Ministry of Magic
London, England
January 2nd
2023 A.D.
Albus led Mathis through the Atrium towards the lifts. Everywhere people were moving boxes or levitating objects, preparing for an emergency evacuation should one be ordered. Behind Albus, the others, still a little shaken followed them through.
Hugo was rubbing his temple next to the large slice on his eyebrow.
"Hey," Albus called out. A busy looking Auror turned around and pointed to himself, "yeah, take him down to the holding cells and put a guard on the door."
"I'll take him," Amelia volunteered with an icy look.
"No, you won't," Albus stated firmly.
The Auror led Mathis away just as Rose darted across the Atrium and into the arms of Scorpius. They held each other tightly as Aurora charged over to Albus. She kissed him hard on the lips before pulling him into an embrace.
"You okay?" Albus asked quickly.
"I'm fine, everyone all right?"
"More or less," Albus said looking back to them, "how is she?"
"She?" Aurora smiled looking down at the small lump on her stomach, "what makes you think it's a she?"
"I don't know, just a feeling," Albus smiled.
"A she with twelve toes," a snide voice said.
Aurora looked around to see Athena strut past looking annoyed at their show of affection.
"Don't get angry with me just because Ripley destroyed all your eggs," Aurora snapped back.
"Ahh, you really see me as mummy?" Athena remarked with an insulting grin.
"Ladies?" Albus stepped in, "can we focus on the task at hand?"
Hermione and Ginny were the next to arrive. Hermione let out a shriek and ran straight over to Hugo. "Hugo! What happened?!" she stared in horror at his wounds.
"I snogged a Vampire," he grinned.
"What?" Hermione looked serious perplexed while Ginny checked on James.
Violet rushed through the crowed of people and stopped dead in front of Lynx. For a second all they did was stare at each before charging forward, wrapping their arms around each other and kissing like they'd never kissed before.
"Best day ever!" Hugo said with a huge grin on his face. Nothing brought people together like incredible danger.
Hermione simply ignored her son and started trying to fix his wounds. Shortly afterwards, Harry and Ron arrived and soon the group of people in the Atrium was pretty big.
"Athena, is there enough static in the clouds for you to travel on?" Albus asked.
"Yeah, there's not much but should be enough," she nodded.
"Good, Bill and Fleur's house, Shell Cottage, Tinworth, Cornwall, I need you to go there, get Dominique and bring her back here."
"Dominique? Why?" Ginny asked.
"I need to ask Mathis some questions and I want to be sure about the answers he gives me," Albus said quickly.
"And how exactly can she help with that?" Ron asked.
"Because she's Telepathic. Dominique's an Anomaly," Albus smiled. They didn't need to be discreet anymore. The Cleric's were finished.
Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione's mouths fell open.
"Sorry, did I forget to mention that?" Albus smiled, "she won't mature for a few more months yet but it will happen eventually."
"That's if the world doesn't end first," Athena mumbled causing Albus to look up and her with an annoyed look.
Athena walked off towards the visitors entrance as Albus lent into Aurora and whispered in her ear. "Keep an eye on Amelia, I don't want her going near Mathis yet."
Aurora nodded and kissed him on the cheek. "Where are you going?"
"To ask for some help," he said simply before walking towards the lifts.
He took it all the way down to the Department of Mysteries. From there he could have found his way blind folded. The closer he got the stronger the feeling became, almost as if it were pulling him towards it. Then he was staring straight at it. The Locked Door.
He could feel that same warm and protected aura that he'd experienced while being temporarily dead. Behind that door was the world beyond there own.
He closed his eyes and reached out, slowly laying his palm against the surface. Suddenly an electric shock of power serged through his entire body but there wasn't any pain. In fact, it made him feel more alive than ever before. Then the most beautiful and smooth voice spoke to him.
"If you've come for answers Albus, I can't give them to you. I've already interfered more than I should have."
"Please...I can't do this alone," Albus breathed.
"You are not alone. I am always with you."
"Can I save them?" Albus dared to ask.
"You are Colossus."
Albus tried to think for a second. Whoever or whatever was speaking to him wasn't going to simply give him instructions to follow or explain exactly what the future holds, as much as he prayed that it would.
"I have shown you what the future holds," the voice said.
"You've shown me death, destruction and pain!" Albus's voice shook as he remembered the dream.
"You are Colossus. You must endure."
"Who is my Twin?"
"He is you. Your darkest side. The darkest side of all life."
"What does he want?"
"You. He craves your love and acceptance and if he cannot have it, he will lay waste to everything you know."
"Why?!" Albus clenched his eyes as fear started to fill his body.
"If he cannot have you, no one can."
"Can I stop him?"
"I cannot answer that."
"You just answered my other questions!" Albus growled in frustration.
"No, I just told you what you already know. Besides, that question has no answer yet."
Albus took a breath and tried to think. The question didn't have an answer because that part of the future was still undecided. He thought back to the Prophecy. The Power would be the one that chose the outcome.
"And she will. Whomever she loves will be the victor."
"You're saying that I have to throw Aurora away and love Athena to win this war?"
"You will follow your heart. Everything answers to gravity, except love."
Albus took his hand away from the door. He very slowly lent his back against it and then slid down to the floor. There he stayed for a long time, thinking about what he would have to do.
He didn't know if he even could do it. Athena was special. Unlike anyone he had ever met and he cared about her. Not just because of her importance but because he could see the remarkable woman that she truly was. But did he love her?
Beyond her faults she was just a girl that craved love just as his twin did. She had grown up in a world of misery and then been handed power and a destiny to for fill. Her reward would be true love. She wanted that love so badly that it hurt her to see someone else getting it.
This whole war was about love and thats why it would be so terrible.
He didn't know how long he had been sitting there for, probably a few hours. It was only when Athena came around the corner with her eyes fixated on the door that he actually snapped out of his thoughts.
"What did it tell you?" Athena asked as she stretched out her hand and pressed it against the surface.
"That we will decide the future," Albus said simply.
"It's beautiful," she breathed.
Albus took a breath and stood up. He pulled her arm away from the door and led her off down the corridor. Eventually they arrived at the Planets Room. The same room that had become a battlefield when his father had tried to rescue his godfather.
Albus locked the door behind them.
"What are we doing here?" Athena asked, "Dominique's in the Atrium."
"Do you love me?" Albus suddenly asked.
"Yes," she breathed back, "I know you don't love me Albus, but maybe one day -"
She was cut off by Albus. He had pulled her close to him in a flash and pressed his lips against hers. She didn't hesitate about returning the kiss. She wanted it more than anything.
They continued to play with each others tongues as Athena's hand moved down and grabbed his groan. He tugged at her belt and ripped it away. She had already undone his and pushed his trousers down to his ankles.
He suddenly picked her up and propped her onto a table before yanking her underwear away.
She moaned and dug her nails into his shoulder as he pushed himself inside her. She was a strong girl but that didn't stop her from feeling the pain that a virgin endures on their first time. She panted heavily and would clench her face tightly when he thrust into her.
She pulled his hands onto her breasts and forced him to squeeze them hard.
Albus was doing everything he could not to think about what he was doing. To not think about Aurora but her face kept flashing into his head. The lump of her stomach, her smile, her smell, everything that made him so desperately in love with her until he couldn't take it anymore.
He stopped.
"I can't do this," he breathed.
Athena growled, "do what? Fuck me in the hope that it'll secure my loyalty to you?"
Albus looked stunned. Had the door told her what he was going to do? He pulled himself out of her causing her to twitch and make a hissing sound.
"You still don't trust me enough to choose you over him?" she scowled.
"I..."
"Wipe the look of guilt off your face Albus," she said while jumping off the desk and slipping her underwear back on, "this was going to happen sooner or later. Maybe next time it will last a little longer."
"Athena..."
"I'm not going to tell your precious Aurora anything Albus," she smiled pulling her jeans back on. "but, you might want to give that some thought. You and I are destined to be together and that's only really going to happen when she is out of the picture so the odds of her surviving whats coming aren't looking too good. You might want to send her away now if you're still determined to protect her and the bun in her oven."
She straightened her cloths and strutted towards the door looking quite proud of herself. She was right and she knew it. That's way she had decided to stop being bitchy to everyone and become part of the team. She had realized that she didn't need to do anything to Aurora, she just needed to endure her presence long enough until whatever destiny had lined up for her finally came along.
It sent a chill down Albus's spine. The thought that Aurora's fate had already been decided just to make way for Athena.
That terrifying thought stayed with him as the two of them left the Department of Mysteries but it also gave way to another thought. This couldn't simply be a reward, he and Athena were meant to be together for another reason. He just didn't know what that reason was.
They both did their best to hide what had just happened in the Planets Room as they rejoined the others. Bill, Fleur, Teddy, Victorie and even little Louis were there now. They had obviously refused to allow Dominique to come to London without them.
He had been so preoccupied with his own thoughts that he had completely forgotten that Dominique was a mind reader. Even if she didn't have complete control over her power yet, she would know what they had just done.
She looked at Albus with confusion for a second, then her eyes moved to Athena. Whatever she had gotten from Athena's mind caused her face to become sympathetic and even give a small nod. She almost seemed to understand why Albus had just betrayed the love of his life.
He was willing to do anything to protect them all.
"Dom, I'm going to talk to a man in a moment and I want you to look inside his head and tell me if he is telling the truth or not. Can you do that?" Albus said getting back to business.
Dominique nodded nervously. She didn't seem to enjoy her gift at the moment and probably wouldn't until she reached maturity.
They walked down to the Auror Department where Mathis had been put inside an interrogation room. Albus would speak to him alone while Dominique waited outside and tried to read his thoughts.
Inside the room was a small metal desk with two chairs on either side. It looked just like a Muggle police interrogation room. Mathis was sitting in one of them with his hands still tied. Albus closed the door behind him and sat down across from him.
"So...Anomalies weren't enough? You had to go a make some new enemies?" Albus grinned.
"Yeah, I guess your brother doesn't like me either," he remarked.
There was no need to try and be intimidating. They weren't exactly friends but they did have some respect for each other.
"You find anything out about them?"
"Only that they wanted to grab one of your people to use against you. They were just lackeys. Mercenaries. Expendable."
"And dead."
"Yeah, that too. Hows your girl?" Mathis asked casually.
"Pregnant."
"That's gotta suck for the kid. Having an old man that's gonna plunge the world into chaos."
"You still under the impression that I'm the harbinger of doom?"
"I never said you'd do it intentionally. But you will do it."
"I'm trying to stop this Mathis. You don't want it to happen, I don't want it to happen. We should be working together on this," Albus tried.
"There's only one way to stop it and your not willing to do it," he shot back.
"I'm not going to commit suicide to stop something that's already arrived!"
"Do you love Aurora?" Mathis asked suddenly.
"Yes," guilt flooded into his body as he said it.
"Would you die to protect her?"
"Yes."
"Would you die to save the world?"
"Yes!"
"Then get a gun, put it in your mouth and pull the trigger! That is the only way you can save the people you care about!"
"What if the gun jams?" Albus asked.
"What?"
"What if the gun jams? What if the bullet is a dud? What if somebody stops me? If I am predestined to do this then I can't be killed until it's done," he stated.
"We thought about that. But it's been said that the only thing destiny cannot control is love. If your willing to die for love then destiny can't stop you. Why do you think we attacked you when you were with Aurora?" Mathis waited for an answer that Albus couldn't give, "Maybe your right though. Maybe we have been wrong ever since we even started to try and stop Anomalies. Why don't you give it a try? If the gun jams...well, we'll know that even love isn't strong enough anymore."
"Love is strong enough."
"Then maybe there is hope after all," Mathis smiled.
The two enemies seemed to finally understand each other.
"Do you know what's going to happen next?"
"No but I can take a guess," Mathis said simply, "he tried to get the wizarding world to go to war with the Muggles and failed, he tried to kidnap one of your family to use against you and failed...the only thing left to do now is to use brute force. He's going to invade."
Albus blew out a deep breath. "Well...then I guess I'm going to have one hell of a birthday party," he stood up and walked over to the door. He went straight to Dominique.
"He's telling the truth or at least he thinks he is," she stated.
"Thanks Dom."
"I want to stay and help," her voice shook slightly.
"I know you do love but I don't want you anywhere near this. You'll get your chance to fight but not yet," he smiled and kissed her on the cheek.
"Don't do it Albus," she said quietly, "I know what your thinking about doing. Don't chance it."
Albus didn't reply, he just smiled at her and then walked over to his father.
"I need you to do something for me," he said quietly while looking around to make sure that nobody was listening, "If something happens, I need you to take Aurora and get as far away from here as possible."
"I wont abandon -"
"This is not a request," Albus hissed cutting his father off, "I can't fight this war if I know that she's in danger. She won't want to go but you have to make her. You're the only one a trust to keep her safe."
Harry still looked reluctant, "Why?"
"Because she's carrying your grand child. Dad...please..." he hadn't called Harry that in a very long time.
Eventually Harry pushed his lips together and nodded.
"Thank you," he said before walking away.
Now it was time to put destiny to the test. He returned to the Department of Mysteries and stood outside the Locked Door with the pistol that he had taken from Lincoln.
Could love defeat destiny? Could his sacrifice save everyone he cared about? He was about to find out.
He cocked the weapon and saw the round loaded in the chamber. He flicked the safety off and slowly raised the barrel to his temple. As he felt the metal press against his skin he almost reacted instinctively and put up a shield but managed to stop himself.
He thought about Aurora. The moment that she had confessed to loving him that day in her house and the kiss that followed. He thought about them being curled up together while he traced little circles around her belly button hoping that he would some how feel the undeveloped baby inside. He thought about the day he was sorted in Hogwarts when he had bumped into her without realizing. How jealous he had been when he saw her with Cody and how much he had wished that it could be him in his place.
It all seemed like so long ago now. Like a distant memory of someone else's life. He had changed so much since those days. Destiny had certainly taken him on a wild journey and now he was going to find out if that journey was about to end or just begin.
His finger slowly started to squeeze the trigger back. Again Aurora's face came into his mind. She almost seemed to be glowing.
The shot rang out through the dark corridor of the Department of Mysteries.
"What the fuck are you doing?!" Scorpius demanded. He had move Albus's hand just a second before the hammer struck the bullet and caused it to hit the wall instead.
Albus looked at him for a second then started to laugh, "just conducting an experiment."
"It looked like you were trying to blow you damn head off! We can't loose you, Albus!"
He nodded but not because he agreed but because he knew. He couldn't die until he had unleash evil into this world. He truly was the harbinger of doom.
He wrapped his arms around his best friend and started to cry into his shoulder.
All that was left for him to do now was suffer. It wasn't fair, he didn't deserve it and they certainly didn't. But that didn't matter to destiny. It didn't care about how much it hurt people, it only cared about linking one thing to another in a never ending web of lives that were all interconnected and locked.
All that was left now was to await the inevitable.
Military Command Center
London, England
January 5th
2023 A.D.
The huge room full of computers and radio equipment was dark and strong. Everywhere operators where working on monitors while talking into headsets while the Generals stood at the end of the room looking at a digital display of England. Little red markers showed the position of military personal and checkpoints that he been spread across the country. There was a large group just outside north London which had been established as the main forward command post.
All around the island other markers indicated the location of the British fleet. Destroyers and Aircraft carriers had set up a parameter around the British Isles and there was a large concentration in the Channel. The moving markers were for Aircraft that had been patrolling different places.
All in all, the show of military strength was immense.
"General," one of the operators called out.
"What is it?" the General asked.
"I just lost contact with Checkpoint twelve."
"Where is twelve?"
"Somerset, sir," he stated.
"Could be a down transmitter. Keep trying to get through to them," the General ordered.
"Yes, sir,"
"Sir, I just lost contact with Checkpoint twenty three," another operator said quickly.
"Sir, Viper One is reporting some kind of electrical storm at grid six four," another added.
"Echo Six is reporting the same at grid nine fourteen."
The General walked back to the end of the room and picked up a phone.
Ministry of Magic
London, England
January 5th
2023 A.D.
Albus nodded slightly as he listened to the General over the phone. His face was emotionless as everyone else stood behind him, waiting patiently. He simply used yes and no answers for most of it and the link was so bad because of the magic in the building that no one else could make out what he was saying.
Finally Albus pressed the emEnd Call/em button and stuffed the satellite phone back into his pocket.
A few minutes passed without him staying silent then he took a breath and turned to the others and spoke loudly.
"Begin the evacuation! Order all Military to it's highest alert levels and inform the other governments that we'll be needing support!"
Everyone snapped into action and began rushing around.
"It's happening..." Albus breathed.
And it was. His brother was early but he had finally arrived.