Cottage on the Hill
The Order of the Phoenix was having its meeting. This meeting was not of an urgent nature so many of the members were not there. In fact it was only called to update everyone about what was going on in the war and what the other side was up to.
Albus was presiding over the meeting, "Do any of you have anything important to report?"
Severus supplied, "They have decided to unleash the werewolves. From now on, you can count on werewolves to be part of any attack."
Alastor growled, "Let the mongrels come."
Albus cautioned him, "We don't know what strategy they are employing or where they will be attacking so proceed with caution in respect to them."
Sirius spoke, "What about Harry? Do we tell him if any attack is happening?"
Remus said, "I have already promised him that I will let him know. He is a very capable hunter."
Alastor agreed, "That he is. But he also makes a mess of them. I have seen him kill so many of them with just a sword with such ease that it made me wish that I knew how to swing one."
There was another thing that they needed to talk about. It was Sturgis Podmore who brought their attention to it, "Albus, why doesn't the Order help the Aurors with containing the death eaters? I mean we helped in the last war. We can still help them."
Dumbledore nodded, "Indeed. We will have to form teams, get them to work in coordination with the ministry. Also get in touch with the muggle born population and see if you can't persuade a couple of them to help us out?"
The Leaky Cauldron
The Leaky Cauldron was abuzz with the news today. Incidentally the news was the same as had appeared in the Quibbler. It was an interview with the famous wizard known as Harold Peverell also known as the chosen one. The interview was much better than all the garbage that Rita had published during all of last year. The wizarding public had been feeling scared for their lives with the death eater activities on the rise however this article had assuaged many of their concerns. Yes, they hardly trusted the ministry but Fudge wasn't there anymore, spouting his pure-blood tripe while allowing the death eaters to do whatever they pleased. It was one of their most respected citizens, a war hero Frank Jeremy Longbottom who was handling the war effectively. Yes the war was getting ugly and unfortunately muggles were dying but the ministry was doing everything in its power to retaliate. When the death eaters tried to take on the Aurors they were defeated thoroughly. Just about a week ago, one of the most barbaric henchmen of the pretender Tom Riddle had been killed in a gruesome way with a lot of other death eaters. They didn't need to be scared; their ministry was taking care of them.
"The lad wants us to risk our lives for muggles", one of the patrons said to his companion, "but shouldn't we save ourselves first?"
His companion frowned, "You know, he makes a good point. We should try to help them who are not so gifted as we are. Imagine what would happen if Harold Peverell decided that he no longer wish to fight our war. What then? Do you think anyone else has a chance of defeating You-Know-Who?"
One of the patrons at the nearby table concurred, "He has lost so much to the Dark yet he fights for us. It's the least that we can do for him."
Another patron who was at the bar asked Tom, "What do you say, Tom? Can we believe him?"
Tom nodded, "I saw him for the first time when he was eleven years old. He is every inch the wizard that they claim he is. If he were to ask me I would do anything for him."
Octavius Ryne who was sitting at a table in the corner had a ghost of a smile on his lips. He understood the reference to the old wizard in the interview and resolved that he will try to help in any way he could. He didn't have much more life left anyhow. Why not do something worth while with what he had left.
Weasley Manor
Molly Weasley was reading the interview with interest. When she was done, she turned to Arthur, "How can anyone help Arthur? I mean if one does not know enough defensive magic then how can they help in the war effort?"
Arthur genially smiled, "Harry's not asking every witch and wizard to stand and fight with death eaters, Molly. That would be terminally unwise for most people. The way most people can help is to alert the ministry the moment they see or suspect any death eater activity. They can help in lots of other ways too. You know, St. Mungo's is over-crowded now. Most of the patients are being discharged due to lack of availability of healers. Those who can do some primary healing can help deal with the workload. If they cannot work as healers, they can help brew potions for the hospital or assist the staff with caring for the daily needs of the patients."
She nodded, "I was thinking that I have some free time when I am not otherwise occupied with preparing for Bill's wedding. May be I can go and offer my services to the hospital for two or three hours a day?"
Arthur smiled brightly, "Now that's what I'm talking about, Molly."
As Arthur and Molly were discussing how they could help their world in the war against the worst Dark Lord ever, wizards up and down the country were meeting in private to discuss the interview.
Hestia's hearth
In Hestia's Hearth, the local wizards were crowded in the courtyard to discuss what they could do to help with the war. There were many muggle-born and half-bloods among them. Needless to say, they saw Harold Peverell as their champion against the bigoted pureblood tripe. They would follow his word even if they never heard a word of thanks from him about it.
One of the patrons was conversing with Mr. O'Neil, "What do you think we can do to help the muggles?"
Mr. O'Neil replied, "We can help in a lot of ways. If we see an attack happening on muggles, we can alert the ministry. If the death eaters are not in large numbers then we can try to engage them. We can always set some protective enchantments around our homes and if someone tries to breach them, we would know."
Another one replied, "We have seen that they like to attack at places where the muggles gather. That is where they can cause the most damage and escape before the Aurors arrive. We can form small groups among us who can keep an eye on those places from afar. If there is an attack, we can apparate to the ministry to inform them."
The third said, "Don't they always wear those shiny masks so that people wouldn't see their faces? If you see anyone with a mask on his face around your house, don't hesitate in calling the ministry."
Another one said, "They feed on our fear. If we stop fearing them and do our bit then we can stop this menace before it grows into a raging inferno."
Ministry of Magic
Frank was stumped. He had not really expected this. Yes he had been wishing to ask a favour from Harry but he had not voiced his request yet. Still, he was glad that Harry had done it. May be the public would rise up to the challenge and help the ministry tackle this menace. This way they would be able to respond quickly.
Moody strode into the Minister's office with the morning paper tucked under his arm. He unfurled it and placed the front page before Frank's eyes on his desk, "Have you read this?"
Frank replied, "Yes, Alastor, I have. I am pleasantly surprised. These are the words of one who has faced Tom. He is neither proud nor stupid nor is he asking anyone to do something stupid. It's all good, sensible advice about how ordinary citizens can help with the war effort. It's encouraging our people to go out and help the non-magical folk. Even so, I wouldn't be surprised if we see ordinary people banding together to take down some death eaters. If they do not fear and take sensible precautions who know what they can do."
Alastor growled, "That won't happen. These vermin always come in packs so a single muggle-born wizard would not be able to stand up to them. The best we can hope for is to have them inform us about any attack and putting some protections around their places and their neighbours. With them chipping in their help, they can even put wards around their homes and charge them from time to time."
Frank nodded, "And not all death eaters can break wards so they would be hard pressed to go beyond the protective enchantments giving us time to get to them."
Alastor grinned widely which made his face more hideous, "I feel like this is going to be fun."
Hogwarts
The students were reading the interview with interest until another article at the bottom of the page caught their attention.
"Voldemort Attacks a Wizarding Inn, 20 Dead
Two days ago, an inn in the Transylvania region of Romania was attacked by Voldemort aka Tom Riddle. The sole survivor Mr. Antyonus, the barkeeper of the inn says that he witnessed the slaughter. He managed to escape the notice of the dark wizard by means of hiding behind the bar until the whole ordeal was over. He also witnessed that Voldemort abducted one Igor Karkaroff, former Headmaster of Durmstrang, who has been missing since the end of the Triwizard Tournament last summer.
The DMLE of Romania refused to comment on the matter. They would only say that they were conducting an investigation into the matter. They were hopeful of capturing Tom Riddle so that he could face the consequences for his crime.
With him being sighted in Romania, it raises the pertinent questions- Is he looking for more followers? Is he working on two fronts and trying to capture two territories at once? What will the ministry do in case he finds more supporters and this blood war blows up into a full fledged international war like the Grindelwald war?"
When he was done reading the paper, Harry lowered it and sighed, "He is a butcher. The sooner we can put him down, the better it will be."
Hermione asked him, "Have you found any clue about the diadem thing?"
Harry shook his head, "Not really. I mean I have some leads to pursue but I am not very hopeful that something good will come out of it."
"Why?"
"Because it was missing for hundreds of years before it was found and hidden again. The last known holder of it before Tom Riddle was Helena and she has been dead for centuries now. As for Tom, he isn't my best mate that I can just stroll up to him and ask him, 'mate, where did you hide the diadem thingy.'"
It was then that inspiration hit him. Luna had told him to ask Sir Nicholas about Helena. Rowena had sent a wizard to bring back Helena. What if Nick knew who the wizard was or if he knew whether Helena had passed on to the other side or still lingered? That would tell him a lot about the possible locations of the diadem.
He couldn't pursue the thought right now. One thing was clear, he would have to see Nick at the earliest opportunity. He thought he could also call a meeting of his Order to see if they could come up with places where the thing could be hidden.
Sending a message for a meeting on the 4th floor after classes, he left to attend the first class of the day.
4th floor
When they all met on the 4th floor, Harry started speaking, "As you all know, I am trying to find the lost diadem of Ravenclaw. I have called this meeting to see if any of you can come up with places where it can be hidden."
Hermione was sitting with a parchment, quill and ink to write down every place they named.
Ron was the first to offer a suggestion, "What about the chamber of Secrets?"
Harry shook his head, "Sorry, Ron. I've been back down there and given the place a thorough going over. Once I cleared out the carcass of the great snake and all the detritus it left behind, there was nothing else there. Besides, the last time he visited the castle, he only had a few minutes to hide the thing and leave. I don't think he could have opened the chamber, hidden it there and gotten out again in that time."
Susan asked, "What about a room which has not been opened in years?"
Harry nodded, "The castle has a few of those. We can check them, I reckon. I will have to divide them up between you. You will have to go in teams of two or more. If one of you stumbles upon it, the soul piece in it will try to seduce you to do it's bidding through your hidden desires or by awakening your deepest fears."
The twins asked, "What about the Room of Requirement? I mean it can change shape for the user, right? Once it turned into a broom cupboard where we hid to escape from Filch."
It was like realisation dawned upon Harry at that moment. The magic on the Room of Requirement was so complex that nobody really understood it properly. How it could change shape as per the fancies of its user was only anybody's guess. How it could summon things from other places or produce them from nothing? Perhaps he would need to see Vikram and find out if they could unravel the magic. Filing it for his personal investigation later, he asked everyone, "Any other places you can think of?"
Daphne said, "I have heard something about the Archives of Hogwarts. Do you think it could be hidden there?"
Hermione asked her, "Do you believe it is real? Even Hogwarts: A history doesn't have anything about it."
Harry turned to her, "Just because it is not in a book does not mean it is not real. I have heard from some trusted sources that the Archives do exist but their access is restricted to the current Headmaster only. No one except him knows about its location or what it contains. I can ask Professor Dumbledore to look, but I think that if it was there, he would have found it long ago."
The meeting was ended with him telling all of them to keep an eye on everything around them and to brainstorm some more. May be, one of them would get lucky.
The Chamber of Secrets
When Harry arrived in the Chamber, he found Vikram in a pleasant mood. As Harry had learned last summer, a mystic in a pleasant mood did not bode well for him. He cautiously asked, "Professor, what has you in such a good mood?"
Vikram grinned, "Petrov is about to find Voldemort."
Harry gasped, "How? I mean where? When?"
Vikram chuckled, "he has made a deal with the Vampires that if Voldemort came recruiting then they would let him know. Petrov isn't hindered by ethics so he intends to take on Voldemort with the entire mystic force in Romania and hunt him down. They would try to capture him and hand him over to the ministry. That way, we can find the horcrux at our leisure and may not have to fight a battle after all."
Harry nodded, "That sounds too good to be true, Professor. I will wait for any more news on the matter and in the meanwhile I will keep training my Order. If we get him then it will be better. If we don't then we'll have to fight the final battle after all."
London
Witches and wizards all over the length and breadth of the country were placing protective wards around their homes and those of their muggle neighbours to protect them in case of a death eater attack.
Many muggle-born and half-bloods were getting floo connections installed in their homes so that they could contact the ministry quickly. They had all taken the word of their hero to heart. They would do anything to help them.
Mr. O'Neil was busy putting a network together of his trusted friends who would keep an eye out around London and the surrounding suburbs. Any suspicious activity would be reported to the ministry by them directly while they would also go to try and help the ministry anyway they could.
Rosier Estate
Moody emerged from the fireplace at the Rosier Estate and gave a curt nod to Moony, "Lupin, I want a word."
Remus nodded, "Sure. What do you want, Alastor?"
"I'm sure that you have heard that Greyback is releasing his pets. I don't need to impress upon you the threat that werewolves present to wizards. I am reluctant to send only Aurors in case there are werewolves around."
Remus nodded, "What do you want from me?"
"I have heard that you have an army of werewolves. I thought maybe I can enlist you and your men into the Aurors."
Remus nodded then answered as if every word cost him, "your information is correct, Moody. I am in command of quite a few werewolves who have a better life under my care. They also wish to do their part to stop Tom and his associates. But there are a couple of reasons why we can't accept your offer. First, there is a great deal of mistrust where the afflicted are concerned. We don't need the distraction of a bunch of superstitious, possibly trigger happy wizards when we're fighting for our lives. Second, most of them were turned when they were very young and denied any kind of magical education. They don't know any magic and wouldn't be any help in a fight against wand wielding death eaters. Nor would they make good trainees at the Auror academy. And third, I'm Harry's steward now. I have a lot of obligations to him and his business interests. I just don't have the time for Auror training now."
Moody grunted, "So, you won't help us then?"
Remus hastily said, "That's not what I said, Alastor. We can't join you as Aurors. The way werewolves fight is just too different. If you need us, get a portkey to me any way you can. We'll be there faster than you can blink. This is the best I can do considering the circumstances. Take it or leave it."
Alastor thought it over for a few moments before he agreed. After all something was always better than nothing. And if he knew Remus, and he did, Those werewolves would be one effective team when they did show up.
The Room of Requirement
This morning, when the students woke up in the pre-dawn darkness, they all found a bundle on the foot of their beds. Opening the bundle, they could see it was some kind of armour with a letter in it which read:
"Dear _
The armour in this bundle is a gift from me. It is made from Basilisk hide which is resistant to almost all spells except for the killing curse. It will be able to protect you in battle. These pieces were made with an altering rune worked into them. They will fit themselves to you perfectly to allow maximum freedom of movement and comfort. I hope they will serve you well when the final battle comes.
Harold Peverell"
This was a surprise to most of them. They had only heard about such things but had not seen them. With these to protect their body, they would be better protected than they could be otherwise. When the students got to compare notes, they quickly realized that the suits of armour had only been gifted to those who had volunteered to be fighters and defenders. The students who had decided to help with the healing and evacuation would have to resort to other means for personal protection.
When the students finished their morning run around the lake that morning, they were quickly divided up by groups into fighters, healers and evacuators. From there, they were divided up into teams of five with one in each group designated as being in charge. For the squad leaders, Harry mostly followed the recommendations that Hermione had put together, but where he had seen people with a better grasp of tactics, he made exceptions. It probably wasn't any coincidence that most of the squad leaders were also Quidditch players. Harry placed Daphne in charge of training the healers. He found that she was quite knowledgeable when it came to potions and healing spells. Although Fred and George were practically unbeatable in a fight, Harry put them in charge of training the evacuators. Their unequalled knowledge of the secret passages of the castle was sure to give them an advantage in any evacuation scenario. Finally, Neville, Hermione and Ron were put in charge of training the fighters. Hermione's role was to correct spell casting, pronunciation and form. Neville was to teach the more powerful offensive spells and Ron's job was to teach tactics.
With everybody organized, Harry addressed them, '"You all did a lot better during the run this morning. It seems that what we learned before the weather closed down is coming back to you. That's great. But now, we have to get to the next level. The run is going to be part of the routine for as long as I have anything to say about it. Each and every one of you must know how to shield, dodge and block. Every one of you must be as fit as you can possibly be. For the rest of it, we will be divided up according to our specialization. This has two purposes. First, you need to learn the spells specific to your specialization, how to use them and when. Second, we have been a pretty casual group when it comes to taking orders. From now on, there is a formal chain of command. When your commander gives an order, it is time to act, not time to argue, deliberate or generally goof off. Not just your life, but the lives of your team mates and the people you are defending depend on it. Going forward, we will have a playbook. A single word will inform you what to do in any combat situation. You will learn every formation and action in that playbook until you can execute an order without thinking. That is how we will beat anyone we are up against. Commanders, take your teams and start training."
With that, the twins took their squads and disappeared into the castle. Daphne took her teams and started teaching them how to heal open wounds first. She told them that they would also be learning basic diagnostics, healing broken bones and how to conjure and levitate stretchers. Looking at the fighters, she hinted that they might be getting some practical training today so they didn't go far.
Harry conjured a series of practice dummies for the fighters. What he didn't tell them was that these cast a convincing looking replica of the killing curse. It was just a modified colour spell with sound effects added. What's more, the dummies would get progressively harder to fight as time went on until each one of them would be like fighting Harry on a bad day. Of course, they did not have the power that Harry could cast with but with the ley-lines around the castle, they were self-powered.
With Ron, Neville, Hermione and Harry observing, the squads attacked the practice dummies in teams of five. The first team was doing fine until the dummies roared, "Avada Kedavra!", in unison and the green jets came roaring at them.
Harry Neville and their squad leader all shouted, "Birds!" Three of the squad just stood there in shock as the green jets struck them. The squad leader and one other conjured canaries to take the blows for them.
Harry waved his wand to stop the dummies, "60% casualties!" He pointed at the three, "You are all dead. If you ever have to face death eaters for real, they will use the killing curse. Count on it. We've gone over this before so you have no excuse. Three more laps around the lake for the three of you and then hit the showers. If you can't conjure an object to block this curse, don't bother showing up tomorrow. Dismissed!"
The three took off at a run and didn't look back.
Harry turned back to the rest of the fighters, "If you don't know how to conjure or summon anything to block a killing curse, raise your hand now."
Harry watched and counted as ten hands went up. He shook his head in frustration, "All right you lot. Get with Hermione and work on that right now. The rest of you, form up into squads again and get in line.
One at a time, the squads went up against the practice dummies. When Harry could see that they were having too easy a time of it, he flicked his wand and the dummies upped the anti. As each team eventually went down to defeat, Harry directed them to work with Ron or Neville, depending on where they needed the most work. The groups that needed work learning how to follow orders, Harry took on himself.
At the end of the morning practice session, Hermione reported that her group were all able to do a passable summoning charm but they needed to work at it some more. She assigned them all homework and dismissed them. Harry sent out a message on the wand holsters for everybody to hit the showers so that they would have time to be ready for breakfast.
As they headed back into the castle, Hermione caught up with Harry, "You were awfully hard on them Harry."
Harry hissed out through his teeth before answering, "Hermione, I know. It's just that I'm afraid that if they don't take this seriously enough, we're going to lose a lot of good friends when it comes down to the final battle. We only have maybe a matter of weeks to prepare and we really need years." He turned to face her, "And what's worse. I feel like if even one of them dies, it's my fault! Do you have any idea how that feels?"
Hermione bit her lower lip as she tried to hold back the tears, "Yes, Harry. I do. You are not alone."
Ron, with his gift for perfect timing, spoke up, "That's right, mate. We do know how it feels. For good or ill, we're with you all the way. We're doing everything humanly possible to help our friends survive what's coming."
Harry pulled the two of them into a hug, "Thanks. Ever since that first day on the train, you have both been my best mates. Thanks for that."
That was when Susan reminded Harry, "Come along, tall, dark and handsome. We're going to be late for breakfast."
Romania
Voldemort was deciding upon his next course of action. He had spent three days working on Karkaroff. At the end of the first four or five hours, Voldemort didn't bother to keep track of time, Karkaroff's mind, broken beyond all repair, had given up all of its secrets. Voldemort spent the rest of the time, pleasuring himself by torturing what was left of the body and spirit of the man who had once been one of his death eaters. The wretched soul cried out like a wounded animal as Voldemort tortured him again and again. Finally, when the mass of broken flesh would never regain consciousness again, Voldemort ended its wretched existence.
When he had first caught the traitor, Voldemort only thought to avenge himself for the faithful death eaters he had betrayed, to make an example of him. Karkaroff had tried to ask for mercy but Voldemort was done giving boons to his followers. The dark lord once had granted a boon to one that he favoured, that he thought to be faithful beyond all question and that boon had cost him his body, 12 years of wraith like existence and indescribable pain.
He also learned through Igor's memory that Dumbledore had vouched for Severus at Igor's mercy hearing. Severus was the true double agent who kept the old fool blinded to his true loyalty. At a point Igor had offered for Voldemort to recruit former students of Durmstrang for his army but Voldemort had no interest in that now. Igor Karkaroff was that one player who would always sell his loyalty to the most powerful player in the field and he could not afford anymore traitors.
For now, he knew that he could find the Vampires through a local wizard who supplied them with live animals. Since the Government didn't allow them to drink blood from a human, they had to make do with what they could get. In fact the magical government had in the past destroyed a coven of Vampires because they had violated the law and turned a few humans. That was the final lesson and they knew better from that time on.
Hunting the Vampires
This wizard who sold them animals lived in a farm house which was set at a great distance from other places. His farmhouse had no sort of wards or any protection. Since he was not a criminal nor did he have anything valuable, it was clear that he didn't need to fear anything at all.
However, he was horrified when he saw the most dreaded Dark Lord walking up the path to his farm house as if he were taking a walk in the garden. He didn't even know any defensive magic to have any hope of escaping. With the fear that was in his mind, he didn't even dare to disapparate. He could get splinched or maybe get nowhere at all.
He decided to do what a man in his position could do. When Voldemort came up to him, he fell at the dark lord's feet and grabbed the hem of his robes with shaking hands, "Mercy! Mercy!"
Voldemort picked the man up and said in his sickly sweet voice, "I am not here to end your pitiful life. I am here to ask you to take me to the vampires. I know that you are their source for supplying them with blood."
The man was inwardly relieved. He was not about to die today after all. However if Voldemort destroyed the vampires, his source of gold would dry up. In the end, the concern for his life won, "I will take you to them gladly, my lord. They have set a meeting place where I deliver the animals to them. By fortune I was to supply them with some fresh blood this evening."
Voldemort drawled sickeningly, "Then let us not tarry."
About an hour later, the herder was standing at the place where the vampires met him usually. Voldemort decided to stay hidden in the shadows and to come out after they showed up. After about 10 minutes, a party of 10 vampires made their way towards him. He was surprised with this. Usually there were only 2 or 3 of them.
He asked the one in the lead, "Has something happened?"
The vampire asked him stiffly, "Why do you ask?"
"Usually there are only 2 or 3 of you. Are you expecting an attack so you come in strength?"
The vampire made a casual glance toward the shadow where Voldemort thought himself to be hidden, "We have powerful enemies about these days. We choose to take precautions."
This was curious. Did the Vampires already know that Voldemort had arrived? Hesitantly he asked, "What happened?"
The Vampire bared his fangs, "It is of no concern to you. Just some monster hunters and a dark lord, that's all. Nothing that we can't handle. Keep your nose out of our business and we will be fine."
The wizard nodded and was about to leave when suddenly raked up by some guilt, he murmured, "Sorry to have sold you out."
It was nothing more than a whisper, but a Vampire's sense of hearing is very keen. They heard every word of it.
The one in the lead grabbed him by the throat and put a pointed finger nail at an artery while threatening him, "Who did you sell us out to?"
The wizard paled with horror and could not speak. He was sure that he would be dead the next minute when there was a bang and the vampire holding him was thrown off.
At a distance behind him was Voldemort who was gliding towards him with his wand raised and lips curling at the end. To their eyes, the mockery of humanity that was the dark lord's body might have been one of their own if it were not for his silted pupils. But no, this creature had a heartbeat and blood that flowed, neither did he smell of the crypt as their brethren did. Whatever he was, he was alone and he didn't seem to be moving too quickly. Vampires are nothing if not proud. They should have all run to let the vampire hunter know that Voldemort was among them but instead they decided to pit their supernatural strength and speed against a lone wizard.
Two of them grabbed the traitor wizard between them and took off at a run. The other Vampires swarmed the wizard with speed impossible for a human eye to follow. But Voldemort was no ordinary human. His would be assailants crashed into each other where he had been standing a moment before. As he appeared in the air above them, dark cutters rained down on them, causing them to lose the precious blood that sustained their unlife. They quickly scattered and produced silver daggers from inside their robes. The dark wizard had to think fast to shield himself from the barrage of deadly projectiles. Flicked with the inhuman speed that the leeches possessed, the daggers were as deadly as any cross-bow or rifle for that matter. As the daggers bounced off his shield, Voldemort summoned them to his hand and banished them in a line at the vampires, one after another. The deadly projectiles were dodged for the most part, but the ones that struck home punctured the vampires causing further loss of the sustaining fluid. They all knew that vampires cannot be destroyed this way, but if they lost all their blood, they would become torpid and unable to move. If the morning sun found them in the open, it would be all over for them.
After a time, it became obvious that Voldemort was not interested in killing the leeches. They could not serve him if they were dead. The six who remained upon their feet took up their two torpid companions and fled at a speed that would make an Olympic athlete jealous. There was no reason for them to stay and fight Voldemort. They could not defeat him. They could travel swiftly to a great distance and were sure that they would outrun Voldemort but to their woe, he could fly and keep up with them at that pace.
With a look of understanding, 4 of the Vampires separated and turned to engage Voldemort again. They knew that they would not survive but they could buy time for their fellow Vampires to get away with the wizard and their two downed companions between them.
Voldemort had no concern for the wizard himself. He had been planning to kill him anyway, leaving no witnesses. If the leeches drained him to satisfy their thirst, it would save him the trouble of killing the man himself. The way they ran away from him cost him some effort to keep up with them. His goal, after all, was to meet with their leader in their lair and recruit them to his cause. He couldn't do that if they managed to get away from him. Now, four of the pestilential things were turning to face him. They couldn't possibly be hoping to defeat him. No, they were trying to delay him. "Bombarda Maxima!", he muttered as he gave his wand a casual flick. The vampires erupted into a cloud of rapidly expanding bits when the spell hit them. Voldemort didn't even bother to slow down as he flew over the grewsome mess. With another flick of his wand, he concealed himself under a disillusionment charm. No, it wasn't perfect invisibility, especially at the speed he was flying, but the fleeing vampires were hardly taking the time to search the sky behind them.
Hogwarts
The goblins had arrived. Today was the day for inheritance tests. All of the muggle-born had gathered in the Great Hall. The heirs of the pureblood families who were sponsoring students were there also to see the results of the tests for themselves. Among the few fifth years taking the test was Dean Thomas from Gryffindor. Harry had agreed to sponsor him. There were also Justin Finch Fletchely, Oliver Rivers, Kevin Entwhile, Mandy Brocklehurst and Sally Anne-Perks. Other than them everyone already knew their inheritances. Of the fifth years, only Dean had approached him to be sponsored. When Harry asked him why he didn't go to Seamus, Dean replied that Seamus didn't have the gold nor did the family have the reputation that would help him to rebuild his house in case his family was defunct.
Other than them, the other prominent students who had come to Harry included the Creevey Brothers (Arthur had kindly told them that since his was a cadet line they would do better to go to his Liege lord), some more of the 4th years who had been given options but they chose Harry for obvious reasons. Every student who was willing to sponsor had a decent number of candidates they could sponsor however Harry had the most of them. Out of a total of 300 muggle-born students who were doing the ritual, about 120 had desired to be sponsored by him.
Gornuk, the son of Ragnok had been sent with the team of Goblins to conduct the inheritance tests. He was most likely to become the next king of the Goblins when Ragnok passed away though that time was still a long way off since Ragnok was expected to live at least 20 more years. He like his father had a proclivity for commerce and unlike Ragnok, he kept a cool head and wouldn't have ordered his armies to march out on a wizard before weighing the pros and cons of the situation.
Harry had heard his name mentioned but never met him in person before. He found him to be very amicable. He had come with a team of 10 goblins and 5 wizards who worked in different capacities with the bank. When they all met in the Great Hall, he announced in his booming voice, "As I see there are 5 major houses that have sponsored most students between them. We have divided the students into groups and the test will be conducted group wise. I request the heirs and Lords to please leave the Great Hall except for the one who is sponsoring the current group. When it is your turn, you will be called to attend. First we are going to conduct the ritual for those sponsored by the House of Macmillan."
Others left the Great Hall leaving Ernie in there. Harry knew that this group mostly consisted of those who parents were so-called muggleborn and were acquaintances of Lord Macmillan. Ernie as his heir was sitting in his stead. Most of them who had agreed to be sponsored by Harry were first generation muggle-born.
After about 20 minutes, the door opened and Gornuk called, "Harold Peverell".
Harry walked inside to take a seat beside Gornuk. The first was Dean who was a bit apprehensive but equally excited at the prospect. When he started writing with the blood quill, it took him quite a while to finish writing his name because he was wincing with each stroke of the quill. Clearly the goblins hadn't told them that they would be using blood quills.
Blood quills are Class-B non-tradable dark artefacts. Nobody except the Minister, the Chief Warlock and the goblins could use them. If anyone else needed to use them, they had to ask for special permission from the ministry. The former Senior Under-secretary to the former Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge had been found in possession of a handful of them. She had been sent to Azkaban being in possession of them because she had no such license.
As words started to appear on the piece of parchment, the goblin inspected it. After about a minute, he handed the parchment to Harry to see:
Name: Dean Thomas
Father's name: John Sayre
Mother's name: Anna Thomas nee Brewster
Heir to the house of Sayre.
The goblin had been observing Dean who looked curious. After about a minute, he said, "Mr Sayre, do you have any questions for me?"
Dean obviously had questions for him, "My name is Dean Thomas. Why does this parchment say that my name is Sayre?"
Dumbledore who was in the Great Hall sitting beside the goblin said jovially, "Indeed. I believe I can explain it to you. Tell me Mr. Thomas, has your mother told you anything about your father?"
Dean shook his head and Dumbledore continued, "As I know you live with your mother and step father, Mr. Thomas, he agreed to give you his name. Is that right?"
When Dean nodded, he continued, "So, it is possible that your mother met your father somewhere in the muggle world since your mother is obviously a muggle. He was the heir to House of Sayre, an important house in Britain and your father John Sayre had graduated from Hogwarts about 1975 or so. Your grand-parents and your father were actively opposing Voldemort and his forces during the war and for the fear of their lives they mostly lived in hiding. I believe your father was in muggle London to escape from the death eaters. Shortly before you were born, your father had to leave your mother because Lord Sayre, your grand-father had been killed. Your father had the obligation of his family on his shoulders and he knew that life could be hard for you and your mother in the magical world with the war going on. He left you both in relative safety and peace to go and fight the war and to fulfil his duties towards his family. I believe that he intended to return to your family as soon as the war was over. About a month after he returned home, he was killed in an ambush in Diagon Alley. He had never told anyone about your existence. The only one who is alive in your family is your grand-mother Lady Sayre who is living on the continent now."
Harry was surprised to find this piece of information, "So Professor what do we do now?"
It was Gornuk who answered, "If Lady Sayre is still alive then we can't give him the heir ring without her consent. Gringotts will send a letter to her and ask for her directions before we can proceed with the matter. Also it will be upon her to honour the commitments of House Peverell being their liege lord."
Harry waved him off, "That is of little concern to me, Gornuk. What is important is for Dean to have his inheritance. Even if he does not acknowledge me as his liege lord I won't bother with it."
The tests were being conducted by 10 goblins at once. Not every one of them merited mention as Dean did. It didn't take them too long. The Creevey's had no record of a magical family in Britain but Gornuk told them that he would check with the branches in other countries and reach out to them within a day or two.
There were a few more cases where there were family members already existing. The Goblins gave them information to help them re-connect with their lost relatives. After 2 hours, House Peverell had about 50 Vassals. House Black increased their Vassals to ten from the previous three. House Rosier had eight. House Potter had its number of Vassals increase to 40 from the previous one. As it turned out, Lord Charlus Potter had freed all of his vassals from their obligations towards his house after he had failed to get children in his 50th year. He knew he could not fulfil his obligations to them as their liege lord if there was no one left to keep the family name going. There had been no vassal when Harry assumed his title as the Lord of the family. The first vassal of the House had been Hermione Granger. Now there were 39 more. There were 10 who had some existing family and it was most likely that these new branches to those family trees would be treated as Cadet Lines.
Those who were reviving their family lines were given their head of house rings and a ledger containing details of their families. Also account managers were assigned on the ratio of one goblin to 5 houses to look after their accounts and to make investments on behalf of their clients.
Romania
The Vampires rushed into the cavern with their captive and their wounded while hollering for the guards, "Be on the lookout. Our enemy approaches."
When Voldemort reached the edge of their ward line, he scoffed at the wards. Ionut had told him that there were war wards protecting the place but these wards were damaged. At one point, it looked like someone had blasted their way in. It must have been recent because the Vampires had not yet made any repairs. Then again, it could have been a ruse to give him a false sense of security and lure him into a trap. If Voldemort had been able to read the signs correctly, he would have understood that the mystics had blasted their way through the wards just two days ago and that this was the last place he wanted to be. However, even if the wards had been intact, they would not have withstood an assault from Voldemort.
He took his time, casually walking through the gap the mystics had created. Although he had taken the time to cast charms to make himself invisible and mask the sounds he made, the members of the coven could still sense his blood. They rushed him while he stood surveying the cavern. With a gesture from his wand, he roared, "Fiendfyre!", and a wall of vermillion and crimson flame separated him from the coven's defenders. The few who were not able to check their charge in time were incinerated when they skidded into the flames. The demon forms in the flames licked their lips in satisfaction when the bodies were consumed. By sheer will alone, the dark lord kept the flames firmly in place or they surely would have consumed everything in the cavern.
The rest of the defenders shied away from the voracious flames. None of them could wield a wand, never mind extinguish Fiendfyre. Besides, they were under orders to only offer a token resistance before surrendering to Voldemort. Even if those were not their orders, there is no point in showing bravery when the battle cannot be won.
They would be very eager to hand him over to those monster hunters. Giving Voldemort to them was the best course of action for them. They were literally expendables. No one but themselves cared about their welfare.
As the guards retreated, Voldemort ended his spell knowing there was no one around him anymore. As soon as the Fiendfyre was extinguished, a delegation of vampires approached him with their hands raised. He levelled his wand at them.
The one in the lead said hastily, "We ask for your mercy. We will do you no harm. What do you want from us?"
He drawled coldly, "Your coven shall join my forces. And I want the wizard you have taken captive."
The leader of the Vampire delegation shook his head, "he is a traitor. We have first rights to his blood. We will consider giving anything else but not him."
Voldemort shrugged. If he had to give up that wizard in return for the vampires, it wasn't a bad bargain. He nodded, "Very well. You all know me. I have sent envoys to you in the past to have you join my forces but your response was negative. This time I again ask for you to join me."
The leader of the Vampires seemed to be mulling over what he said. After about a minute, he said, "Please accept the hospitality of our coven. We can sit and discuss this."
When Voldemort followed them into their cavern, it had been lit with torches this time. Torches or fire of any kind was extremely dangerous to vampires. They derived no benefit from them as this type of undead can see in total darkness. Voldemort took this as a sign that they were being very hospitable to him. The truth of the matter was that they were using the light of the torches to blind his night vision to conceal their numbers and the size of their cavern from him. He could see nothing outside of the circles of light each torch threw. At some indeterminate distance, the occasional gem or bit of precious metal would pick up the torch light and reflect it back. This coven was old and they had untold amounts of wealth hidden away. Some of their treasure was in the form of silver daggers and swords. These arms were intended for killing their mortal enemies, the werewolves.
In his mind, he knew the leeches would have to join him or die. But persuading them to get along with Greyback and his men would be a hard sell.
His escort was careful to guide him to the site where the wizard who had assisted him was hanging upside down from the ceiling of the cavern. There was a wound on the side of his head which was still dripping. His eyes were open in shock and glazed over in death. One of the vampires was carefully collecting every drop of blood as if it were treasure. Since they weren't allowed human blood, it was a treasure. They would use it to heal and revive the vampires that Voldemort had attacked earlier. After Voldemort passed by the scene, the vampire that was attending the body allowed a single drop of the blood to land upon the blood ruby in the gold ring he was wearing. The gem momentarily glowed red and faded again.
They led him into a chamber which was clearly used for meeting guests. They gave him a throne of honour. After he had made himself comfortable, their leader turned to him, "Dark Lord, our coven is powerful, wealthy and numerous. You, on the other hand, although you are seemingly quite powerful, also appear to be alone and penniless. Our services are worth much and our loyalty beyond price. What have you to offer that we should join you?"
Voldemort knew that they valued treasure, especially fine art. It was a way that they measured status. But the one thing a vampire always craved, needed and would sell his soulless hide to obtain was blood, humans above animals, magical blood above muggles and werewolves most of all. And, if the bargaining did not go his way, he could release Fiendfyre to erase any trace that this coven ever existed and try his luck with the next one.
In any event, he wasn't going to bargain away the whole farm with his first sentence, "I am not as penniless as I appear. I would think that your coven would support my cause in exchange for certain freedoms under my reign."
Their leader answered, "Your reign? If you are the ruler of a nation, we have not heard."
Voldemort's snake-like pupils flared red for an instant, but he maintained his composure, "Very well, you do not wish to trade for future considerations then. Of course, I do have access to a sizable treasury. I can offer your forces standard mercenary rates with sizable incentives for more dangerous missions."
The vampire affected a yawn (because their kind does not need to breathe) and said, "Silver, gold, gems, Goblin wrought silver? We have plenty of those; I don't suppose that you have any works of art? Old masters? Unique pieces? That might interest me."
Voldemort nodded, "We have several dozens of wizard oil paintings, carvings and statues. I'm not much of an art connoisseur, so I cannot tout their merits to you. But yes, we have such things. I'm sure that we could come to some kind of agreement."
The vampire pretended to consider, "Hmm. Unknown works of art. I can't really commit my people for a complete unknown. I mean, I can take your offer back to my people, but I doubt that they will accept."
Voldemort finally decided to throw all of his chips into the pot, "Of course, we will be fighting wizards and werewolves. Who's to say how some of those bodies went missing or turned up without any blood in them?"
The vampire fixed Voldemort with his stare. The wizard could feel the vampire trying to enter his mind, for control or to see if he was lying, the dark wizard did not care. He slammed down his Occlumency shields and tore his way into the vampires mind to compel him to take his offer. While he was in there, he discovered the vampire's plan to sell him out to the monster hunters. He prodded but somehow he didn't think that any wizard could defeat him. His encounter with Guruji all those years ago blocked from his mind, he still had no idea what danger this represented to him.
His work done on the vampire, the Imperious curse would not have been much more effective, he pulled back out of the vampire's mind and asked, "How does my offer sound to you?"
The vampire nodded, "We could not ask for more. I will take your offer to my people. You will have your answer in the morning. In the meantime, please accept the hospitality of our coven."
He gave Voldemort over to the care of his second in command to take the wizard to the guest quarters and exited the room.
Hogsmeade
Viktor Krum was reading a letter from Madame Alexanderov. She had written to inform him that she had heard reports of Voldemort being on tour to recruit more wizards and other magical beings, which he already knew from the Order of the Phoenix. She also informed him that 60 of her Aurors had committed themselves to her cause. Many more were actively considering it. She wanted General Longbottom to commit to their aid should they need it in the future. She was also having them train for an additional two hours a day, really putting them through the ringer. She was telling them to start using only lethal spells for practice.
He had already sent a letter to Harry to inform him about it. Other than that, his practice with Puddlemere was coming along beautifully. The team was a well oiled machine and they had no problem in moulding themselves to his strategy. Their captain, Pete Collins was always very respectful towards him and heard his input while deciding any strategy. Their reserve seeker who was just out of school always hovered around Viktor asking him for tips to improve his game or show him something that would be useful in the long run. Viktor knew that he was much more experienced than most of these players. None of them had been on the national team as of yet.
The manager was always trying to include him into everything that the club did. As a result of him joining Puddlemere, the club's popularity had shot through the roof. On the other hand, this had given the idea to other clubs to go and seek international players to have them join their clubs. After all Puddlemere United wasn't the only one who could afford to do so. The downside was that the Department of Magical Games and Sports was considering some changes to regulate this practice and to limit the number of international players that a club can hire.
He was yet to meet with Harry again for the simple reason that there had been no Hogsmeade weekend since the new term started. He was planning to connect with them who had become his friends during the year.
The Chamber of Secrets
When Harry met Vikram in the Chamber of Secrets, he immediately asked the mystic, "Professor what happened with Petrov and Voldemort?"
Vikram shook his head, "I don't know for sure. As far as I can guess, they still haven't come across him though it won't be too long. Now tell me, do you know how to use the power of the Vassals?"
Harry of course had no idea how to do it and shook his head, "No Professor. I don't know."
Vikram grinned, "Then let me teach it to you."
Harry nodded and he continued, "You see the way you connect with your family magic and summon its spirit. It's the same way you have to say an incantation while really meaning for it to work while controlling your family magic through the rings that you wear. The rings are embodiment of the family magic which lies at your call. While it is onerous work but I don't think that it will be hard for you, not after you finished the Naga ritual."
Harry nodded, "Let me try then."
When he did it for the first time, he felt so much power coursing through his veins that he could not maintain his control on it. As a result, it ebbed out of him quickly.
Then Vikram told him to not let any other thought or emotion come into his mind when he is doing it. Harry kept working on it for an hour. Each time, he got a bit more of a grasp on it. At the end of one hour, Vikram told him to keep practicing it for a few days before he would help him in using the surge of power which he felt within.
The serpent slithered away
When Petrov received the message from the Vampires, his countenance lit up. He stood from his chair and performed a summon spell silently. As his cloak and mask floated towards him, he called Markesh in.
When Markesh came, he was already putting on his cloak. Without even turning to Markesh, he said, "Get the men ready. Voldemort has arrived. The leeches have just sent me a message."
About 10 minutes later, they had emptied the headquarters of every mystic in Romania. Before they left, Petrov addressed them, "I know I am not good at words like Guruji so I will be straight and to the point. We are going to hunt down and capture Voldemort. It is possible that some of us may not come back. Unleash everything that you have got on him. If you can capture him then it will be better. That way, we can straightaway take him to England and hand over to the lad. Harry's fulfilling his destiny will be as easy as taking a walk in the garden then. Dharm aur Maan."
There was resounding roar of 'Dharm aur Maan' from the mystics as one and they started disapparating one after another. They were going to battle.
Voldemort was sleeping when he heard a noise resounding in his surroundings. He fancied that it was a conch shell and the sound reverberated around the cavern echoing in the vast gloominess of it. Raising himself up, he got out of the chamber to find the Vampires were running around, getting ready for battle.
He caught hold of their leader and growled, "What is the matter?"
He replied frantically, "We are being attacked. There is an army at the gate of the cavern and we can't win over them."
Voldemort thought it might be the moment to show the Vampires why allying with him would be the best choice for them, "How many of them are there?"
The Vampire replied, "There's about 30 of them out there."
Voldemort put his wand to his throat and said in his highly magnified voice, "Calm down everyone. I am going to kill these enemies of yours and show you why allying with me is the best choice for you."
The leader of the Vampires was stunned at his stupidity. What a presumptuous idiot to think that he alone could take on thirty armed wizards who were specifically after him. Voldemort had not even asked if the foes of the Vampires were wizards, vampires or werewolves. But he still thought that he could deal with them singlehandedly. He shrugged. If Voldemort wanted to arrange his own funeral then who was he to object?
Voldemort walked out of the cavern to find thirty wizards armed with wands pointed at the mouth of the cavern. They were all tall, heavily built and dressed in black cloaks and wore leather masks! Masks the same as the one that Harold Peverell wore when he fought Voldemort in the Ministry Atrium. He realised he had been fooled by the Vampires and walked into a trap again! On the top of that the brat had been one wizard but here were thirty of them. He knew his chances to win against them were bleak at best. The best he could do was to escape. He called out to the leader of the Vampires standing at a distance behind him and commanded him, "help me and I will reward you beyond your wildest dreams."
The leader of the wizards barked a harsh laugh, "Ha! You think these leeches will help you? No Tom, they won't interfere unless they want a painful demise."
It became clear to Voldemort instantly that the Vampires really weren't going to help him. He could only trust his skills. He suddenly whipped up his wand and roared, "Avada Kedavra".
One of the mystics casually flicked his wand and sent a curse in front of his killing curse. With a small explosion, both of the curses dissipated. However before Tom could cast again, Petrov levelled his wand at him and roared, "Martandam!"
To Voldemort's horror, the circle of fire which had charred him the last time was rushing at him. He whipped up his wand and conjured a humungous wave of water which doused the circle of fire. In the meanwhile another of the mystics had levelled his wand at him and yelled 'Taditam'. The lightning bolt erupted from his wand and rushed at Voldemort who was forced to raise a mage shield.
As the mage shield appeared in his hand, Petrov smirked inwardly and roared a command to his men which Voldemort did not understand. The next moment he saw at least 20 wands raised at him. At that moment, realisation dawned on him; these people intended to put him down like a rabid dog. Before he could do anything, rainfall started. Lightning bolts started peppering his mage shield one after another. Each strike made a gong like sound and the spell fizzled out. The mage shield protected him from everything except a Killing Curse but it was taxing his magical strength. He knew he did not have much time before his shield would give way.
The mystics in the meanwhile kept pounding on his shield with the bolts unrelentlessly. Finally after about 5 minutes, Voldemort slightly stumbled. Petrov recognised he was about to fall in a few more minutes and roared something again.
Half of the mystics disappararted to apparate behind him and started casting incarcerous at him. Voldemort tried to move out of the way of the incarcerous but the ropes kept following him. He was greatly puzzled by this. To avoid capture however, there was only one thing that he could do. He dropped the mage shield and waved his wand raising a wall between him and those firing spells at him. Next he slashed his wand in a big arc to slash the incarcerous jinxes flying at him. At that moment, the wall collapsed and a hex hit him on his off-hand blasting it away. He doubled over in pain but knew he had to do something.
In the meanwhile Petrov was ordering his men to fire bone breakers because they could not destroy this construct which he was using as a body. If he escaped, he could use one of those horcruxes to return to a body again and they couldn't afford that.
Voldemort knew there was nothing that he could do to attack them. He could not cast Fiendfyre when he barely had enough magic to remain standing and they could neutralise his killing curses with ease. He doubled over in pain suddenly as a wave of bone breakers hit him in the chest. The resounding crack made him realise that bones all over his body had been broken. He slumped to the ground, no better than a slithering snake.
Petrov smirked in satisfaction and raised his wand to cast Incarcerous when suddenly black mist descended about them. He knew it was not any of his men who cast it because he could feel another magical signature. It belonged to someone malevolent and extremely hostile. He could not fire any lethal spell either because it could have hit one of his men. There was only one spell which could help against it. He raised his wand and roared, "Expecto patronum."
A horse burst out of his wand and raised its beautiful head neighing. Other patroni joined the horse and suddenly the mist was lifted but Voldemort was not there. Someone had taken him away just before they were about to capture him.
Telling the Vampires to keep a lookout for Voldemort and putting some spies around, Petrov and his men returned. He remembered some snippet of a conversation he once had with Harsh. He had to talk to his Guruji to confirm his suspicions.
A/N- thank you everyone for the lovely reviews which I received for the last chapter.
Now a quick question- Who snatched Tom away from their jaws?
