You know... I was about to shut down my computer at nearly 11pm, when I felt a nagging something that I had forgotten something... checked my Remeberall and low and behold, red smoke... then I noticed it was Tuesday, and I hadn't posted yet... yeah, good thing that huh? enjoy!
Chapter Seven
Heart of Corruption
Bellatrix cackled as he dodged a blast from Potter's wand, even as the violent spell struck the lesser Death Eater behind her. Entering the old family manor had proven far too easy, despite the enchantments that had been placed upon it by Dumbledore and others, the old blood magic that tied the Blacks together was able to override any attempts to hide the building from Bellatrix, making her in effect a secret keeper for Grimmauld Place. And she was more than willing to bring many friends with her to clear out anyone hiding in her family's home and liberate the books her Master required.
Finding Potter himself and his little Mudblood here was just a bonus, but one that she full intended to capitalize upon. Let the little girl run, there was no escape. Firing a dark bone breaker at Potter, Bellatrix charged into the house, the Dark Lord's followers surging in behind her.
Potter was quicker however, and simply sidestepped the spell, responding with a flash of light which shook the very foundation of the house. Bellatrix staggered, and there was a crack of apparition. Wildly she looked around for the new fighter, but there was only an old house elf beside Potter.
"Master called for Kreacher?" the filthy thing said with a bow.
"Kreacher, these uninvited intruders serve the man who murdered Master Regulus. I know that Miss Bella is family, but she approves of the man who killed your favorite Master. They must be removed from this house."
To Bella's great surprise, the elf turned on her and the Death Eaters with fire in its massive eyes. "Yes Master," the little elf responded obediently.
Snarling in disgust, Bella slashed her wand. Potter and one house elf wouldn't stop her from her goal. Pressing the attack, Bellatrix was stopped short by the powerful shield that Potter conjured. As much as she hated the boy, she had to give him credit as a powerful caster of defensive magic. But it would not save him from her wrath.
Drawing on her newfound powers, Bellatrix cackled as the shadows of the ancient house stared to bend and warp themselves, forming long seeking tendrils of magical power. Cackling in the throes of such power, Bellatrix thrust her wand forward, commanding the shadow magic to attack her enemies.
~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~
Harry watched the shadows of Grimmauld Place come to life, and warp on Bellatrix's command, seeking to drown him and Kreacher in darkness. In a flash, his wand revealed its true form, and from the massive emerald a shield of brilliant light surged forth to combat the darkness.
Kreacher stood beside him, gaping in slight amazement, watching the powers of light and darkness battle before him. Harry knew that he had the power to enter and leave the house at will, as he was rightfully head of the Black Family, thanks to Sirius' will, but Hermione could not, and their only reliable escape was blocked by the Death Eaters. "Kreacher!" he commanded, getting the elf's attention, I order you to take Hermione back to Faykan, get her out of here safely!"
There were tears in the little elf's eyes, clearly concerned over Harry's own safety, but he obeyed, disapparating with a sharp crack.
Bellatrix laughed again, "The Mudblood may escape for now, wee Potter, but you are finished here!"
The surrounding five Death Eaters fired spells of their own, striving to weaken the powerful elf-magic shield that Harry had woven around himself, and allowing Bellatrix's shadow magic to consume him. Even within the wall of light and warmth Harry could feel the chill, similar in feeling to the presence of a Dementor without the pain of memories.
It would have been a problem for Harry, if he was remaining on the defensive only. Throwing his arms outward, Harry silently commanded his shield to expand, banishing the shadows and throwing several launched spells back toward the Death Eaters who cast them, and more importantly giving Harry time to counterattack.
Leveling his staff at Bellatrix, Harry unleashed a barrage of formless magic, taking the form of lightning and fire. The mad witch was forced to discontinue her shadow spell to dodge, but the poor fools behind here weren't so lucky. Three more were incinerated within moments.
Harry turned to withdraw to a point where he could apparate safely, but stumbled as a long whip-like cord snaked around his ankle. Bellatrix smirked, jerking back on her wand as the transfigured end went taught, dragging Harry out of his stable position.
Kreacher reappeared with a explosive crack, banishing the Death Eaters backward and freeing Harry, "Run Master, Kreacher will hold the invaders off."
"Kreacher…" Harry said, stunned at the elf's turn of loyalty to him over even Bellatrix.
"Go Master!" Kreacher repeated, snapping his fingers to awaken all the portraits in the hall. Mrs. Black wailed in outrage at the damage to her home, causing many to cover their ears at her shrieks.
"Thank you Kreacher…" Harry said, tears glistening in his eyes, and he ran through the door to the kitchen, turning on the spot and teleporting quickly back to Orthanc. Landing in the main hall of the tower, Harry felt a surge of magic accompanying a cry of pain that sounded like Kreacher. Closing his eyes, he silently mourned the death of the little elf that had done so much for them over the short time they had known him.
Grimmauld Place may be lost, but they had retrieved all that they needed from there. There would be time enough to reclaim it, and avenge Kreacher.
~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~
Hermione watched Harry for the last few days before their deadline of entering the Ministry. From the Portrait of Headmaster Black, they learned that, while Severus was indeed currently Headmaster, the real power behind Voldemort's control of the school lay in the Carrow Twin and Theodore Nott himself, who were handing punishments out for any sort of resistance to the new administration.
Severus himself was doing what damage control he could, while secretly mustering new recruits for the D.A., which Neville, Luna and Ginny had reformed in secret. Thankfully, unlike Umbridge, the Carrows were rather dim, and for the moment didn't suspect a thing.
The news was reassuring, but still hard to take, with the thought of a Voldemort run Hogwarts. Harry immediately vowed that they would retake the school, but realistically Hermione didn't see that happening until they had destroyed the majority of the Horcruxes. Touching Hogwarts was sure to being down the full wrath of the Dark Lord, and they simply weren't ready to destroy him yet.
The Ministry, and the locket Horcrux was their only current lead, and that was what they needed to focus on. Faykan had finally recovered enough to walk under his own power, and was joining them often to finalize their attack plans. Hermione smirked when she noticed that the boy now was sporting a very thin, but rapidly growing beard. None of the others seemed to notice or care however, so she didn't comment.
Their plan was to enter the Ministry via the Department of Mysteries, which would be facilitated by Bode and the other Unspeakable that were on their side. From that point, under animagus forms or disguised, they would split into two teams: one headed by Harry who'd search for Umbridge and take the locket, and another by Faykan that would cause a disturbance to flush the woman out of hiding.
It was extremely risky, as there was no telling where the woman might be at any time, but they had little choice but to try their best. For disguises, Faykan and Harry could both transfigure themselves readily into the shapes of far older men, who'd be overlooked in any crowd with the aid of notice-me-not charms, while Hermione and Ron would take Polyjuice to resembled Unspeakables. Draco, with his small animagus form, could hide in a pocket or the bag that Hermione would bring with them, and work as scout and possible decoy if needed.
They knew that Death Eaters would be crawling all over the Ministry, but they had a job to do and there was no time for a full out battle to occur. When the time finally came, Broderick arrived at Orthanc with two vials of potion, and a small talisman that functioned as a Portket into the Department of Mysteries.
"This will take you directly to the Antechamber of the Department," he explained as he handed the pendant to Faykan, "From there you can simply ask the room to give you the exit, and it will open out into the Ministry proper."
"Thank you Broderick," Faykan replied solemnly.
"Be safe," the Unspeakable added, apparating away, presumable to make ready for their arrival.
Hermione and Ron looked at each other, before quickly downing the vile tasting liquid. Even as they changed, Hermione could hear Faykan and Harry muttering spells to transfigure their clothing into proper sized red Unspeakable robes, and she silently thanked them for making sure that the garments weren't destroyed in the process of their changes.
When it was finally over, Hermione turned to look at Ron, who was a perfect copy of unspeakable Bode, who had just left them. "If you're Bode," she said, her voice gruff and very gravely, "then who am I?"
"Unspeakable Croaker," Faykan answered, "Another of our close allies, but he doesn't speak much so you don't have to worry about people questioning you, just stare at them and they should back down if your approached."
Harry nodded in agreement, "Alright, I'll take Ron and Hermione and searched the lower levels for Umbridge. With her new position as Voldemort's personal tormentor of the Muggleborns, I have a good guess that they'll be in the large, ancient courtrooms beneath the Ministry. The old toad would just love to lord over other people in those vile halls."
"Agreed," Faykan answered, "I'll take Draco and cause havoc in the Atrium, while he sniffs around the offices in case she's up there. With luck maybe a few Death Eaters will be caught in the mix, and there'll be less to worry about later."
"Still," Ron said, pausing as he adjusted to hearing his own new voice, "keep casualties to a minimum if you can."
"Oh, I won't harm anyone…" Faykan said with a Slytherin smirk, "I'm just thinking of an old specter of Umbridge's past paying a little visit to her place of work…"
Hermione widened her eyes at what Faykan was implying. The chaos caused by the boy in their fifth year would indeed play a perfect distraction for anyone who was unfortunate enough to be in the Atrium at the time he arrived there.
"Ready?" Harry asked, even as he brandished his wand and started transfiguring himself.
"Indeed," Faykan said, his own young form shifting into that of an old wizened man, long graying beard almost touching the ground.
"Activate!" Harry commanded, and the Portkey glowed a brilliant blue, whisking the five of them off to their mission.
~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~
Draco immediately shifted the moment they landed, flinching momentarily from the burst of sounds and smells that bombarded his ferret form. The Department of Mysteries held a strange assortment of these two senses that a human would either ignore or not notice, but as a ferret, Draco wondered momentarily what on earth the Unspeakables were up to.
Faykan scooped Draco up in his gnarled, ancient-seeming hands, and under a powerful notice-me-not charm, the two 'visitors' and their Unspeakable guides exited the Department.
Draco, from his strange vantage point from a robe pocket, recognized this hallway from their previous venture in the Ministry nearly two years ago, and figured that they were nearest to the level of the old courtrooms that Harry, Ron and Hermione were planning to investigate. Arriving at a 'T' juncture, the four still in human form looked at each other, nodded in agreement, and separated, Draco being carried along by Faykan as they made their way to the lifts.
The golden grills of the lift opened as they approached, releasing a few Ministry workers, but no one that Draco could recognize by sight or smell. Entering and hitting the button for the Atrium, Faykan withdrew Draco from his pocket, setting the little white ferret on the ground nearest the door, yet out of sight should someone enter on their way up.
As they clattered upward, there was a healthy flow of people on and off the lift, and it stopped at nearly every floor. It seemed that Faykan had expected this, and was waiting for the correct level on his way up.
"Level one, Minister of Magic and Support Staff." rang an annoying pleasant female voice in the lift. As the grills opened, Faykan subtly nudged Draco with his foot, sending the ferret stealthily skirting onto the floor. Even as he turned to watch, the grills were already closing again, as the lift continued on its way upward.
People were speaking all around him, but no one bothered to look down or notice the wiry body as Draco wove his way around people's feet. There was only a few places for him to check out here, one of which being Umbridge's office itself, and afterward return to the lift to rejoin Faykan in the Atrium.
Relying more on smell than sight, Draco passed door after door. Momentarily he wondered how, when he found the right door, he was going to get inside at all. Even if he did, it seemed highly unlikely that Umbridge would have left the Horcrux here, where anyone could find it, but that was not a risk that they were willing to take.
Darting around a corner, after barely dodging a long trail of parchment that was draging along the ground after a muttering wizard, who was too focused on dictating to his quill to even look around him, Draco found himself in a wide open space where dozens of witches and wizard were sitting in rows of small desks, very familiar to those back at Hogwarts. The effect was just sickening enough that Draco just knew that he was close.
The assembled wizards and witches were systematically waving their wands, causing squares of colored parchment to fly in every direction like organized confetti. Draco recognized the process that wizards assembled pamphlets.
As Draco sneaked nearer to try and satisfy a burst of curiosity to the contents of the pamphlets, he overheard one of the workers whisper to a nearby employee, "Will the old hag be interrogating Mudbloods all day, does anyone know?"
"Careful," the wizard beside her said, glancing around nervously; while one of his pages slipped to the floor. Draco darted over to it, looking over the cover with an angry twitch of his whiskers.
'Mudbloods and the dangers they pose to a peaceful Pure-blood society,' it read. Draco had no doubts as to the author, despite there being none named.
"Yeah," added another of the nearby witches, "I hear she's downstairs for a while at least, save us the hassle of her breathing down our necks."
"Enough," the wizard said again, "I hear she can get really nasty when she's mad, and who knows who she has bribed to rat out anything to her…"
The surrounding workers were clearly as terrified of the old bat as anyone back at Hogwarts had been, and Draco looked around quickly before he found the door to the woman's office. The small plaque in the center of the door read, 'Dolores Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister,' and a second, newer plaque below that one read on, 'Head of the Muggle-Born Registration Commission.'
Nearly squeaking in rage, Draco looked quickly toward the bottom of the door. In luck, there was a sizeable gap along the bottom of the door, not big enough for humans to care about, but possibly just tall enough for a ferret to squeeze through, with effort.
Making certain that he was still unseen, Draco scampered over to the door, flattened himself to the ground as much as he could, stretched forward and began to squirm through the gap. Thanks to the creature that he was transformed as, Draco had more than enough ability to flatten himself further and further, a trait normally used to enter small burrow and capture prey, but in this case allowing the wizard to slip right under the door without a sound.
Making certain that no one outside had reacted, Draco returned to human form, shaking his head from the sudden loss of so many sensory abilities. Looking around at the office, he shook his head in disgust. It looked exactly like the woman's office back at Hogwarts: lace draperies, doilies, and dried flowers on every surface. The same hideous ornate plates lined the walls, each bearing a highly colored, beribboned kitten, each in a different act of sickening cuteness.
The desk was covered with a flouncy, flowered cloth. Looking around for the locket seemed that it would take too long, so Draco quickly withdrew his wand, "accio locket." he said, unsurprised when nothing happened.
He was just about to set to manually searching the room when a resounding bang from above made the entire room quake. Looking up sharply, Draco almost laughed as he recognized Faykan's tell-tale sign of a distraction starting.
Knowing that his time was up, Draco was about to turn back to the door, when he heard hurried footsteps just on the other side. He only just managed to transform as the door burst open. Peering up from beneath Umbridge's desk, Draco watched the new Minister of Magic, Pius Thickness, as the man looked around wildly. The man was probably searching for his undersecretary, but in not finding her, he merely pointed his wand at a quill on the desk, which scribbled a note on a spare bit of parchment before the man turned and disappeared out the door again.
Draco scrambled after Thickness, darting past the now panicking Ministry workers to the lifts, careful not to be trod upon by the surge of people that were trying to get up to the Atrium to discover the source of the disturbance.
~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~
Harry, along with Ron and Hermione, wandered around the lower levels of the Ministry for wherever Umbridge may be taking the Muggleborns to 'register' them. The nearer they came to courtroom five, the very same one that Harry himself was tried in two years ago, the air started to become unnaturally chilled.
"Dementors…" Ron said softly, shivering.
Harry's vision seemed to become foggy, and as they descended the last of the stairs to the courtroom level they turned to a dreadful scene. The dark passage outside the courtrooms was packed with almost a dozen tall, black-hooded figures, their faces completely hidden and their ragged breathing the only sound in the place.
The petrified Muggleborns brought in for questioning sat huddled and shivering on hard wooden benches. Most of them were hiding their faces with their hands, attempting to shield themselves from the dementors' greedy mouths. Some were accompanied by families, but most sat alone.
Harry knew he'd be recognized immediately if he used his Patronus to fend off the dementors, but thankfully he came prepared. Even as Ron and Hermione raised their wands Harry produced from his cloak the Phial of Galadriel. Wordlessly, the light of the great star flared to life, causing the dementors to shrink back with a shuddering gasp.
The Muggleborns and their families gasped collectively, but the trio had no time to comfort them just yet. Both Hermione and Ron conjured their Patronus, the Terrier and Otter circling the Muggleborns and keeping the dementors away while Harry pressed onward.
Abruptly, one of the dungeon doors on the left of the corridor was flung open, accompanied by screams from within.
"No, no, I'm half-blood, I'm half-blood, I tell you! My father was a wizard, he was, look him up, Arkie Alderton, he's a well-known broomstick designer, look him up, I tell you… get your hands off…"
"This is your final warning," replied Umbridge's soft voice, magically magnified so that it sounded clearly over the man's desperate screams. "If you struggle, you will be subjected to the Dementor's Kiss."
The man's screams subsided, but dry sobs echoed through the corridor. Even as Umbridge ordered the man taken away, Harry's anger reached the boiling point. Even as two Dementors appeared in the doorway of the courtroom, clutching a wizard in their rotting, scabbed hands, Harry raised the Phail overhead. The crystal flashed, blasting the two cloaked wraiths backward.
"Next…" Umbridge started to say, but stopped, obviously catching the brilliant white light in the corridor. Harry froze, and when nothing appeared in the doorway, he drew his wand suspiciously. "Next, Mary Cattermole," Umbridge called again.
A small woman stood up, looking at the trio cautiously as she walked toward the courtroom door. Harry, Ron and Hermione followed, flanking her protectively as they crossed the threshold. Harry kept his hand on the Phial of Galadriel even as he returned it to his pocket, and was glad he did when he saw the twenty or more dementors that were inside the courtroom, standing like sentinels all around the room.
Behind a balustrade, Umbridge sat regally with the Death Eater Yaxley beside her. Patrolling at the foot of the platform was Umbridge's Patronus, a bright-silver and long-haired cat, obviously protecting only the prosecutors from the influence of the soul sucking wraiths.
Totally ignoring Harry, Ron and Hermione, Umbridge spoke directly to Mrs. Cattermole in her soft, sickly silky voice, "Sit down."
As the woman stumbled to take the single seat in the middle of the floor, the three infiltrators ducked around to ascend the raised platform where Umbridge and Yaxley were sitting. The Death Eater glanced at them all, but Umbridge was far too consumed with tormenting her newest victim to care or notice.
"You are Mary Elizabeth Cattermole?" the toad-like woman asked, glancing once at the file in her pudgy hands.
The woman seated below them gave a single, shaky nod.
"Married to Reginald Cattermole of the Magical Maintenance Department?" Umbridge continued, completely unmoved by the other woman's fear.
Again, Mrs. Cattermole nodded, looking around for someone, her husband perhaps.
"A wand was taken from you upon arrival at the Ministry today, Mrs. Cattermole," Umbridge said, "Eight and three quarter inches, cherry, unicorn-hair core. Do you recognize that description?"
Mrs. Cattermole nodded once more, wiping an eye with her sleeve.
"Could you please tell us from which witch or wizard you took that wand?" Umbridge said at last, and Harry's blood started to boil in his veins.
"T-took?" Mrs. Cattermole said nervously, on the brink of tears. "I didn't t-take it from anybody. I b-bought it when I was eleven years old. It… it chose me."
Umbridge laughed, the soft girlish giggle raking across Harry's nerves. The squat woman leaned forward to look directly at Mrs. Cattermole, and something gold swung forward too, the locket dangled from her short neck.
"No," Umbridge said, "no, I don't think so, Mrs. Cattermole. Wands only choose witches or wizards. You are not a witch. I have your responses to the questionnaire that was sent to you here…" she flipped to a different page in her folder, "'Parents' professions: greengrocers…'"
Yaxley laughed jeeringly. Harry had had enough. Rising to his feet, Ron and Hermione looking in terror as the lights in the room flickered, Harry brought the full weight of his staff down on the Death Eater with a mighty blow, sending Yaxley crumpling across the banister.
Umbridge yelped in shock, whirling to look at Harry, and the Patronus shimmered as fear overtook her. "DOLORES UMBRIDGE!" Harry roared, his voice magically magnified and thundering around the room. Everyone else had to cover their ears at the noise. "YOU MUST NOT TELL LIES!"
Umbridge's face contorted with fury, and her stubby wand appeared in her hands like lightning. Harry was faster, and a bright green shield erupted into place before her spell even left her mouth. The curse impacted the energy bubble, spiraling off in another direction. Ron and Hermione dashed in either direction, Hermione going to Mrs. Cattermole, while Ron summoned his Patronus to drive away the dementors at the door.
"You won't get away so easily this time Mr. Potter," Umbridge said roughly, her eyes dark with anger as she held her wand out threateningly. Harry ignored her taunts, drawing Hadhafang with a flourish and swinging it toward the woman, who shrieked and dodged. The blade caught something else, its true target: the cord holding the locket around her thick neck.
The Horcrux when flying, skittering across the stone floor and leaving gouged where it bounced, where Hermione recovered it and stowed it away in her bag. Harry turned to leave, when Umbridge screamed, "NO!" and went berserk with her wand. Curses and hexes went flying in all directions, while the dementors above started to glide down. Shield still erected, Harry weathered the bombardment of spells, redrawing the Phial of Galadriel and charging a powerful blast of light from it and his staff.
The twin pulses merged to drive the Dementors back, but the creatures had gone completely out of control. Two went for Umbridge, who was still madly flinging spells in all direction. Ron, Hermione and Mrs. Cattermole were out the door, with Harry shielding the rear. As they slammed the courtroom door, there was an earsplitting scream from within, followed by a massive earthquake from above.
"I think Faykan's making our escape distraction," Hermione said, even as they all turned to face the crowds outside the courtroom. Between the Phial and two Patronus charms, the dementors were forced far back from the Muggleborns and their families.
"It's been decided that you should all go home and go straight into hiding with your families," Harry said commandingly to them all. "Go abroad if you can. Just get well away from Britain for the time being. Now if you'll all just follow us to the lifts, you will all be leaving via the Atrium."
With the twenty or so people following close behind, Harry Ron and Hermione quickly made their way to the lifts. Apparently, due to the ruckus upstairs, there were many more people going in the same direction, so it was easy to filter into the crowd and out of sight of the Ministry guards and secret Death Eaters.
The Trio waited at the lifts to make sure everyone from the courtroom area was safely aboard and on their way upward before boarding themselves.
"Level eight," said the witch's cool voice, "Atrium."
As the golden grills opened, Harry's eyes widened at the sheer amount of chaos and destruction that had taken place. It made the battle between Voldemort, Faykan and Dumbledore look like a few loose papers in comparison.
Where once the fountain of magical brethren stood, there had been some other monument put in its place, but only a blasted stone foundation now remained, the rest scattered across the Atrium in tiny pieced. Harry guessed that it exploding was what caused the earthquake down below. Fire and lightning flew in circuits around the room, while transfigured foxes and Kitsunes of fire rampaged over anything that would burn.
Wizards were running in every direction, trying to stop the destruction, but everything they attempted only caused nastier consequences. Harry spotted a wizard attempting to stun one of the foxes, only for the thing to explode as it multiplied into three more, each giving off a shower of sparks as they raced off in different directions.
A line of Ministry guards were in the middle, horror on their faces as they leveled their wands at Faykan, who had cast off all disguise and stood, staff alighted, about two feet in the air and supported there by a column of flame. His eyes were flaming brands of white, and he chanted spell after spell in the elvish tongue, no doubt causing more havoc and destruction throughout the Ministry.
"Go, go now!" Harry said, coming to his senses. They needed to get out while all attention was on Faykan. Shepherding the muggleborns and their families, Harry, Ron and Hermione started to go for the nearest floo connection. They had made it halfway from the lifts, when Hermione shrieked. Whipping around, Harry spotted a massive figure leaping from a high balcony at them. The filthy hair, long yellow teeth and above all the stench of the man left no one wondering who it was.
Fenrir Greyback smirked as he straightened to his full height. "The Dark Lord will pay a handsome price for your Head Potter…" he said, before suddenly charging.
"Run!" Harry yelled at the group with them, who wasted no time sprinting away from the werewolf.
Splitting up in the mob of people, Harry fired a stunner behind him, not knowing if it hit Fenrir or not. Something cut him as he ran, but Harry continued to weave through the mob of people in the Atrium.
With a deafening bang, the line of wizards in front of Faykan were knocked about as the column of fire shot outward, and Faykan was among them, bashing with his staff to shunt them aside.
Spells flew, but with a flash a massive golden shield surrounded the Istari. Harry had lost Hermione and Ron in the stampede of people, but as he turned to head toward his best friend, a snarl behind him signaled for Harry to drop to the ground. Greyback flew over him, missing by inches.
As the werewolf landed and turned, dirty fingers spread like claws and teeth bared. Harry responded more out of instinct than rational thought. As Greyback lunged again, he was met by a wall of force, which threw the man backward as he impacted it.
Even as Fenrir tried to recover, Faykan arrived at Harry's side. The Ministry guards were starting to regroup and spells were peppering the shield that the Istari was keeping up. Hastily looking around, Harry realized that Ron, Hermione and even Draco had vanished in the mayhem. "Time to go," he said to Faykan as he blocked a stray spell.
"Aww… and I was just starting to have fun…" Faykan complained sarcastically, to which Harry snorted. It was brilliant how his friend could joke even as they fought in a life and death situation.
Together the pair of Istari turned on their heels, and apparated back to Orthanc. The last thing Harry saw was the rage in Greyback eyes as his prey disappeared out from under him and all the Ministry's wards, which were no match for their superior power. With the Ministry under Voldemort's control, Harry had no qualms about ripping their wards apart by punching through them. it would make it all the easier to retake the place when the madman was good and dead.
Appearing out in front of the tower next to Faykan, the pair of Istari watched as Draco, Ron and Hermione appeared in a swirl of Portkey blue. "Well, that couldn't have been more flawless," he said to them, smiling.
"Harry, your arm," Hermione said, and he looked down at the limb to see his stained sleeve. The cut that he had ignored at the time was far more severe than he had originally expected. Faykan seized the limb, waving his wand over the spot urgently.
"What's the big deal, it's just a scratch…" Draco said, but Hermione shushed him.
"Harry was fighting Fenrir Greyback, even one little cut is a big deal, if the werewolf inflicted it. Greyback regularly cleans his fingernails with his teeth, coating them with his infected saliva, so any wound of his in either form could transmit the disease." Faykan explained. "Thankfully, this was not made by him, and is fine."
Sealing the cut with a final wave, Faykan turned to Hermione and Ron, "Did you get it then?" he asked.
"Yes, I have the locket right here," Hermione said, pulling the chicken egg sized pendant from her bag. The ornate letter 'S' in the center, inlaid with many small green stones, glinted innocently in the torch light. Harry could feel the dark magic emanating off of it even as it swung gently back and forth from the broken cord in Hermione's hand.
"So this is it…" Ron said, leaning in to examine the locket. "Now that we have it, how do we destroy it?"
"There's only a select few substances that will destroy a Horcrux," Hermione said slowly, looking down at the cursed locket, "From what I've read, Basilisk Venom is the most common substance to eliminate one. The next is fiendfyre, powerful cursed fire that is nearly impossible to control. But I don't think we have access to either of these options…"
"There are a few dark rituals that can eliminate a Horcrux, but they have terrible prices that I am unwilling to make anyone pay. However, there is one option that would work for us, even if we have to travel to accomplish it."
Harry caught Faykan's eye, seeing the glint of a smirk in them. 'You don't mean…' he thought with a start.
'I see no other options Kentano,' was Faykan's reply. "We can travel to a place steeped in evil, and throw the locket into the very heart of doom…"
Ron and Draco looked confused at Faykan's statement, but Hermione, who had read nearly as much of the Red Book of Westmarch as Harry had, looked up in shock and surprise, "You mean the dark mountain of Mordor, Orodruin?"
"The very same," Faykan affirmed, "There will have to be many preparations for us to go there, not to mention making sure that we will not be missed while we deal with the Horcrux, but I feel that it would be a good moral booster to destroy one portion of Voldemort's ties to the earth."
"I… agree," Harry said slowly, but he was still worried. There was something hanging in the air, like a cloud of magic around the Horcrux, and bringing it to that accursed land would be less than ideal. However, to destroy a portion of Voldemort's soul… it would be well worth the risk.
