Disclaimer; I do not own Harry Potter

Author's Note:

As I stated in the first chapter(Prologue), Cedric is a bit more social than Harry. He didn't exactly spend his entire time in the chamber every time Harry did. The fact that they have not yet, as of now, established a ways of communication only serves to strengthen my case.

Hey everyone, I have uploaded at last.

Chapter 13: Vengeance against the Mages

Thirty Minutes later…

Madam Pomfrey hurriedly worked on the boy, fighting to save his life. Severus was busy brewing a Vein Stabilizer Potion to save the boy from Magical Vein Collapse. Magical Veins were passageways in which magic circulated throughout one's body. If one was damaged or even destroyed, that person's ability to do magic would be disrupted. Such collapses also caused Death quickly. What was most dangerous about the boy right now was his overly weakened physical state. Magic could only do so much to help him recover.

There were some Healers from St. Mungoes helping out at the request of the Potters. After all, the boy was part of their family. James sand Lily might have neglected him, but they didn't hate him. Madam Pomfrey sighed, recalling her conversation with the Potters.

Flashback

James and Lily potter stormed into the infirmary. Madam Pomfrey was getting ready to perform the patching when they barged in. The two approached her hastily. "Poppy, where's my son! Where is Harry? Is he alright? Who did this to him?" He asked rapidly.

"Harry was attacked by a group called the Mages of Anima. His Magical Veins are unstable and he's suffering from internal bleeding. We're preparing to patch it up now. Severus is brewing a Magical Vein Sustainer to help the veins stabilize. I won't lie to you. It's very probable that he will die before tomorrow from either the damage done to his body or the strain on his magic. Excuse me, I must go oversee the patching operation."

"J-James w-what i-if he doesn't m-make i-it? H-he's t-t-too young t-to die! W-we b-b-barely e-even k-k-know h-h-h-him a-anymore! W-what i-i-if he d-dies hating u-us?" She asked, sobbing uncontrollably as she did.

James tried his best to sooth the crying woman, but to no avail. He was worried about Harry too. He hadn't been a father to him these past few years. Nothing he could do would change that simple fact. And he would regret that forever.

End Flashback

None of them had noticed a man standing on the branch of a tree, from a distance, listening to their every word. He wore a green dragon hide vest and was armed with a double bladed sword. At the base of the tree was an Arabian Wind Mare, one of the fastest horses on earth. He jumped from the branch silently and landed on the back of the horse. He took one last look at the castle before riding away at full speed with only one thought in mind. An Heir to the throne has been found. I must warn the Council.

Alex and Cedric stalked a fifth year named Arthur Goldstray under the cover of an invisibility cloak. Goldstray was a prime suspect for being part of the Mages of Anima. He was a top student with high marks, especially so in Charms and Transfiguration. Arthur was, unknowingly, leading them back to a hideout of the Mages.

But he was not stupid enough to go in plain sight. He was under an Invisibility Charm. However, he forgot something about it. People under charms like invisibility and notice me not still had visible shadows which could be seen. These were not affected by the charms. It was rather impractical of schools to teach these sort of spells until they learned to cast the Shadow Meld Charm. A Shadow Meld Charm was designed to refract light away from the effected person or object, thus giving the illusion that the person did not have a shadow.

The wizarding world was rather slow on such matters and most never bothered to find out about such a thing of "meager importance". The smarter wizards were the ones who decided to learn such details in spells, more often than not helping them in a way. It was these tiny things that separated the professionals from the mediocre.

Alex and Cedric had no hope of going up against what they perceived to be a heavily warded room housing several older, dangerous students who outnumbered and outclassed them. The only reason they had suffered so many casualties when they faced Harry was because he unleashed Raw Elemental Magic against them. It was very improbable that they could beat them in an encounter such as this. It was for this reason that they were merely pinpointing the location of the hideout for the Aurors.

The Aurors had been ordered by the Ministry to arrest the Mages at all costs and to maintain guard over Hogsmeade in case the Mages attacked again. It was rather stupid to do so. A regular wizard would take ten minutes to run from the edge of the grounds to the castle. By then, they would be panting. It would take another twenty minutes to run to where they currently were.

The Mages of Anima had an extensive spy network at their disposal and anyone going near their hideout with enough authority to hinder their operations was treated with utmost caution by them, usually evacuating the premises. However, if they were able to somehow seal off the exits, it might buy the Aurors enough time to rush in and apprehend them.

Now the problem became how to stall the Mages long enough. Conventional means could easily be broken or overridden by this rather Intelligent and Superior Group. Runes and Wards might have more success but the Mages had Runists and Warders with them as well, having skills far above that of Alex. They'd just have to pray one wasn't with them. The Mages tended to have several hideouts in which held an equal amount of people. Each one was manned by at least two Mages at all times.

But, plans didn't always turned out as planned. This wouldn't be an exception to that.

Goldstray had brought them to a room in the Fifth Floor East Wing. There were several wards behind the door, making it nearly impossible to break in. Alex started drawing a Sealing Rune on the door while Cedric was busy checking the Rogue's Map if there were any other ways to leave the room.

They worked methodically, closing off the exit points one at a time to make sure each one was blocked off properly. They used a variety of runes and wards on the doors and barriers to block off the hidden passageways such as walls and boulders. Fortunately, the passageways only led to a distant wall further up making it easier to block. With the obstacles in place, Alex and Cedric planted the Signaling Charm on the door to alert the Aurors of their location.

The Charm affected only a specified group of people, usually Aurors, to something or someone's location. The place's name appeared in their mind as an illusion as well as direction on how to get there. Alex watched the Map tensely. The moment the Aurors appeared on the grounds, the Mages would try to break out. Blue Dots which represented the Aurors suddenly started to appear on the map.

In a clear voice, he said, "Sensory Mode, Activate"

The words "Password Required" appeared on the Map.

"I Call Upon the Aid of the Sense of Magic." Alex said hastily.

Some highlights appeared on the map with lists beside these highlighted areas. It showed every warded area in the map. "Center My Position." Alex ordered. The Map changed rapidly until it showed where he was. Unlike the Marauders Map, this one was composed of only one parchment and was designed to change the area viewed upon voice commands.

He enlarged the list near his icon on the map. There were several wards there ranging from the Standard Strengthening Ward to the Specialized Static Trap Ward. The good news was that they needed to take down all their wards down first before they could counteract the effects of the Sealing Rune. The bad news was that they were taking down the wards far quicker than expected.

He watched nervously as ward after ward disappeared from the list of active emplacements. The Aurors wouldn't come for another twenty minutes and more than half the barriers were already down. Alex pulled out his wand, readying himself to fight, and Cedric followed suit. Glancing at the paper, he saw there were only three wards left to take down.

Two

One

BANG! The door was vaporized as five simultaneous Exploding Hexes hit it with full force. The runes were undone. The Mages had broken the enchantments. The Aurors still needed a good fifteen minutes to arrive and that did not help Alex's nervousness about having to face the Mages at pointblank range.

Alex immediately sent a Repulsion Spell towards the door while Cedric busily conjured stone walls to take cover behind. Hexes and Curses of various kinds were thrown back at them in retaliation. The two ducked behind a conjured stone wall. It was times like this that Alex was thankful he decided to bring Harry's Potions Kit with him. Inside were an assortment of freshly brewed potions.

He uncorked a vial containing a smoky blue substance which could only be identified as Shadowshade Gas. It would create a smokescreen to obscure the vision of everyone, an advantage and a disadvantage to both sides.

This was supposed to be a regular day for Arthur Goldstray. He had been inducted into the Mages of Anima just a few weeks ago and had gotten used to the normal routine there. Then came the fiasco with the attack on Potter. He had incapacitated over half of their standing number, though most were relatively minor injuries healed quickly. The Potters backed by the Ministry were hunting them down and their sympathizers within the Ministry could do nothing yet. The Malfoys and Longbottoms were also pushing for this to happen.

But now, they were being blockaded by someone while Aurors were coming. "APPROXIMATELY TEN MINUTES BEFORE AURORS ARRIVE!" Blared the Auror Alert system. With him were four other Mages, only one of them being a seventh year and obviously their squad leader due to seniority. "We're not going to make it outside with that Shadowshade gas. Let's get out of here. Initiate Escape Maneuver Epsilon-Red-32." Said Galen Crever, their leader.

Two of them started firing spells rapidly while the rest moved towards a segment of the wall, tapping certain bricks to reveal the hidden exit. To their dismay, a giant boulder blocked their way. They blasted it into pebbles before proceeding further. The other two weren't far behind. Their unknown assailants were at their heels, chasing them viciously. The echo of the Auror alert system's warning could still be heard.

"APPROXIMATELY TWO MINUTES BEFORE AURORS ARRIVE. EVACUATE THE PREMISES IMMEDIATELY AND FALLBACK TO THE NEAREST HIDEOUT. AUTO DESTRUCTION ACTIVATING."

This was bad, they had an unknown amount of obstacles to get through. Galen signaled to the two behind them to hold of the attackers, a desperate rearguard action. The rest of them started clearing the barriers wildly in a desperate attempt to escape. Their only hope was that the others found a way to intercept the Aurors.

Alex and Cedric began dueling their skilled adversaries with fierce determination. Spells, Curses, Hexes, Jinxes, and Charms crisscrossed between the four, each side trying to defeat their enemy. A Thunder Slam Hex hit Cedric in the stomach. It was followed quickly by a Stunner which was deflected by Alex. Cedric and Alex cast two Comet Strike Hexes one after the other against.

One of the Mages they were fighting sidestepped the spell, only to be hit in the arm by the other Hex. The man fell violently and a throbbing pain incapacitated his arm. Snarling, the man sent a Ramming Hex at Cedric while his companion cast several Slicing Spells.

Cedric raised a shield to stop the potentially fatal spells as Alex pooled together his Magic. With one swift movement, lightning burst from his wand, electrocuting both of their enemies. The other three had already broken through the obstacles and were escaping. The duo pursued them, only to find over two dozen Aurors sending stunning spells at the three obviously outnumbered and outclassed students.

Kingsley Shacklebolt was the Auror in charge. He turned to face the two. "You boys did a fine job delaying them. I'll be sure to pass this on to my superiors." He said as his men bound the Mages. "These five will be interrogated for further information regarding the Mages of Anima. After that, they will be sent to Recolo Institute until they turn seventeen. Take them away men."

Alex grinned as he heard the verdict. His vengeance was complete at last.

Mitch scowled as he heard the news of what happened with his men. "Sir, what should we do?" Asked a Mage.

"Nothing. We do nothing. Its obvious that they are done hunting us down. We lay low and we train. All Operations are halted, all missions aborted. I'm no fool. we stand no chance against them. They will crush us eventually. And it would be best not to provoke them into doing so. From here on, the Mages are to take on no more jobs until I say so." Mitch said, rubbing his forehead. He was a muggleborn and he didn't exactly share the incompetence or idiocy found commonly among magic users.

"But Mitch, what about tradition! What about our dignity and pride? What about the funding?" Asked Morris.

"Tradition? We were never supposed to be mercenaries in the first place! Pride and Dignity? There is none of that in our lifestyle! We are nothing but greedy, venal, men seeking the easy way out. It is time for change Morris. That time is now."

"And you would leave our incarcerated comrades behind?" Morris asked vehemently. Several of the Mages visibly agreed with him.

"You should be glad not all of us were taken." Mitch said, walking away.

Meanwhile...

"Are you quite sure about this boy being an Heir?" A voice said.

"Yes Sir. " The spy replied respectfully.

"Curious, very curious..."

"Sir? What are your orders?"

"Assemble the Dragon Elite. Tell them to find out more about this Harry Potter."

"At once, Council Lord." The man bowed and left the room in a rush.

"...The Mages of Anima in recent years had stopped attacking students and conducting raids. Their turning into a more peaceful group is thought to be caused by the Raid of 2002 led by Senior Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt and Alex Potter, Lord of Azkaban, as well as Cedric Diggory, Head of the Department of War (formed on the year 2005). It is believed that they became scared of the Potter Vengeance and decided to stop operations in fears of being crushed. The Potter Family no longer pressed for their arrests after the first raid and hostilities died down. As of the year 2004, they have been removed from the list of illegal organizations. They still remain their secrecy to this day and have trained some of the most important Wizards in the World. As of 2010, they have spread to become worldwide in hopes of enriching potentially powerful students and children everywhere..."

"The first signs of their aggression seems to have appeared somewhere during 1766. They had many expensive operations and experiments being conducted at the time and lacked the funds to do so. In a desperate effort, they had gradually turned themselves into mercenaries to save the organization. Since then, they have began changing, amending and in some cases demolishing the ideals of the group when it was first founded in the year 1575..."

-excerpt from: Important Groups of the World, Section XX: UK, Chapter XX! by Mohammed Nahir, standard book regarding groups across the world.

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