Over 1 year since I started this fic :) It's been a wild ride, guys. Thanks for all the support!
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any other fandom I manage to squeeze in this story.
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Lightning Dragon's Roar
A Harry Potter Fanfiction
By Zero Rewind
© 2015
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Chapter 41: A New Journey
So, yeah. Goblins gave me stuff for free. That definitely just happened.
Did they really respect me that much because I was the one who pushed Mundus back where he belonged?
As I was leaving the bank, I had seen all manner of Goblins giving regular wizards a hard time, laughing while they did so.
No, Hagrid was right about Goblins, the first time he told me about them all those years ago.
They were driven by greed and envy; they were the epitome of it! They were so defined by those traits that I thought they might have had a valid claim on the rank of Hell Greed within the Demon Emperor's forces.
The more I thought about it, the more it made sense to me. They weren't genuinely thankful to me. They might have simply been feeling indebted to me.
Considering that having Demons show up and kill off the human race would be just a little bad for business, a measly two hundred thousand galleons was a paltry sum, in comparison to all of the gold I helped them make by stopping Hell on Earth— for the end of existence, or until Mundus showed his statuesque angel face again.
Well, whether they were kissing up to me out of a sense of debt, or genuine kindness, it made no difference; more money for me, right?
I adjusted the strap of my duffel bag on my shoulder, glad that I could jostle it around now, since there were no more potions to be worried about.
Said potions were now placed safely in my new amazing pouch. I didn't know how the magic worked, but there was no risk that anything broke, no matter how many items I stuffed into it.
"No point in messing around." I muttered to myself, before making my way to a nearby information kiosk. Seemed every floor had one— a great feature for those who were new here, or those that simply forgot where everywhere was.
Okay, any food stores around? I studied the map for a bit, before finding what it was that I needed. There was a food supply shop just one floor beneath me. I made my way down the escalator, squeezing past a quite large— see: really fat— fellow, grimacing a bit at the guy's smell.
To my left, I could see a prank shop, and what seemed to be some kind of law office. It got a raised eyebrow out of me, but I skipped it and turned my sights to the store I was looking for.
There it was, straight ahead: Harry's Wares.
I smiled minutely. The name Harry was pretty common, but I still found it amusing to find someone else with my name, as well.
A few minutes later, I came out of the store with enough ration packs to last me a few months. I had to pay a little extra for the charm that altered their taste into something I could enjoy eating. I ended up dividing them up into different sections.
The range of food tastes was all over the place. Examples included sautéed vegetables, steak, spaghetti and meatballs, chicken, and a whole lot of others. Sadly, no treacle tart flavor.
Curses.
No need to mention, I also had quite a large supply of water, all tucked neatly into my mokeskin pouch. Probably one of the more amazing pieces of wand-work I've laid my eyes on so far in my long journey in the realm of magic.
I did a quick mental check as I took a seat in a nearby bench, ignoring the strangers passing by.
'Food, check. Water, check. Potions, check. Storage for everything, check. A tent, check…' I thought to myself. 'Aside from Erebus' sheath, what else is there?'
§Perhaps some new clothes?§ Balthazar supplied helpfully.
§What's wrong with this outfit?§ I asked dumbly, staring down at the shirt I'd bought from that internet café. I had bought a card that would last five hours, but barely even needed half of that.
And here I was, about to head back to the UK, so I could try to stop Voldemort.
§Your pants are fine—§
§Well of course, they're fine.§ I cut the snake off. §I paid to have them enchanted pretty well, didn't I?§
§As I was saying,§ Balthazar hissed in my mind, sending a rush of irritation through my body. §The pants are fine, and are still serving you well. Your shirt, on the other hand…§
I glanced down at the snake themed t-shirt. Even though I had repaired it thoroughly with my magic, you could still tell that the shirt was barely holding itself together.
I sighed.
§Yeah, okay.§ I hissed in irritation and got up. §You're right. I need a new one.§
After a few minutes of searching, I finally happened upon a very small, out of the way shop. It looked quite dingy, like it hadn't been repaired in years.
A couple passed in front of me, dragging a little girl in a small, enchanted car.
"Mommy, what's in there?" The girl pointed at the store I was looking at. The woman frowned and waved her wand, making the car move quicker. The man scoffed, grumbling something about fake wizards before walking away.
Fake wizards?
I read the store's sign:
"Vestments For True Mages."
"The hell's a true mage?" I wondered out loud.
"Interesting question, kid." I turned my head to see an old man making his way to me, carrying a bag of McDonald's in his hand, and a staff in the other. "You must be new here."
"Uh, yeah." I answered with a nod. "I'm from the UK, I've only gotten here a few days ago. So, what's a true mage?"
"A bit impatient, aren't you?" The man chuckled as he unlocked the door to the store I was looking at. He turned to me. "You coming in?"
I stared at him for a moment. "Yeah. Sure."
I followed the man into the store, and did a double take at what I saw. I was expecting him to be selling some outdated products like old, moldy robes or something.
"Holy shit."
I didn't notice the shopkeeper smirk in amusement as I began to browse the store. There were different weapons, ranging from swords, to maces, to guns, shown in display cases. On the side, many jackets, coats, and dusters of different sizes lined the walls.
The shopkeeper waved his hand at a nearby candle. The wick lit up, a vibrant purple, and the shopkeeper nodded to himself.
"What's that?" I pointed at it.
"Just a ward I put together. It tells me when anything or anyone gets close to my store. If it turns yellow, then the person has no ill intentions towards me. If it turns red…" He trailed off.
"Enemy, right?" I smiled and extended my hand. "Harry Potter."
The man stared at me for a second. "The kid who stopped the Demon King?"
I scratched the back of my head in slight irritation. "Is there anyone that doesn't know about it?"
The man laughed loudly, before taking another bite of his food. "Plenty. Most of the wand-mages do not know of the events that took place that day. We True Mages of the White Council, however, do. What you did caused ripples throughout the realm of the Nevernever. The Sidhe had even stopped their endless war for a small time."
"I'm Jonas, by the way. Simple salesman." The old man finally introduced himself. "A salesman who also happens to be a wizard."
"So, what's the difference?" I asked the man, getting back on track and filing the term 'White Council' for later use.
"Think of it this way, kid." My lips twitched at being called kid, but I let it slide— the guy looked really old. "Wand Wizards are so dependent on wands to enact their magic that— if you take their wand away, they would be completely helpless."
"True Mages, however, or True Wizards, use foci such as staves and rods. Not because we would be helpless without them— but because we would lose all the control we had." Jonas continued to explain.
"So you can channel magic without a medium?" I almost gaped. This sounded almost too familiar.
"Yes." Jonas nodded, pleased with himself for delivering a fine explanation.
"You mean like this?" I held out my hand and channeled my Lightning. The energy rushed into my open palm, lighting up the store as bolts of Lightning arced from finger to finger. I closed my hand, causing a small shock wave that rattled the doors slightly.
It was now the old man's turn to gape.
"How— you're a True Mage, as well?" Jonas said in shock, almost rushing to me, scrutinizing me with his gaze. "Do that again."
So I did.
"Amazing. Such control at such a young age." Jonas said in awe. "It does not escape your control?"
"Escape my control? I don't think so, no." I smiled. "Here, look."
I started forming different shapes with my Lightning. I started with a ball; then, I turned it into a square, before forming my Edge. I followed up by spawning a few Lightning Blades, making them spin around in the air.
After a few seconds, I stopped channeling my energy, the room returning to its previous light levels.
"Never in my life have I seen such amazing control of magic." The man breathed, before looking at me with apprehension. "Only the Dragons could match such control."
"Dragons can use magic? I thought they were just gigantic lizards that could fly, and breathe fire." I said, thinking about that Hungarian Horntail I tangled with last year.
"Perhaps the mundane ones that the Wand Wizards like to keep around as pets and guard dogs." Jonas scoffed, his demeanor returning to normal. "The real Dragons are almost impossible to defeat."
A half remembered lesson of Dumbledore telling me of the old elemental Dragons came to mind. With it, a sharp twist of my heart at the knowledge of the old man's death. I shook off those thoughts, and asked Jonas to elaborate on these Dragons.
"I only know of what the legends used to say." The old man said apologetically. "But it was known that they could assume any form they wished."
No wonder why he was so wary of me. He probably thought I was one, myself.
"Could they use elements other than Fire?" I asked eagerly.
"Indeed." Jonas confirmed. "Water, Earth, Ice, even Lightning like yours. They were formidable forces of nature."
"What happened to them?"
"Legend says that the Dragons warred with the previous Devil King, and most of them died in the battles that ensued." The man said.
'Is this true?' I sent a thought to Erebus.
'Not sure. I think so.' The sword replied unhelpfully. 'I have lived in the Temen Ni Gru for a very, very long time. I might have missed a few wars here and there, but this Jonas might be telling the truth.'
"Right." I acknowledged Jonas' words with a nod.
"What about you, kid?" The man asked, both cautiously and curiously.
"Honestly." I said with the most sincere face I could muster. "I just stumbled on these powers, and I've been trying to use them for good, ever since."
Jonas gave me a long look, before nodding.
"I suppose I can respect that, especially since you've already proven you're trying to keep humanity safe from the likes of the current Devil King." Jonas said, before motioning to his wares. "So, did anything catch your eye?"
I looked around for a quick second.
"I already have enough weapons on me." I shook my head as I looked at the rods and staves. My eye lingered on a few pistols. Could I really use a gun?
Dante, for the half an hour I got to know him, used guns. But then again, Dante did not have a diverse set of Lightning and Darkness based ranged attacks, as well as a wand…
"Yeah, definitely no weapons for me." I nodded and began to explain the issue I have with my Air Raid. "I'm looking more for something for my upper body."
Ten minutes later, I stepped out of the shop, with a new, dark blue shirt, and a long, two-tailed black coat to go over it.
I smiled, admiring myself in the shop's glass, before waving goodbye to Jonas, who returned the gesture.
"Interesting way to solve your wing problem that man came up with." Erebus whispered to me.
"I know. How did I not see it before?" I smiled at the events that had occurred. I always assumed I'd need wings to be airborne. Wings like the ones Tristan had. Come to think of it, during the fight against Mundus, Dante and Vergil were keeping afloat using only their own energy.
Was there any reason my power couldn't do something similar?
I could form it, and I could give it shapes that could cut, slice, pierce, and generally destroy. So what's to stop me from creating solid Lightning footholds in mid-air? Not only would it save up on energy, but it would cut down on the shirts I needed to change.
I still had about twenty minutes before I had to meet up with the Goblin blacksmith, Rognar, I think his name was? No, Rogar. It was Rogar.
Since I had that much time, I might as well have put it to good use.
I expelled the lightning out of my hand, quickly channeling it underneath my raised boot before anyone noticed. I stealthily pressed down on it, meeting some slight resistance.
It was solid, but not enough to hold my weight.
I increased the intensity of the Lightning and tried again. Much more solid, but still not quite enough. A few more trials, and I found I could stand on the Lightning itself.
Very slowly, and with great care, I began making my way to the bank.
I stumbled and tripped a few times; even fell on the floor right before I reached the escalator, forced to stop channeling the Lightning lest I destroy the escalator's mechanism.
Who knew what could happen?
I remembered being on the daily "rekt" threads on 4chan— rekt was internet slang for "wrecked", if you were wondering— seeing all kinds of gore, murder, and unfortunate accidents.
One of which, was the horrific filming of a construction worker's death on one of these escalators. Apparently the man had accidentally jammed a very tall sheet of metal in the staircase itself, and the pressure had forced an opening in the contraption— right underneath him. The unfortunate fellow had fallen right into the escalator's mechanism, a veritable meat grinder that never stopped.
Needless to say, it was quite the bloody mess, and I had never looked at escalators the same again.
A few more minutes of unsteady walking, and nervous escalating, I finally managed to reach the bank. Clark was already at the entrance, looking at the Goblins in wonder, and some trepidation. Poor guy had probably never realized that humans weren't the only sentient race on the planet.
"Yo." I greeted the man of steel. "How did it go with your dad?"
Clark turned to me, smiling. "He said he felt a lot better, Harry."
"Yeah?"
Clark nodded. "I even took a peek. His heart rate has slowed down by a lot."
"That's a good thing, right?" I asked in a bit of confusion.
"Yes, definitely." Clark nodded quickly. "The reason he was having so much heart pain was because his body was continually stressed, so the heart would beat faster to pump more blood in the system in an attempt to heal it, which caused even more stress."
"Ah, an endless cycle." I nodded, understanding his words slightly.
"Not endless." Clark said a little darkly, looking down. "His heart wouldn't have been able to take any more stress for much longer. If this continued for another month or two? Maybe he could have… I don't know."
I put my hand on the older man's shoulder in what I hoped was a kind gesture.
"Well you don't have to worry about that, anymore. Right?" I reassured Clark with a gentle squeeze.
"True." Clark smiled, before really looking at me. "New clothes?"
"Uh huh." I nodded. "The old shirt was barely hanging on. Needed something new."
"Ah, I see." Clark answered. "Why a coat?"
"Figured it would be useful; plus, it looked cool." I said simply, taking a few steps, the coattails flapping slightly in the air.
"See? All I need is to add my sword, and my outfit is complete." I stated, pointing at the inside of the bank, where Clawgrip was seen slowly heading over to meet us.
"Ah, Mr Potter. Right on time." Clawgrip said with a respectful nod. "The sheath you requested is ready."
"All right, lead the way." I said, giving Clark a sidelong glance. "You want to come with? Or—"
"I think I'll just wait out here." Clark shook his head.
"Okay, then." I said, and followed Clawgrip into the bank once more. The trip to the blacksmith Rogar took some time, due to the crowdedness of the afternoon rush.
Clawgrip ran his fingers over the center of the wall, and the wall split open like before, revealing the blacksmith's chamber.
"Ah. There you are." Rogar grunted out, working at something on his table. "Come."
I glanced at Clawgrip, who gave the go ahead. I nodded, and approached the old Goblin smith, who was wiping furiously at a piece of black metal. My view of it improved as I came closer and closer, until I finally saw what he was working on.
"What do you think?" Rogar smirked at my curious face, before holding it in front of me.
The dark metal shined in the firelight as I grasped onto the scabbard, looking at it more closely. The dark scabbard lit up, showing various runic inscriptions I had no hope of interpreting.
"My finest piece of work to date." The Goblin said proudly, noticing my widening eyes.
"A scabbard is your finest creation?" I said skeptically, looking between him and the item in question. I mean, it looked pretty cool, but to claim it's his finest piece of work?
"Indeed." Rogar grinned fiercely. "Perhaps not the finest weapon I've made, but a weapon's effectiveness is reliant on the sturdiness of the scabbard which holds it, no? I fashioned it using Goblin wrought steel, one of the strongest metals we have available."
He gestured to the inscriptions. "You see this part, here? Those runes are meant to absorb the power of whatever's held within it, gaining the same qualities as the weapon itself."
"So you're saying—"
"The scabbard will inherit the powers of the Devil Arm it seals into itself." Rogar nodded with a grin. "Not forgetting the fact that the steel itself is considered deadly to the faeries."
I nodded absentmindedly, before taking the time to pull Erebus out of the duffel bag. The dark Falchion slid into the sheath with ease, an almost perfect fit. The runes glowed brightly for a few seconds before changing to a dark-bluish color, likely caused by Erebus' Darkness flowing through it.
"Impressive, however..." Erebus praised, before the sword pulsed powerfully for a few seconds. Nothing happened.
"…Hmph. These Goblins are impressive blacksmiths. To be capable of containing and absorbing the power of a Devil like myself is nothing short of amazing. The human race is not the only one that has progressed over the millennia, it seems." Erebus admitted reluctantly.
"High praise, indeed." Rogar said with a short bow, before addressing me. "Anything else you might need? Perhaps some armor?"
A brief image of Final Fantasy's Sephiroth, wearing shoulder plates over a long coat flashed in my mind. I shook my head in amusement.
"I don't think I'll need it. You have a strap or something, for my sheath?" I asked instead.
"No need." Rogar shook his head. "Place the scabbard wherever you like, and it will stay there until you wish to remove it."
"Convenient." I said, before placing the sheath on my right waist, the same place where the old, bony white sheath used to be. I wondered what happened to that thing; wasn't sure if I lost it in between worlds or if it was still at Temen Ni Gru.
I supposed, in the end, it didn't really matter. I let go of the sheath, and it remained on my waist, just like Rogar said it would.
"My thanks." I smiled at the Goblin and made to leave.
"Let us know if you ever need anything else, Mr. Potter!" Rogar said, his voice getting lower and lower as I followed Clawgrip on the way out of Rogar's chamber, and Gringotts altogether.
I bid my goodbyes to Clawgrip, and rejoined with Clark, who was busy staring in fascination at a few house elves which were following a small family of three around.
"Hey Clark, I got the scabbard for my sword." I greeted.
Clark turned to me, and eyed the scabbard on my right side, before scrutinizing me entirely.
"Not a bad getup, overall." Clark said, before wrinkling his nose slightly. "Too dark for my taste, though."
"I like it this way." I smiled, folding up my right sleeve. "Come on."
We went outside, back into the empty street. I always found it weird how no one questioned the fact that this street was always empty. How did the magic behind the Muggle Repeller spell work? Did people not question why they never wanted to pass through here?
"So, how are we going to get to England?" Clark asked, breaking my train of thought.
"Same way I came here, with this." I said, pulling Erebus out of his sheath, the sword vibrating with power.
"Dude, I told you that tickles." I chided the black Falchion, rubbing at my left arm a bit.
"Just get on with it." Erebus' voice whispered to us. Clark shifted, hearing the sentient Devil Arm for the first time. "Time is of the essence. Open the path."
"What path?" Clark questioned.
"Watch." I said, before slashing at the air in front of me. A loud ripping noise could be heard as the dark blade tore through the fabric of reality itself, opening a path to the mystical land of the Nevernever.
"What is that?" Clark stared at the portal for a few moments, likely trying to study it with his x-ray vision.
"It's a portal to the Dark Realm, Erebus' domain. He rules supreme, there." I smiled, before moving to the rift. "This is how I came here. You coming?"
I jumped in with no fanfare. It was like going from one room to the next, really. The shift from light to dark was expected, but my surroundings definitely weren't— though I still felt quite safe.
"That's because you've rested here for quite a while, boy." Erebus explained as Clark entered the Dark Realm as well. The portal closed behind us.
"Harry?" I heard Clark call out, and turned to see him looking around in confusion.
"Yeah?" I answered, and Clark jumped back in fright at the sound.
"What the—" Clark said, before calming himself down. "Where are you? I can't see anything."
"Nothing at all?"
"No. Can you?"
That was weird. I could see just fine in this environment. Actually, come to think of it, it was a little strange that I could see clearly at all. We weren't quite floating in a void of blackness or anything so silly— it was more like a land plunged in eternal darkness.
We were standing in the middle of a forest.
Despite the lack of any light, I could make it out in vivid detail. I could see the black leaves fluttering in the wind, I could see each individual branch with clarity the likes of which I don't even experience in the real world.
"You are welcome in my Realm, guest Clark Kent." Erebus rattled out, before pulsing with power. A second later, Clark blinked, his eyes adjusting to his surroundings.
"Better?" I asked.
"Yeah." Clark rubbed at his eyes for a moment, before staring at his surroundings in awe. "What is this place?"
"Not sure, I'm guessing it's part of Erebus' domain." I said, and smirked suddenly. "Hey, Erebus. Let me guess; is it called the Dark Forest? Dark Forest in the Realm of Darkness. What's next, you're going to tell me you have some kind of Dark Castle?"
I heard a female voice giggle from behind me, and froze in surprise.
"Quite the amusing human, aren't you?"
I quickly turned to the source, pointing Erebus at it immediately.
"Woah." Clark breathed, mesmerized by the sight before him.
Woah, indeed. The woman before me was a veritable goddess, with long white hair flowing all the way down her back. She had very pale skin, and lips the color of frozen mulberries. Her green, cat-slitted eyes glittered playfully at our reactions.
"Greetings, Queen Mab. It's been a while." Erebus rattled in surprise.
Queen Mab, huh? Erebus' contender for the realm of Darkness?
"So you're the Queen of the Unseelie, huh? Figured you'd be taller." I said flippantly, trying to project a confidence I couldn't quite feel, readying the energy needed for a possible fight.
Would I ever catch a break?
Don't answer that, please.