Ch 16: Claymore
Ruins of Claymore Manor, Present Day (Day 5)
The car stopped just short of what must have been the gate to the Claymore Manor. Currently however, it was a rusted brown metal frame with deformed edges among heaps of scattered rubble. Whatever was left of the Manor could be seen about ten feet ahead. It could only be described as a pitiable sight; its door had fallen off long ago. Few of the pillars supporting the structure had collapsed; taking the entire left wing of the Manor with them. Vegetation covered most of the walls, the remaining were cracked and blackened. All the windows were broken into and some still had tatters of burnt curtains. Quickly fading sunlight and a chilly breeze only added to the ominous feeling that they were in one of the horror movies Muggles enjoyed.
"Are you sure this is where he lives? Maybe it's just me but I don't see a rich, evil villain living here." Hugh asked Draco skeptically.
Draco pointed to a section of the rusted gate in response. On turning his gaze to where Draco was pointing; Hugh could make out an elliptical shape, the insides of which were a bit lighter than the rest of the gate. Inside it; faintly visible, was a wand crossed over a ceremonial long-sword.
"The Claymore House Crest. No mistaking it." Draco said.
"Let's go then; I will bewitch the car to keep driving until fuel runs out so that no one can follow us." Harry spoke while stepping out of the car. Hugh followed him.
Harry opened the door to allow Draco to come out. The latter, however, remained firmly seated.
"Malfoy, step out of the car."
"No."
"This is no time to play games, come out."
"No. I leave the rest to you clowns. Make it quick" Draco repeated dismissively.
Hugh, meanwhile, had come around and now stood beside Harry;
"You are the one that brought us here. You are also the only one who can identify Nathan. So, stop being a baby and come with us."
"Tall, brown-haired brat with a fair complexion. Have fun." Draco glowered up at him.
"Malfoy, step out of the car, now." Harry said impatiently.
Malfoy looked straight into Harry's eyes, scowled and, said adamantly;
"I'm. Not. Going. Anywhere."
§§§
"Like the place?" Hugh smirked.
"Bite me." Draco snarled.
"I'm afraid he actually might." Harry quipped while looking around.
The trio had entered the Claymore Manor and was currently walking side-by-side (Harry and Hugh flanking Draco to prevent him from escaping) through the vestibule. Few beams of moonlight had illuminated their path until a crumbling section of the roof had blocked it. They were completely in the dark now.
"Lumos" both Harry and Hugh muttered and their wand tips lit up with a faint silvery light.
After they had walked a few more steps; a stone statue came into view. It was about six-feet tall but the pedestal it was on was about half its height, making the whole structure loom over them (with the exception of Hugh, who came up to the shoulder of the structure)threateningly. On directing their wands towards its face, they recognized it at once.
"Merlin" Harry blurted out.
"But that would mean-"
"Yes, Potter." Draco interrupted Harry;
"That means the Claymores are direct descendants of Merlin himself."
He continued nonchalantly;
"Most descendants of Merlin are members of the Sacred Twenty-Eight (wizard families comprising fully of Pure-Bloods). However, due to an early ancestor of the Claymores marrying into a Muggle family, they were exempted from the Upper Classes sometime in the 1800s. Along with their social status, their wealth also declined rapidly. With the fools refusing to change their lavish lifestyles, rambling on about integrity and honour, they couldn't fill their coffers even nearly as fast were being emptied…"
He paused for a breath and then resumed;
"As a result, they were close to bankruptcy when Nathan joined Hogwarts three years after us. Both his parents were Aurors for the Ministry. They gained rapid success at their jobs too. For the first time in centuries, their fortunes seemed to be changing. Until…"
Harry could see Draco clench his fist when he spoke again. His voice fell to little more than a whisper;
"Until the Second Wizarding War broke out. As Aurors, they sided against the Dark Lord and paid the price with their lives. Burned down along with their home I hear. Shortly after, Nathan went missing during the Battle of Hogwarts. He was found unconscious near the Forbidden Forest the day after. Believe it or not, his life went downhill even after that. His kin refused to adopt him. With no guardians and no home, he was presumed to be dead. That is, until he showed up at my home a fortnight ago."
"Yes, I tend to do my research on people who come back from the dead after eleven years,"
He quipped irritably at Hugh, who had a bewildered look on his face.
"Well, I must say that was very impressive, Mr. Malfoy." A croaky voice arose from somewhere behind them.
Startled, all three of them spun around, Harry and Hugh had their wands at the ready. Standing on the top of a staircase behind them; clad in white linen robes, was Nathan Claymore. Although he matched Draco's description, he was a complete contrast to the man Draco had met. He was a lot thinner and his skin was sickly pale. Clumps of his hair had fallen off, his eyes had dark circles beneath them and his cheeks had sunken in. There was a wild look in his eyes. His smile, which had previously enhanced his handsome features, could now only be called a ghostly grin. All these features combined made him look no less than a vampire.
"Wait, I met you in Diagon Alley last week. Aren't you Florean Fortescue's grandson?" Remembering the encounter; Harry blurted out, confused.
"Florean Fortescue? He had no next of kin. His Parlor has remained closed for more than a decade now. It must have some kind of distraction." Draco said, not taking his eyes off Nathan.
"Indeed. Two for two Mr. Malfoy. I underestimated you. You're smarter than I thought. But I can't say the same for Mr. Potter." Nathan grinned slyly at Harry.
"I think I'll like you better petrified." Hugh growled.
"There's no need for that. Calm down…." He surveyed Hugh for a moment before resuming,
"…creature."
"As you can see, I am outnumbered and unarmed. Besides, I am sure you didn't go through the trouble of finding me without a reason. So, why don't we sit and talk this out in a civilized manner."
He shot another quick, sly grin at them and gestured towards an open room behind him. Without waiting for them to follow, he entered it. As soon as they had all entered, Hugh closed the door behind him and muttered something under his breath.
"Now, you can't leave without giving us the answers we want."
Now there was a different, fierce, look in his eyes. Nathan was unfazed. This further provoked Hugh. He aimed his wand straight at Nathan's neck and spoke in a commanding snarl;
"Marcus Renner, tell me everything you know about him."
The grin on the latter's face only grew wider at the mention of the name.
"Never heard of him." He croaked, looking amused.
Hugh stepped dangerously close to him. His voice dropping to barely more than a chilling whisper;
"Don't. Tempt. Me."
"I am capable of torture your twisted mind can't even begin to comprehend. By the time I'm done; being barely alive will be the least of your problems. You will sing your deepest, darkest secrets to me all the while pleading to receive the sweet release of death in return."
"Try me." Nathan challenged, the grin disappearing from his face.
Hugh's eyes flickered dangerously. He gripped his wand tighter, hands shaking. He looked like he was actually about kill Nathan. Realizing thus, Harry snapped out of the shocked state he was in due to Hugh's sudden change;
"Hugh! Lower your wand. There is no need for this."
"Look closely at his eyes."
Hugh's gaze shot up to Nathan's eyes. To his surprise, the man's eyes were glazed over, unfocused.
Hugh's eyes widened, as if coming out of a trance. He lowered his wand slowly and stepped back.
Nathan kept his gaze on Hugh, amused;
"Interesting" he muttered.
Harry took a breath of relief;
"He's under the Imperius Curse. I just noticed. The spell caster is the one speaking to us."
Harry stated while gesturing Hugh to a chair beside him. Draco remained standing. Once Hugh was seated, Harry enquired;
"That day at Diagon Alley. You used Nathan to get something from me for a Polyjuice Potion, correct?"
Nathan grinned and nodded.
"The Resurrection Stone. Nathan must have found it twelve years ago in the Forbidden Forest where I dropped it. You're trying to use it to bring back Voldemort. I guessed that much. But the incident at Gringotts using Muggle explosives. How does that play a role in all this? Wouldn't your master punish you for relying on Muggle technology?"
Harry finished, still eyeing Hugh.
Meanwhile, the sly grin reappeared on Nathan's face, soon changing into a haunting cackle;
"You haven't figured that part out yet, have you? To think of all the time I gave you."
"I thought I was seeing some of the quick thinking I have heard about. But it appears that I really overestimated you Potter. Like everyone else, your vision is limited. How disappointing."
"Even after listening to what this Claymore brat said to Malfoy-"
He paused on seeing a confused look appear on Harry's face. Then realization struck him;
"Malfoy. Of course. You didn't tell him. I should've known"
He now spoke to Malfoy, who refused to meet Harry's eyes.
"Never mind that now. My offer still stands Malfoy. You can simply accept it and bear witness to a new world. As a king."
He spread his arms, as if anticipating the glory of a victory he was soon about to achieve. Unlike him, Draco wasn't amused at that prospect;
"I gave you an answer that day and that answer stands even now. Your madness will cost you dearly and I am not foolish enough to be standing beside you when it does."
Nathan glowered at Malfoy, a dark shadow crossing his face. A sleek, black wand slipped into his palm from the sleeves of his robes;
"Well then, you should be prepared for the consequences."
"Poor Scorpius-"
Draco's usual coolness immediately gave way to fury;
"DO NOT BEFOUL MY SON'S NAME WITH YOUR FILTHY TONGUE. YOU STEP ONE FOOT IN MALFOY MANOR AND I—"
"GET DOWN" Hugh suddenly screamed, diving to tackle both Harry and Draco to the ground.
Before anyone even had a chance to register what had just happened, a deafening blast shook the room. Debris flew everywhere, and the ceiling began to collapse. The impact had launched them in the air along with fragments of the furniture. A wooden plank hit Harry's head, knocking him unconscious.
§§§
When Harry came to, Hugh was clutching him by the waist. He could hear multiple blasts, the vibrations of which could be felt through the ground. Hugh was hunkered down against a wall, his other hand gripping his wand tightly.
"Where's Draco?" Harry could only whisper weakly through his throbbing headache.
"Huh? You're awake? Sorry, I lost hold of him when we were launched in the air. Haven't seen him or Claymore since."
Harry produced his own wand and sat up against the wall.
"What's going on? How long was I out?"
"About three minutes. I set a charm on the door so that I would know if somebody tried to come in or go out. The signal came just before the room was decimated and they came. It should've come earlier. My magic is not as strong as it should be."
He said, looking at his wand.
"Who are 'they'?" Harry surveyed the surroundings, trying to stem the blood flowing from his forehead.
"Reapers. A unit of extremely talented Aurors directly under the command of the MAFUSA elites."
Hugh informed him.
"Reapers? I have never heard of them."
"That's because they don't officially exist. They are a newly-formed covert group."
"Even if that's true, why are they blasting an abandoned manor in London to pieces?" Harry was having a hard time making sense of Hugh's words.
"The Reapers specialize in operating from the shadows. They are not so rash as to make a ruckus during an operation."
"I'm guessing it was a trap set by Claymore. Meant to prevent us from getting out.
"Anyway, what matters is that The Reapers are here and they are really strong. This unit especially consists of their elite members. We have to get out of here. Now."
He whispered urgently and summoned a broken cup from the floor.
"Portus" he muttered.
"Wait. If they are such a well-kept secret, how do you know so much about them?" a weird feeling arose in Harry's gut.
"Because I am one of them."
Hugh grabbed Harry's hand and placed it on the cup. These words echoed in Harry's mind as the familiar sensation of falling indefinitely gripped him.