Harry Potter and the Icons of Myth
By: souls
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Author's Note: Chapters may not be as forthcoming as before. I am presently in the middle of discussions on Shakespeare and many early American authors. They have been and probably will be occupying a great majority of my time but I will do my best to get Chapters out to you as quickly as I can.
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Harry Potter and the Icons of Myth
Chapter 27: Declarations of War
-November15th-Starshold, Auror training camp-
Belfast, Northern Ireland-
Felix and Tidwell were on sentry duty. Felix grumbled the entire time. 'One lousy trip to the pub and I'm on sentry duty for a month. 'Ow's a guy supposed to get 'is libations I asks you?' Tidwell poked Felix to shut him up. The night was cool and dark. The full moon had come and gone so they didn't have to worry about werewolves tonight. They both stood leaning up against the wall to an old petrol-refining factory. There wasn't any petrol to be had from the place, which made it a perfect spot.
There were Muggle repelling charms on the site for about a block. Anyone just looking at the place would see rusted and derelict petrol plant instead of the well-kept grounds the Auror training facility. There were also anti-entrancing apparation wards extending five blocks further. The wards allowed people to apparate on the grounds and out of the grounds but not into them from the outside. This gave them ample warning in case of a Death Eater attack.
Nothing seemed out of the ordinary that night. It was just another boring night like every other Felix and Tidwell had spent on sentry duty. Muggle cars passed by never noticing the place as they instantly became focused on driving safely away. This particular road was one of the safest in the country. Felix pulled his wand out. He thought he heard something but immediately dismissed it. It was really cold anyway and he never noticed that the temperature had changed from chilly to deathly cold. The Dementors were upon them before they could fire off a single to other sentries inside the camp.
"Well done my faithful servants. Feast upon our enemies." A group of Dementors ghosted passed the dark lord. He paid no attention to them as he turned to three slack jawed and misty-eyed Muggles. "Imperio!" He said as he pointed his wand at the Muggle men. They picked up several satchels and entered the camp. The wards didn't affect them as they went blindly and emotionlessly about their business.
Voldemort cackled as he and his Death Eaters watched the slaughter before them. The Dementors leaving soulless bodies to wander aimlessly around the camp. Several Death Eaters took perverse glee in placing the pitiful shells under Imperius. They danced about a caricature of a human being.
"Burn it all down." The hard cold words of Voldemort flared within the minds of the enthralled Muggles. An explosion rocked the area with the deafening roar of flames and helpless screams. With the destruction of the Camp came the crashing of its protective wards. "Necros Imperus Animatus!" The dark lord bellowed in an accurséd tongue. The bodies of the charred dead and soulless bodies flung themselves from the flames scraping across the blackened earth all of them in varying degrees of death, dismemberment and decay.
One Death Eater flicked his wand across the assembly of remaining soulless creatures. At his command they strung themselves up by telephone lines in a grotesque imitation of a marionette. The Dark Mark blazed in the sky once more.
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-November22nd -Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place-
The Order of the Phoenix gathered at the table discussing the recent atrocities committed by Voldemort and the Death Eaters. They had thus far been unable to stop them. The Order and the remaining Aurors had been running themselves ragged trying to take care of every Death Eater encounter. It started out with the Attack (Massacre) at Starshold and had escalated to several attacks on highly populated Muggle villages.
"What should we do now? The 'roaming eyes' have been useful to capture individual Death Eaters but we are having more trouble dealing with the large groups."
"We need more Aurors." Mad Eye said as he turned to Remus.
"Where are we supposed to get them? And if we get them where are we going to train them? Every training camp we know of Voldemort knows of also." Kingsley asked.
Sirius spoke up his voice smooth as he talked to Kingsley and the others. "We may have to train them outside of England.'
"It couldn't hurt." Moody said as he polished his magical eye.
Jacob turned to Sirius, "Something is up with all of the recent attacks. They're trying to wear us down for something major. I just know it."
The door burst open and in rushed Bill and Charlie Weasley. Charlie was half supporting Bill. "The Ministry is under attack. Dad made it out before a negation field went up." Bill took a deep breath his hands shaking as Tonks handed him a glass of water.
Charlie took over. "There were only a few other Ministry officials there when we left. Last I checked no one was getting in or out of the Ministry."
"The Ministry under siege…what do we do now?" Hestia asked.
'What indeed? What could Voldemort want at the Ministry?'
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-Magdeburg, Germany-
Kurt did his best not to let Harry read the latest edition of the Daily Prophet but it was no use. Harry went off and cursed a foot long hole through the wall. Kurt had to admit it was a good bit of cursing. The pair of them had become pretty quick with a wand as well not to shabby knife fighters. 'I've taught them what they wanted to know and a bit more. I just hope they don't get themselves killed.' Kurt thought as he watch the two men duel each other.
It was one of the most exciting duels Kurt had ever seen. Draco dodged a curse and kicked Harry's wand out of his hand. Harry pulled a knife from his dragon hide boot and advanced on Draco. A whip of Draco's wand sent out a pulse of blue-grey light that exploded into razor sharp shrapnel. Harry rolled out of the way and into a crouch flipping out his blade.
"Hold!" Kurt said as he came over to judge the winner. "Since it wasn't a traditional wizard's duel it was to first blood. Hmm…I think it's a draw."
The two men were surprised to find they were both bleeding. Harry from the arm and Draco from the hand.
"Bloody shite! I thought I had you this time." Draco said as a tired smile crossed his face.
"Let's get you guys cleaned up. We'll start working on that other thing tomorrow." He ushered them sweaty and bleeding into the house.
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-Ministry of Magic-
Many Death Eaters patrolled the halls of the newly seized Ministry building. The screams from the Cruciatus curse were Hell's orchestra within the empty hallways. They lasted for what seemed like an eternity before some begged for the release the Killing curse would bring.
Amid decaying tomes, pillars, and directionless stairs without end. "Tell me what I want to know or spend what's left of your miserable life in the throws of eternal pain." Malfoy said coldly to a bundle of sagging robes as he lifted the curse. An ancient wizard that was more robe and grizzled beard than anything else nodded in pain. The large pillow he lay on began to rise as he pointed towards the wall to the right of them. Malfoy poked the elderly man in the back with his wand a look of contempt and murder on his face.
At that moment Voldemort's voice rose from the shadows, "Lucius, please. Is that any way to treat your elders?"
The old wizard drew a rune on the dirty wall and pushed. It turned to dust and crumbled beneath his palm. The small group entered the next chamber. The room was an immense tier dropping fathomless into the ground. The sheer scope of it was far beyond magic and Voldemort was in awe of it all.
"I knew the Ministry held secrets but nothing like this." He said his voice hissing in the chamber's depths. Voldemort and company walked passed several tomes with letters that changed continually. Then they went down a row of books with no words. They simply radiated power. This continued on and on passed millions of books in every language, scrolls of varying size, and tablets of stone, wood, gold, and crystal. They moved lower and lower into the chamber.
The group passed a section of tomes bound in skin and written in blood. Malfoy had to be restrained from by Voldemort and the elder. "What was that? What is all this and why is it here?" He asked finally.
"It has no name that I know and if it does it was probably forbidden to be uttered long ago. It is just evil. As to your other question this cavern holds the records of a magical people…the good and the bad. There are things here that cannot be classified or handled, things to dangerous to ever see the light of day or the cold of night." Voldemort smiled at the thought of the power this chamber could afford him. Dreams of conquering not only the world but also time and space filled his mind before the elder interrupted him. "You do not yet understand. Everything here is inherently magical but there are so many wards place on them that to remove them from here would mean your immediate death. What you want is over here." The old wizard pointed to a black book with a jagged red slash on the cover. The slash was unlike any rune ever seen. The crack-like symbol looked like a cross between a stylized 'S' and a bolt of lightning.
The book lay alone upon an old bookcase shelf. Voldemort picked up the book, to the surprise of the elder, and placed it in a bag. "What of the other books, master?" he asked as they turned to leave.
"We will return once I find a way to remove them."
They ascended the cavern. Once they arrived at the doorway the wall reformed. Several Death Eaters kneeled before him as they exited the wall. "What are you doing here?" He asked in a harsh voice.
"It has been a month since last we saw you my lord. The Ministry building has been purged of the foul Mudblood loving filth and we your loyal Death Eaters await your orders."
"Our victory is at hand. It will soon be time to purge Muggles and Mudbloods from our world. There will be no one left to oppose us."
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TBC