The Mutated Amagi Chronicles

Chapter One: Stonebank
It was a dark time for the users of magic.
In this time of chaos, near the ancient defensive port of Stonebank, the Auror Harry Potter walked along a trail of shadows. There had been recent rumors that the fort was haunted by an enraged spirit, seeking vengance at the expense of the owners. The credibility of these rumors were doubtful, yet the suspicions of the new Commonwealth of Magic, barely in its 2nd year, has resulted in the Auror team known as Padfoot's Hunters' summoning to investigate the incident.

The fort, once respected by all of Europe in its heyday, was now a caricature of its original self, tarnished and worn by the ages.

As Potter neared the rotting and molding fort, his thoughts began to wander. It had been 3 years and 2 months since their partly successful assault against Voldemort. With the magical world still in ruins from the struggle with the Dark Lord, good help and decent leaders were getting more and more difficult to obtain.
Especially with the ongoing muggles' war between the Radical Nations of Islam, united under the flag of the World Liberation Army, against the united forces of the European and the American "infidels". The war has further crippled the magic community, as more and more local wizards, witches, and other magic-users have been drafted to further the war. A few high-level magic-users were able to create simulacra to replace them on the battlefield, but for each one saved, a dozen more were forced to fight for causes that they did not believe in.

In this battle, there was no good or evil, only two sides vying for control of oil, a resource much needed by muggles to create and maintain their machinery. Yet still the battle rages. The once "Democratic" governments had invoked the power of martial law to completely take over their nation. And with muggles that fear for their lives and possessions more than anything else, who could stop the governments from becoming totalitarian dictatorships? And if that wasn't enough, the great country of China, asleep for so long, has finally awakened to become a world superpower. Many muggles and wizards alike speculate that China's conquests will soon be on the horizon.
And yet, in all this turmoil, the magic community has become united as it has never before. Perhaps it was the fear of a world dominated by the dark arts. Perhaps they thought that by uniting, they could survive. No matter what is was, it worked. When the Ministry of Magic and other magical governments collapsed, the people of magic worked together in ways unheard of. Old wars were smoothed over, new alliances were forged, heck, the dwarfs and the giants, enemies since a time no one remembered, were helping rebuild in the same town!

Potter found himself arriving at the meeting spot at least half an hour early, and decided to explore the edges of the fort, preparing for the trial ahead. Yet, as he scrutinized the area with his recently surgically modified eyes (muggle science is truly useful, no?), his mind began wandered once more.

Yes, temporarily, it was a happy time. New developments and spells were realized, new hopes ignited and old dreams soared anew.
Yet this happy time was preceded by a period of terror and madness. Every wizard and witch in Europe remembered when the Ministry of Magic, lead by the cowardly Fudge, had determinedly rebuked every shred of evidence that Voldemort had returned, when everyone else who had a portion of their brain working either ran or prepared. Of those who stayed, many were in the Ministry themselves, but had given up talking to Fudge. When Voldemort finally stuck, after sinking his claws into every known department of the Ministry, there wasn't even half of a struggle. Because of this, magic community vowed to never be caught off guard as the Ministry had been then.
It was rumored that Fudge got away, but no one has seen a trace of him since the invasion.
But then, whenever you eliminate the weak link in a chain, the reforged chain is stronger than its former self. So it was with the new age of wizardry. New technological advances were embraced, and old barriers were broken without a thought. Advances using magic and muggle science combined created spells with effects that were a far cry from their ancient, power-draining counterparts.
For example, with the discovery that certain elements, such as the Noble Gases, could deflect or absorb magic, new shields of magic, composed of simple summoning spells, could be conjured up in little or no time. Not only was this efficient, but there would be virtually no drain on the user to maintain the shield, as the elements would remain at the spot where they were summoned until they dissipated naturally.
However, some of the advances and discoveries that remolded the magic-using world were not new. Elemental magic and wandless magics, raw and powerful magics from an earlier period of time, were becoming popular. These magics were deemed too dangerous for use during the rise of the Ministry, as the magic not only reflected, but also influenced its user.
Dreadfully few were gifted with the power of the elements, yet almost everyone who had the gift of magic could use wandless magic. The power is erratic and dependent on the user's emotions, yet powerful in the hands of a disciplined user who understands its mechanics. However, these magics are somewhat corrosive, and using them can cause the user to continue to try for greater magics. Muggles call this addiction, wizards call this the road to greatness. Whatever they call it, it's still there, unchanged. But then, few cared about such things. Their minds were set on defending against Voldemort, and becoming stronger as fast as they could was one of their main priorities.

After surveying the fort's surroundings for possible weaknesses and areas suited for concealment, Harry Potter once again returned to the arranged meeting spot.

This time, however, he was not alone. As he approached the bare patch of dirt that he had marked with a thunderbolt, he noticed a black form approaching on his right.
Spinning around, wand already in hand, Harry readied a stun spell. He, and undoubtedly many others of the team, had already programmed his most commonly used spells, hexes, curses, the whole lot in the brand new issue cyber-wand attachments. A recent working of Hermirone's genius tinkering, these attachments fused to your wand and stored spells for later use. No longer needing to do complex wand movements along with difficult-pronouncing spells, Aurors armed with these attachments were able to focus more on making sure their spells found their targets. Discharging the Stupify curse at the target, Potter suddenly realized whom he had fired at and hurriedly performed the counter-curse on the collapsed large, black dog, which then transformed into his godfather.
"Dammit, Harry, that's the FIFTH time that's happened!!" Sirius Black angrily sputtered as he massaged his numb arm.
"I'm sorry, godfather. Perhaps you'll next time call my name, instead of sneaking up on me?" Harry Potter attempted to wipe the snicker off his face, but found he couldn't.
"Oh well. No harm done, I suppose. Lemme guess, you took the liberty of spying around the target, as well?" Harry was suddenly all business.
"As always, Snuffles, as always." Harry smirked, as Sirius cringed at the sound of the nickname he had bestrowed upon himself when the world was still out for him. "The place seems to be secure, with no obvious back exits and one heavy gate. Any of the former residents say what chased them out?" That question had worried Harry for the last few hours.
Obviously, it had worried Sirius, as well. "I don't know exactly. Intelligence says that they were able to get only 2 recognizable words out of the poor fools."
"Go on, godfather, let's not keep anyone in suspense, now."
"The two words were 'bug' and 'claws'." Sirius looked dead serious.

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