CHAPTER 20:

TO PAY THE PIPER

Tyuule frowned as she went over the report, looking up at Mydia. "Are you sure about this?"

"Yes, Lady Tyuule, or at least as sure as I can be given hearsay and rumour," Mydia said. "We have few contacts within the Haryo, as you know, but I have reason to believe that they are true."

"I should have known that Zorzal and Renner would have had links to those bastards, even before that man Komakado told us. But to think they'd go so far as to set the Piper on us…I should have seen this coming."

Noriko, who was also present, frowned. "The Piper? Who is that, Lady Tyuule?"

They were in Tyuule's personal offices, and Harry was lounging on a chair, though his expression was grim. He'd only heard something about this infamous assassin, but what he heard was enough to scare him. "An infamous shapeshifter, with ties to the Haryo, apparently. Nobody's quite sure what he or she looks like. However, their MO is pretty twisted: they like to manipulate other people by telling lies or half-truths, even the full truth, to act as proxy assassins. At best, said proxies can do the Piper's work for them. At worst, well, they can act as distractions."

Mydia nodded. "Forgive me if I presumed too much, Lady Tyuule, but I asked both Hermione Granger and Luna Lovegood for ideas. Their warding ability is superior to your consort, if you'll forgive me for saying so, Harry."

"No offence. I'm more adept at magical combat in general," Harry said. "Still, is the Piper known for actually using mind manipulation magic, or are they just good at getting under people's skins?"

"The latter. The only proven proxies had no signs of mental manipulation magic," Tyuule said. "The Piper has been known to use threats, bribes, or simple persuasion. That being said, the only times the Piper has killed high profile targets have been senators who have targeted the Haryo in the past."

"Well, if this is any indication," Mydia said, tapping the reports, "the Piper is becoming more ambitious in their choice of targets, even if it's at the orders of Zorzal and Renner. According to what we have heard, the Piper has a number of people in their sights. Already, the fame of those who killed the Flame Dragon has spread, and Emperor Molt Sol Augustus is deliberately downplaying the role of the JSDF, Lady Mercury, Delilah and, of course, the mages from Earth. However, he is also pointing to Lelei as an upstanding citizen of the Empire, even though she feels no affiliation to it."

"Zorzal's jealous, then," Tyuule sneered in contempt. "According to this, he's targeting Lelei in particular, aside from myself and Harry. Assuming this is correct, of course."

"We can't dismiss you being targets of the Piper anyway," Delilah said. "And as Lelei is with the Japanese, then we should notify them too. They have less experience with shapeshifters than we do, the human Metamorphmagi of their mages aside."

"We'd better notify Pina too," Harry decided. "And Diabo too. Zorzal may target them, given how they're trying to curry favour with the UN on the quiet."

They'd received word that, after the debacle involving the trip around Japan, the UN and the ICW had gotten involved, and now, an international peacekeeping and liaison force was being set up. Japan and the JSDF would retain overall control, true, and were the bulk of the actual military forces, but other countries were getting involved, albeit in small ways.

"We'll need to have Pina relay a warning to her father," Delilah said. "As much as I despise Molt, better him on the throne than Zorzal. But Zorzal or his allies may decide to assassinate Molt so they can put Zorzal on the throne. And that would be a disaster. Pina said he's been showing some concerning interest in reviving the Oprichniki."

"The what?" Harry asked.

Noriko frowned. "That sounds like the name of the secret police used by Ivan the Terrible in Russia to conduct purges over four hundred years ago," she mused. "Could Russian mages from that era have made it to this world like Harry, Hermione, Luna and Sirius did?"

"Possibly. The first usage of the term does date back about four hundred years ago, during a bloody civil war within the Saderan Empire," Delilah said, crossing her arms. "They were, as you said, a secret police, wearing hoods in the shape of kobold's heads, and wielding brooms with concealed lances. Hatchet men of the then-Emperor. So of course Zorzal would be interested in them."

"That's all we need. Right, for now, the priority is working on protecting ourselves from the Piper," Tyuule decided. "I only want trusted people around our children, more so than usual. Whatever anti-shapeshifter wards Hermione and Luna can come up with, we need placed around our settlement, Alnus Hill, and Italica. I know we are protected by the Fidelius, but we make frequent trips to those places, and we can't rule out the possibility that the Piper has mingled with visitors whom we've had to reveal the Fidelius to, especially with Renner probably being able to tell the rough location to."

And then, Harry's palm met his face. "Or, maybe it's as simple as…Point Me, the Piper."

The wand in Harry's palm spun briefly, before it finally settled to a halt. He frowned. "Bad news…the Piper, whoever they are, is very close."

"How can you tell?" Noriko asked.

"A little bit of triangulation," Harry said. "Just by shifting a little bit in this room, the direction changed enough so that we know that the Piper is somewhere in the settlement. Ugh, I should've thought of this sooner. It must mean I'm contracting Sinyk's Thaumatological Intelligence Syndrome." On their looks, he said, "Daft Moron Syndrome we call it in private. Basically, when you have magic, you sometimes forget what you can do with it(1). Stay here, Noriko."

As they rushed out, they nearly ran into Rory Mercury, who had turned up for one of her unannounced visits. "Ah, Harry, I wanted to…"

"No time, Rory!" Harry said, checking his wand briefly to ensure that it was really Rory. "Gotta go find the Piper!"

They soon came to a tavern…rather clichéd for a shady character to come to one…and they entered. Harry checked his wand…and then his eyes narrowed as they went over to a rather non-descript Bunny Warrior (as non-descript as such an attractive species could be, anyway). Their eyes met, and her eyes widened briefly, before they narrowed. Suddenly, quick as a flash, she flung her knife at Tyuule. There was no time to erect a Shield Charm. Instinctively, Harry interposed himself between the knife and Tyuule…and it embedded itself in his shoulder.

Rory, however, hesitated only briefly before flinging herself over the tables at the Piper. There was too little room in here to use her halberd…but she smashed the Piper in the face with a punch, sending the shapeshifting assassin slamming into a wall. Rory was on her in an instant, grabbing her by the shoulders and slamming her against the wall again with a strength her petite body normally wouldn't possess. "I've been looking for you for a very long time, Piper," Rory cooed, her sickly sweet tone not quite matching the fury in her crimson eyes. "I hope you don't dedicate your kills to Emroy, I'm sure he'd take umbrage at that."

To Tyuule's concern, though, Harry began grunting in pain, black veins beginning to appear around the wound, before he vomited copiously. "Hydra venom," she hissed. "FAWKES!"

The Phoenix appeared in a flash of flame and an ethereal song. Soon, Fawkes was weeping into Harry's wound after the knife was taken out. And Harry, shakily, got to his feet, glaring at the Piper, Tyuule, Delilah and Mydia glaring at the shapeshifter as well. "Lady Mercury…bring that Haryo trash to the gaol. Feel free to not be gentle."

"I won't talk!" the Piper sneered.

"That's fine, dear," Rory said, before she slammed the Piper's head into the wall, hard, knocking her out. "Screaming in agony's just fine too…"

They soon had the Piper chained to a chair in the gaol of the Bunny Warrior settlement. Unconscious, the shapeshifter had reverted to her base form, a rather sexy, vaguely lupine demi-human. "Do you think we managed to get her before she managed to turn anyone into her proxies?" Harry asked, clutching at his wounded shoulder, barely healed with a spell. It was still fucking painful, even after Fawkes saved his life, again. Delilah and Mydia were currently looking after their children, just in case.

"Considering that there haven't been any attempts on your life yet, I doubt it," Rory said, leaning up against the wall, crossing her arms. "While she may have managed to start cultivating those people, analysing her abilities suggests that she uses short term manipulation for the most part. And when did you get those reports about her?"

Harry frowned. They had told Rory about the reports. "Only now. Our agents either use communication mirrors or they call for Winky."

"I'd probably wager her being in this place for a few days at most, but it goes to show you still have to be careful about infiltrators, even with the Fidelius. I think Zorzal probably thought that killing Tyuule was the priority, in order to get rid of the Fidelius. That way, Renner would then be able to tell Zorzal and his supporters where your settlement is. And while Zorzal, theoretically, could use artillery to bombard the settlement, it would be imprecise, and to tell the truth, he'd prefer to crush you with military force. He probably still wants you as a concubine, albeit as an unwilling one. Of course, once she wakes up, you could always use Legilimency."

"Oh, I intend to," Harry said, glaring at the Piper. Hydra venom hurt like a bitch, making it to the Top 10 of pain-causing things, alongside Basilisk venom and the Cruciatus. This bitch had targeted the love of his life.

Her real name was Norra. If Harry had been less intent on finding out everything she knew, and angry towards her for what she tried to do, then he would have marvelled at the fact that he was the first person outside the Haryo to know the Piper's true name. Instead, he tore through her mind like a whirlwind, not caring what damage he left in his wake. And as he saw her memories, he felt that caring about her mind was a luxury he shouldn't indulge in.

True, her childhood as a demi-human, and of a type mistrusted throughout Falmart, was filled with sadness, abuse, discrimination. And had she felt any kind of regret for the lifestyle she got into, for the lives she took, the lives she manipulated, Harry might have actually felt sympathy for her. But she made her choice, and joined the Haryo, becoming their willing assassin. And not just willing, but one who enjoyed it.

With every kill she made, whether herself or by proxy, Harry's disgust grew as she revelled in the power she had over her victims, those she killed and those she made into killers. She didn't care about her victims, innocent or not. Indeed, she seemed to get off on what she did.

And then, one of her most recent memories. It showed a rather ugly porcine demi-human with dark green skin and cloth wrapped around part of its face, covering its left eye. Harry recognised him from descriptions: Bouro, the leader of the Haryo.

"…Prince and Mistress Renner demand the death of Queen Tyuule. That has priority. Once you have succeeded, bring her head, and that of the mage Potter, to us. We'll have you go after the Rurudo girl later…"

Soon, Harry had seen enough, and withdrew himself from Norra's mind, who instantly threw up on herself, before she glared at him, her canine ears twitching. "You…what the hell did you do to me?"

"I read your mind like a book. Not a very nice book, really. Stained, dog-eared, and frankly, the story made me want to puke. So, Norra…yes, I know your real name…we know who sent you. We know why. And frankly, I'm not seeing any reason for you to stay alive. The world will be better off without you in it at least."

Norra sneered. "You don't have the guts, Harry Potter. You couldn't kill Zorzal or Renner when you had the chance, why start now?"

Rory Mercury chuckled. "Oh, Harry has it in him to kill, but unlike you, your habit of making people do your dirty work aside, he views it as a last resort." She then curtseyed to Tyuule. "Your Majesty, I humbly ask for your permission to give the Piper's soul to Emroy."

"Granted," Tyuule said.

"Hardy take you all to Tartarus! Especially you, Rory the Reaper!" Norra screamed, before she was impaled on the halberd.

"You first," Rory said coldly.

They sent the remains to roughly where the South Palace was, where Zorzal resided, in a box. They left no note, but one wouldn't be needed. Zorzal, Renner and the Haryo had been put on notice. They only stayed alive because killing Zorzal would kill the peace talks before they started, if only because the JSDF would either be suspected, or else they would be considered guilty by association with the Bunny Warriors. But the message delivered by Norra's body was clear. The next mistake they made would cost them their lives…

CHAPTER 20 ANNOTATIONS:

Okay, so I said in the last chapter that there would be a timeskip. However, after watching the last episodes of GATE, and seeing the Piper in action, I knew there was no way in hell that Zorzal and Renner, allied as they are with the Haryo, wouldn't try sending the Piper to them. I considered having the Piper defect offscreen during the timeskip, but given what little we see of her in the anime, I don't think she's really redeemable at this point. It didn't seem plausible. Plus, I wanted to set up the Pureblood wizards as the next big enemy post-timeskip. Yeah, I know the Piper got taken out fairly easily, but Potterverse magic can be a bitch. Especially through fanfic. And yes, I know, if the Point Me spell could point to the right person, why not use it to confirm that it's the right person? Well, one, it's Daft Moron Syndrome all over again (see Annotation 1), and two, maybe Polyjuice or Metamorphmagus abilities can fool the Point Me spell.

Now, onto more trivial matters. One, this will be the last chapter for a little while, as inspiration has run a little dry. However, the next chapter will deliver the promised timeskip.

Two, this fic is, as of writing, now in the Top 10 of GATE crossovers in terms of favourites. Thanks, guys!

Three, I have recently published a new GATE crossover…and it's also my first Star Wars crossover. It's called GATE: Thus the Chosen One Fought There…with Anakin Skywalker, about a year prior to Episode II, crashlanding in Falmart. Check it out if you haven't already.

Four…I'm considering another possible Potterverse crossover with GATE, but with a different premise and pairing. It's still in its early stages, though, and it's one of many story ideas being considered. Keep an eye on The Cauldron for it.

Review-answering time! Malhavoc Shadowlord and Ascended Humanity: I'm going to go with the fact that an Apostle is basically like a Master of Death Harry: not even a Killing Curse can kill them, for long, anyway. Their soul would probably just bounce right back into their body, like a ball on the end of a rubber band.

Gabriel Herrol: I'm going to go with the Flame Dragon having, as Griffith put it in hbi2k's first episode of his Abridged version of Berserk: The Golden Age, "A Y-Chromosome, balls, and a fully functioning dick".

1. A reference to Sinyk's brilliant (if full of bashing) story Harry Potter and the Daft Morons.