Digital
Chapter 14
Revelations
Chapter edited on: 8/3/11
A big thank you to everybody who reviewed the last chapter.
Previously in Digital:
Albus Dumbledore could only stare in horror and utmost fear as most of the order collapsed around him as air itself suddenly began to tear itself apart, then rip open, to create a small crevice in mid open air.
Being one of the few of the order who was far enough away at the time, he was spared from the worst of the pain that soon followed. Even so, he gasped and fell to his knees. It was worse than a crucio.
'What is happening?' he wondered wildly, very afraid, even more than when he fought against Grindlewald back in the Great War.
"What is this power?" he asked aloud, before screaming as the largest part of the pain reached him and he blacked out.
Nobody saw the large red creature suddenly distort and become unstable before it suddenly changed its shape, twice, first to a smaller fox, then to something smaller again, before finally falling though the rift.
A few seconds later the rift closed and then they were gone and all was quite once more.
And now the continuation:
Voldemorts Fortress, a few minutes before Bella's defeat.
Voldemort was not having a good day. No, he wasn't having a good day at all. His minions were failing him left right and centre and if there was one thing he hated it was when they failed him. Some had even had the gall to call in sick. The outcome: a temper tantrum by yours truly.
For example: Just earlier that day he had had to kill another unfortunate minion, simply because he had not liked the information the unlucky minion had dared to bring him. Sounds rather unreasonable, doesn't it? Perhaps! For a normal person, it probably would. But try to see it from a Dark Lords point of view. Dark Lords had dark images to uphold. Dark Lords did not have the luxury of being nice. Dark Lords were known to be dark and cruel. If a Dark Lords minions did badly, then he, in turn, also did badly. If a Dark Lords minions looked weak then there was a high chance he was weak too. If he looked weak, people didn't fear him. A dark lord who wasn't feared wasn't worth his title and usually didn't survive long. If was a harsh world out there. A Dark Lord had to have high expectations, damn it!…it was his right after all. I mean, seriously...what would you do? Failure is simply not acceptable. Was is too much to expect for his minions to do well? Surely not! In the end, if one or two had to die to uphold the act then…well…then that was just life.
As it was… currently his Death Eaters simply weren't doing what they were told, or if they were, they merely didn't do it well enough to sate his ever increasing expectations.
Lately it had become so bad that he had lost his patience; several crucios and an avada later that particular former servant had been no more.
Now, normally this wouldn't have affected his 'Mad-jesty,' King Voldemort in the least. After all, a bit of fear never did anybody any harm, least of all to his minions. In fact, Voldemort considered a bit of fear to be the perfect motivator, or so he usually believed. But, when potential allies started to stay away and decide to stay neutral, simply because they were too afraid to come near him, then it did become a problem. An unacceptable problem.
Add to that the fact that he had recently started getting extremely itchy whenever he became overly angry and that it wasn't showing any signs of any improvement, then that made it an unbearable problem.
Yes, unfortunately - or fortunately depending on who you ask - his anger was beginning to become an extremely annoying and potentially embarrassing problem indeed. Problematic enough that Voldemort had, to the utmost surprise of a few of his minions (his most trusted only as he wouldn't let anybody else know about it) decided to show a small amount of weakness. Not much mind you, but still enough to ask for a little help from one of his most trusted, something usually unbelievable, for any Dark Lord, of any kind, not just for him…unthinkable... yet he did.
Now, most people thought of Voldemort as a sort of immortal demigod who didn't want, nor indeed, need any help, and for the most part they might even be right. But that was not totally true. Dark Lords, in general, while as far from humanity as they indeed were, were never the less - when it came down to it - just human. No matter how much they wished it otherwise. Some just knew how to hide their weaknesses better than others. It was the very same with Tom Marvolo Riddle aka The Dark King/Lord Voldemort.
And so it was that Voldemort, of all people, was currently in his private study, in the process of being 'checked out' by his most trusted and most loyal follower of all; an old school friend who had later on gone on to become a healer... then more.
Now! It was important to remember; unlike his usual Death Eaters this one was special.
First of all: she, was not in fact a Death Eater.
Secondly: she was the only person in the whole world he allowed to question him, literally, without fear of retribution, something the Death Eaters envied (and despised) her for.
Thirdly: she was the only one, in the entire world, who he completely trusted. Nobody else, nobody! Not even his hidden away fifteen year old heir could say that. A fact which Death Eaters like Bellatrix and Lucius, his second and third in command, respectively, despised her for, but knew better than to comment on, as doing so would have been a sure one way ticket to hell…via an ever lasting flame spell… then back again for more.
She was the one, the only one, who Voldemort never punished. She was the one person who he would always listen to, no matter what. Indeed, unknown to the rest, she was also the only person who could ask, even order him to do something without having to fear his wrath. If she did something wrong, somebody else would be punished in her place. It was something every Death Eater feared.
Voldemort's Death Eaters knew her only as their master's closest friend and main advisor. Those closest believed her ro be his main mistress. They had no clue who she really was and Voldemort went to great lengths to keep it that way.
To Voldemort it was all very simple: Dark Lady Seles Sarina Silvia Slytherin nee Grindlewald was the love of his life, the only person he ever loved: his wife.
A/N: (Bet you didn't see that one coming, did ya? And here I thought Dumbledore said Voldemort didn't understand love, poor fool!)
Lying on his favorite bed, Voldemort was patiently waiting for his wife to finish her latest examination of his body and was currently enjoying the soft feeling of her tender hands, not that he would ever admit it though.
Allowing himself a brief look around the room his eyes fell upon the only other current resident of the room: a lone Death Eater who did not seem to look happy to be in the room, at all.
Grinning at the Death Eater, making him squirm, Voldemort soon refocused his attention back to his wife. She seemed to have finished.
"Well Sel, do you know what it is?" he asked her quietly, a kind affectionate tone to his voice, while giving her a quick kiss. Slowly she nodded.
"Yes, I do, but you won't like it. It seems you have been infected with a very rare disease called Malavetricius Magicus," she said softly.
Hearing this Voldemort froze. The name seemed familiar to him, but he couldn't place it. "I think I heard that name before somewhere…I can't seem to remember though. What is it?" he asked, already preparing for the worst.
"It's a rare condition which is found only in dark magic users and is caused by an extreme overexposure to the dark arts," she answered.
"Oh…" he said, then his eyes widened as he remembered. However, he wanted to make sure.
"And… what does it do? Voldemort asked, grabbing his wand and pointing it at the near by Death Eater as he spoke. Said Death Eater flinched, tensed, but didn't move. He knew that he would only get worse if he did. He also knew the next few words out of Seles's mouth would decide his fate.
Seles looked at the Death Eater for a second before shrugging. She had long ago given up any feelings of sympathy for her husband's henchmen. Most of them didn't really deserve pity anyway, being the rapists and murderers they were..
She knew why he was there. He had drawn the short straw that day, the short straw which meant he had to receive any punishments which would normally have been meant for her, had she not been who she was.
She knew what and who her husband was (how could she not) and had fully accepted it, and while in the past she had once felt some sympathy for the poor fools, who called themselves his followers, she simply couldn't bring herself to fully care anymore.
"It's a disease which causes extreme discomfort in the form of acute itching whenever you use the dark arts," she answered.
"That was what I hoped you wouldn't say …CRUCIO!" Voldemort said, screaming out the last word. A second later the Death Eater was rolling around on the floor screaming in pain.
Almost immediately Voldemorts arm began to itch fiercely, which caused him to emit a snarl, before he released the Death Eater from the spell.
"Heal me!" Voldemort promptly ordered already holding his wand back in a ready to cast position, ready to cast the crucio once more if his wife couldn't do so.
Down on the ground the Death Eater groaned as Voldemort pointed his wand at him again and gave her a pleading look. His meaning was all too clear: 'Please tell me you can cure him, please, I beg you…please!' It was a look Seles had seen many times before.
Seles seemed to pause for a second, but then shrugged slightly. "Unfortunately there are no potions or spells which can cure you."
Hearing this, the Death Eater whimpered pitifully and tensed up again.
"CRUCIO!"
One again the Death Eater was on the ground screaming himself hoarse.
"However…," said Seles.
Voldemort paused, releasing the spell. "Yes?" he asked expectantly.
Beside him, the Death Eater sighed in relief as the pain lessened slightly and tried to compose himself.
"There may not be a potion or a spell, however there is another way we might, and I unfortunately have to stress the word might, be able to get rid of it. It's not going to be easy, but…I'm confident you can handle this problem," she answered quietly.
"Go on," said Voldemort, keeping his wand pointed firmly at the whimpering Death Eater on the ground beside him. Something told him he wasn't going to like what she was about to say but he had to know.
"It's only a recommendation of course, but: firstly: I would…advise, that you cease crucioing or killing your followers…to do that would only cause the itch to intensify."
Voldemort scowled. He wasn't happy, but he could nonetheless understand it. Slowly he put his wand away. Seeing this, a grateful look appearing on his face, the Death Eater relaxed.
'Hmm, this could be problematic,' Voldemort thought quietly to himself. 'Ah I know I'll have Bella crucio them for me instead, after all, she can be so delightfully cruel when she needs to be. I really do enjoy watching her play,' he thought with a smile.
"Don't get too comfortable, it has only been delayed," he said looking at the whimpering Death Eater, who visibly flinched and groaned as the words left Voldemorts mouth.
"I see...what else?" Voldemort asked, turning back to his wife.
"Secondly: I would advise that you do not use any dark magic until you are officially cured. White and grey is acceptable. Holy magic would speed up your recovery, but I know how much you hate using it. However, whatever you do, do not do any dark magic, and absolutely no black magic. Chaotic magic or necromancy would probably kill you at present, or at best turn you completely insane from the itch," she continued.
Hearing this Voldemort growled, loudly, but resisted the urge to do more. It really wasn't easy to control himself though. Seriously, whoever heard of a Dark Lord who couldn't cast dark spell, or dare he say it; cast holy spells. Voldemort shuddered at the thought. He'd be the laughing stock on the underworld if he did that.
"I see…anything else?" he asked, doing his best to control his temper, but found it was extremely difficult to do. The loss of his dark magic would be irksome indeed, but he could do without it for a while. 'Let's hope this…treatment...or whatever it is, doesn't take too long,' he thought.
"And?" he asked, motioning for Seles to continue.
Seles paused. She could see how much this was affecting her husband but knew it was for the best. She had to say it. Normally nobody would ever have dared to say what she was about to say next, but since she was safe from punishment (or so she hoped), she did.
"Finally: again it's only a recommendation of course, but it would help a lot if you attempted to control your temper," she finished saying.
Voldemort froze. The Death Eater did the same, his eyes wide with horror at that he had just heard. Nobody had ever ( as far as he knew) said that to the Dark Lord before. Nobody would have dared. His mouth hanging open with a look of the utmost fear and partial wonder on his face, expecting the worst, the Death Eater tensed up. But nothing happened. Surprised he looked up.
"What did you say?" Voldemort whispered, shocked.
"I would like you to take it easy for a while," Seles said, wondering if even she had gone too far this time.
"CRUCIO MAXIMUS," Voldemort bellowed, nearly tearing his robes in his haste to bring up his wand and say the feared words. The Death Eater hardly had any time at all to prepare for the pain which followed. Even Seles could only wince sympathetically and step back at what was happening. Sometimes it really sucked to be a Death Eater. Especially when you were the one who was unlucky enough to have pulled the short straw.
Luckily, for the Death Eater, Voldemort could only keep him under the spell for a few short seconds before the itch became too much for him to handle. Uttering a frustrated swear word Voldemort threw his wand across the room where it hit the wall with a snap, before bursting into flames.
Voldemort groaned as he saw that it had broken and brought his hand up to palm his face.
" Fine...I see I have no choice," Voldemort said quietly, doing his best to calm himself down but it really wasn't working. Opening a secret drawer in his desk he took out his spare wand.
"But don't for one second believe I'm going to take it easy on you," he added, glaring viciously at the Death Eater present.
Said Death Eater nodded, shaking fiercely. "Yes your majesty, of course your majesty," As you wish your majesty, he said whimpering.
Seles cautiously took another step back. She could practically feel the anger cascading out from her husband in waves. She may be his wife, but even she knew when enough was enough. Had she not been who she was; his wife, she had no doubts that she would have been dead by now, or worse...insane.
"Spread the word, If anybody, and I mean anybody, even so much as looks at me the wrong way, I'll let Bella try out that new curse she is so fond of," Voldemort said, fiercely, looking around the room with a mad manic glint in his eyes.
Ironically it was at that direct moment a flash erupted and said person appeared in the room.
Seles gasped. Shocked, her hand coming to her face, as she realised who it was. "That, er… that might not be advisable at present…just a suggestion of course," she said. It was probably the worst possible timing of all.
"WHAT NOW!," Voldmort roared, turning around. He froze as he saw who it was.
For the first time for as long as anyone could remember Voldemort let his mouth fall open and gaped.
Bellatrix, bloody, exhausted, completely naked and missing an arm, let out a strangled gasp and collapsed to the floor.
Outside in the main hall, multiple Death Eaters were going about their daily business, when suddenly a loud animalistic roar, followed by a loud cry of dismay erupted from their master's study.
Several Death Eaters looked at each others and shivered as the word Crucio was heard over and over again, complimented solely by wild screams of pain and swear words, followed a minute later by an Avada Kadavra then finally the quiet thump of a falling body.
Then there was quietness once more.
Most of the older death eaters, used to their master's daily tantrums, simply shrugged then returned to their tasks. The younger recruits, however, would have nightmares for many weeks to come.
Meanwhile, Deep in the depths of Harry's mind
It seemed like several months had passed but it had in fact only been a single day.
The last thing Harry remembered before darkness enveloped him was pain the likes he had never felt before. It was so strong; even Voldemort's strongest crucio had felt insignificant when compared to it.
EGO may have warned him about the pain, (not that he had had a lot of time to prepare for it) but at that moment he had fully expected death to claim him. It was either Death or to become a vegetable case for St Mungos long term ward. It was so intense that for once in his life he had fully welcomed death. However, luckily for him it was neither. Imagine his surprise and relief when the pain abruptly vanished and he suddenly found himself back in a very familiar room.
It took a few seconds for his mind to fully catch up with the rest of his body, but it soon did. Harry, being no stranger to pain, was so relieved that it was all over, he simply didn't care how or why it had happened, just that it had.
In a moment of true de-ja-vu, (there wasn't anything else to do anyway) Harry soon found himself walking back to the table in the middle of the room and sat down.
Just like before, a copy of his digital self (he was in his human representation again) appeared in front of him and was soon accompanied, almost immediately, by the three small cylinders from before. However, unlike last time, this time there were a few very distinct differences. His form for instance was different. A lot different.
Ok, so he really hadn't expected to appear in his champion form. Considering how much pain he had felt and the damage he must have taken, that would have been a miracle at best. But the form he was staring at obviously wasn't his Rookie form either. So what was he now?
His eyes widened as he realised what it was.
The damage to his body most have been so great, so severe that he must have de-digivolved all the way back to his in-training form. There was no other explanation for it.
Harry knew from EGO's lessons that if damaged enough, a digimon would automatically transform back to its former form. That was standard digimon procedure and EGO had clearly explained that to him in one of his first lessons on digimon.
The in-training form, EGO had told him, was the weakest form a digimon could have before deletion. Only the baby form was below that and once a digimon reached the in-training stage it never went back to its juvenile existence. This was as low as he could go.
Shocked, but interested, Harry took a closer look. He looked rather cute, he thought to himself. Cute and cuddly. If only Hermione knew, he thought to himself smiling slightly.
Gone was his two meter high, sharp, clawed body with a long tail and impressive white wings.
What was left was a mere 40 cm's in length, small, red, round-ish fluffy creature, covered completely in short red silky fur, with only a small furry fox tail sticking out at one end, with a small foxy snout and two little pointy ears at the other. Truly a pitiful sight when compared to its former, more powerful Rookie counterpart, but nobody could deny that it was cute.
Sighing to himself, Harry shook his head and simply hoped that he wouldn't have to stay like that for long.
Turning his eyes away from this current digital form, he slowly turned his attention to the three cylinders in front of him.
First up was the red liquid cylinder of life.
The red liquid which showed his health nearly made him cry out in shock. It was currently at a mere 1%. Seeing it so low really scared Harry. EGO truly hadn't been joking when he said that it was going to be dangerous, or as he had put it so tactfully: extremely dangerous bordering on foolish. That was close…way too close.
Harry had no doubt at all that it was only due to the fact that EGO had been in control at the time, that he had survived at all. Truly much too close for comfort. Still, one percent was one percent and as long as he had that one percent he was still alive.
Looking at the green cylinder next, he noticed that, unlike last time, this time it was nearly depleted.
'Well, I shouldn't really be surprised. I did use my abilities a lot more this time round, or at least EGO did, not to forget the sheer amount of power it would have taken to open the gate, whatever that was,' he reminded himself, as he noticed that it was currently at a low 12%.
'What a mess, I truly was near deaths door this time,' he thought, shaking his head again in partial despair, partial wonder.
'This can not be allowed to continue. I have to be more prepared next time,' he thought, dismally.
'But how?' he wondered.
'What can I possibly do against such numbers, such hate?...such corruption. There were simply too many of them. If it wasn't for EGO…,' his thoughts trailed off.
Shaking his head he turned his attention to the third and final cylinder. This one made him smile.
Harry had of course known what to expect. From his lessons with 'sensei EGO' he had known about digi-evolution and the facts around it, so he hadn't been too surprised or afraid when it had happened. True, it had been weird, feeling and seeing his skin peel itself off and reconstruct itself, not to forget feeling yourself change into a completely different creature, but if that was all, then he could easily live with it.
All facts aside, it was nice seeing the blue liquid in the cylinder clearly above the C mark, which stood for Champion stage.
Looking more closely Harry realised that he was still fairly far away from the U which stood for 'Ultimate Form,' but wasn't too disappointed that he hadn't reached it yet.
In fact, he would have been more disappointed if he had. After all, nothing should be too easy to achieve, if it was it usually wasn't worth having.
Looking away from the third cylinder, Harry was about to get up from the chair when suddenly a small device appeared beside him.
Startled, Harry recognised the device as a digivice.
"OK! Now this is…interesting!" he said out loud, picking it up.
"It is, isn't it?" said a voice, making Harry jump.
"Damn you, did you have to scare me like that?" Harry asked as he realised that it was only EGO who had spoken.
"Of course, it wouldn't have been any fun otherwise," EGO responded cheekily.
"Yea right, whatever…So, what happened? Are we ok? Is this what I think it is?" Harry asked, ignoring EGO's reply.
"What do you think it is?" EGO asked.
"Well, from the looks of it, its shape, its colour and due to that fact that it obviously is a digivice, I'd say it's my digivice, correct? But how is that possible?...oh wait!... This is just a mind copy of the real thing, isn't it?" Harry asked, comprehending what had happened.
"Quite right, it is a duplicate of the actual thing, which is currently deep inside Hermiones pocket, symbolising your eternal partnership with the dear Ms. Granger, who, I might add, is currently extremely exhausted and sleeping, but otherwise perfectly fine.
Hearing this Harry relaxed. "Thank Merlin, with the amount of pain I felt…well… anyway… that's good," he said, relieved.
"Yes, indeed, thank Digimo that it's true. For a second there even I was worried that we wouldn't make it. No matter!… I'm happy to announce that both of you will make full recoveries," said EGO kindly.
Harry nodded.
"Good! Now! As to your other question: I successfully managed to open a digital gate from the 'mundane world' to the digital world and by doing so I managed to bring us through it before too much damage was done to us. I realise the damage which we did receive was huge and that it will take us quite a while to regenerate from it, but considering the alternative I think we did fairly well. We are still here and that is all that counts."
"A wise old man once said: 'He who looses and runs away can live to fight for another day.' Wise words these, which I fully intend to prove true."
"So, having said that, let us now get straight down to business. We are now in the digital world. I trust you remember what I told you about it. It is NOT a safe place."
"The majority of digimon we meet here will be hostile. Do not for a second think otherwise. The law of the wilderness rules the plains of the digital world and believe me when I tell you, only the strongest survive."
"Delete or be deleted, is the name of the game. The first mistake could be our last. Digimon, in general do not take prisoners, so don't expect them to. In fact, never expect them to. Instead, they will absorb you. Second chances? Starting from this moment I do not want to hear that word ever again. Is that clear?"
It took a second but Harry finally nodded.
"I hope so, I really do," said EGO accepting the nod for what it was.
"Now! The following are a set of rules which I expect you and our new tamer to follow at all times, we can fill her in on these at a later stage:"
"Rule 1: Always obey any orders given to you by your alter ego, that's me, in case you're wondering. My first priority and main task is to protect, teach, train and guide you and your tamer, in that order. It's what I do and what I was created for. When it comes to this world I always know best, no exceptions. Not to do so may mean deletion or the death of the tamer."
"Rule 2: The safety of your tamer has to be your highest priority at all times, if she is in danger, get her out of it any way you can. Not to do so may mean deletion or the death of the tamer. The sole exception to this is when you're protecting the Digital mother."
"Rule 3: Never start fights which you are absolutely sure you can not win. It's foolish and suicidal. The exception to this is when you're attempting to rescue somebody critical, somebody who simply can not be allowed to die, somebody like your tamer. Also, your own tamer always has priority above others, the sole exception being the Digital mother. Not to do so may mean deletion or the death of the tamer."
"Rule 4: Never trust an unfriendly digimon, no matter what they might say, do or promise. The key word here being unfriendly. Please note: unfriendly may not always mean being attacked by them. Not to do so may mean deletion or the death of the tamer."
"Rule 5: When winning a battle against an unfriendly digimon always delete it and absorb its data if possible. Absorbing data makes you stronger and can lead to your final stage of digivolution. Not absorbing data is just plain stupid. An enemy digimon which is kept alive may return one day. Remember the wise mans phrase from before. Not to do so may mean deletion or the death of the tamer."
"Rule 6: No dumb ass heroics or chances if you can avoid them; use your tamers help whenever you can, even if not needed. Tamers are there for a reason. Their ability to increase your abilities and bring you back from the brink of death, via a card swipe is invaluable, use it. Always, and I mean always accept their help, or in the case of the tamer, always give help, even if not needed. The exception is when it would put either of you in definite mortal danger. Not to do so may mean deletion or the death of the tamer."
"Rule 7: Disagreements between the tamer and the digimon have to be resolved a.s.a.p. Under no circumstances can a disagreement be allowed to continue for longer than absolutely necessary. Not to do so may mean deletion or the death of the tamer."
"Rule 8: Never attack a digimon or a tamer under direct orders from the Digital Mother, her proxy or the Digital King. Doing so may invoke the wrath of Tern Digimo and may mean deletion or the death of the tamer."
"Rule 9: Very Important: Always obey the Digital Mother and Digital King. The Digital Mother has priority over the king. Protect the Digital Mother and her proxy at all costs. All other rules are rescinded while the digital mother or her proxy are under attack. Loss of the digital mother equals immediate termination of all digimon."
"Rule 10: NEVER EVER attack the digital mother or her proxy. To do so means immediate termination, no exceptions."
There are other rules of course, but these are some of the most important. Everything clear so far Harry?" asked EGO.
Once again Harry simply nodded, too overwhelmed to respond otherwise.
"Don't worry you'll get used to it, oh and before I forget it; if either of you, you or your tamer, do, or are about to do something, which really annoys me, or puts either of you into obvious danger, I will warn you. If it's you who does something wrong and you know it, I will punish you for it, if it is Hermione who does something wrong and she knows it, I will expect you to punish her in my place, is that clear?" EGO asked sternly.
Harry gulped but nodded.
Seeing the worried look on Harry's face EGO laughed.
Don't worry Harry, I'll always be fair. If there is even the smallest chance that either of you didn't realise what you were doing was wrong, or that it was simply an accident, then I won't do anything, I promise. However if one of you does do something and you fully knew what you did was wrong before you did it, well, lets just say you won't like the results."
"But enough of this,…any questions?" EGO asked merrily, seeing the ever increasing worried look on Harry's face.
Harry mentally shook his head.
"No, well, in that case... I see our power levels are back to somewhat acceptable levels, now, how about we wake up and check up on our tamer, she woke up an hour or so ago. It may have seemed like only a few minutes have passed since we arrived, but time moves slower in here than outside, so it's in fact been close to one and a half days in the outside, since we entered the digital world. I have no doubt that she is very worried and confused at present. Better not keep her waiting, the digital world is no place for a tamer without the protection of their digimon," EGO said happily.
Realising that his health level had indeed risen back to a fairly healthy 50% while they had been talking, Harry quickly agreed.
"Ok, that's great, just one last thing before we go. From now on I'll be taking a back seat and you and Hermione will be doing most of the fighting on your own. I know I have said this before, but this time I really do mean it. I will only interfere if it is absolutely necessary for me to do so. You need the experience more than I do. Besides, I may not always be able to step in, in time to save the day, so it is important that you can do so too, without me being around to hold your hand. Now, let's tell Hermione the good news, shall we? I'll see you soon," said EGO, and with that he was gone.
Not leaving Harry any time to respond everything suddenly went black and then Harry was gone too.
Back in the mundane world, a day after the gate indecent, Grimmauld Place, OOTP HQ
A day later, after what had since become known as the 'day of great pain,' nobody was surprised when Dumbledore called together another Order meeting. In fact, Dumbledore never even really had to call them at all. Everybody, at least those who could attend, had been so interested in what had happened that day that they all rightfully assumed that there would be a meeting soon and were all waiting for him in the meeting room, an hour before it was due to start.
Slowly, moving tenderly, Dumbledore walked into the room and tried to sit down, letting loose a small yelp as he touched the chair.
The pain he had felt as the air had cracked and torn apart to create the gate had left him very sore in multiple areas and he really was not looking forward to the next few days as his body healed.
The other order members who had been with him at the time were not much better off either. Nearly everybody had needed multiple strong doses of the anti cruciatus potion to get themselves back on to their feet and a lot had spent the rest of the day either in the school hospital wing or in a ward in St. Mungos.
Dumbledore would never forget what had happened and was currently reviewing his options.
It seemed clear to him that fighting against these creatures, whatever they were, was not a good idea. They seemed to have powers even he could only dream about and so were best avoided if at all possible.
Lifting his arm, giving it a brief glare as he realised it was trembling like a leaf during a strong wind, he called the order to order.
"I'll try to keep this short, as I'm sure most of us are not feeling too well at present," he said just before releasing a small retching cough as if to prove his statement.
"We all know why we are here, two main reasons; one is Harry Potter and Ms. Granger, the other is that 'creature,' whatever it was, which was protecting Ms. Granger and her parents."
"Most, if not all of you were there, so I don't have to explain what happened. If you do not know what happened then please ask someone who does in your own time. Does anybody have any idea what the hell that thing was?... Hagrid, your usually very fond of dangerous creatures. You have seen the pensive memory of what happened from myself and Severus, are you sure you don't know what it was?" Dumbledore asked the half giant.
"Na, I'm sor'y 'eadmast'r but I have nev'r seen tha' type of beastie before tod'y. From da looks of it tho' I have do doubt tha' it is best left alone. It makes a 'orntail look like a baby chick," said Hagrid solemnly. "Woulda' liked ta have met it though," he added wistfully, before falling silent.
Most of the order who had not met the creature gasped as they heard this. Hearing Hagrid, somebody who thought dragons were cute, say that the creature made a Hungarian Horntail, one of the most dangerous dragons around, look like a common everyday chicken in comparison, shocked quite a few of them.
"What about you Charles? You work with dragons, have you ever seen anything like it before?" he asked the orders dragon expert.
"No I have not, it definitely is no dragon I have ever seen before though, that much I can assure you," said Charlie Weasley, who had especially come from the dragon reserve in Romania to take part in the meeting.
Dumbledore sighed as he heard this, another dead end.
"Very well, does anybody else want to comment?" he asked, coughing again.
Nobody did. They were all as stumped as he was.
"Severus, what about you? Has Tom any idea what it could be?" he asked the spy.
Severus Snape, resident double agent for the order, shook his head and stood up. "No Albus, he does not.' Needless to say he is very interested in this 'thing,' whatever it is, just about as much as you are. I was part of the attack group, led by Bellatrix Lestrange, which was sent out to capture Granger and Potter. Let me tell you right now: if you should ever meet it, turn around and run. This is one foe you do not want to meet. It is well above all of us, with the possible exception of perhaps you and the dark lord. Only go against it in large groups. One on one it is suicidal at best and even in groups it's still dangerous. Believe me, I know. You saw my pensive memory of the attack, you saw what it did. Bellatrix is still in intensive care after loosing her wand arm. The Dark Lord had to give her a fake silver arm simply to keep her alive. If she wasn't so important to his cause…," he trailed off. "Anyway, if it's true what I heard she will never be the same again. I myself only just managed to apperate out in time."
"I see. Very well, thank you Severus." Nodding slightly Severus Snape sat back down. He had a pensive look on his face.
Facing the rest of the order, Dumbledore continued to speak: "In that case, until we know more, let us simply keep an eye out for it and any others of its type. If any of you should see it, do not attack. If possible gain its trust, but whatever you do, do not give it any reason to harm you." The same goes for others of its kind.
"Now, on to the second part of today's meeting: Harry and Ms. Granger.
Ms. Tonks, what have you found out? Have you been able to revive the Elder Grangers? Have you been able to find out anything about Harry or Hermione?" Dumbledore asked, turning his attention to the orders current only active auror member. Dawlish and Shacklebolt were currently out of action and in the intensive care ward at St Mungos. Shacklebolt, due to a heavy head injuries caused by a blunt object to the head and Dawlish was in critical condition because he was recovering from cruciatus symptons and because his face was a bloody mess having been repeatedly punched by Hermione Granger.
Tonks stepped forward to speak.
"As you know we managed to capture the elder Grangers. Wasn't really that difficult, both were out cold when we found them. They have woken up since, however…," here Tonks paused, a troubled, sad look on her face before continuing: "… It seems they have the same condition as the Longbottoms. Both are completely unresponsive to anything we say or do to them. I'm sorry but we won't be able to question them any time soon, if at all. They are currently in the long term ward in St. Mungos. Sharing a room with the Longbottoms and Mr Lockhart from what I last heard.
Dumbledore nodded and sighed once more. Things were not going to plan.
"Thank you Tonks," he said before turning back to face the whole order.
Tonks, like Severus before her, nodded and sat down.
"All right everybody, it seems we have reached an impasse. All we can do now is wait and see. I would like everybody to keep an eye open for Harry and Hermione. If you see them alone, call for back up and try to bring them in, use any force necessary but I want Harry alive. Hermione, due to her criminal record is currently expendable but if you can bring her in too then that would be great. If the creature is with them, contact me immediately. Do not under any circumstance engage them if the creature is with them. It's much too dangerous and I do not want to damage relationships with the creatures if I can help it, whatever they are called. Should you gain an opportunity to make friendly contact with one of their kind, do so, but be extremely careful. If possible, try to build up a friendly relationship with these creatures but do not take any unnecessary risks. At the very least try to find out more about them. Be careful, Voldemort will probably be trying the same thing. Should he succeed before we do, then we could be in a lot of trouble. That can not be allowed to happen."
"To recap: Your first priority is to keep an eye out for Harry and Hermione and to capture them if possible. Your second priority is to make friendly contact with the creature or its kind. Under no circumstances should any of you engage it, or its kind in combat. Try to find out as much as you can about them: where they come from, how many there are, what their goals are, anything like that. Try to become friends with them if possible.
That is all, any questions?"
Nobody answered.
"Very well then, I am going to team up with the minister to look for them, perhaps I can find out something useful with this new project of his. You have your orders. Good luck. Meeting adjourned."