A Game of shadows
Harry Potter awoke slowly, the pounding in his head making it difficult to willingly return to consciousness.
"I am never drinking again" he grumbled, not for the first time.
Opening his eyes, he saw nothing but a haze which could only mean one thing.
"Shiiiiiit, I lost my glasses again" he groaned, he really hated when he did that.
"Looking for these" said a voice to his right
He turned his head toward the speaker and was rewarded with his glasses being slipped clumsily onto his face. His vision clearing didn't improve his mood as much as he thought it would. Standing in a semicircle before him were three men in various demon style masks. It was at this point that he finally realized his primary discomfort was due to the fact he was tied to a chair. Well fuck.
"Surprised" said one of them.
"I probably should be, unfortunately I'm still to hung-over to really muster up any surprise" he said, making an effort to struggle against his restraints.
"Oh I wouldn't bother struggling, we enchanted the ropes" said another one proudly.
"That so" he said disinterestedly but ceasing his futile efforts.
"I suppose you're wondering why we captured you" said a third, this one wearing the mask of a red demon which usually denoted the leader of a group according to past experience.
"Not really."
He kept on talking as though Harry hadn't spoken, "You see the dark lord is most displeased with your recent activities, all the trouble you've been causing his servants as they fulfill their duties."
"You idiots have been coming after me since I returned to Britain and you'll excuse me if I can't find any sympathy for people who torture and murder" said Harry with surprising calm.
"We are only cleansing the filth from this world, you are a wizard, why can you not understand that" he shot back, his temper showing.
"Wizard, meaning the wise one, you're right I am a wizard, you on the other hand are a pathetic little magician following around a genocidal madman."
Harry saw the strike coming but didn't flinch, taking it like a man and grinning when the fool rubbed his tender hand afterward.
"I don't think you understand your position Potter, it would be wise to show a little respect" he said angrily.
"I'm showing as little respect as I can already" he quipped with an infuriating grin.
The red mask shook with fury and angrily gestured at him. The others descended on him with their fists and began an all too familiar process of bruising every part of him they could easily reach. He took the beating stoically, he'd been taking them for as long as he could remember and this bunch wasn't even that good.
The red mask, satisfied his point was being made walked over to a table where all of the things Harry had been carrying were laid out. It was an odd collection, a large beaker of unknown potion, a stylized golden eye, and the strangest deck of cards any of them had ever seen. Each one had a different picture on it, some were of mundane looking things like a Swiss army knife or a broken bear trap but most had images of what could only be called monsters on them. A giant spider, a green skinned Cyclops, a strange sort of dragon, and each was surrounded by peculiar runic script while the back was covered with what looked like a highly complex ritual circle.
"Such strange artifacts you carry around with you Potter, a pity you hadn't the sense to include a wand among them" said the red mask.
"Why limit myself?" he said, bruised but hardly broken as his beaters stood panting for breath.
"Limit, what on earth are you speaking about? The wand is the greatest of a wizards tools. " demanded the red mask.
"Nothing but pathetic twigs and animal droppings you lot so brainlessly covet" he replied.
The fury was back, he could tell by the heavy breathing coming from beneath the mask.
"I'll show you pathetic" he snarled, drawing his wand, "Crucio!"
Harry's body tensed, but he didn't scream or even twitch but instead, slowly, began to breath and opened his eyes, "Really, that the best you can do? My little nieces could do better."
The killing curse was right on the tip of his tongue but one of the others rushed forward to stop him, "No, Varxis want's him alive."
"Not very smart of him" commented Harry, seemingly oblivious to the danger he was in.
"He simply wants to kill you himself, you won't be getting interfering in his plans ever again Potter" snarled red mask, to which Harry could only chuckle.
"I cannot tell you how many times I've heard that over the years" he said.
Red mask fumed then looked to the table and angrily snatched up one the cards. Lighting the tip of his wand aflame he held the card over it.
"You see this Potter?" he taunted childishly.
"Not way over there" said Harry.
Stupidly he stepped closer so that he was mere feet from his prisoner.
"See it now" he said, lowering the card to the flame.
"Yep, I see it" said Harry with a grin, "DISPEL."
A ring of energy exploded form the card, it's only immediately noticeable effect being to put the fire out.
"What was that" shouted one of them, the one in the blue mask.
"Just a little something called Dispel, can you guess what it does" said Harry, bringing his hands up in front of himself as the ropes fell away.
They didn't really answer but lunged at him which was a mistake as he was up and swinging the chair at them just as quickly. Taking the green mask across the head the chair broke and Harry abandoned his weapon to throw a quick punch at the nearest man who just happened to be red mask. He staggered back and Harry snatched his card away before dashing to the table and by merely running his hand over them all summoned his entire deck into his hand. The eye was next but the flask he left.
"I don't care what the dark lord said, kill him" shouted red mask as a piece of his broken mask fell to the floor.
"Not tonight" said Harry, drawing a card "MILLENNIUM SHIELD" he incanted.
The first round of spells dissolved against the massive gold and red shield. They grew fearful when they heard some sort of incantation being spoken from behind the shield and attacked with invigorated aggression. Ultimately however it was in vain against the defensive power of the Millennium Shield. Their first sign that something was amiss was the darkness the rose up all around them, swallowing the room in blackness.
"What's going on" shouted one of them, hoping that one of his comrades would answer.
"Something you're not going to like" came the answer from Harry instead.
"I didn't know you were so deep into dark magic Potter" taunted red mask, his fear clear for any to hear.
"Not darkness" said Harry, "shadow, welcome to the Shadow Realm."
Foolishly the stopped casting and huddled together against the dark. Foolishly, because this put them all easily within range of Harry's next bit of magic.
"SWORDS OF REVEALING LIGHT."
From out of nowhere swords of pure light rained down around them and they discovered quickly that they could no longer move. Safe, Harry stepped out from behind his shield smirking.
"So, what do you think of 'my' magic boys?" he said.
"You won't get away with this Potter, the dark lord will…" shouted red mask.
"Yes, yes I'm sure the dark lord will put me over his knee and spank me like a bad little boy, honestly you sound like that pathetic whiner Draco Malfoy" said Harry rolling his eyes.
Taking the golden eye, he placed it on his forehead over the third eye where it stuck without effort.
"Now, let's see if you're worth all the trouble you've caused me" he said.
The eye glinted then a beam of light shone forth, covering the captured wizards in its radiance. The wizards began to shrink and shrivel till in their place stood not four wizards, but four gangly limbed goblins, not at all like the ones in Gringotts.
"Goblins, should've guessed" said Harry sourly, "still, if I bind them together they'll made a descent reconnaissance squad I suppose" he said, pulling yet another card from his deck.
"What did you do to us" squealed one, still unable to move but fully capable of speech.
"Just transformed you into your shadow avatars, and now I'm going to bind you" he said, "SPELL BINDING CIRCLE."
The mystical ritual circle appeared below their feet and despite their panic there was nothing they could do.
"It's too bad you weren't something worthwhile really but, at least sacrificing your souls will save me a lot of energy, this is usually such an exhausting activity you know" he said conversationally.
Screaming at the top of their lungs their soul were wrenched from their bodies and shredded into ethereal pieces to power most of the binding ritual. By the time it was over all that was left was a card with a picture of four rather dim looking goblins on it.
As soon as Harry had picked up the card the darkness receded and he was back in the room he had awoken in. Casually he slipped his new card into his deck and after collecting his flask, slipped out the door without a sound.
The house as it turned out was little more than an isolated little cabin in the middle of nowhere so he felt no guilt at all when he summoned a three headed dragon beast and burned the place to ashes. It served no real purpose to do so but it made him feel better. Ever since he'd returned to Britain these jokers had been harassing him.
Apparently, having defeated the last dark lord, the new one decided he was too dangerous to have running around. Of course his men were the same stupid incompetent Purebloods that he had been dealing with since he was eleven and he was much more powerful now. Taking the Millennium Eye from Pegasus had been worth the trouble in the long run and his deck was continuing to grow with every encounter.
After all, everyone had a shadow, the only problem was he usually had to give up a significant amount of his own power to bind them, since a great many of the cards in his deck had been made from the shadows of people he knew. It was the primary reason he didn't carry a wand, most of his magic was tied up in his cards.
Of course it helped that his own shadow was a powerful magic user, a Dark Magician no less. Even more helpful was that his girlfriend's shadow was also a powerful magic user and one who herself was empowered by his mere presence. In a way the relationship of the Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl reflected his own relationship with Luna perfectly.
Thoughts of his girlfriend and her scantily clad shadow of course turned down naughtier paths and anyone watching would have been confused by the apparently random question.
"I wonder what she's wearing right now" he said, then decided to go find out.