Chapter 12: Undead Unleashed

Ron turned around in his bed for the thousands times. He couldn't find sleep for his thoughts swirled around Harry and Hermione. It was midnight, at least and he made a decision, a decision he had made long ago without realising it.

Hermione turned around in her bed for the thousands times. She couldn't find sleep for her thoughts swirled around Harry and Ron. It was midnight, at least and she made a decision, a decision she had made long ago without realising it.

Dumbledore turned around and checked the clock. It was quarter past twelve. "Too late. Severus is too late. Strange." To think aloud became a unwanted habit for the old headmaster, but it helped him to organize his thoughts.

Snape never missed or came too late to an appointed meeting without sending word, especially in the last few weeks and not after the accident last week, which Snape had barely survived. The thoughts about his spies led him to Harry.

"I should have spoken to him more than once", the aged wizard said and stroked the book in front of him with a hand. The pale black letters on the cover said 'Book of Truth'. This book passed from Dumbledore to Dumbledore since centuries. "And now there is no one left, except me and Aberfort", he sighed.

He had the idea to give the book to Harry, but had dismissed this plan after the first chat after Harry's return. Meanwhile he was convinced Harry would be the wrong choice, anyway. Harry was to unpredictable for the knowledge the book offered.

Fawkes flew from his perch and rested himself on Dumbledore's shoulder. "What do you want, my old friend?", he asked while patting the head of the phoenix, "To whom I should pass this burden?" Before Fawkes had the opportunity to answer Snape entered with billowing robe.

"Albus, we have problems. Huge problems!"


"The Book of Truth?", Uther inquired, "in the hand of a wizard?" "Yes", answered Amelia. "But… ", Uther didn't dare to speak further, the possibility was to scaring to pronounce it loud. He decided to return to safer ground. "He told you that we were not so well concealed as we think?", he asked the Executor.

He received a short nod as answer. He knew the whole affair was very discomforting for her. The book shouldn't be in the hand of the headmaster of Hogwarts, at best I would be in the hand of no one.

But to be honest the principal didn't know why it shouldn't be in someone's hands. It was a Legend that passed from council to council. Find and destroy every copy of the book that cross your way and never dare to look inside. That was the ancient order, a dogma.

"Do you think he could find us?", Uther tried to get more than a nod. "Maybe, he is powerful, but time favours us", Amelia told him. Uther gave up and changed the subject, "What about the assassins? New Paradigm? Nightstalker?" "Hard to tell, but in my opinion it was the New Paradigm. The vampires wouldn't use arrows", she said.

Just as she finished Garret entered the room. "Garret, this is an private meeting", the woman reprimanded her colleague, but Uther signalled him to speak. "News from our spies and diviners. Voldemort did something, details unknown for our divination spells are blocked and our spies only reported something was about to happen when the contact broke off."

"What –", Uther began but was cut short by Garret. "In addition Vy'Sha'Nar prepares for war", Garret reported and the other Executors jumped up. "The vampire-city! The whole city?", Uther gasped. "Apparently, but till now nobody knows against whom. However I suggest we should fire any diviner who tells us now that war is upon us."

"We should prepare Harry's resurrection. Now!", Amelia demanded. "But even Harry can't fight a whole army of vampires!", Uther interjected. Amelia and Garret cast gazes on him that said 'Would you bet on it?'.

While they left Uther's chamber, Garret told Amelia, "Don't worry about Harry. Nathaniel, Cris and some others began already." When they arrived in the ceremonial chamber, where Harry's body lied on a bier in the middle, everyone sat there with hanging heads and shoulders.

"What's the matter?", a confused Principal asked Nathaniel, the next person to him. The Paladin rose his head and looked into his eyes. Uther could see despair and regret as he answered, "We can't find him, his soul is lost."

"Impossible!", Uther shouted out loud. "Uther Numinor!", growled Bor just as he entered the room, "Where did you leave your discipline?" After that Bor looked around and found only sad faces. "Without intending to ruin the good mood I have to report that the training mission went wrong. We… I lost three adepts", Bor confessed, covering his shame with sarcasm.

Uther had another 'Impossible' on his lips, because Bor had never lost an adept, but a burst of flame sealed his lips. Out of the flames a red bird emitted and circled around before perching himself on Amelia's shoulders.

"This is Dumbledore's phoenix and it has a message", a surprised Amelia announced and removed the parchment. Immediately thereafter Fawkes vanished again. "I think this explains what the wizard meant with 'you're not so well concealed than you think'", Uther speculated while Amelia enrolled the message.

She read it and her pale face became whiter and whiter with every line until no colour was left. "We have problems. Huge problems", she whispered after she had finished.


"I don't think we can stop him this time", Snape declared in front of the gathered Order of the Phoenix. "He will need time to assemble his army", Bill Weasley objected carefully. "He would, but the Vampires will speed up the process a hundred times", Snape explained in a voice that implied how stupid he found the assumption.

"Why can't you tell us where the HQ is? Then we could launch an attack before he becomes too strong", Charlie asked, optimistic. Snape ignored the question and Dumbledore answered instead, "Voldemort put his refuge under the Fidelius-Charm and any question you ask about its location won't be answered and as sadly as it is Voldemort didn't choose Snape as secret-keeper."

"And to attack the Dark Lord in his hole is the quickest way to cross the Jordan" Mad-Eye Moody added. "What can we do then?", Molly Weasley inquired, not hiding her fear. "Prepare and gather as much allies as we can at Hogwarts", Dumbledore stated, sounding as if he would announced a ball at the Great Hall.

"What allies do we have? The dumb cowards of the ministry? Other countries? The Giants?", Snape sneered, harvesting accusing looks from all present except Dumbledore, who just smiled. "Severus, Severus. I'm very disappointed", the headmaster shook his head.

Within an eye blink the old wizard had his wand in his hand and cast 'Finite Incantatum' on Snape. The spy stumbled and nearly fell down, but Dumbledore's wand described an elegant arch and Dumbledore uttered "Wingardium Leviosa" and Snape stood on his feet again.

When Snape had gathered his wits, the rest of the order had recovered too. "My apologies and profoundest gratitude for ending this farce", Snape said and bowed to Dumbledore. "What! An imperious curse?", Moody growled, "and you didn't know, Albus?". The old auror eyed the headmaster suspiciously.

"Of course I knew that Severus was under the imperious curse, Alastor", Dumbledore rebuked his old fellow friendly, "but I was eager to know what the vampires and Voldemort wanted us to know. Severus, please tell us what happened really."

"The Dark Lord called us for an meeting like usual. When everyone was there he held a long speech about failures, patience, power and more power and finished with talking something about that he had found a new source of power and we all had to make a sacrifice. I assume he didn't talked to us.

Suddenly vampires came from everywhere, one for each Deatheater save me-", Snape's report was interrupted by Arthur Weasley, "Why did they spare you?" As answer Snape grinned and suddenly his upper canine teeth tripled in length.

"Severus is not a created vampire and only inherits some vampiric traits, like his affinity to dungeons and black clothes", Dumbledore explained and with it lifted the tension in the room. Several hands released their respective wands.

"Please, Severus, continue", Albus asked the more or less vampire. "Some where killed, but not all. Suddenly I faced two violet eyes and something crushed my will with ease. I assume it was the chief of the vampires, he has to be ancient. After I was in control, Voldemort attempted to create an undead and I'm sorry to say that he succeeded."

"What do you mean by undead?", Shacklebolt wanted to know. "You take a dead person, animate the body but not the soul. You get a mindless creature that obeys simple orders. This is the theory, but it is merely a myth among dark wizards because no one wielded enough power and knowledge to create one", Snape told the wizards.

"Until now", Dumbledore remarked. "Until now", Snape repeated. "Why didn't he it earlier?", Someone inquired. "To be honest I don't know, he must have found something. Maybe the vampires gave it to him", Snape answered and everyone heard that he was guessing.

"It's not the nature of the vampires to share power and definitely not with a wizard", Dumbledore stated matter-of-factly. "I'm not sure if the Dark Lord isn't more than a wizard, anymore", Snape replied so quietly that it was hard to understand and Dumbledore frowned.

"The myth of summoning undead is connected to the legend of the necromancers, wizards who seal a pact with the devil", Snape said with serious voice, still some laughed. Snape was about to say something but Dumbledore was faster, "The Devil exists just like God does and the Creator too."

The laugher died away and silence spread. Unexpectedly a shimmering door opened behind Dumbldore in the kitchen at Grimmauld Place and a person in a long white robe entered the room. In an instant all wands except Dumbledore's, aimed at the woman with long white hair. Dumbledore stood up and turned around deliberately.

"Miss Starfall, what a pleasant surprise. I assume you had no problem to find this place", Dumbledore welcomed the Templar and bowed slightly. Amelia stepped aside while the wizards lowered their wands. A man followed her through the door. He was some six feet tall and had a handsome face with hazelnut brown eyes and matching hair where some grey strands could be found.

"Professor Dumbledore, your messenger found us and we made a decision. May I introduce Uther Numinor, Principal of the Templars", Amelia proclaimed. Uther approached Dumbledore and held out a hand, "I'm honored that you inaugurated us, but we have some things to sort out."

A second man appeared near Amelia and not only Mad-Eye noticed that his right hand lay on the handle of a double-blade sword. The bulky man was as tall as the Principal but his face bore a few scars and his short black hair was dotted with silver spots. Piercing blue eyes examined the wizards before releasing the sword.

"Albus Dumbledore meet Bor van Haag, Executor and since Harry's initiation our second-best swordsman", Amelia announced dutifully. Cris and Garret followed and completed the council, but at their arrival the room temperature dropped by several degrees for they carried Harry between them.

Before the wizards recovered from the shock Uther explained the situation, "We're sorry but we have, for whatever reason, no possibility to bring him back." Dumbledore accepted the news with a nod and turned around.

"I present the council of the Templars, our future ally. There was an incident at Hogwarts which I didn't mentioned yet. At the 1st of September Harry returned to Hogwarts in secret. According to Snape's reports Harry killed half of Voldemort's Deatheaters including Bellatrix Lestrange in the last few days", Dumbledore stopped for a moment to let his words sink in.

"Yesterday in the first hours of the day he was ambushed and assassinated in Hogwarts. The Templars promised they would be able to resurrect him, but unfortunately there were some unexpected problems", Dumbledore continued without accusing the Templars.

"Sounds like necromancy to me", Mad-Eye Moody spat, fixing Amelia. Amelia glared back at him and answered in a cold tone, "Of course we could bring him back as undead, but I think you prefer Harry whole and alive."

Moody's eyes narrowed to slits while he addressed Snape, "You're sure that you saw no persons in white robes while the Dark Lord summoned his undeads?" "Stop it, Alastor", Dumbledore commanded and addressed the Templars afterwards, "Excuse him, he is very carefully."

Uther smiled in understanding and cast a side-glance at Bor. "We should speak about our strength and tactic", Amelia suggested with the warmest voice she could muster. "Indeed, at first we should figure out against what we are about to fight", Dumbledore took up the idea, after he had conjured five additional chairs and beckoned Cris and Garret to lay Harry on the floor.

Snape began, "The Dark Lord has the giants, wherever they're and an unknown number of undead creatures, but any graveyard is an supply depot to him. In addition the vampires and I don't know how much." "Thousands. The whole city of Vy'Sha'Nar prepares for war", Bor contributed with no signs of desperation and the wizards gasped.

Dumbledore's eyes stopped twinkling and his features hardened. "Thousands? How can we hope to stand against such an army?", Dumbledore whispered, aged by ten years in the last moments, "Even together we can't muster more than a hundred fighters." "Nonsense!", Uther exclaimed and beat one hand on the table, "The Templars bring in two thousands warrior, specialized in fighting undead."

Hope stirred among the wizards and all person present saw for their first time a flat-footed Dumbledore, who stammered, "But… but Harry told me that… that you were as many as we." Uther grinned and said, "You didn't tell Harry about the Order of the Phoenix in his first year at Hogwarts, did you?"

"When we just talk about Harry, is he dead or alive?", a concerned Molly asked. Just the talk about resurrection kept her at bay. "Neither the one nor the other. We can't explain it, but his body appears to be in stasis and his soul isn't here nor in the hereafter", Garret explained with a hint of desperation.

"When it's not here nor there, where else a soul can be?", Hestia Jones wanted to know, but the Templar shrugged their shoulders. "Maybe I can provide a solution for your problem", an unknown voice said in the background and found two dozen wands and some other weapons directed on itself an instant later.

To his great frustration Mad-Eye registered that the Templar called Bor drew his weapon almost a half second faster than himself.


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