A/N: Over the last week I've been making some larger edits to the story as a result of feedback. Fortunately, none of those edits impact the story thus-far posted here, and the posting schedule should remain unchanged.

Chapter 8

"No-one suspected anything," said Wonder Woman. Some bitterness crept into her tone as she spoke. "Well, except Batman, but I think he suspects everyone of everything at all times. Kal—" She hesitated.

"Superman is Kal-El, or Clark Kent, depending on who you ask," said Harry, guessing what had caused her to pause. "Don't worry, we have files on all of you, so you don't need to worry about keeping their names secret."

She looked slightly troubled by that, which Harry supposed was fair. If he was in her position, he certainly wouldn't have been happy about it. Still, she decided to continue her story, "Kal called an all-members meeting after something happened in London yesterday."

Harry didn't bother to point out that it hadn't been yesterday, strictly speaking. It was hardly important. "I heard about that. Zatanna mentioned it when I called to ask about what happened there."

"It makes sense that you would know Zatanna," she said after a moment. Then she frowned and looked him up and down. "Not once has she mentioned you, however."

"Well, no," said Harry evenly. He decided to give her a very compressed explanation. "Legally, she's not allowed. Any non-magical who finds out about magic is meant to have those memories erased. Zatanna skirts around those rules a bit, and the powers that be usually let people like her get away with it, so long as they don't endanger the rest of us. Now, can you tell me what happened at the meeting? What happened to the rest of the Justice League?"

He got the distinct impression that the jury was still out on him as far as Wonder Woman was concerned, but she decided to answer his question anyway. "He brought a woman out in front of us all. The woman that was here, and she said some words in Mycenaean Greek and we were all frozen in place."

"Was this maybe three or so hours ago?"

Wonder Woman looked a little taken aback. "Yes," she said, before her eyes narrowed. "How did you know?"

"The card you have," said Harry, pointing to where it was still held in her hand. "I gave it to Batman in case he was ever in my kind of trouble. I assume you found it on him?"

"He saw what was coming a moment before the rest of us," she admitted. "He pulled out that card, but wasn't able to do anything more before we were all frozen. I assumed it had something to do with what happened. He knows about your society, then?"

"Officially? No," said Harry after checking to make sure Williamson wasn't anywhere nearby. "But how often have you known Batman to be satisfied with partial understanding? I decided it was better he know than having him trying to snoop around. How'd you break the spell?"

"I don't know. I have previously fought a few magic users. Possibly that afforded me some level of unexpected resistance." She thought for a moment, then continued, "Actually, it is possible that my divine blessings reduced the spell's hold over me enough that I could break free. It called upon Hephaestus to bind us in chains unbreaking, but he and I have something of an accord."

That wasn't the answer Harry had been expecting, but it worked as well as any other. Whether the Greek god Hephaestus actually existed or not didn't really matter all that much, and really, Wonder Woman would surely know more about that than him anyway. Best just take her word for it. "Okay, so you were able to break the spell upon yourself. What about everyone else?"

"They are all still frozen in place," she said regretfully. "I did what I could to aid them, but there was nothing I could think to do. I decided I needed to track the witch down to break the spell, and J'onn talked me through how to track Superman's locator beacon from the Monitor Womb."

J'onn J'onzz, Harry's memory supplied. Another alien. The so-called 'Martian Manhunter' and a telepath of impressive ability, among other powers. "He communicated with you telepathically?"

She nodded. "Indeed."

It didn't take much to work out that she'd then followed Superman using the locator beacon. "Well, I'm glad you arrived when you did. I suspected something bad had happened when I saw Superman here, so I asked Padma to check in with Zatanna, which obviously won't have achieved anything." He really hoped she was okay. "I'll have to get in contact with the Americans. Hopefully they'll send someone over to the Hall of Justice. See if they can't find some way of helping. With a bit of luck it'll be an easy fix for a couple of their curse-breakers."

"I hope they are able to do something," said Wonder Woman, her brow furrowed. "Kal will be difficult to stop without the League, even if he does seem to be holding back. What do you believe has happened to him?

"That was holding back?" said Harry, not bothering to hide his incredulity. He'd read the reports on some of the things Superman had done, but it never really hit home until the same hands that had pushed an asteroid the size of a city out of Earth's path were trying to throttle you. He hesitated a moment before he answered her question. Didn't she deserve to know at least that much?

"It would seem that he is being controlled by Daphne somehow," he said as he considered how best to explain it. He hadn't seen her cast any spell he recognised, and when they arrived it was almost certainly Superman who'd been pulling the strings.

"Is it possible that he could break through her control?" Diana asked.

Harry grimaced. "I wouldn't want to put money on it," he hedged. "If I had to guess I'd say he was already being controlled by something before the spell being cast here was completed. It's possible the entire purpose of this mess was to cement control over him. Maybe it's not an Imperius Curse, but I doubt we have the time to wait for him to be able to throw it off."

"This Imperius Curse would control him completely?" she asked, eyes wide. Harry could easily understand that worry.

"It would," said Harry more than a little reluctantly. Talk of the Unforgivables certainly wasn't the best way to introduce someone to the idea of a society of magic users. "Even witches and wizards are mostly helpless against it. I'm sure Superman has a strong mind, but he simply doesn't have the magic in him to really fight back. There's a reason that spell earns anyone who uses it a life-sentence."

Then, Wonder Woman asked the question that had been bothering Harry. "If such a spell exists, then why would they not use it?"

There was clearly more going on than first met the eye. When they'd arrived, it seemed obvious that it was Superman calling the shots, and Daphne was the prisoner, but as soon as the spell had completed, it was Daphne who was in charge. He really needed to see what the spell-sniffers and unspeakables had managed to work out in the short time they'd had.

"I'm not sure," he admitted at last, "but I intend to find out. I have a feeling that if we want to work out what's going on here, we're going to have to work together. Any chance I can convince you to lend us a hand?"

She thought about it for a long few seconds, clearly troubled by what she had learned, but she eventually graced him with the beginnings of a smile. "That would be best, I think. If we are to be working together, though, I must insist you call me Diana."

Technically, he should probably refer to her by some honorific or other, but if she wasn't one to stand on ceremony, neither was he. "Alright Diana," he said with a companionable nod. "I'm going to check in with Padma and see what we've got. Do you want me to have someone take a look at that bruise?"

"I will be fine," said Diana firmly. "I heal quickly, and as I said, Kal was holding himself back." When she said she healed quickly, it was obvious she wasn't exaggerating. Her bruises were already starting to darken from their previous fresh red.

Harry shrugged, and didn't raise any complaints. She knew her own limits best, he was sure. It didn't take long to locate Padma standing near the point where Daphne had been standing. She was talking to Nevins and, if Harry was any judge, not getting all that much from the conversation. It was easy enough to hop over the twin furrows left by Superman during the fight. Diana followed on behind.

"What do we have so far?" he said as he approached the two.

Padma and Nevins both looked up. From the look in Padma's eyes Nevins had a way of getting under her skin too. "Slightly more than nothing," she said tartly.

"There's really not been enough time to do anything more than speculate," said Nevins. Perhaps he didn't realise how close he was flying to the sun. "You will have my report just as soon as it is ready. However, I can say that the spell here appears to have been Ancient Greek in origin."

"Why the stone circle, then?" Harry asked. After all, his somewhat shaky memory of History of Magic told him that they weren't exactly common outside of the British Isles at the time.

"I don't endeavour to tell you why people do things," said Nevins with a drawn out sigh. "Only what they did do. The why of it is none of my concern."

Harry caught Padma's glance and they shared a grimace.

"Perhaps you can humour us, then," said Diana, stepping forward as she did so. "If it was you, why would you do it?"

For a moment it looked like Nevins was going to give her the same bitingly sarcastic remark he'd have given Harry in that situation, but when he realised who was asking he paused.

He tried, without much success, to smooth down his hair. "Well, my good lady," he said. His attempt to grace her with a charming smile really didn't work. It was the smile of a man who'd quite possibly only seen one in diagrams. "There are many possible reasons. Perhaps the spell has been modified subtly to work better under the more natural influence of a stone circle, or perhaps the caster was simply unable to source a staff of ancient laurelwood. That would have been the natural focus for the spell, assuming it keeps to its Greek roots."

"Wouldn't any ordinary wand have worked?" Harry asked.

Nevins' smile evaporated like dew on a summer's morning. He scoffed. "Well, of course not. Even modern laurelwood reproductions would have been ineffective. Ancient Laurelwood was known for its magical properties thanks to the Naiads that often called them home."

Apparently that actually meant something to Diana. "You are speaking of the myth of Daphne and Apollo?"

"Indeed, my good lady," said Nevins, the smile rematerializing in moments. "A muggle simplification, of course, but somewhat accurate in the generalities."

"Wait, wait," said Padma after sharing another look with Harry. "Daphne?"

"The name Daphne means laurel in English," said Diana. "In the myth, Daphne was a nymph who was being pursued by Apollo, but who turned herself into a tree to escape his affections."

"Daphne was also the name of the witch who was casting the spell here," said Harry. That couldn't be a coincidence. "Could that have had anything to do with the spell?"

Nevins' mouth went wide for a moment before snapping shut again. After a moment, he started casting more diagnostic spells, and between muttered incantations he said, "I never even thought of it, but that is truly ingenious. I hadn't the time to really consider it yet, but the witch, Daphne? She was a part of the circle itself."

He pointed to each of the eleven stones of the Twelve Apostles. "It's a circle in twelve elements, but one is missing. By replacing the last stone with Daphne, not only was the circle completed, but the nature of the circle itself took on something of the laurel. This is inspired!"

"Well, at least we're not being given the run-around by a stupid dark witch," said Padma to Harry and Diana as they watched Nevins become absorbed in his work, and completely oblivious to everything else around him.

"I don't think we're going to get much more from him for the time being," said Harry in resignation. He turned to Padma. "What else do we have?"

"Susan and Quigley are okay. A bit bashed up, a few broken bones, but it's nothing that can't be fixed up in a few seconds," she said. "I have Gribbert and Hawes making sure none of the muggles in the village over the road remember anything. Beyond that, though, I'm not sure what to do. I sent most of the team home. Until either the unspeakables or Nevins come up with something actionable, we're stuck."

"We might still be able to work out where they're going," said Harry, thinking back to the fight. "Daphne said something about searching for the treasure of Guvnewid. If we can work out what that is, we can work out where they're headed next."

"I also might be able to track Kal again from the Hall of Justice," Diana supplied. "For whatever reason, it does not seem that he knew of the locator beacon."

"Or he did, and he just didn't think anyone could follow him after he froze you all," said Harry.

"It is still worth checking," said Diana.

"I hope you can still track him," said Padma. "I really don't like the sound of trying to work out what they're after from something Harry half-heard in the middle of a fight."

Harry grinned. "You know me better than that." He pulled out his wand, and quickly extracted the brief memory, and with a swish of his wand, threw it into the air. To the remaining witches and wizards on the scene, he shouted, "Listen up you lot!"

Daphne's voice followed his almost immediately, loud enough to be heard by everyone, "Perhaps I shall keep you alive. Once I have retrieved the treasure of Gyfnewid, then we shall see if you remain a foe worthy of me."

"Mean anything to anyone?" Harry asked as he looked around.

"'Gyfnewid' is Welsh," said Diana, looking thoughtful. "It means 'to exchange'. Is that any help? I am afraid I cannot tell you any more than that."

"It's a start at least," said Harry, grateful to have even that much even if it did raise the minor question of just how many languages Diana actually spoke. He looked at Padma. "Who do we have who's hot on Welsh stuff?"

"Someone, I'm sure. I'll need to look into it," she replied.

"Right. In that case, we should head back to the Ministry and find out what's happened with Diana's people." Harry turned to the woman in question. "How are you with magical modes of travel?"

"I have experienced Zatanna's method of magical travel," said Diana, and to her credit she sounded a little wary. "It seemed pleasant enough."

Harry hummed, before deciding that sink or swim was probably the best approach. "Well, this isn't that."

He grabbed her arm, and apparated back to the Ministry.

o-o

"Potter, what the hell is going on, and why do I have a meta-human in my department?" Robards, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and Harry's direct boss, looked distinctly displeased.

"Robards," said Harry evenly, not bothering so much as to glance at the man. He usually knew better than to try and throw his weight around. Harry had kept Williamson and Savage on the books as aurors as his single concession to the man who, even if he had not participated directly, had not so much as lifted a finger to reign in the Death Eaters during the year Voldemort's cronies had managed to take over the Ministry. It didn't take much to work out who it was that had actually seen fit to inform Robards of Diana's involvement.

It took a moment for Robards to realise that Harry had no intention of actually answering his question. "Well?"

Harry sighed and put down the book he'd been flicking through almost absent-mindedly. Sometimes he wished the word 'glossary' wasn't completely foreign to more academically minded witches and wizards. It really did make searching for 'Gyfnewid' a shade more difficult. He looked up and met Robards eyes. "There was a dark magic event in Scotland. I don't suppose you've ever heard of 'Gyfnewid'?"

"I don't mean that!" Robards waved his hand impatiently. "Why is a member of the Justice League in the Ministry of all places?"

"Oh, Diana?" said Harry. He deliberately took his time speaking. "She's helping us. Pretty good with translations apparently. Not sure how many languages, but given our current situation, it's already proven to be a fairly useful skill."

Robards clearly realised that he wasn't getting anywhere fast. He sighed. "Look, cut the shit Potter. You know the ICW will pitch a fit when they find out, and you're not just doing this to piss me off, so what is it?"

"We're not sure at the moment," said Harry. He caught the disbelieving look on Robards' face. "No, really. It could be a possession of some kind. Maybe just a madness curse or something. If what we know so far is right, then we're dealing with some old magic. You know what kind of weird shit they did back then. We're lucky Superman didn't turn into a swarm of scarabs, or a bull or something."

"So we have both Superman and Wonder Woman caught up in this?"

"More than that I'm afraid," said Harry, grimacing. "Superman and Greengrass managed to freeze the entire Justice League somehow. Diana's just the only one that was able to break the spell so far. I already got in contact with Carruthers in MACUSA, and I'm hoping he gets back to me soon with some good news."

"You went to—" Robards stopped himself. "Look. If this goes arse about tit, you're the one taking the fall for this, got that?"

"Of course, sir," said Harry. An outside observer might be surprised to see that he was happy about that, but if it meant Robards went on a 'holiday' for the duration of the crisis, it would make Harry's life so very much easier. "You know nothing about anything. Got it."

Robards glared at him, clearly not appreciating the quip. "Potter, I told you to cut the shit. Something like this presents a real danger to the Statute. Superheroes and wizards, running around together? You know the magic of the Statute is thinning because of the Justice League's nonsense. Something like this? It could be the final straw."

Without waiting for Harry to respond, Robards swept away. He was probably off to go and hide in a basement somewhere, which was what Harry understood he did during Voldemort's reign of terror.

No sooner had he departed, than Padma, Quigley, and Diana took his place.

"Quigley worked it out," said Padma without preamble as she led the other two into his office.

Harry pushed himself upright, and focused his attention on Quigley. "Right. Fill me in."

"Well, everyone was checking magical textbooks looking for 'Gyfnewid', I thought I might check some muggle sources," said Quigley rapidly enough that it took Harry a moment to digest what he'd said.

"Hey," said Harry as he gestured calmly with the palm of his hand. "Slow it down. We're on the clock, but a few seconds to catch your breath won't make or break us."

"Thank you, sir," Quigley took a calming breath, and started again, speaking slower this time, "I was looking into Welsh myths and legends, and I found it pretty quickly. Llassar Llaes Gyfnewid was a giant, and one of the owners of the Pair Dadeni."

"Pair Dadeni," said Harry. He couldn't remember if he'd ever heard of it before, but it rang a bell somewhere. Some long-forgotten thing from History of Magic, perhaps? "What is it?"

"It means the Cauldron of Rebirth," Diana supplied. That did sound more familiar.

"It was supposedly once used by a King of Ireland to bring his warriors back from the dead," said Padma.

A cauldron that could revive the dead? Harry had seen something like that before. "When Voldemort was revived, he used a spell and potion together to rebirth him from a cauldron," he said. Surely that couldn't be a coincidence.

"I don't know what kind of magic he used," said Padma. "But it's very possible that it was similar. We'd need to ask someone who knows more about it."

Harry's mind, however, was already hurtling through possible connections. He started leafing through the unspeakables' report into the jar from the museum. He'd always kept knowledge of Voldemort's horcruxes as a closely guarded secret. Partially, that was because of the danger they represented, but it was also because it was not important in the post-Voldemort world. It wasn't exactly casual conversation fodder, after-all.

If his worst suspicions ended up being true, that might have been a mistake.

He looked over at Quigley. "Good find. Now, I'm sorry to say I need to ask you to give us a minute."

Despite his obvious confusion, Quigley complied without question. When he pulled the door closed behind him, Harry cast a secrecy charm over it.

Obviously concerned by Harry's sudden shift in demeanour, Padma asked: "What's this about?"

"I need an unspeakable up here that knows about horcruxes," Harry said, voice deathly serious.

"Horcruxes?" she asked. "What are they?"

"The worst-case scenario."

It took longer than Harry would have liked to find an unspeakable that would admit to even so much as knowledge of the existence of horcruxes, let alone any details about them. In the circumstances Harry wasn't inclined to be especially picky. As soon as he or she, he could never be sure beneath the robes, had been found, they were ushered into Harry's office alongside Padma and Diana.

"What's all this about, Harry?" Padma asked, once the door was once again locked and charmed. "Why all the cloak and dagger?"

Before he could answer, Diana added her own question: "And if I might ask, why am I included in this circle of trust?"

"That's easy. Whatever has happened involved Superman, and there's no-one else here with the same knowledge of him you have," said Harry easily. He didn't mention the fact that there were some small translations he wanted her to perform. "Padma, you know about how Voldemort was resurrected?"

She nodded, of course she did. Everyone knew the story of Harry's 'heroic stand', which conveniently left out the pants-wetting terror he'd felt at the time.

"Well, the only reason there was anything to actually revive was Voldemort's horcruxes. I don't understand the magic of it as well as I'm sure our unspeakable friend does, but to put it in the terms I use to understand it, they are like anchors for the soul. So long as a horcrux exists, the wizard who created it cannot pass on. They're left as something a bit more than a ghost or poltergeist, but less than the living."

Padma soon made the same connection Harry had. "And so you think that there is a horcrux involved? That's why they want the Cauldron?"

"I do." Harry tossed the report on the urn across to the unspeakable. "I don't know the kind of magic required to make a horcrux, and I don't want to know. But does that look like one to you?"

The unspeakable peered at the scratchy handwriting for nearly a minute, flipping pages quickly as they did so. "It's possible," they said eventually. "It looks unfinished, though. A lot of the charms may have broken down over the years. I do think that might have been the original intent, though."

Harry realised there was an important detail which he hadn't explained. "I should mention that horcruxes are not simple passive 'anchors'. They contain some portion of the soul of the witch or wizard that created it. If that soul fragment is strong enough, it is possible for it to possess those who come into contact with it."

It was Diana that got there first. "So you believe the Serpent, this 'Erpōn', possessed Kal after the fight in the Museum?"

The unspeakable's head jerked up from where they'd been continuing to read over the report. "I'm sorry, did you just say Herpo?"

Suddenly, that worst case scenario was looking even less favourable. "Fuck," said Harry.

Padma, however, merely looked confused. "Herpo, he was some dark wizard from ancient-times, right?"

"Hah!" Harry barked. "Not just some dark wizard, sadly. He invented horcruxes. And basilisks too, among other things. Full of grand ideas, was old Herpo."

"Ho Deinos," said Diana, and now she looked worried too. "If he is controlling Kal, then that is why Kal called me Amazōn. Ho Deinos was responsible for the ruin of Mycenae when they turned against his tyranny."

"From what I know he was eventually killed by Andros the Invincible," said Harry. "Not that it did anyone much good. He still managed to send them into the dark ages for a few hundred years."

Diana's face was serious. "It is a cautionary tale among my people," she said. "Ho Deinos was a Cretan magic user who managed to accumulate great power during the height of what you now call the Minoan Civilisation. He claimed to be the son of Ishasarame, the Minoan Goddess of life, rebirth and magic. His power grew so great that he attempted to take the daughter of the Minos as his wife, and fled with her to Akrotiri on Thera, which you now know as Santorini.

"When he attempted to lay with her, however, she spurned him, and attempted to kill him when she saw the ships of her father on the horizon. Ho Deinos' wrath was great, and is remembered by the history of Man's World as the Theran eruption. He then fled to mainland Greece where he installed himself upon the throne what would later come to be known as Mycenae. He used his dark and forbidden magics to take for himself a new body every generation, and he birthed many horrific creatures. The basilisk, as you know it, was surely his most terrible creation, and with them he spread his power across all of Greece.

"Even that was not enough for him, however. He once again grew enamoured of a woman. Helen of Sparta, who learned of his interest, and fled to Troy to escape him. It availed her little, though, for Ho Deinos' legions of abominations could not be turned back by any mortal force of arms. My own people attempted to aid Troy, but even we could not stand against them.

"So Helen was taken, and taken to bed by Ho Deinos. Eventually, she gave birth to a son, Andros. When he was born, Helen begged Ho Deinos to be allowed to send him away, to grow up away from the cruelty of the Serpent's Court, and dark though his heart was, he allowed it, out of the love that had grown within him for her.

"So it was that he grew up to become a magician too, yet a more different man you could never have imagined. Where Ho Deinos was cruel and arbitrary, Andros was kind and just. He rose up to oppose his father, and finally defeated him. So it was that Love, even from the darkest of hearts, came to overcome evil."

As Diana's history lesson came to an end, it took Harry a moment to bring himself back to reality. He'd not spent that much time researching the origins of Horcruxes and their inventor, but he was certain her story was not common knowledge, even among wizards.

Padma was clearly thinking along similar lines. "I have read the Iliad, and I do not remember anything like that," she half-asked.

"So great were his crimes that he was struck from all records," said Diana with a sad shake of her head. "The stories recorded by Homer were heroic inventions, long after the fact."

While it was all very interesting, Harry felt like they'd managed to get a bit off-track. "Okay, so to sum up, we have an ancient, evil, and possibly immortal dark wizard controlling the mind of perhaps the most powerful being on the planet," he said, shaking his head. If what Diana was saying was true then things were even worse than he'd already suspected, if that were possible. "Well, fixing that is a problem for later. Right now, we need to work out where he's heading next."

"Well that's going to be a problem," said Padma. She was flipping through the book of myths in which Quigley had found the reference to Gyfnewid. "This says the Cauldron was destroyed. If he had some method to rebirth himself historically, why bother going to the effort of finding the cauldron?"

"For the second, I can answer that," said the unspeakable, sounding a bit apprehensive. "If what… um… Diana says is true, then it is almost certain that the methods he used have been destroyed. Either by early efforts, or by efforts since related to the Statute. Remember that magic then was significantly less well developed in its ease of use. It is likely that he needed to make use of enchanted items to achieve his resurrections, and they are almost certainly lost."

"Okay," said Padma, accepting that logic. "Then what about the fact that the cauldron was supposedly destroyed?"

Harry frowned. "Well, either they're completely misinformed, and searching for something that was destroyed millennia ago, or that book is wrong." He turned to look at Diana. "What about the tracker you had on Superman?"

She shook her head. "It's off. I do not know if it was damaged in the fight, or if they disabled it on purpose, but I have been unable to get any kind of signal."

"Then we should talk to Geomann," said Padma firmly. "He's undoubtedly the most likely to know more about the myth."

It made sense. With a flick of his wand, Harry released the charms on the door and pulled it open only to be met by an extremely irate-looking Astoria Malfoy.

She wasted no time. "Potter, what the hell is going on?"

For a brief moment, Harry wanted to comment on the feeling of déjà vu. Apparently that was the question of the day. Instead, he decided to give her an answer. "Your sister has gotten caught up in the effects of a nasty magical item that went undetected at the museum," said Harry. It was true, after a fashion at least. "Unless you can tell me where the Pair Dadeni lives these days, I suggest you go home, and let us do our jobs."

Her sharp blue eyes narrowed to slits. "Is that some kind of joke? What does some old myth have to do with my sister?"

"Possibly everything," said Harry. He really didn't have time to offer a full explanation to everyone willing to kick down his door. "Now, please, let us get back to work."

Astoria fell silent then, and she looked troubled. "Well, Daphne always loved the old myths. I remember her talking about it last time we were at the museum together. She and Pavel said that unlike what the muggle legends say, it was stolen away to the Orchedes by…" she trailed off. "Oh, who was it?"

"And where's that?" Harry asked.

"I'm sure I don't know," said Astoria. "Daphne was the one with an interest in those things. I only ever learned enough to humour her. I'd suggest you talk with Pavel."

Harry resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose and instead settled on scratching his chin. From the feel of it, the stubble was probably looking pretty untidy after his all-nighter. "Well thank you for that," he said, and if he sounded a bit displeased, he thought it was understandable. He raised his voice and shouted to a wizard he could see walking past his office door: "Oi, McDonald, can you go fetch Geomann? Quick as you like."

Without waiting for a response from the startled younger auror, he turned back to Astoria and was about to tell her to bugger off, in slightly more polite terms, when his fire started sparking green. A moment later, the familiar head of Carruthers, the Director of Magical Law Enforcement at the MACUSA appeared in it.

He wasted no time. "Potter. We need to talk."

It never rains but it pours. "I'll be right with you," said Harry before glancing briefly at Astoria. "If you'll excuse me."

For a moment it seemed as if she was going to protest, but in the end she settled for sweeping from the room while making a huffing noise. Harry turned his attention back to Carruthers.

"I've just got back from the Hall of Justice," said Carruthers, needing no prompting. "Whatever it was that happened there was some kind of big time spell. Never seen anything like it."

"Have you been able to reverse it?" Diana asked, drawing Carruthers attention.

"Ah, so this is where you ended up," he said before shaking his head sadly. "You and… uh… 'Green Lantern' are the only missing members we know about. Everyone else is still frozen. The boys down in Spell Identification say it's some form of petrification."

"Hal is off-world," said Diana helpfully. "He said there was something that required his attention on Korugar. I do not know when he will return."

Good to know, but not immediately helpful. Harry nodded before asking Carruthers, "Any chance a Mandrake Draught will clear things up?" Given his tone, he didn't hold out all that much hope.

"Not without a whole bunch of modifications," said Carruthers, as his disembodied head twisted from side to side. "Something in the spell's construction. Can't say I really understood much of the jargon they were throwing around."

Harry groaned in frustration. It was hardly unexpected, but that didn't make it any less annoying. "How long to make the modifications?"

"Few days at most."

Harry looked over to where Padma was taking some notes. "See if we can't scrounge up some researchers of our own for the project." It wasn't exactly something he could promise, but hopefully Padma could pull some strings. He looked back at Carruthers. "If you think that might be helpful, of course."

"Send them on over son. We can work out what we need as we go. What's going on on your end?"

Harry was sure he'd get a very pointedly-worded memo from on-high for it, but decided to give Carruthers the basics anyway. The man was being helpful, and deserved to get something back. "We think Superman was possessed by an ancient Greek dark artefact. The dark ritual we failed to interrupt seems to have given the… spirit control over Miss Greengrass as well. It seems they're searching for something else, possibly to try and revive the dark wizard that created the artefact in the first place."

Carruthers whistled almost appreciatively. "Well, sounds like you boys got the pointy end of that wand. Seems we dodged the curse there."

Silently, Harry agreed. Sometimes he found himself wondering what a simple life must feel like.

A/N: As might be expected by the folk who've read my other works, I try to keep language stuff plausible in my stories, but attempting to make use of Mycenaean Greek is more troublesome than I expected, as I was only able to find a word-list of a about 53 words. As a result, I have had Diana mostly use Ancient Greek terms to describe Herpo. The Goddess Ishasarame is a made-up name for the snake goddess found represented in Minoan statuary, and the name is a mix of the possibly related Hittite word išhaššara (mistress) and some suggested pronunciations of the undeciphered Linear A script thought to be related to the being.

There will be some more Welsh names for things as the story progresses, but they're fairly minimal. So long as you remember the (very very) rough guide that:
y = 'uh' sound
f = 'v' sound
ff = 'f' sound
w = 'oo' sound
u = 'ih' sound
d = 'd' sound (simple but)
dd = 'th' sound (like in 'then')
l = 'l' (normal, but)
ll = unusual sound for english speakers, but a bit like trying to say 'l' and 'h' at the same time as breathing out.
That should give you a starting point, but if you want more actually correct pronunciations, you can have a look around for yourself. Welsh is a well-documented and still very much alive language, and there's plenty of audio clips around.