Harry went back to his work and Luna took that as a dismissal. She was almost to the door when his voice broke the strained silence.
"And Luna…"
"Yes Harry?"
"Do me a favor, please. Keep an eye on Susan. Something's not right about her."
xxxxxx
"You want me to do WHAT?" Tonks shriek from the kitchen of Headquarters, actually giving the portrait of Ms. Black pause, at least enough for Hestia to close the curtin and move to join in with the rest of the Order. They were summoned to discuss the mission plan. Hestia shook her head. She was not sure what the deal was with Tonks, but she had not been right since they had recruited the Assassin for the Ministry a few days ago. She was constantly blanking out, as if deep in thought and would shake her head for no reason, as if she was trying to clear a thought that would not go away.
The encounter was troubling, right, but she did not understand why her younger friend had taken it so ill. True, the guy was a right piece of work. Most likely mentally disturbed, and overall gave her the creeps, but he was on their side now. He was their Assassin/Monster. She didn't like it, but she didn't have to either. As long as he toed the line and did as the Minister told him to, she could deal with her own issues involving this Cloud person. They had enough troubles to be going on with.
When she finally made it inside the old kitchen, she noted that Mad-Eye was sitting at the table, frowning at Tonks who was standing in front of the chair Hestia assumed she jumped out of from. Tonks wore an expression of disbelief and disgust. Hestia didn't wait for the answer long before taking a seat, unoticed, as they had it out.
"I don't see what the problem is Tonks. You have done this before with people just as dangerous." Moody stated.
Tonks blinked. "You're off your nuts, Mad-Eye. Everything we have about her says that she is as good as his Consort and you want me to take her place? I find it very disturbing you're trying to pimp me out like this just so you can get someone close to him."
Alastor's frown deepen when he heard the answer. She really wished he didn't, as it strained on his facial scars and that was a disturbing sight. The effect made her stomach a bit quezzy. "We don't know that, alright? It IS a gamble, but it's the only way to get someone close to him."
"Bollock. You're mental, that's what you are. We don't know anything about her, other than how she dresses. I don't know enough to pull that off even if I were to agree to this, which I am NOT. I don't know how she talks, walks, or even acts. Yes, I could try and work my way up to the third floor and find out some of that but it's not going to be enough.
First and foremost, what the hell are we going to do if this little operation get discovered? He's got a wicked intelligence network. He knows things he shouldn't. We don't know where he is getting his information. What the hell are you going to do when he finds out and goes round the twist?"
"If you're busted, kill him. Judging by his past actions, it's the only thing we will have left to do. Either way he's going to get put down, either by Death Eaters or us. We can't let him survive the war either way Tonks. He's too dangerous."
"Why the hell did we even recruit him as a Ministry Hit Wizard if you are planning on killing him off? What the hell is this about, Moody?"
"This is just a contingency plan. On the off chance he actually survives his first mission, we need to do something about him. I have looked over the unedited reports on the location Kingsley is sending him. It's a deathtrap. None of us could pull it off. If he can, we need to know how he did it and get someone close enough to him to put him down when we are done with him. As for where he is getting his information, this is why we are keeping this to just the few of us."
"What does Dumbledore say about this? This is not really our usual type of missions Moody." Hestia asked.
Mad-Eye looked over at her, his frown still not leaving his face. "Nothing. He's blind to this one, thinking that with the Ministry holding his callor, this one is fine. He's not being very vigilent. We can't assume that this Cloud guy won't turn on us in the end. We have to know for sure that this problem will be solved for keeps."
There was silence for a moment before Tonks resumed talking. "No. I won't do it. First and foremost, it's against the Minister's wishes, not to mention that you never ran this by Dumbledore. Second, you don't have enough information for me to do this with any degree of safety. It'll fall apart before it even begins. I don't know what your grudge against Cloud is but I want no part of it Moody. Hestia and me were sent to hire him on the Minister's orders for the Minister's reasons. We did our job. Cloud took this contract and was very reasonnable about it, considering his past history with Ministry's officials. You're going to fuck up everything with this stupid quest of yours. If you want him dead so bad, go kill him YOURSELF!" With that Tonks stomped out of the room, leaving a fuming Moody behind and a few confused Order members.
Hestia shook her head slowly. Something about this assassin had definitely gotten to Tonks, but it seemed that it was nothing compared to how he affected the old Auror.
xxxxxx
Head Auror Shacklebolt lay on the ground of a small hill, looking through the special Auror Omnioculars. Next to him, Jarrod Kreig was looking through his own set. They lay there, in the black moonless night, looking down at a modest two-story house that rested in the valley between their location and another hill across from them. Shacklebolt had given Cloud his assignment yesterday and they intended to watch and record the event.
They had been there for hours, since sunset, waiting and recording with their Omnioculars. They watched as the homes occupants had laid down various traps and wards all over the property about two hours ago, as if they knew the Assassin was coming. It confirmed the theory about a leak either in his department, or in the Order since they were the only ones who knew about tonight. If it was his department, it narrowed down to a few, maybe five people, who had clearance to be in the know. It was more complicated if the informant was in the Order.
Jarrod's young voice broke the silence as he whispered, "He's not going to make it. I count at least ten Death Eaters. They set up defensive works inside as well as out."
Kinsley sighed. Jarrod was fresh out of the Academy. Too fresh, as the war forced them to cut training down to only a year, trying to put more bodies on the streets. "Did you count the five on the second floor?" asked the senior Auror.
A few moments later he heard Jarrod grunt in surprise. "No, didn't see them."
"Lets wait and see. I doubt this Cloud is just going to rush in like a mad bull through the front door. We'll see what will be. Even if he fails to achieve tonight's objectives, it won't matter in the long run. We just need to see how he fights so we can better use his skills in the future."
"Can't we help him though? I mean, they seem to know he is coming and I was under the impression this was a classified endeavor. We can't use him as a resource if he get killed." Jarrod reasoned.
"No. The two of us won't make a difference against these odds. If he is smart, he will come with an exit strategy. I know for a fact that he's smart, so I am not worried about that. Just keep your Omnioculars recording and watch. After the encounter is over, we can hand over the footage to the Unspeakables for analysis. Like the Minister said: to win this war we need to fight smart, not foolhardy."
It was silent for some time until Jarrod spoke again. "Hey, one of the Death Eaters just dropped to the ground. Front section, by the big oak. I can't see anyone around him though."
"Is he alive?" Kinsley moved his sight across the grounds around the area looking for anyone moving about. He didn't see anyone anywhere.
"Looks like it. Might have been cursed in the leg. He looks like he's screaming." A few moments passed while he scanned the area but failed to see the attacker. "One of the other Death Eaters just ran out of the house to get to him. Something happened to him too. Whatever got his mate just got him but the last one looks dead."
Curiosity got the better of him and he turned his sight to look at what Jarrod was seeing. He could see the wounded Death Eater holding his leg and trying to crawl to the front door of the house. He could see blood trailing a few feet behind him. The second Death Eater was definitely dead, as he was missing the back of his head. The pieces seemed to be scattered far behind him. He had never heard of a spell that could do that.
As he watched, he saw a third Death Eater hiding behind the door. As the wounded one got closer, he leaned out, reaching for his companion. Shacklebolt watched as the man beckoned his wounded mate to come closer before his mask seemed to explode, along with the back of his head. The Auror jumped from his prone position in surprise as he watched a vast mist of gray and red spray behind him and into the house. The dead man's body slumped forward into the door way. A moment later, the dead man was flung by what looked like a banishing charm, clearing the door, which slammed shut. The wounded man, who was still trying to crawl forward, was killed a moment later by a green light that could only be the Killing Curse, curtsey of someone inside. Seemed they decided he was not worth saving after all.
"Loyal as a Badger they are." Quipped Jarrod as he apparently was watching the scene unfold as well. Kingsley shook his head.
"That's three down and twelve left. I wonder what his next trick is going to be." So far he was impressed. He had no idea how Cloud was doing it, but what ever he was doing was proving to be quite effective. Three dead Death Eaters and, as far as he could see, the Assassin never exposed himself to harm.
Time passed again. Jarrod looked through the windows to see what he could see of the houses occupants, occasionally commenting on locations and how they were positioned. For his part, he looked over the grounds, trying to see where the Assassin was and what he'd be doing next. A half hour later, as Jarrod was commenting on how jumpy the houses occupants were, Kingsley noticed one of the second floor windows shatter inward for no apparent reason. Through a different window, they noticed blood adoring one of the walls.
"Looks like a few of the defenders rushing up the stairs. What happened? Did you see?"
Shacklebolt shook his head. "I don't know what I saw, but one is dead upstairs and a window is broken. I didn't see anything though, just happened."
"This reminds me of this movie I saw once. It was a war flick and one of the main people was a sniper. I wonder if that is what he is doing?" Jarrod commented.
"I have no idea what you are talking about, but just in case, mention it to the Unspeakables when we debrief. They might."
Jarrod chuckled at his comment. "Stupid Pureblood."
Kingsley chuckled at that. It was a running joke between them as their cultures clashed on occasion. "Clueless Muggle." As Kingsley continued to scout the area, trying to figure out where Cloud was now, he chuckled softy to himself. He liked Jarrod. He got the most out of a poor excuse of Academy training and worked hard to pick up all the things he missed while on the job. This mission was low risk but that did not stop him from trying to learn all he could, use his knowledge to the best of his ability, not to mention he always tried to integrate himself with his co-workers.
"Hey, check out the right side of the house, by those big rose bushes." Kingsley moved his sight over in that direction and saw what Jarrod was talking about. Someone was climbing the wall, slowly heading for the second floor, or maybe the roof. He had no doubt it was the Assassin, but how did he managed to get so close to the house without them knowing it? Without triggering any trap?
"Did you see how he got there?"
"Nope. Didn't see him until he started climbing the wall."
They watched as he slowly climbed up the wall. They would check windows occasionnally, looking at the defenders to see if they noticed anything. Apparently, they didn't. He climbed strait up the wall until he managed to get to the window. The assassin spent a moment hanging from the wall like some sort of black Gargoyle before he slipped inside and they lost sight of him again.
"He's like a catburgler. I know for a fact he can move around through means other than Apparition or Portkey. I'm not sure how but I know he can. Why is he moving about like this?" Kingsley wondered.
Jarrod answered him. "Maybe they blocked his ability or something or the wards stopped him somehow. Either that, or Cloud likes doing things the Muggle way."
"No idea. They are still watching windows and doors for him to enter…" He heard Jarrod gasp but did not need to ask why. He had just looked up and saw it for himself.
One of the Death Eaters was walking in front of a window when the dark dressed man seemed to grapple with him. The window was sprayed in blood a moment later and from what they could see, Cloud lowered him to the floor before skulking out of their sight. The Death Eater never saw it coming.
"If he keeps this up, there won't be anyone left to interrogate." Jarrod stated.
Kingsley mearly grunted. He doubted that any of those Death Eater knew anything of consequence. He also knew that any of them that actually did know something would be the last ones to allow themselves to be taken so easily. They would be in the middle of the pack, protected by Voldemort's favor. The lesser minions would fear letting harm to come his way, in fear his of Voldemort's wrath. He was pretty sure the Assassin knew this as well. At least, it would appear so as he was eliminating the low level ones while moving about.
"Have you seen the white one yet? Intelligence says he never works alone, she should be around here somewhere."
"No, haven seen her, and white would stand out quite a bit. Might be disillusioned, under a cloak, or possibly hidden by other means. Lots of possibilities with Magic. Disillusion and cloaks though would be foiled by our Omnioculars so that leaves us with something else." Jarrod replied.
They continued to watch the grounds and what they could through windows for a bit more. It seemed Cloud was cautious. After he dropped the one by the widow they did not see him again during this time.
"Boss, Two Death Eaters just ran from the second floor to the ground. Looks like they either are running away from Cloud, or they found one of the bodies." Jarrod informed him. It was a moment later when the wards flared around the house in an impressive display and did not relinquish, as they should have. All of the sudden the entire area was alight from the wards magics. The entire house was a glow in a what looked like spider webbed magics covering all doors, windows, and walls, completely wrapping about the structure.
"Good god, they're using the Impenetrabilis Propugnaculum(1) ward." Kinsley's whispered in awe.
"Never heard of it, what's the deal with that ward? Is it Dark?" Jarrod asked.
It took a few moments for him to answer the younger man. "It's not so much that it's dark, but devilishly powerful. It takes a great deal of power to create one. It's unheard of mostly because there are less than six wizards alive that have the power to build up such a ward. Once activated, the entire structure under the Impenetrabilis Propugnaculum is impenetrable to just about every magic known to our kind. I only know about it because I was apart of the ward team assembled to ward the Ministers home a few months ago. No one in can get out, and no one outside can get in. Only Dumbledore, and maybe You-Know-Who could possibly breach such a ward, and it is most likely to magicaly exhaust them to do it."
Kingsley looked inside, through the Wards Web, noticing the Death Eaters change tactics. They started moving upstairs in groups of three, appearently hunting. "Looks like they laid their trap well. The Hunter is now the Prey. We couldn't help him now even if we wanted to, nor can anyone he brought with him, if he brought anyone."
"What if he kills the ones who powered the ward? Would that allow him to drop it and escape?" Jarrod asked.
"Yeah, it could. It's the weak point of the ward. It requires live Wizards or Witches to power it. Or massively charged Runic stones specifically prepared and set up to power it. In either case, take out the power source the Ward falls. Of course, the source is almost always inside the ward itself so really, it's foolproof. However, I doubt he knows anything about that. That ward is very rare and only a handful knows about it. I know about it since I was apart of the Ministers Ward Detail and the Minister briefed me personally on the ward." Shacklebolt replied.
It was only a few moments after he finished talking when they heard strange sounds echoing from the house. Jarrod whispered, "Holy shite, that sounds like gun fire…"
Shacklebolt took his eyes from the magical binoculars to look at his trainee. "What are you talking about?" there were a lot of those strange pops and when he brought his eyes back to take a look he could see the hunting groups taking cover. Not that it did them much good, what ever it was Cloud was using seemed to cut right through their cover.
"Gunfire. Clouds is using an automatic weapon of some kind. Can't see him though to tell you what kind."
"You mean those Fireleg things Arthur is always talking about?"
Jarrod laughed while he moved his Omnioculars about trying to see the action. "Firearms, you ignorant Pureblood, but yeah, those. Muggles use them to hurt others. Normally to kill…" His speech was cut off from a massive explosion that rocked the house and blew out a huge segment of the second floor wall on the backside where they could not see. The ward however, held in place.
It was getting more difficult to tell what was happing inside as the smoke from whatever was happing inside clouded the area. They could see shadowy figures moving about and the jets of different spells being cast here and there. There was a lot of green mixed with red. Kingsley supposed they were Killing curses and Stunners but it was too difficult to tell.
The first floor was still pretty clear of smoke and Kingsley could see five Death Eaters holding a well-fortified position in what looked like a large sitting room. He did not see any one else but he could still see figures moving about in the smoke on the second floor. The sounds of what Jarrod said was muggle weapons still sounded off an on over the next few minuets. The spell fire lessened over time, and the other sounds did as well. Soon, the smoke cleared but they did not see anyone moving about on the second floor. Walls were riddled with holes, small ones while some others where huge. Interspaced throughout the areas, they could see scorch marks from spell fire. Bodies lay about all over, some alone, others in piles. All Death Eaters. At least, they all looked like Death Eaters.
"What we are doing right now, is this normal for Aurors? I mean, this watching the battle but not doing anything while our asset gets his arse fucked?" Jarrod asked while they searched about looking for signs of Cloud surviving, or not.
"I would like to say no, but if he survives this and he gets out of there in one piece, I think it may happen again. Though considering the Ministers reluctance to have too many people work with him, and of course Cloud's resistance to working with others, it most likely will be just us, so we can plan his future missions better. This is just a giant screw up. I think we have a leak somewhere. They were way to prepared for him to show tonight."
"I'd be willing to undergo Veritaserum to clear my name from that list, Boss. I agree with you though. Someone sold him out, and doing so, they sold us out in general." Jarrod stated.
Kingsley appreciated his willingness to undergo Veritaserum. He was pretty sure the Unspeakables would be doseing them both before they even finished the paperwork on this assignment. It was too bad Ministry regs prevented them from wholesale doesing the whole department. Not even the Minister had the power to do so without overwhelming evidences to support the procedure.
Kingsley was looking about the second floor when he finally found the Assassin. He was stumbling along one of the walls. He looked weak and there was blood trailing where he leaned against the wall. His right arm hung limp at his side while he stumbled along the hallway before he wandered through a door that lead to a room they could not see from this side. "Well, he survived, but he's in a bad way. I don't see him taking on the last five standing on the first floor with the way he is looking."
"You know, I would have expected that patrol that left half an hour ago to be back by now. Especially with all the lights and noise, did you see what happened to them?" Jarrod asked.
Kingsley had forgotten all about the Death Eater patrol that was walking the outer ward boundary. He quickly scanned the area but did not see anything moving about. "Maybe he took them out, or his companion did. They could have just left once the wards went up, at that point, there was nothing left for them to do."
"I guess so. I would have expected reinforcements though, had they left. Intel said that this house was one of the major storehouses. If that's right, they won't just give up those supplies."
As they were watching, all of the sudden there was another massive explostion that completely blew out a segment of the east wall on the first floor. They could see a small fire starting and the wards suddenly collapsed. Kingsley was keeping his eyes on the group of Death Eaters in the common room area but they were nowhere near the blast. Suddenly, all the lamps went out and it was pitch black in the house.
"See anything?" he asked.
Jarrod replied negatively. "No, too dark. So, that means they used one of those magic storage things for the super ward?"
"Looks like it."
Suddenly, they both noticed a figure in white rushing from the outer boundaries toward the front section of the house. They watched as Cloud stumbled out of the house and into her arms as soon as she was close enough. Suddenly, there was a deep blackness and when it cleared, both were gone.
"I'll be damned. He did it. Damn, I owe Jason twenty Galleons. I didn't think he could do the whole house."
"Come on Boss. If he cleared the house, we need to get the clean up crew to do its thing and clear the place so we can figure out what we got. Besides, I think we got a long night with the Unspeakables."
Kingsley nodded and sighed. It was definitely going to be a long night.
Authors Note:
1. Impenetrabilis Propugnaculum: Translates as Indestructible Fortress I think. I forgot where I got the reference from.
Here you go, This story is apart of the Eight Shades Universe and is considered to be the Fourth Shade. Please feel free to read and review as I enjoy the feedback. For those of you who have already reviewed, thank you all very much.
This story has been Beta'ed by my wife, me, and Tigerman. Updated: 8-2-10
Thank you all for reading.