Severus Snape froze when he looked into the mirror during his morning ablutions. The Dark Mark that marked his mistakes to the world had faded into the barely visible tattoo it was while Lord Voldemort was defeated. Outwardly he calmly noted the change and continued on as if he had only spotted a particularly eye-catching blemish. Inwardly however his mind was doing a hamster in a hamster wheel impression.
'I saw the brat retire for the night. So there is no way he would have found the dark lord and killed him in combat.' he tried to rationalize to himself. 'But that means someone else did it. But who would do it? And how?' The idea that he would be temporarily freed by his burdens again by a Potter was unimaginable.
Once clothed he hurried towards the headmaster's tower. Once he was quite certain no student would see him he started to rush up the stairs. His billowing cloak would give anyone who saw it the idea of a bat in full flight.
Snapping out the right candy for the day, and he so loathed the headmaster so for making him memorise them, he charged past the guarding gargoyle. Dumbledore hastily clad in his usual colorful robes emerged from his private chambers. "Severus, what happened?" he asked worriedly. In response Snape hitched up his sleeve to show the dark mark.
Albus let out a sigh of relief and plopped himself in his chair. Severus sat down opposite to him and allowed the old wizard to snap out of the emergency mindset he had thrown himself into when a professor came charging up his stairs the first thing in the morning. "So someone or something has defeated Tom once more."
"Since you are the first one to notify me of this, it means he did not attack someone in the wizarding circles for more information on Campione." Dumbledore kneaded his forehead. "Which means we must ask miss Layla if she received any information on a failed attack, or worse." "Worse Albus?" Snape asked uncertainly. "Yes. That mister Riddle has managed to summon a heretic entity in such a record time, only to be defeated by it." Dumbledore answered gravely, the idea alone utterly unpalatable for him.
Snape shivered at the idea of the Dark Lord having the powers of a Campione. "Well then. If you excuse me I will get fully ready and then we can inform mister Layla what we learned and hope she can retrieve more information." "I shall head back as well. Good morning headmaster." Severus said, snapping on the greeting at the last moment. "Good morning Severus." Dumbledore replied somewhat amused.
"Headmaster?" Mia asked surprised as she and Harry got ready for their morning run. "Mister Potter, Miss Develd. I see you are quite active this morning." The headmaster observed. "Well we need to stay in shape, Headmaster." Harry replied. His tone failed to hide his curiosity at his presence. "Is Miss Layla up? I need to share some critical information I wish for her to follow up upon." Dumbledore explained.
"I'll get her." Mia acknowledged and dashed back up the ladies sleeping room. She soon returned with Cressida in tow still in her sleeping wear but wide awake and alert. "Headmaster." she greeted the old wizard, eyes blazing with curiosity of why he was there.
"Miss Layla, earlier this morning I received information that the Dark Mark has gone inactive again. This means that the Dark Lord suffered a defeat that resulted in his death. As I have not been contacted by the ICW it is unlikely he attacked the holding of a wand wizard or witch." Dumbledore explained quickly.
"Which means he attacked and lost to someone outside the wand-wielding community. I shall make my inquiries immediately, headmaster." Cressida agreed. "Please ensure you do not mention the Dark Lord by name." Albus repeated worriedly. "Of course headmaster. I am merely acting on information that you received that his old associates, the death eaters, have been active." Cressida noted smoothly.
Hedwig had sensed that she was needed and hooted to draw everyone's attention that she was able and willing to start doing the owl work required. "You always know when you are needed, Hedwig." Harry cooed over the owl as he lavished his attention on her. "I shall make my own inquiries in the meantime. Thank you Miss Layla." Dumbledore said as he turned to leave.
Harry waited for the painting to swing shut before he spoke up. "So Voldemort picked a fight with someone and lost. Who'd you think he got his rear kicked by?" He asked Mia and Cressida. Cressida double checked her letter before folding it up. "Since the little information we did manage to extract from lady Malfoy, I suspect he found conflict with one of the nordic groups. Perhaps he was foolish enough to draw the attention of Marquis Voban." she speculated.
"Huh… could that mean he would be stuck as one of his undead servants?" Harry mused out loud. "Do you think you could convince the good Marquis to make Tom confess all his crimes if that is the case?" Cressida mulled it over for a moment as she tied the letter to Hedwig's leg. "You would most likely provide him with an entertaining fight. That is something I urgently advise against." She replied, balancing her lord's request and reality, as far as it could be applied to his kind.
"You'd be right." Harry agreed as Hedwig leapt off the table and made a short trip to Harry's shoulder. She clearly expected him to carry her outside. With his lady owl's command Harry left the room with just Mia in tow. He was certain that Cressida would be up to something to contact the other groups she could reach.
"It would be a bit anticlimactic if he got himself killed." The swordswoman mused as they reached for one of the secret exits into the courtyard. "I don't mind. Despite what everyone expects I am not one to start a fight." Harry claimed. The snort he got in reply was not encouraging. "A couple of words had you ready to split Malfoy in half. I am still in disbelief that you actually managed to pass that test in your first try, that book was monstrously large."
Despite his passenger Harry failed to fully repress the complete body shiver. "So many rules." he whined softly. His complaint lost under Hedwig's upset bark. He fussed over his owl to calm her down. His assurances fell on deaf ears however and with a final bark that held a hint of promised pain the owl disappeared into the morning sky.
"Well, we'd best get started on that morning run." Harry suggested once Hedwig was well out of sight. "Yea. The death of a dark lord is no reason to sit back and celebrate." Mia agreed with a grin. "The next one will be lining up in no time. Such is the life of a Campione." "If we get attacked during the morning run. He or she is all yours." Harry promised with a smile of his own.
It was just after lunch that they gathered in the headmaster's office to get an overview. Cressida's replies had started to stream in the meantime. Harry was skipping the history lesson but he suspected the old ghost wouldn't notice. Cressida was still shuffling and ordering her papers as everyone sat down.
"I can only say that there was a heretic goddess in the southern area of Egypt. The exact area or who this goddess was is all unknown." Dumbledore said, laying his cards on the table. "That is less than I expected." Cressida replied distractedly as she started to lay out some of the papers on Dumbledore's desk. "From what I understand is that at the outskirts of the ancient city Thebes a heretic goddess was summoned by a cult."
"The exact goddess is still uncertain as the cult's compound was utterly devastated during the first battle there. Current theory is that she is a local goddess. She was however injured during the battle that destroyed the compound by a mortal. Injured enough that when Campione Salvatore Doni defeated her, that he did not receive an authority."
"What is of interest for us is that of the bodies found outside the compound area, most likely flung there by an effect of an authority. Two of which still wore identifiable black robes and shattered white masks. Which stood out compared to the old egyptian themed clothing the cultists seemed to wear for the ritual. Recovery of the bodies has been slowed down by the abundance of cursed shards of metal."
"They suspect that a wand wielding wizard or witch attempted to defeat the heretic goddess with cursed weapons to circumvent the magical protection a heretic goddess would have against direct spells. Considering the lack of awarded authority they had some success with this method." Cressida explained as she showed a few pictures of the cursed metal and a preliminary report on what kind of curses were on them. One glance at the list told Harry someone with a nasty imagination had been busy.
"However this person was defeated by the goddess despite the amount of injuries they managed to inflict." At the end of Cressida's report the room fell silent for a moment as everyone processed the events. "Miss Layla. Do you think it is possible to retrieve multiple pieces of this cursed metal? Fortune willing I could use them to confirm our suspicions." Dumbledore inquired gravely.
"I am glad you asked for it, headmaster. I already offered the suggestion to do so to entice your expertise on the manner. As you can expect the local magical groups are less than happy at both missing the cult and their preparations, and that someone powerful enough to harm a goddess roamed their lands while waiting on the cult's success in summoning the goddess." Cressida replied, showing that she was on the ball as she usually was.
"So Voldemort picked a fight with the heretic goddess and lost. Barely so." Harry guessed out loud. The young Campione looked less than thrilled that the Dark Lord had managed to get so close.
"Yes. I did not receive any information on the actual conflict between her and the Campione. So I have no way to gauge the actual injury inflicted." Cressida confirmed. Her tone was all business that silently impressed Harry and for a moment he felt like a child sitting in the big boys meeting.
"So is there anything we can do… or need to do?" Harry asked curiously towards Dumbledore. "I fear this will only delay Voldemort for several years. Like his last defeat did. I shall use this opening to do my best to ensure his next defeat will be of a more permanent nature." The old wizard answered Harry's question before the young man could ask. "I will ask for your aid if it is needed, as I have promised before."
Harry felt like the old wizard would only do so when he was dying. However he lacked the words to properly convey both his worries and displeasure so he remained silent. "Please let the involved parties know that I would like to be updated. Once the cursed shards arrive I shall decipher the curses on them as soon as I can." Dumbledore paused for a moment. "Can I pass this information towards the ICW?"
"I see no problem with that. Although please cite the source as Campione Potter." Cressida agreed easily. Harry blinked at the mention of his name and wondered why. The barely visible smile Dumbledore had meant that Cressida did something cunning that he approved of. But the why escaped Harry as passing on information on a group of terrorists seemed like a thing you needed to do.
"I shall do so. I do believe you have lessons to attend to mister Potter." Dumbledore easily slipped into his rule of tutor now that the crisis was over. "I do, Headmaster. Have a good day." Harry replied and rose from his seat. They left the headmaster's office and descended into the castle to get to the history classroom. Harry considered asking Cressida what the deal was but he wanted to figure it out himself. If only to save himself another set of lectures.
Mia broke the silence "You know Harry. You were actually right. It was just that it happened outside Hogwarts." Harry grinned as he realised Mia was right. "Damn right I was. We'd better not tell Hermione though." He added. "Not tell me what?" Hermione's voice asked sharply. Harry turned sharply to tell either the twins or Mia not to prank him like that when he noticed that Hermione had joined them on the intersection just in front of the history classroom.
"Hello Hermione. Is the history lesson over already?" The Campione bravely tried to deflect. "Yes. It just did. Now what did you not want me to know?" The tone Hermione sported had Harry wincing. It was clear the bushy haired young lady was not amused by his attempts to keep something secret from her. "I'll tell you. Just not here." Harry assured her as he noticed a few of his classmates unsubtly tried to listen in for gossip.
His girlfriend huffed but acceded to his request. "Very well. Was it a productive meeting?" She asked instead. "I think it was." Harry agreed as he led the way instead to the library. "Cressida did a great job getting all the information we needed." The woman accepted the praise with a nod.
Once they were private in the library Harry quickly informed what they suspected and knew. She figured out herself what Harry tried to avoid saying and settled the issue with an annoyed huff. Harry was smart enough not to grin at the admission that he was right, he knew his girlfriend's pride was dented enough already for the day. The next lesson soon threatened to start and they hurried towards it. Unaware of the Ravenclaw girl who uncertainly waited during the conversation just outside their sight.
Her attempt to stealthily follow them as she warred with herself in her mind did not go unnoticed by Mia. However the swordswoman did not see any harm at the moment and did not mention it to the others.
"Are you sure of this?" Thorfinn Rowle whispered to Lucius as the latter worked on grinding the ingredients. The pureblood wizards were less than happy to do such mundane work and more than once it was suggested to bring Snape into the fold. However none were willing to take the responsibility of the inevitable displeasure the Dark Lord would feel for disregarding their orders.
"I know how to make the basics of potions Rowle." Lucius sneered as he continued his work. The large blonde scowled at Malfoy's attempt at playing dumb in his perception. He double checked that there was no one was overhearing. "Not that Malfoy. You of all the people should know better. It was your son's 'brilliance' that got you that long punishment did it not?" Thorfinn whispered with a bit of heat.
Lucius Malfoy paused for a moment. He might not like Rowle but he knew the man was neither unskilled nor dumb. That he was brought in meant that he had the Dark Lord's favor to an extent as his family was not that well off as his own. "You suggest cowardice like Igor and Snape did?"
Thorfinn scoffed dismissively at the names. "We might have seen it as cowardice. But now with the Potter boy being a Campione it is downright sensible." Lucius merely gave the man an inquiring look. Inviting his comrade to explain his reasoning.
"Do not act like a fool. The Dark Lord needs to defeat a heretic god first to become a Campione himself. Then assuming he somehow manages to avoid getting tangled up with any of the other magical organisations and their Campione he still needs to defeat two other heretic gods only to match the Potter boy." Thorfinn said with a hint of urgency as he made sure none of their other compatriots were listening in.
"The Dark Lord has shown himself to be immortal." Lucius stated neutrally as he returned to his plebeian work. "He had this time. However he could run into a death god who can ensure he stays down. Or one of those 'authorities' could do the same. Don't think I am the only one who thinks we're better off accepting the mudbloods and trying to teach them to be civilised." Rowle replied with a grimace at the idea.
"Give way to those unwashed masses?" Lucius growled in utter disgust. Once more stopping his work. "Well unless you can ensure the next minister won't be Potter's puppet like Fudge was yours. It is a sinking ship. Bones the blood traitor got her fangs onto Fudge like the rabid bitch she is. Instead of doing grunt work here for another resurrection you should be at home to steady the ship and get yourself clear." Rowle pointed out, appealing to Lucius's practical side.
"And that treachery will have me executed the moment the Dark Lord regains his body." Malfoy noted. "No. If you and your conspirators have any brains between them. Then they wait a while longer. The ritual is in a few days. And unless you got everyone but myself and the rat into your pocket it is a doomed prospect." Lucius suggested in a dismissive tone.
"As much as I loathe I agree with you. You do however have a point should Potter gain more influence in our society with his muddled blood. He'd probably listen to that fool Dumbledore to import the muggle 'sensibilities' into our word. We'd best stem that tide by showing the mud bloods why our culture is superior than their rancid own." Lucius said hoping Rowle would give away just how far this plot went.
He hid his awareness that Torfinn had his wand subtly aimed at his back after his refusal. He briefly considered striking the man down his temerity to think he would be an equal of a Malfoy before discarding it. A bout of infighting would garner questions from the Dark Lord which would be followed by legimancy. And Malfoy was well aware he was unable to hide all his thoughts from the master legilimens the Dark Lord was and a single check would reveal his own doubts to dire consequences.
"Now if you could leave me. I have work that is below my station to do." Lucius said dismissively, hoping to convey that Rowle would understand he'd keep this to himself. "Fine. Think about it, Malfoy before the Dark Lord decides to use us as fodder for his crusade against the divine." Thorfinn shot in before marching out of the room. Lucius kept himself from clicking his tongue at the unsubtle way he was being felt out and briefly listed who was most likely using Thorfinn as a pawn.
Still whoever the puppetmaster was. He did have a point and as the head of the Malfoy family he was obligated to accept that the wind of fortune he was riding was coming to an end. And he could not hide his loathing that current events were hindering him from changing the course to ensure that his family would prosper in the new era led by idealists and fools.
As if sensing his treacherous line of thought his Dark Mark throbbed and Lucius looked at the floor near the door to find Nagini slithered into the room. The unnaturally large snake rose and Lucius knew he'd better tell the beast of his progress. He did not know how, but the Dark Lord seemed to be using the animal to communicate and act. Well aware of how deadly the creature was, none had tried to run yet.
"The preparatory phase is nearly complete. Brewing can commence at midnight with the ingredients that had been prepared before." Lucius reported. The snake hissed something that only a parseltongue could understand and slithered out of the room again. Malfoy had the feeling he'd been told to hurry it up.
He gritted his teeth and returned to his work. It was unseeming for a man of his stature to do so, but rotting inside a snake's gullet was even more so.