Disclaimer: Harry Potter and pertaining characters are the property of JK Rowling; I only own the plot and any unknown characters.
A/N: I see that the previous chapter has been to your likings. Well, I hope this chapter is, too. The big fight is here; and Harry will finally face Flint in a fearsome duel. I thank all those who reviewed my story; and … On with the chapter.
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The Fox Den
The front doors of the HQ opened; and Harry and Hermione walked in quickly. They went directly to the intelligence hall where Dick was waiting for them.
"Sir, good thing you came; another one of your requests has been received" Dick said as he waved a folder "The detailed application of the exploding curse"
"Brilliant" Harry said with gleaming eyes; and Hermione looked at him in confusion "What is it Harry?"
"Something you will be astonished with …" he said vaguely and picked up the folders "Dick, I need you to floo Malfoy; I want to chat with him for a while; and Hermione …" he addressed his female companion "I'm sorry, but I have to review these files for a while, so make yourself at home"
"Don't worry about me, Harry" she said as she waved halfheartedly; because deep inside, curiosity was gnawing her. Harry followed her with her eyes as she exited the intelligence hall, then he turned back at Dick and commanded "Do it"; Dick nodded and opened the floo connection; and Malfoy's face appeared in the fire.
"Yes, Potter" The blonde professor said in his usual coldness, and Harry smiled at him "Long time no see Malfoy; how are you doing?"
"As busy as usual" he say in the same coolness "I assume that the folder has been delivered to you"
"Yes, thank you" Harry replied as he waved the aforementioned folder "And by the weight of it, I reckon that you took your time"
"Thanks to the details you stumbled upon; do you believe that the spell has been invented before the founding of Hogwarts; and it was not intended to be lethal"
"Really!" Harry's eyebrows intertwined "I wonder how Flint got it. Anyway, I called because I want to apologize for not attending Pansy's hearing, I hope everything went smoothly"
"It did" Malfoy replied "And my mother accepted her back so easily"
"Just your mother, Eh?" Harry said slyly; and a smile broke upon Malfoy's lips "Well, me also'
"I'm happy for her, and you too; she did not deserve to go through such ordeal" he stated
The blonde shrugged "Who said that life is fair?"
"You said it yourself" Harry retorted, and then looked at his watch "Well, I think that I will begin to review the folder now; and maybe try the spell for sometime"
"Okay, call me if you want anything; just do not slip up" Malfoy said before ending the floo call.
Harry looked at Dick and said "I hope that you didn't forget to order the battle pensive"
"I already did, sir; Vlad has got to collect it; but if you may sir, I have an idea to make it more practical" Dick replied, and Harry nodded at him to continue "Battle pensives are much similar to the normal ones in terms of storage; the main difference is in the size of the storage and the method of view; they store up to thousands of memories, and these memories are viewed as a miniature three dimensional hologram for all to see. The main problem is that it still depends on memories and do not give the up-to-date information about the battlefield, so it can blow the whole operation to waste" he pulled out a diagram of some surveillance device "My point is, we don't we modify the method of information feeding to the pensive; we use a muggle camera and connect it magically to the pensive, and voila; we have an up-to-date battle pensive"
Harry was amazed by the bright idea "That's a brilliant idea, Dick; I want you to modify the battle pensive as soon as Vlad brings it; and Dick" he smiled at him "The account is three million more"
"Thank you, sir" Dick smiled brightly and pulled out some cameras from a nearby drawer "I will prepare the cameras for constant surveillance; where do you want me to place them, sir?"
"Give the surveillance teams two cameras each, and tell them to place a concealment charm on them; we don't want to risk losing them for Flint or any nosy muggle"
"Right away, sir" Dick saluted his superior as usual and began his work.
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"Hola"
"It's me …" our mysterious caller replied with his usual statement; and the phone shifted to the usual deep voice answered "Why are you calling now?"
"Granger and McLaden didn't come to work this morning; what have you done to them?" the caller questioned in apparent fury.
"I would've sad that it is non of your business, but I will answer anyway. They were targeted for elimination by my hitmen, but unfortunately, Potter has beat me to them"
"He killed them?" the caller exclaimed in shock.
"No, you idiot; he rescued them. Anyhow, I advice you to end this phone call; or else you might be exposed; not that I care or anything, but you might prove useful in the near future"
The caller was irritated by the remark, but he stated anyway "Names are not being said …"
"But voices are being heard, and recognized" the voice said in significant tone "Keep in mind that Granger might listen to the record of this call and recognize your voice; I would not envy you if that happened"
"Okay, Okay; I got the point" the caller said in annoyance "I will hang up now"
"Good …" the voice said before hanging up himself"
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"Hello … Earth to Hermione, can you read me?" Pierce shouted at his partner as he had enough of her state of absentmindedness during their friendly sitting; fortunately for him, she snapped out of it and looked at him apologetically "Sorry, Pierce; I think I got distracted a little bit"
"A little bit! You seemed like you are here but not here" he said sarcastically, and then nudged her in the side "Thinking of someone special, eh?"
She jumped at his nudge and shouted at hi "Don't do that, I don't like it. And yes, I am thinking about SOMETHING special; Harry has received a file about Muertes hide out; he must have sent some teams for constant surveillance"
"Really! I have to admit that he is a hard worker; at last someone surpassed the mighty A.I." Pierce retorted sarcastically "But what's eating you anyway?"
She changed her sitting stance as she answered "It is the other file that he received; it is about some magical spell called 'the exploding curse'; I saw his eyes gleam with triumph when he received it, but when I asked him about it and he didn't answer me and just told me that it is something that I will be astonished with"
"And I'm true to my word, Hermione …" they jumped as Harry's calm voice came from the room entrance.
"Harry! We didn't hear you enter; how long have you been here?" Hermione questioned.
"Long enough to here your complaint" he answered with a smile "And I'm here to explain all"
He sat down in front of the curious detectives and began to speak slowly "The file I received which is labeled 'The Exploding Curse' is the key to all the cases you couldn't solve; do you remember the shape of the victims in the recent unsolved cases, they appeared like if they exploded from the inside; in fact they did; this exploding spell insert itself into the object and explode from the inside destroying it violently, in our case the victim's body. If you want a closer picture, imagine a mini bunker buster missile that could insert itself into a human body; the effects are horrible"
A pregnant silent came upon the gathering party, before Hermione broke it "This is … Truly horrible; how can anyone invent something like this?"
"Believe it or not, it was meant to be an excavation and path-clearing spell; but lately it has been … Misused" Harry replied calmly "The second thing is rather interesting; it appears that the guarding patrols around Muerte's hideout are somewhat lighter than the ones around his thugs' hideouts; either his is getting careless, or Flint is concocting something nasty. For me, I pick the latter"
"What are we going to do?" Hermione asked in concern.
"I think we have to delay our attack until midnight; until then, I will keep constant surveillance on the hideout in case anything new breaks out" Harry said as he stood up "I will check on Ginny"
"You're right; I will check on my daughter too" Pierce retorted excitedly as the trio went to the other guest room where Ginny was playing with Sherry.
"Oh, Harry; good to see you" Ginny said as she saw them coming "Have you checked the ward failure yet?"
He slapped his forehead lightly "Ah, good thing you reminded me; I already sent a team to check it out, and they reported that it is alright"
"That's odd; it should've let me pass, then" she said, and he looked at her intently before speaking "I have an idea; does anyone have a piece of candy? Any candy …"
"I have this" Pierce said and handed him a piece of strawberry candy; and Hermione looked at him with a sarcastic smile "Strawberry drop! I never knew that you are a candy lover"
"It's not for me; Sherry loves it very much" he replied, and Harry stated "Good, it will aid in the test. Ginny please hold Sherry firmly in front of the table" he said as he placed the piece of candy on the table, and as soon as Sherry saw it, she extended her arms in hope if reaching it, but Ginny's firm hold prevented her from her goal. She moaned in annoyance as she couldn't and extended her arms even more.
Harry glowered in disappointment as he extended his hand to reach the candy "I'm sorry; I think nothing will …" he didn't complete his sentence as the strawberry drop flew out of his hand into Sherry's; everybody looked at her speechlessly as she giggled in victory.
"What … On Earth … Did just happen?" Pierce questioned in stunned manner, and Harry smiled as he answered "Congratulations, Mr. McLaden; your daughter is a witch"
"A what?" Pierce exclaimed "But how? Neither me nor my wife are magicals"
"It is not necessary to be; most of the wizard community personnel are having one muggle parent at least, and that does no affect their ability negatively, in fact that increases their ability to maximum; on the other hand, children of pure bloods are often to be non-magicals, and we call them squibs"
"Well, she sure made me jump by her stunt" Pierce stated "But witch? How did that come to your mind?"
Harry straightened his glasses as he answered "Frankly, it didn't occur to me until the team I sent to check up the ward around the hospital reported no malfunctioning; then it hit me, Ginny tried to enter the hospital with Sherry in her arms, so maybe …"
As Harry ended his explanation, Ron stepped in and noticed the discomfort among the group "I think this is not the best time to walk in, am I right?"
"Not at all, Ron" Ginny said happily "We have just discovered that Sherry is a witch"
"Really! Then I think congratulations is in order" he patted pierce on the back, and he noticed his uneasiness "Hey, don't get stiff, it's a good thing; at least you won't get bothered with the house chores" Pierce chuckled at the comment and Ginny rolled her eyes muttering 'Men'
Harry smiled at them before addressing Ron "I think you came for something, Ron"
"Ah, yes …" Ron replied "Dick told e that the battle pensive is ready, and the surveillance teams have already placed the enchanted cameras"
"Good … Inform Vlad to rally all aurors by hour 1600, we are going to unleash our final assault by sunset"
"What about us?" Hermione, who was silent the whole time, questioned; and Harry replied calmly "I'm sorry, but this is auror business"
"We can help, Harry" Pierce said excitedly, and Hermione said in approval "Yes, at least to make amends for what we got you in"
Harry smiled at them as he replied "Your quick understanding is a sufficient amend; now please rest, you have suffered enough by that hands of those murderers; and now is the time of revenge ... My revenge"
Harry said the last words coldly causing the shiver to creep up Hermione's spine as she remembered what he has just done to the death eaters who tried to kill her; but she gathered enough bravery to state firmly "If you have forgotten, Potter; this is my case; and I will do anything in my power to complete it; including forcing you to help me with it"
Harry crossed his arms in front of his chest challengingly "And how will you do that?"
Hermione smiled slyly "Imagine the look on the FBI faces when they receive a folder containing all the information about Muerte's hideout …"
"You forgot that you don't have the folder" Harry said cautiously; and Hermione replied "It will be Pierce's job to pull it out of your computers; after all he succeeded in hacking into your system before" Pierce stood beside Hermione showing his support.
"Oh, oh; Checkmate" Ron remarked "You have to admit that she has cornered you, which is an impressive deed"
Harry looked at his best mate in irritation "Okay, since you 'approve' their participation, you will be responsible for their safety; and you will be commanding the secondary forces as I will lead the assault myself" then he glanced at him significantly "I think you have an order to fulfill"
"Yes, sir" Ron saluted him excitedly and walked out of the room; Harry then tried to regain his composure before addressing the group "I think we have one thing left before having some sleep; the exploding curse. Everyone, follow me" he addressed the group, then turned toward Ginny "Ginny, I think it is best not to bring Sherry along; thing might get pretty nasty for a child to experience"
They walked across the hall toward an isolated room; as Harry opened the door they saw that it was an empty room, and they noticed some human shaped manikins allotted along the far wall.
"This is the shooting range, where we train ourselves and practice the newly developed spells that we receive from the ministry's research laboratories" Harry stated, before pulling out his wand and summoning a manikin to a medium distance "Now you will witness the spell that caused us all the trouble … Explodia"
The reddish purple curse erupted out of Harry's wand and made its way toward the target; as soon as it touched the manikin, it exploded from the inside as if it was containing high explosives. Everybody ducked as the shard of the manikin flew everywhere.
"This … Is horrible" Pierce muttered almost in a whisper.
"I agree; it is the first time I ever saw it in action. Flint has chosen his spells well" he then turned toward his companions "That's all; rest for a while until the teams are rallied"
They all exited the room save Hermione who was glancing at the totaled manikin in apparent discomfort; Harry noticed her halt and turned to her in concern "Hermione, are you alright?"
She said with a vacant voice while look at the floor "It's just … I never thought I would encounter such terrible power, this magic. I saw Pierce get tortured by it, Lydia got killed by it, even my father was attacked with magic; I, myself, was manipulated into killing my own father" she raised her head and glancing at Harry with fearful glistening eyes "Harry, I'm afraid; what if that power found no boundaries? What will happen to the innocent people?"
Harry sighed as he found himself in the same helpless position of comforting a friend; he looked at her and answered with a soothing smile "This is where we, aurors, take the reins; it is our job to ensure the safety of the people. I'm sorry you had to face what you did, Hermione; but like many things, magic has two faces; one is ugly, and the other is marvelous …"
He waved his hand swiftly, and Hermione gasped in awe at the wonderful object he conjured; it was a rose with a gradient color of sky to dark blue with dew drops glistening on its petals. He extended his hand to her with a soft smile on his face "On the behalf of the magical community, I apologize for all the hardships you were forced to endure"
"It is beautiful" Hermione said breathlessly as she accepted the rose from him.
"It is called 'Azure Mountain Rose'; it grows in the mountains surrounding Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the school from where I graduated; it is my favorite"
"Thank you Harry" she thanked him graciously, but her eyes showed more than that; Harry coughed awkwardly before opening the way for her "I think you should rest before the time for our assault".
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Harry used the spare time contriving the assault plan; and Hermione, who didn't want to sleep, sat on the sofa in his office switching glances between him and the rose, or reading a book from Harry's collecting after asking him for permission.
"Alright; I think that's all" Harry said as he took off his glasses and rubbed his sore eyes; Hermione looked at him with questioning eyes "Harry, your profile says that you are a death tracker, is it some kind of rank?"
He smiled at her "You really impressed me, Hermione; how did you get my profile?"
"Well, it was not me; Pierce used one of his 'special' programs to hack into your computer" she smiled nervously "And we were going to use the information we got to search for you and arrest you"
"I am not angry with you, Hermione; because it was all a hoax from Flint" he said soothingly "And to answer your question; 'death tracker' status has appeared after the Second Wizard War has ended, and it was a special rank that is given to the surviving aurors who have gained enough experience to track down the death eaters and bring them before justice. Ironically, that name was invented to contradict the death eater name; they eat death, and with the smell of death we track them down"
"Brilliant, Harry" she said in amazement "So, only the surviving aurors got the rank?"
"No, any senior auror can obtain the rank; because, as their rank imply, they are senior enough to track the death eaters"
"Brilliant system; I wonder how did you build such integrated Law Enforcement system" said questioned
"It's a long story, Hermione" He smiled vaguely, and the door opened slightly with Dick popping his head through the narrow opening "Sir; the aurors are all here, and the battle pensive is ready. There is also a phone call we intercepted that you should listen to"
"Okay; I will dress up and then look for you in the intelligence room" Harry said, then looked at Hermione "I beg your pardon, Hermione; but I have to change my cloths"
"Oh … Okay" she stood up and walked out f the room, only to find the main hall in turmoil as nearly a hundred auror were coming and going, few of them were immersed deeply in private conversation.
"Hey, you" she jumped as on of the aurors called her from a close distance "Why aren't you prepared? And why are you dressed up like a muggle?"
She looked at him and smiled nervously "I'm sorry, but I'm not actually a witch and …"
"WHAT! A MUGGLE!" he yelled causing the other aurors to take notice of the situation "This is a mistake; a big mistake" she froze as he pulled out his wand and pointed it at her.
"Auror Boyle, put down your wand this instance" Ron shouted from afar, and she saw him Pierce beside him; the auror obeyed his officer and stood in respect.
"I'm sorry sir; but the presence of a muggle in the main HQ is something does not happen so often"
"She is a special case; along with our friend here" he said as he pointed at Pierce "They have been sought out by Flint's henchmen for elimination"
"That is a terrible thing, sir; but the presence of muggles in the HQ defies the tenth decree of the section three of 'Law enforcement policy' that prohibits the presence of a magical civilian in the auror field HQ; let alone a muggle" he said the last words while shooting a nasty look at the detectives "Whoever allowed this to happen must be disciplined immediately"
"I have allowed them myself, Regular Auror Boyle" Harry said firmly from behind, and they all turned around and saw him standing wearing a dark blue uniform with matching cloak, his officer insignia can be seen on his shoulders with its five golden stars; and he was not wearing a beret like the other aurors, instead his beret was tucked into a holster on his right shoulder.
The auror stood firmly facing his superior "I'm sorry, sir; but the tenth decree …"
"I know the law, sir; so don't think you can outsmart me with it" Harry interrupted him firmly "On the other hand, do you know the eleventh decree of section three?"
"I-I" the auror stammered as he didn't find the answer; and Harry looked at him with a sarcastic smile "It seems that your memory is not strong at all, so let me 'enlighten' you with the new laws. The eleventh decree of section three states that the auror must ensure the safety of civilians, magicals or not, and protect them even at the cost of exposing his true identity"
"B-But, sir; they are muggles and …" the auror retorted, and then cowered when he saw the sheer rage in Harry's eyes "It seems that racism has not been eradicated along with Voldemort" the auror flinched at the name as many others did, but Harry didn't care about it as he continued "I don't have time to present you in front of a disciplinary committee; so a quick punishment is in order. Auror Boyle, you are relieved from your command of Phoenix Five; the leadership will be transferred to your deputy; now return to your post"
The auror saluted him horridly and returned to his team; and Harry spoke up "I do not allow discrimination of people even if they weren't magicals; but since I found some of you still stick to the old 'ideals', I have to run a background check on every auror under my command after this mission. Now everyone, head for the meeting hall, I will begin briefing in a minute. Ron, get dressed up"
Ron nodded; and everybody went straight to the meeting hall, and Harry ushered them to follow him to the intelligence room "I'm sorry everyone, but there are still some wizards who think themselves superior just because they are using magic"
"Don't worry bro, we are used to discrimination; have you forgotten that rat Johnson and his goons?" Pierce replied cheerfully.
"Speaking of rats, I think Dick has stumbled upon a phone call that would expose the real rat that was responsible for your ambush" Harry said as he entered the intelligence room, and they all saw dick in his usual spot.
"Dick, I think you have something to show me" said Harry casually.
"Yes, sir; but 'hearing' is the correct word. I intercepted a phone call between Flint and the insider, listen yourself" Dick said as he turned on the audio file; and the detective gasped when they recognized the voice.
"Bloody wanker; who would've suspected?" Hermione said angrily; and Pierce's fist clenched "Let me bring the file to the authorities, Harry; he has to be stopped"
"All in good time, friends" said Harry as he tried to calm them down "Now we have to dry the source of his power; in other words, Flint. Dick I want you with me in the briefing to operate the newly modified battle pensive"
They all exited the intelligence room, and went straight to the meeting hall; and as soon as they entered, an auror shouted "Officer on deck" every auror stood firmly and made way to Harry and his astonished muggle companions, who have never seen such discipline in their life "It's like the army" Pierce said in amazement.
"It is the army" Harry retorted; and assumed his place at the head of meeting "At ease, everyone; I am pleased to announce that this mission has finally come to an end, as we have discovered the whereabouts of Marcus Flint and his death eaters" everybody beamed in joy at the revelation, and he continued "Unfortunately, he is in a well-guarded manor on the outskirts of the city; and it is surrounded with anti-apparition ward; Dick, if you please …"
The intelligence specialist waved his wand, and a three dimensional liquid hologram appeared on the surface of the pensive "This is a modified battle pensive; thanks to the efforts of Auror Howards, it can show constant surveillance using enchanted cameras placed by Phoenix Ten, Eleven, and Twelve; Dick …" the auror waved his wand once again; and the hologram zoomed in "There are three walls surrounding the manor; north, east, and west; each is heavily guarded by Muerte's Elite guard, and the shifts are changed every four hours; but there is an Achilles heel in this nearly invincible fortress"
The view changed to showed the southern side of the manor, where there was a rocky mountain "The southern side is poorly defended due to the presence of a mountain; and from there we will hit them" the zoom returned to normal "Auror Weasley will be in command of the secondary forces with Phoenix Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen, Fourteen, and Fifteen; he will hinder any escapees that will try to escape from the northern gates after our assault; I will lead the attack hat will descend from above the mountain along with Phoenix One, Two, and Three; the other forces will be divided equally with Auror Pavlov commanding the east wall forces; and Auror Blanc will command the west wall forces; they will not attack until I give the signal; Auror Dick will stay here and informs us of any updates"
He then smiled at them and continued "This is your moment everyone; for those who are seeking revenge, you can execute it legally; for those who seek field experience, I guarantee that you will get it; and for those who seek promotion, this is your perfect chance; charge bravely, attack swiftly, but most importantly, stay alive; I want to give the medal to you, not to your widows. Also, keep in mind that we need prisoners; so do not resort to the lethal force unless you are attacked with it. Now … Dismiss"
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The sun has set, and everyone was in place; Harry and his teams were at the top of the mountain were they can see the whole manor "Battalion; confirm your status"
"East Phoenix, standing by" Vlad stated.
"West Phoenix, standing by" Sofia stated.
"Secondary Phoenix, standing by" Ron stated.
"Alright, South Phoenix is descending; Vanessa do it now" Harry ordered; and the aforementioned auror waved her wand and Harry was levitated off the ground; she descended him smoothly, and he could see the Columbians forces, but something was not right.
He reached the ground; and looked everywhere and saw no one near him "Okay, Hanson; descend the rope" William conjured a rope and tied it to a pre-placed ring above the mountain; then threw the loose end at Harry, who did the same thing "Okay, rope secure; you can descend"
The assault team descended like beads in a thread; and after they were all down; Harry conjured off the rope "Now, let's get a move on"
They walked silently and cautiously; but much to their surprise they didn't encounter anyone "I don't like it; assault teams, confirm your status"
"Everything is in order; waiting for attack sign" Vlad stated; and Harry sighed in discomfort "Dick, any updates"
"Nothing sir; the shit exchange is taking place; but the second shift hasn't come yet"
"I don't like it; I really don't like it" Harry said as he ushered the teams to follow him; and Dick spoke up "Wait, sir; multiple activities in your area and on the walls … Death eaters! Watch it sir"
"It's a trap" Harry exclaimed "Everyone pull out your wands; they already know we are here!"
As if they heard him; multiple death eaters appeared out of nowhere and began to fire curses at them; an auror has fallen, and the rest of the teams fell back under barriers.
"It's a trap, sir; death eaters" Vlad exclaimed through the headphone.
"Fall back to the nearest defended zone; you hear me Vlad?" Harry exclaimed as the cruses flew everywhere.
"Sir; we can't take anymore; the barriers cannot hold much longer, and I already lost an auror" William shouted from afar; and Harry looked firmly at behind the death eaters "Let's give it a shot" he levitated a wooden barrel and swooped it across the ground and it hit two of the five death eaters were rendered unconscious.
"What the bloody …" the death eaters were distracted; and it was what Harry wanted "Now!" he order the attack; and the rest of the death eaters have fallen unconscious along with there brethren.
"Okay; now tread carefully; we don't want to fall into another ambush"
"Roger, sir" Vanessa exclaimed joyfully as she was witnessing the might of Harry Potter in person for the first time. The team walked across the manor grounds into the manor itself; they entered the entry hall which was pretty dim to walk through "Tread carefully, mates" Harry whispered; and the hall was lighted suddenly; and ten of the muggle guards appeared from both sides pointing their guns warningly.
"Hola, Gringo" Muerte appeared from above the stares with two other guards "I see that senor Flint's prediction was correct; you really dared to attack my fortress"
"Well; it wasn't that hard considering how thick you are leaving the south parts unguarded" Harry replied coldly.
"Calaste, Gringo" Muerte bellowed "But I will consider it in the near future … Kill them!"
The guards fired their weapons; but the auror team members were already prepared with their shield; and the bullets dropped to the ground.
"You too!" Muerte said with widened eyes; Harry waved his hand, and the guns flew out of the guards hands; who were stunned by the aurors afterwards.
"This will tell you not to underestimate us" Harry said coldly as he stepped toward the now alone Muerte; he pulled out his sword and placed the tip under the drug lord's chin "now tell me, where is Flint?"
"You can try to intimidate me as much as you want amigo; but I won't talk" the cartel leader said in apparent bravery; and Harry glared at him with his famous death glare "I don't have time for your babbling; talk" the light of the hall began to flash as usual when Harry is in a truly bad mood; and his aura began to appear "Speak, or else"
"Dios mio! Y-You're El-El-Diablo himself" Muerte said with trembling voice "I will talk, I will talk; please don't hurt me. He is in the basement; you can reach it from here" he pointed a shaky finger at a distant corner where a small door is "He is there waiting for you; Please don't kill me"
"Don't worry; you are not worth it … Stupefy" the drug lord fell unconscious as the spell hit him; and Harry portkeyed him to the holding cells before turning toward his team who were in awe "Listen everyone; I want you to be on your guard from now on. Vanessa you will coordinate your attack with Sofia on the west wall; and you Lee, will do the same with Vlad; put those bloody death eaters between the hammer and anvil"
"Yes, sir" the aurors saluted him before going to their assignments; and he turned toward Hanson "William; you will follow me to Flint"
They went through the basement door; and found themselves in a long corridor with archways on both sides "Be careful everyone; this is the best place for a trap" he stepped cautiously toward the door at the end of the corridor; but much to his luck; five death eaters appeared from the right archways.
"It's a trap indeed; everyone shelter yourselves by the left archway" Harry said as he dodged a severing charm; and the aurors went straight to where he ordered.
The fight lasted for ten minutes with no apparent victor; and Harry shouted at auror Hanson "William; try to divert them from me; I will try to reach the door"
"Roger, sir; everybody; you heard the boss; engage them" the auror moved out of their hiding and engaged the death eaters in a fearsome fight; Harry leaped in extraordinary speed from arch to another, until he reached the door "Bombarda" Harry directed his wand at the door; and it burst opened; he took a glance at the inside of the room; and what he saw wasn't pleasant.
"Welcome, Potter" Flint, who was standing beside the now-working EMPA along with five of his inner circle, greeted him sarcastically.
"Long time no see, Flint" Harry greeted back "I see that you were busy when I was away; I hope you don't plan on resurrecting Voldemort because it won't work; I have already banished him to oblivion"
"Rest assured, Potter; I have my own agenda to run and it doesn't involve bringing him back" Flint retorted "You have to know that I have foreseen it all; your puny attack has been prepared for"
"How? Did you hire a seer?" Harry sneered.
"Much better; I have used my modified EMPA …" Flint replied, and waved his wand at the EMPA; and it produced a gigantic electromagnetic Orb that showed his teams fighting the tens of death eaters, and taking a beating "You see that your teams are in a position I don't envy them for; and you cannot do anything to help them"
"Foe-Glass can do better job with less expense, Flint" Harry ridiculed him "And I don't think your gigantic crystal ball is correct. Assault teams, report your status"
"We are taking a beating, sir; and the death eaters are unreachable because they are on higher grounds" Vlad shouted through the headphone; and Flint's scornful smile widened "You see, Potter; you are as helpless as a flobberworm"
"You dream, Flint" Harry retorted firmly; and spoke through the mic "Assault teams; are you near the base of the wall?"
"Yess, sir" the team leader answered; and Harry glared at Flint firmly before commanding "Bring the walls down"
The whole ground trembled as the aurors fulfilled the command; and Flint, who was taken aback by Harry's 'radical' solution, shouted in anger "How dare you … Surround him"
The death eater escort surrounded Harry, who was standing calmly with a sly look on his face "I see that I vexed you out of your mind, Flint; how rude of me"
Flint, whose eyes were shooting daggers at Harry, walked toward the EMPA and addressed his foe "I have to give you a point for that, Potter; no one has ever irritated me more than you and your tactical mind; but you came too late this time as my plan is almost complete; and we will be victorious"
"I don't know if you were either deaf or dumb; but I can safely assume that your forces have been buried under the rubbles by now" Harry stated calmly not giving a thought about the wands pointed at him.
"You are an idiot if you thought that I would keep all my minions in one place; those whom you saw until now are hardly one tenth of our real number" Flint replied while busying himself with the EMPA
Harry raised an eyebrow, and questioned sarcastically "You were working hard lately, aren't you flint?"
"Same as you, senior auror; I'll be sure to place your badge on your tombstone"
"Voldemort couldn't kill me; neither will you" Harry stated it coldly, and the death eater around him quivered with fear as his aura rippled.
"Voldemort was a fool, if he listened to me you wouldn't be standing and we would be ruling the entire world by now" Flint snapped at him, then regained his calmness "but no matter; I will achieve the feat that my former master couldn't … Kill him"
The death eaters where about to cut Harry apart; but they didn't move a muscle because their heads have been chopped off in extraordinary speed; Flint's eyes widened when he saw his inner-circle fall down "W-What was that?"
"I forgot to introduce you to my new sword; meet Gryffindor Katana" Harry flashed the engraved name before sheathing back the sword. Flint began to laugh madly before stating "You never seize to amaze me, Potter; I have to admit that you are a worthy adversary; unlike the dolts in the Auror department"
"Same is said to you, Flint; you seem to use your head much more that Voldemort" Harry replied calmly "Unfortunately, I have to arrest you for your crimes"
"Not before we duel, Potter" Flint un-holstered his wand "I, Marcus Flint, Leader of the Neo Death Eaters; challenge you in a on-on-one duel, Senior Auror Harry Potter"
Harry pulled out his wand "I Harry Potter, Senior Auror and commander of US fisrt Auror Battalion; accept the duel"
"Everything goes in this duel, Potter; including your sword; but I doubt you will have the time to use it" Flint stated, and a few death eaters entered from a back door at the same time the auror assault teams entered from the main entrance.
"No body intervene in this fight; it is a one-on-one duel" Flint bellowed at his minions.
"Same goes to you Aurors" Harry addressed his team. And both parties stood still waiting for the fearsome duel to take place.
Harry and flint stood face to face in the middle of the basement; the buzzing sound of the EMPA created a dreadful background for the duel; Harry's aura shot to the ceiling and gasped from both teams could be heard.
"Impressive …" Flint said, and his dark aura shot to an equal height, and similar gasps has been heard "How do you find my aura, Potter?"
"Interesting …" Harry answered coolly "Let's test your reflexes … Stupefy" the gigantic stunner shot out of Harry's wand toward Flint, who barely dodged it; the stunner continued its way until it hit several death eaters causing them to fly.
"Wonderful casting Potter; let's test your now … Crucio" the dark red sparks flew toward Harry, who somersaulted to sideways avoiding it.
"No thanks; I already tasted torture by the hands of Voldemort, and it is more than enough" Harry retorted as he prepared himself to shoot another hex "Aquefors" a silvery spray shot out of Harry's wand, and was also dodged by flint; the spray showered a death eater causing him to melt down like a liquid.
"A liquidating charm … Impressive; but not good enough … discerpo" the severing charm flew toward Harry, who conjured a shield that stopped it "Good one, Flint; Let me show you something familiar … Explodia" the reddish purple curse flew toward the leader of the death eaters, who dodged it barely and saw it hitting a fellow death eater causing him to explode repulsively.
"Impressive" Flint said as he eyed the fallen death eater "I see that Malfoy has been busy"
"Research has really occupied him, you know" Harry replied calmly as if he was speaking with a friend.
"No matter; that trick does not suit someone mighty as the leader of the death eaters; taste this, Potter … Avada Kedavra Infiniti" the sickening green beams shot out of Flint's wand aiming for Harry's chest, who directed it with his bare palm away from him and his fellow aurors "I don't think you have forgotten that I am already immune to the killing curse"
"Don't trust a rumor until you test it yourself" Flint shrugged his shoulders "And I have to congratulate you for achieving such feat"
"Felicitations accepted; now I have a gift for you that would suit the mighty leader of death eaters … Fundos" a shapeless, yellowish green emulsion shot out of Harry's wand and dropped acid as it flew toward Flint who jumped aside, but a droplet of acid dropped on his leg causing a severe burning sensation; he washed the affected part quickly with a spray of water. He saw the curse hit a fellow death eater squarely in the chest; and he shrieked as his skin began to boil before exploding hideously showering many death eaters with acid.
"Good one, Potter" he turned toward his opponent, but he didn't find him; and he felt a sharp pain slicing through his wand arm and he heard a sarcastic voice "Who said that I wouldn't have the time for the sword … Offendo" Flint flew backwards and groaned as he hit the wall hard.
"And that concludes our duel …" Harry said as he sheathed back the sword; and Flint laughed painfully "With all your might in the sword, couldn't even cleave my hand off"
"Look closely, Flint" Harry addressed him calmly; and the death eater glanced at his wounded hand; and he saw the frost forming around it causing it to fall apart "How do you like my frostbite, Flint?"
The aforementioned death eater looked at him in astonishment, before laughing insanely "You really bested your own skill Potter; Magic through metal! Who would've thought?" then he eyed the green eyed auror slyly "It is your time to look at your back"
Harry looked at him cautiously before hearing a throbbing sound coming from behind, he looked back and saw the magnetic ball wavering madly "What the bloody …"
"I done it, the third phase of EMPA is complete; my army will be summoned and you will be defeated" Flint bellowed like crazy and Harry eyed the enlarging ball with concern; he shot a few reductor spells at the EMPA; but it was blocked by an invisible shield.
"I knew that you would try to damage my contraption, Potter; so I placed a constant shield around it so you won't try anything stupid" Flint said sarcastically as he held his damaged arm in pain
Harry switched his eyes between the fallen death and the machine before making up his mind "I know it is clumsy; but there is no other choice" he unsheathed his sword, and, much to the witnesses' surprise, he stuck in the ground "What are you thinking, Potter?"
"Shake it …" Harry said firmly, and the whole ground began to tremble violently; and the ceiling began to come down.
"Bloody hell" Flint exclaimed, when he saw the EMPA taking a violent hit from a big chuck of the fallen ceiling and go down; he then eyed the magnetic ball and saw that it was still growing "Your plan has failed, Potter; the portal is still processing, and …" he was pushed back by an electromagnetic surge before completing his sentence; he eyed the ball again; and saw that it was rippling madly "It's going to explode; everyone flee" he pulled out a small object that portkeyed him away; and the remaining death eaters began to run out of the basement in panic.
"Vlad, get out with the auror teams; I will try to contain the explosion" Harry yelled at his trusted auror.
"But sir; it is too big to contain it all by yourself; and the whole building is coming down" Vlad tried to reason with him.
"One causality is considered a victory, Vlad" Harry said in a significant tone; and the auror eyed him in disbelief "Now go"
The auror saluted him firmly before turning to the remaining aurors "Let's get out of here, now" the aurors began to exit the basement, and Harry was left all alone.
"Just you and me, bloody ball" Harry said as he shot a containment charm that surrounded the magnetic orb; and the electric surge began to waver madly "Playing tough, eh? Let's see how you will do it with double containment" he said as another charm was shot out of his wand. And the building began to crumble "Come on; let's get over with it"
As if the orb heard him, its surface began to waver violently; and Harry felt his head throb from the powerful surge "Turn … Off!" he shouted as a third containment charm was conjured; and the magnetic orb began to waver, before turning off completely; Harry conjured of the charms and spoke breathlessly "Mission … Accomplished" and his body couldn't take it any more and dropped down; his eyes began to shut off, and the final thing he saw was the ceiling coming down; and a twirl of fire surrounding him …
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A/N: Okaaay; that's it for the grand chapter; the next chapter will be an epilogue, and will be rather short. I hope you loved the duel between Flint and Harry; and for H/Hr shippers … I'm sorry if my story didn't contain any romance, yet; just keep in mind that I don't like descriptive romance; just light love.
Read & Review Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease