A/N: Sorry for the wait guys. I've been awfully busy. Over the last couple of months, I've gotten messages from readers who were waiting for the next update of this story. Some of them sounded really anxious to read the next chapter. I'm really sorry for the wait guys, but real life gets in the way at times, we just have to face it as it comes. That said, I'd like to say a big thank you to everyone who has taken their time to go through my work, and has dropped me a helpful review, a favorite or follow. It's very much appreciated. Lastly, I've launched my patreo/n account, which is still bare as of now but that'd soom change. Nevertheless, if you just want to support me for sentimental sake or you want to get early access and my original works when I start posting, you can find the details of my patreo/n on my profile. Every support counts, thanks. Happy new year to you all ! Wish you all a wonderful rest of the year. Enjoy the Chapter !
This is a story for the FlowerPot anniversary collection.
Shoutouts: A big thank you to Lui-Office Sloth and Arty Words for beta reading this chapter. Do check out their works!
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. This is a work of Fanfiction.
Disclaimer: This is a work of FICTION and is thus fabricated, any resemblance to a real entity or person is entirely coincidental and not intended on the part of the Author.
The Devil You Know
Chapter Three: Blood Moon Anniversary.
The shiny, golden ball fluttered in the air around him. His fingers closed around it in a catch, the smooth feel of cold metal caressed his palm.
James ignored Flitwick's frown of disapproval. This wasn't his first staff meeting, yet like the previous ones, he had been bored about five minutes from the start.
A sudden, sharp noise drew his attention away from the snitch. Clunked rappings against the sturdy, polished mahogany door. McGonagall waved her wand to grant the newcomer entry just as the teachers stood to depart. James did a double take when the door parted, bringing the figure behind it into the light.
"Harry?!" exclaimed Neville. "How are you mate? It's been so long !"
James watched his estranged father, standing there in his typical muggle attire, a black polo neck and slacks beneath a brown waist length coat.
"It's good to see you, Neville."
James was almost surprised to detect a note of sincerity in his voice. The sight of his father being pleasant seemed somewhat alien to him.
He watched as Harry went through the line of teachers, exchanging pleasantries. His polite smile never wavered but James got the feeling that his words were little more than empty platitudes—except to some selected few, where the grin extended to his sparkling, green eyes.
He got to McGonagall and tried to grasp her hand but she ignored it in favour of drawing him into a hug. It was strange, seeing the stern woman being so open with her affection. The other teachers departed and soon the office was empty save James, McGonagall and his father.
"So Potter," McGonagall began. "James told me you were handling Micheal Urquhart's case."
Harry nodded, reclining his frame against the stiff-backed, wooden chair
"I figured, since the aurors won't take it." Harry said.
James jerked back. His eyebrows disappeared in his silver hairline.
How had he known that ?!
His surprise must have shown on his face, as his father waved a dismissive hand. "I have eyes and ears everywhere."
McGonagall looked between them, a curious glint evident in her eyes. She folded her palms across her desk.
"You said you wanted to talk to Professor Dumbledore." McGonagall said, "Your letter indicated that it was a matter of severe circumstance."
"It is." Harry replied, looking at the large, colourful portrait of the old headmaster, hanging on the wall behind McGonagall's chair.
"What is it I may help you with, my boy." Dumbledore said. His father raised his head to the eye level of the portrait. He opened his mouth to speak but stopped as a loud crack sounded.
The small thud of skeletal, tiny feet against the ground. A small creature with long floppy ears, clothed in a dirty black apron. A shiny, golden locket bouncing against his chest.
"Master is here!" The bull-frog voice of Kreacher intoned. "Kreacher took the opportunity of reporting to Headmistress Minny to see his Master."
The house-elf bowed to the waist in front of his father and then turned to James to repeat the gesture.
"How do you do Kreacher?" His father asked as he kneeled to be at eye level with the old house elf.
"Kreacher has been well, Master." The elf replied. "Work at Hogwarts has been going smooth. Kreacher would have liked it better if Master had been coming to visit often."
"I'm sorry, my friend," Harry said and James was struck yet again with the note of sincerity in his tone. "I've been busy of late." The elf nodded, twisting his fingers.
"What can I help you with Kreacher?" McGonagall interjected.
"Headmistress Minny asked Kreacher to give update about missing Hogwarts elves today." Kreacher replied.
"Oh yes." McGonagall replied, checking the large calendar on the far wall as if to confirm the date. "So did you find anything?"
The old house elf ears drooped. "Kreacher has seen no sign of the missing elves yet." The house elf replied. "Kreacher is so sorry to have disappointed Headmistress Minny."
"It's okay." McGonagall said in a soft voice that surprised James. "I'm not disappointed."
"How many Hogwarts house-elves are missing?" Harry asked. James frowned and turned to look at his father. There was that strange quality to his voice again. The same tone he got when James mentioned that Micheal was an ICW hitwizard.
"Well, initially there were eight, but we found the corpse of Tilly in the forbidden forest two days ago." McGonagall replied.
"Eight?" Harry asked, his voice still sounding odd. "They took eight, not seven." His father mumbled, as if talking to himself.
"Who took what?" McGonagall asked, confused.
James wasn't sure his father heard her. He turned to Kreacher and held his gaze.
"That Hogwarts elf, Tilly." Harry began. "The one that died. Where did they find her body?"
"Tilly was not Hogwarts house-elf, Master." Kreacher replied. "Tilly be bonded to other masters."
"What?!" McGonagall exclaimed. James felt as if something was twisting inside his head.
Harry ignored her. James was watching him intently. His father had his gaze focused on Kreacher.
"How could you tell she was not bound to Hogwarts?"
"Kreacher saw the bond." The elf replied. "Older and powerful house elves be able to see magic."
"Of course." Harry nodded, as if it made perfect sense.
"Er, what does he mean he saw the bond?" James asked. "We were taught in Care of Magical Creatures that the bond between house elves and their masters was an abstract thing."
"It's not. The magic that binds a house elf to its master is very powerful." His father replied. He glanced at Dumbledore's portrait, recalling the words the old man had said to him all those years ago in that dreadful cave. "And powerful magic like that leaves a trace. Magic users who are in tune with their spirit and the feel of magic are able to discern the bond by sight, taste or feel."
"And Kreacher is one of those beings?"
"Five points to Ravenclaw." His father said, mock clapping. James scowled.
"So you think the house-elf has something to do with the disappearance of the others?" Dumbledore asked, from behind his portrait.
"Yes." Harry replied. "Professor, do you know of any dark ritual that can harness the power of seven."
"Loads, my boy." Dumbledore replied. He scratched the tip of his nose where his half-moon spectacles lay. "There are a great many rituals that utilize the power of seven."
"The dead house elf, Tilly." Harry said, looking at McGonagall. "Where was her body found?"
"The forbidden forest." McGonagall replied. "There was a poisoned arrow through her heart." His father raised an eyebrow.
"The Centaurs were performing a celestial ritual that night and had warned the school to steer clear." McGonagall said. "I warned the students to stay in their dorms after curfew and had Professor Flitwick cast a series of wards at the edge of the forest."
"The centaurs probably thought she was an errant first-year." Harry said, snorting.
"I take it you believe Tilly was in the forest for some other reason other than exploring." Dumbledore commented.
"Yes," Harry replied.
"Why?" McGonagall questioned."What made you think that?"
"The Unicorns." Harry replied. James blinked. A look around the office suggested that both McGonagall and Dumbledore shared his confusion.
"The Greengrass Magical Reserve was robbed last night." Harry said.
"I am guessing it was not for their money." Dumbledore commented.
Harry shook his head. "The intruder took seven Unicorns." James' head did a spin. McGonagall looked like she had constipation.
"Seven?" Dumbledore asked, his voice had developed the same odd quality as Harry's. James supposed it might be common to only magical geniuses.
"You think the reason Tilly was in the forest that night was to steal seven Unicorns?"Dumbledore asked.
"I believe she had been commanded to do so." Harry replied. "Whoever her masters were. They are the same people that took the seven aurors, and the seven Harpies players."
James massaged his forehead. "So you think it's all connected? Like some conspiracy?"
"Not only that." Harry replied. "There are seven missing Goblins too, even if Gringotts does not know this yet."
"Goblins?" McGonagall asked. Harry was not even looking at her. He was on his feet now, pacing around the office.
"Also, Terry Boot told me that the aurors were able to capture and question two Dwarves last week." Harry said, as if McGonagall hadn't spoken at all. James doubted he even heard her.
"The Dwarves said in their statements that the only reason they were waging war against Britain was because British wizards abducted seven of their clan chiefs," said Harry.
James frowned. It wasn't all right. It couldn't. Harry's reason must be flawed. The prospect of all these done by the same person was ludicrous.
"Are you sure the same person is responsible for all of these?" He asked his father, unable to wrap his mind around it. "Remember what you told me about seeing nonexistent patterns? Do you think a serial killer or criminal capable of all these will leave the Dwarves with such obvious clues? At the very least, they could have wiped their memories or hid their identities."
"Another lesson you should learn, son, is that serial killers and hardened criminals are always proud of what they do." Harry said. "So proud that they can't help but brag about it in some way and that's how they get caught. Voldemort was so disgusted by the fact that everyone thought Hagrid was the heir of Slytherin that he encased the memory of his sixteen year old self in a diary so he could claim full credit later on."
"If it is a pattern then they must all have something in common," said McGonagall.
"And they do." Harry replied. "All the six species that were taken are members of the seven taxonomic magical distributions."
"The what?" James asked, frowning.
"The seven taxonomic magical distributions." Harry repeated. "Wizards, Witches, Goblins, Giants, Elves, Dwarves and Magical Creatures."
"But aren't wizards and witches under the same species?" James asked. "You know, as male and female?"
"Perhaps in the muggle world," Dumbledore replied. "However in the magical world, the anatomy and magical components of wizards differ from that of witches. It's why certain magics affect one or the other greater. Some try to argue that wizards are greater than witches because of this, it's all hogwash to be honest. There are many factors which determine who is more powerful, in the end it all comes down to the individual. You can ask your father, there are very few who would have dared to cross wands with Miss Granger for example."
"Or my mother." James added.
"Exactly," Dumbledore replied. Before James could respond, the portrait spoke again, "I think we should be discussing why the ones behind this chose seven Unicorns over other magical beasts"
"Yes Professor." Harry said. "I was getting to that." He turned to face McGonagall. "You've heard the myths regarding the use of a Unicorn blood?"
"Everyone who did Potions and Care of Magical Creatures knows them." McGonagall said. "Whether it's a myth or not is still a topic of deliberation among scholars. Of course the only way to know for sure is to test but no one is willing to risk being cursed."
"Well I can confirm to you that it's not a myth." Harry said. "I've seen it done before. Voldemort used Quirrel to drink Unicorn's blood back in my first year." McGonagall paled. Her hands clutched the edge of her table for support.
"It is the main reason I came to Professor Dumbledore." Harry said. He turned towards the portrait. "Do you know of any ritual involving life or death that needs sacrifices of seven."
Rather than answer, the portrait swung open and a book flew out of the space within, landing in Harry's palm. James leaned in to take a better look at the ancient looking book. Written in stylish block letters at the center of the book cover were the words 'A Translation of the Rituum Animae''
"Open to page seventeen." Dumbledore instructed. The pages flipped with a snap of Harry's fingers.
"The Ritual of Selena." Harry read out. " In the words of Endymion; For those in pursuit of Immortality I grant you something even better. The ultimate power over life and death can be consumed. A chance to bring your loved one back from beyond the veil. The ritual of Selene grants to any willing mortal the power over life and death. Sacrifice is thy path, a soul for a soul, blood for blood. It must be done as earth moves to shroud the moon from the sun. Only an Augurey can draw the sacrifice sketched in blood of the seven of seven, particular to the creatures steeped in life and death. The summoned soul shall only pass through the veil under the red moon with the Auguey's final breath, provided that it has an available mortal link.
"What exactly is an Augurey?" James asked.
"Though rare, at times a wizard or witch may be born with certain affinities, often when the child is conceived or brought into the world under specific circumstances. Such as being born during an eclipse. It could also apply to certain inherited gifts." Dumbledore explained. "Like your god-brother, Teddy Lupin who is a metamorphmagus. Or the Veelas, like your mother, who are witches with certain inherited properties." Dumbledore paused for effect before continuing.
"An Augurey is just like that, a wizard or witch born with the scent of death."
"The mortal personification of death. " Harry added. "Augureys are intimate with death, thus the psychological restraint present in most humans when it comes to murder is absent in them. They are rumored to also have some other otherworldly qualities due to their affinity with death. They are extremely rare and insanely powerful. Some people believe that Augureys were given to mortals as children as a form of punishment to anyone who has broken the boundaries of the world and wreaked havoc, thus offending some supreme being. Others believe that an Augurey was born by the machinations of a parent or both who for some reason desired or needed their service."
"If this ritual is truly why all those people were abducted." McGonagall said. "That means there is an Augurey alive and roaming Great Britain."
"Endymion said that the ritual can only be performed during the red moon, the lunar eclipse." James said. "That means by the next lunar eclipse, all the abducted ones will be killed."
Harry stood and began pacing around McGonagall's office. There was a glazed, faraway look in his eyes. It was almost as if he wasn't just thinking of the next lunar eclipse.
"When is the next lunar eclipse?" Harry asked. McGonagall paled.
"It's tonight." McGonagall replied hoarsely. "Aurora sent me an owl earlier this week requesting permission to skip tonight's Astoronomy's class in order to study it."
Harry's jaw clenched."Then we have until sunset to find the hostages, if they are not already dead. The earth is moving towards the middle. The blood moon will soon rise."
"How do we find them?" James asked. The thought of Michael already dead sent shivers down his spine.
Harry's wand flicked to his palm. He turned towards the open window.
"Expecto Patronum." A silver stag flew from the end of his wand, knocking past James. It sped through the open windows, racing through the grounds of Hogwarts. James watched till it disappeared from view.
"I have an idea, but we have to work fast." Harry said, looking at his wristwatch. "We have just an hour before sundown."
James nodded. His father turned towards the house-elf who had remained silent as he stood on the side.
"Kreacher, can you take us to where that house-elf, Tilly, was buried?"
The old elf gave a nod as he held out both of his hands. James and his father gripped one while McGonagall held on to the other. Kreacher turned.
The room twisted in James' vision. He felt displaced. A loud crack. The telltale feel of apparition felt. His feet touched the ground. His vision cleared and he found himself surrounded by tiny tombstones and what appeared to be the forbidden forest. The Hogwarts elves had taken to using a large clearing as a cemetary.
Kreacher led the way, stopping in front of a grave that was marked Tilly.
"Thank you, Kreacher." Harry said. "If you may return to the Headmistress office and inform George and Denis to come down here." The elf bowed, disappearing with a pop.
Harry waved his wand, whispering an apology for desecrating a tomb. Cracks slithered across the ground around the grave, snaking its way up to the headstone. The tomb before blasted open, spraying dust and debris about.
The shriveled corpse of the house elf revealed in the light being given off by James and McGonagal's wands.
Harry leaned towards the decaying elf and pulled out a small silver knife, slicing off a piece of its leathery flesh.
The sounds of approaching footsteps halted his work. Three figures came into the light. James recognized the tall red-haired man from before. He twisted a finger in his only remaining ear with one hand and accepted a small rectangular box from the much shorter wizard by his side.
"We got your message." The only witch among them said. Her brown hair was cropped short and she was clad in tight, form-fitting black. She held her wand in her right hand as her gaze locked on Harry.
"I sent for George and Denis, Demelza," replied Harry.
"I know, I know." She rolled her eyes. "But I was bored just sitting at the office all day."
"Fine." Harry sighed. Demelza shot him a cat-like grin.
"Evening Professor, Mr Potter."
"It's good to see you again, Ms Robbins." McGonagall replied. James merely waved. "And you two as well, Mr Weasley, Mr Creevey." Both wizards echoed their greetings.
"We are running out of time." Harry said, checking his wristwatch. "Now, you guys need to know that we're dealing with people that managed to capture seven Giants without causing a fuss big enough to alert the authorities and bring the force of Magical Law Enforcement down on their head."
"Not your average Dark Wizard then." George whistled, comprehending. Harry nodded in agreement with him.
"Not only that, they were able to capture seven Aurors, an ICW soldier and seven Gringotts Goblins." He paused as if to let the information sink in. James thought they all got the message loud and clear. He could barely restrain himself from breaking down at the mention of Michael.
He sketched the knife over the flesh. Tiny runic symbols inscribed. James did not recognize many of them, Ancient runes were never his forte, and whatever these symbols were, they were definitely not covered in any runes class he'd attended at Hogwarts.
"Deduc me ad dominos tuos duc me domum quam colis." Harry chanted as a faint blue hue reflected off the detached flesh of the house-elf. Harry turned towards James and McGonagall. 'It's ready. Take my arm."
James grabbed his father's hand, allowing McGonagall to grip his upper arm.
"Take us to your masters." Harry ordered, the tip of his wand pressed against the tiny piece of flesh.
A violent jerk behind his navel shook him.
James gasped and held tighter to his father's hand. His eyes stung as a blinding flash of blue light filled his vision. The last thing he saw of Hogwarts were the scattered plumes of stones and dirt from the desecrated tomb.
*(BREAK)*
A/N: If you like any of my works and want to discuss. You can join my Discord server by using this link; https : / discord . gg / wnyWEsSBwB (without the spaces). Also, I occasionally host weekly Fanfiction Trivia Tournaments, based on many popular fanfictions and fan pairings, every sunday 2 pm (UTC) prompt. Last December, we were hosted by the renowned fanfiction author, The Black's Resurgence. We were able to work through about 90-ish trivia questions on all of TBR's work. Questions were answered and Prizes were won. This year Trivia would see even more excitement. I plan on hosting for some of the popular HP fics we have, like Alexandra Quick, A Cadmean Victory Remastered and it's much anticipated sequel (A Taste of Ismenian Water), Prince of Slytherin, Harry Crow e.t.c. Even Crack-fics like My Immortals (no offense to the ardent fans, cough Darkened Void cough cough), Seventh Horcrux, Hogwarts School of Prayers and Miracles, e.t.c, will not be left out. It will be a pleasure to have you on board. You don't want to miss out on the action ! Don't forget to stay safe. Thank you all.