Chapter Twenty-Nine:
Armada
The night staged the gut-wrenching scene as the shield that surrounded the Castle for centuries had now been obliterated by the curse. Lined up at the edge of the surrounding forest, tanks and muggles aimed Hogwarts with their weapons. It was an incredibly bizarre image, of horribly and unimaginable beauty.
The Muggle Prime Minister stared in shock, standing next to the man, the Wizard, Obscurial, if he remembered the word correctly. Standing in front of a massive iron gate, two winged boars stared proudly back at him. Behind the Minister, six muggle officers guarded the man, their hands glued to the guns attached to their belts. The Obscurial was surrounded.
"The barriers fall..." Said the Obscurial. "No more hiding for this race of rats, working in the shadows…"
"You-you said they had a book…"
"Oh that is correct, the Rituals of Sotanaht Grim…" The name gave shivers to the Minister. "I've had my forces collect it for me, it's now in safe hands. But still, there is a big chance they have already learned of its use…"
"We are diplomats, Mister…"
"Erebos." Said the Obscurial.
"There's no way we can call an attack without further evidence…"
"Oh, right, Muggles and their annoying little scientific nature, won't do anything out of the sheer faith…" Erebos looked back to where the muggle squad guarded the Minister. They gripped their guns. "I suppose you believe, however, that you can kill me if you move fast enough. That your guns and bullets are enough to protect you from me…"
"Say no more, Erebos, we are done here…"
Before the guard could draw their pistols, Erebos shifted into the Obscurial, his human form disappearing into the black pulsing monster of matter and gusting wind. The Minister witnessed as one by one, every last one of his men were slaughtered by this uncontrollable dark mass, their bodies twisting and breaking with violent force.
And then Erebos, the wizard, stood again next to him.
"You may kill me, but I am not giving the order." He trembled.
"Such bravery…" Erebos' eyes glistened with power. "But I do not need your consent. Imperio!"
And just like that, the Minister stared at Erebos blankly, indifferent to the world. Then he reached his pocket, drawing a strange muggle device, which he fidget with a few buttons. There were a few seconds of agonizing silence, before a massive roar burst from the hills, like in New Year's Eve, when all fireworks go off at once, and the bombing began against the walls of the Castle.
Erebos removed the spell. The Minister blinked, before he realised in horror what he had done.
"You have been so very useful for me, Minister…"
"No… I didn't..."
"Tomorrow a new world will awake." He concluded, aiming at the Minister with his wand again. "I wish you could see it…"
"Please-!"
"Avada Kedavra!"
There was a flash of green light, and the Minister fell to the ground.
Erebos stood still, watching as the explosions rocked the Castle, the night bleeding into red. Behind him, McNair approached in sinister silence.
"They have him. I can feel him now." Said Erebos, calmly.
"Then it's time to move." MacNair spoke next to him, still staring up to the winged boars that surrounded the gates. "If we attack now, the boy can still turn in to us, my Lord."
"Enough of titles, MacNair, my friend, you forget the purpose of tonight. We are not here to recruit Robert's son. Not even to destroy whatever credibility the Order of the Phoenix still has. Our only mission is the Hidden Ark."
A loud boom echoed over the gardens.
"But how do we get to it when we don't even know where it is?"
"The box will be exactly where it needs to be; the boy will find it for us, just as fate has prophesied."
MacNair nodded. "Gothel has found the book. The Aurors retrieved it during the battle earlier tonight."
Erebos smiled wickedly. "Naturally… Bring it to me. I must examine the rituals to open the Ark…" He studied the boar intensely. The wizard raised his wand, aiming at the statue. "Then destiny will do its part." A spell blew up the statue, spilling stones and sparks over the ground. "All shall fall."
"The passage on the Seventh Floor is completely blocked!" The monitors from the houses cried to McGonagall as they tried to control the panicking students. Some of them had blood spilt over their robes, covered in dirt and soot.
"There is still the secret passage on the third floor!" The woman with voluminous brown hair next to the red-haired boy exclaimed, proceeding to explain the way to the one-eyed witch that led to Hogsmead.
"The Shield has been compromised, Headmistress, we can only establish basic protection..." Professor Flitwick spoke as he examined through the entrance doors, still casting spells into the sky, trying to prevent further damage to the shield.
Aster, Jack, Hiccup and Astrid all stepped close to the group of wizards at the centre of the Great Hall, eavesdropping as they talked hurriedly. "Gather those who are of age, we must keep them as far away from the School as possible for as long as we can."
"Too late for that." Aster said suddenly, walking up to the Order of the Phoenix. "We're not going anywhere."
"What the devils are you all still doing here?!" Professor Flitwick shouted over his shoulder, his face screwed in annoyance.
"They never really obey, do they…?" The red-haired wizard spoke again.
"We've got no time for rebelliousness, my boy, no matter how brave you seem to be." Another wizard spoke, this one much older, but the teens paid no mind to the orders they were given.
"They've surrounded the castle, Headmistress." Jack spoke before anyone else could yell at them again. Merida stepped up to him.
"It's true, ma'am, they've got all sorts of muggle weapons headed towards us. They've made this huge wall surrounding the grounds, we're trapped in'ere."
"But Muggles shouldn't be able to see Hogwarts…"
"Someone broke the Statute of Secrecy, whatever delusionary spell we've had has been rendered useless." Flitwick spat, shaking his head.
The wizards eyed each other waringly. "The only way out is fighting, it seems…" A dark haired Auror pondered. "But I don't think we'll be successful at getting those to leave." He gestured to the five teens, still gripping hard on their wands, eyes wide alert.
"What can we do to help?" Hiccup shrugged. The members of the Order seemed to gather closer around the teens. "Do we even know how muggles managed to find Hogwarts?"
"They've been told, no doubt." The witch with bushy hair assumed. "I wouldn't be surprised if they were threatened with war or worse. Holding them back is just part of the problem, though. We need to fight whoever is behind them all, it has to be someone much more powerful."
"You talked about a student carrying an Obscurial earlier," Hiccup asked. "What exactly are we up against?"
"You just guessed it." The witch replied. "They have an order of obscurials with them. And they're more powerful than any Obscurial anyone has ever seen."
Merida, Azel and Aster stared in awe. Jack absorbed her words darkly. Hiccup nearly laughed. "This can't be… There haven't been any living obscurials for nearly a century! And even if there was, it could never live long enough to form an army of them."
"Well, I guess this rule has been thrown outta the window." The Weasley wizard retorted. "Cause right now we have seven of them out there on the grounds waiting for us."
"How do we kill them?" Jack spoke suddenly. All the wizards looked at him.
"...I don't think they can be killed that easily…" The witch started, right as another explosion echoed through the grounds, shaking the windows.
"We're running outta time," Potter stood, an air of urgency returning to the group. "If they're going to help, I say we can't stop them. Just let them know what we're after. Maybe this way, we'll find it faster."
"There's something hidden in the Castle." The Headmistress spoke now.
"Bloody hell, I've heard those words before…" The read haired wizard said, and the woman with bushy hair next to him sent him a look of disapproval.
"The artefact is a box, hidden deep under the castle's dungeons."
"The dungeons?" Jack asked, incredulous. "What could possibly exist beneath that hell-hole?"
"I like this kid already." The red haired man said again.
"The Obscurus has a prophecy," The witch next to him explained calmly, and Jack felt he could grow to like her better. "The artefact is an ancient box, our history refers to it as the Hidden Arc. It holds the darkest substance in the world."
"Oh no, the Hidden Arc?" Hiccup gasped. "It's a myth. There's no way it can even be real, something like that would have caused a disaster long ago… How can it be hidden here?"
"Legend also said it was the founding stone for much of the wizarding world, boy… don't forget, there's always some truth in myths." The older Auror spoke again.
"So what do we do once we find it…?" He asked. "If we ever do it, I mean."
"We need to destroy it. The Order of Obscurials is coming for it, we need to get to it before they do."
"And we better do it fast." Another Auror spoke. "We can't hold them back for much longer." Another blast shook the Hall, and everyone's eyes looked up in fear. "We have ten men roaming through the dungeous looking for every hidden entrance, and just waiting for a response…"
It was when Jack turned around to look at Hiccup, the only person that mattered before his decisions, that he found nothing. Hiccup was gone.
The Obscurial stood in front of the gates, still waiting. His wand carelessly held by his fingers. Under the hood, his features merged into the shadows, undistinguishable. McNair still remained close, his smirk expectant, the calmness that precedes murder.
"Our boy is on the move… he'll start searching for the box any minute now…" The Grand Obscurial deemed. "Now is the time for hunting." He gave McNair a sinister grin. "All out war."
Jack ran his way amongst the panicking mass of students, looking for the auburn hair, until he stumbled at the deserted path to the Grounds. It was there, in the empty Courtyard, that he saw him. Walking stubbornly towards the muggle army. Before he could help himself, he casted a shield, blocking the teen's path.
"Hiccup, you ain't gonna do it!" Jack's voice followed the freckled teenager through the Courtyard. "Don't you dare going there!" He yelled, close enough so his hand finally yanked Hiccup's wrists, forcing the boy to turn around.
"Let me go." Hiccup said, tugging his hand. "I have to do this!"
"I can't let you do this! Please, don't go!" All Jack saw was the outline of the night sky bleeding with red sparks, and Hiccup at the edge of the catastrophe.
"Yes, you can." The boy snapped before taking out his wand and pointing it to Jack's terrified face. "Let me go, right this instant."
"Don't do this." Jack pleaded, and before he could know, he also had his own wand towards the boy. Don't do it, don't do it, don't do it, he thought.
"Relashio!" Hiccup ordered, the grip from Jack's hands freeing his wrist. His tears shone red with the fire outside. "I have to do this, I've got to help them!" He stepped out. "I'm sorry."
"Hiccup!" Jack screamed before the boy started running, seeing Hiccup's hand reaching for the inside of his robes after Toothless. "Immobilus!"
Jack's hex missed the boy by an inch as he dodged out of the bolt's way. He looked back, incredulous, as Jack also stepped closer. Now in the cold air, both boys panted as the sparks flew around them. The sky roared above them in red and blue flames, and the smell of ashes and smoke filled their nostrils. "I don't want to fight you, Hiccup, but I can't let you go."
"Then you are fighting me." The other replied. "Expulso!" He ordered, and the hexes started blasting between the pair. Jack casted every body-binding spell he could bring up to his mind while Hiccup ripped the air with shield charms, effectively conjuring a wall against them. He put Toothless on the floor, "Essentio!" He whispered, and as Toothless started to grow, he looked back, his eyes catching Jack's running form as he threw himself at his shield, screaming words he couldn't hear. "I'm sorry." Hiccup mouthed, now fighting tears as he mounted on Toothless, the dragon beating its wings, shooting to the sky as they performed the unforgivable.
The night agonized with deathly songs.
Magic and fire erupted throughout the castle's grounds. As wizards casted spells and counterspells from their positions, they had to dodge and tuck themselves behind the stone walls before being hit by cannon blasts. No one could acknowledge that the impossible had happened: Muggles were fighting the wizards on magical ground.
From an aerial perspective, mounted on the dragon's back and hidden in the night and the black scales, Hiccup could see the edges of the Castle: the Forbidden Forest was on fire. The flames rose up from the woods and lighted up the horizon into a golden haze. Although the muggles had not penetrated the castle's walls, the smoke also spiralled up from the cliffs, and their missiles had hit some courtyards. Muggles could not get in, and wizards could not get out.
"Okay, Toothless," He spoke, his hand caressing the dragon's scales. "It's you and me." Both dragon and rider pointed downwards, the creature's enormous wings spreading in a menacing promise. They soared towards the ground, nearing the crowds and machinery surrounding the castle. They still hadn't been seen, the dragon as dark as the night. "Three," Hiccup began, and the gurgling sound erupted from Toothless' throat. "Two," Any minute now, the soldiers and wizards would be drowned in flames. "One…"
"What is that?!" A scream echoed above the crowd, and a huge light bathed the ginormous black silhouette of the dragon.
"Now!" Hiccup roared, and Toothless released the inferno. A massive roar soared through the crowd as the fire consumed every man and machine it could reach. From close, Hiccup could see the tanks exploding when the jets of flames engulfed them. However the screams seemed to muffle every other sound from the rider's ears. Every last cry pierced his ear, and somehow, the world fell into slow motion, and he focused on the bright orange flames that licked the ruined metal in such an elegant and deadly manner, his mind flashed the line from the Bhagavad-Gita: Now, I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.
The Order of the Phoenix watched, paralyzed, as the massive explosion lighted the horizon, yellow fireballs expanding in a merciless line through the muggle army. From afar, they could still hear the screams.
"My God…" Professor Flitwick whispered, his eyes glued to the horizon.
"Whatever that is, it is buying us time." Professor McGonagall replied. "We might as well use it, we've waited long enough." She stated. "Have the Prefects gotten the students out of here safely?" Another Auror nodded. "Then it is time to move."
"Jack, hold on!" Aster yelled after Jack as the boy mirrored Hiccup, running stubbornly towards the dungeons, the girls long forgotten in the Great Hall. "Have you completely lost your mind?!"
"I'm the one they're looking for, Aster." Jack spat back.
The other boy heard, but did not believe. "Stop screwin' around!" He said, his hands pushing the boy by his shoulders. "This is no time for your stupid jokes!"
"I'm not joking, Aster." The other boy snapped, and Aster nearly missed the cerulean eyes flicking a deep shade of black, and if it wasn't for the dim lights of the Dungeons candles, he wouldn't have seen it.
Jack kept his impenetrable gaze. "Hiccup's gone, Aster." He spoke. "What else have I got to risk?"
"Ya talkin' like he's dead."
"He could be."
A horrible silence fell on them. Neither knew what to say. Then Jack spun on his heels, descending further down the stairs.
"The Order will be storming in here any second, and I'm the one they should be sending. It's better if I do it now, before anyone else gets hurt." The spiral stairs ended at the castle's deepest corridors, so poorly lit with torches that Aster could mostly rely on their sillhouettes.
"Jack, they've probably stripped this place already… What makes you think it's here?"
"Azel's book had mentioned that Salazar Slytherin was the one responsible for shielding the castle's most ancient delusionary charms at its foundations… we are beneath the level of the lake right now… And I've been feeling this place for a while now… It's almost like a vibration, or a pull, I can't really describe it... but it pulsates; It's steady, like a beat… In other words, it could be the heart of magic." Jack whispered, his eyes scanning the walls where the earth seemed to merge with the constructed stones. "But I don't think I'll do much in my natural form."
Aster's face paled. "What do you mean by that?"
Jack looked down. "Please don't hate me when you see it." As he stepped away from his friend, he raised his hands. "I don't want you to get hurt."
And in a second, the figure of Jack shifted into a black, indistinguishable form, not smoke, nor watery either. More like a pulsing mass, moving in strangely contained manners. Aster jumped back, cursing in fright as he had at last seen Jack's real form, the ghost of the human still present in the dark matter.