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Chapter Eight
Lands of Shadow
Voldemort was most pleased with his most loyal servant. Bellatrix's breaking into the Order of the Phoenix's old base was performed flawlessly. Even if the books were less than vitally important, truly they detailed no more than what the Dark Lord of the Earth knew of the Istari, nevertheless the task served a valuable purpose in trying Bellatrix.
Discovering that Potter had been hiding there was only a plus, and with that location now unveiled, there was indeed a higher chance of his hunters locating Potter and his allies. Word had already reached Voldemort's ears of the attack on the Ministry, and the damage that the Light's strike team had done there.
The Dark Lord hoped for their sake that whatever their objective, pitiful though it must have been, was worth the cost of revealing themselves to his hunters. And without Grimmauld Place, there was nowhere in Britain for them to hide. It was only a matter of time before the hunters zeroed in on their hiding place, regardless of any defenses or ward thereupon.
The creatures he chose were purposefully selected for this task. Dementors could follow the magic of a particular soul wherever it fled to, while Vampires utilized blood magic to track their intended victim's very heartbeat. Werewolves, once having caught the scent of a targeted victim, could follow for hundreds miles, even if their target used magical means of transportation. There was no distance that Potter could run that any one of these creatures wouldn't be able to follow in time.
Even the mighty Fidelius Charm, although excellent in keeping out human magic users, was significantly weakened against the dark creatures of the night.
And even as they hunted for Potter, the Lord of all Darkness would continue to reroute his attention on subduing the last remnants of resistance in his domain. It was far past time that wizards, the rightful rulers of this world, were subjected to another race of being controlling their wealth.
The goblins of Gringotts, who Voldemort knew allied with his enemies in secret, needed to be taught who their true Master was, and his ever increasing army of orcs were more than eager to return their wayward cousins into the fold.
With a mental signal, amplified through the power of his ring, the Dark Lord sent forth his forces to seize control of the wizarding bank. Soon he would have full control of this nation, in both political influence and economic might.
With this move, the great chess game began anew, and without Dumbledore to stand in his way, Voldemort would emerge triumphant, regardless of the Istari and their little strike force of warriors and rebels.
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Hermione was nervous throughout their time preparing to travel to Mordor. There was something not right about the abruptness of their departure plans, and Hermione had stiffened at the gleam in Faykan's eye when he had seen the locket, but she hoped that it was just a trick of the light. Still, it was the most opportune time for them to vanish from the battlefront for a time, so Hermione couldn't see any reason to postpone the trek to the east.
Between their days of planning, scouting out for any sign of Voldemort's movements, as well as continued support of their forces in a state of readied standby, not to mention Harry and Faykan's near constant needs abroad, which kept them constantly active with little time for rest or planning. It wasn't until near the end of October that they finally had time to travel away from Orthanc without being called for some important task.
Even still, Draco remained behind to take care of any situation that might arise while they were away. Instead of a portkey, Harry and Faykan were planning on side along apparating Ron and Hermione as close to the mountain as they dared. "Are you sure about this Fay?" Ron had asked, "It seems like quite a long way for apparition…"
"It's the only way," Faykan replied, "It takes a very precise point to land on, and unfortunately after that there is a terribly long hike up to the mountain. From the terrible years under control of darkness, the whole land is saturated in dark magic, and therefore other magic, however powerful it may be, won't act just right… a portkey is a large amount of magic, and risky when combined with that location."
"Fine…" Ron said at last, offering his arm for Faykan to take. Hermione took Harry's arm, trusting that the boy wouldn't make any mistakes. It was strange how powerful Harry seemed to grow day to day, even though Hermione didn't really see the boy doing much more outside of conducting the war. It didn't seem that there was much time for him to be honing his power as much as he was.
As soon as Ron gave in, Faykan and Harry exchanged a glance, where far more information than possible seemed to be exchanged between the two wizards, and Hermione gasped as the displacement of air enveloped her. After the intense discomfort that always accompanied apparition, Hermione blinked as darkness seemed to surround them.
The sun was clearly overhead, yet dimmed significantly. Looking out across the bleak landscape, Hermione was floored by how empty and desolate it was. With a sharp crack behind them, Faykan and Ron appeared, and the Istari cast his gaze across the land with sorrow. "It hasn't changed in all this time…" he said sadly.
"You mean this is the first time you've returned since the fall of Mordor?" Hermione asked, looking across at him.
"It's not one of the places I associate with fond memories, so forgive me for not checking up on it regularly…" Faykan shot back sarcastically.
Hermione flushed anyway, "sorry."
"Well," Ron said, stretching exaggeratedly, "We're not going to get there any faster standing around chatting like this…"
Harry and Faykan smirked simultaneously at the boy's antics, and led the way down the ridge they had appeared on and into the land that was once known as the plateau of Gorgoroth. In the distance loomed a single black mountain, among the rocks and ruins from so long ago.
The going was slow, and the four teens had to pick their way through many hazards of the land, but they encountered no creatures or people. The land was dead and vacant, with the oppressive aura of darkness weighting down on them all. Hermione felt the evil of this land, and it resonated with the Horcrux in her bag.
Even as they climbed the slopes of Orodruin, the darkness seemed to thicken around Hermione, but she didn't understand why. It had been centuries, millennia even since the Dark Lord Sauron ruled these lands. How could that dark god's power still be so strong after such a long time?
Ron offered his hand as they scaled the last ledge, and Hermione gratefully took the boost. On a wide ledge, set into the side of the mountain was a dark cavernous opening, leading straight into the heart of the mountain. "The doorway to the cracks of doom," Faykan announced, turning to Hermione. "You look tired Hermione; perhaps I should carry the locket from this point forward."
Hermione looked at him, confused for a moment as to why he had requested the item, but then it clicked. The Horcrux was drawing power from the land around them, it was so obvious now! That was why she was feeling so drained. Removing the cursed locket from her bag, Hermione handed it over, immediately feeling relief as the item passed hands to Faykan.
Faykan grasped the severed cord, still attached to the golden locket, and nodded to Hermione. Turning back to face the gaping hole into the mountain, he stepped forward without a word. The others quickly followed into the blackness of the Mountain of Doom.
From that point on it was a straight shot to the heart of the mountain. A rough passage led down into the cavernous heart where far below, Hermione could see magma still flowing in the roots of the fire mountain. As the cavern opened up, the path beneath them became a ledge overlooking a deep hold burrowing straight into the earth. The bottom, once filled with lava, was mostly hardened now, as the volcano was clearly dormant for a long time, but there was still flows here and there, carving channels through the lava rock far below them.
Faykan overlooked these in silence, before stepping forward to suspend the locket over the edge. "Throw it in Faykan!" Ron shouted encouragingly, "destroy it!"
Faykan held there, seemingly frozen in his position at the edge. Harry's eye snapped open wide and he flinched, even as Faykan slowly turned, his free hand mending the cord upon which the locket hung.
"No…" the boy said, "It's mine…"
Hermione screamed.
Faykan's eyes burned with crimson fire as he lowered the locket around his own neck, just as she had seen so long ago in her nightmarish vision.
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Severus felt decidedly uneasy as the school year began. Once he was playing a discreet balancing game between the children of Death Eaters and Dumbledore, but now he was in a far more dangerous game between the open supporters of the Dark Lord in the castle, and the underground resistance of Dumbledore's Army and the White Council.
Even though he himself was no longer teaching classes, Severus found amply opportunities to mingle among the students, either by patrolling corridors during the day or in the Great Hall for meals. These short encounters allowed him not only to gage the overall treatment they were receiving by the Carrows, as well as pass vital information secretly to the members of Dumbledore's army.
The results were equally effective. Not only was he able to subtly influence the strikes and pranks of the D.A., but he was also able to smuggle supplies and potions that made their way into the hands of those who were brutally and wrongfully punished by the sadistic brother and sister.
With Muggle Studies being compulsory, and decided twisted to teaching the Dark Lord's superiority complex views of muggles, as well as the previous Defense Against the Dark Arts becoming simply the Dark Arts, the situation was quite dire at the school.
The other complication was Theodore Nott. The boy was clearly placed back at Hogwarts to monitor things for the Dark Lord, keeping an eye out for Harry and his friends, as well as watch Severus himself. The Potions Master turned Headmaster wasn't sure what magic the silver crown the boy wore contained, but it simply reeked of Dark magic, and that couldn't be good for the boy's welfare.
Perhaps therein lay something that those here at the school could help with then... Hindering whatever power the Dark Lord held at Hogwarts must reside with that artifact, regardless of the brutality of the Carrows.
Walking down the charms corridor, students parting for him in muted fear, Severus caught the eye of Ginny Weasley and Neville Longbottom in the crowd. As he turned the far corner, unseen by the other children, he casually dropped a scrap of parchment for the pair of Gryffindors to recover.
This had been their primary method of communication for a while now, as the enchanted coins that Hermione Granger had created were only good for very basic information, and Severus wanted the students to use that between themselves. More so, Nott would suspect the coins immediately, from his discovery of the group two years previously, but this simple method could easily slip by unnoticed.
With his objective completed, Severus returned to the Headmaster's office, hoping to relay this information to the group in Orthanc via the portrait of Phineas Nigellus Black. "There is only the young boy of Malfoy and Lady Narcissa there, and he reports that the others are gone on a special mission."
"Blast…" Severus replied. The one time he had information to report, and neither Harry nor Faykan were present.
What sort of special mission was so important and secret that Draco wouldn't even tell him what it was? In thinking about their disappearance, Severus felt a flash of worry, like a bad feeling spreading across the wind. 'Harry… Faykan… what are you getting yourselves into?'
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Harry stared in horror as Voldemort's Horcrux took control of Faykan's mind. It was apparent what a bad idea this was now. Not only had Faykan specifically been exposed to this particular object, but it had shown a remarkable hold over the Istari at the time. Taking same said artifact into this land, where its evil powers were sure to be magnified, along with its own desire to survive was just asking for a disaster to happen.
But now, red eyed and shaking with suppressed power, a dark version of his best friend stood before them. Could this be something similar to what the Istari had gone through before, Harry wondered. Stepping in front of Ron and Hermione, Harry brandished his staff before him, ready to defend them from Faykan if he needed to.
"I cannot let you leave here in this state Faykan…" he said solemnly.
"You will try…" Faykan sneered back, lifting his own staff above his head. The ground, far below them started to shake, and caused the ledge they were standing on to splinter and crack.
Ron and Hermione staggered, but Harry immediately exerted a small amount of magical power to lift himself off the ground. Focusing his power through the gold and emerald staff, Harry fired a golden ray of magic at the locket, trying to knock the artifact loose and free Faykan without harming him.
Unfortunately, the Blue Istari seemed to expect this attack, and twisted out of the way, raising a dueling shield and firing off his own array of attack spells, forcing Harry onto the defensive.
Throwing forth a semicircle of reinforced magic, Harry met the attacks head on, watching spells splash over his defenses and returning mild to moderate hexes and curses, trying to distract Faykan so that he could get another shot at the locket. But the boy wouldn't be dissuaded, even allowing several of Harry's spells to strike him in his efforts to press the attack. Harry felt his own heart tear every time he saw another part of his best friend cut, pierced or bruised because of the blasted piece of Voldemort.
Suddenly struck with an idea, Harry canceled his levitation, slamming into the stone ledge with great force, and willing his magic to cause cracks in the volcanic stone. Thus weakened, Harry used formless magic to rip large chunks of stone out of the ledge, destabilizing it further and throwing the boulders at Faykan, intermittently firing stunners and other incapacitating spells at his friend.
Faykan, eyes still burning with dark power, uttered a curse, and his voice sounded like metal grinding on stone as he released a powerful wave of black fire, melting straight through magic and stone alike. Slamming his staff downward, Harry relied on his shield of light to weather the attack, protecting not only himself but his friends as well.
"Fay... stop this... please!" Hermione wailed, struggling to react. Harry could only momentarily register the abstract horror that was completely locking up the brightest of them, before he had to dodge to the side, sidestepping a conjured lance that had been banished at him.
Faykan, returning to the attack, increased in tempo, pressing down with more curses in what Harry recognized as the Black Speech. The mountain rumbled in response to the henious language being used in it after so long, and several small explosions down below signaled that more magma was flowing free in the volcano. Their battle seemed to have reawakened the mountain.
"Try and stop me!" the boy roared in return, voice full of anger and scathing condescension, even as he caught Harry in the arm with a cutting hex. Blood erupted from the wound, but Harry had enough presence of mind to stagger out of the next spell's path. Waving a hand over the wound, Vilya flared on his finger, and the deep cut mended rapidly.
Harry had circled around Faykan, and now had his back to the deep plunge into the volcanic flows of the mountain, with Ron and Hermione on Faykan's far side. Faykan was focusing solely on Harry, completely ignore the others as threats of any sort, and that turned out to be his mistake. Even as he boxed Harry him, the green eyed boy spotted Ron stealthily sneaking up on Faykan from behind.
"Now I have you at last, Potter!" Faykan hissed triumphantly, leveling his staff at Harry with a malicious gleam in his eyes.
"Avada..." he started, just as Ron struck. Launching himself physically at the thin boy, Ron tackled Faykan to the ground, stamping on his hand until the staff was dislodged from his grip. Harry ran forward as well, seizing the locket and wrenching it from around Faykan's neck while the boy struggled and flailed under Ron's weight.
Finally pulling the loathsome object free, Harry was immediately besieged by a consuming voice, offering all power if he just claimed it, hung the locket around his neck and departed this place. His hands were burning even as he held the cursed object, and he could see in his minds eye Voldemort, and behind the snake faced man a great eye, wreathed in shadow and flame.
"Go back to the fiery chasm from whence you came!" Harry roared defiantly, flinging the locket with all his strength. It soared straight over the edge of the chasm, bounced a handful of times off the stone walls, and dropped with a sizzling plop into the molten river far below.
A scream, loud and piercing echoed through the mountain, seeming to drag on for an immeasurable time, although Harry supposed it to be mere moments at best. A blast of magic from far below and a slight rumble of an aftershock were all the fanfare the Horcrux had before it was consumed by fire.
Sighing in relief, Harry turned back to his friends. Hermione and Ron were fine, but they were gathered concernedly around Faykan, who had crumpled to the stone floor, shaking uncontrollably.
"Faykan..." Harry said soothingly, taking the boy by the arm and slowly lifting him to a sitting position. "come on now... it's over... it's gone..."
"B-but... I... I let it consume me..." Faykan said shakily, voice wavering as he tried to calm himself, failing badly. "I attacked you all, he controlled me..."
"But it's over now..." Harry continued fervently, "the locket is destroyed, and whatever hold on you that it had will die with it."
"How can I trust myself to see the rest of this through?" Faykan said, clearly having a hard time hearing reason in his terror. "I could return to how I was... before..."
Harry understood Faykan's fear more than the others could ever. Through their bond as Istari, he had witnessed, in a sense, the actions and deeds that both Faykan and his predecessor in fallen Istari, Saruman, had done to harm the world of men. If he had escaped with the locket still in control of him, there was little that the world could have done to hinder him.
"Let's get back to Orthanc, so Fay can rest..." Harry told the others. Ron nodded, taking Faykan's other side and helping Harry lift the boy to his feet, much like they had all the back when they were twelve.
Hermione led the way up the passage to the exit of the volcano, only a few times casting a concerned look back at the three boys.
Once they returned to the ledge overlooking the lands of Mordor, Harry froze. They were no longer alone. Several figured were waiting for them just a few yards from the entrance.
"Well, we finally caught up to you Potter..." hissed a voice from the lead figure, "and in this of all places for you to be, such a naughty boy..." the figure lowered his hood, displaying a gaunt face with yellowed eyes and long fangs. "We've simply been dying to meet you..."
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Bellatrix cackled gleefully as she strode into Gringotts bank, flanked by row of orcs and her fellow Death Eaters. The Dark Lord had predicted that they would be unopposed in this attack, and could punish the goblins for siding with their enemies, and Bella had requested to lead this act of vengeance in her master's name.
The initial guards of the bank were sorely unprepared for the assault, killed before they could even heft their weapons. But those inside the main bank must have heard the commotion, as when Bellatrix entered the main lobby; all the goblins had vanished, leaving their stations and clients in confusion.
"Secure this level!" Bellatrix commanded, and the orcs snarled appreciatively as they began to herd the baffled and frightened wizards out of the bank. No need to spill pure blood over this little matter, no matter what their bloodlust. That violence was to be save for the traitorous goblins.
When the last of the wizards were forced out of the bank, Bellatrix turned to the doors that led farther into the passages where the vaults were located. Even as she stepped toward them, the doors crashed open, fully armed goblin warriors spilling out.
"You are not welcome here!" bellowed the leader, a goblin clad in golden armor, carrying a massive battleaxe in one hand.
Bellatrix cackled appreciatively, "And here I was worried that this would be no challenge." Nodding at the nearest orcish warrior, Bellatrix advanced on the goblins, wand raised.
"Attack!" the leader shouted, and the goblins rushed forward with bone daggers and spears, but their weapons proved quite ineffective against the cold steel of the orcs. Killing Curses streamed from Belletrix's wand, slaughtering goblins left and right as they pressed through the defenses into the entrance of the tunnels.
Turning back to the other Death Eaters still in the lobby, she ordered, "Secure this level, and prepare for the bank to reopen under our Lord's control. I will go below with the orcs to root out the traitors and destroy them utterly."
"Yes Madam LeStrange!" they replied, looking properly intimidated.
Returning to the passage ahead, Bellatrix ordered the orcs to have a free reign in slaughtering the goblins, and to advance lower. She followed, occasionally sniffing out places where the goblins tried to set up ambushes, and snuffing them out with her dark powers.
It was a good day to serve the Dark Lord.
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Hermione screamed as the Vampires suddenly rushed them, fangs bared and claws extended. Harry and Ron thrust Faykan backward at her, drawing their weapons and hastily erecting a wall of fire. The elven weapons blazed with blue fire in the presence of the vile blood drinkers, and the wall of flames deterred them from their approach.
Staff and Hadhafang spinning in fury, Harry began his counterattack, blasting fire and stone shrapnel from the area around them at their enemies. The vampire leapt high to avoid the flames, and the chips of stone did little to hinder them.
Hermione was about to prop Faykan at her leg and draw her bow, when she heard the boy whisper urgently, "Hermione… Help me… the others need me…"
Hermione hesitated, Faykan was still so weak from being possessed, and who knew what might happen here. It almost seemed as though the vampires were stronger here than from what Hermione had read about them.
"Hermione…" Faykan said again, and she looked down. The boy was straining to draw Glamdring, but if he was that tired, how would he be able to fight.
"Fay, I…" she started, but he cut her off with a look. The boy's eyes were steel and full of fire. "Alright…" she acquiesced, seizing him under the arm and pulling him to his feet. The moment Faykan rose, Hermione yelped as what felt like fire shot through the boy's body, jolting her with pure energy. Glamdring emerged with a searing flame form its scabbard, and Faykan let out a roar of pure force and rage.
"vanima kalina en' i' anar, urya!"
A single beam of light flared into the clouded sky, causing the darkened sky to start brightening. The vampires halted with their eyes wide as they turned fearfully to the heavens. The mass of clouds shifted ever so slightly, and a ray of pure sunlight shined down.
Hermione smiled as she felt the warmth on her skin, after just a short trek through this gloomy land, just a glimpse of the blue sky above was reassuring. Thankfully it was more than just a moral boost to them. Fear of the sun and its destructive power on their undead flesh, the vampires turned and fled immediately, transforming into clouds of shadowy mist and flying away, leaving the group of four well alone once again.
Once the vampires were out of sight, Faykan's spell ended, and he sank to his knees, all strength leaving him. "Fay…" Harry said, rushing over and helping the Istari stand again. "We really need to get back now," he added, seeming to understand something that even Hermione couldn't see. "Faykan's used up far too much of his power after be weakened by the locket."
Hermione and Ron barely had time to grab onto Harry before the boy jerked suddenly, apparating all four of them back to Orthanc with a deafening explosion of sound.
When they landed, Hermione fell sharply as Harry immediately spun, sweeping Faykan into his arms as the other boy collapsed, and tore up the stairs of the tower to return the exhausted Istari to his room.
"Hermione!" said a voice behind her and Ron. Hermione turned to see Draco, rushing up to them and looking worried. "We need Faykan and Harry quickly! It's an emergency!"
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Draco stopped to gasp for air. He had run all the way from the edge of the refugee community, where he had received a dire message from Britain. An exhausted messenger owl had swooped down, screeching up a storm as it dove at Draco, and depositing the hastily written note on him before collapsing in a dead faint.
Scooping up the message, Draco read with growing horror. 'Gringotts under attack, dark forces slaughtering any resistance, send help immediately.'
With that he had fled instantly to the tower, hoping beyond hope that the others had returned, and as luck would have it they had. But, skidding to a halt in the main hall at the look on the girl's face, he somehow knew that something was terribly wrong.
"W-what is it?" he asked.
Hermione didn't answer, simply turning away sadly and rushing up the stairs. Looking over at Ron, Draco was caught off guard by even the red head's downcast look. "What? What happened?" he demanded, not liking the darkened mood that had suddenly swarmed over them.
"It's Faykan," Ron said softly, "we got to the mountain, but… he… the locket took control of him for a time. We destroyed it, but then, we were attacked soon after and he hurt himself in protecting us I think. Harry's with him now…"
Draco started pulling his hair in frustration. They didn't need something like this happening now, "Argh!" he shouted angrily, turning away and storming up the stairs to the private rooms. He needed to speak with Harry and Faykan immediately about the message, didn't Ron and Hermione realize that there were other important things going on in the world than just destroying one Horcrux.
As he mounted the last steps to the midpoint of the tower, Draco spotted Harry emerging from Faykan's room. "Harry, you need to see this…" Draco said urgently, thrusting the parchment under the black haired boy's nose.
Harry took the parchment, and read it sadly, closing his eyes tiredly afterward. "Faykan's out of commission for a time Draco, and I… I can't, not right now…"
With a roar of frustration, Draco grabbed Harry by the robe front, shaking him slightly as he ranted, "How can you be so callous to our allies Harry, they are dying right now and need us. What's wrong with you all of a sudden?!"
Why couldn't anybody see how important this was? Draco was so angry, that he was completely unprepared for Harry to shove him back, his strength amplified by a burst of magic. Draco flew back into the opposing wall, grunting in pain.
"If it's so important to you Draco, by all means take warriors and go help the goblins, I would go myself if I could, but I am needed here. I am the only one who knows what is wrong with Faykan, and how to make sure he recovers."
He paused, looking suddenly very weary himself, "We've been stretched too thin as it is I think. This defensive strategy isn't working, but it's all we have at the moment while we hunt the Horcruxes…"
Draco turned away, understanding what Harry was saying, but still torn about what he felt had to be done. "Then would you at least get me to Diagon with some fighters, we need to send some sort of help, and it's been so long already."
"I agree…" Harry replied, "Gather those who'll follow you into battle, and I'll prepare a mass portkey, but then I need to rest."
Draco nodded stiffly, and stumbled slightly as he returned to his feet. Sprinting down the tower again, he dashed outside and began spreading the word of an attack no their allies, and for warriors willing to go to the goblin's defense.
The reaction was surprising. Draco was still having a hard time accepting that so many still remembered the old legends of the King, and more so that they were willing to follow him, of all people, into battle and possibly death because of his inherited birthright.
No sooner had he passed the word along to about two dozen of the refugees, than there was a great noise made as people from all across the valley started arming for battle. Word apparently was spread like wildfire that the heir of Gondor was marshalling forces to fight, and even these weary warriors held true to their ancient codes of fealty.
By the time he returned to the front of Orthanc, there was in the realm of three to four dozen warriors, both wizarding and mundane, ready to fight. Harry slowly emerged from the tower, leaning more on his staff than Draco liked to see, but nevertheless levitating a large plank of wood that was shimmering in the blue haze of portkey magic.
"When you've finished with what you intend there," he instructed carefully, "the instruction for the portkey to return will be sufficient to bring you all safely back to this spot."
Turning slightly, Harry looked directly at Draco, "I hope you find what you need on this excursion and most of all that you stay safe, my friend…"
Draco paused as the boy turned and left, stunned by the strange turn of formality from the normally very casual Harry. It was off putting to hear him use the same sort of language that Draco attributed to the halls of Malfoy Manor, but he had little time to digest this information. He reached out and placed a single figure on the plank of wood, struggling to make room for all the assembled warriors, and activated the portkey to Diagon Alley.
In a whirl of color, the strike team flew through the air, landing heavily in front of the marble bank in the now quite deserted marketplace.
Drawing Andúril and looking around cautiously, Draco indicated the bank, taking the lead as his group strategically entered the building. The first small foyer with the warning to thieves was empty, but beyond that several human Death Eaters were milling about, happily pillaging the abandoned wealth that had been actively moving in the bank right before they attacked.
The first row of fighters launched a volley of arrows at these men, striking more than half with hindering, if not fatal, wounds. The last few only had time to look up in horror as spells and swords rained death upon them. Draco paused only for a moment to reflect that these men could easily have been his father, but he forced himself to focus on what was most important, saving an important ally from mass destruction.
The rooms beyond were littered with bodies, orcish and goblinoid, and Draco hesitated at what they may find beyond, down in the darkened tunnels of the vaults. But they had come so far already to turn back now. "Onward!" he shouted, and with a cry of fervor the warrior all around him surged into the darkness, spells and torches lighting their way as they pursued their enemy through the darkness of the goblin nation.
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Harry watched Draco and his band of loyal follower vanish into the maelstrom of magic, sighing wearily as he returned inside the Tower. In truth, there was a part of him that still yearned for battle, to drive the Dark Lord's forces before him and stamp out that corruption for good, but right now the majority of him was tired of war and battle and blood.
He had almost lost his best friend to the darkness, and having learned of what evil the Blue Istari had once nearly committed, seeing the near fall first hand had been too near a strike to his heart. He was sure that both Hermione and Ron had felt similarly, which explained why they too had no desire to charge off to another battlefield.
Faykan was very near death even as it was. This was something that Harry had wisely kept to himself. The possession and draining influence of the locket had been far greater than any of them, Faykan included, had ever realized. Magnifying that with the dark influence of Mordor, and the items near sentience at the point of its destruction, and it was no surprise that events had played out as they had.
But was Harry ready to throw in the towel and surrender to Voldemort? Never! He just needed a short respite for now, much as they all did he suspected. They had been fighting nonstop since the beginning of the previous summer, if not before that, so it was natural that they ran out of steam eventually. Draco was still rather young, much like Ron, when it came to these sorts of experiences, so Harry did not begrudge his continued enthusiasm for protecting their allies and fighting their battles.
If anything, it was a testament to the boy's integrity as a future leader of the world. Since entering into his full power, Harry had shared and gained many thoughts that were not his own, primarily from Faykan, which had detailed several sensitive topics about his friends; things he was sure they would not appreciate him knowing about them. However much he disliked keeping secrets and wanton deception, he now fully understood why Faykan kept so much in reserve from them, chief among which was their own protection.
It was a hard transition from what he had done previously, and Harry knew that it could easily get out of hand far too quickly if he accidentally let slip anything, but the information was rather important, especially when it came the sheer importance that Draco himself represented in the eyes of the destitute refugees from Rohan.
vanima kalina en' i' anar, urya : beautiful light of the sun, blaze