To the relief of Harry's patience the helicopter started to land at a field near a dank forest. Before the machine had fully touched down Harry had already flung open the door over the protests of the officier, drawing the sword of Gryffindor from Mia who had sensed his mood. His magical sight showed a dank rot emerge from the forest ahead. Mia summoned her own sword and was right at his side.
"The impatience of youth." Dumbledore shouted over the noise. Cressida tried to yell the pair back but saw Harry was not in the mood to listen. It did delay them enough for the other three to catch up. "Shouldn't you do something about the kid? Charging ahead is asking for trouble." The officer called out as the helicopter's blades came to a halt.
"Mister Potter is a Campione. Not only does this sort of behaviour define his kind. They are also the ones who actually profit from doing so by cutting to the heart of all matters." Dumbledore replied. "Not to mention they have the endurance that sees any retilitation come up short."
As if triggered by these words a tree with mottled bark suddenly came to life and lashed out. Harry reacted instantly by cutting the thick branch slashing for his head and ducking under the errant wood that continued on. Mia danced out of the way and hit a couple of higher branches. The tree reared back for another assault even as the parts Harry cut blackened.
It managed one more swipe before the poison managed to get to the core and killed the tree. It fell away from the group as its own movements spelled its end; the poisoned wood failed to endure the stresses of its movements. "There is another tree like this further to the left. But we can avoid it." Harry called out after glaring through the forest.
"I must have been fortunate not to encounter one the first time I was here." Dumbledore noted as Harry and Mia continued onward. The officer shook his head and drew his service pistol while the Witenagemot member pulled out a bandolier of knives. "I suggest you turn back and wait for us at the vehicle officer." The Witenagemot member stated forcefully. "I might not be able to move like that. But if this Sauron expy threatens the queen and country I will not stand aside to let him." The man replied sternly.
"I do not think he will be deterred. And as harsh as it sounds he could be our 'canary in the coal mine' for mental magics." Dumbledore offered. Then continued to give the man a couple of things to look out for to defend himself and warn the others. "Well that is a title I have held never before." The officer said with a shaky grin. "It is one usually not advised to take."
Harry ignored the banter Dumbledore easily slipped into to prop the man's confidence as he approached the shack. Mia stood by his side with unshakable confidence. "I don't think there is anything here." The mundane soldier muttered as he paused as they closed upon the house. The Witenagemot member and Cressida paused as well as they fought off the mental influences. "Mister Potter. If you could find the source." Dumbledore called out as he frowned.
The Campione took a moment to find what it was before the obvious option was it. He was looking for something subtle but instead it was the snake blatantly nailed to the door. The sword of Gryffindor sang once more, cutting through the magic, snake and door. The three people in the rear stumbled forward as the mental pressure disappeared in an instant. "How did you resist?" Cressida asked with some irritation aimed at herself.
"It was easy. I was not going into the house. I was guarding Harry's back." Mia replied as she gave a nod to Harry who had poked open what remained of the door. The pair charged in one after the other. Swords pointed outward to meet whatever was there to meet them. Nothing came out to meet them. "That is an inspired solution, as the aversion was based on the location." Dumbledore praised.
He waved his wand through a complex pattern. "I do not think there are any other traps. Are you seeing anything mister Potter?" "No. The air is saturated with a dark fog. Whatever it is, it's leaking foul energy so densely I cannot tell where it is coming from or anything else." Harry replied after a second look. "Then let us search carefully. Do not touch anything." Dumbledore commanded.
They split up in two groups and started to look through the oversized shack. Carefully poking the remnants of what was once the interior decorations away as walking through what was left provided no clue where the artifact was.
"Lucius, you are finally back!" Narcissa exclaimed as she rushed forward to confirm that her husband was in one piece. "You need to work immediately to cover your financial tracks. Bones has become the Campione's hunting dog and Fudge has already broken." She explained curtly. "You'll need to report yourself tomorrow morning in the ministry as you have a twenty four hour grace period."
"We'll just ignore it." Lucius gruffly as he led the way to the sitting room. "You cannot. She will wrangle every little thing she has on you for all it is worth. And with the Campione backing her she might be able to get you sent to Azkaban for a short stint." "I will not let my faithful." The word faithful was filled with a bitter tinge. "Languish there for much longer." A dark voice commented behind Narcissa.
The woman jumped in surprise but resisted the urge to draw her wand. "Lord Voldemort?" she squeaked in surprise upon seeing the man closely behind her. "So the Potter boy is making his move against those who avoided imprisonment after his luck disincorporated me?" Narcissa managed to stop herself from gulping. She did not like her man or worship the ground he walked on. But she had to admit he had an intimidating presence.
"My Lord. I assume you succeeded then?" she deflected differently. Voldemort's expression turned thunderous for a moment before he smoothed it out again. "No. I suffered a setback. It only delayed my victory for a few weeks. Now what has the Potter boy been up to." The dark lord replied.
"I cannot say exactly my lord. He either handed a blanket authority to act in his name or Bones and Dumbledore are working under the appearance they have his approval." Narcissa answered his demand even as she tried to add the presence of the man into her calculations.
"I shall deal with them in due time." The Dark Lord declared as he turned around, his black cape swishing dramatically at his ankles. "I will retrieve an item of great importance. Make sure the mansion is prepared to hold me properly." he commanded as he walked away. Narcissa waited until she was certain that the Dark Lord was gone. "Your foolishness has doomed us all." she bit out to Lucius.
"What?!" Lucius roared in objection. "I should have lectured you like Draco. Potter is ascendant, the tides of change are against us yet you persist following that fool! Now I shall make our home ready for his 'lordship'. Make sure you are not arrested early Lucius." Narcissa said harshly as she turned her back to her husband. Her displeasure with him made it as clear as she thought she could.
"We have found nothing." Dumbledore noted with clear disappointment in the living room. "There are no hidden panels through magic?" The officer offered. "No that we could detect." He paused when he saw Harry looked thoughtful for a moment. He stomped the floor and listened intently. "Mister Potter?" Dumbledore asked, puzzled as Harry left the living room and headed towards the bedroom where he repeated the action.
Sharper ears heard that the thud was slightly different. "You believe it's hidden under the floor Campione Potter?" The Witenagemot representative asked, surprised at the idea. "I know it is. It is what I would do." Harry replied as he drew his wand and aimed it at the corner of the floor. Four cutting curses later and the levitation of the cut out piece of wood revealed a small locked chest underneath. "Exactly where I would hide my food over the summers."
So focused on the chest he missed the pained look Dumbledore had and the reproving looks from Cressida and Mia towards the old man. The officer and Witenagemot took a moment to figure things out and scowled for different reasons. Harry tried the simple unlocking charm and found it had no effect. "Allow me mister Potter." Dumbledore offered. Harry stepped aside and the old headmaster launched an esoteric display of unlocking charms. His eight succeeded and the chest popped open to reveal a ring sat on a small cushion.
Harry turned to ask if this was it when he saw the RAF officer stumbling forward and the rest looked enchanted by the item. He bodybound the mundane soldier with a jab of his wand and a muttered incantation. He then turned his attention towards the box and stabbed the ring with almost annoyed nonchalance.
With an unearthly shriek that pierced his bone a black cloud emerged for a moment before dissipating. "It makes me feel awkward to be the only one of the crowd not to be distracted by something." he commented to break the silence that followed. Mia winced as Cressida scowled. "I am sorry Harry." Mia mumbled.
"Do not blame yourself. I was caught off guard as well." Dumbledore said as he started to analyse what had happened, only a negligent twitch freed the RAF officer who was grumbling about being magically lobotomized on a whim by shiny things.
"Whoever had put it on would have suffered a grave withering curse." Dumbledore added while with a whip of his wand he closed the chest again. Never taking any true notice of the gemstone that had popped loose and had fallen deeper into the chest after Harry had destroyed the ring.
"Well with the ring destroyed by the magic sword." The soldier paused for a moment. "Please don't tell me it's Excalibur." he added to keep himself together. "No. The sword of Gryffindor was forged earlier by the goblins on a commision. While the sword that Arthur wielded was fey-forged later." Dumbledore answered with a twinkle in his eye. Harry could see he was extracting some amusement from the flat look the man gave Dumbledore for his answer.
"Campione Potter, with our objective complete. Do you wish to return?" Witenagemot asked respectfully. "I suppose so. I do not think he'll appear. He would have done so earlier wouldn't he." Harry answered feeling somewhat disappointed. He destroyed the thing but he was hoping for more after all that waiting.
"Quite so." Cressida agreed easily as she gestured for Harry to take lead. "It is a shame. I had hoped to…" he trailed off as he looked through the remnants of the front door he destroyed to find a wide-eyed Voldemort look back at him.
"Well don't you look particularly snakey today Riddle." Harry's unfiltered thoughts slipped out of his mouth. Voldemort snarled and cast a vicious yellow curse at Harry whose reflexes kicked in and in a clumsy swipe he deflected the first curse into the wall which promptly disintegrated into dust. The second curse slammed into the protego shield Harry put up to protect the rest of the group.
Behind the cover of his shield Harry started his advance through the door, the dark lord backing away from him. He was aware there was some movement behind him and he was not surprised to find Mia right behind him. With a snarl the Dark Lord started the incantation for the killing curse. "Split!" Harry shouted as he dashed to the side Mia was not on. As he expected the Dark Lord's wand tracked him and the green curse lanced out and slammed into the Gaunt Shack. Harry adjusted his course and ran forward, Mia mirroring his movements on the other side.
Then there was a loud bang and Voldemort staggered backward with a black ooze erupting from his chest. There was another bang and eruption. A third bang followed but the Dark Lord had disappeared on the spot. It took Harry a moment to figure out what had happened as he stumbled out of his charge. To the opposite side Mia came out of her own with a bit more grace.
"It appears the mundane weapons are as loud as ever. Your admirable accuracy is to be commended." Dumbledore said calmly from behind the RAF officer who lowered his pistol. "I am afraid I was still trying to put up the portkey prevention ward. I decided to stop him from using apparition first but Tom appeared to be prepared as ever." "Well… damn." The officer noted with shame. "So I let that creep get away?"
"If you hadn't shot him he would most likely have retreated before mister Potter and miss Develd could engage him in melee combat. In my experience he had a good sense of the flow of battle to retreat when the tide was against him." Dumbledore assured the officier. He cast a few more spells while saying. "I shall try to pursue him. If you could be so kind to deliver mister Potter back to Hogwarts." When he had spoken his last word he disappeared with a pop.
There was a silence that Harry broke. "And he called me impetuous." he complained almost childishly. It was really to cover he was worried about the old wizard he saw as a mentor charging off to fight a battle believed to be his. None dared to say it but everyone wondered if the old wizard would be seen again. Without saying anything the group silently made its way back to the helicopter and with a few words the aircraft was back underway.
Tom Riddle cursed as he stumbled his way towards the Malfoy mansion. What was supposed to be a simple retrieval of his horcrux turned into a disastrous morning. That Dumbledore was apparently on the trail of his horcruxes was bad news. However what was worse that the Campione, the Witenagemot and the muggles apparently also knew. He was not certain why the last party was involved as well but it could mean all kinds of things.
'The Potter boy could have a secret ambitious side to extend his 'territory' to the mundane side as well. Or the Witenagemot might be pulling strings.' Tom snarled in his thoughts. The Dark Lord has always skirted carefully around them to avoid pulling in too many enemies. With the self imposed isolationism they were reluctant to delve into the fight themselves.
Either way it meant that far too many people for comfort knew things they shouldn't. If they were informed there was a chance that the Unspeakables and the DMLE had been told as well. 'Which could explain why this Bones woman is overstepping her boundaries.' he rationalized in his mind.
Even worse that Dumbledore seemed to be backing the boy. Whether it was for his own designs or some kind of belief he had in the next generation Voldemort did not know. What he did know was that the man was willing to engage him with far more furor than he had ever done. Despite his enhanced body he was hard pressed to escape the man while he still bled from the two bullet wounds the muggle soldier had planted in him.
He hated to admit it to even himself. But when Dumbledore popped into existence at his side with a whip of fire slashing for his head, Tom had been caught with his figurative pants down. Dumbledore had never ever pursued him before when the man had offered battle. He was always content to let the Dark Wizards flee. This change unnerved Tom as things were not going to his expectations.
Even the way the man spoke was different. Instead of insisting to use his old name to annoy him the old wizard had tried to bait him into a battle with insults and challenges. It was something the old wizard had never done before.
"My lord?" Lucius asked aghast as the man took in the Dark Lord's bloodied form. "Have a bath drawn for me and get me a blood replenishing potion." Tom ordered as he forced himself to walk proudly despite the pain it gave him. The old wizard had managed to land some near-crippling blows to his legs. His old foe clearly wanted to end him right there and then while preventing his escape at the same time.
"At once my lord." Lucius replied and he started to call his elves to do as the Dark Lord had commanded him to do. He also turned his back towards the Dark Lord to lead the way and hide his emotions. With a sinking feeling he realised his wife might have a point that aligning with the man again was not the wisest of courses.
Harry gave a final wave to the leaving helicopter. He could only hope that the Witenagemot could explain its usage without scrambling a dozen brains. Although considering it was supposedly a mutual benefit society he should have expected to have some high ranking military members within it as well. "Well we'd best head back. I might be able to get into the last lessons of today."
He paused mentally at that. "Wow.. I am more worried about catching class than the Dark Lord I nearly cut in half… my life is messed up."
"You are a Campione Harry. It is to be expected." Mia replied with a grin in Harry's direction, which increased at the scowl she got. "Look at the other Campione, one wanders the world to wherever their whims lead them, another plays as a superhero. Your 'twin' is a playboy extraordinaire and his rival attacks anything carrying a sword for a good fight." She explained.
Harry made a grumbling complaint neither woman could decipher. "Harry." Cressida said with a carefully measured tone that immediately had his attention. "This Luna Lovegood girl. The Witenagemot could do a lot for her…" "No." Harry said firmly. It was clear that was his decision from which he would not be swayed.
"Harry.." Cressida felt she had to try anyway and for his attempt she gained Harry's full ire. "No Cressida. I gave her my word that she would be left alone. She would probably be put into a gilded cage like princess Alice wouldn't she?" "Princess Alice has the freedom to do as she pleases. It is her health and burdens of duty that constrains her." Cressida objected.
"Burdens that duty put upon her. Unless she says otherwise we will honor our promise to her. If it needs to be I will put her under my protection." Harry declared unwaveringly. "Very well." Cressida acknowledged stiffly. Harry did not need to read her mind to know that she disagreed with her decision. For a moment he considered pressing the point before thinking better of it. He trusted her that she would listen to what he had said.
They continued on to the castle with an uncomfortable silence hanging between them. As Harry made to open the large doors they flung inwards to reveal Dumbledore. His robes bore some scorch marks but nothing was still smoking. "I am glad you returned without incident. I am sad to say our quarry managed to escape. He will be recuperating for some time however."
"How so?" Harry asked as he stepped inside. "He is using a dark magical body to inhabit. This means quite a lot of the usual methods of healing will be less effective. You could see it yourself, I believe you said he looked particularly 'snakey' today." It was the twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes that made Harry feel embarrassed about the unthought blurt towards his nemesis.
"It was an inspired method to call him however. He was quite sensitive about it." It took Harry a moment to realise that the wise old wizard had degenerated to taunting Voldemort like it was a schoolyard squabble. Dumbledore seemed to relish Harry's disbelieving look. "Use every tool in your arsenal, mister Potter. Tom almost stood his ground for a few words."
'It is rather pragmatic.' Harry agreed mentally. If Voldemort had paused long enough to get another spell in he or Mia would have had a good chance to land a debilitating blow. "I will keep that in mind, headmaster." He acknowledged out loud. "Excellent. Now if you have lessons to attend to, please do so. I will inform some trustworthy people in the ministry that he has returned." Dumbledore informed them.
"Miss Layla. If you could propagate the knowledge that it was a powerful backup weapon we destroyed to the Witenagemot. I will spread the same to certain muggles, who will undoubtedly ask questions once the muggle officer is debriefed by someone in the know." Dumbledore continued. "That would be wise." Cressida agreed quickly, glad to have some of the burden take off from her. "By your leave." She noted to Harry before leaving.
He in turn held his tongue about remembering her that there was something she should be silent about. Instead he nodded to her retreating and turned to the headmaster. "I shall head in to catch up with my lessons Headmaster." "See that you do mister Potter, good day." the headmaster replied, although it was obvious his thoughts were elsewhere.