HELLO!
I am starting to repeat myself, but I am very sorry for the long wait. I have no excuses this time apart from writing a new fic which I am inviting you all to read. It is called "The World We Live In" it is HP fanfiction so check it out as I don't know if it is even good.
Again thank you for all of your reviews.
I have a need of elemental attacks so if you have any that you like, leave them in a review.
Enjoy the chapter.
Disclaimer: I don't own HP or PJO.
Chapter 16. Lempo
Hogwarts, Headmaster's office
Albus Dumbledore doesn't have any idea what to think about the last night's events. No, definitely no. He could handle the death eaters escape as there is no way they would be able to escape too far. He even contacted the Muggle minister to inform him about the fugitives and the Muggle TV is informing everyone about them.
So when he was called the next day to Hogsmeade to the sight of two dead death eaters he was slightly surprised. They were two of the strongest soldiers on Voldemort's side so he didn't expect to find them brutally killed. Of course he already speculated that they must have been caught off guard by someone, but the idea went away when he saw the wands next to them.
No, they fought someone and lost.
The areas couldn't identify the magical signature found in the area as there has been just too much magic there. Next they tried to find any witnesses, but the only one who could have seen the fight, had his memory wiped clean. So without any idea what happened here, they just cleaned the place and left.
Albus went with them as their next stop was the explosion site a few miles away from there.
Now this got Dumbledore completely surprised. There is no way that anyone could cause so big explosion that it destroyed a small hill. Even Albus himself or Voldemort wouldn't be able accomplish such a task without exerting all of their magic.
Of course, everyone at first thought that the explosion was caused by Muggles when they were testing their weapons, but that idea was quickly crushed when a magical signature was discovered in the epicenter.
Again the signature was completely different from anything that they ever saw and they couldn't identify it.
Dumbledore then left the explosion site so the Aurors could work. After he came back to his office, he sat down in his chair and tried to understand what happened last night.
Unfortunately, nothing came to his mind so he relented and went back to his plans. They also don't look so good as Potters don't talk with him any longer, he is sure that they finally met with their daughter and she told them everything. Sometimes he really wishes that he could have done everything differently.
The abandonment of Diana was definitely a mistake. He can see that she is a powerful witch and will grow up to be even more. Luckily she doesn't seem to be out for him and he is grateful. At least now the Potters and Blacks are again friends and if he plays everything right, he might be able to fix his relationship with them.
Yes, that would be helpful, they need to stand united if they want to defeat Voldemort when he rises again. Next it would be nice if he could resume Daniel's training, but he doesn't see it happening any time soon.
Thankful Daniel is still a perfect student and if Albus is right then the-boy-who-lived is also getting some training from someone else. He is still trying to find out who is helping him but without any success.
Albus leaned back in his chair and released a deep sigh. Really life would be easier if it wasn't for this one mistake. Maybe he will earn some positive points from the families after his action this year.
Dreamscape
Diana didn't really know what to expect to find after opening her eyes. Her room? Maybe, cold grass? Why not. But no, instead she found herself lying before big black dragon from before. She would continue her thoughts, but is looks like the dragon got tired of waiting and decided to speak.
"You are back. A little earlier than I expected," he then released something akin to a sigh and sat down on the ground next to her, "I guess that this time we got a little more time to talk, so before I get to the point, do you have anything to ask?"
Diana finally got up to a sitting position and looked up at the dragon, "Yes, why I am here and who you are?"
The dragon nodded and replied, "Who I am you ask? Unfortunately, it is not yet time for you to know. As to why you are here? This is quite easy to answer... You little Huntress overcharged your attack and fainted."
Diana lifted an eyebrow questioningly, "Why would I get here after overpowering an attack. It is not the first time I have done it."
The dragon released a deep rumble that Diana recognized as a chuckle, "No Huntress, you didn't simply overcharge it. No, what you did was overcharge an already overloaded attack. Your emotions were so strong that you used them and your whole mana to fuel one attack. If I didn't step up you would destroy half of the country."
Diana widened her eyes and her mind went blank. Finally, she somehow calmed down and asked,"But how? I am not powerful enough to cause such damage. Maybe in a few years, but now?"
The black dragon shook his head, "You need to stop seeing everything in numbers that the gamer system gives you... Oh, don't look so surprised, I see everything you see... Now the gamer system is a wonderful tool, but it is only a tool. You are a successor to a goddess and me as you already know... I and Rigna were very powerful and when your emotions were running high you used a part of our true power."
Diana slowly processed the information and came to the conclusion that she almost harmed her family, the only thing that she cares about.
When the dragon saw her shameful expression he continued, "Don't blame yourself. Nothing bad happened and now you can train to control your emotions better. I won't be able to help you everytime, so you need to learn it fast. Do you understand?"
Diana finally raised her head to meet the dragon's red eyes and nodded, "I will do my best."
"Good. Remember to train harder and with time you will be able to control this power," he then stood up and addressed her one more time, "Our time here is over, we will meet soon," with that said he took into the skies.
Diana watched him fly up for a moment before she felt herself wake up.
When she opened her eyes again, she quickly closed them as the light coming from the window was too strong. Instead of getting up, she went back to the things the dragon told her.
She can't believe that she could cause so much destruction. Of course she knows she is powerful and with time she will be able to do such things, but for now it is a bit too much. She is very grateful that the dragon managed to stop the attack and warn her. Diana will definitely work hard to control her emotions better so they wouldn't be able to control her.
She wanted to continue her train of thoughts, but got interrupted by a ping. With a groan, she opened her eyes to check it.
Due to overloading gamer system you created a new skill.
-Overcharge (Active/Passive) lv.1/25 (20%)
Overcharge is a skill that lets you overload your every skill with too much power. This skill has priority over other overload methods. If the overload doesn't work, the skill will backfire on the user and cause big explosion.
Chance for the overcharge to success 4%
Swiping the message away, she sat down in her bed, it looks like Alya got her here.
The skill is a welcoming sight as it will help her with control and make her other skills more powerful. But now she won't be able to overcharge cero and one-shot some of her enemies. Oh well, at least now she only needs to work on her emotions as the skill will take care of overcharging anything again.
Just when she wanted to get up and prepare for today, her door opened and in walked Alya in her usual outfit, "How are you after last night?"
Diana chuckled before replying, "I just got informed that I almost destroyed half of the country, so it could be better."
Alya sat down next to her and raised and eyebrow, "The dragon?"
"The dragon," Dana nodded.
"Don't worry, you only destroyed a small hill, so no one apart from few animals died," Alya tried to joke.
"Not helping Alya."
"Okay, okay. So you met him again any new info on him?"
Diana shook her head, "Nope, he again told that we will meet soon after he gave me the warning. Guess I will need to wait some more," she then turned back to her friend and asked seriously, "Anyway, how are you feeling? You took your first human life yesterday."
Alya flinched a little before she gave her answer, "Yeah, when I woke up everything came back to me and I can remember his face when he was lying on the ground. I know it was necessary, but I can't help but feel some guilt about killing him. I guess that with time it will go away, at least I hope so."
Diana quickly gathered her friend in a hug, "I might not know how you feel because my upbringing left me with a little twisted moral compass, but remember you did what was right and never let anybody tell you any different."
The other girl leaned into the hug and mumbled under her nose, "Thanks."
They stayed like that for a few minutes before Alya remembered why she came here, "I almost forgot, but the breakfast should be ready by now, so get ready."
With that Alya got up and left the room and left alone Diana so she could get prepared. Said girl quickly went about her routine and after getting dressed, she left the room and met with Alya. Then they went down to the dining room where Sirius again waited for them, looking not too pleased.
"Alright, can anyone tell me what is the meaning of this?" he then handed them a new newspaper where they could see a picture of explosion site and a whole reportage about the two dead death eaters and the explosion.
"Shit," both girls cursed quietly and took their seats by the table. They completely forgot about the two corpses. Diana was already too high on emotions and Alya tried to do as much damage control as she could, but she forgot about them. Now they will need to deal with their father...
Sirius meanwhile, was observing his daughters closely and could see that they knew exactly that they had a part in this. He just can't believe that his daughters would kill someone when they are still kids and let's not talk about the missing hill.
"Look, I think we can all agree that death eaters are evil and if they ever escape, they won't change, so the best course of action would be to kill them. I can see from your faces that you two killed them and while I am not mad at you, I am not happy either. Really, what father would want their daughter to kill anyone?" he shook his head and continued, "So tell me what happened."
Both girls looked at each other in shame as they never wanted to disappoint their father, but they knew what they did was necessary. "We are sorry dad, but it had to be done. It was either us or them, plus I wanted the rat dead. And don't worry, we already talked with each other about the kills," Diana explained.
"Okay, but don't think that you will escape without some sort of punishment" he relented, no use arguing with them, "Now, tell me, did you at least get the rat, and what about the hill?"
"Unfortunately no, we only managed to knock him out before we began our fight with Lestrange brothers' and Dolohov. After we defeated the two, Bellatrix summoned her husband and Pettigrew before using Portkey to escape," Alya then chuckled sheepishly and added, "And about the hill... can we just forget about it?"
Sirius released a sigh and nodded in agreement, it might be better to not know what happened, "So Peter is officially out from our reach?"
Diana nodded sadly, "Yeah, If I had my emotions under control, then he would be either dead or captured. Unfortunately, with him out of the country, I won't be able to find him. I was barely able to find him in England so there is no way for me to do it now. The only thing that we can do now is to search for him every few days to see if he came back."
"Don't worry about it, he will get what he deserves sooner or later," he reassured Diana, "Now let's change the subject I have enough of talking about the traitor. Tell me what do you plan for the rest of the holidays, I hope that you won't blow you anymore hills?"
"No dad, we are going to destroy every small hill in the country," Alya stated dryly.
"Hey! I am just trying to lighten the mood," Sirius shouted indignantly.
"Alright dad, but you really need to work on your sense of humor it is getting worse and worse," Alya ignored Sirius's pout and continued, "As to what we will be doing?"
There Alya and Diana looked at each other and Sirius thought that they are somehow communicating silently. Finally, they broke the eye contact and Diana answered, "We have something to do in Europe, don't worry dad, we will be done in no more than 2 days."
Sirius didn't move for a moment before he slumped down in resignation, "I don't suppose you will tell me why?"
"Sorry dad, but it is something that is meant to remain secret. It is not that we don't want to tell you, we just can't, but maybe someday we will get the permission," she explained apologetically.
Sirius nodded in understanding as he had his own share of secrets in life that were not his to tell. Again he may not be happy about it, but there is nothing he can do in this situation. "I understand, some things are not yours to tell... Anyway, I will be going to St. Mungos later to visit Emily and Regulus, you can come with me and then come back here as I have a few things to take care of later."
The girls nodded in agreement as both of them were already planning to visit their mother and brother. Still, Diana couldn't help but ask, "Something interesting?"
"You could say that... I want to finally take care of Grimmauld place and renovate it. Even if the house doesn't give me too good memories, it still could be useful. I need to contact a few people that would help me with cleaning and then make all the required repairs. After I do that I will contact the goblins so they could place their best wards on the house. Who knows, it may be useful as a safe house."
Both girls silently agreed with their father. A safehouse could be useful in the future, especially if Voldemort comes back. Then there is the threat of demons, for now they don't even dare to attack magicals so there is nothing to fear. But if it changes, then Diana and Alya won't be able to ward such a big manor and then keep the wards up.
So with the discussion done, they all finished their breakfast and then left the room so they could prepare for the visit in St. Mungos.
After visiting their mother and spending some time with Regulus where they were reassured he is getting better and in a few days they will be able to come back home.
Emily talked with them about the news that she read in the newspaper and was not impressed. She understood that Diana wants revenge on Pettigrew, but she can't just go and lose control of her emotions and destroy everything. Emily didn't even breach the subject of killing as she was told by her husband that he already talked with them about it.
Still, she was glad that they are alright and came to visit, but it didn't stop her from reprimanding them. They also talked about some lighter topics and after the visiting hours were over, Diana and Alya went back to the Black manor to plan their trip to Amsterdam.
As of now both girls were in Alya's room where she was talking some things that they will need for the next two or three days. Meanwhile, Diana was searching through her inventory for one item.
"You know, you still haven't told how we are getting to Amsterdam," Alya inquired.
Diana sat upright for a moment and then chuckled, "Yeah, you are right, I completely forgot to tell you. As it is not too far, I already contacted Ragnok if he could prepare another Portkey for both of us. This time it won't be a problem because Europe does not care as much about foreigners as MACUSA. We will arrive in Amsterdam branch of Gringotts and go from there."
"Good. I am not letting you go on another trip without me. To think, you would meet a Greek goddess in US... Really, leave you for a few days and you run into living myths..." Alya said with exasperation.
"Not my bad there. How could I know I would meet Artemis, I was only looking for answers nothing else... Still, it is good to know we are not alone in the world and some pantheons are still alive," she then brought a pen out of her inventory and asked, "Everything ready?"
"I think so... I got enough things to last us for days, but you never know."
Diana nodded, "Alright, come here and grab the pen, it will transport us to Amsterdam's Gringotts Branch and we will go from there. We already know how the district looks and we are going full incognito."
Alya did as she was told and grabbed the pen. After a quick activation phrase, they both disappeared in a swirl.
Amsterdam
Both girls landed graciously in the meeting room in Gringotts and waited for someone to meet them. A goblin came into the room after 5 minutes and lead them outside so they could travel to the entrance of Underworld district.
After they exited the magical district of Amsterdam, both girls found an empty alley and performed every cloaking spell they know. There are a few reasons for this. One, they won't travel by Muggle means to the district as it is a little too far for their liking. Two, when they will finally get to the entrance they will go into the district with all of the spells active as they want to remain incognito even there.
They only reason that they didn't do it in London, was because they didn't know where to find another Hunter, but now they already know what they are searching for.
It took them a few minutes to cast the spells as they used a few they were taught in their dreams and should be able to stand against any wards that the district has. So with the spells done, they used a flash step to travel quickly through the city.
After a few minutes they were near the Natural Artis Magistra, from what they read the entrance is in the small park near the Zoo. Diana and Alya needed a few more minutes to find the park and without wasting anymore time they stepped through the same portal like in London.
They again appeared in an empty room with only one door, knowing exactly what will happen next they waited for the door to open.
Just a moment later the someone unlocked the door and both girls quickly used a flash step to get past the person and into the district. Then they again found an empty alley and removed every spell of them.
Alya then looked at Diana and asked, "Where to now? You were the one that studied the layout of the district."
And that was true, Diana spend the day before the outbreak on analyzing the layout of Amsterdam's district. Unsurprisingly, it was again underground like the one in London. But this time it is much bigger. It takes the shape of big circle that is divided into three rings.
The inner ring is the smallest as it is the place where underworld council and other administering buildings are placed. There is also a big statue in the middle that represents all the races in the Underworld.
From there you can take one of the four streets that go in the direction of west, east, south a north. Each of the roads lead deeper into the district.
The middle ring is a place for shops, inns and Gringotts. It is not that big, but still a little bigger than the administration ring. You can find there anything even items from Muggle world and Alya and Diana are hoping to go through it tomorrow and see if they got anything interesting.
Then there is the outer and the biggest ring in the whole district. This ring is fully intended for homes and the rare shop so the residents wouldn't need to go to market ring for some small shopping. Now, while in London most buildings were carved into the stone, in Amsterdam homes are built like on the surface. It is certainly a sight to see a so huge cave that is not falling apart. The amount of magic in this place is monstrous and the girls felt it when they entered the district.
Finally Diana recalled where they need to go and answered, "We are in the south part of administration ring so we need to find one of the roads and go into the market ring. From there we are on our own as I don't have a clue where 'Tiger's Lair' is. We will need to ask someone or go through the entire ring and we definitely don't have the time for it."
Alya frowned as she really wanted to browse through some of the shops and see how different it is from Diagon Alley. Unfortunately, she knows that they need to hurry so she nodded in agreement, "Alright lead the way."
Diana, seeing the frown quickly added, "No need to be sad, we can come back here later in the year or during the next summer. I also want to see if they got something interesting, but for now let's get going."
Then the girls emerged from the empty alley and Diana lead them to the south road. The way there was pretty fast and they quickly come to market ring where masses of people were walking around. Both Blacks were surprised at the amount as not even Diagon Alley came close to it. They even stopped for a moment to look around and sense how many different races are here.
Again, they recognized lots of werewolves, vampires, veelas, half-creatures and probably some squibs. They will need to ask someone how squibs came into the underworld as they might be able to use the same rule for their family.
When they finished looking through the crowds they moved deeper into the market ring in hopes of finding the inn without the need of asking someone. Unfortunately, after an hour of walking around, they came with nothing and Diana decided to finally ask someone to give them the direction.
She walked towards one of the stands with some potion ingredients where an older lady was selling her goods, "Excuse me. Could you tell me where I can find the inn 'Tiger's Lair'?"
The old lady gave her a smile and replied, "No problem, lass, you need to go to the eastern part of the ring. It is located near the east road so you won't have a problem with finding it."
"Thank you and have a good day," she said thankfully.
Diana quickly went to find Alya, who was looking through the window of one of the book stores, "Anything interesting?"
Alya turned towards her and answered enthusiastically, "Yep, there are some older books on transfiguration in there. We will need to come back here later so I could browse through them."
"Okay, but for now we need to go. I have the directions so let's not waste anymore time," Diana informed.
Alya nodded an followed Diana through the mass of people. It took them more than 2 hours to get there, but they sometimes stopped to check out some things in the shops. Diana even found something that gave her an idea for her problem with the bow. She will need to check a few more things and see if it is even doable. She really hopes that it works as it could be really useful and more in her style than a bow.
The inn itself was pretty huge, probably one of the biggest buildings in the districts. It was made entirely of light wood and had 3 floors. Above the entrance doors there was carved in sign 'Tiger's Inn'. Diana and Alya could feel a lot of magic floating around the building, so it is no surprise that it is in such a good condition.
After they finished their observation of the outside, they walked through the doors. The inside was pretty simple, like on the outside everything was made out of wood but this time it was a darker type. Apart from this there were plenty of plants that the girl could not recognize and on the walls there were some pictures and portraits, again Diana and Alya couldn't recognize anyone on them.
Diana then walked to the counter and looked around if there is some kind of system to call the receptionist. Luckily for her, a moment later an older man came out of the doors behind the counter.
The man looked like he was in his late sixties, but still had plenty energy in him. He was of average height and even for his age was pretty lean. He didn't have any hair on his head apart from the small, grey goatee. His eyes were of light brown color and even though they appeared to give out warmth, the girls could see a slight surprise behind it. The clothing he wore was rich, but old.
The man then walked to the counter and addressed Diana, "Welcome to Tiger's Lair. How can I help you miss," his tone was soft and his lips curved into a small smile.
"Hello, I and my friend here would like to talk to Lempo. We were told that we will find him here," Diana explained.
The man's expression didn't change when he answered, "Then you are in luck miss as you are talking to him right now," he then released a light chuckle at the momentary surprise on Diana's face.
"You wouldn't mind if we talked in private?" asked Diana hopefully.
"On the contrary, come along and let us talk," he gestured them to follow.
They all went through the doors behind the counter into the back room. The room had a shelf with unknown books, a simple working table and four chairs. Lepmo sat down on the chair behind the desk and addressed them one more time, "Now, that we are in private. Why were you searching for me?" his tone lost some of its softness and was replaced with seriousness.
"I will get straight to the point. My name is Alya Black and this is Diana Black, we were told by Edward Lynch that you are the oldest Hunter in the world and if someone can help us it is you."
Lempo lost his seriousness and chuckled, "So I felt it right that you two are Huntresses," at their surprised looks he continued, "don't look surprised. If Edward didn't tell you I am a little over 600 years old, so even if you are really good at hiding yourself, I am still able to sense my own race. But tell me are you a part of the Black family from Britain or is it just a coincidence in names?"
Diana shook her head, "No, it is not a coincidence, we belong to the Black family, but we can't tell you how we became Huntresses, sorry."
Lempo waved her off, "No problem lass, as long as you don't give out our secrets I don't have a problem with it. Now tell me, you said that you need my help, why?"
"We mostly need information and help when the need arises. We already know most there is about demons from E to C rank, but we need information on those from the higher ranks. Plus there is one more thing that can't figure out."
Lempo gained a thoughtful look, "Alright let's say that I will help you, but first tell me how you how you came onto the information that you already have. I know most of the alive and active Hunters so who taught you."
The girls looked at each other as they didn't know how much they want to tell the man, but after Alya gave a nod to Diana, she decided to tell him the truth.
"You could say that we are self taught, we started our training a few years ago and already fought some demons, the highest being c-ranks. We were also taught through dreams. I don't know if it is normal, but it is how it was for us," Diana explained
The man looked at them as if he was searching for any sign of deception. When he decided that there is none, he released a deep sigh, "So the remaining scouts and warriors are right..." the girls looked at him questioningly, so he explained, "About ten years ago the remaining Hunters noticed a raise in the numbers of demons coming to the earth. We mostly ignored it as they never attacked and the only ones we could sense were below C-class. This continued for a few years with nothing changing. Then a little more than a year ago the demons started to disappear... Ahh, so you also noticed. You probably thought at first that they just went back to their dimension hmm?"
Both girls nodded as this was exactly what they thought at first. Alya then took the initiative and said, "That is exactly what happened, but after some time we decided that they wouldn't just leave, not without a reason, so we started our investigation. Diana here went to US, so she could check if it is the same over the ocean. There she encountered a demon that merged with another creature. From there we knew that something is going on."
Lempo looked pleased, "So you know about them, good. Merging types are a pain in the ass. In the old days there was a ritual created so we could extract the demon from some hunters and then kill it. Fortunately for us it is rare for a demon higher than c rank to possess the ability to merge so there is a small chance that they will mutate to A-rank. Now, though even a merged D-class will be hard to defeat as there are not more than a two hundred of Hunters alive nowadays and not even a half of them is trained."
Diana perked up the moment he mentioned the ritual and asked, "Do you know how to perform the ritual?"
"Yes, It is something that every Hunter needs to know and I will teach it to you before you leave. Now, am I right to presume that you two are killing the demons in England?" he inquired.
Alya nodded, "Yeah, we try to go through the country and defeat any demon that we can find, but we are having problems with sensing the merged ones."
"Alright. It looks like I will need to contact every hunter alive and resume their training, we can no longer ignore the demons and I don't want my race to die out without the chance to fight. Come on I need to see what you got, I might be able to teach you a thing or two."
With that, he got up and waved his hand at the bookshelf, it then disappeared and both girls saw a staircase leading down.
END
I wanted to continue, but I already got 5,5k+ so...
Again thank you for reading and please check out my new story, "The World We Live In" and give me your opinion.
Chaos out.