The Shadowpact: Magic in Crisis

by The Rebuke

The current age of magic stands upon the borders of destruction and chaos, and from an inter-dimensional bar a group of unlikely heroes will rise to defend reality itself. Will they succeed, or will God's Vengeance tear the world of magic apart at the seams? -COMPLETE-

Prologue

Harry stepped through the Cauldron's front entrance with a swooping feeling of excitement filling his gut. He knew he shouldn't be out in the muggle world, the Minister of Magic himself had forbade him from leaving the relative safety of Diagon Alley, but after two weeks, Harry had completed his summer homework and explored every street and side alley of the magical shopping district, even ducking into Knockturn Alley while wearing his invisibility cloak, and he was thoroughly bored.

Besides, Harry thought, it wasn't like Sirius Black was strolling through London. Even the muggles were on the look out for him; and so he had exchanged some galleons for muggle money as he was tired of wearing Dudley's rags, and he felt it high time he bought himself some nice non-magical clothing.

The sounds of the city greeted him as he left the wizarding world behind, a million voices all jammed into such a cramped place, stacked on top of the noise of machines and cars belching fumes from backfiring exhausts. Truly, Harry preferred the tranquil countryside he had seen the previous summer he had spent at his best mate's home in Ottery St. Catchpole. Still, the city was exciting. To Harry, it was like the very air prickled with some frenetic magic that buzzed up and down his arms to tickle the small hairs on the back of his neck.

It being morning, and a weekday, there were plenty of commuters going to and fro like worker bees in a massive hive. Harry's lips quirked in amusement at the mental image. The pedestrians weaved around him like he was wearing his family cloak, so practiced at moving without conscious thought they were, which suited Harry just fine. After two years of, in his opinion, ridiculous fame amongst wizards, the anonymity offered by muggles was welcome indeed.

Soon, though, Harry came upon a boutique selling young men's clothing judging by the display set in the protruding bay windows. Smiling to himself, Harry entered the building, the little bell attached to the top of the door frame ringing.

Harry left the building some time later, his arms laden with bags. Honestly, he had only meant to buy a few shirts and a couple pairs of jeans and some shoes to replace Dudley's tatty second hand trainers, which at this point we're more tape than anything, but the young woman on shift had treated him like a living doll, and some strange part of Harry that he didn't quite understand had thoroughly enjoyed the pretty clerk's fawning.

Hence all the bags.

Harry grinned to himself, he figured it was fine, especially with how comfortable his new clothing was in the summer heat, which had only gotten worse in the few hours he had been playing dress-up, so Harry decided to find a snack and a cool place to enjoy it.

-0-

Harry tossed his half-full cardboard cup in the trashcan and recollected his bags, trying to pin point the sudden anxious feeling in his gut, it was like he was being watched as he sat there in the park, savoring his chocolate milkshake. His eyes darting, Harry hastened to the park's entrance, feeling the familiar weight of his wand in his pocket, warm and inviting.

Joining the street, Harry hoped to lose his stalker in the bustle of London, but it seemed as though the streets had chosen that moment to empty, almost as if even the muggles could sense something foul approaching. Gritting his teeth, Harry sped up to a slow jog, his bags cumbersome, their weight forcing him into an awkward canter. Then the sweat that had beaded on his forehead suddenly went cold, almost icy. The sky went dark as the sun was blotted out and the world was covered in an unnaturally thick fog rolling in from the direction of the park. Harry's breaths came in ragged gasps as he felt a strange weight settle across his shoulders and drag him down like a yoke.

Then came the screaming.

Harry, despite the deep terror threatening to crawl it's way out from inside him, felt his back straighten as the scream galvanized him. Someone needed help, and Harry would give it to them! He just had to find them first...

Harry was getting closer to the boutique he had bought his clothes at now, and the screaming was getting steadily louder. The sound assaulted his eardrums and Harry ducked into a dirty alley way. There was a single door at the end and an overflowing rubbish bin. Spilled grease reflected light in a shimmer and Harry fell back against the wall of the alley. He couldn't think for the pounding in his head, and the shrieking of the woman who desperately needed help. But then Harry saw a swirl of black and he turned and saw a trio of creatures swooping down to street level and Harry could make out little from under their ripped and moth-eaten cloaks, but he did see their gray, scabby hands with long, cruel fingers tipped with sharp, dirty fingernails and a circular, lipless mouth, filled with a diseased-looking black tongue. He heard the rattle of their breaths as they closed in on him, like a man on his deathbed, struggling for air.

Harry had never considered himself a coward, he was a proud Gryffindor, but he found himself taking unconscious steps back until he collided with that door.

The creatures were at the entrance to the alley now, drifting through the air with purpose, like pack hunters about to make a kill, and still that woman was screaming, only now he could hear words.

"Please," shrieked the woman desperately, "not Harry! Take me instead!"

Harry's bags slipped from his grasp and he shakily reached for his wand but then his vision tunneled and he felt that door he was leaning against open and a strong arm wrapped around his torso and dragged him inside as well as a flash of bright blue light and and unearthly howl that could only belong to the monsters outside, then the door slammed shut and Harry sucked in a deep gasp of air.

His vision rapidly clearing, Harry looked up to see a man with deep blue skin and yellow horns curling back from his forehead looking down at him in concern and Harry, his nerves more than shot, did the only thing he could do, he shouted in fear and struggled free of the demon's hold, which put him once more back to door, only this time he had managed to draw his wand, which he held firmly, the supple and familiar holly wood reaffirming.

"Easy, kid!" called a deep, warm voice, and Harry turned his head minutely, to see the speaker while still watching the demon. The man was aged, perhaps in his fifties, with a face that might have been handsome once, but was now starting to wrinkle. He had short brown hair that was turning gray at the temples and he wore an apron over a crisp white shirt and black slacks. He was kneeling nearby with a look of concern crossing his face. "Calm down, lad. Dan, there, didn't save you from those things just to hurt you."

Harry's eyes twitched back and forth between the demon, Dan, apparently, and the old man before he nodded, his breath slowly returning to normal. "Where am I?" he asked.

"You're in the Oblivion Bar, kid," said Dan, standing and offering Harry a hand up. "I'm the bouncer here, and this is my friend, Jim."

Harry took the hand and was helped to his feet, feeling a sudden embarrassment for the way he had acted. Meeting a blue-skinned demon-man wasn't the weirdest thing he had seen in the last two years. "Sorry about that. Those things had me... Well, I don't really know what exactly they were doing..."

"They were forcing you to relive your worst memories, and if they had caught you they would have consumed your soul, leaving you a husk of your former self. Luckily, I was here to drive them away..."

Harry, his brows furrowed, tried finding the source of the voice, but the small anteroom he was in contained only himself, Dan, and Jim, but before he could voice a question, a man phased into being. He was impeccably dressed in a dark suit and white shirt, with a dark blue cloak and a wide-brimmed hat that left the top part of his face in shadows. Around his neck was a necklace of weathered silver coins. He was pale-skinned and Harry couldn't get a reading on his age, but he was carrying Harry's dropped bags, which he set on the ground at Harry's feet.

Jim frowned. "Are they gone, Stranger?"

"The dementors fled."

"Is that what they were called?" Harry shook his head. "And they made me relive my worst memories? But I just heard a woman screaming." Suddenly Harry's eyes widened as he realized who that woman was and just who she had been pleading with. "Oh," mumbled Harry, picking up his bags for something to do.

"Dementors are foul creatures, Harry," said the man in the cloak, "they form in Darkness like a mold and seek to feed their insatiable appetite with a single-mindedness that would be impressive if it wasn't so horrible."

"But what were they doing in London?" asked Jim, rubbing his chin.

Harry's eyes widened as the answer came to him. "They must've been looking for Sirius Black!" he blurted.

The man's mouth ticked upwards. "Correct," he said, "but why don't you take us through your reasoning?"

Harry blushed at being put on the spot. "Last year, my friend Hagrid was wrongly sent to Azkaban. He was terrified and the Dementors are the only thing I can think of that would scare him like that, and it only makes sense they're looking for the only guy to actually escape Azkaban!"

"Well deduced," praised the man.

Harry ran his free hand through his hair. "Thanks," he muttered.

Dan grinned at Harry's embarrassment.

"So what is this place," asked Harry, "I would've thought a magical bar would be in Diagon Alley?"

Dan and Jim exchanged confused looks but the man in the cloak said, "This world, and magic especially, is stranger than you know, Harry—particularly in recent years."

Harry frowned. "What does that mean? And you know my name, but I still don't know yours."

"How rude of me," said the man, "my name is unimportant, but you may call me The Phantom Stranger." He quirked another enigmatic smile. "Or perhaps simply The Stranger for simplicity's sake? As for the Bar, perhaps Jim would explain it better? I, however, must be going, for I have many paths to walk before the day is through..."

And without another word, the Stranger phased away like a ghost, leaving silence in his wake.

Jim grumbled. "Well come on," he said, gesturing into the bar proper, "you look like death warmed over, lad. We're lucky the bar is mostly empty right now." He pursed his lips. "Just know that you gotta be twenty-one to drink here. I don't care what age the Brits let you drink but I'm an American so it's the soda fountain for you!"

Harry chuckled.

Chapter One, Fifteen Years Later

My feet hit the narrow dirt road of the Turkish bazaar hard, kicking up thick clouds of dust as the people chasing me bellowed threats in a language I only understood thanks to a tricky little charm.

I don't think half the things they we're shouting were possible, but I wasn't keen on testing them.

I raced passed buildings made of sandstone and crude brick and my hand glowed a deep purple that spread out along my entire body, invigorating me and temporarily increasing the density of my muscles and bones. I blurred around civilians and ducked under the reach of mercenaries and other guards. Spells flashed over my shoulder and every now and then I felt one impact against my cloak, the dragon hide it was constructed from absorbing the magic and protecting me from the worst of the spell's effects. Still, I could tell I'd be covered in bruises the next day.

I approached a tall, narrow building and its heavy wooden door blew outward and muscular men in turbans and breezy clothing brandishing curved swords poured out, setting up a lattice of steel in my path. I growled and grabbed for my own wand, fourteen inches and made of knobbly elder wood, I could feel it's desire for violence, or perhaps it was my own, amplified and reflected back at me.

My hand flashed forward, the tip of the Elder Wand glowing scarlet, and the ground before the warriors exploded upwards in a great pillar of dirt and stone forty feet high. The men all shouted and before the cloud could disperse my wand was away and my body was shifting into something more avian. In the moment between steps, where before there ran a man in his prime, now a great black raven winged itself to freedom, weaving around buildings and rugs set to hang on thick lines strung between them. Soon, the sounds of confusion gave way and I flew through the barrier separating the Turkish wizarding world from the muggle one. Landing some way away, I transformed back, grinning madly with my success. I reached into my pocket and grabbed the portkey I had enchanted before the start of this little adventure. I felt the tug behind my navel and I was dragged into a swirl of colors.

I appeared in a decrepit hotel I had paid cash for, a circle of rubbish greeting me. Each item ranging from bogrolls to single gloves and old flip-flops was also a portkey set to depart at the same time to a different location in Europe. Hopefully it would be enough to distract anyone trying to track my movements. I grabbed the partially crushed soda can that would whisk me away to my contact and said, "Activate!"

-0-

Ah, Geneva. Home to the muggle U.N as well as it's wizarding counterpart, the I.C.W. Nice food, chic urban centers, pristine view of the Alps. I'm sure Fleur or Gabrielle would love it. I, however, preferred a nice tavern with a roaring fire and a few books on advanced magic.

Good thing I wouldn't be here long.

Entering the modest muggle hotel, I passed the front desk thanks to a Notice-Me-Not Charm I had previously cast, and entered the elevator, pressing the button corresponding to the thirteenth floor, leaning back into the wall as the muggle death trap shuddered to life.

Approaching room twenty-three, I knocked sharply on the door twice and waited a moment before knocking three more times, with the last hit being barely more than a soft tap. Exactly two seconds later, I heard a man bid me entry and I felt the enchantments securing the door fade. Nodding to myself and dropping my spell, I turned the knob and entered to see a middle-aged man sitting in a chair near the bed, his brown hair neatly coiffed and highly polished rectangular glasses resting on his nose.

He stood, his height just a hair under my own six foot, two inch frame. "Harry," he rumbled, in his baritone voice, "no issues?"

I frowned. "None," I said curtly, "baggage claim was tight, but nothing I'm not used to."

"Right," he said with a quirked eyebrow, "do you have it?"

I felt my scowl deepen as the hair on my arms stood on end, but I approached, my hand trailing to my magically expanded pocket...

Only to switch and summon my wand to my hand with an effort of will, pointing it at the man, its tip glowing an angry red crimson. "Who are you," I shouted, "what have you done with Thomas Keller!?"

The man's eyes widened for an instant before he ducked, spinning around me, I felt his hands grasp at my cloak's hem, but I kicked out and slashed my wand, releasing a formless burst of magic that hit him square on and flung him up and into the wall nearer the ceiling where he dropped between the bed and wall.

My first thought was to disapparate away as I had long since learned not to fight in a disadvantaged manner, but then I thought of Thomas Keller, my handler with the ICW. That this man hadn't used the agreed upon rebuttal to my baggage claim line told me that Thomas was either dead or under the Imperious Curse. I had been under Thomas' care for years now, since I had left the Scholomance, and I had truly counted the man a friend.

And I was now very angry at what had been done to him.

There was a small moment of quiet, but then the bed shot towards me and I blasted it apart, but through the cloud of smoldering cotton and dagger-sized slivers of wood burst 'Thomas', snarling like a feral beast, his hands extended to grasp my throat. I noticed his eyes were wide and bloodshot and his canines were extended unnaturally.

Vampire.

I just barely managed to duck and the vampire sailed overhead. I spun on my heel and brought my wand to bear and fired off a series of spells designed to entrap and subdue.

Just because I could question dead men, doesn't mean it isn't easier to interrogate the living first.

Lengths of chain and scarlet ribbons of light lanced forward but the vampire managed to make contact with the other wall for an instant and was able to kick off and blur around my spells and I was already grasping my dragon hide cloak by it's hem and shoving it in the way of the claws now gouging at my torso. The material held strong and I shoved my wand into the vampire's face and a wordless Sunlight Charm exploded point blank against the creature's eyes. The vampire howled and recoiled, it's skin blistering while it's right eye dripped in rivulets down its cheek. Once more I kicked out and my boot connected with the creature shoving him back and my off-hand came up and glowed purple and a blast of scorching eldritch power crossed between us and threw the vampire across the room.

This time, my Incarcerous Charm hit and the vampire was bound in black iron chains that clinked weakly with its struggles.

I breathed out shallowly and I could hear the the muggles panicking and I shot a Locking Charm at the door to give me some time to clean up, which I did after stunning the vampire for good measure; Vanishing my previously conjured chains, scouring the stains from the walls, repairing the destroyed bed, and using a few revealing charms to look for any evidence of magic not cast by myself as well as a spell to reveal human presence in the hope that Thomas was just stuffed away somewhere in the room.

He wasn't.

Stuffing my dragon hide cloak in my pocket, I strode over to the vampire. Frowning, I reached down and grasped the chain holding him before disapparating.

-0-

I reappeared in an alley in Paris, still toting my prisoner. I looked down, grimaced and raised my wand, transfiguring him into a pebble and dropping him in my pocket. Leaving the alley before either the Swiss or French Ministry tracked my apparition or spell use.

Being muggle raised, I knew non-magical living, despite the way I had sunk myself into wizardry since Hagrid delivered my Hogwarts' letter all those years ago, and as such I managed to disappear into the crowds with ease.

I walked around for nearly an hour, browsing at shops and purchasing a few small gifts for my three godchildren. Rose was Ron en-miniature with an added love of muggle sports as well as wizarding and I got her a pennant for the French footie team that I knew she was following that year for the cup, while Hugo received a book on the muggle interpretation of Nicholas Flamel, which was loaded down with incorrect information, but I figured he'd get a laugh from it. Teddy got a book on muggle astronomy for his first year at Hogwarts, which, despite the magical enhancements on a wizard's telescope was actually far more precise. It wouldn't help him with the astrological aspects but for star charts? His classes would be easy mode with it.

Wizards didn't have satellite cameras after all.

Finally satisfied that I wasn't being followed, I made my way to another alley and took a nub of chalk from my pocket, scratching a person-sized rectangle on the wall at the far end. I placed a hand on the wall and muttered an ancient incantation. My hand and then the chalk outline glowed a clear, almost whitish purple and the bricks were changed into polished dark wood with a shiny knob, which I grasped and turned, opening the door and stepping through into the Oblivion Bar, closing the door behind me.

"Harry?"

I nodded at Dan the bouncer and he frowned at me.

I tried to look innocent.

"Did you just hijack the European entrance to the bar… again?" He asked with a vague sense of resignation. "You know Jim hates when you do that."

I made a so-so motion with my head. "It's only temporary. It should already be back in that dingy London alley. My last job went tits up. I needed a get-a-way."

Dan shook his blue-skinned, yellow-horned head at me. "You get to explain it to Jim."

I nodded. "Wouldn't dream of making you take the blame, mate."

Dan gestured me into the main room of the bar and I entered, taking in the regulars, a few hags arguing lowly over a plate of raw meat, a warlock that loved telling tall tales, and a drunken chimpanzee smoking a pipe and wearing a hat straight out of Sherlock Holmes' closet. The bar itself had become something of a second home to me after I had first encountered it that summer before my third year at Hogwarts and I made sure to visit often between terms, at least until the war against Voldemort had heated up. Of course after that I was sequestered in the Scholomance for five years before I was allowed to leave but I had since then re-established my ties with Jim and Dan while globetrotting for the ICW.

"Jim," I greeted, approaching the bar.

The elderly man looked up and raised an eyebrow. "I heard everything you told Dan," he said, "I'll allow it so long as you tell me about this job that went awry."

I nodded easily. "You're a lifesaver, mate," I said, "when I figure it out I'll let you know."

His other eyebrow rose to join the first. "Oh? Do you need your usual room?"

I patted my pocket down, the one holding the vampire-cum-pebble, and shook my head, a hard look crossing my face. "I think the basement would do better for now."

"Indeed," he said dryly, "clean your mess when you're done. I just scrubbed the floor and I don't want blood soaking into the grout."

I nodded and moved passed the bar and into the back room before taking a set of stairs into the cellar of the inter-dimensional bar.

-0-

It was hours later when I Vanished the remains of the vampire thrall that Thomas Keller had become, disgust warring in my gut with a desire for vengeance and the need for rest. I still had the scroll in my pocket which had been the target of the Blood Red Moon, a 'vampiric rights coven' that had sought the scroll for the the magic contained within.

And for that they as good as murdered my friend.

There would be a reckoning if I had anything to say about it but for now, I needed to eat something.

Turning the corner into the main room of the Bar, I blinked in surprise and tried catching Jim's eye, as the Bar was currently standing room only.

Failing that, I strode into the crowd, nudging my way to the Barman. "Jim," I called, coming to rest my elbows on the countertop and waving my hand to catch his eye, "what's all this; you giving out free beer or something?"

Jim speared me with a bleak look. "You must not have felt it through your privacy spells. Harry, The Spectre has gone mad. He's killed thousands of Practitioners in the last two hours."

I felt the bottom of my stomach drop out and I swallowed thickly.

Shit.

Chapter Two, The Knights of the Lost Cause.

The heaviness in the room pressed into my shoulders as I listened to the fearful murmurs of the patrons, detailing what The Spectre had already done in just a few hours time. The utter destruction of six Atlantean schools of sorcery, the boiling away of the Fountain of Youth, literally uprooting the Misty Woods while murdering hundreds of combat-trained mystics gathering there for a meet and greet…

It was insane. In just the opening salvo of his new crusade he had racked up a body count as high as Voldemort's from both of his wars, with the added bonus of actually harming the veil of magic the Earth relied upon to function as it did, something not even the former Dark Lord was depraved enough to want. Schools of magic were built where they were for a reason. Most thought it was simply because the leylines of magical power crossing the planet added strength to the wards there, and they did, but the schools themselves and the students naturally added their own magic back into the planet. By destroying them The Spectre had changed how magic would flow for the rest of eternity. It would be impossible to perfectly repair the damage and already people were giving themselves into despair over it.

"I won't stand for it!" cried one woman and I glanced from the corner of my eyes to see a pale-skinned witch with black hair wearing a matching green robe and a conical hat sitting with a man dressed in a grungy suit of patchwork rags. "Listen up people, we need to form up a hunting party. We need to find and kill The Spectre before he kills us!"

My immediate thought was to disregard her as someone so far gone into pants-shitting terror that she was reacting with a basic flight-or-fight response, but then I felt something like resolve settle into my gut even as the majority of the patrons there called her on her probable insanity.

She was right.

The Spectre was already knee-deep into his personal war, but he had made it known that he sought not just the death of a few practitioners but the death of magic itself, and he wouldn't stop until he had fulfilled his desires.

I, for one, had never been willing to take a threat lying down.

"Cowards," she cried, "you should all be wearing dresses!"

I heard Dan's deep voice try to calm things down before a fight broke out and I nodded to myself. "Fuck." I cursed, shoving off of the bar and making my way towards the woman.

"This isn't our fight," said the man in the ragged suit, "we need to let the Phantom Stranger, Doctor Fate or Madame Xanadu take care of this. This is way over our heads!"

"We can't think like that." I said bitterly. "Speaking from experience, when the brown stuff starts flying it's best to have your own umbrella rather than wait for someone else's. I'm with her. I'd rather fight than cower."

The woman looked a bit vindicated but then her eyes caught the faded scar on my forehead and she frowned. "Harry Potter?" she said, her tone just a hair warmer than Snape's. "This isn't a schoolyard squabble. Go back to your sterile, safe 'wizarding world' and leave this to people who know best what it's like to fight true darkness."

I snorted. "A few years ago I might've picked that gauntlet up and beat you around your fool head with it. If you haven't realized it yet, you're not exactly flush with allies right now." I peered closer into her snobbish face. "I know you. You're the Enchantress, June Moon, right? The magical schizo? Maybe I should go it alone rather than trust my back to someone who flip-flops between innocent and raving lunatic every time she gets a taste of power."

She stepped up to me, glaring into my eyes, but after facing down Snape in class for six years and then Voldemort himself it was decidedly unimpressive.

Dan stepped between us, shooting us both a yellow-eyed glare. "No violence or you're out," he said, "even you, Harry."

I shrugged.

"The magical babe in green and the celebrity are right," said the wheezy voice of the Chimp in the hat from where he sat smoking at his booth, "besides, The Specter's already taken out the big guns. This is war and he's playing it smart. He sealed Fate in his own helmet, blinded Madame Xanadu, and the Stranger? He's right here." He chuckled bitterly and held up a small blue mouse.

"Fuck," I swore quietly, even as Dan called him a out as a liar and a drunk trying to scam free drinks. I moved and held out my hand and the Chimp placed the mouse in my palm and, mouse or no, I recognized the intelligence and benevolence in the his eyes. Besides, I had known the Stranger since I was barely thirteen and I could pick out the feel of his magic easily. "How did this happen?" I raised a hand which glowed purple and I spoke a litany of counter-spells in every language I knew up to and including an ancient Enochian Ward I read of in the Scholomance's original copy of John Dee's personal grimoire. The mouse glowed similarly, the purple light flashing with each new spell, but my magic didn't 'stick' to him, the energy sloughing off like water off a raincoat.

"Harry," said Dan suddenly worried, "you don't believe this monkey?"

I nodded. "This is the Phantom Stranger," I said, "no mistaking it. Whatever happened I can't reverse it yet." I eyed the bar and raised the hand holding the mouse. "Anyone else wanna try and counter this?"

People shuffled on their feet and looked away and I made eye contact with The Enchantress. "What about you? You were talking all that good shit just a few minutes ago. If you can I'll gladly admit you don't need my help."

She made a noise of disgust and looked away and I felt a small measure of vindication.

My defensive magic had always been on an entirely different level than the normal wizard or witch, after all.

I placed the mouse on the Chimp's table with a quiet apology and it looked up at me consolingly.

I nodded.

"As enlightening as that was," said the Chimp eyeing The Enchantress and me, "we need to come up with a plan."

"What can you do?" snorted Dan. "Harry and The Enchantress are powerful magic users but you're just a drunk."

"I am," said the Chimp, collecting the Stranger and placing him gently in his pocket, "but I'm Detective Chimp and I'm on the case."

"So that's three." I said, scanning the crowd.

"It's five," said Jim as he and Dan shared a resigned look.

"Six," said an unearthly pale woman in a dark blue costume with spiked black hair and a domino mask, "I ain't waiting here for The Spectre to get around to killing me."

"Seven," sighed the man in the ragged suit, frowning as he pulled a mask made of the same tatty material over his face, "what's the difference in dying now as opposed to a few days later?"

"That's the spirit," said the Chimp.

"Anyone else?" asked the Enchantress.

No one replied.

"Alright then," said Jim, "show's over. It's last call! Everyone finish your drink and get home. Go to ground. Keep yourselves as safe as you can."

There were a few mutinous looks directed at the barman but Dan said. "Think about it you drunk assholes! We're a gathering of Practitioners in an inter-dimensional magical bar? How long until The Spectre turns his eyes here?"

That seemed to snap people from their anger and many set their mugs down and started making for the door without bothering to finish the last of their drinks.

I rolled my eyes and took a seat near the ragged man. I held out my hand to shake his. "Harry Potter," I said wryly, "nice to meet you."

"Rory Regan," he said, shaking my hand, "I also go by Ragman; gotta say, I hope you're more than just a famous name."

"I get by," I said, leaning back in my seat, "but then I don't normally go challenging beings like The Spectre."

Slowly the bar emptied and I noticed that almost no one left alone, whether they were friends and seeking safety together, or people looking for a last roll in the hay before the end of the world I didn't know. Honestly I didn't blame them. Soon as I got a chance I was gonna contact my friends and tell them to hide out somewhere distinctly muggle until this either blew up in my face or things were safe again.

Eventually we seven people were alone in the bar and there was a beat of awkward silence. "Anyone have any ideas?" asked Dan.

"We need intelligence," said Jim, "can't kill The Spectre unless we know where he is."

The Enchantress raised her hand. "I'll do that. I'm an accomplished Far-Seer. I just need a quiet place to meditate."

Jim nodded and Dan led her away to one of the back rooms.

"Right," said Detective Chimp, crossing his arms, "we should compare powers. We can't come up with a strategy unless we know what we can all do."

I nodded. "I'm a wizard. I do magic."

The woman with pale skin gave me a look and I rolled my eyes. "Fine. I learned wanded wizardry at Hogwarts in Scotland. Charms, transfigurations, hexes, curses, etcetera. I'm also a deft hand at potions and different runic languages. I fought in the war against Voldemort, eventually offing his semi-undead ass. After that I learned occultism and other magic at The Scholomance in Transylvania. Stayed there for five years, eventually graduating and being dubbed a Solomonari. Ever since I've been acting as an agent of the ICW, which is the international wizarding governmental body. Also, I'm an animagus, which means I can transform into my animal totem, in my case a large raven."

The pale woman blinked and then spoke. "Call me Nightshade. I can control shadows. I can make solid shadow constructs, blasts of shadow magic, barriers, and even teleport myself and others anywhere by slipping into another dimension. Those are my main abilities, but I do know some traditional magic, nothing too impressive, though."

"That is impressive, though," I said, "I'd like to see that dimension. Wizards have a few spells that deal with manipulating physical darkness, although the thought makes most of us queasy, but something tells me you can take that to a whole other level."

Nightshade smirked. "I figure you'll see it before this is done."

Ragman raised his hand. "I'm a normal guy, but I can use my Suit of Rags and draw upon the strength of the souls of the criminals I have trapped within it. I can increase my physical abilities dozens, maybe even hundreds of times."

"Gonna skip passed the fact you have souls trapped in your clothes," I said, furrowing my brows, "since we can't be picky about allies right now."

Ragman shrugged. "Believe it or not what I do to these souls is a mercy."

"Explain that a bit for us," said Nightshade.

"The Suit contains the souls of some really bad people. If it wasn't for me they'd already be burning in hell," he said, crossing his arms, "by helping me to do what I do these souls slowly earn their redemption and place in heaven."

There was a beat of silence after that before Jim said. "You all know me in some manner. I'm Jim Rook. When I was younger I went by Nightmaster. I wield the Sword of Night. A magical blade that never dulls or rusts, warns me of approaching danger, and forces the people around me to tell the truth."

Dan returned to hear the last of Jim's introduction and he nodded to myself. "I'll go next then," he said easily. "I'm Dan Cassidy. Used to be an actor and a normal guy wearing a cheesy costume. Made a deal with the wrong devil and was transformed into this body. I got a host of bonuses to balance out being eternally damned. Super strength, durability, the whole shebang. I also possess the Trident of Lucifer. Scary name, yeah, but it's a useful weapon. It lets me find demons on Earth and banish them back to hell. Besides that it's supposedly indestructible."

Chimp nodded. "I'm Detective Chimp. I got caught by a hunter who trained me as a performer. Ended up drinking from the Fountain of Youth. Now I can speak to anything in its own language. Gave me an intelligence boost too. Turns out nobody likes a Chimp who's smarter than them, though. Now I drink. A lot. By the way, I'm not a fighter. So if the going gets tough I'm not gonna be much use beyond as a tactician."

Dan rolled his eyes. "Right. Well The Enchantress is busy but something tells me she's not into sharing about herself. I'm gonna take a shot in the dark and say her deal comes down to: 'magic'."

I snorted. "I need to step out for a bit," I said, "we can't do much until the Schizo comes up with a location for The Spectre and I want to warn some friends of mine to lay low."

Jim nodded and I walked out of the bar, appearing in that dingy London alley. The sky was dark and starless, but that wasn't surprising. London had far too much light pollution to see the night sky as it should be seen. I pulled a folding mirror from my back pocket and opened it. "Hermione Weasley," I said clearly.

There was a burst of static and then the fuzzy image of one of my oldest friends crackled into life in the glass. "Harry?"

"Hermione listen to me," I said urgently, normally the connection between our mirrors is flawless and the unclear blurriness worried me greatly, "Harry what's happening. The Ministry has gone haywire. Enchantments are failing all over the place. Even Hogwarts!"

"Shut up for a sec, 'Mione," I said, "I know what's happening. I need you to listen and then follow my instructions to the letter, though I know you're not gonna like it."

I could barely make out her expression but I could tell I got her attention with the quickly exhaled breath and nod. "Right. Somehow you're always knee-deep in stuff like this."

I smiled. "I'm a late-comer to this one, but I'm gonna try to fix it with a few new friends." I shook my head. "Long story short, an incredibly powerful being known as The Spectre is trying to kill magic itself and he's done a bang-up job of twisting it into something unrecognizable so far. The old magic that Hogwarts and the Ministry and every wizard and witch relied upon is unstable. It might break or it might snap back into place with enough force that it causes physical disturbances, who knows. What I need you to do is run. I need you to collect Ron and the kids as well as Teddy and Andromeda and disappear into the muggle world for a while. No magic at all. The Spectre has already killed so many. Right now there's safety in anonymity. Maybe your parent's house will work. Let Molly and Arthur know. Hell, get the word out with the old crowd but it's absolutely imperative that you stay completely non-magical."

"H-Harry?" whispered Hermione, her eyes wide in fright.

"Promise me, Hermione," I said fiercely, "it's more important than I have time to tell you about right now."

Hermione closed her eyes. "Alright. Harry, be safe."

I smirked. "Hey, it's me, isn't it?"

Hermione chuckled wetly and the mirror went blank and I snapped it closed before turning and once more entering the Bar.

Chapter Three, Trial By Fire

Entering the main room of the Bar, I found the other members of our ad hoc super-team geared up for combat and gathered around The Enchantress who was clammy-looking and drinking from a cup of steaming tea. "Do we have anything?" I asked, sliding the mirror back into my pocket and retrieving my dragon-hide cloak and tossing it around my shoulders.

The Enchantress gave me a dirty look that I returned with a smirk but it was Jim who answered. "We do. A woman by the name of Jean Loring has been possessed by an ancient spirit known as Eclipso. She's seduced The Spectre into this madness. Right now they're both out in space resting but that might not last long－how much rest could a being like God's Spirit of Vengeance really need? He's connected to the Host, after all, he should have all the power he needs."

I nodded. "Jean Loring… That name sounds familiar."

"It should," said Ragman, "Jean Loring was married to The Atom and she murdered Sue Dibny, the wife of the Elongated Man. It was a big scandal. Made T.V News all over the world."

"Well it seems she's upgraded her M.O to include attempted genocide." said Detective Chimp, rubbing his chin.

"Maybe," I said, "if she's possessed then is this really her fault? I'm not saying she's innocent, since she's a convicted murderer, but if her body's being held hostage by something greater than herself…"

"Doesn't matter," said The Enchantress scornfully, "harden your heart Potter. What's her life compared to magic itself."

"Is that what we're doing?" said Nightshade, "we're killing Eclipso－will that stop the Spectre?"

"It's a start," said Dan, shrugging, "if they're in space right now, then where do they go next?"

"We need to return to the Misty Woods," said The Enchantress, "I should be able to pick up The Spectre's mystical trail there."

"Leave it to me," said Nightshade, raising her hands, both somehow 'alight' with the power of physical shadow, "everyone close your eyes, the Realm of the Nightshades isn't for the faint of heart! We go to the Misty Woods on a suicide mission－like I've never done that before!"

There was a story there, but I didn't have time to contemplate all the meanings in it before a circle of darkness grew outward underneath us and swallowed us in its icy embrace.

-0-

I've only been to Misty Woods once, it was just after the war with Voldemort and Kingsley Shacklebolt, the interim Minister of Magic had asked me to take a holiday while he worked to smooth out public relations and whatnot. Having been indescribably tired from the last few years of fighting, I had agreed and it was on this grand tour that I visited several magical hot-spots all over Earth, and not just those that the Wizarding World oversaw. Misty Woods was one of them. It was a pocket dimension accessed though any number of ancient forests and had served as a meeting point for untold years.

Arriving there, my skin clammy from the unnatural cold permeating the Realm of the Nightshades, I opened my eyes and drew in a shocked breath through clenched teeth at the carnage that greeted us.

The Enchantress speared me with a knowing look and I shook my head, my face settling into a grim mien. "Bastard," I muttered sotto voce.

"Easy, Harry," said Jim, his hand resting on the pommel of his magical sword before he turned to The Enchantress, "can you pick up anything?"

She raised a hand for silence and closed her eyes, wandering off with Ragman following, yelling something about staying in groups of at least two.

I was pretty sure he was just into magically psychotic witches.

Whatever.

I reached down and picked up a sliver of wood, extending my senses towards it and feeling only the vaguest echo of energy in the wood itself.

"It will grow back," said Nightshade, a hollow sympathy in her voice, "it'll take time but The Spectre hasn't killed the Misty Woods, only injured it."

I nodded and knelt down to place my hand on the ground. My palm glowed purple and I fed a small portion of my own magic into the land. It was a drop in the bucket, a mostly symbolic gesture, but that, I had found, was what magic really was－smaller gestures returned with interest by the universe.

I stood just as Ragman stormed back to the group, followed by The Enchantress who was laughing. "Hey guess what," she called mockingly, "Ragman actually thought we had shared a moment! He really kissed me!"

"Yeah," he said bitterly, "I'm sure I'm not the only man to misread a situation."

I rolled my eyes and shared an exasperated look with Nightshade while Dan chuckled.

"Did you get anything, Enchantress," asked Jim, keeping things on track.

"Easily," said The Enchantress, shooting me a mildly insulting look, "any practitioner worth their salt should feel it."

I flipped her off and she smirked, the bitch.

"Hungary," she said, "The Spectre is locked in combat over the city of Budapest."

"Game faces," said Jim seriously, "looks like we have an ally but they can't last long on their own!"

"Got it!" yelled Nightshade, and I braced myself once more for her particular brand of teleportation.

-0-

We arrived in a smoking battleground, the echoing booms of combat hitting us from above and I looked up through the smoke of crumbled and burning buildings to see the Earth's Mightiest Mortal, Captain Marvel, Shazam, going toe-to-toe with The Spectre, and for all his power, Shazam might as well have been a blind child fighting a world-class boxer for how well he was doing.

"We need to help!" yelled Ragman, "Captain Marvel is being torn apart!"

"That's a good thing!" yelled The Enchantress, "while The Spectre is busy we need to kill Eclipso!"

"She's right," yelled Jim, drawing his blade, which lit up with an aura of fire, "we need to trust Captain Marvel to keep the Spectre busy while we do our job!"

I raised a hand and pointed to a mostly crumbled building, upon which stood Eclipso, wearing the body of Jean Loring like a suit, her face half dark and half light and her eyes pale and glowing with arcane power. She wore revealing armor of the darkest night, decorated as it was with the feathers of ravens.

Bitch.

I took a running leap and in a moment I was winging myself through the air as a bird, transforming back into my normal human body just as I swooped up behind her, both my hands alight with my own brand of eldritch magic. I lashed her in the back with twin blasts of purple energy before my feet had even made contact with the bricks of the building, the angle true enough to send her plummeting towards my allies with a surprised yell. A spin on my heel had me reappearing below her with a crack while she was still falling and a third and forth blast caught her again, joined as it was by The Enchantress' own green energy projections.

I heard pain in Eclipso's scream and I smiled grimly, pulling my most powerful weapon from it's holster at my waist, the Elder Wand－The First of the Three.

Before she could recover, a giant hand made of physical shadow burst from the ground and grasped the villain and slammed her bodily into the ground, producing a powerful tremor that was echoed by a vicious blow Captain Marvel managed to land against The Spectre.

Nightshade's Darkstuff receded and Dan leapt into the air, the Trident of Lucifer pointed downwards even as Jim lunged forward, leading with the tip of his sword. The Sword of Night skittered across her armor as she shifted and a burst of her own dark energy erupted from her body, throwing the two of them away. "Mortal fleas," she screeched, her voice like a thousand nails on the universe's most evil chalkboard, "how dare you strike at me－I am a goddess!"

"Not a god!" yelled Ragman, appearing behind her and pinning her arms to her body with his legs as he locked his hands around her throat, tendrils of the hooded cloak of his Suit of Rags moving on its own to wrap her in its embrace. "Face judgement, Eclipso," he shouted, his voice more guttural than normal, "you have so many sins to punish!"

Eclipso flexed her arms and threw Ragman away, the man skipping over the ground with enough force to shatter several large chunks of rock that were in his way. She raised her hands, her eyes wide and glowing with her magic as several bolts of black energy lanced towards us like a hail storm. I whipped my wand upwards and grunted as my shield just barely formed in time to block the first volley, only for it to shatter as a second one impacted with enough force to send me soaring back with a gasp of pain, spittle flying from my mouth as if I had been struck with an ironclad fist.

The rest of my group ducked and dodged, with the Nightmaster, Jim, using the Sword to parry several shadow bolts, skillfully managing to reflect them back towards Eclipso even as Dan charged in, the Trident of Lucifer glowing. "Go to Hell!" he yelled, blasting her with hellfire produced from his weapon.

Eclipso laughed shrilly, grasping the shaft of the Trident as magical flame comparable to the power of Fiendfyre washed around her ineffectively. "I'm no devil, beast! Your little stick has no power over me!"

Almost absently she flung him away only to throw her arms up to catch a second fist of Darkstuff which hit with enough power to send a shock wave of debris away from her.

Picking myself up, I caught sight of The Enchantress standing still, her hands laced together and an expression of concentration on her face. I felt power building in her and I looked up to see Captain Marvel getting his mighty ass handed to him. I shook my head and ran back towards the fight, whipping my arm up, my wand leaving a trail of fire in it's wake as I sent Professor Dumbledore's favorite confinement spell at her, and a lasso of charmed flame bound Eclipso head to foot, allowing Nightshade's fist to bury her into the ground. "Take her head, Nightmaster!" I yelled, pouring more and more power into the spell even as I felt the ancient being struggle against me.

Sprinting in, Jim swiped at her exposed head, cleaving it off and my eyes widened and a grin split my face as I felt hope rise within me only for it to be dashed as the head flying through the air dissipated into motes of darkness that reformed into Eclipso, unmarred and smirking down at us from where she levitated. "You see now how futile this is, Mortals? I am, as always, above you, no matter your struggle! You cannot comprehend the depths of my power!"

Pointing her hands at us, her palm emitting a building aura of power, she screeched and I brought up my wand to bear again, yelling out, "Intego Maxima!"

The basic shield charm, with an incantation of 'Protego', was enough to stop most simple charms and hexes with spell modifiers being added to change or alter the effect of the spell itself. The shield charm had limits, though, and when a wizard exceeded them he'd need a stronger spell. The next step up would be 'Contego', that had the same modifiers. The final shield was 'Intego', and 'Maxima' had automatically raised the power output for the magic to its highest point. A nearly solid wall of glowing golden energy bloomed outwards from my wand like a flower opening towards the sun in time for Eclipso's blast to strike it dead on with the sound of a hundred gongs being rung simultaneously, which produced enough force and wind to extinguish every fire in a two mile radius and knock over what few buildings remained standing, kicking up enough dust to cover our battlefield.

I sunk to me knees, shaking my head and breathing harshly even as I struggled to stand. From the corner of my eyes I saw Nightshade make another hand and grab Dan before flinging him upwards. I heard a screech of pain and then a rumble as something heavy impacted the Earth.

The smoke cleared and I saw Dan crouched over Eclipso, his Trident pinning her to the ground through her heart, her wound leaking a dark, misty vapor.

"D-did we do it?" asked Ragman, limping towards us and favoring his right arm with Detective Chimp following, steadying him.

"I don't know," said Jim, taking his Sword of Night and raising it before plunging it into Eclipso's gut, further pinning her body.

I turned towards The Enchantress to see her still building power only now I could feel her feeding that strength upwards to Captain Marvel and I nodded. "She needs our help!" I called, pointing. I stowed my wand away and tried to relax my breathing, to join my efforts with the witch in green. "Captain Marvel gets his power from outside sources. She's been supplying him with her own reserves of magical energy but she's going to burn out soon!"

Detective Chimp nodded. "Go, Harry. Ragman, Nightmaster, and I will stay in case Eclipso wakes back up!"

I ran over to The Enchantress with Dan and Nightshade on my heels.

"Enchantress," panted Dan looking between the continuing fight against The Spectre, "how much longer can you last."

"Maybe twenty seconds," she grunted, "I've been giving him everything but it's not enough!"

Dan's eyes widened. "I got it! Take what you can from me! I'm not a practitioner, but I have magic coursing thorough this demon's body. Give it to Captain Marvel!"

Nightshade grinned. "Me too. Take what's needed!"

"I like the thought," said the Enchantress, chuckling tiredly, "but you're not thinking big enough… The Spectre is a danger to every practitioner and so I'll tap into every practitioner. It's gonna take at least as much as that to keep the Spirit at bay."

"Do it," I said, "but leave me out of it for a minute!"

"Harry?" asked Nightshade.

"Even you're not thinking big enough, Enchantress," I grinned, "you take from the living and I'll borrow power from the other side!"

The Enchantress looked at me, sweat beading on her face. "Whatever you're thinking, wizard, do it quickly!"

I nodded and reached into the collar of my shirt bringing out a simple-looking black Stone set into a pendant on a silver, rune-inscribed chain even as Nightshade and Dan seemed to fall into trances, looking skyward.

Taking a deep breath, I mirrored The Enchantress' pose, interlacing my middle and ring fingers and touching the pads of my index, pinky, and thumbs together, the black Stone lodged between my palms with the chain dangling below.

I closed my eyes and poured my power into the stone, searching, calling.

And I was answered.

With all the recent violence and destruction levied against magic-users and the different places of power, the spirits of the dead surged into the stone, which quickly grew as cold as the grave, for it was not just any stone, or even a baser magical bauble.

It was the Second of the Three.

The Resurrection Stone.

One of the most powerful necromantic artifacts in this or any world.

The middle-born Peverell brother had only grasped at its simplest powers when he had used it to summon the shade of his dead lover to his side.

I, however, knew how to use the Stone more fully.

As The Enchantress grabbed any bit of magic that was offered by every living practitioner, I siphoned the arcane energy from the spirits of sages long since dead and the recently deceased. All of them wanted to see The Spectre pay for his affronts to magic itself and all of them were willing to sacrifice a portion of their own powers to do so. The churning ghosts of wizards and witches cried out for blood, and dead gods put aside their resurrection for a few more decades, sinking deeper into their dark dreams, and even the genus loci of magical locations ruined over the long centuries pitched in, their ancient minds turned to violence and a desire for The Spectre's doom.

Then I sent all that power and more upwards towards Captain Marvel, and suddenly I could hear an unearthly scream and a triumphant shout from Earth's Mightiest Mortal and I allowed a grin to split my lips.

Then there was a rushing sound and I heard Jim and Ragman yell and Detective Chimp cursing foully and a wave of intense heat and wind washed over me as I felt The Spectre flee, taking the body of Eclipso with him.

I opened my eyes in time to see The Enchantress smirking cruelly at me, her eyes a glowing golden-green.

Shit.

Chapter Four, The Shadowpact

"Bloody magical schizo!" I swore, turning and bringing my cloak over my face in time to block the majority of a burst of green-hued eldritch power, the force of which was still enough to throw me to the ground. I stuffed the Stone into my pocket, breaking my connection with the dead even as I managed to scramble away from my reluctant ally-turned-enemy. Dan and Nightshade, however, seemed to be coming out of their trances more slowly than I did and The Enchantress blasted them away with a harsh cackle.

"Such power," she said, grinning wide enough to show a mouth full of decaying teeth. Her formerly smooth skin went sallow and wrinkled and splotchy with liver spots and her black hair was fading into a thin, wispy gray that curled out from under her green witch's hat, "here I thought June hated me, but she did well gathering all this－I'll have to do something nice for her!"

The Enchantress lit up like a Christmas tree, her body radiating a pulsing, poisonous, acid-green light and a sense of evil that had my fight-or-flight instinct going haywire, and considering I had drawn first blood on a being like Eclipso that said something for the primal fear she instilled in me. It was like every fabled swamp-dwelling hag every story-teller in human memory had ever dreamed up was alive inside the woman, her malice and the darkest of magic the only thing keeping her alive.

I spun on my ass and disapparated nearer to Jim, Ragman, and Detective Chimp, appearing with a crack that startled the three. "I'd hate to say I told you so," I said, eyeing the witch and the debris that was levitating around her and grasping my wand as I stood.

"She figured something like this might happen," said Ragman, holding up a gun of all things, "she gave me this. Told me to use it if she lost control and went all evil."

I could feel the enchantments on the formerly muggle weapon and they were indeed powerful. "That would do it," I said grimly, "but I'm not sure I want to kill her. She's a bitch, but if she gave you that then she must really hate the Hag inside her－she's not doing this on purpose, which makes her a victim!"

"Agreed," yelled Jim, the Sword of Night in his hands erupting into flame, "we're not ending our first battle as The Shadowpact by killing each other－knock her out!"

"Shadowpact," I said wetting my lips, "it's no Order of the Phoenix but I like it!"

I rushed in, long legs eating the distance between me and The Enchantress as Jim followed me half a step behind and Ragman shot passed us, the gun nowhere to be seen. I ducked beneath a floating stone as Ragman shattered one with a punch from his good arm. I whipped my wand up and a beam of pale light lashed towards the witch who batted it away with a careless backhand even as she blocked Ragman's kick and blew him away with a contemptuous glare. "What's wrong, Handsome," she taunted, wagging her tongue at him, "didn't you want that kiss?"

I slapped an open palm on the ground and there was a burst of light and a spire of stone erupted upwards behind her at an angle, hitting her in the lower back and shoving her forwards, only to meet a pommel-strike from the Sword of Night in the temple. Her eyes closed and she slumped forward, Jim catching her before she hit the ground and I breathed out in relief as I saw her reverting to her younger appearance even as a hand made of Darkstuff shielded us from the falling rubble the Hag had been levitating.

I nodded towards Nightshade and Dan who was leaning heavily on his Trident.

I sighed, looking up to see Captain Marvel descending towards us, a look of confusion on his battered face. "Um," he said, sounding strangely young in cadence if not in tone, "who are you guys?"

I laughed tiredly, having been on the go for what felt like days. "Don't you know? We're The Shadowpact."

Jim chuckled as we were joined by Detective Chimp, Dan, and Nightshade.

"Get us out of here," I asked the shadow user, "we don't want to be here when emergency response comes running－we can't afford to be detained right now, after all."

Jim nodded. "The Spectre and Eclipso are still alive. We'll have to fight again."

Nightshade raised her hands and engulfed us once more in one of her icy portals.

-0-

We arrived directly in the main room of the Oblivion Bar and I carelessly tossed my cloak over the back of a chair before sinking onto a plush red settee with a groan, my battered body and nearly depleted magical reserves adding to what already felt like a very long day. All around me my new team, The Shadowpact, were doing much the same, with Jim lowering the scale mail hood of his armor and walking around the counter of his bar and returning with several bottles of beer, that he passed around.

For some reason, Captain Marvel looked nervous holding the bottle.

I accepted mine and grinned. "This is why you're the Boss, Jim."

Jim snorted and cracked his beer open clinking bottles with mine. "Cheers, Harry," he said, turning and raising his bottle at the rest of the 'Pact, "to a job well done. We showed up and beat Eclipso and sent The Spectre himself running!"

"I can't believe it," said Ragman, slipping his mask off to show a his astonished face, his blue eyes far away, as though lost in memories, "a group of b-listers like us…"

"Cheers!" yelled Nightshade, smiling widely for the first time since I've known her.

We all drank, with Captain Marvel entering into a coughing fit after the first sip. He put the beer down on a nearby table and moved a few feet away from it.

Detective Chimp, the only one without a drink and a recovering alcoholic only a few hours sober, frowned at the waste of beer.

"Alright everyone, good work, but we all know we're not done yet," said Jim, "get a shower, get some food, get some sleep. Harry, you know some healing magic, yes?"

I nodded. "Basic stuff, but yeah."

"Help Rory with his dislocated shoulder and anyone else with their bumps and bruises. Dan if you could put The Enchantress in a room? Something tells me she's going to be asleep for a while."

The Blue Devil nodded and plucked the slim woman from where she had been slouched over a table and carried her away as Nightshade followed after Captain Marvel who walked over to the bar, a look of contention on his face.

I sat up and gestured Ragman closer, pulling my wand from its sheath. "You'll want to take the suit, or at least the top part, off. I don't know how the thing will effect my spells."

-0-

Eight hours later found me in the main room of the Bar with several cauldrons set over flames of differing strengths. Nearby I had a trunk open with an insert with a set of drawers containing ingredients jutting from it, both what you could buy in any apothecary as well as more rare reagents I've picked up on my travels. Simmering liquids burbled quietly and I flicked my wand like an orchestra conductor, ladles and stirring sticks moving as they should per the instructions written in the books I had levitating around my head.

If only Snape could see me now.

Turns out he had been on to something when he waxed poetic about the wonder of an efficient potion's lab.

He was still an ass, though.

"Still awake?"

I raised a hand, one finger extended, flicked my wand a few more times, and grabbed the book from the air, marking my place with a ribbon. "Nightshade?"

The pale woman stepped closer. She had changed her costume for a baggy shirt and her spiky hair was mussed from sleep and she was absent her domino mask, revealing blue eyes reddened from sleep.

I smiled and nodded towards the cauldrons. "I woke up early. Decided to do something useful. The Shadowpact has a surprising amount of firepower but we don't have a dedicated Healer on tap. Least I can do is make a few potions. If it keeps one of us alive in the battle then a few hours lost sleep will be worth it."

"I'm Eve," she said, making a so-so motion with her head, "Eve Eden. You can call me that, when I'm out of costume, I mean."

I grinned. "What's with that, by the way? You wear the costume well. You a superhero?"

She chuckled. "No. I've just needed to work anonymously before."

"Sounds interesting."

She shook her head. "No more interesting than your own stories I imagine. You worked for your government, right?"

"Hint taken," I said wryly, "I'll keep mum on it."

"The others will be awake soon," said Eve, "Nightmaster wanted us to go over more strategy before we head out to fight again, and since this time we won't have Captain Marvel's help…"

"Yeah that's a bummer," I said, frowning as I crossed my arms, "I'd also bet knuts to galleons that The Enchantress isn't going to want to channel that much magical energy again lest she go all pruny and evil."

"You'd be right," said The Enchantress, walking into the room and holding her head, "as shocking as that is."

I rolled my eyes. "It's too early to put up with your sniping," I said. "Besides, of the three of us in the room at this time, which one of us didn't go crazy right when we were about to kill The Spectre?"

"Harry," said Eve, "just let it go for now."

I sighed. "Fine. I only bring it up to defend myself, though. Never let it be said I'm willing to put up with snark without retaliation."

"You know, being petty isn't attractive in a guy," said The Enchantress, eyeing me with an intense dislike.

"Neither is unadulterated psycho in a woman." I said, a grin on my face that was all teeth.

"Not if you were the last man on this or any version of Earth!" snapped The Enchantress.

"Same, love," I said, waving her off, "I've seen what lies beneath your pretty face and it's one hell of a deterrent."

"Enough," whispered Eve harshly, "June, we all know you fucked up and for some reason you hate Harry and it's already getting old. Harry, you're a grown-ass man－quit feeding her attitude! Until the Job's done we need to work together and you're both acting like children for god's sake!"

I sighed, toeing the ground and affecting a contrite expression. "I'm sorry, Ms. Eden, please don't rap my knuckles, it won't happen again."

"Child," growled The Enchantress, storming away.

I shrugged.

"Look," sighed Eve, "just do your best to ignore her issues until Eclipso and The Spectre are dead. Then we can all go our separate ways."

I grinned. "Oh the only one I have an issue with is Her Most Bitchiness. You're pretty cool." I threw up the horns. "That hair is super punk. Reminds me of someone I used to know, even if it's not bubblegum pink. I've known Dan and Jim since I was thirteen and Rory seems like a normal bloke despite wearing a creepy suit of captive souls. Detective Chimp has always been good to get a drink with after a difficult job, too."

Eve shook her head, patting her hair flat for a moment before it sprung back and I laughed. "I'm gonna finish these potions before the others wake up, alright? I don't wanna rush them once we get a plan of attack for our hunt."

Eve nodded and left, tossing a wave over her shoulder and I got back to work.

-0-

About an hour later, we, The Shadowpact, were gathered around a set of tables that we had pushed together. Dan and Jim had cooked a large, fatty breakfast loaded down with carbs and calories and I had slipped out to London to purchase orange juice even as Eve had brewed several carafes of coffee for the Americans and even a kettle of steaming tea to indulge my British sensibilities.

Nice girl.

We were tucking in when Jim made eye contact with each of us. "I want to say once more just how proud I am of what we did. Our first time in combat together and we moved with great cohesion. Not only that, we nearly achieved a total victory. As it was, we drove our enemies into a rout. Enemies who easily out-gunned us power-wise. Now we somehow need to do it again, only this time we need to finish the job so we can all go home. Ideas?"

Swallowing a bite of his omelette, Rory said, "Can't we just try again? We got so close. Just a few seconds more and Captain Marvel would've had him with the power Harry and June were feeding him."

The Enchantress shook her head. "I-I can't do that again… I can't handle that much power without Her escaping my control. Besides, it only worked so well last time because The Spectre wasn't expecting it. I'm sure that the moment he notices either the wizard or I performing that spell he'll swoop in and kill one of us."

I nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Besides, the artifact I used needs time to recharge before I can do something like that again. Right now it's almost entirely inert."

"Can we talk about that," asked Detective Chimp, blowing on his mug of coffee before taking a sip, "so you're a necromancer or something? I thought you were a wizard, or a what did you call it yesterday－a solo-something?"

"Solomonari," I corrected automatically, "and it was literally the same ritual The Enchantress used. I just utilized a very special artifact as a focus, turning the power siphon from the living to the dead. That, and a few other things I know, are the extent of my necromancy－it's not a very nice school of magic, after all and the Wizarding government gets all twitchy when someone delves too deeply into it."

"You graduated from the Scholomance?" asked The Enchantress urgently, leaning forward in her seat.

I nodded. "You were in the back room scrying for The Spectre when we had our meet 'n greet, but yeah I did after the war with Voldemort."

"Is that special?" asked Rory.

Nightshade nodded. "It's one of the most selective schools for magic in the world. Something like the school only has ten students at any one time and that the classes are supposed to be taught by the devil himself, with such graduates like the actual, real Dracula, Edward Kelly, and Grigori Rasputin."

I snorted. "The class size was small, but we had a few more students than just ten, and there were times I thought Professors Crowley, Parsons, or Manson were the Devil but they were just strict teachers－the revels and orgies were fun though…"

"But how?" spluttered The Enchantress at the same time Nightshade yelped at the word 'orgies', her pale cheeks red. "You were supposed to be an average student at best－blundering though one adventure after another! Why would an academy like the Scholomance take you!?"

"June," warned Jim, "we need to get along, here!"

I shook my head. "Is this why you've been on my case?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "You just thought I was a lucky idiot? The grades that were posted in the Ministry's record-keeping offices were falsified. The Ministry leaks information like a sieve and I have enemies, especially back then, so my old Headmaster put fake scores there. It saved me some trouble when it came knocking expecting me to roll over easy-like and die. I will say that it's annoying the reputation as an idiot has followed me for so long considering all I've done since then. I mean a lot of it is classified by the ICW, but some of it's out in the open for anyone to look into."

There was a beat of silence before Jim cleared his throat and said, "Getting us back on track, we can't use the previous method of attacking The Spectre. We need to try something new."

"I might have something," said Detective Chimp, leaning forward in his seat to prod the tabletop with a finger, "there's a girl I know of. She's very special. If I can convince her dad to let her come out to play then she might just be what's needed to finally take The Spectre out."

"Who is she?" I asked.

The Chimp grinned. "You'll meet her. I'll need you to come with me－Nightshade as well."

"You really think she'll have a chance at The Spectre? What kind of powers does she have to let her fight a being like him?" asked Jim, rubbing his chin.

Detective Chimp nodded. "That's the thing," he said, "she's got no powers except for when she sometimes does."

"Wait," I said, rubbing a hand down the side of my face, "I think I know who you're talking about. She's on a watch list in the ICW. You're talking about Lori Zechlin, Black Alice, aren't you?"

The Chimp grinned.

"Okay," said Rory, rolling his eyes, "how about a little more information for those of us not privy to secret files?"

I frowned deeply. "Lori Zechlin is a magical leech. While she, herself, has no powers, she has the ability to steal magic from others and use it as her own for a time. She is considered by many people in the Wizarding government to be the most dangerous teenager on Earth and potentially one of the most powerful."

Eve grimaced and even The Enchantress looked uncomfortable at the thought of teaming with someone who could steal her magic.

"Alright," said Nightmaster heavily, "while I can appreciate how uneasy that makes you three I'm going to say we at least need her on tap. Harry, Nightshade, go with Detective Chimp."

I closed my eyes and breathed out. "Gotcha, boss."

Nightshade nodded, scratching her cheek with a single finger.

"Maybe you should try contacting the Justice League?" I said, nodding towards Jim. "The Spectre's a magical threat, it's true, but what he's doing has already effected the normal world, considering Budapest is a smoking ruin right now. Heroes like Wonder Woman and Giovanni Zatara would be a big help. We should pull everyone we can for this."

Jim stroked his chin. "Agreed. We handed Eclipso and The Spectre their asses with Captain Marvel's help. Working with the League can only be a help."

"Until The Spectre takes control of Superman or his cousin and turns them on us," said The Enchantress scornfully, "magic is one of their most well-known weaknesses－right up there with glowing green rocks."

Jim held up his hands. "I'm sure we can figure out how to use everyone to their greatest effect, keeping their strengths and weaknesses in mind. The Enchantress, Ragman, Blue Devil, and I will see about getting in touch with them."

I nodded, trying to recall everything I could about Black Alice in preparation for my encounter with her.

-0-

Dayton Ohio was remarkably like any other smaller city I've ever been to, and the suburb Lori Zechlin lived in, while not as uniform as Little Whinging, was close. People lived out their small lives washing their cars, playing with pets, children, having cook-outs, etcetera.

How dreadful.

While I had longed for normality when I was younger, I wouldn't give up my current life for anything. Despite my overseers and watchers in the ICW, I felt free. I was doing good things using the skills I had hones ever since I was a little boy. Maybe there was something wrong with me. Ron and Hermione and Neville and Luna and all my friends had managed to carry on with their lives after the war, but here I was still fighting with no end in sight and with no prospects for a marriage and kids beyond my god children. Even there I was distant. Oh I popped 'round often enough and bought presents, but I couldn't help but keep a bit of distance. The fact of the issue was that every member of my family that mattered to me was dead.

Was that it?

Did I have a fear of loss?

One wouldn't think it, considering I had willingly walked to my death as a young man at the last Battle of Hogwarts. I had, however, thought often on it, though usually with a bottle of something appropriately strong to accompany me.

I resolved to be a better friend and godparent if I lived through the coming fighting.

"Here we are," said Detective Chimp, nodding towards a house with white siding and green shutters.

"How lovely," said Nightshade haltingly.

I shook my head. "Dismal," I muttered, flinching slightly as the two turned curious eyes on me.

I nodded towards the door and Detective Chimp knocked twice softly.

There was a rustling noise and the door was opened by a man with brown hair and curious blue eyes. "Hello?" he asked, eyeing the three of us.

"Hello, Mr. Zechlin," said Detective Chimp, doffing his hat, "can Lori come out to play?"

-0-

"So how are we going to play this, Boss," asked Ragman, standing in costume with Nightmaster, The Enchantress, and Blue Devil, on a street corner in Downtown Metropolis.

Jim Rook smiled and gestured towards the sky with a casual hand as a mother passed with her gawking children, the kids pointing at the 'heroes' and yelling excitedly. "We've announced ourselves by showing up in costume. Now we simply look up."

As one the other members of The Shadowpact looked skywards in time to see a man in blue and red descending towards them, his cape billowing above and behind him. He landed lightly on red boots and cocked his head at the assembled Shadowpact members. "Hello?"

"Holy shit," murmured Ragman quietly.

Well, quietly for human ears.

Superman heard him without trouble and his bemused smile grew more amused.

"Superman," said Jim Rook, stepping forward and offering a hand to shake, "I'm Nightmaster. Leader of The Shadowpact, a relatively new magic-based super team."

Superman shook his hand. "Good to meet you. What can I do for you in Metropolis."

"Budapest," was all he said.

Superman frowned. "Do you have information about that?"

"We were there, fighting the bastard who did it along with the rest of our companions and Captain Marvel."

"Right," said Superman seriously, "maybe you all should come with me."

"Gladly," said Jim, "we're just waiting on our allies first. It's best for us to be together in case we need to move out at a moment's notice. I think we all learned that we're stronger together than we are alone."

The Enchantress snorted quietly but then she straightened. "Incoming. Nightshade is bringing the idiot and Chimp."

"Just them?" asked Blue Devil.

Before The Enchantress could answer a portal of inky blackness opened and out stepped a visibly angry Harry Potter, followed by an amused Nightshade and a surly-looking Detective Chimp.

"Harry?"

-0-

I looked up at Jim Rook and shook my head, turning to scowl at Detective Chimp. "Didn't work, boss."

Passed him I could see the actual, real life Superman looking at me and I felt myself standing taller subconsciously, setting my ire aside for the moment. "I'll explain later, but we won't have Black Alice for the next fight. Her dad wanted her to have nothing to do with it."

"Can't really blame him," said Nightshade, snorting, "considering how Detective Chimp handled that."

"Right," said Superman, cocking an eyebrow, "it sounds like you all have quite a story to tell, "let's move this to somewhere more private shall we? We're drawing quite the crowd."

It was then I noticed the people of Metropolis gathering around us, most of them filming the gathering of heroes with their cell phones and I had to fight the sudden urge to short them out with a hex.

"Where to?" asked Jim.

Superman nodded. "The Watchtower should do."

I looked skywards, where I could see the vague outline of the Justice League's satellite in low orbit around the Earth.

Hermione would never believe this.

Chapter Five, Continued Catastrophes

As a wizard I was used to different forms of instantaneous travel ranging from disapparition, port-keys, phoenix 'flaming', house-elf 'popping', and even my increasing familiarity with Nightshade's portals, but the teleportation onto the bridge of The Watchtower was the smoothest that I had ever experienced. One moment I was standing on a Metropolis sidewalk, and the next I was phasing into existence against the backdrop of the inky blackness of space, spotted as it was by countless stars.

Technology was amazing.

All around us were high-tech consoles and label-less buttons, switches, knobs, and computer screens. These posts were manned by different heroes in their colorful costumes, yet they paid us no mind and I took a deep breath, controlling my magic as much as possible to keep from scrambling the satellite's delicate electronics.

Next to me I could feel The Enchantress doing the same with her own powers. Nightshade was as well, though to a lesser degree.

I guessed her shadow magic wasn't as disruptive?

Questions for later.

"Holy crap," muttered Dan, looking out the large view port and the Earth below.

"It's a hell of a view, isn't it?" said a feminine voice, laced as it was with amusement, and I looked over and recognized a face I had seen in a report from the ICW on magical people who threatened the Statute of Secrecy despite technically not being under their purview, Rebecca Carstairs, Witchfire. She was an actress, model, stunt-woman, and singer. She wore a costume that left little to the imagination. Skin-tight black fabric that showed a lot of cleavage and hugged her curves snugly while her collar, boots, and gloves were made from solid fire, or at least a fire-like illusion placed over more normal orange garments. She had a loose sash around her waist and her red hair was up in a long ponytail.

I looked down at my own clothing of a long-sleeve gray thermal shirt, blue jeans, boots, and my dragon-hide cloak feeling under-dressed.

I put 'make a costume?' on my mental list and let the thought go for the time being. "Witchfire," I said, nodding, "nice to meet you. You've done well for yourself since Boston and Nekron."

"Oh," asked Witchfire, shooting me a wink, "a fan? Want an autograph?"

There was something incredibly amusing in being offered an autograph rather than be begged for one and I couldn't hold in my chuckle. "Maybe one for my goddaughter, if you wouldn't mind? She's got a few of your albums."

Witchfire nodded, beaming at me. "No problem, handsome."

"That can wait, no?" asked Nightshade, giving me a raised eyebrow. "Y'know for when the Earth isn't facing certain doom?"

"Phooey," said Witchfire, blowing a bit of her fringe away with a puff of breath, "I guess you're right. Superman asked me to escort you guys to a meeting room. He's gathering Wonder Woman and Batman. They're the only members of the Original Seven around right now."

"I appreciate it," said Jim Rook, bowing a little, unintentionally working that stately silver-fox mojo of his.

I rolled my eyes when Witchfire giggled and gestured for us to follow along.

We had to drag Blue Devil and Ragman away from the view port.

I hope Batman doesn't mind finger and nose prints against his satellite's windows.

-0-

We, The Shadowpact, were taken to a large conference room with Witchfire chattering busily the entire way, reminding me of some unholy union of Ginny Weasley and Lavender Brown.

I shuddered.

Still, she was up here, fighting the good fight just like we were so hopefully she wasn't just a pretty face and an airhead.

I guess that was unfair as even without her heroics she was a self-made millionaire.

Well on the positive side, I would be able to update her and Lori's files at the ICW in Geneva with my personal interactions with them.

I grimaced, thinking back on my meeting with Black Alice, and I remembered to be annoyed at Detective Chimp for setting it up in the first place.

We weren't waiting for long when the door to the conference room opened and in walked Superman, followed by Wonder Woman and Batman.

"Thank you, Witchfire," said the Man of Steel, "if you'd see if you can contact Zatara yet, I'd appreciate it."

The red-head nodded. "I'll keep trying, Supes, but he's not answering."

"That's all we can ask," said Wonder Woman, "many of our magical heroes are simply not answering our summons and it's worrying."

Jim cleared his throat, drawing the room's attention. "That's why we're here. We can shed some light on the issue, if you please?"

Batman leaned forward in his chair, his mouth, the only bit of his face one could see due to his dark cowl, set in a grim line. "What do you all know? Superman said you had information about Budapest. Is that related to our missing magical heroes?"

"It is," said Jim, grimly, "before we begin, what do you all know of the spiritual entity known as The Spectre?"

"It's an incredibly powerful force of nature that usually works to punish evil-doers," said Wonder Woman, as Witchfire left the room.

"That's a basic understanding," said The Enchantress curtly, "essentially The Spectre is God's Spirit of Vengeance on Earth. Think of any story in the bible where humanity is punished and you can lay the deed at the feet of The Spectre. Noah's flood, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, the wrongs done to Job? Various plagues? All him."

Superman blinked. He had been raised a Christian, having grown up in the bible belt, though he no longer practiced that religion, having met gods, spirits, god-like aliens, etcetera on multiple occasions had taken the faith and majesty out of it all, but he knew that to flood the Earth like in the story would require immense power.

"You don't mean the real God, do you?" asked Batman skeptically.

"We do," I said, "but it's not God as exactly imagined by muggles－er…non powered folk. And in this case it's not important. Normally The Spectre requires a human host to act as its moral center－with it only the wicked are punished; without that we get the Floods."

"Near as we know," said Nightshade, "the Previous host for The Spectre died sometime back. He was a detective known as Jim Corrigan."

Nightmaster sighed. "The next bit involves someone you're all familiar with－Jean Loring," Superman sucked in a breath and Batman's scowl deepened while Wonder Woman turned away, her fists clenching tight enough to bend steel, "was taken over by a second spirit called Eclipso. She's turned The Spectre's anger on Magic itself. In the last day and a half thousands of Practitioners in all sorts of magical realms have been murdered and magical locations have been razed to the ground. We, The Shadowpact, formed as a sort-of super team turned hunting party, to track down and stop The Spectre at any cost."

"I managed to trace his location to Budapest," said The Enchantress, "where he was already locked into combat with Captain Marvel."

"I was unable to gather recon with our satellites while this was happening," said Batman, tapping the table top with his index finger, "that was because of all the magical energy being used?"

I nodded. "Magic and technology normally don't mix. With all of us and Eclipso, Captain Marvel, and The Spectre throwing down I wouldn't be surprised if computers were going haywire all over the planet, especially at the end with the rituals The Enchantress and myself were performing to increase Captain Marvel's power in an effort to finish The Spectre for good."

"Your quarry escaped?" asked Wonder Woman.

The Enchantress scowled but it was Nightmaster who nodded. "Yes. In the end we had Eclipso subdued and The Spectre nearly so but they both escaped at the last moment."

"When you say 'finish off'," asked Superman, frowning, "you don't mean…"

"We were looking to destroy them both," said Ragman, his voice surprisingly hard, "what are the lives of two mass murderers compared to the hundreds and hundreds they had killed and the thousands more they planned on murdering? My Suit of Rags cries out for them."

I shook my head. "If it was at all possible to exorcise Eclipso from Loring in a timely manner then I would, believe me. While she's not an innocent, she is most likely an unwilling participant in this case which makes her a victim. But her life measured against every other practitioner, including my friends and family is no math at all. Jean Loring will die as will The Spectre."

"The Justice League doesn't kill," growled Batman harshly.

"We aren't the Justice League," hissed The Enchantress, just as harshly, "we're The Shadowpact and we're realists. You sit up here in your satellite looking down on the Earth and bask in your moral rightness. How many innocent people suffer because you're too afraid to sully those clean hands of yours with one or two deaths. You put villains like Luthor and The Joker in prison or an insane asylum and then they break out or are released only to kill or hurt others again and again－those deaths are on your hands just as much as theirs!"

"It's not our right to kill," said Superman stubbornly, and I was surprised to see Wonder Woman looking conflicted and I was reminded of the fact the Diana, Princess of Themiscyra, was an Amazon warrior first and foremost and a superhero second and had probably taken many lives in combat, while Batman might as well have been made from stone for all he was emoting, "we're not judge, jury, and executioner."

Jim sighed. "We're getting nowhere. We're facing a threat to the entire Earth. One city has already been leveled and The Spectre seeks an end to magic itself. Doing so will alter things on this plane of existence in such an extreme way that we can't possibly understand all the effects yet."

I nodded grimly. "Ancient prisons containing planet-eating demons cracking open, slumbering gods awakening, creatures made of nightmares forming and invading the dreams of the powerful, entire pocket dimensions phasing into our reality and crashing down upon our heads. The death of magic will kill literally everyone. That's what Eclipso and The Spectre want and that's where your magic heroes probably are. When we formed our team so many of us had left－gone to ground to protect themselves or the Old magical places. Misty Woods had been ran through the wood chipper, multiple Atlantean schools for magic have been razed, whole covens of peaceful practitioners are dead－I can hear their souls moaning for justice. We're coming to you to ask for help. This is a problem that while mystical in origin threatens every life on Earth. Magic forms the backbone of reality. You can explain it away with science but those of us clued in to the Old ways know the truth. Magic is in everything－it effects everything…"

Wonder Woman stood and started pacing, her curly black hair bobbing with each step while she frowned deeply. Superman looked away and Batman glared down at the tabletop.

These were three of Earth's mightiest heroes?

I shook my head and stood only to be hit with a powerful feeling of vertigo that had me grasping my forehead and bracing myself on the edge of the table. My vision tunneled and I heard Jim yell my name and felt slim hands grasp my shoulders steadying me as I shook my head.

"Harry?" asked Dan.

"Something terrible has happened," I murmured, "on Earth. For me to feel it all the way up here it could've only come from a place close to me." I shook my head and stepped away from my team. "I'll be back, you guys keep talking to this lot."

"Harry, wait," said Nightshade, "talk to us－what's happened?"

"I don't know," I muttered quickly, "but this isn't where I need to be, I can feel it."

"I'm coming with you," she said firmly, "don't think about going alone. We need to stick together until The Spectre is gone. Besides, you'll need my powers to get you back here."

I grinned tiredly, "I was moving around the planet long before we met, Nightshade, but I'll admit your portals are nicer than my own means of transportation. We're going to London, Charing Cross Road."

Nightshade nodded towards Jim and raised her hands, her palms emitting that increasingly familiar Darkstuff as a portal opened near us.

-0-

We arrived to see bedlam as Diagon Alley had literally exploded into the muggle world and I felt my eyes widen as horrified wizards in Ministry robes were bustling to and fro memory charming muggles without care or caution. Wizards from 'Magical Catastrophes' and gray robed and hooded Unspeakables were trying and failing to shift Diagon Alley back into its former space. Rubble from the muggle shops lined the street from where the wizarding stores had burst out from behind them and Gringotts dominated the skyline, it's white marble edifice gleaming in the sun visible to anyone with eyes and I felt my hands shake. I could see bodies dressed in robes and casual muggle wear partially covered by collapsed buildings and the cries of the injured grated against my ears.

"Merlin," I murmured, drawing my wand as I rushed to help, Nightshade on my heels.

How long we were there, using our powers to help I didn't know. I had quickly used up my stock of healing potions on the injured as I ministered care, waiting for Healers from St. Mungo's Wizarding Hospital to arrive. Nightshade had, however, joined with witches and wizards using levitation charms to shift rubble looking for survivors, forming hands and golems made of Darkstuff to move the injured and dead.

Her specific brand of magic had drawn the eyes of the Ministry wizards but there were far more important things to do. I knew that a team from 'Muggle Liaison' would be working with the Home Office in the muggle government to keep news outlets away but in this day and age every muggle had a camera on their phone.

I could only hope that the enchantments holding the Ministry itself held. If the Ministry building burst upwards from the ground under Whitehall…

The Statute of Secrecy would be the lesser issue, then.

With how large the Ministry building was it was entirely possible the entirety of Westminster would be destroyed.

Merlin…

Finishing my current task, I ran towards Nightshade, "We need to leave," I said urgently, my shoulders heaving, "I need to see the Minister of Magic."

Nightshade nodded, sweat beading on her forehead. "Just tell me where."

"Do you trust me?" I asked

Nightshade set her face in a grim line. "Yes."

"Then look into my eyes, we're going to bypass all the red tape and see the big boss directly and I'm going to show you exactly where to put us."

She did so and I whispered, "Legilimens…"

-0-

We stepped out of Nightshade's portal, having teleported passed all the frantic wizards running around directly into Minister Shacklebolt's office. Instantly we were held at wand point but I raised my head and glared at the offending Aurors who faltered upon seeing me and I waved them away with little care. "Kingsley," I called, stepping around them and up to the Minister's desk, "I assume you know, but we have an issue."

"Indeed, Harry," said Kingsley, his normally dark complexion ashen and weary, "I suppose you have some answers?"

I chuckled mirthlessly. "I know exactly what's wrong. I also know we need to evacuate the Ministry building and get the word out to the muggles above us. We're all in terrible danger."

"Everyone out," ordered Kingsley, sternly, "leave us!"

The office emptied quickly and the Minister pointed he wand at a rune inscribed on his desk, frowning when it failed to engage the security features of his office.

I nodded grimly. "That's what I'm talking about. Magic all over the place is failing. That's what happened at Diagon Alley. The space-expansion charm the Alley was tucked into failed and shoved the entire shopping district, including buildings like Gringotts into the muggle world. Even now your Unspeakables are failing to put it to rights. The magical energy simply isn't sticking like it should."

The Minister swiped his hat from his bald head. "What's causing it?" he asked, rubbing a hand down the side of his face.

"Long story short," I said, "a powerful being called The Spectre has fucked up the flow of magic through this entire dimension. We almost had him beat in Budapest but he escaped. We don't know where he is right now. It can only be assumed that he's recovering from the beating we gave him. This damage, however, was done before then and we're just now feeling the effects."

"Right," said Kingsley, standing abruptly to his not inconsiderable height, "I assume that's why Ron and Hermione didn't report into their departments yesterday or today?"

I nodded. "I sent them off with the kids and Teddy and Andromeda."

"Right," repeated Kingsley, moving towards his door, "we could use them but they've both gave enough to the Wizarding World and they need to worry about their family first. I, however, have an evacuation to start and an emergency meeting with my non-magical counterpart to look forward to."

"I'd stay if I could, Kingsley," I said shaking my head, "to help explain things, but we both have to get back to it. The Spectre won't be gone for long. He'll return and we'll need to work with some new allies to defeat him, hopefully for good this time."

"Good luck, Harry," said Kingsley, shaking my hand, "don't worry. We'll do our part. You just beat the bastard."

I nodded, squaring my shoulders. "If I fail we'll all know about it soon enough."

"Then see to it you don't fail. This is bigger than the British Wizarding World. Whatever you have to do, then do it and I'll cover for you."

I nodded seriously and Kingsley was through his door barking orders.

"Get us out of here, Nightshade." I said, rubbing my temples.

She nodded and raised her hands.

Chapter Six, The Justice League

We stepped through the portal into the same room we had left. The other members of The Shadowpact were still there but Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman were gone. "So are we teaming up?" I asked without delay.

Jim shrugged. "They left to discuss it."

I sighed. "Bloody committee."

Dan snorted. "Enough of that, what happened on your end?"

I shook my head grimly. "London's a mess, or at least Charing Cross Road is. Enchantments are failing all over the place. I honestly don't know if the wizarding world is going to survive this and remain in hiding. If the worst comes to pass then Westminster could be buried in the rubble of the Ministry of Magic."

"Would that be such a bad thing?" asked Detective Chimp, rubbing his chin? "Other practitioners use magic openly. Giovanni Zatara even has a Las Vegas stage show.

"The Minister of Magic is evacuating the Ministry building under Whitehall and meeting with the muggle government. Besides that, it's out of my hands one way or another," I said, sinking into a seat, "I work for the ICW, not the other way around. It will shake things up though, if they reveal us to the world. The last ICW census placed the number of worldwide wizards and witches under their purview at around two and a half million and growing every year. That's a nation's worth of entirely super-powered people living in the shadows of normal society. It's a hugely complex issue."

"Two and a half million," repeated The Enchantress faintly, "even if the average wizard or witch isn't so impressive individually that's still enough to make any collective Wizarding nation the single-most powerful force on the planet not counting other nation's ICBMs."

I gestured vaguely at her and nodded. "The rub is that there is no collective Wizarding nation. We come together under the ICW for international relations and laws regarding every citizen the world over, but to the average wizard or witch our home nations and their laws take precedence in our daily lives. Say we come out to the world, right? Are we considered citizens of our home nations, despite the majority of pure and half-blooded wizards possessing no recognized identification, or do we pull together and found our own nation? It'd be a simple matter of making a pocket dimension or using mass transfiguration and space-expansion charms to produce a landmass big enough for all of us to live comfortably."

"Well why haven't you all done that?" asked Rory.

"Think about it," said Detective Chimp, "if they were all grouped together then they're an easier target. A few nukes and bye-bye Wizarding nation."

"I'd like to think we wouldn't be so easily killed," I said, grimly, "but the point stands. Having mixed into our respective home countries we're protected in the broadest sense. Now imagine that we all packed up and moved away, what would happen to muggleborn wizards and witches? They need schooling just the same as pure and half-blooded kids and statistics show that they're becoming more and more common in recent generations, too. Would we run covert insertion missions to kidnap them or would we just let them be? They're our future. Without their fresh genes we'd quickly breed ourselves to extinction."

"Good lord," said Jim, rubbing his forehead.

I snorted. "Like I said, it's a complex issue."

I felt a hand on my shoulder and I saw Nightshade smiling at me. "It's out of our hands so let's worry about The Spectre and leave the politics to your Minister."

I smiled, nodded, and laid a hand on Nightshade's for a moment before I stood. "Kingsley's a good man. I fought with him in the war against Voldemort and he'll do what's best for everyone."

"Right," agreed Nightshade, smirking at me.

"Alright," I said, turning to address the rest of The Shadowpact, "so the Supers are unreliable and Black Alice is a no-go. What are our options?"

"Well," said Detective Chimp, "we've been thinking about that…"

He didn't get a chance to say any more because the door to the room slid open and Wonder Woman entered, followed by Batman and Superman and I noticed the Amazon seemed just a little smug and hope bloomed in my chest. "The Justice League will support The Shadowpact in this fight," she said, "as the threat is magical in nature we'll follow your direction. After this, though, we'd like to sit down and discuss further partnership."

"Hell yes," muttered Rory and I couldn't keep the grin from my face.

-0-

The people gathering in the main meeting hall of The Watchtower carried with them a strange weight. These were literally the Earth's most powerful heroes. I wasn't a huge follower of superhero news like Rory apparently was, but even I recognized Hawkgirl, Martian Manhunter, Green Lantern, and the Flash.

These four, with Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman formed the original, founding members of the League. That all seven were here and gathered to aid us was amazing, not to mention Witchfire who was flirting outrageously with an obviously uncomfortable Jim and Rory at the same time. Black Canary was there as well, talking quietly with Green Arrow while Fire and Ice, a duo of women with an obvious powerset, were eyeing my group. Of course there were others but I was unsure of their identity.

Then he showed up.

The Atom.

Oh no…

"Who was the bloody idiot who invited Jean Loring's ex-husband here?" I asked quietly. "I'd like to hex them for the trouble they just dropped on our lap."

The Enchantress looked like she agreed as she glared daggers at the man, which was surprising, and Nightshade rubbed a hand through her spiky black hair, swearing quietly.

"Easy," murmured Dan, "they were divorced before she murdered Sue Dibny. Maybe he'll be able to put their past aside?"

I snorted.

Dan grimaced. "Yeah, I don't believe I said that…"

"We'll just have to work through it," said Detective Chimp finally.

Eventually Superman stepped up to the stage of the hall and pressed a button on the podium there, producing an ringing sound that drew attention to himself. "Thank you for coming, everyone. Normally, as you know, we let each member of the League patrol their chosen part of the world and only come together when a something truly terrible threatens the world as a whole. Thanks to a warning from The Shadowpact, a magical super-team," he gestured at us, "we know of one such threat."

Jim took that moment to break away from Witchfire, abandoning Rory to his fate as he joined Superman on the stage. "Thank you, Superman," he said, turning towards the League. He took a deep breath. "As none of you probably know, I'm Nightmaster. I did the superhero thing years ago when I was a young man and most of you were still in diapers. Most of my work was done on a planet called Myrra in another dimension. I spent many years defending that planet from all sorts of dark threats before returning to our Earth, but this is the gravest threat I've ever encountered."

I sighed and nodded. "Looks like I'm up…"

"Harry?" asked Nightshade.

A sickly smile crossed my face. Even after all this time I felt queasy in front of an audience. "Jim wanted me to show the heroes what we're fighting since Batman couldn't get footage with all the magic being thrown around…"

She frowned and I stepped up onto the stage. I was still wearing my civilian clothes and dragon-hide cloak and I wished I at least had a hood to hide in.

Thoughts for the future.

If I was going to act like a superhero then I was going to dress like one, including hiding my identity.

"Hello everyone," I said, adjusting my glasses, "I'm Harry Potter. I am a wizard. I do magic." Nightshade snorted and I grinned towards her, feeling a bit of my nervousness leave me. "I'm new to the superhero thing－I don't even have a name or costume, yet, but I've been fighting the good fight since I was eleven years old. My teammates and I were in Budapest when it was destroyed in a fight between Captain Marvel and The Spectre. I'm going to use a spell to show you all what we're up against and the kind of power wielded by our enemies."

I saw Dan lean in and whisper something to Nightshade and The Enchantress but I couldn't pick up what he said.

"Normally I'd use an artifact to show you a copy of my memory but I don't have it with me. Luckily I don't need it, it just makes this easier…" I closed my eyes and reached up and pressed my index and middle finger and thumb to my temple and forehead, my ring finger and pinky curled towards my palm, and I slowly pulled my hand away, silvery strands of memory trailing from my fingers. I heard a few gasps and some whispered words but I shut them out and opened my eyes, tossing the memory into the middle of the room, using my other hand, aglow as it was with my purple eldritch energy, to catch it upon a flaming mandala that formed beneath it. The spell replicating the enchantments of my Headmaster's old pensieve as a holographic image large enough to be viewed by every person in the room formed above it, the memory starting from when The Shadowpact appeared from Nightshade's portal and playing through until we knocked out The Enchantress and disappeared with Captain Marvel into another portal. I let the magic holding the mandala fade and summoned the memory strands to my hand, clenching it into a fist and dispersing the silvery strands into motes of glittering light.

The room was silent and I hid my discomfort at the eyes on me. A quick glance to my teammates and I saw that other members of the 'Pact were being eyed up, especially The Enchantress, which made sense considering every hero in the room saw her go all evil at the end there.

"That was the extent of our only battle with Eclipso and The Spectre," said Nightmaster, "as you can see even with the power Harry and the Enchantress were feeding Captain Marvel, The Spectre was still able to escape with his partner. To achieve a total victory and ensure the safety of the Earth we'll need to bring all that and more. Due to the limitations on the magic used during the fight both Harry and The Enchantress are unable to simply replicate the effects of their ritual, which is why we're here. We need help. The Spectre is too powerful for us to beat a second time－if it were just Eclipso then it'd be a different story."

The door to the room opened and I saw The Atom leave, and I sighed when Green Arrow followed after him.

That's about right.

"As you can see," said Superman, "the threat we're facing is magical in nature and as The Shadowpact is one of the few magical super-teams in existence and more than willing to put it all on the line to protect the Earth we've decided to put ourselves under their command for the duration of this crisis."

More murmurs from the League members.

I saw Batman approaching and I steeled myself for the coming talk.

-0-

It was night on my part of Earth yet I couldn't sleep. I sat in the cafeteria, one of the TVs on the wall tuned to the BBC world news.

The story was out, the flashing headline reading: 'Secret of the Century Exposed－Wizards Live Amongst Us.' as the anchormen and women argued and theorized about what it all meant coupled with showing footage of the Prime Minister holding a press conference with Kingsley Shacklebolt standing next to him dressed as he was in his fine purple robes.

Bloody hell.

All over the world the news was breaking and wizards and witches were forced out of hiding for the first time since the Statute of Secrecy was established in sixteen-ninety-two as the enchantments hiding us failed violently.

The world would never be the same again.

I could only hope that the acceptance of supers and other meta-humans paved the way for understanding and cohabitation.

The Spectre and Eclipso would pay, of that I was sure.

"It's insane, isn't it?" I turned and saw a stately man wearing a tuxedo I had never seen in person approaching, the tap of his cane connecting with every other step.

"Giovanni Zatara," I said, nodding at him before going back to watching the news, "that goes without saying."

Zatara pulled a seat out and sat next to me. "I've lived out from the purview of the Ministry my entire life, considering I don't use wanded magic as you do. I've performed magic in front of 'muggles' as your people call them and face no consequences for doing so countless times. I suppose what I'm trying to say is that things will be fine in the end. Your people will establish themselves as I have."

I snorted bitterly. "You're one man, Zatara," I said, "you might be an incredible magician, but you're not so intimidating whereas there are millions of wizards and witches. It's an huge number to be sure. It's only a matter of time until evil muggles in some government committee seeks to use these new 'assets' like weapons and I fear my people's response to that."

"You fear a war?"

I stood and started walking away, pausing at the entrance of the cafeteria to whisper, "I fear genocide."

-0-

The next morning I entered the meeting hall in The Watchtower groggily. After talking with Zatara I had still been unable to find any sleep, despite the sinful softness of the bedding the League had provided and I had stayed up designing a costume and thinking about a heroing identity.

They were all awful, but then that wasn't surprising as Hermione, Fred and George would've normally been the ones to take care of that for me. At the least, I had transfigured my jumper and jeans into tighter black clothing I had bewitched with durability charms and even shield spells similar to the hats sold at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. Around my waist was a belt holding the mokeskin pouch Hagrid had given me for my seventeenth birthday. My dragon-hide cloak had stayed the same and I had conjured a mantle and hood upon which I could lay an aversion charm to hide my identity when the fighting started.

It was basic but it would do for now until I could meet with my friends to discuss this weird turn my life had taken.

I blinked and slapped my forehead.

Hermione.

I summoned my communication mirror from my mokeskin pouch and called out, "Hermione Weasley."

The mirror remained worryingly inert.

"Girlfriend?" asked Ragman, walking over.

I shook my head and chuckled. "Nah, I'm single. She's my best friend and the mother of two of my god children, though."

He peered down at my mirror. "Your doodad isn't working?"

I snorted. "You could say that. I was hoping, but I wasn't really expecting it to. With how fucked magic itself is right now the enchantments on the mirror were failing days ago."

Ragman sighed. "I saw the news when I stopped in the cafeteria for breakfast. You okay?"

"Honestly," I said bitterly, "not really, but I'm putting it aside for the time being. The Spectre is the more immediate threat."

"Good man," said Nightmaster, joining us, "The Shadowpact finds itself leading an army of powerful meta-humans and I need you here with us, Harry."

I nodded. "Don't worry, boss, I've got my eye on the prize."

He looked me up and down and nodded back. "I like the costume change."

I snorted. "Thanks Jim, your approval makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside."

Nightmaster grinned and Ragman chuckled.

I felt a tap on my shoulder and I turned to see Nightshade with Blue Devil, Detective Chimp, and The Enchantress behind her. She smiled at me and wrapped her arms around me in a hug that had me stiffening in surprise, my eyes wide behind my glasses. "I'm sorry about everything," she whispered, "but we're all with you, y'know－even The Enchantress wants to help."

"Hey, Harry, you're supposed to hug her back," said Blue Devil, grinning at me, the asshole.

Still, I did so. "Thanks," I said, just as quietly, "when this is done I might need to take care of my people for a while, though."

I also wanted to 'investigate' the vampires that killed Thomas Keller, but that was a distant need at the moment.

Nightshade nodded against my chest. "I'll help you however I can."

I felt my stomach do flip-flops at that and I broke our hug, hoping she didn't hear the quickening of my heart, but judging from the smile crossing her lips and small blush on her cheeks she definitely did.

I cleared my throat. "S-so I was wondering if anyone has any ideas for a hero name? I was going to ask some old friends of mine but I can't reach them at the moment."

"Magus," blurted Nightshade before anyone could even start to open their mouths. "I had been thinking on it since we formed The Shadowpact."

"Magus," I said, testing it, "I like it."

Nightmaster nodded. "Magus it is, then."

As we had talked, the rest of the League had filled the room and were chatting amongst themselves including Zatara who was speaking to Batman in a corner and, though he wasn't looking at us, I could feel feather-light tendrils of magical energy twisting around us like the tongue of a snake tasting the air. I was sure most of the other members of The 'Pact could also feel it but none of them were reacting so I followed their lead.

It even made sense. From what I could tell, Zatara had been out doing his own thing and had only arrived at The Watchtower after we had.

Batman was probably having him spy on us.

It's what I would do, at least.

"Alright," said Nightmaster, eyeing the gathered crowd, "it's curtain call and we've got a Spirit to bait."

Chapter Seven, Springing the Trap

Stonehenge.

In ancient days it was a powerful focus for druidic magic, the stones having been transported thousands of miles by the young man who would become known the world over in later life as King Arthur's Court Wizard, Merlin. Of course muggles thought the circle a simple calendar or star map, and it might be, but for those with the ability to feel it, the site was a powerful locus of nature magic, a place where countless leylines of Earth's power flowed. It was perfect for luring The Spectre to us from where he had been hiding in recovery. All round us heroes were hidden by my most powerful spells up to and including the Fidelius Charm. I didn't know the worth of a spell such as that against the senses of a being like The Spectre but it was the best I had.

I stood alone in the center of the ring of stones, The Elder Wand in my hand as I looked skywards.

My eyes narrowed under my hood and I frowned when I saw them. The Spectre's unearthly pale body clad only in a tattered dark green hooded cloak and briefs.

Stupid Spirit was more ripped than I'd ever be.

Next to him floated Eclipso in the body of Jean Loring and I was happy that The Atom had declined to join us. She might have been his ex-wife before she became a murderer but he had presumably loved her once upon a time and to see her now, twisted and evil, would be too painful for anyone to reasonably bear.

I could respect that, but it wouldn't stop me from driving a spike though her chest if I had the chance.

The two landed before me and I felt a bead of sweat drip down my face.

"The Wizard…" said Eclipso, smiling sinisterly. "Don't hide that handsome face, boy. Take pride that you managed to block my attack in our last meeting－you have a surprising amount of power for a mortal."

I cocked my head. "Is this the part where you tell me to join you and we can rule the universe together as father and son?"

The Spectre waved his arm and I thought for sure my snark had finally gotten me killed but my hood was merely blown backwards, my aversion charm dispelled with casual ease. "Harry James Potter," said The Spectre coldly, "son of James and Lily Potter. Wizard. Solomonari. Occultist. Necromancer. You are guilty of the use of magic and perverting the natural order of The Lord's universe. You will face judgement for your many sins!"

"Eventually," I said, just as coldly, "but it won't be by you, murderer, but rather by someone higher up in your pecking order, I imagine!"

"You think to fight me!" yelled The Spectre, spittle flying from his mouth as he glared murderously at me. "You think too highly of your meagre skills, mortal! I've defeated Lords of Order and laid low scores of your fellows! I am accustomed to power in all its many forms and you are but the basest child compared to me!"

"You're right," I said, nodding easily, "I am just a mortal. I'm young, even by wizarding standards. Hell, I'm not even thirty, yet, but it's exactly because I'm human that I'm willing to fight even a lost cause." I smiled, light trailing from the tip of my wand as I pointed it directly at The Spectre, "and it's because I'm a mortal that I'm smart enough to never fight alone if I can help it."

There was a shimmer of light as all around us heroes were fading into existence as they left the cover of my magic and already combatants like The Flash had managed to land a flurry of lightning-fast blows against Eclipso's back, denting her armor and shoving her to the ground.

"You took the obvious bait and didn't recognize the trap for what it was, Spirit!" I yelled, swiping my wand down as a jet of white-hot plasma-like magic lashed towards Eclipso, but The Spectre raised his hands and howled wordlessly and a burst of green power exploded from his entire body like a bomb, cratering the ground upon which he stood and diverting my spell into the turf, the beam drilling a divot in the Earth twenty feet deep and throwing the first wave of Superheroes backwards, including myself, and it was all I could do to throw up a shield charm to keep from having my lungs caved in with the concussive force he had unleashed.

Then Wonder Woman was there, leading with her gleaming blade, her long black hair trailing behind her in an inky streak and she swiped at The Spectre from behind only for him to go intangible at the last second, her sword passing through his torso at an angle only for him to reincorporate once more and pivot on his heel. He grasped the Amazon by her head and held her aloft before summoning lightning in the hand that held her, her shrill scream echoing for miles as she was electrocuted.

He dropped her smoldering body at his feet...

Only to be hit by a massive fist made of Darkstuff that was armored in Green Lantern's emerald light, the construct taking the form of a pair of knuckle dusters, sending him skyward where he was hit in the face by the Nth metal mace of Hawkgirl, forcing him down towards the Earth. Then Green Arrow was there, standing atop one of Stonehenge's rock arcs launching bombs from his bow to add insult to injury while Black Canary raced across the field on a dirt bike to join the fray.

I shook my head and picked myself up. My shield and the protections set into my clothes, plus the properties of my dragon-hide cloak had been the only thing that had kept me alive, as it was I felt like I had been ran over by a herd of hippogriffs. I glared towards where I could feel The Spectre's gathering power but then I moved on to Eclipso, the main target I had been assigned, and I picked myself up only to dodge skywards in the form of a raven as the body of Jean Loring swept a beam of her own dark energy across the battlefield, scouring a wide ditch in the ground all around us until it was intercepted by a beam of Nightshade's Darkstuff.

There was a rushing of wind and deathly cold magic as the two attacks struggled against one another that washed across my feathers while I circled overhead, but then I was pulling into a dive and transforming at the last second, my hands emitting eldritch fire, and I landed atop Eclipso, forcing her into the dirt once more as I clamped my hands on the back of her head, yelling wordlessly and driving the Flames of Phlegethos into her very soul, trying to burn Eclipso from Jean Loring's body, but she turned over with magically enhanced strength and threw me away like a rag doll, luckily I was able to twist in mid air and disapparate, reappearing safely on the ground with a harsh crack.

I looked up to see Eclipso shoot towards the sky on a streak of dark energy and I really wished I knew how to fly without transforming into my animal form as it was pretty much impossible to cast magic as a bird.

Hell, Snape had been able to do it and that was just inexcusable.

If I lived through the next ten minutes I'd look into it.

I heard a titanic explosion nearby as The Spectre unleashed his power again and again mixed with his manic laughter and psychotic shrieks, scattering the members of the Justice League and The Shadowpact like they were grains of sand on a beach.

I scanned the battlefield and found Nightshade helping Wonder Woman to her feet, the Amazon's body twitching with the aftershocks of The Spectre's attack, while the Flash looked to be knocked out, his chest rising shallowly from where he lay otherwise unmoving. I saw a blur of blue and red race after Eclipso followed by a man on a floating disk of transparent magical energy and I grimaced. I hoped beyond hope that Superman with the help of Zatara could take her down before he was controlled by Eclipso's magic and turned against us.

I moved to pick up The Flash and join Nightshade in evacuating the injured as shock waves from the sky pressed against me on the ground.

-0-

Jim Rook knew combat was a younger man's game and he was anything but a young man, and back when he had been one of those younger men he had only taken up the Sword of Night reluctantly as a last resort. He had always looked for peaceful solutions to his problems and the problems facing Myrra. The Spectre, however, wasn't a problem that could be solved through peaceable dialogue. He was beyond such rationalities at this point and only death would dissuade him from his deranged crusade.

It would be a death Jim would be happy to grant him if he could get close.

He ducked low, covering his face with his forearm as he led with the Sword, its blade ablaze with magical fire, but he was unable to get close as the Spectre's power had seeped into the dirt, forming it into golems twice the size of a normal man that rose to attack the myriad heroes opposing the Spirit of Vengeance.

Nightmaster scoffed and cleaved one in half, his leaf green eyes set on The Spectre with a single-minded focus.

-0-

Laying The Flash down on the sidelines, I laid a hand on Nightshade's shoulder and nodded, before I transformed back into the my raven form and took off, the shadow-user on my tail feathers, flying on a carpet made of Darkstuff.

It was only moments before I was within spitting distance of where Superman, Zatara, and Eclipso battled fiercely when I transformed back, landing on Nightshade's carpet, my mind racing with plan after plan. "Any ideas," I asked, yelling over the howling winds all the fighting had produced.

"Yeah," growled Nightshade, "attack and kill this bitch!"

I snorted. "We need to bring her to the ground!"

"Take off, Magus, and leave it to me!"

"Right," I yelled, grinning, before I once more became the bird and dove back towards the ground. Avian eyes scanned the field until I saw the green-clad form of The Enchantress, my magical counterpart in The 'Pact, producing an entire volley of Annihilation Stones and thrusting them towards a group of golems, the tile-like projections disintegrating whatever they touched and opening the way for Black Canary to dart in on her dirt bike, unleashing the power of her sonic scream against The Spectre.

Nice move.

I landed next to her, transforming back into the form of man, "Enchantress," I yelled, "we need to get to the circle! I have a plan for Eclipso!"

The Enchantress nodded and held out an arm. "No time to waste－Apparate us!"

I grinned, happy to be listened to without snark by the infamously callous witch, and grasped her arm, pulling us into the uncomfortably tight tube of wizarding teleportation.

We reappeared in the stone circle and I quickly used my wand to set the damage to the stones to right, rebuilding the ancient monument even as Nightshade, Superman, and Zatara battled hard above us. "

"I need you to feed me power!" I yelled, cracking my neck, "Earlier I used the Flames of Phlegethos in an attempt to force Eclipso from Jean Loring's body. I wasn't strong enough on my own but if you used the circle as a focus and drew in power from the leylines below us…"

"I don't know if I can use that much power without transforming again," she said, her eyes narrowed in agitation.

I felt a laugh pull at me and I grinned at The Enchantress. "The circle itself should take some of the strain from you but if you're worried I can get Ragman over here to steel your nerves with another kiss!"

The Enchantress blushed.

Holy shit it really was the end of the world.

"Just do your job, Magus," she snapped, "and I'll do what's needed!"

"Start the process," I yelled over the echoing explosions all around us, stowing my wand and raising my hands, mystical flames pooling in my palms.

-0-

High above the battlefield, Eclipso shrieked in rage as a burst of Nightshade's power broke through her shielding and hit against her armor, shoving her back nearly fifty meters in an uncontrollable tailspin.

Superman lunged forward and punched her hard in the face, her head snapping to the left and then right as a second strike smacked into her, and it was truly only Eclipso's presence within Jean Loring that kept her from having her neck broken. As it was, Eclipso recovered after that second hit and lashed out with snakelike precision, her sinewy arms weaving around Superman's to grasp his head directly. She hissed out an incantation and the Man of Steel's skin grew ashen as his body went slack. She pulled her hands away and glared maliciously at her opponents.

Slowly, as if he were fighting himself, Superman turned in mid air and sped towards Nightshade and Zatara.

"Shit," cursed Nightshade, unleashing more and more Darkstuff and weaving it into a powerful shield which was shattered by a single punch from the now mind-controlled Superman.

He took a deep breath and exhaled a tornado that threw her back even as Zatara moved in, his hands raised as he chanted his signature backwards incantations. He unleashed a beam of light and force that struck Superman in the chest, sending the Man of Steel falling to the ground, but then a second streak of blue and red blurred through the battlefield and Supergirl kicked out at her cousin's head in an attempt to fulfill her part of the battle plan and bring Superman to his senses should he fall under magic's thrall while he fought.

While the two Kryptonians duked it out, Nightshade had recovered and flew off towards Eclipso, gathering all her remaining power for one last hay-maker. Instead of releasing all that power in a construct, however, she internalized it, increasing her physical strength many, many times over as she landed a viscous hammer-like blow onto the crown of Eclipso's head, forcing her down a bit. Nightshade managed three more strikes, the final one sending the body of Jean Loring streaking towards the ground, directly in the middle of Stonehenge's circle.

"Goal," she muttered, her shoulders heaving as she was joined by Zatara, "now finish her off, Magus."

-0-

I smiled grimly when I saw Eclipso impact the ground nearby and without wasting time closed my eyes and I struck once more with the Flames of Phlegethos. Eldritch fire washed over the Body of Jean Loring and seeped into her flesh to tear at Eclipso's hold over her soul. Sweat beaded on my forehead as I was resisted but then I felt more power fed into my spell by an outside force and the Flames doubled in intensity and then they doubled again and again and again as the power of the Earth itself responded to me through The Enchantress' ritual and Merlin's own magic circle.

Eclipso screamed within Jean Loring's spirit, the sound tearing at my soul through the link established between us by the Flames of Phlegethos and reverberating though my psyche like a bull rampaging through a china shop. In my mind's eye I saw a scorched plain, a naked and terrified Jean Loring shivering as she hunched over to protect herself from the ravaging winds scouring her mind clean, produced as they were by Eclipso who was nearby in the eye of the storm.

Slowly I fought the winds until I was standing next to Jean. She looked up at me desperately and whispered something I couldn't hear over Eclipso's winds, but I could see what she wanted within her eyes, wide and terrified and almost entirely sane for the first time, perhaps, since she murdered Sue Dibny.

Death.

Jean Loring wanted to die.

She longed for it.

This what Eclipso had been doing. Eroding Jean Loring until there was nothing of the woman she had been inside of her and there was room only for Eclipso herself.

I raised my wand and my apology died on my lips.

This was a mercy, not a murder.

I shook my head and whispered the incantation to my most hated spell, "Avada Kedavra!"

Chapter Eight, The Sacrifice

In the real world the dark energy emitting from Jean Loring's body was snuffed away like a candle's flame and I opened my eyes, racing over to the downed woman, the First of the Three in one hand and my other glowing with my wandless power. As I had expected, Jean Loring was still alive, though permanently incapacitated, and in her hand she clutched a black crystal that radiated a sense of insanity and despair and the chill of the grave in such volumes that it nearly forced me to my knees.

It was, however, an enemy I was familiar with, for I had first felt effects like these when I was a young boy and Eclipso was not unlike a dementor.

Luckily I knew just how to deal with dementors.

I reached out and gathered all the remaining power within Merlin's circle, and thought of those I loved－the people I fought for. Images of my three god children, Hermione and Ron, Molly and Arthur and the entire Weasley brood as well as my friends from the DA and The Order of the Phoenix flashed before my mind's eye, and beyond them I found myself thinking of my newest friends within The Shadowpact, some I had known for years but most I had only been with for a few days, but still I felt love bloom in my heart and I cried out the incantation to the Patronus Charm and the Stag that I produced was easily the most impressive I had ever made, fueled as it was by not only my magic but by the energy granted from Merlin's circle. It stood at least fifty feet tall and glowed like a miniature silver sun. I heard The Enchantress swear in surprise and slashed my wand downwards, pointing it towards Eclipso's crystal and the Stag focused its powers on the small black gem and though some small link between us left over by the Flames of Phlegethos I was able to hear that bitch's cries of agony as I slowly seared her from existence. Then the stone shattered and the slivers of obsidian-like crystal broke apart into motes of darkness that were subsumed and then purified by the light of my Patronus.

I dropped my wand and the Stag bowed towards me and I felt a bitter-sweet smile grace my face as it faded away. My shoulders sagged and a bone-deep weariness settled in me. Then Nightshade was there, descending from the sky to prop me up before I could fall over.

She smiled and I grinned and leaned in and kissed her.

I felt her cup my cheek with a gentle hand and respond to my kiss, and affection swelled in my chest for the slim woman.

"Lovely," said The Enchantress, scornfully, "but Eclipso was only half the job. We need to go. You can make eyes at each other later."

I broke the kiss and winked at Nightshade, who was smirking rather smugly, before turning to The Enchantress. "You're welcome to go over there if you think you can help, but I'm running on fumes. Whatever happens is out of my hands now. We'll have to trust our friends to finish him off."

"Wise, indeed, Harry Potter."

I turned to see The Phantom Stranger approaching with Detective Chimp.

I blinked. "You're not a mouse!"

"It took many days to gather the power needed to counter The Spectre's curse," said The Stranger calmly, "but I once more wear my accustomed form. Unfortunately what little strength I had managed to gather was used in the counter-spell and I'm too weak to be anything but a hindrance in this battle."

The Enchantress huffed but turned to the fight and sat on the ground, swiping the hat from her head. "Join the club along with us mere mortals, Stranger."

The Phantom Stranger nodded and stood vigil with us and together we watched as the fate of the world was decided.

-0-

Jim Rook was aching, the old man was really feeling his age in this fight. His joints felt like they were on fire and his bones were nearly breaking as he slashed his flaming blade through golem after golem. All around him, heroes from his team and from the Justice League fought on, trying to make it to The Spectre who was forming a tide of bodies from his power to eliminate their number advantage. "Fight," yelled Nightmaster, thrusting his blade high, "his power wanes!"

"So is ours," wheezed Ragman ducking beneath the swipe of a golem's arm and shattering the offending appendage with a kick.

"I am Power!" screamed The Spectre, once more releasing a bomb-like burst of energy. "You are, all of you, ants!"

"Only gods can destroy as you have," shouted Nightmaster, darting in, the Sword of Night trailing a tail of purifying flame, "and you are no god!"

The Spectre looked like the very image of death as he screamed and ranted. "I am the closest you mortals will know until all evil is cleansed from His Work! You will all face punishment for your sins. You will all die! You will all know the flames of Hell!"

"Fuck off with that," yelled Blue Devil, stabbing the Trident of Lucifer through two golems and dispersing them with a burst of power from the golden blade atop it, "I'm getting really tired of your shit!"

"Fiend of the Flaming Pits why do you struggle?" asked The Spectre, swatting the air and throwing Dan away with an invisible burst of power like a man batting at midges.

"He fights because despite his appearance he remembers what it's like to be human!" growled Nightmaster, slicing at The Spectre, who once more grew intangible as the blade passed through his body, though the purifying fires still burned him terribly.

"Insect," screamed The Spectre, backhanding Jim across the face and dropping him to the ground where the Sword fell from his grasp.

Jim moaned lowly and tried to move but his body didn't respond. He couldn't hear either. Just a vague echo. His teammates fought on with renewed vigor, tears streaming from their eyes, but Nightmaster's final battle had come and gone. His eyes fogged over and he knew oblivion.

-0-

Jim Rook was floating in a white void. For some reason he looked younger than he had in years, and he felt stronger too. The aches and pains that came with age had seemingly melted off of him, leaving a young man in his prime.

Jim frowned. While this was nice it seemed wrong somehow. "I don't understand…"

"James Rook," echoed a voice that seemingly emanated from everywhere all at once, "you have been judged!"

Jim's eyes widened and knowledge poured into his mind. Memories that weren't his filled him. Memories of a slave, a princess, a shepard, a warrior and countless others filled him. Most recently, though, he saw the memories of a detective by the name of Jim Corrigan. They were the past hosts of previous Spectres and their deeds played out before his very eyes like a movie and at the end of the montage Jim was once more left alone in the void.

He let in a shuddering breath

"I know what it is you want," he said aloud to no one in particular, "but I don't know if I have the strength of will to commit to it."

Jim closed his eyes and it was as if he could peer into the land of the living from this personal limbo. He saw heroes fighting, struggling, falling against The Spectre's unchecked power. He saw the echoes of the battle played out over countless dimensions in an instant that stretched on infinitely. Barriers kept in check for untold centuries were crumbling away and on a place he somehow knew was called the Rock of Eternity he saw a powerful and ancient wizard peering into the world of mortals from a jewel-encrusted scrying dish. The wizard looked up and directly into Jim's eyes and he nodded.

Jim took a deep breath and relinquished the indelible gift every mortal possessed.

Control over his fate.

The Spirit that had been known as Jim Rook was sent careening through purgatory into the mortal realm at blinding speed.

-0-

There was a strange lull in the battle and I looked down towards Nightshade who sat next to me and she seemed to understand my wishes or she had simply possessed the same desire, as a carpet made of Darkstuff formed beneath the five of us, whisking us towards the battlefield which was hidden by a cloud of dirt that was slowly wafting away. I raised a hand and managed to brig up a drop or two of my waning power to conjure a breeze to clear the air, revealing a field of downed supers, though we were too high up to make out individuals.

"Take us down, Nightshade," said The Enchantress, "no one's moving. Not even The Spectre."

"And so it's happened," said The Phantom Stranger, "the Higher Authority could no longer ignore the squabbles of His children nor the baying of His mad dog."

"Stranger," I asked as the wind whipped through my hair, "what do you mean?"

The Stranger let out an uncharacteristically smug smirk. "The Spectre was seduced in a moment of weakness by Eclipso. This happened because he was without a host. The Lords of Order had been working together to fashion him a single, perfect, immortal host but Jim Corrigan died before they could complete their work and so The Higher Authority was finally forced to place The Spectre in whomever was available."

We landed and saw that the heroes were all down, groaning on the ground, as if a recent blast of power had thrown the all for a loop and they were still recovering from it, and in the middle of the battlefield was The Spectre, Looking skywards, his glowing green eyes wide and unseeing, looking for all the world like a stiff breeze would blow him over.

"So…" asked Nightshade, "did we win?"

"I believe so," said The Stranger quietly.

Suddenly a lightness fell upon us and I stretched out my senses to pick up the source but drained as I was I could not perceive it, but then I felt The Stranger reach out with what small vestige of power he still possessed and he murmured a spell to let us see what he saw.

It was a wispy, ethereal Jim Rook that looked younger than I had ever seen him, and he circled an equally ghost-like Spectre, eyeing him up and down in disapproval. "I can't believe this," he murmured, "I know you, Spirit, I now know you as well as you know yourself and every one of my predecessors. How far you have fallen from your purpose."

"You know nothing," screamed The Spectre, "nothing of my work to right the universe and preserve its sublime cosmic clockwork."

Jim snorted. "Obviously you've not done a very good job of it if the Higher Authority had to pull me from my eternal reward to bring you to heel."

The Spectre snarled and turned but Jim barked out, "You will face me, Spirit!" and such was the power in the command that I and the others watching the scene all stood at attention without conscious thought.

The Spectre turned, almost seeming to cower in his hooded cloak, and he was unable to look directly upon Jim as he radiated shame. "My Lord," he murmured, "I have only ever done your work."

"You've slaughtered innocents, Aztar!"

The Spectre recoiled as if he had been struck when Jim named him.

"You will come with me and together we will begin your penance again, Spirit," said Jim, his voice softer, yet still commanding, "once more you have many sins to repent for."

The Spectre actually bowed his head and murmured, "As you will, My Lord."

Jim nodded and finally turned towards us, gently floating over with a smile on his face. "My friends…" he said, "I see you managed to kill Eclipso, Harry, well done. To think you were once the frightened little boy Dan, The Stranger and I saved from dementors all those years ago."

"Jim," I asked, with a grimace, "what is this－what's happened?"

"Come now, Harry," said Jim, a small rebuke in his voice, "you're smarter than that."

"You're dead, aren't you?" asked The Enchantress, frowning bitterly. "The Spectre killed you."

Jim nodded. "He did," he said lightly, "but I've been tapped by someone higher up on the food chain. I'm to be The Spectre's new host and to keep him on the path the Higher Authority wants him on. I hope to teach him mercy and restraint."

I looked passed him and towards the strangely mopey Spirit of Vengeance. "Bloody hell good luck, mate."

Jim snorted and pointed a little ways away and as one we followed his finger to his body, his neck bent at an unnatural angle as blood leaked from his ears and nose and I had to repress a surge of anger at the sight.

"Take care of that for me, would you?" asked Jim. "It'll take a while but I'll form a new body eventually. Don't ask me how I know that, I just do. So I guess this will work as my last will and testament. I want Dan to take over the bar. He can do what he wants with the space but I'd like it if he still served people drinks. Take the Sword of Night, Harry－it's yours now. It can do so much more than I ever managed bring out, but then I was always the reluctant hero. Burn my body and scatter half the ashes on Myrra and half on Earth. I'll let you chose the locations."

Jim winked, his 'body' fading away. "I have to go now. I'll be watching over you all."

And he was gone.

The sight The Phantom Stranger gifted us lifted in time for us to see The Spectre fade away in the same manner as Jim's ghost just as the the rest of the heroes were picking themselves up.

"All that happened in the blink of an eye." muttered Nightshade.

"What's time to a ghost?" I asked, walking over to Jim's body and kneeling down by his side. I closed his leaf green eyes for the last time before answering myself, "It's nothing at all, and yet it's everything at the same time for those of us left behind."

The Resurrection Stone weighed heavily around my neck but part of the responsibility of the Hallows was to know when and where to use their power. I might have been capable of bringing him back, especially with Merlin's circle so close, but that would be against the whims of the Higher Authority and negate Jim's own wishes.

I grasped the Sword of Night and sighed.

I'd protect his sacrifice.

Chapter Nine, The Shadowpact, Again.

I stood on the stage along with the rest of the 'Pact, with Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman, taking up positions opposite us. The President of the United States of America stood at a podium addressing a crowd in Metropolis Municipal Park. Personally I was unsure about openly declaring the existence of The Shadowpact to the world, but it had been put forth by the League that we'd act as magical advisers and the start of a second League of magic-based heroes for when the spooky stuff started up again.

Mostly I agreed because I wanted representation for my people, forced into the light as we were. Serving in the League would hopefully legitimize us in the eyes of the public and allay any fears they might have. In this way I figured I'd best serve the wizarding world. As it was, the United Nations and ICW had been in talks for the last week or so and I hoped that the chance for peaceful cohabitation wouldn't pass us by.

Hermione and Ron had brought their kids and Andromeda and Teddy out of hiding only to see the changes wrought by The Spectre's rampage and I had a meeting with them to explain things. Kingsley Shacklebolt was still Minister but his job depended on how the talks with the muggle government went.

Luckily the old blood purist faction had been severely defanged during the years after the war and there hadn't yet been any whisper of trouble brewing from them in the new political climate, though that could change in a heartbeat.

I felt a slim hand slip into mine and I looked down to see Nightshade looking up at me, a wry smirk on her lips. "You sure about this, Magus?"

"Not even a little," I chuckled sotto voce.

She grinned.

"Everyone wave, the President just introduced us," whispered Dan, and we did so.

I had never been one for pomp and luckily neither were my teammates or Batman and so I followed his lead and we left as soon as manners and a basic understanding of public relations said we could.

-0-

We appeared in the main room of Dan's bar, which was empty until he could decide what to with it, stepping from Nightshade's portal.

Only we hadn't been alone for long. The air rippled and portal of white light formed and out stepped the wizard Shazam as the empty helm, cape and gloves of Dr. Fate levitated next to him in a way that suggested they were being controlled by a consciousness we couldn't perceive with the naked eye. Finally The Phantom Stranger phased into being, a small smile the only thing I could see that wasn't obscured in the shadow cast by his wide-brimmed hat.

"Shadowpact," said The Stranger, "you've done better than I ever thought possible."

I smiled, but I still wasn't used to the weight of the Sword of Night on my shoulder.

"Jim Rook was a loss, but his sacrifice saved magic itself and one day he'll be able to enjoy his eternal reward," said an echoing voice from the helmet of Dr. Fate, "we Lords of Order will finish The Spectre's perfect host and Jim will move on to a peaceful rest."

I looked over to the bar where the urn containing Jim's ashes sat by the register as we hadn't yet been able to spread them.

"Not really a comfort," said Detective Chimp dryly.

"It never is," said The Stranger, "yet it needed to be said all the same."

"The occult world now knows there are heroes willing to stand and fight against impossible odds," said Shazam, his voice dry and reedy, "historically The Shadowpact has championed lost causes and failed quests but a coin that has come up tails nine times in a row still has a fifty percent chance of coming up heads upon the next toss. I do believe I have become fond of you all."

"There have been other Shadowpacts?" asked The Enchantress, frowning.

The helmet of Dr. Fate bobbed in a mockery of a nod.

"They have all failed," said The Phantom Stranger, "and yet, as I said, you've succeeded."

We shared uneasy looks but it was Ragman who put his hands behind his head and said, "We're not them. Bring it on. We beat The Spectre and Eclipso, we can beat back any threat, isn't that right, Boss?"

I grinned and nodded. "Ragman's got the right of it."

Shazam shared a look with the helmet of Dr. Fate. "It will be an interesting thing, to see if you can enforce your claim," said the old wizard, "and something tells me you'll have the chance to prove it."

"The ninth age of magic is on the verge of collapse," said the helmet, "had The Spectre managed to kill myself and the rest of the Lords of Order and the Lords of Chaos then magic itself would have reverted back to its most wild, primordial form. Gods and demons would have been released and mass destruction would have followed. As it is and as you are probably aware, the flow of magic throughout reality has been damaged severely. This had brought about many troubles already, but what further changes this will bring are still uncertain. It does make me glad that young heroes are willing to protect people in these troubled times. Know that you will have our support in the future, Shadowpact, even if it is not obvious."

I nodded. "Thank you."

"No," said The Phantom Stranger, "thank you, Shadowpact."

With their message seemingly delivered, the two Lords of Order, and The Phantom Stranger faded from the Bar, leaving us in silence.

Dan raised an eyebrow and leaned back on the bar's counter top. "So what's next, Boss?"

I put an arm across Nightshade's shoulders, taking a deep joy in the disgusted look The Enchantress sent us, and said, "So there's this group of vampires…"

The End