Okay, before we start this chapter, I have a very IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT to make. Last year, on this very day, i.e. the 17th of July 2021, I had published the first two chapters of this story.

So yes, today is the first anniversary of this story! My baby is one-year-old!

One year, 62 chapters, 6.3k+ favorites, 7.7k+ follows, 2.7k+ reviews, and a staggering amount of love from you all! Seeing all this has made me immensely proud of myself and thankful to you all. Please keep reviewing and follows and favorite it if you haven't already!

I thank you all once again, from the bottom of my heart for supporting me in this journey and I hope to keep delivering you awesome content in the future.

This chapter is dedicated to you all!

Now, enjoy the chapter! :)


LAST TIME

"If he kills himself in prison before we destroy whatever means of immortality he has… he will return. He can survive as a spirit. Similar to a ghost but with much more malice and power. He can possess people. He possessed Quirrel back in my first year for a brief period of time, trying to obtain the Philosopher's stone. He failed, but escaped as a spirit, just passing through the ceiling like a ghost."

"Another one of the things you haven't told us about," Amelia grumbled while Sirius too, shot him a serious look.

Harry ran a hand through his hair. He did need to share quite a few things with his new… family. One that now included Amelia and probably the Greengrasses and the Delacours as well… barring Astoria and Gabrielle maybe.

"Alright, you can discuss that later. So, after Voldemort flees, comes the most important part of the operation. Amelia, you are going to arrest Cornelius Fudge on the charges of High Treason against the state."

"What?"

Harry grinned. Now came the best part of their plan and his personal favorite.


Ch.62 Battle for the Prophecy

27th December 1995

Number Twelve Grimmauld Place, London

Half an hour after the meeting ended, Harry walked down the corridor to Amelia's room before knocking firmly on the door.

"Come in," Her voice sounded from within. Harry pushed the door open and stepped into the room.

"Harry? What do you want at this time?" She asked as soon as he laid eyes upon her.

She was reading an official-looking black file, one which Harry had seen Kingsley handing her after the meeting had ended. She was wearing a green nightie and a pair of frameless square glasses adorned her face. Admittedly, it was rare to see her wearing glasses. She only wore them when she had to do some serious reading. Otherwise, she preferred her rather famous monocle.

A glass of scotch whiskey rested on the bedside table with a freshly opened bottle beside it.

"I… wished to talk with you," Harry replied nervously. Give him dark wizards, he had no problem. But he was nervous as this was a much more delicate matter. A couple of years down the line, Amelia would be very important to him in all ways. She was Susan's only family by blood and would likely be Sirius's wife soon, seeing how serious they were. In Remus's opinion, this was, by far, the longest relationship Sirius had, having lasted for more than a year already. His previous record was Marlene McKinnon, which had lasted just short of three months during their sixth year at Hogwarts.

So, Amelia would technically be his… aunt-in-law and the wife of his godfather thus, the Lady Black, surpassing him in the position and authority as Heir Black. Not to mention, a very important ally on the Wizengamot as she would be the Lady of House Black as well as the Minister of Magic. To be fair, his relationship with Amelia would be through more paths than his direct relationship with Susan. Thus, building a good relationship with Amelia as a family was vital for Harry in more ways than one.

Amelia raised her eyebrows, peering at him from the top of her glasses before closing the file she was reading and putting it on the pillow beside her.

"Come in, then," She said, folding her legs, making space for him to sit.

Harry looked around the room as he walked in, closing the door behind him. The room was very… Amelia-ish for the lack of a better word. It was neat and tidy. On a study desk, a bunch of files and parchment were neatly stacked along with two small photo frames, one containing a wizarding picture having four people, three adults, and one cute baby, and the other having a picture of Amelia and Susan.

Amelia caught Harry's gaze and said, "Those two are Susan's parents and the baby in their hand is Susan… when she wasn't even a year old. It was the last photo we took as a family, mere days before they two were murdered in Diagon Alley by Death Eaters."

Her voice was emotionless, but Harry knew it held a hurricane of emotions underneath it.

"Anyhow, what did you want, Harry?"

"Where's Sirius? I expected him to be here." Harry commented as he sat on the Queen-sized bed in front of Amelia, still inspecting the room.

"In his own room, I guess. Why would he be here?"

Harry turned to her and raised his eyebrows in incredulity, making Amelia's cheeks redden.

"As in, we don't sleep together for now… as you kids are here, you know? Wouldn't want to be walked in by you young lot."

Harry chuckled with amusement. "No one is innocent in this house and there are silencing charms. But, anyway. I wanted to talk to you."

"To me or Sirius?"

"If you both had been here… I guess it would've been better but, no problem." Harry mused, fidgeting with the Potter Lord ring on his finger. "You were more urgent to talk to."

He would've usually controlled his emotions in an iron grip with occlumency, but, for a heart-to-heart conversation, Occlumency kinda defeated the purpose as it suppressed the most important element of such a talk. Emotions.

"What do you want to talk about?" Amelia asked slowly, noting his nervousness with a glance.

"Us… the family we are going to be a part of. You, me, Sirius, Susan… all of us."

"You aren't behaving much like that, are you? Having secrets, not sharing anything, going into danger, facing danger, combating a dark lord… All by yourself. You don't need us anyway."

Harry winced at that before sighing. "I concede your point, Amelia… It was just that I never considered most of the things important… Like, it was the past for me. Bygones, you know? I never gave them much thought unless it was necessary. And… I am really sorry for that. I should've shared it with you all, told you more… and everything."

Amelia shook her head and sighed. "Harry… I am not blaming you. It is just that, I was expecting you to be free with me… with us. Like a family should be. We've known each other for more than two years now and even teamed up together for things. I am now dating your godfather. You are dating Susan, who is my niece by relation and daughter in all but name. I hoped you would be more open with us. And consider me your family."

"I do consider you my family, Amelia. Really do."

"No… you don't, Harry. You never come to us with your problems, you never share your feelings or what is happening with you. Sirius told me that you didn't even approach him for help while you were in the Triwizard, telling him in certain terms that you would handle the tournament yourself and didn't need help. See, I am not telling you that you were incapable. Heck, you are definitely more capable than both Sirius and I combined. But… you were about to face Death-defying tasks. At least… you should've gone to him or Remus… or any adult to talk about it."

"About what? I knew I was capable of dealing with those tasks, Amelia. You do know that I could've obliterated the dragon, the chimera, the wards, and the whole maze with nothing more than a single spell?" Harry asked, confusion evident in his voice. While he wasn't aware of a couple of awesome, powerful spells back then, he still had spells like Fiendfyre and other elemental spells in his arsenal.

"I am not talking about that," She sighed. "Harry, it is just that, I am the head of DMLE. I have seen people face one near-death situation and leave their job. Heck, we all go through counseling with mind healers at appropriate times as and when ordered or felt like there is a need. Even I have been through it. And, it is a protocol to go through it especially after an auror or hit-wizard has killed another person in whatever circumstances it might have been. And, after every near-death or dangerous situation as well, as the senior team leader of I deem so. You, on the other hand, have been through a dozen near-death situations and have a body count more than my WHOLE Auror department COMBINED!"

Harry winced again. It wasn't like he hadn't had those types of sessions with Helga but how could he tell that to Amelia? Helga was a superb counselor. And, in Harry's opinion, better than any other mind healer could be.

"Amelia—"

"Tell me, Harry. How many near-death situations have you been in that I am not aware of? Be honest."

"That depends on how you define it."

"Harry, do not fuck with me. I know that both of us understand what I mean."

"Okay, at the end of my first year at Hogwarts, I faced Voldemort and it qualifies as a near-death situation. Oh, there was also this troll that had broken in, and Ron and I took care of it. In my second year, Ron and I went into the forbidden forest in the nest of Acromantula Spiders to investigate more about Slytherin's monster after Fudge carted off Hagrid to Azkaban and Dumbledore was fired. At the end of the year, Ron and I went into the chamber of secrets and I fought Slytherin's basilisk and a shade of Voldemort, defeating them both and nearly dying in the process." Harry said, omitting the fact that he had actually died and came back.

Amelia peered at him curiously before voicing her thoughts. "And none of this stuff gives you nightmares? Makes you break into a cold sweat? No Anxiety attacks? No PTSD?"

"Not any longer. I have pushed myself to be better, stronger, and faster every single day after the incident in the chamber of secrets to cope with what happened. I vowed not to be weak or helpless anymore. I took up quite a few things in the muggle world as well during the vacation before my third year. Swimming, Krav maga…, and heavy reading on top of it. I was always exhausted by the end of the day and my mind was too busy to reflect on those events. By the time I returned to Hogwarts, the memories no longer troubled me."

"But therapy is different. I might not be a mind healer but I am sure that what you did is not healthy. What—"

"I also had that therapy you are talking about. Quite a few sessions with a mind-healer. She also introduced me to Occlumency as well. She helped me start it and rise to stage three. After that, I worked by myself."

"Who was she?"

"I cannot reveal her name, unfortunately."

She scoffed. "Another one of your secrets, isn't it? Or you're making this up to keep me off your back."

"I am not," Harry snapped, allowing his frustration to finally overcome his measured calm. She was prying too much now and he needed her to back off. "I have had sessions, and I can swear that on my honor, but I cannot tell you her name due to a confidentiality contract! And, you do not need to know every single minute detail of my life. I am sharing what I can, but now you are being too confrontational! You are not my mother, Madame Bones."

Amelia immediately recoiled as if struck and backstepped her arguments. "I understand that I am not your mother, Harry. Neither am I trying to replace her, but… we are close, aren't we? You do trust me… At least like an Aunt or something?"

Harry nodded, before chuckling bitterly. "You know, I never had the best of relations with my aunt? Or Uncle? Or any adult for that matter? I have mentors, and adults whom I trust, you included, but this is all new to me. I am not used to sharing things with anyone, especially adults."

"Do you feel… insecure with adults?"

"No, it is not insecurity but more of a 'keeping things close to my chest' thing and the fact that before I was twelve, I had no adults in my life to share my problems with. I was used to being on my own and coping with my own problems. And… I promise I would henceforth be more forthcoming to you all about things which I can share safely with you all."

"You can share safely," She repeated, drumming her fingers against her knee.

"Yes. I am really sorry, but, some things… they are safest—"

"If not shared. Yes. But you can share with Dumbledore."

"Actually, it was Dumbledore who shared it with me, not the other way round."

Amelia hummed before nodding slowly.

"Do Susan and Daphne know these secrets though? And Fleur?"

"Susan and Daphne know quite a few things as we three spend a lot of time together. So do Hermione and Ron, as we were together in most of the things I went through, even before Susan and Daphne came into my life. They all know a lot but still, not every single thing. They don't know the contents of the prophecy or the reason for Voldemort's survival either."

"You know, you are going to be married to Susan, Fleur, and Daphne? Secrets are bad in a marriage or even a relationship as strong as you four share… Susan, Daphne, and you, especially."

"They know that I have a few things I have not shared with them… a few, I might never, at least until Voldemort is dealt with."

"But, you do know how he survived, don't you? The exact details of his immortality? Something you brushed off nonchalantly at the meeting."

"Yes, I do. And that secret is one Dumbledore and I will take to our graves. We are trying to deal with the measures as we get leads to how and where he has safe-guarded them. Those… measures are the reason why Dumbledore and I are not killing or capturing him. If we kill him, he will return. If we capture him, he might commit suicide and return. So, it is best that we keep him in a body rather than take risks."

"What of the Death Eaters? Is there—"

"They'll die or be prosecuted. What happened in '81, would not happen again. Death Eaters, any of them, won't go scot-free. I promise. Also, that is one of the reasons I am pushing you to be the minister of magic. There is no one who hates Death Eaters as much as you do."

"Alright... And what of the prophecy? Are you taking it to your grave as well?"

Harry shook his head. "Voldemort is after it and only Dumbledore and I know the full contents of it. It is the safest if it is not disclosed until Voldemort is dealt with. One day, I will tell you. But, I am not drawing his attention to you if he comes to know that you know the prophecy."

"If you deem it so. Not that I like it, but if you are so insistent, it must be dangerous to know it. But, if you ever want to share something, anything, I am here for you, Harry. So is Sirius. And the Delacour's and so is the Greengrass family as well. Any problem in the world, do not hesitate to come to us. We'll fight against the whole world to help you, child."

"Thank you," Harry said with a soft smile, as his eyes became moist. "And… I am sorry for all its worth."

"And… me too. I overreacted to the situation."

"No… it was a bit warranted… I should've behaved more as a family than as…"

Harry trailed off, unable to find the right words as to how he had behaved. What he had done was not conscious. It was just a mix of the circumstances… and stuff.

"It is not your fault, Harry," Amelia said, scooting closer to Harry. "It is a teenager thing, I would say. A phase of age and puberty. Teenagers think you are invincible. And so do powerful and rich people. And you, Harry, are all three."

Her eyes had a slight smile to them as she elaborated, "A teen, and one of the most powerful and richest wizards in the world. Your name inspires awe in the masses. You think that you can handle everything yourself and, I won't say you can't, but sometimes… and I say this as an adult who has been through this phase you are at right now, you need family. You lose your way, you forget who you are, and get enamored by things that lead you astray. If you ever feel lost, just look into the eyes of the people you love and they will tell you exactly who you are and guide you to do what is the best. They will always stand by you even when the world's against you."

Harry just nodded as a lone tear rolled down his cheek.

No one had given this assurance to him before. No adult had said such words to him, even if they might have meant it. He knew Sirius, Remus, Amelia, and the others would be at his side, even if things ever went south. But, Amelia had put those feelings into words. And… It was a whole different feeling.

Amelia ruffled Harry's head placing a kiss on his forehead.

"Despite everything you are capable of, you are still a fifteen-year-old. You should've never been thrust into this shit. Voldemort, the Death Eater, the politics… When I was fifteen, I was worried about Homework and exams. Not all this. You all, your whole generation grew up too fast. I don't know about all others but you, Susan, and your whole group… I see how you all do things. All of you are a force to reckon with. A force perhaps better than even my Auror and Hitwizards squads."

She gave a teary chuckle before continuing, "It seemed like yesterday that I dropped Susan on the Hogwarts express, worried how she would cope with Hogwarts and the fact that, how pressured she would feel due to me being the Head of DMLE. And, imagine my surprise when last summer, I saw her blow my department's fucking Head Auror off his feet, defeating him in a duel fair and square. I didn't know if I should be proud of the fact that my little girl is so good or humiliated by the fact that my Head Auror got his ass handed to him by a fifteen-year-old girl who is yet to give her OWLs."

Harry chuckled as well, remembering the look on Amelia's face that day as Susan successfully hit Kingsley with a bludgeoner, sending him flying across the dueling room and stunning him before he could regain his wits. Harry had never felt prouder as a teacher. He would've even been prouder had Daphne defeated Moody that day, but the grizzled ex-Hitwizard proved why he was feared and renowned across the world when he defeated Daphne without her getting a single hit on him, even if she lasted several minutes against him, earning Moody's praise, which in itself had many others in the room jealous of her.

"I don't know about you, but I was certainly very proud. She's my student and girlfriend, after all."

"I want to duel her someday… test myself against you kids. The level of dueling you all display regularly would've gotten you into the Hitwizard force with open arms. Your name is already held with awe in my department, especially after the stunts you pulled last year."

"Well, it seems like I am famous."

"Understatement of the century," Amelia snorted.

"It is," Harry smiled, wiping his cheek. "Good night, Amelia. I think we should rest. We are going to have a few long days starting tomorrow, especially you."

"You lot are forcing me to run for the minister and do all the hard work," She moaned.

"There is no one better than you. No one else in the ministry hates Death Eaters with a passion like you do. Remember how we teamed up to get Snape in Azkaban back in my third year."

"I more remember you trying to woo me and flirting with me," She recalled making Harry chuckle.

"You totally missed a big opportunity. I am the most eligible bachelor in Britain, you know?"

"And modest too," Amelia added sarcastically.

"Of course. I didn't mention the winner of the teen witch weekly's most charming smile award, did I?" Harry asked, giving her a charming smile.

"Go to sleep, kid," Amelia said, rolling her eyes.

"Of course," Harry said magnanimously as he stood up and walked to the door.

"Good night and dream about me!" He called before he turned, just as a pillow sailed past him. A moment later, he apparated to his room, laughing his ass off as Amelia's frustrated cry echoed through the corridor.


28th December 1995

British Ministry of Magic, London

Without a nary sound, Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore appeared in the Atrium of the Ministry of Magic, almost near midnight. Most of the ministry was deserted, bar a few employees of the vital departments, namely the Auror Force, Hit wizard force, and the Magic-reversal squad who were the ever-working departments. The rest had gone home, making the huge building seem deserted.

Their footsteps echoed through the Atrium, as they walked forward towards the Golden grilles, passing the Statue of Magical Brethren.

Harry glanced at the statue and smirked, knowing that it was likely that the damned thing wouldn't survive the night if a duel took place in the Atrium between them and Voldemort. He never liked the statue anyway.

As he walked, Harry eyed the shimmering forms that moved in their path, a moment before which their disillusionment charms faded, to reveal two rather young Aurors standing there.

"Professor Dumbledore, Mr. Potter, is there a problem?" One of the Aurors asked with concern, stepping forward without a wand in his hand.

Harry didn't pause in his stride, as he whipped out his wand and fired two lilac-colored beams at the Aurors, both of which hit them square on their chests, making their eyes glaze.

"You both will return home and return to the ministry only when the emergency is sounded or tomorrow morning," Harry ordered and the Aurors nodded in unison.

The curse he had just fired on them was a lower version of the Imperious Curse. The difference was, that it only worked for the order given immediately instead of the full-time control the Imperious bestowed. Also, it was easier to throw off but undetectable except to a Master Legilimens.

Harry immediately followed it up with a memory modifying charm as the two Aurors turned toward the fireplaces to floo home.

As they disappeared in a flash of green flames, Dumbledore sighed sadly. "It is sad to see how the standards of the academy have dropped after Alastor retired from teaching there. Back then, he made sure that every Auror and Hitwizard at least got some training to resist the Imperious. They would've thrown this off easily."

"That is certainly a concern. But, nonetheless, let's go. We have a prophecy to retrieve." Harry said as he pressed the button to call the lift.

Harry ideally noted that one of the lifts was on Level Nine. Only two lifts were operational at this time instead of the usual sixteen. The golden grills of the other lift clanked open, the noise echoing almost eerily in the dead silence of the Atrium.

Harry pressed the number nine button, the grilles closed with a bang, and the lift began to descend, jangling and rattling. These things were noisy as hell.

"Department of Mysteries," The cool female voice declared before the lift doors opened with a bang. The corridor in front of them was deserted and there was no sign of Death Eaters so far.

"Come on, Harry. Let's get on with it," Dumbledore said, his voice echoing eerily through the corridor.

Harry walked forward, following a step behind the ancient headmaster, whose midnight-blue, star-studded robes fluttered as he walked. Harry had learned of the fact that, despite his rather eccentric designed robe, it was no less effective than his own intimidating, black Dragon-legion battle-robed. Both their robes were riddled with heavy enchantments and blood magic.

And that was not to mention the vests they were wearing underneath it. Dumbledore's was made of Dragon hide from a Ukrainian Ironbelly, which was the best dragon hide for armors and other protective clothing. Harry's was made of Basilisk hide, of course.

The headmaster had even forgone his spectacles today, taking a special potion that would help him see perfectly for the next few hours. He was unfortunately too old for the eyesight-correction ritual to work on his eyes anymore. He had already done it once, which had gotten rid of his spectacles for more than seventy years before his age had struck.

Dumbledore stopped a few feet away from the plain black doors, beyond which the Department of Mysteries lay. He waved his wand over the pitch-black doors and gave it an impressed nod.

"The wards were recently dismantled before being put together again as they were. The work of a master warder, undoubtedly. One, with an intricate knowledge of these wards likely."

"Rookwood," Harry stated. "Should I tear through these or do you want to do the honors?"

Dumbledore smiled. "Let me. It has been quite some time since I did this. Step back."

Harry stepped back as asked and Dumbledore took a deep breath before slashing the Elder Wand in a downward motion. A pale blue beam of light shot from his wand impacting the black door, and tearing through the wards in a flash of light. Harry could feel the hair on his neck stand up from the sheer magical power Dumbledore had put into the spell.

They were not the best, to be honest. Just a weak resistance compared to what was ahead.

"Steel your Occlumency," Dumbledore said, before pushing the door open and entering. Harry followed behind him, entering a large, circular room. Everything in here was black including the floor and ceiling — identical, unmarked, handle-less black doors were set at intervals all around the black walls, interspersed with branches of candles whose flames burned blue, their cool, shimmering light reflected in the shining marble floor so that it looked as though there was dark water underfoot.

As he walked a couple of steps into the room, the door swung shut behind him. The walls and floor shimmered for a few moments as Harry felt his mind shields get hit, before returning to as it was. Ideally, it would give massive disorientation to the entrant, looking like the walls were rotating and so was the floor, confounding them unless they were keyed into the wards… or were master Occlumens like Harry and Dumbledore.

Harry counted the rooms, starting from the left of the door he had entered through. He walked toward the fifth door which led to the Hall of Prophecies waved his wand over the door finding that the wards had been torn through here as well. But, not mended. It was a brute and hasty work rather than the clean job at the entrance. Only the locking charm was there along with a recently applied alert ward.

Harry jabbed his wand, shooting a pink beam at it and the door swung open. He had purposefully triggered the alarm ward in doing so.

They entered a room filled with towering alleys of shelves, on which thousands of orbs, all shimmering with ethereal blue wispy light in them glowed almost eerily in the darkness.

The orbs of Prophecy.

"Row Ninety-four, Harry."

Harry looked up to the nearest shelf in front of him, displaying the number Fifty-three, written in bold, silver numbers. On the shelf to its right was the number fifty-four.

"This way then," Harry declared, walking ahead, purposefully making his footsteps loud. He could already sense the magic from the awaiting Death Eaters, all of whom were grouped under invisibility cloaks, with a disillusionment charm on, along with silencing and scent masking charms.

Dumbledore followed behind him, humming merrily to himself.

"Row ninety-seven," Harry declared, as they reached the concerned row, where the prophecy cough fake prophecy cough was placed.

"Down here," Dumbledore said, leading the way, deeper into the row. Harry curiously glanced at the yellow labels underneath each orb, reading the names with veiled interest. He didn't know most of them but he did happen to glance at one that caught his interest.

N.Y.T to A.O.B

Gellert Grindelwald

And Charlus Potter

He raised his eyebrow, but continued ahead, following Dumbledore to somewhere in the middle of the perhaps never-ending row.

"Here," Dumbledore declared. "The prophecy that was recited fifteen years ago concerning you and Voldemort."

S.P.T. to A.P.W.B.D.

The Dark Lord

and (?) Harry Potter

"Are you serious? They didn't write Voldemort here either. The Dark Lord." He mocked as he felt Death Eaters closing around them slowly. Dumbledore undoubtedly felt it too if the slight tightening of his hand on Harry's shoulder was any indication.

Dumbledore chuckled. "Pick up the orb, Harry. Only you can do it. Curious wards on them. If anyone bar the concerned parties of the prophecy pick it up, they shall have a curse of madness inflicted on them along with short-term paralysis."

"Ow, that's harsh," Harry said as we walked forward and picked the prophecy orb slowly, making sure there was nothing on it that would harm him.

And then, from right behind them, a drawling voice said, "Very good, Potter. Now turn around, nice and slowly, and give that to me."

"Good evening, Rookwood. Out for a nighttime stroll with your death eater buddies, I presume?" Harry asked, turning to the source of the voice as Black, mask-clad figures emerged from all around them, removing their invisibility cloaks, blocking their way from every direction, even sideways, which had already been blocked by the humongous shelves.

All had their wands pointed straight at Harry and Dumbledore.

It was good that the space between them was wide. Enough for three lanes of traffic to pass through, actually. Harry had no doubt that the room had a ridiculous amount of expansion enchantments on it.

"Shut your mouth Potter, and hand the orb to me."

Harry tutted, "Now—"

"Enough with the games, Rookwood! Accio Prophecy!" A harsh female voice said from the midst of the shadowy figures to Harry's left.

The orb didn't even budge from Harry's hand.

"Bellatrix, is that you?" Harry asked loudly. "Wait, there's too little lighting."

With that, Harry bathed the whole room in light, revealing them all properly.

The Death Eaters tightened their grasp on their wands, pointing them straight at Harry and Dumbledore.

"Ah, thank you, Harry. This is much better. Good evening to you all." Dumbledore greeted with a beaming smile.

"Enough with the games. Give us the orb or—"

"Your father will hear about this?" Harry quipped with a chuckle. "Malfoy, come up with better threats. Heck, the pathetic son of yours makes better threats."

Bellatrix cackled loudly at that, almost making Harry cringe at the sound as she emerged from the shadows.

That was when Harry got a first good look at the most feared witch in Britain. She had ebony hair, shining with streaks of white in the light. A few strands of her hair partially obscured her face, veiling her heavy-lidded eyes and the strong Aristocratic jaw. Her face was gaunt and sunken due to Azkaban but yet, her dark purple eyes reflected her fanatic madness. Harry had no doubt that before her imprisonment, Bellatrix would've been a beautiful, sought-after witch both for her looks and talents.

Harry also noted that she was the only Death Eater not wearing a mask.

"Enough, Potter," Rookwood snapped. "Give us the orb"

"Oh, you mean this very fragile glass sphere that can break with a wee tip of my hand?" Harry asked, tipping the glass orb dangerously.

"Ooh, itsy bitsy baby Potter knows how to play!" Bellatrix cooed in a baby voice.

"Don't be insane, Potter. You both are surrounded and outnumbered more than twenty-five to one." Malfoy warned.

"I was outnumbered something like thirty to one in that graveyard against Voldemort and you all. And I killed fourteen of your buddies. Do you really think that the number was a threat? Puh-lease."

"Lucius, return home to your wife. You can't defeat the two of us. We'll let you get out without any bloodshed." Dumbledore offered.

"Not without the prophecy," Rookwood declared.

"You are more insane than Bellatrix and your pathetic Dark Lord Voldemort combined if you think that I'll give a smelly old sock to you, much less this orb."

"Potter, you both are outnumbered, and kill you before you can get your wands out."

Harry snorted. "Only pathetic wizards like your master truly need a wand. Not us."

"Crucio." Bellatrix snapped, firing the cruciatus curse at Harry without any warning.

Harry whirled around wandlessly intercepting the unforgivable curse with his invisible-butterfly shield, right before it hit his chest.

Bellatrix's eyes went wide as Harry laughed uproariously in response as opposed to the screams of unbearable agony she expected. To her, it seemed that her curse had hit Harry head-on, and he was still under it.

"You might want to try that again, Bella. That didn't even tickle. I expected better from the right hand of Voldemort. Oh wait, that is Rookwood now, isn't it. Did Voldemort throw ickle Bella away for someone better?" Harry taunted, using the same baby voice as Bellatrix.

Bellatrix's dark purple eyes glowed with fury at that statement, a deranged expression forming on her face. The tightening of her grip on her wand was the only warning Harry had as she slashed her wand at him shooting a dark puce beam at her wand.

Harry wasted no time in bringing up another butterfly to intercept the curse, having absolutely no desire to get hit with it. She had just shot the Sarx Sapisma curse at him. A Greek flesh rotting curse which was absolutely horrendous to get hit by.

"That wasn't very nice, Bella," Harry tutted.

Before Bellatrix could react, possibly in a more violent way, the man beside her lunged at her, holding her back. "He is our lord's to deal with, Bella! Not yours. The Dark Lord wants to deal with him personally."

"I will kill him for our lord!" She shrieked

Harry tutted, "Have you no shame, Bellatrix? A Black bowing to someone. Pathetic. Your Grandfather should've killed you after disowning you."

"What do you know of being a Black you filthy Half-blooded bastard!"

"Considering I am the Heir of House Black, a lot. And, I haven't sullied its name by bowing to a pathetic worm as you have."

"Enough! Give the orb here, Potter!" The man beside her growled, holding Bellatrix back as she frothed like a mad dog, itching to curse Harry.

"Sorry, but who are you?"

"Rudolphus Lestrange, I believe," Dumbledore said serenely. "It is quite difficult to tell under the mask but I recognize his voice. How are you, Rudolphus, dear boy?"

"I will be better when I kill you, Dumbledore," He spat.

"Forgive my lack of humbleness but I do not think that you are capable enough to do it, my boy. I believe you tried before in 1978, at Hogsmeade, I believe."

Instead of answering, Rudolphus turned his wand on Harry. "EXPELLIARMUS!"

It was a good trick on his part. Unfortunately, he was dealing with Harry Potter who just leaned a bit, allowing the spell to soar harmlessly past him, hitting a shelf and fizzling out.

"ATTACK!" Rookwood shouted and Harry instantly whipped his wand out, producing a dome shield, immediately protecting him and dumbledore against the barrage of spells from all around them. The spells clashed against the shield, reverberating with a gong as they fizzled out.

"I take this side you take the others," Dumbledore said, moving to stand behind Harry making their backs face each other, the Elder Wand held almost nonchalantly in his hand. As another wave of spells hit Harry's shield, making it shimmer, Dumbledore gave the cue.

"NOW!"

As the shield absorbed the third wave of spells and shattered, both Dumbledore and Harry slashed their wands in sync, causing a devastating shockwave of thunder and air to move towards the enemy. Most would've perished as soon as the lightning-infused shockwave would've hit them even if they shielded, but the Death eaters turned out to be more competent than expected, as most of them erected powerful, wide area shields to protect themselves and their comrades. The shields overlapping gave them a good defense even if their shields still shattered and the Death Eaters were thrown back violently.

Yet, none of them perished.

But that wasn't the main plan anyway.

As the Death Eaters were thrown back, the lights that Harry had made went out, plunging the department back into near darkness as pearly-white figures unfurled into the air and floated there, their voices echoing from who knew what long-dead past amid the torrent of crashing glass orbs and splintered wood which was now raining down upon the floor, courtesy of Harry and Dumbledore's spell.

"Lumos Maxima!" A death eater shouted, lighting the place back, ignoring the chaos of voices reciting prophecies.

"WHERE ARE THEY!?" Someone yelled.

"THEY DISAPPEARED!"

"CALM DOWN!" Rookwood shouted, stopping the Death Eaters. "They couldn't have gone far. Spread out and look for them. And get that damn orb by whatever means possible! And stay in groups of three! Go!"

Just as the groups of Death Eaters began to spread out, a voice shouted from above gaining their attention.

"Looking for me, fuckers?"

Harry Potter was floating above them in mid-air, his wand held loosely in his hand, with a smirk on his face.

The death eaters wasted no time in firing spells at him, only for all spells to pass harmlessly through his body.

"It's an illusi—" A Death Eater shouted, only to stop mid-syllable as he gurgled on his own blood, courtesy of a pierced neck.

"What the fuck?" The Death Eater next to him cried, only to slump to the floor a moment later, courtesy of a killing curse.

The Death Eaters, or the more intelligent ones anyway, immediately shot a barrage of spells in the direction the Killing curse had come from, only to stop as two of their companions standing behind them were beheaded.

"Shields!" Rookwood ordered just as the fifth Death Eater went down, a gaping hole in his chest.

The Death Eaters immediately deployed shields of various sorts but no spell came at them.

"What happened? Where are they?" Someone whispered, though her voice could be heard throughout the corridor in the dead silence.

"Jugson, come back here, we need to organize! We'll split into pairs again and search, and don't forget, don't kill Potter. He's our lord's to finish. You can kill Dumbledore if possible. Bellatrix, Dolohov, Rodolphus, you take the left. Crabbe, Rabastan, Goyle, Carrows, go right. Jugson, you and your family, along with Schwein's team, the door straight ahead. Selwyn and Avery, through here along with Adelberg and his team! Ivanov, you and your friends take that corridor. Malfoy, over there with Travers, Nott, and Dmitriev's team. Mulciber, Kozlov, and the rest come with me!" Rookwood ordered.

Harry, who heard the orders from his vantage spot, raised his eyebrows. It was undeniable that Rookwood had a good strategic mind. He had paired the powerful ones together in small groups and the less skilled ones together in a big group, the biggest being his own, with him being the only competent Death Eater.

The biggest challenge would undoubtedly be the Rodolphus-Bellatrix-Dolohov group. Bellatrix was the most feared witch in Britain for a reason and her husband was no slouch. Dolohov, on the other hand, was a four-time International Dueling champion, having authored several books on Dueling. His dueling stance was one of the favorites for young duelists around the world for the high stability it provided while dueling, and the ability to have a very balanced offensive and defensive. It wasn't idle while super-fast casting though as it hindered rapid body moments. But it gave you a standing ground against a slightly superior opponent while on the defensive.

But what was troubling him were the names he was unfamiliar with. Dmitriev, Schwein, Ivanov, Kozlov, and Adelberg. They were not British for sure. It sounded German or Russian to Harry. The question was, what were they doing here? Was Voldemort recruiting overseas? Or, were they assassin groups like the ones that had attacked him at the Order of Merlin award ceremony?

The latter seemed more plausible as Rookwood used the term team. So, they were likely assassin teams. Complete unknowns. Harry would have to be careful.

"Also, watch your backs. We don't know where they will attack from!" Dolohov shouted as the groups began to part, spreading in all directions.

Harry resisted the urge to roll his eyes at that. What was the use of it if they were already alerting both himself and Dumbledore to the fact that they would be watching their six so they couldn't sneak attack from behind?

As the group disappeared through the corridors made by the towering shelves, Harry put his hand on his ear, pushing magic into the enchanted earpiece he was wearing.

'Professor, you take Malfoy's group, I'll take Rookwood's. Send the signal once you dispose of them and we will begin moving out as the order comes in. Voldemort would move to stop us as we had planned. Oh, and don't kill Malfoy. Capture him. To make it look real—'

'I will capture a few more Death Eaters instead of killing them. Sounds fair,' Dumbledore replied through the link. 'Good luck, Harry.'

Harry smiled before removing his hand from his ear. It was a great invention of his, one he had already decided to use for his charms project for Mastery. He would do something else for NEWT's extra credit work.

This was a device he had made taking inspiration from muggle earpieces. The only difference was that they didn't need its user to speak out loud. It was all telepathic. And, it worked only in a short range of one kilometer. And, only one connection could be made. Harry was still trying to figure a way to make it work for multiple people but had no success in that direction so far.

With a twitch of his wand, he flew into the air, following Rookwood's group, completely invisible. Harry immediately counted fourteen Death Eaters in addition to Rookwood, who were moving swiftly, yet cautiously, with their wands out.

"Aspida Prostasia" Harry hissed softly and felt the magic of the spell cover his left forearm. It was a parselmagic spell invented by Herpo the foul, the Greek dark wizard, who ironically also was the first creator of a Horcrux. The spell formed a powerful magical buckler shield of sorts that could stop both magical and physical attacks and didn't need constant power to maintain or move. It moved with the body part it was applied on. It was usually a brilliant silver shield but for now, it was invisible due to the disillusionment charm Harry had applied to himself.

With barely a thought, Harry flew forward, overtaking the Death Eaters and landing in front of them before waving his wand in a wide arc, sending a wide area severing curse at the Death Eaters, hoping to decapacitate them by catching them off-guard.

As the curse sailed towards the Death Eaters, Harry dropped the disillusionment charm before rapidly firing two Confrigos at them, as Rookwood erected a shield to protect himself and his team from the severing curse. The shield exploded as the curse met it, fizzling out in the process, but the power behind it sent Rookwood stumbling as the Confrigos sped at the left and right flanks of the group.

A wizard from the right flank managed to deflect it onto the shelf, making it fizzle out due to the wards on it, while the left flank was hit head-on, making a Death Eater explode into a gory mass of blood and organs while sending a huge chunk of the group flying back.

"FIENDFYRE!" Rookwood roared from his spot on the floor, making the cursed flames spew out of his wand, taking the shape of a seven feet tall fiery wolf, which rushed towards Harry, intending to devour him whole.

Harry accumulated his magic at the tip of his wand, and waved it at the incoming construct, filling it with his intent. The wolf lost its shape, turning into a gush of flames that swirled around Harry, taking the shape of a Snake.

"RETREAT!" Rookwood yelled, running for his life as he saw Harry Potter effortlessly wrestle the control of his fiendfyre away and manipulate it to his whims.

With a jab of his wand, the snake lunged towards Rookwood and the other fleeing Death Eaters, consuming two idiots who were busy staring at the flames almost immediately, before continuing its crusade of destruction. As it consumed three more Death Eaters, not leaving even ashes behind, its path was interrupted by a tall wall of thick, solid steel, courtesy of Rookwood who had regained his wits and threw some object at it which had expanded into the wall, buying himself and the rest of his group some reprieve.

With a twitch of Harry's wand, the fiery snake reared back and smashed into the steel wall. While doing so, Harry noticed that the wall had various runes glowing on it and immediately suppressed the fire, knowing it was a waste of time to melt through the wall or transfigure it. The Death Eaters had come prepared for him in advance, it seemed.

With a last glance at the wall, he sped through the corridors, taking flight again, pursuing more Death Eaters. That was when he felt his phoenix pendant heat up. Within a minute or so, the Order of the Phoenix would storm in. And, in five, Kingsley would raise the wards on the atrium, and in another ten he would raise the emergency, signifying that the ministry to the danger. Around seventeen minutes before Lord Voldemort would be revealed to the world if all went according to their plan.

He soared towards the next set of Death Eaters, which turned out to be the Jugson family along with the Schwein person and his team.

Before they could see him, he jabbed his wand, making liters of water shoot down from his wand onto the group, submerging them in a dome of water in the blink of an eye.

Harry hardly gave them time to comprehend as he shot a powerful bolt of lightning, electrocuting them to death within seconds. As their bodies stilled, Harry vanished the water and shot piercing curses through their throats, to ensure that they were all dead. He was in no mood to run a medical scan on them to ensure they were dead or waste his time.

That was when he picked up the sounds of people from the end of the room. The rest of the Order was here.

"IT'S A TRAP BY DUMBLEDORE AND POTTER! THEY HAVE AN ARMY! RU—" A booming voice sounded through the whole room from somewhere before it abruptly devolved into gurgling and went silent.

Harry performed a detection charm and flew towards the next group of Death Eaters, which ironically was Rookwood's again, or what was left of it. With a wave of his wand, a dozen flaming arrows flew at the Death Eaters, killing two of them instantly, and injuring three.

"RUN! I'll hold him off!" Rookwood ordered, shooting a bludgeoner at Harry, followed by two bone breakers, and a blood-boiling curse.

Harry deflected the Bludgeoner and took the bone-breakers head-on onto his silver shield. Both spells fizzled out and Harry continued his path toward the ground, knowing that the blood-boiling curse was too off the mark to hit him.

As Harry landed on the ground, he deflected a piercing curse with his shield before sending a gouging curse at Rookwood, who deflected it onto a shelf, where it fizzled out before erecting a shield, protecting himself from the war-hammer curse Harry shot at him, followed by a bone-breaker and a Bombarda Maxima.

The last spell broke the shield, and the remaining energy of it hit Rookwood straight on his chest, sending the man flying back several meters, but not taking him out. Harry immediately shot a killing curse at him, but he rolled out of the way before casting a banishing charm on himself to get out of the way of a Reductor curse aimed at his chest.

"Fulminis Maxima!" Rookwood yelled, shooting a bolt of lightning at Harry who fizzled the spell out with a flick of his wand before conjuring a spear and banishing it at Rookwood but was intercepted by yet another shield.

Harry growled and transfigured the rubble around him into snakes which lunged at Rookwood who killed the snakes with a severing curse, a millisecond before a war-hammer curse hit Rookwood in the abdomen, sending him flying down two rows.

As Harry hurried forward, his senses picked up a group of six approaching right about the turn. The distance between them was too little to cast properly thus, he turned into his Animagus form and pounced on the Death Eaters as soon as they rounded the corner.

Of all the things the Death Eaters had expected as they turned back to save Rookwood from Potter, a three-hundred kilogram cat pouncing was not one of them.

Harry's claws ripped through the chest of the first Death Eater and he leaped onto the next one tearing into her abdomen with his fangs just before headbutting the third Death Eater sending him sprawling onto the floor.

Harry turned back into his human form, dodging a cutting curse at almost point-blank range due to his feline reflexes just as the sword of Gryffindor materialized in his hands and he slashed two of the Death Eaters on their chests drawing blood before lunging forward and stabbing the one sprawled on the ground.

Before he could do anything more, one of the bulky Death Eaters slammed him physically onto a shelf, holding him by his throat as the sword of Gryffindor dropped to the floor.

The man holding him was seven feet tall and extremely muscular and had lifted Harry nearly nine feet off the ground with sheer strength.

"Ich werde dich töten!" He growled, choking Harry.

Harry didn't care what the man had said as he wandlessly summoned a dagger from his waist holster and jabbed it in the man's neck with a yell while simultaneously driving his knee into the man's groin making him drop Harry to the floor as he stumbled back, gurgling on his blood.

Harry wandlessly banished him across the corridor, making him slam into the opposite shelf as he heaved, trying to catch his breath. His senses tingled and he jumped out of the way as a bone crusher curse shot past him, fizzling out against the shelf as he whirled around and blasted off the head of the offender.

As the body of the Death Eater fell to the floor, Harry looked around checking for more enemies before slumping against the shelf, breathing deeply as he massaged his neck lightly. His magic was already healing him but whoever the man was… he was strong as hell.

And he was still alive, even if holding on to the last vestiges of his life.

Harry wandlessly twisted the knife before summoning it back, making the giant of the man slump to the floor. With a flick of his finger, the blood on him and the dagger vanished. The others were already dead, courtesy of the basilisk venom and the fatal wounds.

Without a backward glance, he hurried forward, back to Rookwood. But, when he reached the place, Rookwood was no longer there.

'Harry, we need to get going. The Death Eaters have begun to flee.' Dumbledore's voice sounded through the earpiece.

'Okay,' Harry replied before flying back into the air, shooting towards the exit, where he could already see heavy spell fire taking place.

On the way, he saw the bound forms of a few Death Eaters and the body of a couple of others. Up ahead, he saw Dumbledore already moving towards the door, his wand moving like a baton, yanking a Death Eater off his feet before banishing him on the path of a killing curse shot at Hestia Jones. The Death Eater intercepted the curse aimed for Jones, killing him before his dead body crashed into one of the two Death Eaters fighting Sirius.

Harry landed right beside Dumbledore, falling in stride with the man as they walked out of the hall of prophecies together, back into the huge circular room, which was now a warzone as spells flew around between order members and Death Eaters. Hestia Jones was fighting against Nott, Moody was facing off against whom Harry assumed to be Rowle and one of the Travers, and Sirius was fighting against the Carrow senior. and his daughter, who was now on the floor courtesy of her brother, whom Dumbledore had banished at her.

Two masked Death Eaters were furiously battling McGonagall while Flitwick faced off against the Lestrange brothers.

Many others from the order were nowhere to be seen but Harry assumed that they were still in the Hall of prophecies or somewhere around the department.

Harry saw Bellatrix fighting Bill and her sister, Andromeda, holding her own against them as she laughed maniacally. He could see Flitwick's teaching in her as she moved and battled the two men. The minimal moments to dodge a spell, the calculative deflection, the slight twirl of her wand as she deflected the spells sending them spiraling away… it was the same tricks Flitwick had taught him. He could see those same reflections when he battled Moody and Amelia.

With a jab of his wand, an unsuspecting Nott was impaled with a spear through his heart, killing him instantly as Dumbledore bound the Carrow twins in tight metallic chains before they could get up to fight Sirius.

"POTTER AND DUMBLEDORE ARE HERE!" The Death Eater nearest to them shouted a moment before he got hit by a piercing curse between his eyes, courtesy of Dumbledore, who grimaced slightly as blood sprouted like a fountain from the Death Eater's forehead onto them.

There were yells; two of the Death Eaters ran for it, abandoning their respective fights with Remus and Emily Vance, scrabbling like monkeys up the stone steps opposite of the room but got hit in the back with a blasting curse by Harry, throwing them out of the circular room and making them crash on the steps leading to the lift with a sickening crunch.

"NO!" Bill's yell suddenly filled the room followed by Bellatrix's mad cackle. Harry turned just in time to see Andromeda Tonks slump lifelessly on the floor, her eyes blank as her wand rolled out of his hands.

Before Bellatrix could turn her wand on Bill, Harry roared and slashed his wand, shooting a dark purple beam at her.

Bellatrix though, was enough distance away to dodge the heart exploding curse before deflecting the gouging curse and the organ melting curse onto the wall, still cackling insanely, enjoying the fight. It was only when Harry shot the killing curse at her, that she conjured a granite wall, intercepting it, and grew serious.

She banished the fragments as the rock exploded, transfiguring them into daggers. Without another thought, Harry just vanished the projectiles, shooting a spiraling red light at her. Bellatrix dove out of the way, the beam hitting the floor and shaking the room.

"AVADA KEDAVRA!" Bellatrix shot another killing curse at Harry, and one of his invisible butterflies consumed it yet again.

With a swish of his wand, Harry ripped chunks out of the floor, using one of them to intercept a potent blasting curse while transfiguring the rest into spikes and sending it at Bellatrix. In defense, Bellatrix conjured a wall, stopping the spikes, making Harry smirk as he waved his wand, transfiguring the block into a leopard which leaped onto the woman sending her straight onto the floor.

But Bellatrix proved to be even better than he had thought. With blinding speed, she whipped out her dagger, a curved, extremely sharp dagger, and plunged it into the leopard's jugular, just before the leopard could rip her throat out. She pulled out the knife and banished the leopard's body away and rolled out of the way as a pink-colored curse impacted the floor next to her, melting a small crater on the polished stone floor into a bubbling mess.

She leaped to her feet, ducking under a severing curse from Bill who had regained his wits after witnessing Andromeda's death.

That was when it happened. Bellatrix threw a metal ball into the air, which exploded in a bright light a moment later.

"Accio orb!" She said, but even blinded, Harry caught the orb in his hand and deflected a curse away.

"FIENDFYRE!" Two voices shouted from behind Harry, who whirled around, blinking the spots out of his eyes, and saw Rookwood and Dolohov casting the cursed flames once again as they appeared from the Hall of Prophecies, but this time, instead of a single one, they had cast together making it nearly four times more dangerous. Dumbledore, who had been helping Flitwick and McGonagall subdue their opponents, turned to face the flames, waving his wand in an intricate pattern, directing them away from Hestia Jones and Sirius, before fighting the flames.

"FIENDFYRE!" Bellatrix shouted as well seeing what was happening, directing the flames towards Bill and Remus instead of Harry.

Harry instantly threw a wave of magic at the fire, imposing its will on it but unlike Rookwood, Bellatrix fought back against his will, doing her best to keep the flame under her control. Nearly half a minute later, Harry successfully wrestled control out of her hands and extinguished the flames, not wanting to take a chance as Dumbledore was still trying to subdue Rookwood's and Dolohov's fiendfyre.

The Death Eaters were already fleeing if they could and the rest were captured, horribly injured, or dead.

Harry threw a skull-crushing curse at Bellatrix who deflected it as she retreated towards the door. With a slash of his wand, the air around him compressed into near-solid spears and shot at Bellatrix. Absolutely lethal in nature, completely invisible, and near impossible to stop or detect. Once they hit something, the air pressure released itself, making a destructive blast of air. Bellatrix's eyes widened and she erected a bronze colored, shimmering round shield, apparently sensing it.

The air spears hit the shield with a mighty gong, making Bellatrix stumble, just as a powerful breeze flowed through the chamber, making the nearby people stumble back and Harry's robes flutter.

Bellatrix didn't wait as she turned on her heel and rushed off into the corridor leading to the lifts. Harry pointed his wand at the shield and shot a puce beam at it, breaking the shield before hurrying after Bellatrix, shooting a cutting curse at her back.

She deflected the curse over her shoulder and aimed one at Harry, which he dodged without breaking stride as he continued attacking Bellatrix who laughed maniacally as she deflected the spell again before erecting yet another shield as she just slid into the lift with the other death eaters just before the golden grilles closed and the lift jangled as it moved away.

Harry cursed under his breath as he jammed the button to call the other lift pressing it rapidly.

A couple of moments later, the grilles slid open and Harry slid in, punching the button that said, 'Atrium'

The doors closed and he started to rise. Harry immediately removed a vial containing a blue liquid from his pocket before gulping the liquid down. The elixir of rejuvenation. It worked both as multiple healing potions as well as a pepper-up potion of sorts, but was much more efficient, being made by alchemy. It worked to restore the body to top health when one was suffering from superficial injuries and/or exhaustion.

Harry was by no means exhausted, but he might need it. It was better not to take a risk as he was going to duel Voldemort shortly.

Harry vanished the small bottle as he desperately looked at the moving floors on the display.

Even before the grilles were fully open, he forced his way out of the lift, as he witnessed Bellatrix and her accompanying Death Eaters were almost halfway to the telephone booth which was the lift that opened in the muggle world. The anti-apparition wards and the portkey wards were up. The ministry was in lockdown. The only way in was through the floo and the muggle entrance. Though, the muggle entrance was also the only way out as it was originally made as a failsafe to escape the ministry if they were trapped.

'Confringo Maxima!' He thought and the destructive beam shot forth from his wand at the running Death Eaters.

Bellatrix whirled around, somehow sensing the magic, and blocked it with a shield, making her skid back several feet as Harry's curse impacted her shield.

"NOW!" She yelled and the other Death Eaters whirled around and simultaneously cast powerful blasting and cutting curses at Harry, who just slashed his wand, deflecting all the curses around the atrium, making them fizzle out against the walls and the tiles.

Nine against one. Well, time to give them a taste of true power.

With a wave of his wand, the Statue of Magical Brethren behind the Death Eaters got animated. The wizard and witch leaped off the pedestal onto the nearest death eater while the house elf and the goblin charged at the other Death Eaters. The Centaur on the other hand galloped across the Atrium, taking the curses shot at Harry, sustaining minimal damage though, courtesy of the enchantments on it.

With a jab of his wand, a killing curse shot at the back of the unsuspecting Death Eater who was busy battling the goblin.

Suddenly, as the Death Eater crumpled to the ground, Harry felt the fake orb stir in his pocket and immediately slashed his wand canceling the spell, throwing Lestrange on her butt.

Without wasting a second, Harry immediately shot an eldritch purple curse at her. The slow death curse would render the victim comatose for some time, as their organs began to fail before they would finally succumb to Death. He followed it with a Heart-exploding curse and a Confringo.

Bellatrix, proving her worth as the most feared witch in Britain, deftly rolled out of the way and jumped to her feet, deflecting a Reducto making it go sailing over her head. Any visages of her maniacal laughter were now absent, her face a mask of concentration and alertness. Her purple eyes burned with a fury of revenge as they bore into Harry.

Harry, unperturbed by it, deflected a bone-breaking curse with his shield as he waved his wand, shooting two spears at the statues of the witch and wizard beating their respective Death Eaters to pulp. Each statue caught a spear before plunging them into the Death Eaters, killing them. They removed the spears and charged onto Bellatrix who shot two curses at them, blasting them across the Atrium, making a great deal of noise as the metal statues crashed on the walls. With a jab of her wand, ropes shot at them, trapping the two metal statues.

She turned back to look at her comrades, only to find them dead and Harry Potter standing across the hall, with a smirk on his face. Their bodies lay sprawled upon the ground, blood seeping from their wounds, and their eyes rolled into their heads. The remnants of the goblin, centaur, and elf statues were also scattered across the floor.

Bellatrix met Harry's stare, her wand clutched tightly in her hands. Without waiting, she attacked, shooting spells, whichever flashed into her mind at Harry, who didn't even raise his wand. She realized a second too late what had happened as a dark gray curse shot at her unexpectedly, from her right while her barrage of spells passed harmlessly through Potter.

Bellatrix knew it was futile to dodge or deflect that spell given its nature and it was too late to shield now. The gray spell came at her like a grim reaper stalking his prey.

That was when a golden circular shield appeared, barely a couple of inches away from her body, just a fraction of a second before the gray beam of light slammed into it. The shield and the spell exploded, throwing her onto her back.

Belatedly, Bellatrix realized what had happened as the Dark Mark on her forearm burned.

Her Lord had himself come to save her.

Harry realized the same as his fabled scar gave an itch to Voldemort's presence.

"Come out. I see you have come to save your loyal bitch." Harry called just as a figure in dark, black smoke flew around a grinning Bellatrix and landed near her, the figure emerging from within as the smoke clung to his body and formed his pitch black robes.

Tall, thin, and black-hooded, his terrible snakelike face white and gaunt, his scarlet, slit-pupils eyes glaring at him. Lord Voldemort had appeared in the middle of the hall, rather dramatically if one might add, his wand pointing at Harry who just rolled his eyes in response, suppressing a grin from blooming over his face.

The plan had been a success.

"Master, I am sorry, I could not get the prophecy from Potter! I was fighting my blood-traitor sister!" sobbed Bellatrix, flinging herself down at Voldemort's feet as he paced slowly nearer, his eyes roving over the dead bodies. "Master, you should know—"

"Be quiet, Bella," said Voldemort dangerously. "I shall deal with you in a moment. Do you think I have entered the Ministry of Magic to hear your sniveling apologies?"

"Well, hear them. You might not get a chance later." Harry advised but Voldemort ignored it.

"I have to say to you, Potter. You are being quite a thorn in my side."

"Believe me, I take immense pleasure in doing it. Ruining your day makes mine, believe it or not."

"Oh, I do not doubt it. Now, give me the prophecy, or I will pry it from your dead body."

Harry's laughter echoed through the atrium at that. "You seriously can't come up with something new, can you? You have tried to kill me… four times now? And each time you've failed."

"This time, I won't," He replied confidently. "I would not deny that you are great, Potter. But you are no match to what I can put forth against you. Last time, I made the mistake of underestimating you and was still unused to my new body. This time, I'll make you pay."

"Master," Bellatrix interrupted urgently. "Even he—"

"Be quiet, Bella! Go back. I'll deal with you later." Voldemort said, before whipping his wand, shooting a powerful golden beam of light at the ceiling, shattering the recently erected wards with an almighty bang.

Harry didn't even bother to stop him from doing so. Voldemort was here and he was going to fight him regardless.

"But, Master—"

Voldemort didn't wait, shoving a coin on her, making her disappear in a swirl as the portkey activated.

"Now that she is out of the way, let's—" Voldemort stopped as the lift behind Harry dinged and Dumbledore strolled out of it, barely sparing a glance around the atrium.

"Good evening, Tom."

"Dumbledore!"

"Yes, it is me. I am quite pleased that you remember me. Although I must say, it was quite foolish of you to come here tonight, Tom."

"Was it, though? Will it be when it shall end in both of your deaths?"

"We both know that you cannot take me and Harry at the same time. And the Aurors are on their way."

"By which time, you both shall be dead and I, gone."

"You couldn't take one of us in a one-on-one fight throughout your existence. How do you propose to face the two of us alone? Your reign ends here and today."

Voldemort smirked at that. "Did you seriously think I would've come unprepared, Potter? When I knew you both were here? Do you think I am a fool to reveal myself after months of secrecy without prior preparation?" He asked softly.

"Oh, I did see your tricks. The warded wall, the flash bang orb, the assassin groups. None stopped us. Neither will they now. You can employ all the tricks against us that you want. This ends here and now." Harry replied, bluffing at the last part.

Voldemort gave a booming laugh at that. "Are you so naive to think that the war that I have planned for years will end in one night? Do you think that my ascend to power can be stopped by a simple scheme by an old man and a boy? I, who has dwelled deeper into magic than any other wizard on Earth?"

"And yet, you lost to me in the graveyard, didn't you?"

"You are a fool, Harry Potter. People learn from their mistakes and I learned from mine. We meet here six months later and you think I would've confronted both Dumbledore and you by myself?"

"I cannot see anyone other than us here, Tom. All your Death Eaters are either in chains or dead, except for dear Bellatrix whom you just sent away."

"That is where you are wrong, Dumbledore. I have a new friend now."

"You? Having a friend?" Harry asked incredulously. "The Voldemort I know would never share power. You were friendless even at the Orphanage and at Hogwarts. Nothing but a reject. Even your parents didn't want you."

Voldemort smiled humorlessly. "If you think that your petty little taunts are going to affect me, they aren't. And, I see Dumbledore has been telling you of my history."

"Yes, we do tend to put an effort into knowing our enemy."

"Do you, now? Because, if you do, you have no idea what you are going to be up against."

"Really? What have you brought? Another group of assassins? One of your death eaters whom you hand trained?"

"Neither, Harry Potter. Whom I have brought is just a friend," Voldemort said, hissing the last word in Parseltongue, making Harry narrow his eyes.

A swirl of colors, signifying a portkey travel appeared beside him, which cleared to reveal a new arrival in the middle of the ruined atrium.

It was an old man with brilliant white, spiked hair who stood in front of them, wearing a full aristocratic, formal attire, with a white undershirt, tie, vest, a matching pant piece and an outer cloak included. A thin white mustache framed his wrinkled face.

Harry could feel the power in the atrium rise with his arrival. The man was no ordinary wizard.

His wand was held nonchalantly in his hand while the other hand was in his pocket. Around his neck hung a silver chain with the symbol of the Deathly Hallows attached to it.

The man smiled as he opened his eyes, revealing his mismatched, cat-like, heterochromatic eyes, one blue, one brown, both glowing with power. He glanced around the atrium, his eyes lingering on Harry before it dropped down to his chest where the symbol of the Dragon legion was stitched. His gaze lingered there before the wizard turned to Dumbledore.

Harry glanced at Dumbledore, only to see that he was staring at the new arrival, his face pale as he clutched the Elder wand tightly in his hand, his knuckles turning white. Yet his eyes were glowing with fury trying to squash the new arrival to pulp with his stare.

"Albus," The man greeted, spreading his arms.

"Oh, how rude of me! Let me introduce you both to my new friend and ally, Gellert Grindelwald."


AND… DONE!

Hope you all liked the chapter and the plot twist. ;)

A huge thanks to Ultimate_Gamer for betaing this chapter. Also, to my friend Adrien for helping me at certain points.

I know many questions will be revolving in your mind. Where did Grindelwald come from? Wasn't he in prison? Why is he supporting Voldemort as Voldemort is not the sharing type?

All will be answered as the story progresses.

Also, yes. I did use a Thor Love and Thunder reference. If you ever feel lost, just look into the eyes of the people you love and they will tell you exactly who you are.

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Xerzo LotCN: Narrows eyes. Well… I will say that your questions about Malfoy not knowing Grindelwald joining hands with Voldemort will be answered in the later chapters.

Old crow: Yeah, for the wand thing you spoke about, (I legit had to go back and read the chapter) the desk person didn't cover the wand with anything. He just stuck a slip of paper, having the details of the wand, i.e. Ebony, 13 inches, phoenix feather, and Dragon Heartstring — in use for one year. He returned the wand untouched after that. Also, it wasn't Harry's primary wand. And, Harry has an archmage ability so he can do wandless magic.

Callum Runchman: Oh, man. I also really missed the 'Ministry Six' as they are called. But, sacrifices have to be made for the greater good. XD

The Last Kenpachi: Oh, dear. Sorry, but here you go with another cliffhanger. LMAO!

MissPotter97: Actually, that was my original plan tbh. To put the battle there. But, the chapter would've become too long. This one is already 12k+ without the flashback, AN, and stuff and the prev one was 8k+. A 20-21k word chapter is exhausting, both for me and you all.

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Well, that's all. Thank you everyone for showering so much love on my story and the reviews. That being said, PLEASE REVIEW! Tell me how did you find this chapter? A good review really makes my day. It is only due to all those GOOD REVIEWS that I have written this 370k+ word story.

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Also, do join my Discord server, House of HPfanfictioner66 where you can directly communicate with me, ask questions, etc. Hope to see you all lovely readers there soon Link: discord . gg / 4qfP3fxdQ4 [Remove the spaces please]

I have my own channel on the discord server known as Emerald Library. I recommend that you join the server and there, you won't only have access to me, but several other big authors who have their channels on the Emerald Library. Link: discord . gg / jtAxRnH6Tk [Remove the spaces please]

I also invite you all to join the Harry Potter Cord Server, one of the biggest servers for Potterheads out there! Hang out with thousands of witches and wizards online, and participate in the immersive House Cup! Link: discord . gg / pottercord [Remove the spaces please]

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At the moment, I have four main stories. They are:

1. The Rise of the Last Potter: My Novel length Harry Potter fic which is already 300k+ words long and it is a work in progress. Updated Regularly.

2. The Legend of the Son of Poseidon: A Novel Length Percy Jackson fic which is already 250k+ words long and it is a work in progress. Updated Regularly

3. Loved Ones Skipping Stones and Ice-cream: A fluffy Haphne one-shot. It is completed obviously.

4. SECRETS: Another romantic one-shot I published recently. Complete as well.

(PLEASE READ THEM ALL)

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Stay Happy! Stay Safe! Keep Smiling! Keep Reading!

HPfanfictioner66