Ascension: The Promise of Prometheus

by Define Anachronistic

(AU) It's Harry Potter's Third Year at Hogwarts, and he and his closest friends have resolved to enlist in the Auror Corps in order to gain the necessary authority to combat their enemies head on. However, brutal training, a harsh Squad Captain and a plot that could destabilise both the Muggle and the Wizarding Worlds need to be dealt with first. Who said war was meant to be easy?

13. Chapter 13

INTERLUDE VI

Antonin wasn't sure if he would ever be the same.

That damned Auror had burned right through his intestines with cursed fire and had scorched more on the way out. Recovery would be a slow process and he might never be as strong as he had been before. Worse still was the Dark Lord's reaction to the fall of Acacia Asylum.

As expected, Antonin's former master had not been pleased when his plans had been revealed to the world, not because he had been exposed, but because of his treachery. The Dark Lord had placed a bounty for his capture, and while that might have sounded better than being brought in either dead or alive, Antonin knew that his master had methods of torture that made even death seem like an attractive option.

As though proving that things could always get worse, there had been whispers among the Witch-Hunter ranks about disposing of him. After all, his scheme had led to almost fifty of their brothers and sisters being killed when that Auror Captain had brought the building down on top of them.

Mercifully, Oliver Sterling had proved himself loyal in quelling this discord. Either that or he was perfectly aware that he had tied his own fate with Antonin's. Should he fall, Sterling's rising star would fall with him.

Not the best dynamic between allies, but with the Torringtons either captured or killed by the Aurors, Antonin didn't have many other options left to him.

But even the darkest clouds had silver linings.

Despite the best efforts of those Cadets, his glorious Prometheus had emerged from the battle unscathed. Not only that, but it had finally proved it could work when those Muggle spawn had ascended into something greater, which made him realise what the missing component might be.

Intention had always been an essential part of magic, and, on average, more children aspired to become greater than they were born to be than adults. If he could find willing adults- preferably both well-trained and capable of sufficient emotional control- and make them fully aware of what he was attempting to transform them into…well, he would one day have an army that could rival the Dark Lord's own.

It wouldn't be one hundred percent effective; he knew that with just the briefest amount of consideration. Some people were too afraid to strive for something greater or too satisfied as they were, no matter what opportunities fate presented them with, and those who were willing often lacked the necessary emotional control for success in an endeavour as perilous as this one.

However, Antonin deemed these people as acceptable losses.

It was fortunate that he knew just where to find an excess of trained and disciplined Muggles to transform into his own personal army.