HP & The Siriusly Good WC Adventure
The war is over, in Britain at least. But war never ended for Harry. Upon the tenth anniversary of Sirius' apparent death Harry finds what he's looking for; a chance for an escape, a hope thought long lost. Yet again unto the breach Harry goes for his wildest adventure yet!
Harry awoke slowly, his body wracked with great pain. He stood up slowly and wobbled slightly before falling quickly, his knees impacting the earth with a loud thud. The pain flared greater than before and he doubled over, emptying the contents of his stomach onto the dirt.
"Uhh" he groaned, wiping the corners of his mouth with the sleeve of his dark robe. "That was the worst idea I have ever had", he gasped out slowly.
The pain, once almost unbearable was beginning to recede however slowly as he remained crouched on the ground. His vision however still remained blurry, pieces of his glasses lying strewn across the ground close to where he originally fell.
He stood up slowly, no longer encumbered by intolerable pain and held forth his arm, palm open and concentrated sharply. Into his hand came a wand, and not just any wand, but the greatest wand ever made. The Elder Wand. The Wand of Destiny. The Deathstick. It went by many names and it now owed its allegiance to Harry Potter, the true Master of Death. A feeling of relief shot through at him at being reunited with his only means of defence and survival in this unknown land. Accompanying this feeling as the wand answered his call was a rush of power both invigorating and alluring as eldritch energies briefly flared around him washing away the last remnants of pain.
Harry flicked his wand upwards sharply once and his shattered glasses repaired themselves instantly and flew towards his face, gently settling in place. Vision back in focus, Harry surveyed his surroundings with the practiced ease borne from the experience of gruelling Auror and Unspeakable training. Said training was further bolstered by his tumultuous school years and memories of the war years previous.
The eerie quiet of the forest was the first thing Harry noticed. The trees were still healthy and strong, reaching long into the sky. Yet nothing stirred, nothing moved and nothing sounded. He acknowledged the potential differences there could be between worlds, yet his gut feeling had never led him astray and he would trust it again here: something was wrong. Only the ever present rustling of the leaves and branches caused by the wind upset the unnatural silence permeating the forest.
Upon the wind was the second thing of significance; the smell of acrid smoke, ash and fire. Even worse were the faintest scents of death and decay, imperceptible to all but whom would be intimately familiar with such things.
Harry made a complex motion with his wand which upon completion caused the ground beneath him to tremble then take form as it raised itself underneath him so he could view without obstruction. Fire raged in the distance on one side as great plumes of smoke were visible above a city, obscuring the rest of the skyline. Elsewhere there was more forest yet in the opposite direction to the burning fire's lay the ocean. Harry could also briefly make out signs of settlement in the distance.
"Point me Sirius Black." Harry incanted, his wand spinning towards the settlement and out across the ocean. A wry grin crossed his face, "Well, that's somewhat of a relief at least." he murmured softly.
With his direction decided, the earth supporting him collapsed down gently and he set off through the forest at a brisk pace; nonetheless on guard from whatever danger may exist.
Harry stood upon the edge of a cliff overlooking the settlement, pleased he had made his way successfully. What was not pleasing was a horrifying army composed of what looked to be strange forms of inferi led by a dark wizard were almost upon the settlement gates. Upon the cliff face the sounds of panic and frantic action from the settlement could be heard. Already a series of boats were leaving the settlement harbour and were making their way out to sea. All the guards present within the settlement had taken on defensive positioning behind the gated wall; the only thing between them and the undead force. It was a futile effort in Harry's estimation; the other force easily outnumbered them more than three to one. Yet what else could they do but try and afford as much time as possible for the rest to make it into the boats and escape.
A cold smile crossed Harry's face and his heart swelled with righteous fury and determination; these people wouldn't stand alone to face their doom. He was Harry Potter, the greatest wizard of his time. The man all dark and evil beings feared. It wasn't always so, yet by Merlin the naïve and foolish child he once had been was cast aside long ago. The end of the war had shown him how far he had yet to go to become strong; and strong is what he eventually became. No amount of inferi or singular wizard could defeat him now. With that final thought, he vanished with a sharp crack.
The sudden, noise of apparition was incredibly startling to the guards whom were already under significant stress. A human suddenly appearing in accompaniment from thin air alongside the mysterious sound didn't help either. Weapons already drawn were immediately put to use as the guards charged the mysterious intruder, intent on cutting him down.
"STOP!" Harry spoke in a voice amplified by magic. "I am not an enemy, I am here to help you; but you must remain calm." The final word caused a wave a soothing magic to wash over the guards advance halting them. The Elder Wand glowed brightly in Harry's hand. "I need you to remain behind me and do nothing foolish, I will handle this, I promise you." The guards had lowered their weapons collectively and were no longer showing serious signs of fear or desperation, their faces displaying a more relaxed countenance than previous. Harry's calming and compulsion area charms had cut through their negative emotions to pacify them significantly.
Having dealt with that problem, Harry immediately turned towards the gate. In one moment it was still intact, the next it was sundered apart in one blow. The wreckage that was the wooden gate moments before was splayed across the ground in front of him, smaller pieces of it falling just short of where he stood. In the gate's place now stood something out of a nightmare. A grotesque creature whose body was composed of the sewn carcasses of the deceased stood over 3 metres tall armed with a bloody cleaver and a wickedly sharp hook sewn onto each arm. Drool and gore dripped from its mouth in bloody globules as its rotting, black eyes focused in insatiable hunger on the humans in front of it.
Smaller but malevolent creatures nonetheless which travelled on all fours ran past the abomination, their misshapen and overlarge jaws dripping with saliva. Their wicked front claws glistened in the sunlight and these creatures growled in hunger and anticipation of the feast that was to come. The undead creatures didn't attack however, but arrayed themselves in actual formation inside the walls, an unholy gleam in their eyes. Slowly the abomination started forward, behind which walked a man decorated in a long black robe and a ceremonial mask obscuring his face. A small set of horns adorned his head and a black staff was carried by him; blackening the ground where its base touched.
The dark wizard stopped behind the line smaller inferi-like creatures, the larger abomination by his side. He gestured sharply with his free hand towards Harry and a singular creature pounced towards him with claws extended and mouth agape, eager to rend and tear flesh from the living. A flash of motion from Harry with wand in hand cut short its deadly flight. The grotesque being was transfigured quickly in a bright flash to a rubber ball. Harry caught the ball with his free hand. Never taking his eyes from the dark sorcerer, the ball in his hand abruptly caught fire which he threw back towards the undead force. The magic sustaining the transfiguration collapsed, leaving behind the smoking ruin of the misshapen undead corpse. Its foul unholy body gave off a horrifying stench which caused the guards behind him to shuffle uncomfortably in both unease and disgust.
Behind the mask, the necromancer's eyes widen perceptibly and then narrowed quickly, "I feel nothing from you mortal. No mana was expended and I sense none within you yet magic was undoubtedly performed." He trailed off inquisitively his face directed at the smoking corpse on the ground.
"The ability to cloak magic is something unheard of; if you surrender peacefully no harm shall befall you. We, the cult of the damned are always looking for fresh talent. You need only lay down your wand and immortality, riches and power beyond your dreams will be yours for the taking! I, Nerod whom was personally trained by the arch lich Kel'Thuzad himself who serves gratefully under our eternal and great master the Lich King, offer you this generously." Nerod stated imperially.
A flash of relief shot through Harry at the conclusion of Nerod's ramblings. He had completely forgotten English was unlikely to be spoken on a world far apart from his own. Yet here was evidence to the contrary, what a spectacular piece of luck. Harry realized in hindsight his brief exchange with the guards could've turned far worse and he cursed himself for this enormous error. Was he still the ridiculous school boy charging into danger at slightest provocation with no plan or prior information? Clearly so, he sighed imperceptibly.
Having processed the ridiculous and most self-aggrandizing monologue he had heard in a long time, Harry took note to ask someone knowledgeable about half the terms he had just heard in the future. It was time to teach this moron the most valuable lesson he had learnt in magical warfare, 'He who strikes first, oft strikes last'.
Harry raised his wand quickly and summoned forth his hatred for a man who clearly took delight in the suffering and pain of others. Not to mention his undead allies.
"Avada Kedavra" Harry spoke.
A jet of deadly green light burst forth from Harry's wand arrowing towards Nerod intent on claiming his life. "You fool!" Nerod spat, a black translucent shield springing up in front of him. "I shall now slaughter you painfully after stealing your secrets from your mind and then raise your corpse to serve in undeath fore…" Whatever else he had to say was cut off abruptly as the killing curse without resistance passed through the shield as if it was never there and struck Nerod who crumpled instantly, like a puppet with its strings cut.
Harry laughed heartily as the horns that were attached to the dead sorcerer's head rolled off when the body impacted the ground. He thought they looked faked.
The undead horde lost all semblance of control with the death of the necromancer and charged forward, cohesion and formation lost. Their minds filled with murderous insanity driven by the insatiable hunger for the flesh of the living in front of them. Blind to all else they missed the ocean swell greatly and slam into them from the side, destroying their balance.
The guards' countenance took on looks of awe and amazement as the water began to cocoon itself around the writhing undead. Both the ghouls and abomination failed to escape the rapidly building sphere of water no matter how they thrashed and thrived. Their flailing limbs jutting out violently of the sphere in erratic moments only to be pulled back in by the roiling force of the water, steadily growing to encompass them all.
Only the muffled screeches of the undead remained accompanied by Harry's slightly laboured breathing, the rest of the beach was silent. A freezing charm left Harry's wand turning the sphere of water into a massive block of ice. This was quickly followed by a banishing charm which sent the undead ice cube spiralling far out into the ocean; and then the beach was truly silent.
Harry turned towards the awe struck guards, "So I need to head that way," he said whilst pointing out across the ocean, "Any chance there's a spare cabin for me…?" he trailed off lightly, a slight smirk adorning his face.
The silence continued for a moment, then another, and another. Then the cohort of guards raised their weapons in gleeful cheer whilst they voiced their praises to having been saved from certain death.
It looked like he wouldn't have to conjure up a ship after all, Harry thought happily. Now he just had to find out just what the hell was going on!