Corridors of light raced past the "Harry retrieval team," as their strange portkey dragged them to their destination. Albus tried over and over again to convince himself that this was a "milk run," as he had heard one of the American soldiers back during the War put it. Every time he came close however, he would ask himself a question,
"Why bring so many for a simple task?"
Dumbledore knew that the task ahead was not going to be easy. He could feel it in his gut that all this magical might he had brought was going to be used before they returned home. A moment later, his suspicions would prove to be well founded.
The portkey which bore them along suddenly and violently shook beneath their touch. The adults barely had time to contemplate the action when they were forcefully pulled in a different direction from what they had been moving. The party's portkey travel was cut off just as abruptly as all party members were unceremoniously sent sprawling onto the ground. Several sounds of discomfort followed, with one particular loud yell from Severus.
"Get off me you oaf!" The former Death Eater exclaimed in pain.
"Sorry, professor." Came the reply from Hagrid who had managed to land on top of the potions teacher.
Kingsley and Remus were already back on their feet, helping the older members of their party back to their feet. Once everyone was standing again, Albus took a moment to survey the surrounding area. Thankfully, the sun was still up where they were at, but getting lower on the horizon.
They were currently standing at the top of a grassy knoll, next to a stone monolith of some sort. Off in the distance he could see mountains and forests, but no other sign of civilization for as far as the eye could see. Not a town, not a road, just grassland and rolling hills. That is until he turned his attention to what was downhill from the rescue party. A necropolis with a rather foreboding presence rose from the ground, perfectly hidden among the hills. No one would see it unless they were standing on this rise.
"This isn't right Albus." The voice of Minerva McGonagall interrupted Dumbledore's observations, "That port key was supposed to take us to Harry's location, but there seems to be a severe lack of Potter children at present."
"You don't hear me complaining." Severous muttered loudly.
"The portkey, professor, was meant to follow the path that Harry took to wherever this place is," Croaker explained, "However, something rather violently pulled us off course. Most likely this monolith. It is covered in runes that I don't recognize right away, but I can feel the magic flowing around it."
"So much for the prowess of the Unspeakables." Snape snidely remarked.
"I wouldn't be making rude remarks like that if I were you, Death Eater." Alastor Moody interjected, "Or have you forgotten that this is the man that is in charge of our ride home? And I for one would not be heartbroken if a certain member of this party got left behind."
"Alastor please, there is no need for that kind of talk." Albus tried placating the paranoid Auror.
"No talk would be needed, if you hadn't brought him." Alaster shot back.
The tension in the team suddenly cut short when a scream came from the tomb down below. Everyone looked down towards the structure to see a figure running out from the old building. Details were not discernible at this distance, but they could tell that this person was a blond woman in a maid's outfit, and was being chased by a group of armed individuals. The grizzled Auror suddenly saw just what the armed individuals were.
"Albus, undead!"
At the mention of the undead, Kingsley and Lupin rushed down the hill to save the pursued. Drawing their wands they knew it was their duty to save this lady, memories could be dealt with later. Kingsley started the assault with a mighty,
"Confringo!"
A jet of fiery orange light leapt from his wand and hit the skeleton in the front. The curse caused the undead to violently explode, throwing several of its shambling cohorts in different directions, also serving to let the woman get to a greater distance. With the victim a safe distance away, Lupin made a series of gestures with his wand.
"Incendio!"
The tip of the werewolf's wand belched out a plume of fire that engulfed more of the skeletal warriors, setting them ablaze. One of the skeletons seemed hardier than its fellows, breaking through the flames and explosions and bringing its crude sword down at the werewolf. A sudden burst of force shot from up on the hill, specifically from the wand of Filius Flitwick, knocked the blade from the skeleton. The sudden lack of a weapon, gave Lupin the chance he needed to whip out an explosion spell.
With the enemies dealt with, the other members of the party made their way down to the battle site.
"Is everyone alright?" Albus asked out of genuine concern.
"Just fine. That last one nearly had me though. Thank you Professor." Lupin replied, directing his thanks to the diminutive charms master.
"No problem Remus. Though I am concerned about the presence of those skeletons."
"I am more concerned with our witness Filius." Alastor grumbled, his magic eye looking at the blond woman through the side of his head.
The sudden reminder of their damsel in distress brought the entire group's focus on the maid who still hadn't risen from the ground.
"Hello miss," Dumbledore began, "Do you require assistance?"
"I… I'm fine, master wizard. Please give me a moment."
With practiced ease, the woman stood, dusted herself off and bowed. Though the act of bowing merited a number of reactions from the party, because it brought attention to just how much of her large bust was exposed by her outfit.
"My name is Solution, I am a maid in the service of my master Lord Ainz Ooal Gown. I thank you for rescuing me."
Albus was thankful that any hormonal feelings he might have had at the sight of this lovely woman died ages ago. A current benefit of his advanced years in this case, seeing as he was the only one able to talk right now.
"A pleasure Miss Solution, I am Albus Dumbledore and as you have observed, my party and I are magical. Though you don't seem surprised at the existence of magic."
"Magic is well known in this land. My master is lauded as the most powerful spellcaster to ever exist, and one of my charges is considered a pro…" Solution's eyes suddenly went wide as something came to mind, "No… He's still in there!"
Solution tried to make a break back for the entrance to the crypt only to be restrained by Hagrid,
"Let me go! I have to save him!" Solution begged as she thrashed against the half-giant's hold.
"Miss Solution, what are you talking about?" Hagrid asked the struggling woman.
"My master's ward! We got separated in the tomb! If I don't find Harry soon I'll never be able to face my lord ever again!"
When the name, Harry, was mentioned a collective gasp and a shared look went through the party. Remus decided to be the one to be the one to ask.
"Pardon me, but is this Harry a boy roughly ten to eleven years, with black hair, green eyes, and a lightning bolt shaped scar on his forehead?"
The werewolf's description made Solution stop struggling and look at the haggard man,
"That is him… but how do you know Harry? And who are you anyway?" Solution asked.
"My name is Remus Lupin, I went to school with Harry's parents. His mother was a dear friend, and his father was my best friend before they were killed. Please tell us what is going on, if Harry is in danger we will help you. That is a promise."
Mollified, Solution started telling a story of how Harry had appeared in her lord's chambers and he had graciously taken him in as his own. They had managed to translate the letter to a certain degree using magic and learned details like the boy's name, birthdate, and that his parents had been killed. The maid went on to explain that their purpose out here at her master's ancestral tomb was to complete a certain rite needed to formally adopt Harry as his heir.
They had not come alone though. Solution's master had hired a party of seasoned mercenaries with them to help clear out any undead or other monsters that might have taken residence in the tomb during its period of inactive use.
"Things were going as well as one might expect. A few zombies and skeletons, nothing that the sell-swords couldn't handle. We got to the end of the first floor when she appeared."
The way Solution emphasized with such contempt made everyone wonder who she was talking about, that is until she continued,
"Shalltear Bloodfallen. An ancestral vampire with a grudge against my lord's family. My lord defeated her once before, but now she has taken up refuge in the tomb. A sign of defiance and a mockery to my master. She slaughtered the mercenaries without blinking an eye. Now, she has Harry… and I don't have the strength to save him!"
Solution broke down into tears. Minerva came close and tried to console the maid,
"Shouldn't you try and report this to your master? If he beat the vampire once surely he could do it again."
Stemming the flow of tears Solution nodded,
"He could, there is no doubt. However… there is another issue. It is about Shalltear herself. Historically, she is a deviant. While her fondness changes over the centuries, last anyone knew for certain, she had a certain… inclination for young boys."
The implication made the retrieval team go silent. Deep horror settled in, stewed for all but a second, then Lupin snapped.
"Albus, we are not waiting any longer."
The eldest wizard nodded before taking charge.
"Saul, I want you to stay here with Ms. Solution and see if you can't figure out that pillar. I get the distinct feeling that we won't be able to return home with it in the way."
"Of course."
"The rest of us will head in and find Harry before any harm befalls him."
With no further discussion the group broke apart and headed to their objectives. With the rescue team split, Croaker moved back up the hill with Solution right behind and started examining the pillar, not paying the maid much attention.
"Ms. Solution, you wouldn't happen to know what this pillar is, would you?"
"I… I am afraid not sir. My master's family has been steeped in magic for generations, but he does not teach his maids very much in terms of the arcane arts. Let alone something as complex as this."
"Understandable. Though it will be harder to understand this enough to… hmph!"
Saul suddenly felt something strong and slimy wrap around his neck, cutting off his airflow. The substance slowly worked its way up his face over his mouth and nose completely stopping his ability to breath. Unable to think properly enough to use magic, Croaker tried to claw the substance off him.
"Oh I do love it when they struggle." Solution said right next to Croaker's ear.
The Unspeakable's eyes widened when he saw just what was suffocating him. Solution had somehow come up right behind him, and her arm had turned into the fluid substance that was currently making his world blank out.
"Be thankful you are not going to be my next meal. Lord Ainz has ordered us to leave you alive and relatively unharmed… but you have made this disappointingly easy. I only hope the rest of your companions make it worth my master's time."
The last conscious thought Croaker had as darkness filled his view was a sudden realization.
'Albus is walking into a trap!'
A/N
Hey everyone!
So I decided that you all had waited long enough for the next installment of It Takes a Tomb and gave you a chapter. It isn't as long as I wanted but it seemed like a good place to break up a chapter. I was going to try and do the retrieval mission all in one go, but doing action sequences is admittedly one of my weaker points when it comes to writing.
It still amazes me to see all the support that this story gets. It has passed my other stories in terms of Follows and Favorites, and the only reason it hasn't surpassed in terms of reviews can be chalked up to length and time on the site. It makes any creator a sense of satisfaction to know that their work is appreciated, so thank you for your continued support and I will try and have the next chapter to you as soon as a full time worker can.
Until next time: Read, Review, Redistribute!
Noxraa