Africa
Harsh was in the base camp that the mystics had set up in the deep dense jungle. The campaign had been going on for almost six months now. Slowly but surely, they were taking the dark wizards in the area down. The Chayas had informed him that the dark wizards were uniting against this common foe which had come to torment them. He had sent Orders to Avalon to send all the mystics to Africa. For the moment, their need was greater. They only needed to keep a handful of them there to guard Harry. Also since Pundariksh was posted at Hogwarts, there was nothing for him to worry about.
One of the mystics rushed in with a letter and presented it to him. It was marked with the seal of Petrov. Since Petrov didn't write letters unless it was urgent, it was clear that something had happened which required his intervention. He opened the letter and started reading it:
"Guruji Pranam,
Recently I received information that the abomination on the name of mother magic, Tom Marvolo Riddle, was on a mission to recruit more to his cause, that he was arriving in Romania to recruit the Vampires.
I paid a visit to the Vampires to make them agree to my demands that they keep him occupied and send me a message so that I could take him on. Just a few hours ago, I attacked him with 29 mystics at my back. Our objective was not to kill him or destroy the magical construct he uses for a body. To that end, we used bone breakers to disable him.
My intention was to take him captive and deliver him to the lad in Avalon so that he could fulfil his destiny at his leisure. We were about to capture him when someone stole him out from under our noses. I also felt a hostile magical signature which reminded me of a conversation I had with you once.
I am writing this letter to you in hopes that you will contact me at the earliest opportunity.
Regards
Petrov"
Harsh frowned as he finished reading the letter. For someone to be able to steal a man out from under the noses of his mystics was no ordinary feat. And the thing about a hostile magical signature worried him. He decided to contact Petrov as soon as he could.
He raised his voice, "Martand". Martand entered the tent about a minute later, "yes Guruji."
"Martand, I am going to run an errand. It may take some time before I will return. In my absence, take care of the others. Keep your eyes open. Our enemies are getting desperate."
As Martand bowed to him, he stood up and disappeared.
Romania
Petrov had not missed any of his men until they returned to headquarters. When he arrived there, he realised that two of his numbers were missing. He immediately sent a party to look for them. They returned about an hour later with two dead bodies. They had been killed by someone from the back with a piercing hex. It was a worrying thought for him. True that these men were not seasoned veterans but they were experienced enough to avoid being killed from the back.
They put their bodies in stasis since it was their custom to cremate them at the end of three days. For the next three days, they will silently mourn their fallen comrades and cherish their lives. At the end of three days, they would send them back to mother magic.
He had sent a letter to Harsh because there was no other way to contact him. His whereabouts were unknown. That had been two days ago and he was still waiting for Harsh to respond.
He heard the floo roar and there was Harsh's head sitting in the flames. Petrov bowed low to him, sitting on his knees, "Guruji, accept my obeisance."
Harsh smiled warmly, "May you never falter against your enemies, vatsa. What happened in the duel with Voldemort?"
Petrov began telling him everything that Voldemort had done since he arrived in Romania including the massacre in the inn. Harsh kept listening to him with an impassive face and at last he asked him, "Did we lose someone?"
Petrov nodded, "We lost two of our men, Guruji. It looks like they were taken down with puncture curses from behind."
Harsh nodded, "Describe the mist and the malevolent feeling for me."
Petrov too well remembered what it felt like, "It was like someone was pricking us with needles and the presence felt like it was someone ancient who had honed the ways of magic after years of artful study. The mist was like our normal black mist but it felt more sinister and a single patronus could not have pierced it."
Harsh nodded, "What conversation were you alluding to?"
"Guruji, I remember you telling me about a dark wizard who is as accomplished as you are but rather well versed in the more sinister aspects of magic, that he could do almost everything that you could but with an evil twist."
Harsh nodded, "I am afraid that you were indeed correct in your assumptions. I believe it was the same wizard who took him away. Other than him there is no one who could get the jump on all of you. Also I am angry at you."
Petrov folded his hands in respectful gesture, "How did I offend you, Guruji?"
"You know that Voldemort's death is written at the hands of Harold Peverell. In fact you were there when Varah Mihir came to tell us about it yet you tried to tamper with fates? That was not wise."
"Guruji, I was only trying to prevent the bloodshed and carnage that will follow."
"I understand your intentions Petrov but that was not for you to do. You could have duelled Voldemort but to capture him was not for you. That is the reason that he slipped between your fingers."
"What do we do now, Guruji? Do you think Voldemort will return here?"
Harsh shook his head, "No, he won't return there. Not today not ever. He won't let Voldemort face you again."
"Guruji, why haven't you killed him already?"
Harsh actually chuckled, "Petrov he has had a long life. He has taught too many disciples in his long life. If we were to get into direct conflict with him, it would bring an end to the world. In fact Varah Mihir had told me that he would let me know when the opportune moment came to take him down without too many losses on our side. Also I think it is time that we finish Ionut Anastese. His time is done."
Petrov nodded. It would be easy enough to finish Ionut Anastese. He would hardly need to go to any great lengths for it. Just a swap of tumblers in the bar where he spends an hour every evening and it will be done. Ionut won't need more than a minute to keel over.
At the same time, Harsh knew it was time to do what the letter wanted him to. The letter which he had received from Varah Mihir a few months ago was coming to fruition now.
Hogwarts
Harry was sitting with Ron, Neville, Ernie and Justin pondering over a problem. It was not a life or death situation per se but it required the boys to sit together and think about it. That was the reason that no girl was there with them. The topic was Valentine's Day which was just a week away. None of them had a clue about what to do.
Harry spoke up first, "The girls are expecting us to do something with them next weekend. Do any of you blokes have an idea?"
Ernie said, "Sorry, mate. Like you, I'm clueless. I don't know what to do either. Lilith expects me to try and surprise her."
Ron chimed in, "I'm sure she'd be surprised if you did absolutely nothing."
The others chuckled, then Ernie said, "If I did that, she'd have my head on a platter."
Neville joked, "Why don't you propose to her, mate? You know just pop the big question and give her a promise ring to show your sincerity towards your commitment?"
Harry quipped, "That may be all well and fine for you lot, but it won't work for me."
Justin asked him curiously, "Why's that, Harry?"
Neville swatted him on the head, "because Wonder boy here has to marry her the day he turns 18. That's the only way that their relationship could go."
Justin chuckled, "Whipped, Harry?"
It was Neville who answered, "Aren't you whipped too? You can't get enough of Isobel, as I have seen."
The quip made Justin go red in the face and the others laughed uproariously.
Harry turned to Ron, "What do you plan to do?"
Ron said evasively, "I have a cunning plan."
Harry wanted to make this Valentine's Day special for Susan. He thought he had the perfect plan in mind. It would require a lot of preparation and far more courage than he could muster. He intended to express his love for her in the grandest manner in front of the entire school. He would require some help from the twins.
The twins had also finished developing the contraption that he wanted from them. Remus had got it patented under their names.
Unknown to his friends, he left the castle last night to meet with Frank and Sirius. It was not a meeting conducted at the Ministry but at Green Hues. In attendance were Alice Longbottom, Amelia Bones, Alastor Moody, Rufus Scrimgeour and Albus Dumbledore.
After extending due courtesies to him, Frank asked, "What did you want to talk about Harry? I must confess that I am curious."
Harry produced the contraption from his pocket which was empty instead of containing the poison it was designed to deliver. He put it on the table before them and started speaking slowly, "This is a little contraption that we have come up with. Right now it is empty. In the final battle this will contain a liquid which is a deadly poison when vaporized and inhaled. There is a mechanism in this contraption which superheats the liquid within 5 seconds then it explodes into a cloud of deadly vapour. Once activated, it must be used since it cannot be deactivated. You can just hurl it at a group of death eaters. Anyone who is within 5 meters of it will drop dead the next time they take a breath. If you forget to activate it before throwing it, it will shatter on impact, making it useless. If someone were to cut themselves on the pieces before the potion inside becomes inert, it would be quite deadly."
Frank asked him cautiously, "Why are you giving it to us?"
Harry said earnestly, "Because I won't have enough time to use these in the final battle. Other than Aurors, the alternative is that I give these to the students. You can guess how that would go over."
Every one visibly shuddered with the mental image of a student operating one of these. If it went haywire or they misjudged then there would be a catastrophe. The same could happen to the Aurors and they were not in the mood to take any chances.
Sirius asked him, "Pup, do you have any empty shells of this contraption which we can fill with water and give them to Aurors to practice?"
Harry shook his head, "Actually no. I just have a few samples with me. This contraption was designed by Messrs. Fred and George Weasley and Tracy Davis and they hold the patent to it. I know for a fact that they want to make a joke item out of this product but for the time being I was able to convince them otherwise. You can place orders to them for as many of these shells as you want. As for the poison, it is solely under my ownership. You can always place your orders for that to me. I ask that you keep the existence of these weapons a closely guarded secret. Be careful which Aurors you issue them to."
Amelia agreed, "I second you. The special ops group should have access to these. Other than them, maybe a handful of selected Aurors but no one else."
Alice had a different question, "If one of our own is caught up between them, how they would be able to save themselves?"
Harry answered quickly, "That's part of the training that anyone issued with one of these devices needs to know. The poison has to be inhaled or get into the blood through a cut. It can't go through skin. A simple bubble head charm will protect one of our own if things go sideways with one of them."
Frank asked, "Can you demonstrate how it works, Harry?"
Harry answered, "Alright. First, you open it by tapping with your wand on the weasel." He tapped the side of the device where a weasel was engraved and the device popped open. "Wearing protective gloves, "He pulled on dragon hide gloves, "You pour the phial of poison inside. The stuff shouldn't harm you, but if you have a cut and the poison gets into it, there won't be any time to get an antidote. This is just water for demonstration purposes." He emptied the phial into the device. "It closes again by flipping the lid and it seals itself." When he gently pushed the hinged lid upward, it flipped into place with a soft click. "To activate it, you have to pry up this pull tab, then twist and pull firmly until the pin comes out. Once you've done that, it will explode five seconds later. I'm not going to do that in here because it will make a bit of a mess when it goes off."
Frank suggested, "Let's go out to the grounds of the manor."
When everyone was assembled out in front of the manor house, Harry continued, "The ring is clipped firmly in place and it takes some effort to pop it out." He popped the ring free with a click. "Once the ring is free, give it a quarter twist and pull the pin free." Putting action to his words, he twisted the ring and pulled. "Five, four…" He threw the device. It sailed through the air and exploded into a puff of steam three seconds later.
Moody finally had his say, "lad if you have a few more of these shells and a few samples of the poison, I would like to get my hands on it. I always test the merchandise before I buy it. Don't you agree?"
Harry nodded, "Very well, Master Auror Moody, you shall be our beta tester." Harry said as he produced the empty shells and carefully sealed phials of poison from his robes. Handing them over to the grizzled veteran, he said, "If you have any suggestions for improvement, let me know. And I remind you that we've all agreed that you don't show these to just anybody."
They had all agreed to only let Aurors handle these. Such things which were inherently risky could not be given to students. It was for the warriors to do. When Harry left the meeting, he knew the twins were about to get a return on their investment into developing and manufacturing the contraption. On the side, he would get orders for the poison which would bring in a decent amount of gold for his vaults.
London
The muggle born wizards had been on the lookout for the last several days to find out what the death eaters were up to or if there were any attacks. One of these, Mr. Reich who was of German descent, had been doing a round of the suburbs as part of their co-ordinated efforts. He came upon a place where he could feel magic in the air.
He knew most of the muggle-born and none that he knew of lived in this area. That made it suspicious. He was sensitive to magic but had never learnt runes or warding so there was no way he could determine what the nature of the wards were that he could feel about him.
Disillusioning himself, he walked in a direction where he could feel that the pull was the strongest. He had walked about 500 meters when he came upon a house where a group of wizards were casting spells apparently in the air while one was bent at the edge of the property, trying to dig something up. He knew enough to understand that they were trying to find the wardstone.
They had been so busy that they didn't even notice him coming in or going out. He had to walk a part of the way though because the presence he had felt was anti-apparition wards. When he was outside the wards, he disapparated to reappear outside his house. He entered the house at a run, throwing almost a handful of floo powder into the fireplace, he shouted, "Auror Office, Ministry of Magic."
As his head appeared in the fireplace in the Auror's office, a wizard with a scar on the side of his face and an upturned nose greeted him, "Welcome to the Ministry of Magic. How may I help you?"
He quickly relayed everything that he had seen along with the location which the dispatcher jotted down on the piece of parchment with his name and address. As Reich pulled his head back out of the fireplace, the dispatcher turned to Moody who was present in that chamber for the time being, "Master Auror, a call just came in. 5 suspects trying to break into a house."
Moody almost jumped down from his seat and snatched the offered piece of parchment. Shoving it into the pocket of his robe, Moody strode out while telling the dispatcher, "Don't bother sending anyone else. I will handle that scum by myself. If you don't hear from me in ten minutes, feel free to call the Minister or the special ops team."
As he ran towards the apparition point, he patted the pocket of his robe where he kept the bomb he had loaded after the demonstration. The lad had brought something really ingenious. This would help the Aurors deal with the death eaters swiftly.
Disapparating from the ministry, he appeared at the edge of the wards. Pulling his shrunken broom out of his pocket, he enlarged it. As his broom was returning to its full size, he had already disillusioned himself. Mounting his broom he took off instantly. It hardly took him two minutes to reach the place. He saw that they had found the ward stone and were on to destroying it. He pulled out the device, flipped out the ring, twisted and pulled the pin and threw it towards them while shooting upwards on his broom. After reaching a safe height, he peered down to find that four of the scum were on the ground and made no apparent movement but the last one was still on his knees and inspecting his companions. Getting into a sharp nose dive, he was about 10 feet from the death eater when a reckless idea occurred to him. It was a first for him in many years but he wanted to try it. Abandoning his broom, he jumped down in front of the last standing death eater.
When the man realized that the one standing in front of him was Mad-Eye himself, he dropped his wand. With his hands behind his head he grovelled on the ground, "Mercy! Mercy! Please don't kill me."
Alastor stunned him and bound him before he inspected the other death eaters. They were all quite dead. There was no sign of horror or struggle in their faces. They looked like they could have passed away in their sleep. He decided to send the bodies to the Unspeakables to research more about this. The sight felt somewhat disturbing to him.
After ensuring that there were no more death eaters around, he walked up to the house they had been trying to enter and rapped on the door. It was opened a minute later by a man who was in his 50s.
The man asked in his deep baritone voice, "Yes how can I help you?"
Moody grunted, "I am from Law Enforcement..."
The man chuckled, "You don't need to pretend Mr. Moody. I know you are the head of the Aurors. I am a wizard and half-blood by descent. My name is Cyril Montgomery. The death eaters had been hounding me for days, trying to get me to join them and I refused every time. I had felt my wards flare about 10 minutes ago. I was trying to find a way to escape but was unable to. I am thankful that you are here."
Moody nodded, "You may have to come to the ministry later to give a statement about the threats you have been receiving. For the moment, I would advise you to keep your ward stone in the house so that it becomes unplottable."
By then the ministry backup had arrived being led by Gawain Robards. Rufus Scrimgeour who was a part of the entourage growled at him, "You're an idiot, Alastor. Who told you to risk your life, going out by yourself?"
Moody barked at him, "Is that how you talk to your seniors?"
Before it could escalate, Robards stepped in, "The minister wants to see you, Alastor. You go on to the ministry. We will join you after we've cleaned up here."
Moody barked orders that the bodies were to be taken to the Unspeakables for study. They were amazed that Moody had taken out five of them single-handedly and so quickly. Alastor was mentally smirking in satisfaction that the contraption had worked. It would be of immense help to them. Only they would need to remember to cast the bubble head charm beforehand.
Ministry of Magic
When Moody walked into Frank's office, Frank was in quite a state. He was red in the face, his eyes glaring out from under a furrowed brow. If looks could kill, Moody would have been a pile of smouldering ash. Glaring at Alastor, he laid into him, "What do you mean going off half-cocked into an unknown situation by yourself like that? You could have been imperioused! You could have been captured and tortured! You could have been killed! And that with a piece of classified equipment on your person! Stupid, impulsive Rookie mistake! And that from my head of Aurors! What, in the name of Merlin's baggy y-fronts were you thinking? What kind of example were you setting for your men? What do you have to say for yourself?"
Like the iconic sergeant major that he was at heart, Alastor took the tongue lashing standing at attention without twitching a muscle, his gaze fixed firmly on a point in space six inches above Frank's left shoulder. When Frank was done, he reported, "Mr. Reich, a muggle-born wizard, called the Auror office through the floo. He reported a death eater attack in progress being perpetrated by five enemy troops. There was no one else about to respond to the attack so I apparated to the site and dealt with the situation. I thought it best not to bring any backup because I intended to test one of the new devices the lad provided to me this morning. If it malfunctioned, I didn't want any of our lads to be injured. I am happy to report that the device functioned as promised. It inflicted four enemy casualties. The bodies have been sent to the unmentionables for examination. The lone survivor was apprehended and is awaiting my attention in the interrogation chambers."
Frank was still talking too loudly for someone who was standing right in front of him, "I don't care about all that. You went against procedure, exposing yourself to unnecessary risk. If you were anyone else, you'd be taking a week off without pay for insubordination. But I know how desperately we need you. I am letting you off this time. Consider this your first, last and only warning. Pull anything like that again and I will have you clapped in irons and thrown into the dungeons of the Longbottom Castle. Is that understood?"
Moody realised that to have angered Frank that much, his act must have been too rash and negligent. Frank was a guy who rarely got angry so there was something to it. Knowing what was best for him he clicked his heels together and did a formal salute, "Yes Sir". With that he walked out of Frank's office.
That night, a barn-owl brought a letter with the insignia of the Ministry of Magic to Mr. Reich. It read:
"Dear Mr. Reich
I have received news of you risking your life for the safety of your fellow magical folk and the muggles by informing the ministry about a death-eater attack this evening. The ministry as a whole and me, in my individual capacity feel indebted to you for the selfless service for the ministry and your fellow brethren.
I applaud your spirit, your bravery and your resoluteness in this entire affair.
Yours,
Frank Jeremy Longbottom
General of the forces of Wizarding Britain."
The letter would no doubt prompt him to do more for his fellow wizards and may be others would be encouraged to follow suit.
Hogwarts
"5 Death Eaters Killed
As per a press release issued by the ministry, 5 death eaters were killed in the suburbs of London by Master Auror Alastor Moody single-handedly. According to the ministry, a muggle-born wizard (Identity not disclosed for security reasons) had notified the ministry about a death eater attack in progress. The ministry acted promptly on the information. There were no casualties on the side of the Aurors.
General Longbottom had the following to say on this matter: 'The ministry applauds the responsible citizen who reached out to us and informed us about the raid. The fact that citizens are doing Harold Peverell's bidding and helping us in this war gladdens our hearts.'…"
This news certainly did brighten the students' hopes. Harry himself was satisfied with the turn of events. Maybe, the losses won't be so high now.
The return of Sayre
About three days after the inheritance rituals were done Harry and Dean were summoned to the Headmaster's office in the evening. Harry knew there could be a lot of reasons for calling him but he was puzzled as to why Dumbledore would summon Dean Thomas.
When they entered the office, they found that Dumbledore was not alone but there was a witch in the room with him. She looked old with a wrinkled face, well-set silver hair and brown eyes like Dean's. She carried herself with a deportment which cried pureblood from afar. Harry was sure that he had never met this lady before.
Dumbledore offered them chairs. When they were comfortably seated, he began speaking, "Harry and Dean, allow me to introduce you to Lady Sayre. She lives in France these days. Lady Sayre, I presume that you already know Harry. This other fine, young man is your grandson, Dean."
Lady Sayre was looking at Dean hungrily as if she wanted to take in everything about his appearance at once. She spoke after a few minutes, "I can see John in your face, my child. I am Valetta Sayre, your grand-mother. John never got the opportunity to tell me about you. If I had known, I would have tried to visit sooner."
Dean was dumbfounded. He didn't know what to say. What could one say when someone they had never known came up to them and told them that they were related. His step-father Mr. Thomas was a good man who loved him like a son and Dean was happy with him. But, as he had found out, the inheritance test never lies so this lady was speaking the truth and by his duties as he had found from others, he could not deny to her.
Dumbledore understood the awkwardness of the moment and tried to relieve the tension by speaking, "Lady Sayre, did you have something to say to Harry?"
She replied, "yes, I did.". She turned to Harry, "Lord Peverell, I knew your family when I lived here. We were not intimately familiar but they considered us good friends. Since there is no one alive in my family anymore and the House of Sayre stands on its last leg, I believe that my house will need the protection of another house for the time being until Dean is able to establish it again. Would you honour us by becoming our Liege Lord?"
Shortly thereafter, Dumbledore and Harry left Dean and Lady Sayre in peace for an hour or so. She was not there for an extended stay but had returned when she received the letter from the Goblins. She had already hired cleaning services to clean her manor and for other issues. She was also planning to give him the heir ring and asked him to visit her in France when school let out. She even went as far as to tell him to invite his mother and step-father too along with his sisters. She also promised that she would return to Wizarding Britain when Voldemort was dead finally.
Greece
Voldemort came to consciousness and opened his eyes to find himself somewhere underground. It was a dark and dingy room where the only source of light was a torch on the opposite side of the room. From what he could guess, the room was cavernous and sparsely furnished.
He himself was lying on the hard ground with only a bed of straw. His body felt like it was on fire. It was as if someone had knitted his bones together with a spell instead of using a potion on him. Using the potion would have been the best thing since it could have done the work easily and painlessly. He tried to raise his head to look around the room. A stab of pain shot through his spine like a thunderbolt, convincing him to fall back and lay still.
He realised why his bones were knitted. The spells which had hit him were not simple bone breakers but something more sinister. Those scums had actually powdered his bones and did not vanish them. Skele-gro wouldn't have been able to re-grow them in place of the powdered bones which would have to be flushed through his system. If all the powdered bones were flushed at once, it would have destroyed this magical construct. If they decided to vanish bones from one part and regrow it with skele-gro then the potion would have worked on the whole body. The construct would have burst apart with the new bones trying to take the place of the powdered ones. Also there was a chance that the potion would not be able to regrow everything at once and they would have to take many doses and a longer time to recuperate. Then there was the hand that had been blasted away. It was regrown but it didn't look like the work of Skele Gro either. The potion could grow bones but whoever had worked on him had regrown the bones, gave him flesh and blood and the arm felt new. Perhaps they had again performed the ritual to revitalise him which he had done a few days ago.
That bit of mystery solved, he focused on the other problem. He had no idea how he escaped them. As far as he could remember, he had been on the verge of unconsciousness and fell over when they powdered his bones. The last thing that he remembered was the dark mist descending upon his foes. He was sure that he had not summoned that mist. Whoever had summoned it had done that to take him away and apparently they wanted to save Voldemort because they had every opportunity to kill him but they hadn't.
"Awake at last?", Someone growled, "I see you are still the idiot that you always have been, Voldemort.". He said the dark lord's name with a note of dripping sarcasm.
Tom actually recognised the harsh growl. He had heard it for years when he was an apprentice. This someone had no fondness for anyone. They were all just tools to him. He only used them for his purposes and didn't care one bit about them. Voldemort had seen him kill his apprentices because they failed to satisfy him with their deeds. This one was a master but a harsh one. He considered all of them vermin and treated them as such. He had even scoffed when Voldemort told him that he was the last of the illustrious line of Slytherin.
When there was no replying coming, the growl came again, "Quit loafing, you dimwit. I am not your varlet to wait upon you hand and foot."
Voldemort gritted his teeth and sat up. The pain shot through his spine again and he had to grit his teeth to prevent himself from crying out in pain. Mustering his strength he stood up and immediately fell over again!
The owner of that voice had no sympathy for one who has been recuperating from mortal injury and barked, "Stop dirtying my floor. Get up and come here or I will come to set you straight."
Pushing his magic out a little, Voldemort stood up and taking small steps, he walked in the direction where he believed the inner chamber was. What seemed like hours to him but was only about a minute with lots of wincing and internally cursing, he reached the gate of the inner chamber. It was much as he remembered it from the last time he was there. It was a room which was hardly more than 15 feet square. There was no bed in it but a straw mattress on the floor. A wardrobe stood at the side which contained a few cloaks and robes along with a pair of boots.
Sitting cross-legged on the mattress was Master Abbadon. He was still the same as ever. His face was heavily wrinkled, his frame bolt-upright, tall and lanky, his jet black eyes gleaming with hate and a sneer at the corner of his lips.
As he saw Voldemort, he growled, "Took you long enough, boy! Sit down."
When he realised that Abbadon had saved him, he immediately knew why he was not given any pain potion. Abbadon was a miserable individual who wanted to cause everyone to feel pain. He couldn't expect any empathy or relief from him.
When he saw that Voldemort had not yet obeyed his order, he shot a wandless bludgeoning hex at him, knocking him on his butt. Voldemort wanted to retaliate but he knew better than to try. Besides, he realized that his wand was not on him. Perhaps Abbadon had already taken it away.
The ancient necromantic master was hissing at him, "Cat got your tongue, Voldemort? Or do you want me to persuade you to talk?"
Voldemort immediately prostrated himself before his master, "Master I seek your help in my war."
"I am sufficiently informed on the matter. Tell me what ails you."
Voldemort started telling in detail about the prophecy which Sybill Trelawney had made, his efforts to eliminate his nemesis before he could become a threat, losing his body and being saved due to Horcruxes, making attempts to return to a body and finally getting a body then getting thoroughly defeated by Harold Peverell in the ministry atrium. When he was done telling that, Abbadon motioned him to continue speaking and he told about his expedition to recruit more wizards to his army and what had happened with the Vampires.
When he was done speaking, Abbadon growled, "I have never seen a bigger idiot than you in my entire life, Voldemort. You are so blinded by your arrogance and stupidity that you decided to finish your nemesis while he was a child without even knowing what the full prophecy might say? You forgot that there is so much magic in the world that has been forgotten? Did you presume that you can emerge victorious over anyone? You have spilt so much magical blood which could have served you otherwise with some persuasion. I know you are a fool but you are absolutely stupid beyond redemption."
Voldemort lowered his gaze, "Show me the way, Master. I beseech you."
Abbadon growled, "Your ways won't work on me, boy. Wizards better than you have failed at this. Your first folly was to create Horcruxes. If you created one maybe two at the very most, I could have understood that but you created so many that it divided your power and made your soul unstable. Now the only way you can unify your soul and regain your power is true remorse which will most likely kill you. Your only chance is to learn what I can teach you to win over your opponent. There is only a very slim chance that you can win against him so I want you to do what I ask of you. Spend two weeks here at my command and I will teach you enough."
Voldemort lowered his head, "What is my first command, master?"
Abbadon pointed towards a pitcher in the corner, "Go and fill that pitcher from the river. I am thirsty. Then you will make arrangements for tonight supper."
This was the downside of working with Abbadon. He always used his apprentices for his menial work and there was no way that Voldemort could refuse. Only he could teach him enough so that he would be able to kill Harold Peverell for good.
Sir Nick
Harry searched for Sir Nick for quite a long time before he came upon him in the trophy room talking to the Bloody Baron. Why Nick would be talking to the Bloody Baron was anybody's guess but perhaps ghosts weren't hindered by house divisions as the students were. The Baron even glared at him once or twice while Harry respectfully waited for Nick to finish his conversation.
After they talked for about an hour, the Baron started to glide away. Harry called to get Nick's attention, "Nick, I need to talk to you."
Nick glided his way, "Harry, what I may do for you?"
"I have been looking for something for a while now. It is something that I have seen in someone's memories but that's all."
Nick mused, "Do you know where it is or what it is?"
"Yes, it is the diadem of Ravenclaw which has been hidden for centuries now. Recently I saw it in Tom Riddle's memories. I saw it in a very large room with windows, a high ceiling and piles of junk the size of small hills. I think the room is somewhere in the castle, but I don't know where."
Nick's head wobbled dangerously as he shook it, "Harry, I don't know anything about a room like that."
He was about to pass through a wall when Harry cried out in desperation, "Wait, I don't want to ask about that but something else."
Nick came back to him, "What else may I help you with?"
Harry asked him hesitantly, "Do you know anything about Helena Ravenclaw?"
Nick mused, "Helena Ravenclaw? Why do you ask about her?"
Harry spoke putting emphasis on every syllable, "Because. She. Was. The. Last. One. who had Ravenclaw's Diadem. Now can you tell me about her?"
Nick gathered his thoughts for a while before he began to speak, "You ask me about Helena Ravenclaw. I do indeed know a little more than others about her. When she ran away with her mother's diadem, Rowena sent a wizard after her to bring her back. The wizard tracked her to some distant corner of Europe but could not persuade her to return to Hogwarts. When he failed in the job, he did something unforgiveable to her. What he did to her is her own secret and she would be offended if I told you. If you want to know more then go and see the Grey Lady, the ghost of Ravenclaw tower."
With that Nick glided through the wall leaving Harry befuddled. It brought him back to the place from where they had started. A ghost had told him to talk to another ghost and specifically the Ghost of Ravenclaw Tower? He knew a little about the life of Sir Nicholas de Mimsy Porpington (Nick) and even the Fat Friar but there was virtually nothing that he had heard about the Grey Lady. The same way, almost nothing was known about the Bloody Baron. He wore those chains splattered with blood but whose blood was it? Maybe it was his or maybe it was someone else'.
He recalled the words Nick had said to him and a tiny flicker of hope arose in his heart. What if! No, he couldn't even think of it. It was just too good to be true but he really needed to see the Grey lady. May be he could ask Luna to accompany him. She would be able to help him.
London
The fireplace flared in the entrance hall of the Rosier Manor and an Auror stepped out clutching a piece of rope. Remus who had taken to staying around the entrance hall as often as he could was immediately upon the scene.
The Auror shoved the rope into his hand, "Portkey to Wiltshire. Werewolves have attacked a local village."
Remus took the rope and hollered for his men while making sure that the Auror had left through the fireplace. As his men assembled, he took the floo off the network. The manor had wards which wouldn't allow others to come in and the only way in was the floo. He had thought that Alastor himself would bring him the portkey but he had sent an underling. Remus was not going to just blindly trust that the man was indeed an Auror.
He had the hit-wizards patrol the property all the time till he returned while asking 4 of them to remain around the fireplace, just in case. While he was doing this, his men had gathered before him. As they were all getting in line, he told his elf to take the report to Harry.
After taking care of that little detail, he showed the rope to them and said, "The ministry has asked us for help. We will help them but I want only those who can wield a wand so that if it is a trap, we will be able to hold our own until help arrives."
He selected 10 of them who could wield wands and taking hold of the piece of rope, they were gone.
When they arrived in Wiltshire, they found that the village was actually under attack. About a dozen Aurors were in combat with 30 or so death eaters. To his horror he realised that there were about 20 werewolves mixed in with the death eaters. The only mercy was that it was not a full moon night so no one would be turned.
Signalling his men to attack, he let out a war cry and attacked two of the werewolves who were fighting one Auror. The Auror had an injury on his arm which was bleeding but he was holding his own against them. Wasting no time, Remus conjured a silver dagger which he banished at one of them and it impaled him in the throat. The werewolf fell to the ground, his body lifeless.
The other werewolf who had been distracted by this took a Bombarda to his chest which blew it apart.
The Auror had sent the lethal spell, taking advantage of the distraction Lupin had caused. Signalling the Auror to attack other wizards, Remus turned to find his next opponent, when he heard somebody challenge him, "Lupin, turn and face me."
Remus turned to find Fenrir Greyback himself who had just killed one of Remus's werewolves. Seeing Greyback, Remus felt the blood rushing to his head. Bellowing a guttural cry, he charged the werewolf.
Greyback could not keep himself away from the allure of battle and the chance to kill a few of the Aurors and the ministry's werewolves. He had come here despite the warnings from the members of Voldemort's inner circle.
As Remus ran towards him, Greyback also charged him. At the last possible moment, he jumped to lunge at Remus. But Remus saw the attack coming and flattened himself to the ground, causing Greyback to pass through thin air and tumble to the ground. The older werewolf tucked into a roll and tumbled back to his feet. By the time he did, he turned to find Remus facing him with a sword in one hand and the other hand behind his back. In his hidden hand was a dagger, the same one Harry had given him. Remus hadn't known it at the time, but Harry later told him that he had worked some dark curses into its blade and any werewolf to be so much as scratched by it would die a horrible death.
He started circling Fenrir who was equally apprehensive now. Fenrir lunged to his right side, thinking that he had gotten past Lupin's guard. With a twist of his body and a flash of the enchanted silver, the dagger flashed out and nicked Greyback as Lupin deftly dodged the attack. In his adrenalin induced state, Greyback hadn't even noticed that he was scratched and wouldn't have cared even if he did notice.
Lupin felt the dagger strike home. He knew it wasn't a deep cut and the fight may go on for some time yet, but he knew the older werewolf's fate was already sealed. All he had to do was keep his opponent busy while the curse took effect. But if he got the opportunity to strike again, he wouldn't pass it up. It was Fenrir Greyback who had attacked him and turned him into a werewolf all those years ago. Remus was going to pay him back for that tonight.
Greyback was being cautious, keeping an eye on his hands. He suddenly batted the sword aside and lunged forward, taking a swipe at Lupin's chest with his claws. Lupin stepped back, but not far enough, the claws leaving furrows in his flesh. While Greyback was close in though, the dagger flashed out and cut him again but missed this time.
Remus' eyes flashed amber as he howled out in pain but he refused to give into the rage that would have robbed him of his reason. He needed to outthink the crafty older werewolf and that wasn't going to happen if he attacked like a brainless beast.
The search for Luna ended when Harry found her out on the castle grounds, feeding Blackstorm. The Hippogriff was contentedly quivering with pleasure as he allowed Luna to play with his feathers and pet him.
Luna felt his presence before she saw him. Without turning to him, she said, "You have come to ask me to go and find the Grey lady, haven't you?"
Before Harry could answer her, Remus' elf popped in before him and squeaked, "Master Harry, Master Moony be in danger. He be gone to fight where wolves."
Harry turned to Luna, "I will see you later, Luna." He turned to the elf, "Take me to Neville Longbottom, will you?"
The elf took his hand and they apparated into the fifth year dorm where Neville almost fell off his bed. He picked himself up and said, "Nice way to pop in, mate."
Harry, who had no time for niceties, growled, "Get your sword and your armour, Longbottom. We're going hunting."
Ronald was not in the dorm. Harry sent his patronus to Ron while putting his armour on, "Come to the common room with Hermione. Bring your swords and armour. Elf will come to pick you both up. Make haste."
As the snow leopard ran away, Harry and Neville had caught hold of the elf's hand and Harry told her, "Take us to your master."
When they appeared in Wiltshire, the battle was in full progress. He turned to the elf, "Go to Hogwarts and bring Hermione and Ronald here, will you?"
The elf disappeared and Harry motioned for Neville to take on two werewolves who were in combat with those from the Rosier estate. To distinguish his men from Voldemort's, Harry had them wear Crimson robes which were a lighter shade than the Auror uniforms. Neville knew of this fact and took on those who were not wearing the uniforms.
As he ran towards Remus, a werewolf ran at him but with a motion of his hand, a dagger which he had summoned from his dagger belt left his hand and buried itself in the werewolf's neck. Another werewolf who charged at him found his head hurtling through the air having been decapitated in one strike.
Moody who was in the battle and was getting tired with the number of enemies he had slain, was elated when he saw the head hurtling through the air. To him it meant that the butcher had arrived!
Harry wanted to interfere in Remus's duel. He saw that he was wounded and blood was flowing freely from the wounds on his arms and torso but before he could do anything, Remus growled, "Stay out of it. Help the Aurors. This is between me and him."
Harry decided to let Remus handle it. He charged the death eaters who were in sufficient numbers to keep him busy. He started sending lightning bolts, conjured daggers and many curses at them. Neville had also made short work of one of the werewolves and was running towards another one. This one decided to charge him instead and as he ran, Neville braced himself to receive the charge on the point of his sword suddenly. The werewolf could not stop before he impaled himself on it. The blade exited through his spine. Wrenching his sword free of the dead weight, Neville joined one of the crimson clad werewolves in annihilating hostile werewolves and death eaters alike.
Ron and Hermione had been returning to the Common Room from the library when they received the message. They ran all the way to the Common Room and up to their dorms. When Hermione arrived back in the common room, in her armour, sword in hand, she found Ron and the house elf waiting for her there. The elf caught both their hands and disapparated with a loud crack.
By the time they arrived, the battle was coming to a close. There were only a few death eaters that remained standing. They could see Neville as he killed another werewolf by stabbing him through the throat with his sword. Harry was swinging his sword and had just killed another werewolf. The battle was mostly concentrated upon the place now where Remus was still fighting with Greyback.
Remus had lost his sword. It lay several paces away and Greyback and Remus were both covered with blood. The threat of Remus's enchanted dagger offset the greater strength and experience of Greyback. It did seem that the older werewolf was not moving as quickly as he had at the beginning of the fight. When Greyback was distracted, wiping the blood from his eyes, Remus sheathed the enchanted dagger and conjured an ordinary silver dagger in its place.
Greyback, who could not discern the difference, took a swipe at his left hand, knocking the dagger well out of reach. With a kick to his chest, Remus was knocked to the ground.
Greyback smirked viciously, thinking he was about to kill Lupin for good, "You know I felt merciful when I let you live all those years ago when I turned you. I should have killed you then but not to worry. I will correct that wrong today. Today you will die at my hands, Lupin and soon Peverell will follow you."
As he lunged for Lupin, Remus thrust his arm forward holding the enchanted dagger once more. This time, Greyback had no time to twist midway in the air. The dagger pierced his flesh and entered his abdomen. Remus kicked him away and he was thrown to the ground.
Remus stood and walked up to him, making guttural noises in his throat, his eyes flickering to amber and growled, "Today you die at my hands, Greyback. You ruined my life and those of many more. You turned me into a despicable being and I have waited for this day. Today, I avenge myself upon you."
By this time, the curse in the dagger was starting to take its full effect. Greyback's skin was drying quickly, flesh disappearing from his bones. He was turning into a mummy as he died. Remus twisted the dagger in his stomach before pulling it out. He roared as he plunged the dagger into the older werewolf over and over again. His arm worked with such speed that no one could say how many times the blade fell in the next minute. In that attack, he vented all the rage for what Greyback had done to him, the anguish for being treated as a diseased beast, the agony he went through at every full moon, the lost opportunities for friendship, for love. His aspect was so fearsome that not even Harry dared to approach him and tell him that the other werewolf was long dead.
Sirius who had apparated in at some time during the duel was the one to step forward. He caught Lupin's arm while saying loudly, "Moony, that's enough. He's dead Moony. He is dead. Remus let go."
Finally Remus seemed to hear what was being said to him. Sirius hugged him tightly while saying words of comfort in his ear. Remus wept unashamedly. Finally more Aurors started to arrive. Tonks who was among them took charge of Remus from him.
Sirius then turned to Harry, "Pup the battle is over. Return to the school now. You can call Remus later and talk to him."
Harry nodded and as Neville and he were about to leave, he heard the cries of 'Harry' and found himself being engulfed in a mane of bushy hair. Telling her to calm down, he turned to Neville to see that Ron had hugged him hard. Deciding to return to the castle as soon as they could, he summoned Dobby and Winky and asked them to take them to Hogwarts.
A/N- Thank you all for the reviews. And you all guessed correctly. It is Abbadon.
