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Fate: Emiya Night

Chapter28: Dementors Part I

August 1993
Scotland: Hogwarts
Headmaster's Office

Albus Dumbledore sat at his desk going over the last of the documents that needed his signature and couldn't help but sigh in frustration. The Board of Governors had decided to add a new subject into the Hogwarts curriculum though it was optional and nearly had the old man tearing off his beard with the paperwork it entailed. The Board—in their infinite wisdom—had added lessons on alchemy to the new time tables for this coming September and it was playing havoc with his own schedule.

He needed to find someone to teach alchemy other than himself but it was rather difficult to have to go through interviewing people for the job and trying to get someone to apply for the clearly cursed DADA position too. Last year he had only hired Lockhart because he was the only one to apply for it and the year before that only Quirrell had applied. It was difficult enough looking for some stupid fool to take the damned position but finding someone to teach the new alchemy course on top of that was too much to ask of the aging Headmaster.

Why hadn't he retired yet and handed this shit over to Minerva?

Oh yeah…

Because Voldemort was still technically alive…

On the plus side the wraith-like monster that was once Tom Riddle was still hiding away in Albania and according to his old friend Alastor Moody, Voldemort hadn't sensed the passing of his diary Horcrux in the battle a couple months ago. He had originally thought that Voldemort was somehow controlling the Basilisk remotely from Albania but after discovering the true nature of the diary, it was clear that it had been acting independently from the main soul piece.

With the Basilisk now dead the threat to Hogwarts had passed and he had recalled Remus to the castle leaving Alastor to keep tabs on the disembodied Dark Lord. He was reasonably sure that he could convince Remus to take the DADA position which would allow him to turn his full attention to interviewing candidates to teach alchemy. There was just one problem with that, namely the fact that other than himself there wasn't that many people actually qualified to teach alchemy in Britain which forced him to send a request to Atlas Academy via Fawkes.

He only hoped that they sent him someone who could actually teach the damned thing…

As for Voldemort, Albania had fallen into a state of war as teams of Unspeakables, alchemists, Hit Wizards and Aurors from several nations in Europe and Asia started to invade the country in search of Voldemort. Albania was mostly a vampire-ruled nation and since they were allied with Voldemort, that meant they were also clearly enemies to pretty much everyone these days. He'd already heard reports from Alastor that Dan Blackmore and his apprentice were taking down whole vampire-infested villages on a monthly basis. Blackmore was a good man and had an impressive sense of integrity but he was still a soldier first and foremost. He specialised at ranged combat and was infamous for utterly breaking an enemy before they even realised he was there.

It was no wonder that the vampires were running scared…

Still, it was proving to be a long and decidedly costly campaign. Even the Holy Church had gotten involved having sent a number of their Executors into the fray in the hopes of purging the vampires and maybe Voldemort too if they could get at him. The number of dead on both sides was already reaching nearly five thousand, most of which were unfortunate muggles that had been caught by the vampires and turned into ghouls before being sent at the allied forces. If he was being honest with himself, Albus had been contemplating retiring as Headmaster and going off to Albania to confront Voldemort himself.

After all fighting a shadow war against the forces of darkness that dwelled in the world was a taxing and more often than not thankless job. Voldemort was still semi-alive and most of his followers were on the loose having bribed their way out of prison. Albus was a man who liked giving second chances to people but even he had grown angry with those that continued to terrorise the society he had spent the better part of a century defending.

He had been willing to ignore the Malfoy patriarch and his allies but that stunt with Tom Riddle's diary had almost resulted in the deaths of two students and the revival of a teenage Voldemort. Albus was a man of peace whom preferred to talk things out however what most of the children these days seemed to have forgotten was that he was the most powerful wizard alive and was someone you didn't want to face on the battlefield.

He hated fighting, something he had discovered when he had led British Wizards and Witches into battle against the Dark Lord Grindelwald so many years ago. That's why he usually limited himself to disarming and disabling his opponents. However despite the hate he felt for fighting in general that didn't change the fact that he was very good at it. Even when he was limiting himself he couldn't be matched by any modern wizard or witch—hell even Voldemort had only been able to force a draw with him whenever they fought.

Dumbledore was a war hero long before he became a man of peace...

Harry Potter was a war hero too and Albus couldn't help but be saddened by that fact. He was growing stronger day by day if what he had seen of the boy when he'd killed the Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets two months was any indication. At the rate he was going, the boy may rival or even surpass him sooner or later. Still, Harry should simply be worrying about his schoolwork or finding a girlfriend, not having to fight trolls and Basilisks.

Oh how he hated that accursed prophecy...

Dumbledore had faced Voldemort once before the Potters died that night in Godric's Hollow and had held nothing back. He had sworn that he wouldn't let Voldemort get to Harry and more importantly, he wouldn't let Harry be forced into the life of a weapon. Because that was what would happen if the prophecy was ever disclosed to the public, they would want someone to save them from the nightmare and they wouldn't care what they would do to their 'hero' in order for that to happen. Albus had kept the prophecy a secret—though the Death Eaters probably already knew it—and had tried to kill Voldmeort himself, prophecy be damned.

He failed...

Voldemort had been utterly defeated—crushed more like it—but he had fled before Albus could finish him off and he'd killed the Potters shortly after. He hadn't given up though; Albus knew it was only a matter of time before Voldemort returned if he wasn't stopped and with the Grail War starting two years from now, there was a very real possibility that he would get the chance to end everything once and for all. He only prayed that he could do it before Harry would be forced to bear the weight of the world on his shoulder or worse be consumed by the darkness and become another monster like Voldemort.

It was a dangerous game they all played...

And of course there was the issue with Sirius Black having recently escaped from Azkaban prison. Minister Fudge was going mad and raving about having the escaped criminal killed by a Dementor as soon as they found him. Apparently everyone believed that Black was coming to Hogwarts in order to kill Harry but after seeing what the boy was capable of, it was more likely that Sirius would be the one who would die if the two ever confronted each other.

Fudge had Madam Bones as the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement dispatch almost her entire Auror force to track Black down. The Minister had even gone a step further and ordered a 'Kiss on Sight' order for Black while having the Dementors deployed to Hogwarts as 'guards' for the Boy-who-lived. It took every ounce of Albus' not inconsiderable restraint from going down to the Ministry and throwing his weight around as the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot by personally sacking the corrupt Minister where he stood for giving such an outrageous order.

Black maybe dangerous but having Dementors hovering around a school full of children was bordering on insanity. Those things were demons of the worst calibre capable of draining happiness and warmth out of everything around them with their mere presence. They were also capable of literally sucking a person's soul out of their bodies leaving them as lifeless husks that were practically brain-dead at the end of it and were only known to be repelled by the Patronus charm and Holy Water.

The only reason he hadn't gotten Fudge sacked for giving the order was because Lucius Malfoy was no doubt behind this which was confusing since as a 'former' Death Eater himself, Black would be an ally of his. Instead Lucius had seemingly gotten Fudge to assign the Dementors to Hogwarts as a means to eliminate Black but for what purpose Albus didn't know. Also if Fudge was no longer Minister then Lucius and the other dark aligned factions would just elect someone else, probably Delores Umbridge who was Fudge's undersecretary and one of the most unpleasant women he had ever met.

Knock Knock

"Come in," Albus called as he sank back into his chair. "Hello Representative Re-Atlasia," he greeted the purple-haired woman with a smile and motioned for her to sit down. "Please have a seat."

"Thank you," Sialim nodded and sat down opposite him. "I trust that you know why I'm here?"

"Yes of course," Dumbledore nodded in confirmation. "You are here for the interview, correct? I'm glad that Perenelle received my message…"

"When a phoenix flames into the main study hall, people notice," Sialim quipped with a small smile.

"I've gone over your record and I have to say it's rather interesting. Especially since most of it is written down as classified," Dumbledore smiled back as he looked down at a sheet of paper that he had on his desk. "Not that it's a bad thing."

"I can do the job," Sialim said plainly. "And besides you're the one who requested me."

"Indeed," Dumbledore sighed and put the paper back down. "Professor Lupin has spoken highly of you."

"We did a few missions in Albania off and on over the last few months as I'm sure you know. Sadly everything has gone to hell over there and some of us were forced to withdraw. Myself included," Sialim responded looking away.

Albania had been turned into a full-scale warzone over the last few months ever since the initial mission to penetrate the wards that protected the forest that Voldemort was hiding in. They'd just barely gotten through when the vampire army showed up having been awakened from their slumber and things had escalated into a full-blown war. She'd been fighting alongside Rani for most of the conflict but it quickly became clear that though Voldemort was still there, it was nearly impossible to reach him without suffering far too many casualties getting through the vampires and ghouls that stood in their way.

Finally after months of almost nonstop fighting, the recall order was given and a good tenth of the allied forces fighting the vampires pulled out of Albania to be sent home with the wounded. Those that remained behind fortified their foothold in the country and were given orders to not let the vampires push them out. Meanwhile politicians griped about the cost of the conflict and generally complained about everything while Perenelle coordinated a joint operation to redeploy the rest of their forces via port-keys in behind the vampire lines. It was a good strategy and would catch them by surprise but it would take about six months to create that many port-keys so for now standing orders were to 'hold the line' as it were.

Reports came in on a weekly basis of attacks by vampires on muggle towns and villages in Albania and the surrounding countries. The muggles were all turned into ghouls and then sent to assault the allied fortifications, each time worse than the last one. Sialim grimaced as she recalled one of the attacks she had participated in and the sight of a bloodied six year old undead girl holding a severed head in her hand as she ran towards her. Sialim personally didn't think much of muggles but that little girl had been human once before being turned into a ghoul and she knew that no one deserved such a fate. In the end obliterating her had been a thing of mercy and Sialim hoped that she at least found peace in the end.

Yeah…

The last few months had been hell…

"I see," Dumbledore nodded in understanding. "Very well then, welcome to Hogwarts, Professor Eltnam."

"Thank you Headmaster," Sialim smiled back. "It's good to be here."

August 1993
Japan: Fuyuki
Emiya Residence

Matou Sakura and the Servant Rider were the only ones home right now since the others had gone out for the day. Illya had dragged Shirou and Hari off to Shinto to do some shopping while Rin and Luvia were meeting with Touko at the Tohsaka Mansion. As for Daphne and Astoria, they were seeing a muggle doctor who Touko had brought with her from Tokyo called Piecemen or something like that. Considering that Daphne had been petrified and Astoria had been possessed, it wasn't really surprising that they had been sent to a professional doctor for help.

Sakura was truly happy with how her new life had turned out, she was no longer bound to her cursed past, there was no Zouken or Shinji to torment her, and she was now living at the Emiya Residence permanently. The only thing that saddened her was that everyone seemed to be on the move all of the time and only came back during the holidays. It was to be expected with Hari at Hogwarts, Shirou and Rin in London and Illya at Mahoutokoro.

She'd graduated from Homurahara Academy and joined the Japanese Ministry of Magic's Department of Mysteries as an Unspeakable though her responsibilities as Fuyuki city's Second Owner limited her movements to the city itself. After all with her sister on the other side of the world, Fuyuki was technically her city now and it was her responsibility to make sure there weren't any further incidents like the world ending or something of that nature.

Once was enough for her…

Sakura was in the kitchen looking through one of the cupboards when she felt it, the feeling of a hostile presence passing through the Bounded Field around the Emiya Residence. Rider stiffened from her position at the table and immediately stood up. The temperature in the room started to drop rapidly going from an absurdly warm heatwave to a frosty chilling environment in a matter of seconds. They shared a look for a seconds before Rider shot towards the door and slid it open. Only for a figured cloaked in black to grab her and push her back into the room.

"Rider!" Sakura shouted as the attacker pinned her Servant to the table.

She didn't recognize the creature nor did she care what it was, it was attacking her Servant and trying to kill them both. Rider's glasses had slipped off her face and her Mystic Eyes were glaring up at the cloaked figure but the creature did not turn to stone. Was it blind or something? Rider cursed under her breath as she rolled them over and flung the creature away. Her dagger materialized in her hand with its chain attached and she flung it at the cloaked figure, wrapping the chain around it and pinning it to the wall.

"Sakura, be on your guard," Rider cautioned. "There may be more of them."

True to her words another two similarly black cloaked figures emerged from the doorway and flung themselves at the pair. Rider reacted first and materialized another dagger in her hand. She surged forward and stabbed the dagger straight through the forehead of one of the creatures causing it to screech and flay about. It grabbed her and pushed her back until she her back struck the far wall before pinning her there, its hood having come down to reveal its inhumanly black face as it tried to bring its mouth closer to hers in a unholy display of intimacy. Meanwhile the other cloaked figure moved to assault Sakura who had backed up into the kitchen.

"Jade, I need my Jewel Sword right now!" Sakura yelled as the creature drew closer. "Merge with me!"

"As you command, my Master," the Kaleidostick Jade responded as she flew up beside her.

The bonding process was quickly completed and Sakura soon stood in her 'Magical Girl' form with Jade held in her left hand. A second later the creature lunged at her and was met with a Jewel Sword to the chest, the demonic weapon which allowed for her to draw mana from parallel worlds impaling it and turning it to dust in an instant. Since Sakura could never carry her Jewel Sword around with her all of the time, she usually had Jade keep it sealed in a pocket dimension so that she could release it at any time, like right when she was about to be killed.

"Kage no Kyojin," Sakura incanted and a pair of human-sized shadows emerged from her feet. They quickly moved across the room and pulled the cloaked creature that was assaulting Rider off of her who then proceeded to quickly tie it up in chains like she had done to the first one that was still pinned to the wall on her right.

It was over…

Of course that was when Illya and Shirou bust into the room…

"Sakura! Rider!" Shirou shouted as he entered the living room and took in the sight of them all. "They were here too?"

"Damn it," Illya gritted out as she looked examined the bound creatures. "What are they doing in Japan? Their home is Europe…"

"Are you two okay?" Shirou asked the pair. "The Dementors didn't hurt you, did they?"

"We are fine," Rider nodded as she put her glasses back on. "Thank you for asking."

"What were they doing here?" Sakura asked as she looked down at the captured 'Dementors' as Shirou had called them.

"We don't know," Illya responded grimly. "But they've been attacking people all over Fuyuki."

"We've dealt with most of them already," Shirou sighed tiredly. "And the Ministry's Aurors showed up just before we got here so they're probably dealing with the ones that are left."

"Where's Hari-kun?" Sakura asked noticing that he wasn't with them despite having left with them.

"He went to the hospital," Shirou answered with a small smile. "He said that he wanted to make sure that Daphne-san and Astoria-san are safe."

"…Someone is going to have to answer for this."

Author's Notes:

This is a double update this time.

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See Ya Later…