The Madness Within: Chapter 10

by

QuantumPhonetics

"The Eastern front is like a house of cards. If the front is broken through at one point all the rest will collapse." General Heinz Guderian.

Department of Mysteries, 10:23 P.M., April 29th, 1941

The frown on his grizzled face nearly morphed into a snarl. The man took a deep breath of his cigarette and sat back against one of the many green armored transport vehicles that dotted the RAF base. The morning sun was just peaking over the English countryside and yet the base was crawling with activity. Glancing over to his right he could barely hear a few garbled words from a group of soldiers in the Airborne division. He tuned out the inane chatter and took one last mighty drag. With a practiced flick the butt flew from his hand and struck the side of the raven haired teen's head in front of him.

"HEY! What was that for you old bastard?!" The teen brushed the errant ash from his newly issued Auror cloak and sat back down on the increasingly warm tarmac.

Peter Jacobs ignored the complaint and leaned his head back; closing his eyes against the midmorning sun. Although he fingered another in the pack, he refrained from lighting up another. "Don' act like a brat lad…you won' always have peace and quiet to prepare."

Harry Potter exhaled noisily and glared at Peter's relaxed pose. "Is there a reason why I'm doing this? You've showed me how to do it with magic for Merlin's sake!"

"And what would happen if ya didn't have it? If all ya could rely on was this?" He pointed at the halfway assembled Lee Enfield Mk.1. The shiny greased parts lay in disarray on a burlap tarp that had been provided for them.

Harry stared at the highly varnished wooden stock barrel he held in his hands with a slightly perturbed look. "Wizards would never resort to using a weapon besides a wand."

Peter snorted in derision. "War can change people. Change the way they think; the way they act." He patted his RAF flight uniform to shake off a piece of ash. "Remember when we saw that German rocket? It was a magical version of a muggle weapon."

Harry fingered the black firing mechanism absently and frowned. "But…but what about the Statute of Secrecy? Surely someone should have known?"

"Aye. That's the real problem. Couple o' my muggle mates in the infantry told me about weird shit going on in the front lines. If that's true…and the rumors were true…" Peter trailed off uncertainly and subconsciously brought another cigarette out.

Harry sat forward with a curious expression and absently continued his maintenance on the rifle. "What do you mean…rumors?"

Peter twirled his head around to see if anybody was in close proximity and then light his cigarette. Turning back to Harry he leaned forward conspiratorially. "There have been conflicting reports of various scientists and magical people disappearing; people are sayin' the Nazis are the ones responsible."

"But…it just doesn't make sense. I thought the Nazis were all about genetic purity. And pureblood wizards would never back a muggle who didn't follow their own policies of blood supremacy."

A surprised yet intrigued expression flitted across Peter's face. "You're more informed than I thought, lad."

Harry looked away sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head absently. A fleeting image of his early years in Surrey's educational system came to the back of his mind.

Who ever thought those old primary school history lectures would ever come in handy…just wish I paid more attention in class…

Harry was brought out of his thought when Peter laughed bitterly. "I probably shouldn't tell you this…but I think you should know." Before Harry could retort Peter pointed at the rifle laying on the tarp. "But not until you finish the field strip and maintenance on the Enfield. Oh…and no magic." A cocky grin flashed on Peter's face as he flicked some ash from his cigarette at the young man.

Harry shot an aggravated look at the elder pilot and settled down to finish his task. Within a few minutes the rifle lay on the burlap in pristine condition; Harry's impatient face reflected in its surface.

"We're making a detour in France before we teleport into Germany."

Harry frowned and picked himself off the warm tarmac. "The apparition point?"

Peter nodded and brushed back his sloppy hair with a mischievous grin. "Aye. You'll find out later." The smile grew larger as an angry looked settled on Harry's face. "Dependin' on how it's been going with your bonny lass you might even look forward to it."

"ATTENTION! Officers on deck!"

Harry's angry retort died on his lips as he noticed a small group approaching. From his peripheral vision he could see the group of card-playing pilots suddenly drop everything and stand rigidly in a salute.

As Peter adopted an identical stance he glanced over at the younger wizard. "Just follow my lead," the unshaven wizard hissed quietly.

The younger wizard hastily emulated Peter's taller form as the group stopped in front of him. At the head of the group was a severe-looking middle-aged man; streaks of grey dotting his short cut hair and a vicious smile upon his face. As he approached the Harry couldn't help but notice the amount of shining emblems and insignia upon the man's breast. At his side Albus Dumbledore strode eloquently; a modified wizards cloak draped across his shoulders. On his back was an unusual bulging shape; various harnesses crisscrossing over the vintage Auror garb. As the group approached Harry the man beside Dumbledore cast his eyes Harry and lingered there for a moment.

"At ease gentleman," the gruff man replied as he stood before the two.

At once Peter relaxed his rigid form, yet still stood in a similar pose. A quick sideways glance from the older wizard and Harry mirrored his stance.

The middle aged man nodded at Peter and then focused his attention on Harry. His eyes flared upwards toward his trademark scar; and yet there was no indication of surprise or recognition. Harry had to resist the urge of flattening his hair upon his forehead as he stared into the man's eyes. A small smile threatened to break his lips as he thought of the irony.

I almost forgot…I'm not the Boy Who Lived…yet…

"So this is the dead weight we're going to carry." The man waved his hand nonchalantly and turned toward Dumbeldore. "Listen Albus, I don't mind you tagging along with our squadron, but is this kid ready for this? He looks like he's younger than eighteen!"

Harry's face began to turn red and he opened his mouth to protest. Just as he was about to utter his first word Dumbledore stepped forward and cast a serious look at Harry's affronted face.

"Major, I assure you that he will be of no problem. I will take responsibility for his actions. We will not be a hindrance to your plans."

The man scowled. "Air Marshal. The higher ups promoted me last year."

Albus smiled suddenly and a warm smile graced his face. "I expected no less my friend. We will make sure to follow your instructions to the letter."

"Just don't get in our way. I've ordered the squadron to mobilize within the hour. The apparition point is in Southern France."

Albus nodded and stroked his long white beard in contemplation. "I assume that the wards are still active in German occupied territory?"

"Unfortunately. It's a logistical nightmare trying to shuttle the magical forces into the country." Arthur raised his hand to his brow and kneaded his temple tiredly. "We'll get you to France. After that you're on your own Albus."

Albus nodded and adjusted his spectacles absently. "I understand."

The man turned to Albus once more and a sardonic smile wormed its way onto his face. "And remember Albus, you owe me that drink when you get back."

Albus smiled slightly and tilted his head toward him. "Of course, Arthur."

The former Major nodded once more and then turned to the surrounding soldiers. "Everybody in Foxtrot squadron report to the tarmac at 0800. Dismissed!"

As the Air Marshal turned and walked away Peter relaxed and then immediately glared at Harry. "What in tha blazes was that?! You can' react that way to a commandin' officer! You're lucky that Albus intervened."

"But I-"

Albus bristled with annoyance as he glared at the younger wizard. "Be quiet. He is not a man who tolerates insubordination."

The words in Harry's mouth died down and he glared at Dumbledore. His concentration was broken when he heard the telltale scratch of a match being lit. A cloud of cigarette smoke drifted past Harry as Peter leaned back against the military vehicle. "Aye. He's right ya know. It's a bad idea to rile up tha "Butcher".

Harry looked down and frowned uneasily. "The Butcher?"

Albus chuckled slightly and a small grin escaped his stoic visage. "With his temperament I am not surprised his old nickname remains." He sighed and then turned toward the duo. "Prepare yourself for liftoff. Do not forget wear the harness."

As he turned and walked away Peter grabbed him by his robe and started to drag him to the mess hall.

"Let's go brat. We need to get ready."

Within a half hour the squadron was strapped into their respective seats aboard a long range bomber. Although Harry had never flown in an airplane before he marveled at the vintage construction. It seemed almost impossible that such a primitive plane would be flying into a warzone. A sense of dread began to creep into his spine as the enormous engines sputtered into life. A large drone drowned out the rest of the ambient sound and he felt the vibration in his bones. Although flying was one of Harry's greatest skills, he could not keep the uneasy look from settling on his face. To his right Albus remained stoically silent; his head bowed as if in deep concentration. On his left Peter slept soundlessly, oblivious to the commotion around him.

As Harry tried to calm his rapidly beating heart he dared to glance at the man across from him. Mad-Eye sat completely still, yet his eyes followed Harry's every move. Once he noticed Harry's attention he smiled darkly and raised his hand. His fingers curled into a gun shape and he pointed at Harry. In one fluid motion he jerked the hand back as if it had fired and mouthed the word "Bang". Harry stared in exasperation as the hungry look on Mad-Eye's face grew until a wide smile remained. Harry simply shook his head in disbelief as the plane shifted and began to move down the runway.

He acts worse than Malfoy…

As the plane began to gain speed and the vibrations increased Harry spared one more look to the last passenger in the small cargo area. Although Appoline now wore a similar modified uniform that Albus and Mad-Eye wore it seemed to accentuate her natural beauty. His eyes began to be drawn to the great contrast between her platinum blonde air and the dreary drab grey colors of the bomber. As if she could sense his lingering glance her eyes darted upward and met his. She had only spoken a handful of words toward him since the situation with Mad-Eye. The last time he had interacted with her it was an awkward affair; Appoline would hardly speak at all and tended to avert her eyes from his when he would look at her.

She stared at him for a moment and bit her lip in hesitation. A second later and her gaze once again centered on the metallic floor. An unusual heavy feeling remained and it only acerbated his feeling of unease. Harry sighed and then leaned back and closed his eyes. The plane finally began to lift upon the air and the massive engines strained to provide the necessary force. The sound began to lull him onto a slumber and the loud cargo area disappeared into darkness.

The shadows flickered erratically around the circular room as a soft crackling sound reverberated from the few charred remains in the massive stone fireplace. The warm glow of the steadily diminishing embers cast shadows on the dark paneled walls as a sardonic grin crept onto his face. A soft rustle from behind him drew his attention back to the two other occupants of the room.

"Are you sure about this?!"

He slowly turned toward the bushy haired girl and a mischievous smile slid onto his face. "You've done all the calculations. It's possible, isn't it?"

"Of course!" The girl frowned and shook her head in dismay. "But that isn't the problem! How are we supposed to access the vault?"

A redheaded boy looked over her shoulder at the numerous notes haphazardly strewn across the massive mahogany table. A worried look flitted onto his face as he sat back down with a languished sigh. "The only person we know that got into bloody Gringotts and escaped alive was You-Know-Who back in first year."

He frowned and turned to his red haired colleague. "That doesn't mean it isn't possible." A look of disbelief crept onto the lanky redhead's face, mirroring the bushy haired girl's expression to his right.

He merely smiled and a hungry look settled on his face. "It's the only way."

Hermione bit her lip anxiously and shook her head in exasperation; her frizzy brown hair shifting slightly. "There is no way of stopping you is there?"

He stopped his erratic pacing and smiled in victory. "So…how are we going to get into the Lestrange's vault?

A soft groan escaped Ron Weasely's face and he leaned back in his chair. "Well…first we need to figure out how to get past the goblins…."

A determined look finally settled onto his face and a barely discernible red tint emerged in his eyes as he turned away from the two and stared into the glowing embers. "It's not the goblins I'm worried about mate…it's the dragons."

The sharp crackling noise of the fire suddenly magnified and began to echo loudly around the room. The unusual room began to shake and the concussive sounds increased in frequency. The edges of the room began to bleed into black as the concerned looks upon the faces of Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasely faded into the darkness.

"INCOMING!"

Harry's eyes flew open as the entire aircraft shook violently and a flash of bright light engulfed his senses. His body suddenly began to lift in his seat as the plan dropped a few hundred feet in seconds. A rush of bile caught in his throat as a massive explosion erupted behind the plane and shook the entire fuselage.

What in bloody hell going on?!

The plane's engines sputtered in midair and a high pitched screech erupted from the wing behind him. Peter jolted awake with a start and was shouting at him desperately; the sound drowned out by the whistling wind. Any spare items not bolted down into the plane suddenly rushed through a rapidly expanding hole in the back of the plane. The sky around the plane steadily began to fill with exploding lights as the plane began to steadily list to the side. An ominous solitary red light in the cargo area suddenly switched to green with a high pitched wail.

"Harry! The pilot has switched the evacuate light. We need to jump!" Albus' worried face met his as the aging professor began to undo his restraints. Even though his weathered face was mere inches from his it was almost impossible to hear the future Headmaster. Harry simply stared in disbelief at the massive hole directly behind the future Headmaster and nodded dumbly.

Albus' surprisingly strong fingers grabbed the harness and released the straps holding in before dragging him unsteadily to his feet. As the rest of the occupants unsteadily rose to their feet an unimaginably loud screech erupted from the cockpit. Harry's eyes locked onto Appoline's fearful gaze before the entire world turned upside down in a fury of sound and light. A searing white light flashed in front of Harry's eyes and suddenly a violent wind was grasping at his auror cloak.

Harry opened his eyes as his stomach felt as if it were up in his throat. The blinding white spots disappeared quickly and were replaced by flashed of light and explosions that rocked the air around him as he fell.

Bloody HELL!

The very sound in his throat died as the explosions buffeted his body and sent him into an ungraceful free fall. His numb fingers fumbled with the release mechanism for the parachute. Within moments the large fabric sprung from his backpack and his body was jerked violently as his velocity halted quickly. The explosions continued to erupt around Harry as he gripped the harness for dear life. At that exact moment a shell erupted violently above him. The sensation of dropping suddenly returned as the parachute canopy ripped apart like tissue paper.

"Oh fu-"

The words were ripped from his mouth as the wind rocketed past him and he reached terminal velocity. Even though Harry tried to release the reserve chute it refused to budge. The ground started to come up quicker and quicker as Harry continued to fumble with the primitive harness.

'C'mon you piece of crap! OPEN!"

A small spark of anger began to blossom within Harry as he struggled vainly with the tangled harness. Unbeknownst to Harry, the symbols on his bandages now began to flash in tune with his erratic heartbeat. A vague red glow began to rapidly build in Harry's eyes as he cursed silently into the deafening wind. The flashes of light began to halt and the very ground reaching up to meet him slowed to a crawl's pace.

"An accurate mental image is necessary for a successful transport. The target location must be adequately detailed in your mind. Only then will you accurately apparate to your destination."

Harry Potter breathed in deeply and wiped the sweat from his brow. "This is bloody impossible! I can't even make it more than ten meters!" His breath steadied and he glared at Albus reproachfully. A heavy wind whistled through the Quidditch pitch and grasped at the auror cloaks the two wizards wore.

Albus simply sighed and crossed his arms nonchalantly. "You are focusing too much on providing the magical power and not enough on the control. For the love of Merlin, focus on the energy expenditure!"

Harry grumbled and stood up with his right hand in front of him. He spared one more look at the various painted squares on the Quidditch field and breathed in slightly. "How in the hell do you make this look so easy?! I can barely make it into the squares when I jump!"

Albus rubbed his nose in exasperation and adjusted his spectacles. "You need to focus more intently." With a wave of his hand the painted squares moved in different positions and settled around the pitch. "Now do it again. Begin!"

Harry suddenly vanished with a sharp crack and appeared in another square ten meters. Another crack and Harry suddenly reappeared behind the aging future Headmaster. Albus didn't even flinch as once again the wizard disappeared. The last image that flashed in front of his eyes was Dumbledore's approving grin as the memory bled in his vision.

The familiar red haze suddenly disappeared from Harry's vision suddenly and the world sped up back to normal. A feral grin sprouted on the teenage wizard's face as he stared directly at the approaching land beneath him. The whistling wind that swept past his ears soon was drowned out by the hoarse scream that escaped Harry Potter's throat. A crack like thunder erupted from around the young man's body as he disappeared in a massive flash of red light.

*Finally beginning to get into the main plot of this story. Here is where things begin to get interesting. This chapter was a bit longer to make up for the last one. It helps my writing style and motivates me to continue this story. I apologize for the length of time it took to update. I've been in Europe taking care of my sick Grandfather. I will try to get the new beta chapters out as soon as possible. As always, please review.

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners (Treyarch & J.K. Rowling respectively). The original characters and plot are the property of the author of this story. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any previously copyrighted material. No copyright infringement is intended.