It was nearly a week later that Severous Snape staggered through Hogsmeade village and into Hogwarts. He seemed far paler than normal and was clutching his shoulder through the ragged remains of his black robe, beond that he was not unjured beyond his arm.
He burst into the great hall and collapsed to the stones of the floor as the last of his strength left him.
"Dumbledore, help," he managed to say before passing from consciousness.
xXx
Three days later, Dumbledore sat in his office as he contemplated what had happened. So much had changed, so much shattered upon this new force that had only done two things, the first was expell the ministry from Azkaban, and the other was to completely decimate a force of Death Eaters with overwhelming force and unknown powers.
Severous' arm was injured, but it would heal, aparently this Lord Tyran had removed the Dark Mark from the man with one of his blades in the quickest way possible bysimply burning it off. Whatever those weapons were, it fit this new prophecy, and it seemed to lead to destruction from all fronts.
The Dementors seemed to follow this Tyran's every whim, and the armored beings that served as soldiers, ones that seemed inhuman and yet didn't match what anyone knew of any existing being. The only thing that came close was muggle soldiers, but even they did not move in such perfect unison.
The being that had rocked everything, the man who claimed to be called Darth Tyran. The man who had offered the former death eater a position as an aid, to learn things which had not been lost for millennia. This Tyran had not made a move after the one day of action where he suffered no losses, and neither had Voldemort, everyone seemed to be waiting for another to make a move.
The white armored figures seemed to number in the tens of thousands in Azkaban, constantly training and seemingly more and more numerous as time passed on. They had won their battle with no effort spent on their part, and had left without recieving a single injury.
The blades their master held were another cause to worry, they were not magical, or at least the way they were used gave no spell aftereffects. It was curious though that they had a similarity to the signature of a phoenix, but not much of one.
It was this new force that was a possible threat that he would be forced to take steps to deal with if he turned out to be a threat to him or his plans.
xXx
Lord Darth Tyran stood atop his fortress watching the crashing waves as he prepared himself for his next move. A harsh metalic noise alerted him and he turned his head to see one of the factories begin to release one of the AT-ST's he had ordered built, the scout walker boarded one of the heavy transports that lined the flat area before him, a platform that extended out into the sea.
Voldemort would be the first to fall before him. The pathetic excuse for a dark lord had challenged him, and he would teach the upstart a lesson in true power.
He descended his tower and climbed aboard the lead transport alongside the elite stormtroopers, ones grown from what had been termed ARC troopers by Lord Sidious, and had the knowledge necessary placed within them. He would lead this assault himself, and he was also sending troops to prevent a Death Eater raid in London.
The imperial grey craft rose skywards as he sat in meditation, waiting for the comming battles. A thought crossed his mind as he thought about how what he had done was supposedly impossible, but these craft had been built to withstand the increased magical power and still operate, much like the armor and weaponry of his troops, not to even mention the heavy assault vehicles.
Ten thousand Stormtroopers would be deployed in the comming battle, one that was aimed at giving a show of overwhelming force against Death Eaters. He would show Riddle that he would face someone far more dangerous than he had ever expected. And soon there would be fighter craft and bombers, TIE craft ready for deployment within another week, and it was amazing how easy it was to feed an army with conjuration, not to mention the mines under the island and in other places that also were connected to the dark ones of old.
His fortress had been restored to the glory of its heritage, the prison returning to become the citadel of the lost ones, the former seat of their power.
One hundred of the assault shuttles rose into the air with a slight hiss as their landing gear retracted, his target would never realize just what would hit them when he struck.
A grim smile crossed his lips as he held his mask under an arm as his men, countless copies of one man had done. The battle would come, and blood would be spilled upon the ground as something the wizarding world was unprepared to deal with made itself known through open war with the one who feared death.
xXx
It was a dark evening, stormclouds had gathered around Malfoy Manor, harsh rain had driven the Death Eaters within the house itself save for a few who patrolled on the off chance someone decided to arrive unannounced.
It had been chosen because Voldemort was not supposed to be there, and it was also a place where troops could be easily landed.
xXx
Elsewhere, at Grimwauld place, something unexpected had occurred, as Death Eaters performed their raid, and while, at the time, it was pretty much empty the few members of the Order of the Phoenix there had remained within the hidden house.
To their suprise, Death Eaters were unprepared for what was to come for them, four squads of elite stormtroopers seemed to materialize as a massive machine seemed to march down the street while firing off streams of energy fire that shredded the street around the Death Eaters.
The reflective, milk white armor shone as they advanced through the streets in an eerie unison, firing at their foes the instant they had appeared, having dropped an invisibility charm.
The Death Eaters fell before the onslaught of fourty-eight stormtroopers and eight AT-ST's that ended the fight before their targets had realized what had happened. of their targets, only two were left alive to be brought to their master for questioning.
Withing a minute of the first shot, they had ceased all hostilitiesas a trio of assault shuttles seemed to materialize out of thin air and settle onto the street, leaving the bodies of the death eaters where they lay, a flag with ablack and white crest was planted in the street only moments before the ships rose into the air in unison, none of the troops having said a word at any time.
Five minutes later, the muggle police arrived at the scene of a firefight, one that would rock the magical world a few days later after the muggles had their memories modified and all information on the fight was compiled.