"I am pretty sure I am seeing Skeeter over there." Harry grumped as he saw the bug-eyed reporter using a normal quail for a change. "Someone must have let everyone know you would be here." He briefly wondered what kind of angle she was going for this time before putting the reporter out of his mind so he would not ruin the evening. Hermione meanwhile tightened her grip to ensure Harry would not go off and gallantly slay the insult to the field of reporting, no matter how tempting she found the prospect.
"Sir Campione." A flunky whispered as soon as he could as Harry and Hermione threaded their way down the red carpet. "If you wish for more suitable transportation, we are more than willing to help."
Although the van used was far from dinky, it did look a bit odd between the limousines and the like. "Campione Potter is more than capable of arranging his own transportation." Cressida cut in on Harry's behalf. In the same stroke she also cut off any objections. It was a career ending objection to say that a Campione could not do something.
Only one name stuck, and it was not because of the rat-like face the man had. Harry could almost smell the ambition wafting off the man and the way he introduced his 'warrior' son and, admittedly, fair daughter it was clear he wanted Harry to be part of it. Regardless of how his own children felt about it. Harry's gut however told him there was more to this new face than just plain ambition.
'I will certainly ask Cressida later about this Poole family.' Harry thought as the next face and name presented itself. Harry was certain Hermione was itching to use her often kissed hand to slap someone. Soon the parade ended and he managed to enact a tactical reposition towards the table holding all kinds of snacks.
Harry had learned another thing. If they used 'His majesty' to greet him they wanted things from him. While those with less obvious ambitions used 'Campione Potter'. Harry wondered for a moment if there was a guide titled 'How to talk to Harry Potter' spread around in the Witenagemot.
"I am already regretting this." Harry mumbled to his girlfriend. "I suppose I was too optimistic to think it would be like the yule ball." "I think we got through the worst of it." Hermione replied. She turned her attention to Cressida and Mia. Who somehow managed to disappear during the overly long meet and greet. "They are not expecting Harry to make a speech?"
"I will stab people if they do." Harry murmured as he glanced around who would need to get the sword of Gryffindor stuck in uncomfortable places. This allowed him to see a familiar figure stuck in a corner with several maids worrying around her. "Finally I see someone I want to talk to." he informed the rest of the group.
Trusting them to follow him he walked towards the pale looking woman. "Princess Alice." he greeted courteously. He gently took the offered hand and placed a kiss on it. "I thought we were on more personal terms Harry." The princess said with a smile. "We are Louise, but so far everyone has been so formal and stuffy." Harry noted with a smile of his own.
Despite the maids' clear disapproval. None dared to speak up. The hand Harry had used to hold Louise's sneaked into his pocket for a moment. Those with sharp eyes could see Harry was not skilled in sleight of hand tricks, but the observers were focused on Harry's words. "But now that is done Louise, we can talk like normal people."
"Now you know Hermione, but have you met Cressida Layla and Mia Develd?" Harry introduced his two knights. "I actually did." Princess Alice acknowledged with a nod. "Princess Alice." Both replied with a bow in return. "So I hope that they have not disappointed you since our last conversation?" The princess asked kindly. "They have not, their services have been much appreciated." Harry answered. His tone left no doubt that he truly meant it.
Louise smiled wildly. "That is great to hear. So how did you snag him, Hermione?" Harry felt like he was being slapped by the sudden change to the bubbly princess. "And is he a good kisser?" Louise pressed, making both feel uncomfortable as none of their friends had asked them anything like that. 'Wait… she is giving me an opening!' Harry thought with surprise. "Right… I'll leave you to the girl's talk." he cut in clumsily and made a rapid retreat.
He found a toilet without help and in the closed stall he opened up the note the princess had managed to slip him. It read 'Protect the seer who aided you if you do not wish to reveal him or her tonight. Searching for her has only been held off by the idea you would present that person tonight.'
Harry grimaced at the news. 'Did we do enough to hide Luna?' he asked himself. He thought he had been in the clear as long everybody kept their word. But the way that Louise stated it, it sounded more like they would find her and it was more a matter of time before she was found now that she had given away her existence to help Harry.
'Do I make a strong statement that she is under my protection. Avoid talking about the issue? Or do I stay vague and try to make it sound like I want to keep a hidden ace?' Harry worried. For a moment he wished he could get the girls to advise him. 'But if I do that people will ask questions or listen in with magic, rendering the point moot.'
He finished up and had to resist running his freshly washed hands through his carefully tamed hair. 'Well, once more unto the breach. I'll fly it by the seat of my pants. As usual.' Once more he wished there was a suitable entity for him to pick a fight with so that everyone would forget to ask. 'Sadly my luck isn't that bad.' Harry thought despondently.
It appeared in the few minutes it had taken Harry to find a bathroom, panic over the hidden message and pick his non-plan tables had been set. It took him a few moments to find Louise who was still happily chatting with the rest of the girls. 'Oh merlin. I am going to be stuck listening to girl talk all night aren't I? I need to get a guy into my entourage.' Harry thought desperately. At Hogwarts there was always someone else at the table to talk with if the girls descended into this.
He briefly considered trying to find somebody important and demand a guy knight to protect him. Then sense reasserted itself and Harry told himself to suck it up and get going before people started to wonder why the Campione was looking like a lost puppy and decided to help him.
To his relief it seemed they had moved their subject of their discussion to magical theory of all things as waiters started to bring around entrees for everyone. He couldn't really follow along but he was content to pretend he was paying attention. He idly glanced around to see the odd glances to his table. 'To think it barely bothers me anymore to be in the center of attention.' Harry acknowledged to himself.
The conversation front didn't really improve from Harry's point of view. However Hermione seemed happy so that was good enough for him. So he endured through the meal and was almost relieved it was time for the ball part. The entertainment provided throughout the dinner had him bored to tears as it was just not his thing.
It was almost a relief as tables moved out of their own accord to make room for people to dance. People started to gather to dance and Harry wasted no time asking Hermione to join him. They spent a good bit of time refreshing their knowledge of dancing and Harry wanted to get something out of it.
For once the almost instinctively shuffling away from him to give him more room was to his advantage. It ensured that he could fully focus on both the dance and Hermione. For a moment he forgot about the crowd and focused solely on his girlfriend. He could see by her expression she was doing the same.
They swayed to the music unaware of the people around them. A few gossiping or instructing servants to find more information on the girl. She was hardly an unknown but this close bond warranted finding out more about who the potential beau of the British Campione was.
The song ended far too early to Harry's tastes. That didn't stop him from pecking Hermione on the lips despite her obvious embarrassment. For a moment he worried he had pushed too far as she slipped out of his hands. Only to be replaced with Louise. He took one look at the woman. "Are you sure you should be up?" he asked worriedly as he noted the pale skin and slight sheen of sweat.
"Maybe I should not." Louise admitted. "But one dance please? With a kiss at the end?" The next number started to play and Harry just decided to assume that Hermione and Louise had agreed upon this while he was gone. "As you wish." he agreed with a smile. It was clear to him that Louise knew the steps, but clearly her poor constitution did not allow her to practice much.
Still he had fun dancing with Louise. As the song tapered out he received a mischievous smile "So do I get my kiss as well?" she asked teasingly. Harry blinked in surprise, took it as a challenge and rose to it. Louise did a poor job of her surprise to suddenly find a pair of lips smacked to her own.
For a moment she worried Harry would try to make more of it when he backed off with a roguish grin. Louise could feel her cheeks burn at his boldness. Words failed her as she realised that the boy was a Campione and she had just challenged him to do something. So she tried to muster an amused smile but failed and instead it was a genuine one. 'It is nice to be treated like a normal girl for once.' Louise mused as she tried to find her composure, well aware everyone was watching.
Ignoring the surprised looks of the people paying more attention to Harry and her, she was gently guided by the Campione off the dancing area. "If you want another dance, just ask." Harry noted good naturedly and with far more confidence than he actually felt. "The same goes for a kiss." The blush that had slightly receded came back in full force.
Her pack caretaker maids for the evening seemed to spring from under the tables and took her gently but firmly from Harry's grasp. With a final smile in her direction Harry turned around and sought out Hermione.
Said bushy haired young woman was doing her best to hide that she had bamboozled herself. When Harry had gone out Louise had asked if she could get a dance from Harry. Something she had no trouble agreeing to. When Harry kissed the seer she expected to be jealous but instead she found herself amused. More curious how Harry had been goaded into doing that instead of feeling threatened.
Which in her own considerable opinion made absolutely no sense. She didn't take the gossip from her year mates as gospel. But surely she should have felt something negative. That she didn't had her confused. She forced it down in a chest to be opened and figured out later as Harry started to give her an inquiring look.
Thankfully in Hermione's opinion he was easily distracted by a quick peck on the lips and the start of a new dance.
As Voldemort, disguised as one of the inferi, controlled the undead horde to the nearest muggle city he was spotted by a passing Witenagemot knight. The man had been sent to investigate several places the moment the Campione failed to show up with a new face in tow. By this roll of the dice Voldemort's silent approach through the woodland had failed.
Pushing his vehicle to the highest speed he could push it he arrived an hour ahead of the shambling horde. Ten minutes later a flier confirmed there was a mass of necromantic creatures approaching the city. And a general evacuation was called with the reason obscured as the fallout of a chemical accident.
Although no divine energy had been detected or felt. The suddenly overwhelmed head of the night watch decided it had to have a heretic god's work for a zombie swarm to appear seemingly out of nothing. And a runner was sent to break up the party that was supposed to be his ticket for a quiet night.
As the song ended Harry guided Hermione off the floor despite her protest. "Something is up Hermione." He said with a jerk with his head to a collection of important looking people. "Your majesty." A flunky cried out as he bowed deeply in Harry's direction. Harry hid his irritation that a grown man was acting like this.
"What is the problem?" He asked even as he wished that Mia was around with his sword. "There is an unknown heretic god sending a horde of undead creatures to…." Harry didn't hear the rest as he snapped his head to Louise. Who looked just as surprised as the rest of the people listening in did.
"Alright. Where is the helicopter?" Harry demanded rudely as he cut off the man verbally. He was unhappy the evening just got ruined by a heretic god. At the same time his blood started flowing at the idea of a battle. "Helicopter?" The flunky asked helplessly. Shooting the man an exasperated look and then started searching for Cressida. He found that she had joined his side while he was looking the other way. A simple shake of her head was enough to tell Harry there was no air transportation available.
He pinched his nose. "Fine. I'll fly over with Victoria. Mia, do you know where it is?" He asked his knight. Trusting that she would be close on Cressida's heels. "Yes Harry." Mia replied factually. "Good, you are with me." his hand dived into his pocket and fished out the letter, handing it Cressida. "Read this in private, figure it out. Ask Hermione for help if you need to and then get her home safely."
Cressida took the letter with clear uncertainty but nodded nevertheless. "Harry!" Hermione objected. His blood was up though so instead she received a sudden snog before she could start explaining her complaint in triplicate. "We'll have a dance once I am back. Stay safe." he told the stunned girl. He turned to the flunky "Bring me to the garden or wherever else I can summon my pegasus."
He was guided to a large garden and Harry did not wait to double check if it was indeed clear of eyes who were not supposed to see what happened next. "Noble white steed born from a monster's blood. Thunder forth and bless the earth with spring again. Carry a hero aloft once more to victory!" he intoned.
Victoria emerged in a splash of silver blood at a trot. Sensing her master's impatience she kept moving as Harry hopped on her back in one fluent movement. With one hand to the side he helped Mia up Victoria's back. The other hand gave Victoria's neck a nice pat. "Once we know where we are going girl, I want you to go all out." he instructed his steed.
A servant rushed up with a trio of maps and a compass. "You'll need to head northward first my lord. I advise you to use the rivers or railroads to guide you closer." Mia needed no prompting and took the items. She took a moment to orient herself. "An eighth of a turn to the left." Victoria followed her instructions. The tensing of muscles was the only warning Harry, Mia and the servant got.
Mia for a moment appreciated the part of Pegasus's magic that held her to Victoria's back. With white clenched hands she held on the maps and compass. Through her watering eyes she could see Harry putting a heavy effort hanging on himself. The crazed acceleration let up after what felt like an eternity.
Mia cautiously opened her eyes to find the lights of the city below retreating far faster than she expected. Despite the visible speed Victoria was maintaining it only felt like she was sitting in a brisk breeze. "You never told us that Victoria could do this." Mia said almost accusingly. "I didn't know she could put up a bubble like this. Maybe she knows I like the wind flying through my hair." Harry replied.
'Maybe I should give Harry a better shakedown of how well he knows his authorities.' Mia thought with a frown. 'After Dumbledore did his research with us, we never really looked deeper.' "Any landmarks we need to keep our eyes out for?" Harry called over the rushing wind.
Shaking herself out of her thoughts she focused on the task ahead and started to relay what they could use to to track their progress with. Mia wished she had a clock so that she could start estimating how swift Victoria was when she gave it her all. A railroad track next to a river became their next guide as they came closer to the city.
It was rather ominous as they came closer. Through the clouded moonlight they could see the signs of civilization. But none of the lights were on. "A blackout? Or the result of magic?" Harry murmured to himself. He hoped it was the first but he feared it was the second. "We will learn soon enough. Keep an eye out for any lights trying to draw our attention." Mia reminded him.
Almost as if her words were the call to action, four flares shot up in the sky forming a rough box. It was mostly centered over a large field. Harry could see the crop move or fall as figures moved between it in the flickering flare light. Wordlessly he urged Victoria into a dive so he could see it better.
Under the moonlight he could easily see the shambling figures as he got closer. Harry's mind flicked through the magic he knew and it all resulted in him being busy all night. If there was a divine origin to the animated corpses, it had not reacted to his boldly declared presence. "I don't think a heretic god is behind this." Harry noted as he guided Victoria to trample a handful of heads as she passed over the leading edge of the horde.
"We'll need to find the person in command to confirm that." Mia said grimly. "Right, you do that." Harry agreed as he brought Victoria to a halt. "Keep her safe girl." he ordered the pegasus as he slipped off her back. A small drop later he stood on the ground on a small abandoned road.
He looked up and made a mental estimation on how big the field the horde was currently trampling through was by the flares and what he had seen in the sky. He took a deep breath and his mind retrieved every bit of knowledge of geology he had read over the months. He kneeled down and placed both hands on the ground.
"Rupture your skin, mother earth that nurtures us all, and expose the riches you hold within to my gracious and rightful hold! Scald those who covet this with your very lifeblood! Burn those who oppose me in your fiery fields. Erupt and show me your might!" He intoned in a deep voice.
A few meters ahead of him the earth bulged and then popped like a water bubble. Magma spewed forth. The thick globs struck the first zombies emerging from the crop field. The impact slammed to the ground as their rotten flesh burned by the heat. In the distance Harry could both see and hear more eruptions.
Then another bulge appeared close by his side and Harry leaped out of the way before it erupted. 'Damn it. I can't control it.' He cursed to himself as he defended his eyes with his arm. He powered through the pain of his burnt flesh and ignored the smell of it as he kneeled down again to resume hand-contact with the earth.
He mentally envisioned himself trying to take a hold of a bucking griffin who wanted to throw him off. With a growl he tried to force the figurative beast down and rein it in. It was a mental and spiritual struggle. The authority seemed to want to set the very world ablaze. 'Is this the reason why he did not use it. Or am I missing something since we do not have access to goblin lore?'
With gritted teeth he managed to keep the authority within the boundaries he set for it. He knew from his arrival that no buildings would be caught up in the indiscriminate attack. But he really hoped he didn't accidently catch the Witenagemot people in it. 'I really, really should have thought this through.' Harry chastised himself as he set the world ablaze.
As the field burned away under the heat of the lava Harry could see that most shambling figures had been caught in the firelight. Whatever guiding intelligence they had appeared to be gone as they drunkenly swayed through the now uneven terrain while their rotten corpses burned or melted like wax.
It was a disgusting sight and Harry was surprised at himself he had no trouble keeping his food in. Then one of the twitching corpses he was looking at was lifted skyward and then annihilated as another eruption occurred. Harry stood up, cutting off the connection required to keep the authority going. A few more swells rose from the earth, but none popped.
"Lumos." Harry whispered as he raised his wand. It shone like an unfettered lighthouse beacon. The red light from streaks of cooling lava or burning crops gave way to his bright white light. The few corpses that could still twitch seemed to flinch away. 'I need a spell that can act like a flare, or a second wand.' Harry realised as he spotted a zombie trying to stand up as he started his march into the hellscape he'd made.
An overpowered incendio and a new lumos later he came to the conclusion he should think in having both, just in case. He paused and wondered why he hadn't heard more about wizards or witches wielding two wands. 'That is something to ask Hermione or Dumbledore.' He mused as another zombie fell to a burst of fire.
A spray of water cooled a large patch of lava that had pooled together in a dimple of the landscape and was slow to cool. In the distance he saw more lights cautiously advancing, with the odd burst of light or fire indicating that they were cleaning up any survivors as well. Then he saw a flicker of white wings and he could see the shape of Victoria galloping above the ground towards him.
On top of her sat Mia. 'What happened to have her look that angry?' Harry wondered with worry as Victoria came to a halt. "Harry." the woman in question growled. "Find a way that a woman can dismount of her own will. It is degenerating to be stuck as I couldn't get off." Victoria made a whinning noise and Harry gave his steed a curious look.
"I'll look into it." he promised vaguely as he patted Victoria's neck. "Any trouble finding the guy in charge?" "No. I found him soon enough after you turned the entire field into a volcanic area." he cringed slightly. "I lost partial control. Did anyone get caught up in it?" Harry asked painfully. Mia's expression softened at the admission. "There were a few close calls, but the surge of divine energy was enough warning before the earth started popping like some hell soup."
"A few burns… like your own." she noted as Harry clambered on Victoria's back. Now that the 'battle' was over he was starting to feel the strain of over empowered Victoria to charge him across half the country in record time and then setting a perfectly fine piece of english countryside ablaze to deal with the zombie infestation.
"I'll be fine." Harry replied and Mia slapped the burned area in reply. It was a painful experience that he couldn't hide from her despite his back being towards her. "Hermione will have my hide if it's not treated. And I will have yours if you don't sit down like a good Campione and let a medic look at it."
"If you take my hide I won't have to worry about it." Harry joked as Victoria trotted to a group of people who seemed to be trying to coordinate the people. He could feel the scowl from Mia behind him that his attempt at humor was not appreciated. "So since there was nothing that popped up. This is the work of a magician?" Harry called out to what he suspected to be the leader of the group.
"Your majesty. We are quite certain these are wand-based corpse constructs known as Inferi." one man spoke up before Mia could. Harry was about to ask how he was certain when he saw a particular intact specimen bound up six ways to Sunday, including a gag. 'I wonder who had the perverse humor to make it red.' Harry thought as he dismounted. He held out a hand so that Mia could as well.
"I also strongly recommend that the next time your Majesty sees fit to deploy a strong area of effect Authority, that the Witenagemot knights on the scene are warned beforehand." The knight stated without a shred of hesitation in his tone. Two of the men making sure the inferi was secure give him a look that he is insane.
Harry decided he liked the man. He might use the suck up terms. But if someone had the balls to rebuke him, as politely as he did it, he had to be an alright guy. "I will. My apologies for any injuries." he raised his own arm. "I was caught in the effect of the authority as well, it was more… wilder than I anticipated."
"I will have a medic look at that momentarily, your majesty." The man replied and Harry saw a glimmer of respect entering his eyes. "Thank you. And you can call Potter, or Campione Potter if you insist on using a title." "As you wish Campione Potter. If you excuse me I need to contact the authorities responsible to explain this to the mundane world."
"Keep up the good work." Harry replied in a distracted tone as the medic appeared and decided to poke his injury with his wand. It stung quite painfully much to the Campione's dislike. "If you are trying to heal it using magic… I suggest you go back to school." Harry said waspishly as the young man was clearly confused that his magic was not taking hold. "I am a fully trained professional sir." he replied harshly.
He punctuated his statement with another poke and promptly got himself smack by Mia's hand like he was being rejected for an unwanted advance. "Magic will not work on a Campione's skin you fool." She said harshly as she helped herself to the dazed man's supplies.
They both ignored the indignant sputtering. If Harry wasn't wincing under the ministrations from Mia's hand. Now that he was not all keyed up anymore it became quite clear to him that being burned by lava was painful. Very painful. "You are lucky your clothing burned away cleanly, and that you had the good sense to shrug off the lava." Mia commented as she got to work.
"Being a Campione must have helped as well." she muttered as she soaked one of the bandages. To Harry's relief that water she must have taken out of the supply pack seemed to have something in it that suppressed some of the rising pain. Or it was the cold, in hindsight Harry realised he really should have done something instead of soldiering on and killing the survivors of his attack.
His burned arm started to agree rather fervently despite the ice-cold bandage.