CHAPTER 136: War

The prophecies are sent to those who can make or break them. This is taught in divination to everybody, just in case. Some say the prophecies always come true, but a few know of the prophecies that did not.

Not ten minutes later a clerk delivered another report to Amelia Bones. Yet another dark wizard had appeared calling himself Lord Voldermort. They both groaned, "Not again." There had been multiple copycats, easily dispatched, like the dark tales of old where a wizard would appear with the name of a dark wizard long defeated and with his cunning, but never his power.

But this report was not like these. The reports spoke not of dark rituals but of simple spells being cast in no known language, the words slipping from the hearer's grasp. A sound Harry Potter had shown them how to learn to recognize. A machine (fancy that) could read a book with the incantation of an interdicted spell, and the hearer would fail to grasp the words spoken.

The other shoe dropped.

"The defense professor from four years ago was the Dark Lord. Harry couldn't tell us, but he taught us the unmistakable sign without telling us why."

Mad-Eye Moody and Alemlia Bones stared at each other.

Mad-Eye spoke calmly but forcefully. "I want twelve aurors, and I want them to lock down the whole area with four overlapping anti-apparation jinxes before he even knows we're there. I will meet him face to face."

"Just one minute cowboy!" Amelia Bones shot back. "That's not our territory and that action would be tatamout to war with the Magical Kingdom of Bornu."

"Then let us first contact Bornu, then go. I think I can persuade them Voldermort is at war with all the world."

Mad-Eye Moody and Amelia Bones and twelve hit wizards had very rapidly journeyed to the Bornu and were now inside their department of law enforcement. There was, of course, some considerable difficulty in convincing the aurors of Bornu that their intervention was truly necessary, but the fact that an irregular who bore no rank nor office but was of considerable power was leading the group weighed heavily on the eventual decision that their action would be permitted to be undertaken.

Yet this was not taken without trepedition, nor without a watchful eye, for twenty aurors of Bornu were assigned as much to keep watch over Mad-Eye as to fight a dark lord. They too had the manner of battles between high-end wizards tended to revert to dueling and adding numbers beyond two or three to one would serve mainly to exhaust their opponents. The chief auror gave orders to "go with him and see that he harms only the aformentioned dark wizard and his allies. I want this dark wizard alive or dead, preferrably dead."

Once outside, Mad-Eye Moody gave his commands to the aurors from Britain and then to those sent with him. "Assigned teams, quickly lock down the lair. I and Mrs. Bones and the rest of you are going in the front door. The dark wizard is to be taken alive at all costs. You can kill him if you like, but not until I'm done with him."

The first challenge was the door. Moody's alhomara simply wasn't strong enough to unlock it, pretty much as expected. He stood there for some time puzzling over the most efficient way to break the wards that were keeping it locked. One of Bornu's aurors was a wardbreaker, so he came up as well. At once Moody leaped back from the door just before a killing curse came through the door at him. That was enough to convince the wardbreaker to stay back. Then Mad-Eye applied his wand to the ground and a mole-hole-looking mound of dirt extended itself towards the door and seemed to run dirt up the door. "Everybody get down. I'm going to blast it open." Then Alastor Moody cast "Protego Maximus" even as he held his wand against the ground. A few tiny bits of dirt, no more in total than a tenth of a grain of salt, became antimatter, and there was this tremendous bang and dirt and splinters were everywhere. So powerful was the blast that Mad-Eye's shield actually came down and he was thrown back. Bits of the door still clung to hinges and more bits to the doorframe as the overpowered colloportus refused to give up keeping the no-longer-extant door locked.

In they went, Amelia Bones first, more foolhardy than brave. There wasn't much in the upper levels besides a few minions, mostly panicing because apparate wasn't working any more and they went down with about as much difficulty as a knife goes through butter. Moody jumped aside just before a killing curse came up through the floor at him and continued on through the ceiling. Most of the aurors following these two were hanging well back now, rightly very nervous about this behavior. All the more so when Moody and Bones dissoultioned themselves.

Down four levels they caught a glimpse of the Dark Lord even as he fled down yet another flight of stairs. He didn't seem to want to face Moody much, but rather snipe at him for as long as possible. Down the sixth and last level, Moody finally thought he would have him, but even as he came down the stairs with a wall only on the outside to a room spaning the entire stronghold he found a fiendfyre phoenix in his face. Quickly did the hunter become the hunted as Moody had no choice but to turn and run right back up the stairs, quickly dropping his dissolution so as to not run into someone on his way back. Two flights later, he was huffing and puffing and generally showing his age. This, however, left Amelia Bones with room to act. Amelia had managed to learn that at this level, shields were a waste of time and the two of them spent quite a long time dodging each other's stunners. When it comes down to the end the highest level of the power ladder looks pretty much like the lowest at a hundred times speed. The great spells, and even the ones that can battle an army, are pretty much a waste as everything has a counter and the stunner uses less magic so that's pretty much what they do. Then there was this welcoming sight of a green bolt coming down through the floor at an angle almost right on target and she knew that fiendfyre had lost its way or burned out and Mad-Eye Moody would be rejoining her soon.

That he did promptly. The Dark Lord unleashed Jellify because with two targets area effect spells suddenly make sense, then applied his wand to the wall and at once there was a tremendous bang right next to Mad-Eye Moody. Yet even as he flew threw the air he cast "Stuporfy!", but this left him no time to roll with the impact and he was flung sideways onto the ground. The Dark Lord dodged upwards yet in doing so took his eyes off the bolt, which promptly turned into him.

Amelia Bones had somehow managed to stay on her feet though she was now standing on the floor rather than the steps. She wasted no time and walked over to Mad-Eye and immediately cast "Episkey" with all her might. She didn't know how injured he was and didn't want to find out.

As the shock cleared, Alastor Moody got up off the ground and staggered over to the Dark Lord. A couple of the braver aurors came down the smashed staircase. "It is Lord Voldermort. There is no denying that signature. Only Harry Potter, myself, and Voldermort could have cast that last spell, and Harry isn't here." Then he pointed his wand and cast "Obliviate!" Then to the aurors he said "There is your Dark Lord with no memories. Do as you will with him. I am sorry it has to be this way, but this is the second time he has come back from being dead with his power intact. Should he be permitted to do it again, I fear he will be too much for me. Search this place, find any horcruxes he may have made and destroy them for even now they are very dangerous to you."

One of the aurors raised a wand and cast "Avada Kedavra. Everto. Scourgify." and the body was no more. "You were right to come here, but now you must go. You have broken several laws, but your heart is true. I will report the dark lord is dead by my hand and that you were indespensible in the fight. All will be forgiven in due time."

Tom Riddle gazed upon the stars. He knew nothing, but saw the stars in wonder.

This situation would not last. Lord Voldermort had sacrificed some of his magic to make this the pinnacle of his creation. The plack was a version two horcrux, while the strut it was fastened to was a version one horcrux. The strut to the left side (mind, the Pioneer Plack was mounted facing inwards) was given the ability to cast Arresto Momentium but would take a very long time to build up enough magic to do so while the strut on the right extended the range at which legilimency could be cast. With the two horcruxes in contact with each other, extending the range was unnecessary. Here was a last defense against a great foe who should manage to guess his secret. Obliviate would not flow across from a version two horcrux to a version one horcrux, and this horcrux was kept active. A version one horcrux is kind of like a ghost and never gets bored. This one had three tasks. First of all, it was always watching ahead to use the empowered strut to cast Arresto Momentium should there be anything to collide with. Second, it was constantly using legilimency to copy all memories from the version two horcrux, and thus from the living Voldermort while there was one to itself, and third, to cast false memory charm to restore any obliviated memories.

From a blow like this one with all the memories obliviated, it would take years to repair, and even then large chunks of memory would reside only in the version one horcrux. These could still be recalled easily enough, but would present for awhile the problem of Lord Voldermort not knowing what he knew.