Chapter 9 A Quest for the Crown

" Bye Harry!"

Harry smirked at the redhead he was leaving behind, " I'll be sure to return later."

He flicked open his portkey, and flashed out to Grimmauld Place, from which he Apparated to the coordinates he had forced out of a Goblin. According to the records, the next Horcrux to seek out was the Diadem of Ravenclaw. The Diadem had last been seen somewhere in Albania, so that was where Harry decided to start his Quest for the Crown.

The Diadem had been an item of some renown, unlike some of the other suspected Horcruxes. It had supposedly been an item of great beauty, and supposedly could grant one incredible intelligence. However, the legend behind the diadem was different.

The legend was that Ravenclaw had designed it to be the wedding tiara of her daughter, Lilith, when she was to wed, who else, but Baron Henry Potter. However, the Baron had done something to gravely offend the woman, who, due to having been immensely coddled by her mother, was well known to have many sensibilities. So she ran off to a forest somewhere in Albania.

The Baron was pissed to say the least. He tracked her down, and ordered her to return so he could get married to her. Funnily enough, the Baron had fallen in love with the woman now, and had already scorned many another in her favor. However, she no longer returned his feelings in the same way.

His slight to her honor has long been lost to history, but the insult was apparently grave enough for her to utterly reject him, and swear an Unbreakable Vow to never consort with him again after the day he found her. So, in a fit of rage, he slew her with a thrust of his claymore. However, after her death, he found that he no longer had purpose in life, and killed himself in his grief.

Both of these people now found Hogwarts as their refuge. The Bloody Baron was Baron Potter and the Grey Lady was Lilith Ravenclaw. The Baron's Blade can still be found at what remained of Potter Manor. But the Diadem was a different story.

Legends say it was lost to history, that the Baron destroyed it when he killed the Grey Lady. However, Harry of all people, knew far better than to believe just the legends. After all, such legends had a tendency of writing themselves and changing over history. What he heard now, could be ten thousand light years away from what actually happened. Just look at those idiot fairy tale style stories they used to tell of him.

Harry had already deduced that Voldemort had made the Diadem into a Horcrux, simply by the fact that things tended to disappear around the man. Surely someone would have found it by now, unless someone was actively trying to protect it?

However, the Diadem was one of the few Horcruxes that they literally had no leads about. They were fishing in the dark when it came down to it. Given that he was still technically on leave, he wasn't even supposed to be doing this, but he got rather tired of dealing with British Witches sometimes.

It wasn't like he didn't like sex or anything, but this wasn't America. With Wizarding world politics, it was virtually impossible to get a little action with no strings attached. Even at Hogwarts, students generally only had sex if they were already betrothed via contract (Su Li and Anthony Goldstein for example), or whores ( Lavender and Parvati). The majority of the school remained hapless virgins until after they got out of school. Maybe it was the stigma of being a nerd or something.

Either way, dealing with damned Wizarding Nobility became such a hassle that he could very much appreciate the Gringotts way of thinking. It also meant that he was likely going to be heavily ridiculed by, at least, his more proper friends once they found out about him being the resident Gigolo down in the Deep Roads. While he couldn't exactly call Hermione his best friend anymore, he got a chuckle out of imagining what the prude's face would be like when she found out.

He rounded the corner in the forest, and began to make his way towards the center. Harry hadn't noticed it, but his effect on other people had made a drastic change. No longer were people looking upon him as the Boy-Hero of the Wizarding World. Many were now starting to look upon him as the Savior of the Wizarding world as a whole. A man who could lead them from the dark ages that the current day was. He was unaware that he was inspiring people to turn away from their ideals, and follow him.

Ron Weasley put it quite nicely, " I miss the meek guy I could identify and hang out with, but I am also pleased with this one. A man who treads the paths needed to save us from the Dark Lord, and to reform the world."

Hermione would put it in a different way, " He has an insufferable God-complex that makes him believe that he owns the world and knows it. I don't know what those Goblins did to him, but I wish they hadn't done it."

Speaking of characters with God-complexes…..

*&&*(*^^*(&^*(&&&&***&^^^^

( Cold Prince)

If God-Complex has a definition in the dictionary, then two men in all of history appear right next to it. One of them is the Cold Prince, Charles Zoroark. The other one, was Albus Dumbledore. Men who claim to have notions of how limited they are tend to be the ones who have no limitations.

Charles was a man of manipulations, always had been. But he was very proud to see that Harry Potter had become a man of similar dispositions. However, unlike Charles, Potter had both the figure and the manpower to back up his ambitions now. The boy had a nice habit of defying superiors too. Good thing that the Goblins found him, because the kid would be hopeless in the Ministry, where the hierarchy was decided by who can stick their nose the furthest up the right person's ass.

Well, he'd be hopeless now, because he'd certainly gotten his fair share of the Goblin mindset going in his direction. He chuckled, imagining what Lucius Malfoy would do if he showed up to bribe Harry and Harry told him to fuck off. And he would definitely use that terminology.

Charles was hailed by the voice in the mirror sitting on his desk, " Cold Prince, how's the world treating you?"

" Same as you, no doubt. Still trying to figure out how to reveal yourself after faking your own death?"

The voice laughed evilly, " Naturally. Can't take over the world if I'm dead can I?"

Charles chuckled faintly, " Agreed. It does create a rather debilitating lack of resources and men doesn't it?"

" To put it mildly. And I'm very certain you are aware of how my world sees me."

Charles laughed louder, " I am very familiar with that yes. It's so easy to make the world hate you, but it's so hard to make them love you."

" Never heard a truer statement in my life, being honest. How's Mr. Potter doing?"

Charles pulled some papers out, " Champion Potter is doing excellently. He's got a sense of duty that's bigger than that idiot in your world, but he's also got a wild side. He's not afraid to do what is necessary to get things done. At this rate, we might be able to finish this war by the beginning of May."

" You mean finish it in Britain right?"

Charles nodded, " Naturally. It will take much longer to conquer the rest of the world, seeing as to there are over a hundred Goblin and Dwarf clans scattered on every continent. But very few are as concentrated and as angry as the ones here in Britain. Tethras does a good job keeping the Goblin Kings from going nuts and starting a new revolt, but I only wonder how long he can hold them in check."

" Mankind is destined to rebel constantly. It is only human nature."

Charles smirked, " Never let a Goblin hear you say that, but you are right. Rebellion is to mankind as life itself. A new civilization cannot be built without the destruction of the old. Creating a new world from the ashes of the old if you would."

" That's my mantra. Don't steal it."

Charles laughed, " What do you mean? People have been saying that for a long time. Anyway, I digress. Potter's doing very well. The world will burn by the fire in his fist. It is exactly as planned, I might say. I never thought the kid would take my lessons to heart so well."

" Yeah, well, the last guy to do so got killed. Hope the next rebellion goes better than the last. Need to tune out, someone's coming. Oh fuck, they found me. Bye."

Charles barked a laugh as his old friend fled from wherever he was.

( Ron and Hermione)

" Hey, Hermione! Look, there's blood on the ground over here by these graves. Wonder what happened?"

Hermione sighed at Ron, " I don't know, nor do I really care. We need to find the sword so we can destroy this damn locket."

Ron ignored her, and followed the trail. He came to a stop at a series of graves. He said, " Hey! Hermione! It's Harry's parents' graves!"

Sure enough, one grave with James Charlus Potter, and another with Lily Rose Potter, were sitting next to each other. Hermione stood for a moment, " We shall remember these people Ron. They died for the Greater Good. Even if their son is unwilling to take his part in the Prophecy, they did theirs. 'The Son should follow in the footsteps of the Father, who sacrificed everything.'"

Ron raised an eyebrow at that statement, " Seriously, Hermione? Do we really have to keep going over and over this? Harry's got the right to chose his own destiny. Just because nobody else seems to believe that doesn't mean he doesn't have that very basic right. I mean, a man has three base rights. Life, Liberty, and Property right? Harry has none of them! Or had none of them. I don't think you can call living in the hell hole that was Privet Drive, Life. I don't think you can count living in a cupboard under the stairs for ten years Liberty. And I don't think having to live off of what you could steal when they weren't at home counts as Property either."

Hermione sneered, " Hah, I never thought I would hear you use the old Rights argument Ron. Either way, we still have a duty to perform. It is what we have to do for Dumbledore."

" Sometimes I think he didn't really die up there on that tower. Otherwise, why would you be so eager to follow his orders?"

Hermione flinched, " Don't be a fool Ron. Of course Dumbledore's dead. No one's ever survived…."

" Except Harry, and we all know why he did."

( Harry….Goblin War Room)

" Champion Potter, nice to see you again."

Harry shook Lazarus' hand, " Nice to see you again too, Commander Lazarus. So, any idea why I've been recalled when I was supposed to be on a rather forced leave?"

" None whatsoever. I expect the Cold Prince shall have a good reason for us."

On cue, Charles Zoroark walked into the room, followed by the five Goblin Kings, Varrac Tethras, and a Goblin Priest. Harry saw the Priest and muttered, " Not good. They must be almost ready."

Charles spoke up, " Milords and Warriors, we are almost ready to begin our march on the Topside. We have but one thing to do."

Harry James Potter was Goblin Champion, having spent the equivalent of 5-10 years amongst them. But there were things about them that even he didn't know. Things that only a select few were privy to. He was about to have light shed upon one such secret.

The Priest spoke, " We have selected the Young Kings and Queens. The Summoning is prepared."

Charles explained, " There is a special Eluvian deep beneath the Cities of Thule and Khazad. Before every Goblin Rebellion, there is a special ceremony performed there. It involves the ritual sacrifice of five Claimed Warriors. It is to send our call to the Great Warrior. The Goblins call it the ' Lay of the Great Leader.' He has never once answered their calls. I shall leave the actual story to the Priest."

The Priest nodded, and began to relay the story to them….

" There was once a Human who defied his peers and saved the Goblin and Dwarf races from extinction. He was the one who taught us both the sword and pen. His real name has eluded Goblins for centuries, only that what we called him, Khaine, meant Destroyer. We have never known why he insisted on us calling him Destruction, only that is how the texts say.

" They say that he is the one who has instilled within us the will and desire to rebel whenever the humans oppressed us. They say that he is the one who gave us the knowledge of the blade needed to win these wars. But, they also say that we can never win unless he returns to us. It is an omen, it is said, when a Calling fails to bring him forth."

Harry scowled, " So why keep trying? Surely it's a huge morale thing if it doesn't work. So why bother?"

Charles frowned, " Goblins place just as much stock in tradition as Purebloods do, ironically."

Harry added, " So I'm guessing there is a problem."

The Priest nodded, " Spot on, Champion. One of the Young Queens disappeared with a large retinue of Claimed Warriors. I think you happen to know her."

Harry began to feel a little pissed, " It wouldn't happen to be Micaiah would it?"

He knew the answer was yes before the Prince even nodded. Great, so the Dawn Priestess is out there running around. She isn't that bad looking. Death Eaters would love the hell out of finding her if they did.

" Why not just choose another?"

The Priest cringed like Harry had just told him the sky was falling, " That's taboo! There's only one way to get out of being one of the Young Monarchs! What do goblins prize more than destruction?"

" Procreation,", Harry answered with a groan. The Priest nodded, " No one short of the Champion or the Prince would get her out of the Ritual!"

Charles smirked, " So, Champion Potter, your next assignment is! Find the Dawn Priestess and bring her back here!"

Wow, they send me after the one Claimed Warrior who actually doesn't like me. Typical isn't it? Story of my life. And there's still Voldemort to deal with. Fucking Goblins….

The meeting was adjourned. Lazarus called to Harry, " Champion! A moment of your time please?"

Harry sighed angrily, and turned back. Lazarus started off slowly, " I know you and Micaiah don't get along so well, but I want you to see what you can do about getting her out of this."

" Are you fucking serious? You know the only way to get out of this ritual is…"

Lazarus nodded his head, " Yeah I know, like you would have a problem with that anyway, Player of the Roads. Plougher of the Trenches. Geralt of Rivia Part 2. Bruce Gigolo Reincarnated. The Sirius Book of Love."

" Alright I get the point. But, I've calmed down a little on the Topside. Hell, I've got a real girlfriend now. She understands my political reasons, but a personal favor? Don't think Daphne'll let that fly as easily as the others. Especially the whole pregnant part. I mean, I would like my firstborn to be a little more important than some scapegoat for a girl, while pretty enough, I just don't even like that much. I'll have to think about it. If I run across her, I'll hold on to her as long as I can. Just remember that."

Lazarus nodded understandingly, " I understand, Champion Potter. It's all I can really ask of you at this point."

Harry chuckled as his old friend Nikolai approached him. The Russian drinker shouted, " Hail Champion Harry! How about a sip of my vodka?"

" If you've got more than a sip, alright let's go!"

Harry spent that night drunk and living up to his various nicknames that ranged from the Sirius Book of Love to the Pimp of Khazad.

( Daphne and Damien)

" Father, when did Harry say he would be home?"

Damien shrugged, " Goblin business. It might be days before he gets back. Heck, that might even be the earliest he gets back. You know how slow those bastards can be."

Daphne continued to brush her gold hair, " Hmm, you're right, Father. Either way, I feel like something important is going to happen tonight. Don't really know why. I just….do."

Isilde commented, " Harry would completely understand where you are coming from. He always had those feelings right before an attack. Saved me and Nikolai more than a few times it did."

" Who's Nikolai anyway?,", Daphne asked, wondering who was this companion that Isilde referenced often when speaking of her times in the Dark Roads.

Isilde chuckled innocently before answering, " Don't worry about it, he's probably dead by now. Drunken bastard."

" I think we have a visitor, " Damien suddenly said from the couch he was laying on. Sure enough, the wards pinged as someone came within their range. Damien leapt up from the couch, and grabbed his wand in one hand and a throwing dagger in another. He walked up to the spy hole in the door. A woman with silvery white hair was fighting against what looked like a swarm of about twenty Death Eaters. Damien shouted back, " Isilde! You know a young girl with silver hair?"

" The Dawn Priestess from the Dark Roads I think. Don't know why she'd be up topside though. Her name's Micaiah. I trust the Champion has told you of his rather promiscuous habits in the Dark Roads?"

" He did. In great detail he did. With practical lessons ,", Daphne answered with an embarrassed blush. Damien simply shook his head in disdain as he watched the fight enfold outside, pretending that he hadn't heard his daughter just admit to having sex with the Goblin Champion. He didn't mind, really, because he knew his daughter had always liked Harry. But that didn't stop his 'Father-Senses' from tingling whenever someone even made eyes, or worse, at her.

Watching as the silver haired girl blasted a Death Eater apart with a sphere of light, Isilde commented, " You know, I wonder why she ran from the Dark Roads? I bet it has something to do with that Summoning thing the Goblins always do before a ritual. If it is, then this is going to be amazing. This will be bigger than that time the Goblins pulled those idiots out of the Eluvians."

" Who are 'Those Idiots?'"

" Uh, put it on that Japanese Channel the Champion put on the TV. You know, the one with the English subtitles?,", Isilde asked.

" Yeah?"

" Watch it all day. Try to figure out who it I'm talking about by the following clues. Blonde ditz, part of a set of nine, enough stupidity to kill cats . And all nine came through the Eluvian. Fucking nightmare that was. Goblins raised holy hell at the Cold Prince."

Daphne muttered, " Oh…"

Damien continued to watch the silver haired woman blast away at the Death Eaters, surprised she hadn't been killed yet. She'd already thinned the pack down to about five. Good on her feet, that one is. Wonder if she's been in that situation before? Because only experience tends to teach one how to live through ambushes like that.

He smirked as she took down the last one. She panted heavily, before turning towards the house. Wait….the HOUSE? Damien panicked, wondering what exactly to do. The Champion said this house was under the Fidelius! And he's the Secret Keeper isn't he? No way she can see through it? Can she?

A soft voice fluttered through the door, " I know there's something here. I can feel it. Too much magic for there not to be. Is this Potter's Fortress? If it is, doesn't seem like much of a fortress."

Damien flung the door open, and Stunned the girl before she could blab any more. It was bad enough that some of those Death Eaters might not be dead. " Daphne! Isilde! Get the girl inside! I'll do a body check."

So Damien walked over, and began counting the Death Eater bodies, shooting an Avada Kedavra in them just to be sure. Finally, he counted out twenty of twenty, and incinerated the bodies. He turned back, and entered the house with scowl.

" How in the world did she know where the house is?" Isilde asked, worried that the Secret might be out. Damien simply shook his head, unable to figure that out himself, though he did slip, " She said she could 'Sense' the magic of the house, so she knew that there was something here. Don't ask me how, that's something that not even the Champion can do. He's already explained that even though his Aura Sight can see humans, it cannot see inanimate objects. This gift must be completely different."

" And unique,", Daphne added with a scowl, " None of the books in the Black Library have said anything about Magic Sight. They talk about other things, like Life Sight, but not Magic Sight, and certainly not Magic sensing."

All three made a note to confront the Champion about this as soon as he reappeared. Unfortunately for them, he was about to get some really bad news from his man in Hogsmeade.

( Harry)

" Damn, what the hell happened last night?" Harry muttered as he woke up groggily, noticing that he wasn't wearing any clothes at all. He also noticed that he was almost buried beneath women of all kinds and ages, and a few men too, which he immediately made note to try and cover up. Couldn't be having his image getting damaged now could he?

Harry walked over to the cabinet and pulled open the door. Unsurprisingly, there was EVEN MORE vodka within. Harry swore that he had enough of that particular liquor to last him a fucking lifetime or two last night. Surprised he wasn't dead from alcohol poisoning he was. Time to find a sobering potion. It was too much to hope for a Goblin to have pity on him and give it to him. The Dwarves would just sit there and laugh at him, so even less hope there.

Harry pressed a heavy hand to his head as he found his shirt, which was abandoned somewhere in the Feasting Hall, a good ten rooms and a staircase from where he had woken up. His pants were even further away, so he figured he had just spent most of the previous night without any pants on at all. Boy, he just couldn't wait to hear what Silver and Gold had to say.

Speaking of Silver and Gold….here they came. Gold laughed loudly, " Hey everyone! It's the Champion! How's the ale there, Champion?"

" Please, shut the fuck up. Not in the mood this morning."

"Its five in the afternoon,", Silver unhelpfully informed him as the two Goblins shared another laugh. Harry just scowled, and found the Medicine Cabinet. He pulled a Sobering Potion out, and swallowed the foul potion. Hell, that damn potion was so bad, that it almost made having a Hangover worth it. He guessed the potion was invented by one of those Progressives from Pre-Prohibition America. You know, the ones that pushed the 18th Amendment through because they were pissed at their husbands getting drunk?

Silver finally said something worthwhile, " Remember that Claimed Warrior you sent out to Hogsmeade? He sent you an urgent message. You might want to take a look at it."

" I'll keep that in mind when I find my armor,", Harry replied testily.

" We stashed it upstairs to keep someone from taking it. I'll get it and the letter,", Gold said as he hurried off.

Harry sat down on one of the few empty seats. Shortly thereafter, Gold came back with his armor, weapons, shield, and the letter. Harry took a little bit to get his armor on. After all, massive Volcanic Ore plate armor is notoriously difficult to put on, and not even Harry could do it entirely without a squire to aid him. He slung his belt around his waist, and buckled it, Starfang falling to his left side like normal. He strapped the naginata he sometimes used to his back, and then the Shield of Dumat to his arm.

After about ten minutes of refitting himself, Harry sat back down at the table to read the letter. He poured himself some Pepsi ( oddly, even Goblins were fond of the soft drink) and read it. He promptly spilt his goblet. Silver asked with a cocked eyebrow, " What's wrong?"

" R-R-Read!" Harry replied with a stutter. The note threw Silver off entirely, " That's impossible!"

"Champion Potter, this is Legault. I write with urgent news only because I cannot leave the Pub myself to visit. I've done as you asked, and I have been keeping an eye out for Death Eater scum. There is a general activity that suggests they may be planning to exert total control over the school shortly. However, that is not what worries me.

One night, I was outside. I was feeding Aberforth's goats when I saw them. Darkspawn! I couldn't believe it! There had never been any records of Darkspawn getting to the surface! Not even the DA records we use as references! Could…Could this be what the Wardens in the Records call a Blight? Could the Spawn have come to Topside?

If they have, then this is bad. I don't know what might be leading them, but the Records suggest something called an Archdemon is the only thing that can truly lead them. What kind of evil could this Archdemon be? A construct of magic? I cannot bear to guess! Champion Potter, we will need aid quickly! I've seen growing numbers near Hogsmeade in the three days of surveillance I've conducted.

Signed, Legault ' The Silver Fox'"

Silver was pale, an odd thing to see on a Goblin. He muttered, " I must tell the Cold Prince about this immediately."

Harry nodded. This really threw a wrench into everyone's plans. Ten minutes later, the Cold Prince marched into the Feasting Hall, with fifty Goblin Warriors, and a few dwarves, behind him. Charles shouted, " My friends, ill news has befallen us! Somehow, the Darkspawn have made it topside. We can only assume they are moving with hostility. We must continue to gather our warriors, and then march upon Hogwarts!"

The Goblins cheered at the opportunity to claim the bastion of Wizards that had always stood against them. Harry stood up himself, " We must get our forces and deploy as quickly as possible! Cold Prince! How fast?"

" I estimate we will have a War Host in about a week. But I fear that may be too long."

Harry shouted, " Especially if we have a real Blight on our hands! I mean, have we ever had one of those?"

" Not in the entire history of Goblin kind. The Records say that this has happened in Mankind's history though."

" Yeah, but we don't even know where those Record come from! And if that's true, then how would we defeat an Archdemon?" Harry asked. No doubt this was a valid question.

" That….might be a problem. The Records say something about Grey Wardens, but doesn't really explain who or what they are. Only that they are the only ones who can defeat an Archdemon. Then again, we don't know if there is an Archdemon, or if the Darkspawn just happened to find their way Topside. I mean, you would get there eventually wouldn't you?"

The Cold Prince scowled at Gold, " Now isn't the time to be joking around. If this is true, then we will need to strike at the heart of the enemy."

Gold shouted, " Are you out of your fucking mind? There's no way we can send a force into the Dark Roads right now! Plus, we don't even know where the Magic Nexus is!"

" I beg to differ,", a scholarly Claimed walked up, " We've recently tracked down a stray Lay Line of magic that leads deep within the earth. We've tracked it here.", He pointed at a small area just south of Inverness.

" That's not far from Hogwarts," Harry observed while wrinkling his nose in disgust, " Which brings us back to Darkspawn being on the surface near Hogwarts. So, should we deploy?"

" I would prefer to leave that decision to you, Champion, " The Cold Prince muttered, shocking everyone in the room. Harry may have been the Champion, but everyone always knew who was really in command. It was surprising for the Cold Prince to relinquish command to Harry. When asked, he replied, " This is your world, Harry. Do with it as you see fit."

Harry nodded in understanding. He turned back to the Goblins, " Prepare our warhost. We march tonight. We march to Hogwarts! And we shall take it, and make it our Stronghold against the Dark Spawn!"

" But Sir! What about the ritual?"

Harry scowled, " We don't need a glorified good luck charm to win this, my soldiers. We need only our skill, our weapons, and our men. Bring me the Legion of the Damned. We shall march with a force as great as possible without leaving ourselves defenseless."

A/N: So we begin to move towards the End here. The Dragon Age will be coming out here shortly, and some loose ends will be tied up. Remember that little blurb about Warhammer in the first chapter? Yeah, that's coming back.

The Ritual: This summons the Goblin Equivalent of the Avatar of Khaine, only that it doesn't work most of the time.