Fated Origins: Chapter 11: The Call to Arms
A/N: Read and review! Enjoy the update.
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"The infantrymen wake
With the call to arms ringing like a cymbal's crash in their valiant ears
And foolhardy hearts.
'Come, take up your arms!'
The overlords cry.
But they are only to march into the jaws of Death,
Only to take up arms against themselves."
~Sebastian Leadwing, IV
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July 17, 1996, Day Three of Cadmus' Return, 3:00 A.M.-Lestrange Residence
The clock on the wall, decorated with intricate symbols and covered in a veneer of gold, ticked maddeningly in the silence of the room. A woman sat at a long dining room table, head bowed, her black and white, corkscrew hair draped over her face like a veil. She sat like a Victorian doll, unmoving and without sound. Across from her, a man was positioned in a similar way; head arched, long, silver hair shielding his face. Between them, at the head of the table, a snakelike creature stood, arms lifted in ceremonial pose, its head tilted back as if he were being anointed with oil.
Words escaped the creature's pencil-thin lips; strange, choked sounds, guttural and unnatural. It was an incantation of some sort, an ancient phrase used for some magical purpose. The serpent-like being paused a moment, drawing of the room's air with slit-like nostrils, then opened his mouth to begin again-
"My Lord!"
With an ear-shattering bang, the door of the room flew open, revealing a small, rat-like man with a crazed look about him. His eyes were moon-wide with fear, and he trembled like an earthquake was hitting the area.
"My Lord," the rat-man squeaked again. "I have news for you!"
With a hiss, the snakelike creature dropped his arms, and his two companions jolted like they had been awoken from slumber. The long-haired man gripped his head in response, furiously rubbing his temples, and muttered, "Damn Wormtail." Dazedly, the woman looked about, blinking like a drunk.
"I hope you bring report worthy of interrupting my meditation, Wormtail," growled the snakelike man, his silky voice dripping with warning.
Wormtail swallowed heavily, as if there were a steel ball in his esophagus. His hands fidgeting wildly, he closed his eyes and released the news:
"My Lord, what I have to tell you is grave. I have received word from a Ministry informant of ours that something drastic has occurred."
He paused, the weight of what was to come perhaps closing his mouth for him. He managed, however, to reopen it and finish the thought.
"My Lord, your half-brother, Aristarchus…He has returned."
The silence that followed this statement was so great that if a pin were to be dropped in the room it would sound similar to the explosion of one-hundred missiles. No one stirred; a cemetery seemed like a party thrown by Gatsby in comparison.
With low, hissing cackles, the snakelike man began to laugh hysterically, as if Wormtail had just cracked him an amusing joke by Carlin. He guffawed in this manner for several seconds, throwing his head back in sheer merriment. His laugher gradually died away, and he wheezily inquired:
"So, have you come to merely entertain me with a joke, Wormtail?"
Wormtail stood as still as a mountain, eyes almost comically wide and face paler than a seagull's feathers. Deliberately, like a falling bridge, the grin disappeared from the snakelike man's face. His companion's gaped at one another, puzzled and terrified equally.
Quicker than a flash of lightning, Wormtail was off his feet, dangling a foot off the carpeted ground, his neck protruding. His face quickly turned purple, and beads of sweat burst forth from his pores like individual waterfalls. He clawed at his throat with his small, rodent-like fingers in attempt to free himself from the grasp of his Master.
The snakelike man's voice was eerily calm as he spoke.
"What did you say about my half-brother?"
Through a constricted windpipe, the suffocating servant squeaked out,
"He has returned."
In that moment, it seemed as if Hell had opened up beneath the room and Lucifer himself had stepped forth into the world of mortals. The snakelike man released a shriek so intensely horrifying it caused his companions to fall to the floor, clutching their ears in pain. His eyes burned an inhuman, savage crimson, like pools of molten fire. With a sweep, he flung his messenger across the room like a toy, and his small body collided with the wall with a dull thud.
The table before the snake burst into flame, and the chairs alongside it flew in all directions of the room. The rage of the man was almost tangible, like a sweltering aura of condensed heat, and the small dining area pulsed with it. The walls cracked down the middle, and the chandelier shattered upon the floor with a bang.
With a flick of the snake-like man's wand, the rat-man appeared before him once more, blubbering and quivering like a leaf in the fetal position.
"How did he return?! Where is he?!" he screamed, his voice matching the decibels of a jet engine.
Whimpering like an injured dog, Wormtail stifled his sobs and answered his Master,
"My Lord, I do not know the details of the situation! No one knows how he managed to come back! Nor is anyone aware of his whereabouts! Please, my Lord! Spare me!"
This served only to further enrage his master. The snake-man stomped his foot upon the ground, and instantly the ceiling above their heads was obliterated, revealing a tranquil night sky. As if he were swinging the sword of vengeance, he thrust his wand into the air. A beam of green light erupted from the end of the stick, shooting upwards into the sky and exploding in a fireball of jade in the clouds. A skull of emerald mist appeared where the spell had detonated with a snake curling out of its open mouth.
The serpent-man then touched two elegantly long fingers to a tattoo upon his wrist, which was the same symbol as the signal in the sky. Instantaneously, his silken voice surged into the skulls of his followers all throughout the country.
"My loyal supporters," he began. "I have received word of a threat greater than that foolish boy, Potter! He is a danger to our cause and a thorn in the side of our quest! Assemble; return to your Master! Amass your weapons and bring your valiant spirits! War is upon us! This is the call to arms!"
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July 17, 1996, Day Three of Cadmus' Return, 3:00 A.M.-the Ministry of Magic
"Minister! This is no trifle! This might mean war that consumes the entirety of the Wizarding World!"
"Albus, Albus. I do not discredit you or your claims. But how can I be assured this man isn't just some petty criminal who got lucky against a few Aurors and an ill-equipped Muggle police unit? How can we be assured of his origins? For all we know, this whole 'Voldemort's half-brother' situation could be a myth."
The wizened man's expression twisted with aggravation.
"He has kidnapped an Auror, Cornelius! Nymphadora Tonks is currently missing and is assumed abducted by this man! He is most definitely a threat! Do not disregard this, Minister!"
The squat man with an amiable face jumped from his armchair with a huff, pointing a finger in the taller wizard's face.
"You cannot and will not tell me how to perform my job, Albus! If I decide that this man does not pose danger to national security, then he does not! And you will accept that!"
The aged man's eyes narrowed.
"Do as you please, Cornelius. But when this man brings this world to its knees, it will be remembered that you did nothing to stop it."
Cornelius growled.
"This visit is over, Albus! Have a good night, and do not bother me with this again!"
Albus turned with an incensed flourish and tossed a fine green powder into the fireplace before him.
Before calling out his destination and disappearing, he looked over his shoulder at the Minister of Magic.
"You will receive no mercy, Cornelius. None of us will. It is up to you now to give us a chance against this man. Think hard and with wisdom, for you might not get to deliberate on another matter as Minister again after a few days' time."
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Chapter 10 Selected Review Responses:
bittatatat: Thank you again for your suggestions! Adding those females to the Harem are all possibilities, especially the mother-daughter concept. That will come in handy when the enslavement rolls around.