King of the Amazons 32
Chapter 32
-Harry-
Ragnok jerks back in shock at the flash of fiendfyre, "What?" he gapes "I thought the purpose was to study the spell upon the ring? To figure out exactly what it is."
"It was a soul container." Harry scowled, clenching the fist that now bore the mark of the stone he had just destroyed.
"A horcrux?" Ragnok looked shocked at the idea of Voldemort using such a thing to make a horcrux of his own.
"No, something worse." Harry shook his head, "This was a set of three items that have come to be known as the Deathly Hallows. Each of these three items had their own enchantments to complete their purpose of rebirthing the one who made them."
"I've heard of the Hallows. It is said the one who possesses them becomes the Master of Death." Ragnok frowned in puzzlement, staring at the mark upon Harry's hand.
"A lie." Harry spat, "One who's purpose was to help allow his rebirth. The being who forged the Hallows was ancient. He knew of the Horcrux ritual but saw it as a flawed method to immortality. Instead he bound his soul completely to three separate items, thus killing his body but allowing him to be reborn time and time again. The Elder Wand held his power and was created to drive all who wielded it to wish to seek out the others. The Stone held his mind and soul, the conduit through which he came back to this world. The Cloak was a stabilizer, helping hide his ruse."
"But…how did he come back? What was their purpose?" Ragnok was wide eyed.
"The wand wielder was urged to find the others and boast of their own power to draw the attention of other seekers and challengers, thus finding the strongest witch or wizard possible. The stone would drive the wielder mad to get attention but would also help find those with the strongest wills. The Cloak wielder was meant to keep it mostly a secret to help hide the stabilizer and act as a challenge of cunning for the wielders of the stone and wand."
"He thought this out." Ragnok noted, absorbing the elaborate system.
"Indeed. Should one gather all three items then instead of becoming Master of Death they become his host. He enters them and absorbs their memories and magic, taking over their lives. When they die his soul goes into the void once more, but he retains the magic and memories of the hosts, growing stronger with each rebirthing. I fought him in my mind and managed to fuse a patronus and fiendfyre. It destroyed his soul but the backlash of me holding the relic and having gained the other two resulted in me absorbing the magic and knowledge he had accumulated."
"You absorbed his knowledge?!" Ragnok falls out of his chair "His magic?"
"And it's making the inside of my skull itch." He growled out, "It's possible I can still absorb magic through this mark but for now all I know is that I feel like I have ants crawling in my skull and whiskey in my veins. I don't know when this will settle but until it does I'm useless."
"I'll assign a guard to you." Ragnok snaps his fingers as two Goblins in heavy plate entered, standing beside the two Amazons Harry had brought with him "They'll add to your security until this matter is settled. However, I need to know, where were the other two Hallows if that was the stone?"
"The Cloak is the Potter family Invisibility Cloak." He explained, "Been in the family for centuries from what I understand. Likely went to some relation from the last Host of 'the Ideal'." Harry spat the name, out with distaste "The Elder wand is the wand that Albus Dumbledore took from Gellert Grindlewald. I've out maneuvered and out powered Dumbledore in multiple fields since returning to England and so the Wand and its curse bound to me."
"What happened to the wand?" Ragnok stared at the mark on his palm again "And the cloak?"
"The stone felt dead after I destroyed the Ideal." Harry mused "It's quite possible the cloak is now a fancy and colorful piece of clothing and the elder wand is a twig. Dumbledore still has it, so he'll figure it out if it's suddenly weaker or dead."
"Our facilities are at your disposal." Ragnok tells him seriously "If you're able to absorb magic from that mark still then I can offer you more than a few artifacts we've confiscated but haven't been able to properly dispose of."
"Thank you my friend." Harry nodded as he followed the Amazon and Goblin guards to a medical bay, intending to rest until these horrid sensations stopped.
-Dumbledore-
Yawning, Dumbledore got up from his bed. He had been exhausted recently, trying to fix the damage that young imbecile Potter. He hadn't wanted to sleep so late today but he knew if he didn't get some rest then he was liable to make some crucial mistake. Reaching for the Elder Wand, Dumbledore gave a tired flick to open the bathroom door, rubbing his eyes as he prepared to summon his glasses.
With a yell of pain and shock, he walked into the door to his bathroom, his nose crunching loudly and breaking, once again, as blood gushed forth. "What?!" he floundered, slapping his hand around till he found his glasses, forcing them on. Figuring he had grabbed something beside the Elder Wand he looked down, seeing to his shock that it was actually the wand in his hand. "Lumos." He commanded, demanding his magic and the wand obey his will.
Nothing.
The Elder Wand, ever since he had wrenched it from Gellert's hands, had responded better than any other focus he had ever seen. Now it sat in his hand completely unresponsive to his commands. He could feel his magical core full and ready to be used but the wand sat useless.
Reaching for the bathroom door to wipe the blood off his face he tugged, finding it firmly shut. With a jolt he remembered that it was closes with magic, therefore it would take magic to open. Rushing to his desk he grabbed a drawer and attempted to wrench it open to get his original wand. Much like the door to the bathroom it was sealed with magic. As was the window, the door to the staircase, and every other lock in the office.
"…Shit."
-Wormtail-
"Does our master have any…specific instructions on this matter?" Yaxley asked. The two of them were both wearing hooded cloaks, tucked into a hidden little corner of a pub in Knockturn Alley.
"No." Wormtail was managing to avoid stuttering only through use of a draught of courage. Sadly the one time he had used it in the presence of his master he had suffered a long bout of Cruciatus exposure. Turns out Lord Voldemort enjoyed seeing fear in his followers.
"Hmmmmm." Yaxley mused over the matter, "I have a few possible plans. He wants the attack done at the ball correct?"
"All he said was to arrange a surprise for whoever Potter was taking to the Ball, he didn't make any mention of a specific time to do so." Wormtail shook his head, "The exact time is up to you."
"I believe multiple plans would be best." Yaxley decided eventually, writing out a letter "Take this to Greyback. He can provide a passable distraction while I prepare a proper 'surprise'. I would also suggest you find a few other members of the inner circle. Keep us separate. Multiple points of attack will have the best chance of success."