The silence on the other end of the mirror was making Thomas anxious but he tried not to let it show as he continued to speak.
"It's really my fault that this happened," He murmured. "Earlier there was an auror trainee who nearly started a war but I stopped him. The problem is he just lost his potential job, got arrested, and his father will be raising hell. He won't get the results he wants but he knows about what the Death Eaters plan to do - and he want's in."
"What does this have to do with the vampires?" Bertram asked him.
"He has a cousin who is a part of a coven - he's the second in command actually." Thomas said as he scanned for possible answers and outcomes. "He owes the family a debt even though he was cast out from the family when he was turned."
The goblin healers looked at him with suspicion, the goblin king and Ironfang looked at him with interest but the younger Harry had a question, "How many will there be?"
"At least forty," Thomas murmured though his eyes were still glazed. They turned blue and he growled a little. "They intend to turn or kill as many humans as possible - mainly the minors."
"Please tell me that they can be killed with spells?" The older Harry asked him. He never encountered any vampires except in his sixth year and when he met his extended family but he didn't know how to fight them and his cousin's were immune to nearly all magic.
"They can," Artorius told him, his face etched with barely contained fury. "Fiendfyre works wonders but cutting curses and exploding hexes work just as well. The problem is they're too damn fast for any human to catch them."
"Which leaves us." Thomas said firmly and received many noises of agreement from his vampire and wolf shifter part of the family. "We can adjust the plan accordingly just as long as those idiots are subdued."
"How exactly do you know this human?" One of the healers asked an Thomas turned to the goblin. The goblin tried hard not to flinch at the fire in the Alpha' eyes but he was still unnerved.
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." He said, his eyes still blue and glazed over. He then turned to Ragnok, "Please continue my lord; this may take sometime to work out the details." He gestured to the mirror before walking over to a corner to try and speak privately.
Ragnok nodded to him as he left and turned to the healers who looked bewildered. "Carry on with the procedure," He said crisply to the healer who jumped at the king's voice but nodded all the same. "I am invoking the oaths that all of you took; if any information is leaked and if I find out who did it, I will feed you to one of our dragons myself." He growled out and the other goblins straightened up before nodding firmly.
"Yes my lord," The lead healer said before turning to the two Harry's. "While I won't pretend to know what's going on, Messer's Potter, just know that this procedure can be very painful but thanks to these time chambers," The healer gestured to the vault door behind them. "We can cut down the healing time. You see, for every second that passes out here will feel like an hour in there. It is how we make our weapons so quickly and how we treat whomever is injured as well."
The goblin paused to let that information sink in before speaking again, "Are there any questions?"
"How long do you think this will take?" The older Harry asked and the goblin looked thoughtful.
"It will depend entirely on your younger self," The goblin began and both Harry's frowned. "Just by standing here I can see that you have not been well nourished and had you been born without magic you probably would look a lot worse. Because your magic is trying to make up for that it won't be fully committed to healing your body from the trauma the cleansing ritual will have on your mind and your person. The best option would be to drain your magic until about twenty-five percent of it were left before adding it back gradually throughout the process. You will be under a stasis ward by way of a charmed necklace the entire time so you will not feel any pain. Your older counterpart though..." The goblin trailed off.
"What about me?" The counterpart in question frowned.
"I don't know how you will ultimately react by being in the same room as your younger self during this process," The healer explained. "I am not a master of time but I do know that two inanimate objects from two separate time streams coming into contact together do not mix well. We had several cave ins caused by an experiment some time ago involving identical enchanted axes which were one in the same only five minutes apart as far as time was concerned. With you two being nearly twenty years apart and living; who knows what could happen?"
Instinctively, both Harry's and Artorius turned to their cousin. Thomas paused from his conversation with Bertram to answer the question.
"It's best if you two are separated," He said as he glanced towards them. "The distance apart won't matter much but both of you need to be under the ward otherwise it will cause problems."
"In what way?" The older Harry asked. Thomas turned to regard him and only him with glazed eyes.
"If you do not wear the ward stone you will feel fatigue of which you have never felt before when your younger self's magic is drained." He said seriously. "When the cleansing begins, you'll feel pain that will make you want to scream yourself hoarse but all it will do is amplify your scream which will shatter any eardrum within a five mile radius but since we are inside you would probably shake the entire foundation of Gringotts until it crumbles instead. Your magic will try to keep itself at bay but you're a lot stronger than most people realize and when that block you have is removed-"
"What block?" The goblin demanded, cutting him off.
"I have a block on me that stops this," The younger Harry pointed to his scar. "From delving deeper into my mind. I think the headmaster was the one to place it on me but I can't be sure." He had a good idea that it may have been Dumbledore but he wasn't entirely sure about that. In the last time line he went to Saint Mungos after a raid to try and patch up some of the wounds he had and one of the healers told him about the block. They said that it had been on him for some time - maybe hours after that fateful night in 1981. They said that the fragment in his scar was leeching off his core despite the block being there. The block became warped as time went by to the point where if Harry had removed it in the future, he may have started to lose his magic.
The goblin healer growled a little but said nothing. Thomas continued.
"When the block is removed; whatever magic that was leeched off of you will return very quickly," He said. "So quickly in fact that if you aren't under stasis an explosion will occur which will destroy the bank and both alley's. On the upside though, the dark dummy will be rendered unconscious for quite sometime. Luckily Crouch Jr. is a Hufflepuff through and through and will follow the plan that Wormtail tells him about when they meet up even though the one he is loyal to will basically be in a coma." He paused before glancing into the mirror. "My apologies, Hannah, Susan, and anyone else who feels that what I said was wrong but let's face facts; Crouch Jr. is easily one of the most loyal followers the dark lord has and he is also the one with the most conviction. Hard work and loyalty are the surest signs of a Puff and he has them in spades."
He paused as he heard two huffs from the mirror before he continued.
"At least the plan for him to place Harry in the tournament will go ahead as planned and the fun will begin," He smiled a smile that was very unnerving. "It's a good thing we're not the bad guys otherwise the world would be warped beyond recognition."
"But it will change all the same," Harry smiled at him before turning to the goblin healer. "If it will be possible to get another stone, we'll both go under."
The goblin pursed his lips and nodded before speaking quietly to the other healers.
"How long will I be in the chamber," The younger Harry asked Thomas who looked at him with a small smile.
"Well out here it will be at least twenty-five minutes; thirty max," He began. "A minute by itself in there," He pointed to the chamber, "would be about sixty hours or two and a half days if you prefer. You would feel like you were in there for two, maybe three months through out the entire thing." He shrugged.
"How big our the changes going to be," Harry asked.
"You'll look healthier," Thomas told him "You'll be taller as well though not insanely tall. Basically you'll look like you are supposed to."
"My magic is not going to be wonky is it?"
"You'll have to get used to it but I think Esmeralda can help regulate that," Thomas turned to the goblin king. "Or do have any recommendations king Ragnok."
"There are several charmed items that Messer's Potter here can wear until they can get a handle on their magic," He offered. "Unless of course your friend has alternative methods?" He raised an eyebrow.
"It doesn't matter," They heard Esmeralda say. "I trust the methods that the goblins have at their disposal. Besides, I haven't found Sirius yet because the mutt refuses to stay still!"
"Well if you used something other than a scrying crystal," Bertram began but stopped abruptly. "Sorry." He muttered.
"She glared at you didn't she?" Artorius chortled but he started laughing hard when he heard that Henry was glaring at Bertram as well. "Oh that's awesome."
Bertram's angry neigh caused more laughter on both sides of the mirror.
"Sirius?" One of the goblins frowned. "Surely you don't mean Sirius Black?"
"Of course," Thomas, Artorius, and both Harry's said in unison. The older Harry added, "Why wouldn't we?"
"Because of his betrayal," The goblin began but he was interrupted by his leader.
"Evidence has been giving to this nation that is in favor of Mr. Black," Ragnok explained. "As of right now the Black accounts will be unfrozen and whatever assets that were seized will be returned until a full investigation can take place. Also, Bartemius Caspar Crouch the first is now persona non grata at any Gringotts bank in the world and should he step on to Goblin land, he will be detained until he has been proven free of any guilt in the lie that the Ministry of Magic has told us in regards to Sirius Orion Black. That also applies to Millicent Theodora Bagnold."
One major clause in the treaty was that deception of any kind equaled automatic death for the perpetrators - whether they were a wizard or a goblin did not matter. Ragnok could have used this as an excuse to wage war but that wouldn't have helped their case and only hinder it. He would, however, take the appropriate actions in rectifying the situation and his orders would see to that.
In a way, Thomas was glad that Ragnok said what he did and in a way he was not. On one hand, this would stop every Tom, Dick, and Harry (or in this case, Lucius, Cornelius, and Dolores) from getting their hands on Black family assets. The Ministry coffers would take a hit and the personal fortunes of Malfoy, Fudge, Umbridge, and various other families who had no ties or very little ones to the Black family would lose money as well when they were found to be in possession of Black monies and property. Crouch Sr. wasn't going to take that much of a hit because he kept quite bit of money both in and out of the Bank. He would face further punishment when the Black family got itself together though.
The problem was that even though some things had stayed the same - relatively speaking- there was a chance that Crouch Sr. could come to the bank and get detained and that could potentially destroy their plan to emancipate Harry via the tournament and rip British wizarding society a new one and began to change it's government or tear it down all together. There was a lot riding on this and this newest development was a huge gamble.
"It will be done my lord," One of the goblin guards bowed before running to spread the word to the other goblins.
"Go on Harry," Thomas said. "We'll see you in a few."
Both Harry's nodded to him then the goblin healer before the younger Harry stepped inside.
"I'll be right back," The goblin healer told the older Harry who merely nodded his head. In less then a minute, the goblin returned from the chamber with a black stone that was covered in goblin runes while being held by a gold chain. "Wear this and you will be under the ward." He offered the stone to Harry who grabbed and started to put the chain over his head but Thomas rushed over to him. His fast movement startled the guards but Ragnok held his hand up to stop them from doing anything.
"You put that on now, you'll start to fall a sleep." Thomas said to Harry before turning to Ragnok. "May we have a bed or something? Just for the time being."
Ragnok pulled out his dagger and swung it in a complicated pattern before a bed not unlike ones used in school infirmaries appeared in front of them. "Will this suffice?"
"It will," Thomas nodded and gestured for Harry to lie down. Ragnok moved into the chamber to oversee the ritual himself but not until after he told the guards not to harm the none goblins. Harry sat on the bed and put the stone around his neck. As he did so, he started to feel very drowsy and he began to lie back. No sooner than when his head hit the pillow did he fall a sleep. Thomas gave the goblin king a thumbs up and the goblin nodded before the chamber doors were closed.
Inside the chamber the healers were chanting in their native tongue.
*Hear us, mother magic,
for your children have need of you.
Help us to cleanse this young one,
so his life can begin a new.
Let us take his magic till little is left.
So we can remove the anchor within his head*
As they spoke, both Harry's began to glow. The glow slowly began to recede as their magical cores were being drained. Their faces started to develop a sunken in look- especially around the eyes. Thomas had flashbacks to when Bella was pregnant with Nessie when he saw it in a vision and Artorius was reminded of the De Luca's. There was a break in the action as one of the goblin healers used something similar to the bubble head charm around Harry's head to catch the soul fragment long enough for them to place it in an enchanted jar. They also began to remove the block from Harry's core before getting ready to start chanting again.
When the chanting resumed, both scars from their respective Potter opened up. The older Harry's scar merely opened but the younger Harry's scar started to bleed only the liquid was black like ink instead of red. There was an inhuman scream as Tom Riddle's soul fragment tried to fight to stay inside Harry's scar.
The goblins chanted faster as the horcrux slowly left the young wizards head. This was what would be the hardest task in this process. It was not what would take the longest but it would be the most stressful. Normally when a horcrux was made, it had it's own natural defense and -depending on how much of a person soul was given into making this horcrux- a mind of it's own. Meaning that not only was it well protected without an added charm or some such, it also meant that it would put up a fight till the bitter end.
Luckily both Harry's were under that ward otherwise they would have made their displeasure known and ruined the ritual though there were a few facial ticks every now and again.
The soul fragment screamed abuse at the goblins which was ignored though they all had a difficult time in doing so because the damn thing was so loud. After what felt like an eternity, the piece of Tom Riddle's tainted soul left Harry's scar. It swirled above his face before shooting upwards before being caught in the bubble that the goblins placed there before.
It fought to get out; it clawed, swiped and struck at the bubble that detached itself from the area by Harry and floated upwards. One of the goblins grabbed one of their enchanted jars and positioned themselves under the bubble. The jar acted like a vacuum and started to suck the soul into it. It was like watching a scene from Ghostbusters where the crew sprung their trap to catch a ghost. While there was no electrical discharge, it still caught the fragment in an almost tractor beam like force.
With one last scream of rage, the fragment disappeared into the jar and the goblin covered it quickly before the fragment could try to escape. None of the goblins had a chance to rest as they felt the young Potter heir's magic quickly returned and they thanked any deity they could think of that the ward was still holding as they worked to slow the influx of magic.
While all of this was going on, the homunculus that hosted another part of Tom Riddle, screamed as pain like it had never felt coursed through it's hideous body. Peter Pettigrew, more commonly known as Wormtail, panicked at what he was seeing. His frantic mood increase when his master stopped screaming. In fact, he stopped doing anything at all.
"Master?" He squeaked and approached the homunculus only to be stopped by his masters large snake familiar. "Nagini!" Peter cried when the snake hissed at him. "I need to make sure that he is ok." The snake still hissed at him but it coiled itself protectively around it's wizard. "Is he still alive?" Wormtail felt stupid for asking that question but his master said that Nagini was very smart and could understand English.
Nagini gave him the reptilian equivalent of a glare before moving her head up and down slowly. Peter sighed wearily and tried to think of what could cause his master to be harmed. He wonder if it was that ritual his master performed after he murdered Bertha Jorkins while he was out but he just shook his head. He would get an answer later. Right now he was going to try and steal a copy of the Prophet and wait until his master woke up.
"I found him!" Esmeralda cried as her scrying crystal, which was attached to one of Harry's letters, stopped moving and hit her map of South America. "I found Sirius; he's near Catanduva in Sao Paulo. I'll grab him now and bring him here." She looked at the mirror in Bertram's hands with a serious expression. "How are they?" She said.
"Doing well," They heard Thomas say. "The fragment has been removed and now they are trying to get Harry's magic stabilized. Both of them will be fine; I promise. Are you taking anyone with you Esmeralda?"
As the others sighed in relief Esmeralda replied, "It should be a simple snatch grab. I'll have to stun him though."
"Just make sure that he's not awake until after we come back," Thomas told her. "We'll be bringing some friends who want to talk to him."
"Of course," Esmeralda nodded as if he was there before standing up. "I'll be back as soon as I can." She announced and smiled reassuringly before she disapparated silently.
"Not too many people can do that," Blaise whistled a low whistled. "Only the strongest of us can and they are few and far between. Where did all of you find her? You never said." He asked the group from Washington.
"It's a really long story but basically she found us," Embry said. "Hell she delivered a few people in this room." He gestured to the Aphrodite and her siblings. They received many questioning looks.
"She was friends with our biological father," Aphrodite murmured. Poseidon and Athena grimaced but said nothing and Henry huffed. True they weren't as angry with Makhai as they used to be and they made something akin to peace with him before he died but they still had issues with what he did. Poseidon more so than Henry and Athena but they all had problems with Makhai all the same. "She helped him deliver all of us if it was necessary."
"If it was necessary?" Narcissa frowned at her. "What do you mean?"
"Some of us are half human sure but we have a brother named Atlas who is a half giant," Poseidon said. "I myself am half Nerrid. Yes; they do exists." He smiled at the bewildered looks that he was getting. "Oh that's right; we forgot to tell you that."
"How do you forget something like that?" Neville asked incredulously. "And what makes you think that you're half Nerrid?"
"I met my mother," Poseidon shrugged. "Her skin is blue and she lives in the ocean. Not to mention the fact that Edward and Jasper were able to confirm what she was saying, and Esmeralda gave an oath on her life and her magic that what was being said was the truth even though we never asked her to do so."
"So when all of you were talking about the sons of Kronos," Hermione began but trailed off.
"They're actually real?" Daphne said incredulously and she got shrugs in return.
"Pretty much," Emmett murmured.
"And none of you thought it was a good idea to say anything?" Hannah demanded.
"And just how was this supposed to be brought up, during dinner perhaps?" Tanya asked her. "I doubt saying 'oh by the way, the gods of the Greek Pantheon are very real; potatoes anyone?' would have been sufficient." She added dryly.
"No it wouldn't," Susan conceded. "But still; this is the gods we are talking about! It would have been nice to know about this."
"It's not as if we are going to meet them you know," Kate informed everyone. "If any of those myths are even half true then they cannot directly interfere in the affairs of man. True, some of us are not human any more but we're not gods either so..." She shrugged.
"But still," Susan murmured.
"Look," Thomas said from the mirror, "we'll talk about this another time right now -" He stopped abruptly. "Oh shit." He sounded horrified.
"What? What is it?" Several people asked him. Tanya ran to Bertram and snatched the mirror out of his hands. He yelped in surprise but made no form of protest.
"Baby? Talk to me, what is it?" She demanded.
"They have a weapon," Thomas whispered though she heard him.
"Baby, you're not making any sense right now. Who has a weapon?"
"The vampires have a weapon," Thomas explained loudly and everyone in the house frowned. "It's powerful and I don't know where they got it! Oh god Tanya they'll level the camp grounds with the damn thing! I don't even know if we can - Tanya look out!" He screamed and Tanya moved out of the way just in time to avoid a large chest falling from the ceiling."No one touch that thing. I have no idea who sent that and I have no idea what's in it. Just keep your distance and wait for all of us to come back."
A piece of paper appeared from the ceiling and fell to the floor right next to the chest. It was folded up so no one could to what was on it.
"Teej?" Embry asked as he eyed the paper warily. Draco and Blaise were setting up a few wards to make sure that no one went near it for the time being.
"Levitate it but don't touch it." Thomas said after a moment.
Embry concentrated and the paper began to rise. He used the motions necessary with his hands to unfold the paper as if he were holding it. There was a note written on the paper and Embry read it aloud.
Consider this the first of many gifts my children. Regardless of what has been stated before,
you are not alone and I will be there to help you. As long as I breath, I will not allow harm to come to you.
Love always, MM.
Embry frowned and he wasn't the only one frowning but he did voice what they were all thinking.
"Who the hell is MM?"
MM or rather Hecate as she was more commonly known smiled smugly as her care package arrived in the hands of the time travelers. She had been monitoring both them and Ares at the same time and she had to stop herself from killing Ares when she saw him send the Omega blade to the vampires. The weapon was dangerous in the hands of a god but in the hands of a non-god it was just as dangerous. The earth would be razed a thousand times over if used properly and if the person had the will to do it.
That was why she sent the time travelers that chest because their weapons would have been useless against a weapon forged by a god. She was going to make good on her promise and no one or anything was going to get in her way. That she swore on the River Styx.