In the Magical World, at the age of fifteen, most magicals were capable of feats that would shatter nonmagical understanding of the nature of the universe. That, at its core, was ordinary; hence the Ordinary Wizarding Level being given at roughly the same time. Upon the passing of these exams, according to the ICW, a magical was responsible for any breaks in the Statute of Secrecy and in most countries considered an adult. Again, that was Ordinary. What Neville, Ginny, Pavarti and Luna were seeing was beyond anything they had ever considered. It was beyond ordinary.
Neville flinched as a black-tinged shield blocked a ruby red curse as it sailed towards his face. He blinked as Ginny pulled him back, the roar of Sirius' counterattack of fire whips, attached to each of his fingertips, drowning out her pleading for them to leave. He gripped his father's wand; it twitched slightly, sparks falling from its tip. He allowed himself to get pulled away, his eyes never leaving the battle between the Death Eater and the Grim until they finally turned a corner.
Sirius smiled as for the first time in his life, he felt whole. The closest he felt to this was when he was training with his Grandfather. He remembered the words that were taught to him as he flicked into existence a whip of black fire.
"It does not matter to me what you stand for, as long as you stand as a Black." With a swish, the black fire whip sliced through the birds that Antonin conjured, their bodies becoming ash before Antonin could even think of using their blood. Antonin scowled as he flipped backward, his wand skimming the floor, causing wisps of magic in the shape of vines to rise from it.
With a jab, the magic rushed forward, crashing into a shimmering shield the Sirius lazily conjured. "If this is the best you can do Antonin, I will easily remove your head."
Antonin scowled, his mind rapidly going through options. Of all the Order of the Phoenix, Black was possibly his worse match. His specialty was obscure Dark Arts and Blood Manipulation, both things that Black grew up knowing the worse of. Not only that, but Antonin was not fresh. Killing dozens of ministry workers, while not difficult unless they were high level officials, was not easy even with Bella and their dozen lesser Death Eaters.
Then there was Black himself. He seemed different; not in the magic he was using, but in how he held himself. Black casually moved, as if he knew exactly what to do and when. Antonin's eyes widened as an idea popped into his head. With a snarl, and a curse, he blasted the ceiling above him.
Chunks of the ceiling started to fall as Sirius started to frown. Antonin smiled as before Sirius raised his wand. Three circular flicks and Antonin knew exactly the spell that Sirius was using. With a twist, he started to run down the hall, yet the spell carried in the wind that suddenly appeared.
"Caelii".
When Nicolas Flamel entered Sirius' mind, he saw a dark home, with portraits on every wall. Each person immortalized in paint shared three features; their dark hair, storm grey eyes and a look of regality. Without looking at the absent nameplates, Nicolas knew that he was looking at the past members of the Black family, especially as he walked down the hallways, climbed steps and finally entered the only door that was open.
The study was furnished in extravagant and elegant dark furniture. Mahogany and ebony blended well with walnut accents. Even the fabrics for the curtains and seat cushions were dark and luxurious, even with Sirius Black slouched in the tallest of the chairs behind the desk.
"Flamel. I wondered if you would show up… Or maybe Severus. It depended on who Harry would recruit I suppose…" Sirius trailed off as the walls shifted slightly, their dark green wall paper shifting to a dark purple, that nearly looked black. "This was my grandfather's study. He taught all of the Black children Occlumency in this room." There was a light fondness in the voice, that Nicolas questioned.
"I thought you hated your family Sirius." While never formally aligned with the Order, he was well acquainted with most of its members. The largest identifying factor of Sirius Black was his hatred of his family and their ways. Thus was the surprise that Sirius shook his head.
"I hated my parents, and my direct cousins. My grandfather was a prick, but he was an honest one. He did not believe in blood purity; he saw too much in the World Wars to do so. He believed that traditions mattered, but that all of his family deserved the chance to stand for something. He was hands off in his duties. I resented him for that." Sirius glanced out of the doorway, towards a portrait of his mother that sneered at the world.
Flamel nodded and looked around the study, realizing swiftly that it was shifting. The ornaments and books were constantly in flux, with the only constants being the furniture itself.
"Your mind is in turmoil. Why?"
Sirius smiled, a broken thing. "You have never used the Elixir on someone with Family magic have you?"
Flamel frowned and shook his head. Only four people in the world had consumed his Elixir of Life, and of them only Sirius Black could claim to have Family Magic. Flamel knew that in order for Familial Magic to exist, so must a familial identity. Something that he and his wife would never have for they could not have children. The third man to have the Elixir was the same; unable to have children and an orphan to boot. Sirius Black was not one of those people, as he was a Black, the heir to the family in fact.
"It shouldn't matter. Your Familiar identity shouldn't be shifted from healing you of your-" Flamel stopped as it dawned on him.
"It heals you of all your past injuries, some of which are integral to my core identity. Thus, my mind being in turmoil as I shift through it and try to understand who Sirius Orion Black is." Sirius finished the thought, his hands coming up to clasp at his temples, fingers tangling in his hair.
"What have you decided then Sirius Black?" Nicolas jumped slightly as behind him appeared a grizzled elderly man, his black as pitch hair slicked back but thinning; his storm grey eyes clouded in age. He leaned heavily on a cane of black metal, twisted and ending in an orb with the Black coat of arms engraved into it.
"Blacks stand. I am Sirius Orion Black, and I stand for..." With a glance, Nicolas was thrown from Sirius' mind, though not before he heard the final words of that sentence.
"My Family."
"Caelii" Sirius intoned with as much gravitas as he could muster. Elemental magic was some of the most difficult for a magical to utilize, however some elements were easier than others. Wind was the hardest element to use for the majority of people; its very nature being that of freedom. Wind was the harshest and most deadly element in close quarters, evident by the black tinted whirlwind the erupted around Sirius, shredding every piece of rubble as it fell into nothing but fine dust. A pulse from Sirius' magic turned the whirlwind into a rushing wave of furious and feral wind that raced after Antonin.
Antonin snarled as he slit his finger and flung the blood back, grunting in an arcane language as he did so. Erupting from the splatter of blood, a wall of red crystals rose rapidly and cut off the hallway. The wall continued to expand, even as the winds crashed into it, shredding and grinding it down until finally the winds failed.
The wall continued to creep, until with a flash of green, the wall shattered. However, it served its purpose, Antonin had fled.
"I really hate that Living Blood curse." Sirius muttered before he turned back and started to run after the children, Harry's words in his mind.
Remus grunted as he blocked a sword strike from Alvin, the force of the blow actually making his arm ache, even as he cast with his off hand. His bludgeoning curse slammed into a shield with enough force to shatter it, even though the curse was stopped. Alvin smiled, his teeth covered in blood from a broken nose that was hastily mended from earlier in the fight.
"You know werewolf, I always said you would make an amazing Death Eater. Too bad you had to pick the wrong side." Mulciber's voice was nearly sad, as he pointed his wand and Sanguin at Remus.
Remus growled as his eyes flashed amber. Pulsing his magic steadily within him the world slowed. It was the only thing that saved him from the flash of green, as the Killing Curse soared towards his face. In a flurry, multiple killing curses left Alvin's wand as he moved forward to get within range to use Sanguin. Remus flicked up with his wand as he moved as much as possible. With his flick the debris of one of the desks in the office rose and flew between the two wizards, taking a killing curse. With a jab, the slivers of wood and metal shifted into a lion that pounced on Mulciber. The death eater casually swiped through it with Sanguin and allowed it to die swiftly without its head. The momentary distraction, however, was more than enough for Remus to plunge Antlia into Mulciber's thigh as he rolled under a final Avada Kedava.
With a twist, Remus yanked the knife from Alvin's leg as he lightly tapped the man's chest with his wand, unleashing a banishing charm that blasted the man into the wall. Alvin slumped unconscious, his wand and sword clattering on the floor. Remus moved his wand in delicate motions, conjuring chains and layering charms and jinxes around to prevent Alvin from moving or escaping. Finally, he walked forward, and grabbed Sanguin. As he lifted the sword, Mulciber spoke.
"You better kill me Werewolf. Because if you walk away with that sword, I will kill you, after I kill everything you love. I will burn this world down hunting you. I promise you that." Mulciber smiled his bloody smile. Remus looked at him in silence as the threat hung in the air. Then he turned to walk away. He felt Mulciber attempting to escape his charms, and he smelled the realization that he would not escape. By then he had made it to the door.
"Please." Alvin Mulciber's voice was pleading as he lay slumped against the wall. "I won't survive Azkaban again. I won't survive the torture from the Dark Lord for failing. Please… kill me Remus."
Alvin Mulciber watched on as Remus turned back with Sanguin in his left hand, Antlia in his right and a wand holstered in his sleeve. "I don't got many regrets Lupin. I don't. You can say what you will about my choices, but I lived as I wanted. And now I want to die as I want. Not tortured by my lord, but by a man I respect. Please." He begged as the werewolf walked closer.
"Every part of me screams to say 'fuck you' Alvin. Every part of me screams to leave you here, and damn the consequences. You deserve the agony that would await you. We both know that." Remus knelt near his former friend, and looked him in the eyes. Fear and certainty of death looked back at him. "But I never thought I would pity you. I remember when I drug you into the DMLE, and you screamed at me that I was the brother you never had. Werewolf and all. I remember being at your sentencing and you confessing to everything. All those murders Alvin, murders that you were planning on pinning on me. That part of me is screaming at me, to leave you here."
Mulciber was silent as he watched Remus stare at him. He knew exactly what was going to happen. Remus made his decision as soon as he turned back. Mulciber smiled as the red blade flashed in front of him, its movements faster than he could track.
"But, I am not a heartless monster like you." Remus spoke to the head that fell from the body. As the charms fell, he grabbed the scabbard from Alvin's hip, and slung it over his back after placing Sanguin into its home. Pointing his wand, he twisted counterclockwise and thrust forward. White fire erupted from his wand, swiftly turning the body to ash. Walking swiftly, Remus summoned all the research in the room, and sealed the room.
"Burn in hell Alvin."
Hermione watched in awe as three of the deadliest magicals she had ever seen moved the Atrium largely due to her actions. Flashes of light travelled faster than she could register the color, their bodies were mere blurs to her eyes and the sounds were like the thunder of a storm on the coast as the waves crashed against the cliffs. The combatants were just as intense as the environment they created.
Bellatrix was a dervish of black hair, dark magic and a shield that she enlarged from a pendant she wore against her throat. A shield that for some reason reflected spells back and had an edge that casually decapitated any transfigured beast Harry sent her way. If it didn't fall to a flash of green or crack of black lightning.
Adrian was surgical precision, each strike hitting its mark as he wasted no movement. His movements were faster than his two opponents and a smile never left his face as he flipped, spun and lashed out with magic. Even as a flash of green raced towards him, he punched the floor, shattering the tile and animating it to swarm around him to take the blast. Even as the dust fell, three illusions of his image jumped from the cloud only to be incinerated by a massive fireball from Harry.
While the others were precision and dancing fury, Hermione could only describe Harry's movements as if he were flying. His moves were micromanaged, yet each built upon another until Harry was a blur of magic and intent. He dove into the fray as if he was on a broom, his face as calm and collected as when he was walking the halls. The famous Potter Defense circled him, easily absorbing killing blows as he maintained it with his off hand with soft flicks of his fingers. From his wand, magic spat out fast and hard as a viper.
Hermione was wide eyed when the first curse left Harry's wand; a piercing curse that was reflected towards her, only for her to be shoved back towards the fountain with more force than she thought Adrian was capable. She hadn't moved from that position yet, as she watched three powerhouses reshape the room around them just by fighting each other. She winced as a small cutting curse scratched Adrian's face, and he lost his smile. Instantly magic responded, as three tendrils of purple magic erupted from his wand and started to lash out at Bellatrix. She responded swiftly, black whisps of magic curling around her as she brought the tip of wand to her mouth and blew. Hermione shielded her eyes against the inferno and prayed that she did not die.
Sirius caught up to the children just as they reached the lifts. Ginny was helping Luna ease Padma into the lift as Neville and Pavarti stood guard. Judging from the shards of wood on the floor, the stretcher's transfiguration failed. Looking in Neville's face, Sirius realized immediately that the only one who understood what that meant was the two males.
Sirius frowned as he slid to a stop between the two standing students. "Guard my back. Blast anyone you see. I'm going to help Padma." Casting swiftly, the diagnostic charm showcased Adrian's handywork. Muttering under his breath, Sirius cast again, a light green healing spell easing into Padma's leg. Casting his diagnostic charm again Sirius nodded, before Stunning Padma. Without looking up he spoke to the two girls holding Padma's arms. "I can stop the spreading of the curse, it was slowly crushing every bone in her leg, and it was working on her knee, I can't heal the damage in the field. Especially if I would be needed to handle any Death Eaters. Its safer to Stun her, and make sure that she isn't in pain."
He turned and looked back as Neville launched a blasting curse down the hallway, only for it be caught on a shield as Lupin ran up the hall. Sirius noticed the sword on Remus' back and the specks of red on his left sleeve, obviously blood that he missed with a cleaning charm. Meeting his eyes, Remus nodded before gesturing for the children to get into the lift.
"It's time to go. If anything the kids need to leave. This place could turn into a warzone depending on the Death Eaters involved."
"Agreed. I want to get out of this hallway. Antonin is here, and there is way too much blood down here. Speaking of… left sleeve." Sirius spoke as his eyes darted around, and his nose flared. As they ushered the children into the lift, and it started to rise, Sirius felt a sense of dread.
Looking back at his friend, he realized that he wasn't the only one. Each of the children had their wands out and were looking as if they were readying themselves for battle. Remus' eyes were amber and his hand was on the handle of Sanguin, ready to draw the weapon in an instant. Sooner than their minds told them, the lifts spoke.
"First floor. Atrium and Exit. Thank you for visiting the Ministry Of Magic."
The doors opened to chaos.
Harry struggled as he Shielded against the rush of fire from Bellatrix. He took the moment the shielding gave him to think. Plans were created and scrapped within moments, as their conclusions were likely negative. Until finally he sighed, and flicked his wand up and over, forcing the shield to surround the fire that finally seemed to stop being created as Bellatrix ran out of breath. Harry snapped his fingers and the shield collapsed, smothering the fire into nothingness as it cascaded down. A single sliver of porcelain appeared on Harry's forehead and then he moved. A flash of his wand, and seven banishing charms slammed into a shield that Adrian forced up at the last moment, blasting the doctor backwards into the Security desk. Keeping his wand moving, Harry slashed upwards, and poured everything he could into the spell.
Seruv
A green severing wave of magic erupted from Harry's wand, and raced towards Bellatrix. It continued to grow as the magic traveled, its power easily slicing through the marble floor and the ceiling over 20 feet above.
Bellatrix threw her shield in front of her as the spell covered the distance between them in nearly an instant. A hollow screech rang out as the spell crashed into the shield, and Bellatrix's eyes widened as the shield started to shake.
In a moment of struggle, the Seruv Spell sliced through the shield, but not before being dissipated by the magic within. Bellatrix wasted no time, and slashed her wand through the air, screaming her curse and fury to the world.
SECTEMSEMPRA!
Harry's shield was not fast enough to stop the spell from cutting him, though it did stop him from being cut in half instantly. Bellatrix smiled as the boy fell, his shirt staining rapidly with blood. Turning her full attention to Adrian, her smile fell as he casually walked out of the rubble of the Security desk.
"Now that the children are away, shall we play as adults?" Adrian flashed a smile before his wand flashed up and spells continued to fly between the two.
Hermione blinked as warm liquid slapped onto her face. She reached up and brushed her fingers through the liquid and screamed when she realized it was blood. Under the added stressor, her occlumency failed and her eyes flashed pink. The scream cut out, and her face became void of emotion. With a fluidly of motion, she failed to have before, she rose from her hiding place. As she stood, her wand moved through the air and rocks hovered in response around her. With a few deft twists, the rocks shifted into stakes of stone that Hermione then cast a series of spells on. With a deft flick, the stakes soared towards Adrian, and started to circle him. As a curse was absorbed into one, their purpose became clear. As with another flick of Hermione's wand, the object hovered toward Bellatrix. Each spell she sent was absorbed into the stake, until finally, three meters from the witch, the stake exploded in a violent eruption of magical power.
Hermione walked forward and glanced over at Harry as she passed. Her friend was gasping as blood bubbled from the wound on his chest, his eyes still vibrate green, yet hazy in what she suspected was pain. As tears started to build in her eyes, she walked forward and past him.
"I am sorry Harry… But Lord Grindlewald's First needs me." Her words were soft, but a soft white glow of a blood clotting spell hit his chest as her first tears hit the floor.
Her mind raced, as she assessed information about the battle before her. Her spikes were handling well, even though they were a temporary measure. Adrian seemed to fight better knowing the spikes would shield him. Possibly due to his previous experience with Sonja. Hermione smiled, a thing of nothing but teeth.
Her wand rose and an acidic curse struck with pinpoint accuracy, and her magic pulsed. In a flash the world slowed, and she rapidly deduced Bellatrix's next move. Rolling forward, she summoned hundreds of birds and sent them forward. Each was eviscerated with a curse as they flew forward, though Bellatrix could not capitalize due to Adrian's continued attacks. His cutting and piercing hexes were finally finding their mark, as small knicks and gashes appeared on her clothing and small drops of her blood fell to the floor.
Hermione's roll put her right beside Adrian as the trio paused for a second. With a glance at her Adrian smiled. "I wondered if you would choose the past or the future."
"While my past defines me, I refuse to allow it to shape the future." Hermione looked back at the lifts as they opened. Her eyes met Ron's as it became apparent that the world they held together would never be the same. Her attention went back to the battle as Adrian growled at her to pay attention after defending her from a curse.
Her gaze hardened as a reductor raced from her wand towards Bellatrix, easily countered but taking up precious time for Adrian to attack. The battle once more raged.
Ron stood frozen as he watched his girlfriend fight with a man who casually hurt Padma and laughed. He watched as his girlfriend ignored his bleeding out best friend, and instead protected a man who was a war criminal from spell fire from the darkest witch he knew of. Sirius grabbed his shoulder and gave him a firm shake.
"Ron, we need to get out of the lift. It is a hazard. But crossing that field is a very quick way of dying. So, Remus and I are going to run in and see if we can keep attention off you. I need you to rally everyone and get out." He glanced towards Neville, who was being held back by Ginny from rushing into the fight, his eyes only on Bellatrix. Luna who was looking at Hermione with sadness in her eyes and a deep regret on her face. Pavarti who looked at Adrian in horror as he created a blast of black mist that raced through the Atrium, only to rebound off a golden shield that Bellatrix erected in the last second. Ron looked back at the adults.
"What about Harry?" Sirius' face hardened as he took a deep breath. His voice was steady as
"I think Bella did that. So, before Remus and I leave, we will make her pay." The red-head nodded as he turned to the students.
"Okay, we need to stick to the edges of the Atrium. We are not fighting, because best case scenario, we are distractions for the real fighters. Worse case, we get them killed. We… we aren't stopping for Harry either. He wouldn't want us to… risk ourselves for his body."
"He isn't dead Ron! He couldn't be!" Ginny's voice was wavering as Ron eased forward and hugged her tight.
"I know he isn't… and it's a miracle. But we can't risk ourselves for a similar miracle. He wouldn't want that. He would want us to escape…to live another day. And I have a feeling he isn't done yet." Ron glanced back at his best friend, and his magical senses tingled. The Weasley family magic was not one of great potential as Harry's or Cedric's. It wasn't an enhancement either. It was an attunement. Every Weasley found themselves attuned to an aspect of magic. For Charlie it was Creatures and their care. For Bill it was runes and Cursebreaking. He was a natural when it came to languages, having become fluent in three by his third year, and at the end of his fifth having over a dozen runic languages memorized and understood. He was by far the most gifted cursebreaker to come from Hogwarts in years, if not decades. Percy shared his attunement with Arthur; when it comes to movement-based magic, they were unmatched. Oddly, it made Percy the best dancer in the whole family, a fact that the Twins never let go. Ron wasn't sure of the Twins attunement, but he wouldn't be surprised if it was mental magics, as they naturally seemed to read people's thoughts and had finished each other's sentences for years.
But Ron's attunement was a subtle one. One that only his parents and Bill knew about, as it only recently manifested. Rarely were the attunements of the Weasley family abilities of themselves, however it was documented to be possible. Most Magicals held a sense of their magic in an area, and with enough practice, all Magicals could recognize magic in most of its forms. Normally this would manifest into mage sight; the ability to see magic in its many forms. In some forms it was a sensory tingle, against one's senses. It was finer than mage sight yet held its own negatives. It was this tingle against his mage sense that made Ron certain that Harry wasn't dead yet.
After all, Family magic didn't work for the dead. It was this thought that gave him hope as he ushered his friends along the wall and wondered why Sirius and Remus did not interject into the fight.
Harry was in the room of Blurred faces as he called it. In the back of the room, on his throne, Nero sat. He was identical to Harry, baring the mad smile on his face. His voice was an echo, and it was clear that he was not as solid as Harry, as the texture of the throne he sat on was visible through him.
"Welcome back! I am surprised it was such a short-" Nero was cut off as Harry interrupted.
"I am dying." Nero's smile fell and the real face of the Darkest Potter appeared. Harry watched as the eyes dulled to a jade, the hair lengthened, and the face became more angular. Harry realized that Nero looked like his brother more than his distant relative.
"I know you are dying Harry. It is why I pulled you in. It was time for us to finally make our accord, as we have been discussing for months. You know my rules. All you have to do is say my name, and I shall easily submit. Otherwise, you will allow me control while we crown, and I shall make sure the Potter Name lives eternally."
Harry scoffed and folded his arms. "Get stuffed Loki."
Loki Potter smiled and started to laugh. "Good boy! Now tell me… what am I?" In a movement that was catlike, he pulled himself from the throne and strode towards Harry Potter.
"You are the inspiration for the Norse God. You waged war on the Scandinavian wizarding clans after they killed your children and wife in a raid. Eventually you fell in love with a Scandinavian witch, and ended your war by marrying her, and signing a peace with the clan leader Thor of Long-Buttum. An alliance that to this day, persists. Yet you were atrocious in your rage, and that is something that history never forgot, as Loki was portrayed in Norse folklore and religion as a god of malice and mischief. It was you that had the family move to England in the first place, as part of the peace with the Long-buttum clan." Loki looked on smiling as Harry told his story back to him.
"I was the first to Crown my boy. I was the first to accept this power. And with it I became a monster. It was I, with the help of one other, who created the Grimoire, and the Crowning itself. Perhaps it was magic's way of teaching me humility; a trait I lacked in my youth but gained via bloodshed and pain."
Harry was silent as Loki continued. "You… you who are righteous and virtuous. You walk into this war, with a Crown on your head, and you were not ready for the sacrifices it will ask of you. Thus I took control, as only I could. My story, it has taught you something. What is it?"
Harry locked eyes with his ancestor and smiled. "Magic is not light or dark. Our intent is. We can be lost in our grief and pain, and with our power, we can damage the world in ways that cannot be understated. I must accept that dark reality… or I shouldn't have this power."
Loki nodded and turned to the countless faceless Potters. With a clap of his hands, they all bowed or knelt to the two standing in front of the throne. As their knees hit the floor, they vanished in a hazy mist. "That… that is the lesson I learned via blood. And the lesson Lord Voldemort never learned. You were confused after that first meeting in his mindscape, and thus I blocked the others. Lord Voldemort did not start his war… but neither did I. Historically, just as I responded to a raid, the reality was Voldemort could have chosen to surrender to the DLME. They would have held him in warmth and likely had let him go after quarantining. He chose to fight, and because of that he sparked a conflict that he used to further his agenda. He did not care about the aftermath, not like you must." Gesturing towards the throne, he urged Harry forward.
"Now, with this… you will have control. Your body can handle the strain of the release for only ten minutes, and you will not be at full power. We must heal you as you Crown. Live and bring forth more Potters." Loki smiled as he shook out his arms and prepared himself.
"What if it isn't enough? Voldemort and you were fairly even… and the Stygia won't work twice." Harry's voice was soft as he vocalized his fears. Loki looked on fondly at the one who looked so much like his son, that it was uncanny.
"If he can stand against us both, together. That's fine. We will survive. And then we will talk. Now, sit on your throne." Harry sat obediently and immediately smiled as the room shifted to look like the Great Hall in his mindscape, with him in the headmaster's chair. Loki gained his maddening smile, as the tables of the houses filled with the hundreds of faceless Potters. Loki bowed low, his form shimmering before slowly fading with the rest of the mindscape.
"Let us show the world Harry… why Potters never Bow."
Adrian blocked a stray spell from hitting Hermione nearly lazily as Bellatrix panted and shielded against a reductor curse. His senses however went haywire as he darted forward, snatching Hermione up and throwing the strongest shield up he could as it felt like the weight of the world increased three-fold. Hermione shuddered and spoke softly enough that even Adrian could hardly hear her.
"Harry."
Bellatrix was forced to her knees as the pressure hit. She was exhausted; fighting through the Ministry to get to Frankenstein, fighting Frankenstein and the Potter brat and then fighting Frankenstein and the Mudblood was taxing, and she wasn't even one hundred percent healed from Azkaban yet. And now, she watched as the boy she cut in half unleashed magical power that she only associated with her Lord and Dumbledore. At first she thought it was merely his dying outburst, but then the little shite sat up and looked at her.
She stared into eyes that were raging with magic, as they were slowly hidden by porcelain. She couldn't move as the magic pressure in the room built and built. She couldn't breathe as the pillars that held the ceiling up cracked, the marble shattered into shards that started to hover around, and the pipes in the walls creaked ominously. Yet still he looked at her as he slowly stood. His wand rose to point at her, and she couldn't blink, couldn't think beyond the fact that the pinprick of white on the tip would be the last thing she saw.
In a millisecond, the pinprick of light blasted across the Atrium. Its passing turned the marble shards hovering around into slag, charred the floor and heated the air to the point of creating vacuums that shattered the slag as it fell. Before it reached halfway, a blue Lion head erupted from the floor and swallowed the pinprick of light, and rushed upwards before exploding into a maelstrom of heat and fire that charred the entire ceiling black, and caused ash to fall like rain.
He appeared in front of her; her Lord an avenging angel, keeping his most loyal alive to serve further. At his side, the bald form of Rookwood kept watch even though her Lord needed no back up. At least, she believed that to be true, with all her heart.
Then she watched the impossible happen.
Her Lord was unmatched, even by the muggle loving Dumbledore. None stood to him and lived, any who attempted were marked for death. Yet, as her Lord launched his first spell, a blasting curse that was strong enough to vaporize buildings, it was met with an equally strong spell that she could not recognize. Even Dumbledore did not use spell collision with her Lord. It required two magicals to engage in a power struggle, and her Lord was the most powerful.
Her silence was one of horror as it happened twice, before her very eyes. Her teeth ground as she shook with rage as the third, fourth fifth and sixth spells of her Lord's initial attack were met in the same fashion as the first. She didn't even realize that her arm raised to engage this welp who thought he could duel her Lord until Rookwood grabbed her forearm. He merely shook his head and the duo continued to watch, one with rage bubbling under her skin and the other in silent contemplation.
There were no words exchanged as Lord Voldemort and Harry Potter met again in the Atrium. Words were unnecessary; their actions already dictated the outcome. It was a snarl, uncharacteristic of Voldemort that started the war anew, as they attacked. Voldmort did not bother with anything less than his best, as dozens of curses, hexes and spells fell upon the last Potter. Harry responded in kind as his magic hummed comfortably in tune with his Crown. With a twitch, he apparited, casually busting through the wards of the Ministry of magic as he appeared three meters to the right of where he was previously and started to cast. Spell chains were something of a misdemeanor at the highest level of magical combat. As Point casting was a common thing for most magic, only the strongest or most blatant spells required any movement to cast. It was why when Harry cast this time, over a dozen spells erupted near simultaneously from his wand as his second hand snapped its fingers and a black Stygia portal appeared. A twist of his hand, and the stygia portal blasted forward, towards Voldemort.
"Stygia Zlus." The warp star rapture variant was one of Loki's favorites, Harry could hear his chuckle in the back of his mind as the Warp Star erupted in front of the dark lord, and started to suck in anything that came close including magic. Harry smiled behind his Crown as he started to launch deadly curses, that were unaffected by the magic of his own curse. Piercers, fire-arrow curses, boring charms, drax spells, and some of his Master's personal favorites, Stone-Turners raced towards Voldemort. In the seconds that it took for Voldemort to handle that brief onslaught, Harry flicked his wand at Adrian and Hermione. Instantly the still hovering pieces of marble and slag started to condense, slowly forming into a massive serpent of stone that darted forward, preparing to swallow them whole. Adrian frowned as his trio of piercing and cutting curses failed to destroy the transfiguration even when striking the head and eyes. He grabbed his still unmoving companion and darted to the side, before barking out a blasting curse that tore through a chunk of the snake's body.
Harry turned his attention back to Voldemort as the Zlus finally imploded as it took a killing curse. The explosion threw back Rookwood and Bellatrix as Voldemort just apparited back where he was. A battle technique invented by a Dark Lord in the 1800s, commonly known as a Flick Apparition, as the voices of his ancestors explained.
Voldemort smiled as he focused and launched a blast of Fiendfyre forward before blurring to the left, and unleashing another volley of magic; curses that would boil blood and steam the bones within the body, acid curses that literally glowed green and finally a rush of cursed water. The fiendfyre was met with white fire, that consumed each other in a rush of heat, the curses were each met with a counter and the acid curses slammed into materialized lions. Slowly, green lightning started to crack around Harry's body as the cursed water was evaporated on contact. Voldemort lost his smile and spoke the first words of their encounter.
"I am going to kill you Harry. I promise you that." Voldemort started to pulse the magic in his body and it saved his life.
Harry blasted forward as a cutting curse nearly decapitated the dark lord, had he not moved and retaliated with a curse of his own, only to be met with a curse that caused the two to ricochet, yet even those were ignored as dozens of curses collided in between the two, some of the ricochets even redirecting into each other. Voldemort started to laugh as the two continued to trade curses, their magic itself fighting each other as their auras skyrocketed and clashed in the air above them; Voldemort's acting as a serpent, striking at any opportunity while Harry's was a storm lashing out with its might as if the world offended it by existing.
Sirius stood shaking as thunderclaps and eruptions of magic shook the Atrium from his Godson and his opponent's battle. Sirius' eyes flicked towards the children who were most of the way to the exit, being ushered by Ron. He raised his wand as Ron looked back at him. He turned to Adrian and Hermione who were nearly done with the serpent that Harry had conjured. With a hiss, he slashed his wand and let loose a wave of razored wind. Wind that crashed against a pink-tinged shield that Hermione cast. With a growl, Remus crossed the space in an instant, Sanguin raised to chop through Adrian. Sirius smirked as they engaged the two, him against Hermione, and Remus against the mad doctor.
Sirius flexed his magic momentarily, slowing the world and looked into Hermione's eyes. He was always pants at the offensive aspects of the mind arts, but as his Legimency probe slammed into an iron wall, he flinched. The pain was nearly as bad as the furious rage that appeared on Hermione's face as her eyes flashed pink once more, and she slashed her wand.
Sirius barely brought up a shield to repel the cutting curse and he retaliated automatically with a Black family variant of a piercing curse, that slipped through the shield and slammed into her stomach. His world slowed again, yet this time it was not caused by his magic. He watched in slow motion as the curse his brother added to the grimoire tore through his godson's friend. The hole in her stomach was the size of a galleon, her life blood staining the flagstones. He was so focused on it that he didn't see Adrian slash at Remus to quickly for him to counter with Sanguin, drawing the werewolf's blood with a deep cutting curse. He only saw from the corner of his eye Adrian rush towards him. He barely turned when a bludgeoning curse slammed into his shoulder, throwing him back over twenty yards and breaking his collarbone. His last conscious thought was an apology to his godson.
Adrian frowned as he furiously ran his wand around the curse hole. "Come on my love. This is nearly over. I promise you that we will be okay. Stay with me." He whispered as his wand slowly started to close the hole in the stomach of the witch. Hermione looked at him, her eyes flashing pink.
"Adrian… I am not Sonja. While I hear her… in my head… I am doing this because its right. Not because she told me to save you." The doctor nodded and smiled slightly. He raised his wand and gently helped Hermione to her feet.
"Well my dear, it seems that we must take you back to our Lord. If I am right, we should have guests soon as well." As soon as Adrian's words left his lips, the sounds of apparition erupted over the fighting.
The fight between Harry and Voldemort paused as a series of pops erupted from around the Atrium. Aurors in red Robes appeared, along with the dark hoods of the Unspeakables. Harry and Voldemort continued to stare each other down, even as Adrian started to laugh, having finally helped Hermione to her feet and blasted the last remnants of the snake that Harry created to keep him busy into dust.
"It seems that our little war is at a stalemate. So I shall wish you adieu." Locking eyes with an Auror in the crowd he smiled winningly. "Isn't that right Klaus?"
The now identified Klaus nodded and shoved his hands through the two Aurors in front of him, piercing their hearts instantly. The shock of the action, by someone in Auror robes nevertheless, stunned the audience and allowed him to throw the bodies to either side and move faster than anyone had ever seen. Baring those who hissed out his identity as the charms that covered it fell.
"Vampire."
Turning towards the crowd with a smile on his regal face, Klaus bowed. "My name is Klaus. I was and am the Third Lieutenant for my Lord Grindlewald." He smiled a vicious smile as he snapped his fingers. The two aurors that he killed slowly rose, as from their chests, their very blood erupted into snarling dog like beasts, that forced the remaining aurors back. Grabbing both Adrian and at his look, Hermione, Klaus spoke. "Flucht".
In a rush of magic, the portkey that Klaus held somewhere on his body took the trio away. The blood creatures fell into puddles as soon as the Portkey finished its work.
Voldemort took the moment of attention being on the Lieutenants of Grindlewald to summon his Death Eaters to his side. The only one paying them any real attention was Harry Potter who flicked his wand forward faster than the eye could see and launched two materialized rocks at over a dozen times the speed of sound towards Bellatrix and Rookwood respectively.
For the second time, Bellatrix was staring at death, and it was not her Lord. A pebble, racing towards her as her magic thrummed through her body. She knew that she couldn't move fast enough away, it would reach her before she apparited. She froze for a second and by the time her mind unfroze, the pebble was nearly two meters away. That was when she felt the concussion hex slam into her ribcage, snapping three ribs and blasting her to the right. The pebble slammed into the wall behind them, cratering the marble.
Harry assumed that Voldemort would save Bellatrix, which was why he launched two stones. He did not expect Rookwood to tap his chest with his wand in a movement that he barely caught, and allow the stone to hit him. Yet as the stone hit him, it seemed to go through him, as if he was an illusion. As the stone exited the death eater's head, he had the audacity to wink at the Boy who lived before going stoic once more. In seconds the two stones cratered into the back wall; one destroying a lift and the other leaving a four foot wide crater into a column.
Harry spoke for the first time, his eyes never leaving Voldemort's even as black smoke started to condense around them. "Damn. I missed."
In a rush of black magic, the death eaters blasted upwards and apparited out of the ministry. Voldemort sneered at the Last Potter before lashing out blindingly fast with a Killing Curse and vanishing in a crack of displaced air.
Harry leaned his head to the side as the curse flew over his shoulder, and unknowingly to him, hit its intended target of Cornelius Fudge. The minister had just appeared behind the Last Potter, and even before his bathrobe finished fluttering from the apparition, the Killing Curse slammed into his face, and flung him backwards.
Harry sighed softly and released his Crowning as he looked back at the crowd of Aurors surrounding the now dead Minister of Magic. He glanced over to Remus who had moved towards Sirius. Looking on the other side of the Auditorium, he saw his friends, baring Hermione, being interviewed by some Aurors.
He took a single step, when he swung around and raised his wand. A gush of fire appeared and Albus Dumbledore stepped out of the pillar of flame as Fawkes fully materialized and started to sing. Albus' wand was out and he looked around at the destruction of the Ministry Atrium.
In the mind of Albus Dumbledore, many things raced as he was one of the few in the world that could think of many things at once. While some believed it was a mastery of the mind, he knew that it was an effect of something else. At this moment however, his mind was of one direction. He looked over his students, his former students in Sirius and Remus, and in his pseudo-student in Harry Potter. His look was more than just a swift glance over however; he inventoried their many injuries, their conditions and the likelihood of trauma induced by the activities they had seen and partook. His gaze even checked over their magic; ensuring none had been held under a Crucio, and that none were dying from a magically induced action that was not readily apparent. Of them, only Padma and Remus showed any signs of curse damage, and Remus' was steadily the same as previous scans. All of these thoughts and actions occurred in under the second that it took him to fully appear into the Atrium with his wand out.
It was another second or two to create a plan, which he masked by looking around. With a nod to himself he cleared his throat.
"In the first year, you asked me why He targeted your family, Apprentice Potter. That should guarantee my identity." He turned slightly to the Head of the DMLE, Amelia Bones, and in a voice that demanded obedience, "Status Report Bones."
Amelia nodded and adjusted her monocle. "Investigation ongoing, however preliminary consensus is that the Death Eaters attacked the Department of Mysteries and attempted to free Adrian Frankenstein. Due to Rookwood's appearance, we can only assume he is the source of their intel on Frankenstein's existence. I am unsure how the Hogwarts students interfered, however they seemed to have slowed the Death Eaters down long enough for He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named to grow anxious. Leading to the fight we had in the Atrium. " She turned slightly to Harry who was looking faint. "Thank you Apprentice Potter. Were it not for you, the casualties would be catastrophic."
Harry spoke before her gaze could return to Dumbledore. "Check the lower floors. There were a lot of bodies, Death Eater and Ministry alike. I also know that there was at least one other Death Eater with Bellatrix. I think however, there may possibly be another one in the Department of Mysteries, either trying to escape or dying. Sirius wouldn't have joined us otherwise." Harry looked back at the headmaster. "Headmaster, I'm sorry I couldn't keep em sa-" Without finishing his sentence, Harry Potter passed out. Only to be caught by Albus Dumbledore with a smile.
"You did fine my boy. You did fine."
It merely took the adults another twenty minutes to gather the Hogwarts students, Sirius and Remus and usher them to the Hogwarts Hospital Wing via portkey. Harry luckily slept through the ordeal.
AN: Well this chapter was behind schedule. Mainly due to the holidays and family things, I didn't get as much time to edit it the last week. But Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and thank the lord its 2021!
My next update will be slower for this story, as I am writing the next chapters of Shadows and Shino. I can tell you however, that we are nearly done with year five, and we only have two chapters (maybe one if I combine them) before the Sixth and Final year.
That's right folks, the last year of this story is Year Six. It is during that year that we will find out what Grindelwald's grand plan is, what Voldemort wanted Adrian for, and how Harry will handle the fact that Hermione has defected to Grindelwald. The question is... what will happen? Gotta read to find out.
Also, thank you so much for all your favorites and follows and views and reviews. I know I don't mention them in ANs often, as I hate asking for clout or such, but I wanted to reach out and thank you to all you who enjoy the story to the point of wanting to keep up with little ol' me.
Have a happy New Year,
Zero