May 28, 2004
5:32 PM
Harry Potter's office
Two and a half weeks after Harry's defeat of The Jester, things should have been better. The news that Harry Potter had taken down The Jester had slowly permiated through the wizarding society over the past two weeks and it was now common knowledge that both The Jester and The Frenchman were dead. A week prior, they had held a nationwide celebration to honor Harry and the deaths of their two greatest nemesises were gone.
For Harry, though, things were different. Despite the fact that The Frenchman, responsible for the death of at least 149 Frenchman, 144 Englishmen, and 100 Spaniards, and The Jester, international terrorist responsible for previous attacks on London, Madrid, New York City, Moscow, New Dehli and Paris, were both dead, Harry wasn't happy.
He wasn't happy because he knew that even though The Network as a legitimate threat was dead, its leader was nowhere to be found. The amount of sleep that Harry had gotten over the last two weeks had dwindled to almost nothing as Harry traveled across the planet searching for places that "The Lost Angel" could be hiding. He had visited Malfoy Manor, empty until Draco came back from abroad, he had gone to Little Hangleton to visit Riddle Manor, and he had even gone to Nurmengard, Grindelwald's prison, to look for him.
Over this time, he had ignored every single person that had come to be important to him. He had passed much of the leadership of the DA off to Ginny and Neville, who had led the DA during their resistance while at Hogwarts. In that time, they had continued their search for the Lost Angel. However, nothing had been found and it was driving Harry to the brink of insanity. He knew that somewhere out there, the man in the cloak was waiting for the heat to die down and then make his next move. It was the single most frustrating thing that he had ever experienced. He knew that he hadn't done anything yet but the man in charge of leading Voldemort, Grindelwald, The Jester and The Frenchman was going to be up to something bad.
"Harry?"
Harry looked up to see Ron Weasley standing in his doorway, an almost fearful look on his face. This was par for the course recently. Since Harry had come back from Paris, bloody and angry as hell, it seemed that everyone was afraid of him. Right now, Ron was no exception.
"Ron, how did it go?" Harry asked.
"It's a mess." Ron replied as he sat down at one of the chairs opposite Harry's desk. "All fifteen dead. No sign of damage, no sign of forced entry and no sign that anything was fixed. There were so many people in the room that it couldn't have been more than one or two people."
"Apparation?"
"They had to. They would have had to Apparate into the room silently and kill 15 of my best Aurors without missing and doing it so quickly that no one tried to defend themselves."
"Bad for the office, huh?"
Ron nearly burst out laughing at the question.
"I've been on the job for eight days and I already might get kicked out."
Ten days ago, Percy had officially fired Gawain Robards for his behavior during the attack of the Ministry. After spending that time looking for a replacement, he found the most interesting and best one: Kingsley Shacklebolt. The former Minister, while initially against the idea, had finally agreed when he found out who his Assistant Head and replacement would be: Ron Weasley. Once he heard that, knowing that he would only be taking the job until Ron was ready, he took it. Now, the redhead across from him was in charge of all field missions under the Auror Department.
However, just a few days later and Kingsley and Ron already had a disaster on their hands. After Harry had defeated The Jester, Percy had ordered a complete search and seizure of the London apartment that the Jester had operated from. While they were busy cataloging the information and inventory of the apartment, Ron had ordered a group of fifteen Aurors to station themselves in an apartment across the street. Looking out the largest window, they would be able to see the apartment at all times. From there, they could mark down every single person that entered and exited the building as this was the only entrance for the building.
Fifteen of the best Aurors had been there only four days when the previous night, about one in the morning, Ron hadn't gotten his customary six hour check, which had been due at midnight. Fearing the worst, Ron went to the apartment and saw exactly that. Fifteen dead Aurors with no sign of a struggle or battle. All of them dead in their seats and not a single thing out of place.
"You won't get the boot yet." Harry said with a smile that he didn't feel. "There's nothing you could have done. If he's really that good, then there's something else that we need to figure out."
"What is that?"
"A way to surprise him, instead of the other way around." Harry answered quickly.
"No kidding." Ron replied as he stood up, turning his back to exit the room. Just as he reached the door, he turned back to Harry. "Coming for dinner tonight?"
"I'll do my best." Harry said, knowing full well that he had no intention of leaving his office. In fact, hidden underneath his desk was a blanket and a magically inflatable mattress that he had been sleeping on for four days now. He had only left the Ministry for his trips and to get food and take the occasional shower. He knew that he was a mess and didn't particularly care. The Lost Angel must be caught.
"Harry, don't do that." Ron said quickly. "We miss you. I know that you're frustrated because you haven't been able to find him but you're no good to anyone half dead. How about you come with me right now? You can come to the Burrow, eat some good food and then go home and sleep in your own bed and not on that damn mattress that you have hidden somewhere in here."
"How did you know about that?" Harry asked.
"I didn't." Ron replied with a grin. "I just know that Cho said that you haven't been home in several days and I assumed that you would be staying here."
"Correct, you are." Harry said with a smile. "Fine, let me grab my things."
"Good." Ron replied. "Now I'll survive Hermione's wrath when I get home."
6:58 PM
The Burrow
"So, Harry, how's Cho doing?" Hermione asked as they sat down to eat.
"I'm not exactly sure." Harry said, a nervous smile on his face.
"Why not?"
"Well, I haven't exactly spent much time with her recently. We work together but then she goes home and I stay at the Ministry."
The Weasley family was meeting for the weekly dinner. Unlike when Molly had gone to the hospital, Arthur's death had not stopped the weekly meals. Instead, they actually made them bigger. Charlie had been offered the job as Professor of Care of Magical Creatures, replacing Hagrid who had expressed that he was getting ready to retire as a professor and return to his duties as Keeper of Keys and Grounds full-time.
Bill had finally decided to take a promotion with Gringotts and become a Junior Account Manager, the first human to do so in over 200 years. Fleur had come with him and there was word going around that Professor Flitwick was seeking retirement and that she was being interviewed for the Charms position.
However, with everyone home, there had been one problem: The Burrow. No one wanted the house to leave the family but they also had their own homes. So, there were three or four days of discussions among the family that finally led them to the decision they came to. With its location far and away from London, while still being relatively well known among their friends, they would still be able to use it as a sort of "vacation" home. However, they also decided to still return home and have their weekly meals there.
"Harry, you need to go home more often." Ginny said with concern. "I don't understand how you think you're going to catch anyone looking like you do."
"I'll be fine, Ginny." Harry replied to the redhead sitting next to him. "You just need to worry about signing your new contract."
"You heard about that?" she asked softly.
Harry nodded his head. "I work a lot but Ian messages me quite often. He said that he did as I asked. I only really asked him two things so I knew that he had given you your contract."
"What did you ask him?"
"Pay Oliver and get you at all costs." Harry replied simply.
"Why?" Ginny asked, a look of surprise on her face.
"If I'm going to eventually go back to playing Quidditch, I'm going to do it right and I'm going to play with people I trust to do the job. Can't go wrong with a Keeper who is widely regarded as the best in the League and the reigning MVP."
"I guess." Ginny said, a goofy grin on her face. "Did you ask for me to be team captain too?"
"Yeah." Harry admitted. "I just catch the Snitch and I'll run some practice drills if I have to but I have no interest in running the team."
"Well, I do. Do you know how much more you get paid as team captain?"
"I do. But as I'll be getting paid a league high salary for Seekers as it is, I don't think I need the Captain's bonus." Harry said with a smile.
"I can't believe I'm not going to be in Holyhead next season."
"I can't believe I got outbid for my own sister!" George shouted from the other end of the table, a huge smile on his face. "I know we have Krum but still!"
"Krum doesn't have anything on Harry Potter!" Ginny said, a small blush appearing on her face.
"I can't believe we're spending this much time talking about Quidditch." Hermione grumbled quietly.
"Well I can't talk about the case anymore, Hermione. I think I've told you everything."
"Not one thing." Ron said boldly. "We know that it's important, him being powerful and everything. But I want to know why it's so important to you. Occlumency never meant this much and neither did your lessons with Dumbledore. This is a level of obsession that I've never seen from you. Why is it so important?"
"You remember me telling you guys about Noah?" Harry said, looking around the table at a collection of nodding heads. "When we were at The Frenchman's apartment, there was a Pensieve. I took a dive into it to see what it held."
"Why?" Fleur asked. "Why did it seem important?"
"If the Frenchman had been looking at it, if he felt the need to review it, it was important." Harry answered her simply before continuing. "Anyway, when I was inside, I saw a meeting between the Frenchman and my friend, Noah. There, it was apparent to me that Noah was working with The Frenchman to take down The Network. However, it was also obvious that their reasoning was different. The Frenchman wanted to take it down to take over while Noah wanted to take it down forever."
"What does that have to do with anything?" Charlie asked. "I know that I don't know a lot of particulars about your time away but I'm a bit confused."
"It doesn't have anything to do with the case. I just know that Noah found me in Alaska to train me to take him down and for him and for what he gave, I have to do that." Harry replied.
"Well, that's all well and good, but that still doesn't help me convince my sister to play for me!" George shouted as Angelina playfully slapped him.
"I'm sorry, Harry." Angelina said with a grin. "He isn't usually this rowdy."
"Yes he is." Harry said with a smile. "I've spent enough time with him over the years to know that."
"Hey now, Potter!" George said, wagging his finger at him. "Don't you go spreading rumors about me!"
With that, Harry couldn't resist and Harry and Ron spent the next few hours telling everyone the stories of Fred and George that no one had heard, specifically those involving Quidditch. Despite all of the horrible things that had been happening recently in Harry's life, he couldn't help but appreciate the time to laugh and to be with those people who had been with him through all of the terrible times in his life.
Nearly an hour later, Harry finally picked up his things and made his way to the door, saying his goodbyes. Deciding that he wasn't going to go to the Ministry, he walked out towards the edge of the wards where he could Apparate home. However, as he made his way out, he suddenly felt a soft hand on his elbow turning him around.
A week ago, he would have had his cane with him and he probably would have fallen to the ground. As it was, Harry's leg had healed up well and he was able to deal with the torque place on his body as he spun around. Suddenly, just like at her father's memorial service weeks before, he could feel the burst of red hair squeeze him tightly. Every time that she hugged him, his mind wandered back to his sixth year, arguably the happiest time of his life before things went as far south as they could.
"Ginny." Harry whispered softly. "Ginny, I'm with Cho now. I can't do this."
Breaking away from him, Ginny looked up at him, that same fiery look she had given him all those years ago blazing in her eyes.
"This has nothing to do with Cho." Ginny said quietly. "You didn't have to do that."
"You're right." Harry replied. "But, I know that I wanted to play on a good team and I wanted you on that team."
"Why though?"
"It has nothing to do with our relationship, Gin."
"I didn't think it did."
"Then what did you think?" Harry demanded quickly.
"I'm not sure what I thought, alright?" Ginny shouted in reply. "I know that I screwed things up with you, Harry. I know that you had every reason to hate me for the way that I treated you."
"How did you treat me?"
"I treated you like a hero!" Ginny replied. "I treated you like the savior you were! I worshipped you!"
"I didn't need you to worship me." Harry said softly, closing the distance between the two of them. "I needed you to treat me like me. You are my friend, Ginny, and even today, you're one of the people that is closest to me. But I have no desire to be a hero or a savior or someone to be worshiped. I'm Harry and just that. I'm just Harry."
"Why choose me?" Ginny asked, returning to the original topic. Harry had no desire to continue to talk about their failed relationship and was more than happy to go wherever she wanted to go with this. "I mean, I know I won the MVP this season but there are plenty other talented Chasers that you could have asked to play with."
"There are." Harry admitted. "Two things, though. First, they aren't as good as you. Second, they aren't you."
"Thanks, Harry."
"Don't thank me." Harry replied. "I only asked. Thank Ian, he's the one who's paying you."
Stepping closer to Ginny, he pulled her in tight for a hug, this time of his own choice. Embracing her tightly for a few moments, he finally chose to let her go and make his way home.
"I'll see you later, Gin." Harry said with a smile.
"Later, Potter." she replied, returning his smile.
Pleased with how that conversation had gone, Harry quickly turned and walked to the edge of the grounds where he quickly Apparated away from the Burrow and back to Potter Manor.
Potter Manor
8:11 PM
Having Apparated from the Burrow and landed rather gracefully in the entrance hall of Potter Manor, Harry began a quick search of the house to determine where everyone was. It took him nearly ten minutes to find the first person, Tracey, sitting in the back living room, watching a blazing fire. Normally, he would have ignored her and gone upstairs. However, while he had been at dinner with the Weasley's, he had decided that he was going to do his best to not be such a hermit. He knew that he was still insanely devoted to his case and it probably wouldn't last long but for now, he would give it a shot.
Stepping into the room, he moved quickly until he came up next to her. What he saw certainly shocked him. She was going over briefs on The Jester and The Frenchman. They were sprawled all over the floor in front of her as she occassionally picked up her glasses to read something in small print. He also saw large filings on Lord Voldemort and Grindelwald. Someone was certainly doing their homework.
"What are you looking for?" Harry asked softly, doing his best not to scare her.
Surprisingly, she had almost no reaction. Instead, she just looked up at him and spoke.
"Looking for connections between the four of them. More specifically, I'm trying to find a time where none of them were active or accounted for."
"Good luck." Harry said with a smile as he took a seat next to her. "Grindelwald has been in Nurmengard since 1945. None of the others were even born yet."
"Well, he is the one I'm least concerned with because of that. I'm looking mostly into the time where Voldemort was gone."
"But Christoph and Vinogradoff wouldn't have been old enough, would they?"
"It depends." Tracey replied with a shrug. "We know for certain Christoph's age. He was thirty-six years old when he died which means that he would have been twelve when Lord Voldemort disappeared and twenty-seven when he returned in 1995. Because you just told us that Vinogradoff was a fake name, we can't be entirely certain her age. However, we can guess that she was probably a few years older than Christoph, placing her at about forty-two at the time of her death."
"How old does that make her when Lord Voldemort disappeared?"
"She would have been roughly eighteen when he disappeared and thirty-three when he came back."
"I can't believe it's been almost nine years since the Third Task." Harry said, a cold chill running down his back as he remembered the graveyard and the horrible resurrection of Lord Voldemort. "Wait, she said that The Lost Angel recruited her when she was fourteen or fifteen, what year would that have been?"
"Roughly 1976 or thereabout." Tracey replied. "Obviously we can't know for certain."
"No but we do know that she was with The Lost Angel prior to Voldemort's collapse." Harry said. "That means that she probably would have known that he was alive."
"So?"
"Find a time between 1980 and 1995 where the Frenchman and Vinogradoff were both missing."
For the next fifteen minutes or so, Harry and Tracey dove through the files before stumbling on what they were looking for.
"In 1982, Azoli Vinogradoff enrolled at the Moscow Finals School, a wizarding school for students who had missed school for some reason. Records show that she had never attended school in Russia or anywhere for that matter."
"She did." Harry said. "Just under a different name. It's probably confidential and there's no way in hell we're getting that information."
"Anyway, from 1980-1982 when she entered school, there was no mention of her anway. During that same time period, Christoph went missing for ten months while on a school field trip to Greece."
Harry couldn't help but think that somehow the two were related but he couldn't imagine how. Voldemort was hiding in Albania. Christoph was missing in Greece. Azoli was nowhere to be found.
Suddenly, inspiration struck Harry.
"Do we have a map somewhere?" Harry asked, feeling the adreneline pumping through his blood.
"Yeah, right here. Why?" Tracey replied as she handed him a map of Europe. Taking the map and spreading it out of the floor in front of him, Harry began his passionate presentation.
"Follow me for a second." Harry said excitedly. "Where was Christoph when he went missing?"
"Greece." Tracey replied, pointing at the country's location on the map.
"Correct. Now, where was Azoli?"
"We're not sure." Tracey answered for him.
"We aren't. However, can we not say that if we don't know where she is and if she's supposedly training with the Lost Angel, that she's with him?"
"We can probably say that."
"Good. Where is Lord Voldemort at this time?"
"Albania." Tracey replied, pointing at the map with sudden realization. Looking at the map, she saw the souther border of Albania.
It was shared with Greece.
"Here's my theory and it's weak at best." Harry said with a smile. "Voldemort gets defeated and falls back to Albania for two reasons. First, he knows the area because that's where he found the Diadem of Ravenclaw. Second, if this guys is as good as we think, he knew about the Horcruxes. If he knew about the Horcruxes, he would have known that Albania was as a good a place as any to find Voldemort. So, taking Azoli with him, they went to Albania. Somewhere along the way, they either recruited Christoph or they had already been talking with him or they recruited him there."
"But, Harry, I don't understand. This is great that we know more of the story but why is it important?"
"It's important because it creates the only known time where The Lost Angel, Voldemort, The Jester and The Frenchman were together. All of the active members of the Network in one place at one time."
"I'm lost." Tracey said with a weak smile.
"Don't you see?" Harry said, nearly shouting. "The only reason that The Lost Angel would risk having them all there at the same time was because he felt safe. He knew he was going to be able to protect himself but the odds of all of them escaping if they were found were not good. So, there's got to be something, a house, a castle, something in that forest that acted as some kind of fortress for him. Something to keep them safe."
"So what does that mean?"
"It means that I have a trip to Albania in my future."
10:11 PM
After spending quite some time working through the case files to narrow down the locations of the forest that he was going to have to find in Albania, Harry was ready to go to bed. However, before he did that, he knew that he had to talk to Cho. He expected her to be unhappy and he would understand it. He had largely ignored her for the past two weeks, at least.
So, when he knocked on her bedroom door, he was surprised that she answered.
"Hey." Harry said softly. "Can I come in?"
"Of course." she said, opening the door for him. As he walked in, he saw that much of the room had been redecorated in her own taste. Surprisingly, rather than being pink, her favorite color, she had instead decorated the room in Ravenclaw blue and silver. It made the room seem darker than the rest of the hosue, especially at night.
Taking a seat next to her bed as she jumped up onto her mattress, Harry looked up at Cho. Once her eyes fixated on him, her expression changed from one of neutrality to one of worry.
"Harry, what's wrong?"
"I'm sorry that I've been away so much recently." Harry muttered softly. "I wish I could spend more time with you."
"Then let me go on your trips with you." Cho replied with a smile.
"We've been over this." Harry replied harshly. "You know why I go alone."
"Because you're crazy."
"That might be part of it."
Suddenly, Cho got down of off her bed and approached Harry, taking a seat in his place. Leaning in, she kissed him delicately, in a way that only she could.
"I understand, Harry." she whispered softly in his ear. "If I didn't, I couldn't be with you."
"With me, huh?" Harry said with a smirk. "You make it sound like you want to be my girlfriend again."
"I've never not wanted to be your girlfriend, Harry." Cho replied seriously. "I was just an insane sixteen year old at one point in my life."
"Don't I know it?" Harry said mockingly before looking at her seriously. "I promise, when all of this is over, I'll take you wherever you want to go. I'll put Quidditch, The Ministry, anything on hold and we'll just get out of here."
"I'd like that." Cho replied.
For the next half hour or so, Harry and Cho just sat in that chair, talking about all of the exotic places they would go on their trip around the world. Finally, as Harry was describing the cities of California, he noticed that Cho had fallen asleep on his lap. Rather than wake her up, Harry decided to test his leg by picking her up directly out of the chair. Standing gently with her in his arms, he walked the short distance to her bed and placed her down softly. Within seconds, she had nestled herself into her covers and fallen into an even deeper sleep.
Knowing that she was warm and happy with him, Harry left the room smiling before nearly collapsing on his own bed down the hall.
May 30, 2004
Harry Potter's Office
11:56 AM
"Yes, I understand your concern, Percy." Harry said to the frustrated Minister of Magic seated across from him. "I know that my constant disappearances aren't making things easier for you but I can guarantee you, they are necessary."
"Harry, why won't you tell me what you're looking for?" Percy asked.
"Because if I tell you specifically what I'm looking for and someone asks you, you will have to answer honestly." Harry said, doing his best to reason with him.
"I'm the Minister of Magic. I can-"
"Don't finish what you were going to say." Harry replied. "The last thing we need is another Minister of Magic who is knowingly lying to his constituents."
"Fine." Percy replied, even though Harry could tell that he was upset for having been told off. "Is this going to be your last trip?"
"I certainly hope so." Harry answered, feeling the exhaustion in his voice. Despite the excitement of having another place to look and one that seemed certain to hold a clue or something of the like, Harry was tired of the chase. He was just ready to be done.
"Alright, well I'll let you get back to work." Percy said as he stood up. "Just come back in one piece."
"I'll do my best. Thanks." Harry replied before looking down at the file in front of him. It was a report from the Albanian Minister of Magic on the geography of his nation. It seemed that there were several forests that could have served as Voldemort's hiding place and although none of them had any magical establishments in them, the Minister said they couldn't be certain that there wasn't something hidden in there. That thought alone scared Harry.
Just as Percy left, the younger Weasley walked in.
"You're leaving again, mate?" Ron asked. "Part of me is thinking that you're just setting up a home somewhere else so that you can run away again."
"Funny, Ron." Harry replied, not looking up. "No, I think I've found him."
"Seriously?" Harry said as he proceeded to explain the discoveries that he and Tracey had made two days prior. When he was done, Ron had a strange look on his face. "What?"
"I don't know, mate. It just seems strange that it all works out like that." Ron answered him. "Plus, Tracey wouldn't work for them again after what they did to her."
Ten days earlier, Tracey had raced back to her home to retrieve some personal effects. Once she arrived, she was ambushed by Mary and Blaise Zabini along with some masked friends. While she was surprised that Daphne wasn't there, she couldn't say that she was surprised. What did surprise her was the knowledge that it wasn't Daphne who was having her followed but Blaise and Mary. Mary wished to bring Daphne and Theodore into the fold with them and create an alliance that would gain power within the Ministry. However, the presence of Tracey and her very un-Slytherin ideals was going to bring that down.
Daphne couldn't bear to take down her best friend, Mary had said. For that, Theodore had nearly beat her death. Where she was at now, no one knew. But, she would come back and she would support Theodore and Blaise as they took over the Ministry. When they were done verbally assaulting her, they started doing it physically. Throwing her about her own house while they started torching it was about as terrible as anything Harry could imagine. She had been lucky enough to still have the strength to Apparate herself back to Potter Manor before passing out.
Mary and Blaise Zabini, while reports had been filed, had avoided being charged for a crime in the matter.
Daphne Greengrass-Nott was still missing.
"I suppose your right." Ron replied. "Anyway, Hermione wanted me to tell you that she doesn't want to have to chase you across Europe so you need to be able to come home healthy."
"Tell Hermione that I'll be fine." Harry said with a smile as he finally looked up from the papers on his desk. "She's just worrying."
"When isn't she?"
"Touche." Harry said. "Really, I don't think I'll find him there. I think I'll find some information that will get me closer but I don't feel close enough to get that lucky."
"What happens if you do find him?" Ron asked, a look of worry on his face. Harry knew that he was obviously thinking about his last encounter with The Lost Angel. "I mean, have you been practicing?"
"I have." Harry said with a nod. "I've been working here mostly, trying to work on varying my attacks and utilizing more techniques that he may not be ready for."
"I hope you know what you're doing." Ron said as he stood up. "I wouldn't want to have to tell Ginny that she has to move all the way to Portree only for you to bail on her."
"You won't have to." Harry replied.
"Good." Ron said as he walked to the door. "I'll see you when you get back. Good luck."
"I'll be back before you know it." Harry answered as Ron nodded and then walked out of the door.
Harry was just about into the next report in front of him when his office door opened again roughly thirty seconds later. Without looking up, Harry spoke.
"Ron, did you forget your cloak here again? Hermione's going to kill you if you leave it here."
"I'm not here for a cloak, Mr. Potter."
The moment the voice spoke, Harry understood. Things made so much sense now. Gripping his wand, Harry slowly looked up at the last face he thought that he would ever see again.
"Noah?" Harry asked as he looked into the eyes of his fallen friend.
"Let's go to lunch, Harry." Noah said with a smile. "I can explain everything there."
12:35 PM
London, UK
Harry and Noah sat down at a roadside cafe several blocks from the Ministry. Harry's mind was reeling and full of questions. Noah seemed to know this and so he leaned forward.
"Calm down, Harry." Noah said firmly. "You'll make a scene if you don't calm down."
"Are you serious right now?" Harry asked boldly. "Can you actually expect me to be calm?"
"I suppose now." Noah replied with a smile. "So, I suppose we should get this started. We aren't getting any younger, after all."
"I'm not." Harry said. "But you certainly aren't getting any older. How old are you?"
"Honestly, I don't know." Noah said, a totally serious look on his face. "If I had to guess, I would say two thousand years but that's just a guess. We age a little differently that you do."
"She wasn't making it up, was she?" Harry asked. "You really are something different. The Lost Angel in the world?"
"Azoli? No, no she wasn't. She didn't quite know everything but she knew enough and guessed correctly for the rest of it."
"So what are you?"
"I'm the last of the Seraphim." Noah said calmly as if he was discussing the color of the wall behind us.
"What is a Seraphim?"
"Actually, it's one Seraph. More than one Seraph are Seraphim. Anway, the Seraphim, in simplest terms, were a race of superhuman wizards."
"Were?" Harry asked.
"Like I said, I'm the last one." Noah answered, taking a drink of the coffee in front of him. How he could be thinking about something as simple as coffee was beyond him. Of course, he was the immortal being and Harry was the mortal one. "The Seraphim existed more powerfully thousands of years ago. How long ago, even I'm not sure, I wasn't there at the beginning."
"Really?" Harry asked.
"No. I'm actually the youngest of the clan and the only one, as it is." Noah replied. "For thousands of years, there were no new Seraphim. No Seraph mated and none of us died. You see, we are immortal. We can be harmed, although it's difficult, but once we get to peak age, we stop right then and there. However, once we mate, each of the parents give their power to their child. Once the child was born, each parent lost their ability and became normal wizards. Once this happened, they were Obliviated and sent to the rest of the world. For some reason, after centuries of abstinence, the Seraphim felt a need, an urge, to mate."
As Harry watched Noah speak, he couldn't imagine that Noah was truly The Lost Angel. He spoke so smoothly and so eloquently and seemed so genuine that it was impossible to think that he was truly as bad or as evil or as terrifying as he actually was. However, as Harry had watched him continue, he saw something hiding under the surface and while he wasn't sure that it was evil, it certainly was something out of the ordinary.
"Rest of the world?" Harry asked.
"Yes, the Seraphim lived on an island named Avalon. It's located-"
"West of the British Isles where there shouldn't be any land." Harry replied.
"Yes. How did you know?"
"There was a map in Azoli's house that showed where it was at." Harry answered before coming to a realization. "That wasn't her house, was it?"
"No. That was mine." Noah answered with a smile. "You really are the greatest wizard alive."
"I appreciate it. Next time, you can just tell me and not torture me and throw me around the room for a half hour."
"I'm hoping there won't be a next time."
"We'll see." Harry said. "So, all of the Seraphim gave birth and it was dwindled down to just you, right?"
"Correct."
"I am curious about something. If the Seraphim number dwindled when you mated, how did it get that big in the first place?" Harry asked curiously.
"We weren't sure. We thought that maybe we mated with Muggles or Wizards and grew. However, I wasn't alive when they did that research. To me, it doesn't matter."
"Fine. How long have you been alone as a Seraph?"
"My parents died somewhere around the beginning of the first century. Since then, I've been it. The only one of my kind and from then on, I decided that I wanted to have my place in the world secured. So, over the years, I tried different things. I tried direct takeover but it never lasted. I tried to suppliant the leader of the Roman Empire but I was unsuccessful. Finally, the idea came to me. I would allow others to do the work, inspiring them through fear to do my work, and slowly take over the world. Dumbledore stopped me by defeating Dumbledore and Voldemort failed me by somehow losing to you but I'll never be done. I will continue to recruit and continue to build and one day, sooner rather than later, I will have this whole planet resting firmly under my grasp."
"Why the vendetta against the world?" Harry asked. "You could do wonderful things for the world. There's no one to blame for why you're the only one of your kind left. Why do you feel the need to destroy everything?"
Suddenly, there wasn't just a mood shift. It was as if there was a different person seated across from him and this person was not a good one. In fact, Harry felt like he could feel the energy radiated off of the thing sitting across from him.
"The world doesn't deserve what it has." Noah replied simply and in that moment, he saw what was hiding behind his eyes and it wasn''t what he expected. It wasn't evil, it was madness. There was level within his mind that was plainly and simply unhinged. Whether it was years of solitude or something that came with being the last of his own species, Harry didn't know but what he did know was that something inside the mind of the man across from him was completely gone and it was terrifying to think that a man with his power was completely insane.
"The Muggles pollute the planet, Wizards destroy each other over something as simple as blood and people like you and me, people that follow the rules and should have the power, are shoved aside for people that have more money and more influence. I have more power in my pinky than any person in the world combined. There's no one that is going to challenge me."
"I will." Harry replied with determination. "I can take you down."
"You may think so, Potter. But you forgot something about my race. The power given from each parent is combined into their child and that continues all the way down. All the way down, Potter, to me. I am the most powerful being in the history of the world, Harry."
"Power by itself doesn't matter." Harry said. "You may be stronger than me but you don't believe in anything. You think that the world would be such a great place with you in charge. You think that humans are so terrible but what are you doing other than destroying the lives of billions so that you can satisfy your need to control?"
"This isn't about control, Potter." Noah growled. "This is about fixing everything that your species has fucked up since it came into being. You came from my species! The first humans were just the children of the Seraphim and to even share blood with you pathetic creatures makes me sick!"
"There's no way that you will get to take over. I will defeat you."
"You won't and I know why." Noah said, a terrifying smile on his face.
"Why?" Harry asked sarcastically.
"Because you're going to join me."
It was the most simple sentence that Harry had ever heard and yet it was also the most terrifying.
"How in the hell do you think that is going to happen?"
"You know how powerful I am, Potter. If you don't join me, I will kill Hermione, Ron, the rest of the Weasleys, Chang, Davis and any other person that you value until you do join me."
"You aren't going to intimidate me." Harry replied, rage building from deep inside him. "You fight me and no one else."
"What makes you think that I care about what you think? You might be the greatest wizard on the planet and that doesn't mean anything to me. The power of every Muggles and every witch and wizard combined doesn't even hold a candle to me. You wouldn't stand a chance against me."
"We'll see." Harry said as he stood up. "I'll see you around Noah. If I see you again, whether it's ambushing me in a black cloak or in my office, I will kill you."
Standing up, Harry had forgotten how large Noah was. He stood, towering over Harry as he growled in his ear.
"You have twenty-four hours to agree to join me. If you want to be with me, meet me on the lawn at Hogwarts by Dumbledore's Tomb. If you aren't there, I start killing."
May 31, 2004
12:25 PM
The White Tomb
Twenty-three hours and fifty minutes later, Harry stood, staring at the tomb of his greatest mentor, fearfully knowing what was coming and knowing that there was nothing to stop it. He was going to have to fight and defeat the most powerful being in the history of their planet. Yesterday, Harry had been full of bravado and rage, bad-mouthing the eternal wizard to no end. However, with a full day to think about it, he realized just how much of an uphill battle he was fighting. He had never faced an enemy like this. He would have rather faced fifty Romanian terrorists than try and fight this battle.
However, if there was anything that Harry knew about himself, it was that he would never turn back from this. He would give his very last breath to defeat the man who he had come to value as a friend while had been in Alaska. Now, he realized what Noah's plan had been from the beginning: get Harry to eliminate The Jester and then somehow convince him to join him. While Harry thought that Noah knew that he would never join, for Noah, there was no risk. If he lost The Jester and didn't gain Harry, he would kill Harry and go on looking for his next apprentice.
"Harry?"
Of course she would be able to find him here. Harry hadn't told her about what had happened the previous day but at dinner, she had been very aware of the suddenly both angry and sullen mood of her new boyfriend. Turning around, Harry saw Cho Chang standing behind him.
"How did you find me?"
"You've been standing out here for two hours." Cho replied with a smile. "Minerva saw you nearly forty minutes ago. It took me some time to get away from work so I could come out here and see what the hell you were doing standing out here."
"I'm glad you came." Harry said with a smile. "But you need to leave."
"What? Why?"
"Because something is about to happen here and I don't want you to be here for it."
"What's going to happen, Harry?"
For the next several minutes, Harry spent his time explaining what had happened. The further into the story that he got, the more the look of horror on Cho's face grew. Once he was finally done telling Cho everything, including Noah's threat to kill all of Harry's friend, the look on Cho's face was one that he wished he could simply make disappear.
"Harry, what are you going to do?"
"I knew that he was coming here now. I plan on doing everything I can to stop him." Harry said, looking at Cho, knowing that it could be the last time. "That's why I want you to leave. I know that there's a strong probability that I lose and I don't want you to be here to see it."
"Harry, you know I'm not leaving you." Cho replied, a tear escaping her eye.
"You need to. You need to be able to accept this and walk away and live the rest of your life." Harry said, taking her hands into his. "Know that I love you and that I hope that I can still take that trip around the world with you. But, right now, you need to accept that there's a strong chance that I'm not going to walk away from this."
"Alright, Harry." Cho said, slowly nodding your head. "But now, you aren't allowed to be mad at me."
"What?"
Suddenly, he felt three more people appear around him. Turning around, he saw Ron, Hermione and Ginny had been standing behind him for some time.
"How much did you guys hear?" Harry asked softly.
"All of it." Ginny replied. "Why does it always have to be you?"
"Believe me, I'm asking the same things." Harry replied with a smile before turning to all of them. "Alright, if you're going to be here, you're going to do one thing for me. Watch this fight. If I don't survive, I want you to take note of anything that I manage to hit him with. If it's a counter shot or anything like that, make a note of it. That way, when you guys have to fight him, you can know better what you're fighting against."
"Mate, don't be talking like that." Ron said harshly. "You'll be just fine."
"I certainly hope so."
Just as those words floated out of Harry's mouth, a large gust of wind rushed towards them, nearly knocking them over. Knowing exactly what that meant, Harry looked across the grounds to see Noah, The Lost Angel, standing, wand at the ready. The look on his face was on of unadulterated and unrestrained madness.
"Potter, so nice that you brought your friends. Are they all going to join?"
"Not exactly." Harry said as he approached Dumbledore's tomb. With a wave of his wand, the top piece of the tomb cracked down the middle, leaving a slight hole in it. Reaching in, Harry pulled the Elder Wand from its hiding place. Deciding that he would need every advantage he could get, he put his own wand back inside his robes and armed himself with the Elder Wand.
"I thought we said that you were only coming here if you wished to join me?" Noah asked. "You don't listen very well, do you?"
"I don't." Harry said, his wand weighing heavily at his side and ready for action.
"Well, then I'll ask you again: will you join me? You know that we would be unstoppable, Harry."
"We probably would." Harry admitted. "However, I have no interest in being unstoppable. I only seek to ensure that every person on this planet has the opportunity to live their lives to the fullest without the interference of some magical nutjob."
As Harry's strong words returned to him, the look on Noah's arrogant face soured.
"That's too bad, Harry." Noah said before withdrawing his wand from his cloak. "I really didn't want to have to do this."
Suddenly, his wand was out. However, Harry noticed that he wasn't aiming it at him. Instead, Harry turned around to see various chains and weights had magically appeared around Cho, weighing her to the ground. Then, without warning, she was flung high into the hair, arching out over the water of the Black Lake. Within seconds, she hit the water hard, certainly sinking quickly towards the bottom.
Rushing, Harry threw his cloak to the ground and cast a quick Bubble-Head Charm. As he raced to the water, his mind was completely blank. Unlike the last time he had sought to swim in the Black Lake, he didn't bother to test the water and despite the fact that it was quite cold, Harry raced into it as quickly as he could.
While Harry was not a fantastic swimmer by an stretch of the imagination, the adrenaline pumping into his blood made him go faster than he had ever gone. As he got deeper into the water, Harry quickly drew his wand and cast one of the more complicated spells he knew on himself: one that would partially transfigure him into an amphibian. It gave him the leg strength and webbing of a frog which would allow him to swim much quicker. He had based it off of Viktor Krum's partial Transfiguration during the Triwizard Tournament. However, Harry hadn't tried it in a few years and he hoped it would work.
Sure enough, it worked giving Harry new strength in his legs and webbing on his hands and feet much like the Gillyweed had all those years ago. Knowing that he was now racing against a very short clock, having spent nearly a minute underwater already, Harry took off at breakneck speed. Finally, Harry saw a trail of damage that would have match something heavy falling from the sky. Several underwater structures were destroyed or had holes in them and Harry knew that it had to have been Cho's body that had done it.
Taking off towards the bottom hole, Harry saw the most terrifying thing he had ever seen: Cho, tied up and unconscious, blood pouring out all over the water. As Harry approached her, he could see that she had broken several bones including one in each of her arms. Grabbing her, hoping that she was truly unconscious so that she wouldn't feel the pressure he was going to put on her, he took off towards the surface.
Seconds later, Harry reached the beach closest to the school. Eliminating all of his spell work, he stood up and dragged Cho out of the water. Instantly, he could tell that things were bad. She wasn't breathing and her face was blue as blood still poured out of her numerous wounds.
"Hermione!" Harry shouted before looking up and noticing that his friend was already on her way to him. "Hermione, please!"
Hermione, reaching Harry, knelt down and immediately went to work analyzing the injuries.
"The bones breaks are bad but they aren't life threatening. However, if we can't get her to breath soon, she won't come back."
Hearing Hermione's words, Harry instantly went to work, performing CPR, at least what he knew of it from Muggle movies. For what seemed like hours, Harry blew air into Cho's lungs and beat on her chest to no avail.
"How long did it take for him to get to her?" Ron asked above Harry.
"I'm not sure." Ginny said next to him. "He was underwater at least five minutes."
Harry could hear the words of his friends above him and knew what they meant. Still, he wouldn't believe them. He wouldn't let Cho die. If Noah killed anyone, it was supposed to be him. Cho was supposed to live! That's what Harry fought for. He did everything so that even if he died, she would live a full and happy life. Finally, Harry felt Hermione's hand take hold of his arm. Harry looked up to see tears flowing from Hermione's eyes.
"Harry, let her go." she whispered through her tears.
"No!" Harry shouted. "No, she is not gone! She'll wake up, I know she will!"
Suddenly, Harry felt Ron walk up behind and put his arms around him.
"It's alright, Harry." Ron said softly. "Just let her go!"
Harry felt lost. For a moment, he accepted the words of his two best friends, accepting that she was gone. Accepting that they would never go on their trip around the world and that she would never wake up. Then, Harry felt a fire build inside of him, one full of rage and one that couldn't be held in. Breaking free from Ron's grasp, Harry shouted.
"NO!"
Turning around towards the castle, Harry headed back up the hill towards Noah, who was standing there smiling at him. At this point, Harry's mind had stopped working. Instead, all he could see was rage and revenge. Never before had Harry felt so out of control, so in pain. Even if he had died, he knew that he would have done so giving her and the rest of them their best opportunity to live. In the end, it was supposed to be him. It was why he had been brought back, to die for his friends, to do what he had originally intended to do all those years ago.
Instead, it was her dying for him, a role reversal that Harry couldn't comprehend.
"How ya doing, Harry?" he said evilly.
"You think this changes anything, you bastard!" Harry shouted, drawing his wand. "You think that by killing the person that I love that I'll join you! You have to be insane!
Suddenly, Harry lifted his wand, firing the most powerful Torture Curse he could fire. Surprisingly, Noah was a hare to slow and the red curse hit him directly in the chest, forcing to him to the ground, howling in pain. As he stood there, Harry continued to press, causing the main to double over in pain repeatedly. Finally, Noah was able to push the curse back and keep the pain off of him. Once he did that, he was able to throw Harry to the ground.
However, unlike their last duel, Harry made sure that did everything to retain control over his own wand, his downfall during their previous battle. So, unlike the last time, when Noah attacked him while on the ground, Harry was able to defend himself throwing up a shield while standing up.
"I thought you were some kind of superhuman." Harry growled. "Why did that hurt you?"
"The power of the Seraphim only pertains to my magic." Noah replied, panting in pain still. "I am no stronger than a normal human being and pain hurts just as bad. However, it will take more magic that you can produce to kill me."
"We'll see about that." Harry replied before leveling his wand and firing.
The Blasting Curse that exploded from Harry's wand was blocked by Noah and then, it was on. The pair traded curses and hexes in legendary fashion, causing explosions that would cause most men to recoil in fear. However, Harry Potter was not most men. Having stood against the odds of defeating the most legendary Dark Wizard of all time, Harry, while respectful of his opponent, felt all fear fade away.
For nearly ten minutes, both men struck at each other while causing various amounts of damage. By the time the pair stopped to recover some of their energy, Harry appeared to have several broken bones and Noah was nursing several bruises and an enormously deep cut on the center of his chest.
"I must admit, Harry." Noah said, speaking in between deep breaths. "I have underestimated you. Human or Seraph, there is something to be said for someone with true determination."
"Is that supposed to be some kind of compliment?"
"I suppose. However, it will not matter. Over time, your magic will begin to dwindle as you tire. Mine, on the other hand, will not. Eventually, you will not be able to cast a single spell and I will be able to destroy you."
"Not if I destroy you first." Harry replied defiantly.
"You don't understand, Potter. The amount of magic required to kill me would probably kill you."
"That's something I'm willing to risk."
Again, Harry attacked. However, just like Noah had predicted, there was noticeable difference. With his body weak and wearing down, Harry's attacks were slower, weaker and less confident as Noah's seemed to get stronger. For what seemed like hours, Harry attempted to defy his body and fight a physically superior opponent.
However, six minutes later, Harry was hit with a cutting curse in the arm. Falling to the ground, Harry suddenly felt himself launched across the ground, landing hard against a tree. Looking up, albeit with double vision, Harry saw Noah marching towards him, a cocky smirk on his face. Lifting his arm, Harry attempted to attack again. However, the moment he lifted his arm, he felt his hole body freeze-up. When Noah reached him, he knelt down, his evil smile staring Harry in the face.
"You know what?" Noah said, as if he was going to tell a joke. "Originally, I was going to kill you if you didn't join me. However, the fact that you actually managed to hurt me and coupled with the fact that we both know that you can't stop me, I think I'll just let you be so that you can watch as I bring down everything that you hold dear."
"Why?"
"Punishment." Noah growled menacingly. "You hurt me and I don't like that."
Noah stood up, smiling at his handiwork, and walked away. Within a few moments, he had made his way to the edge of the grounds and Apparated into nothingness. Once he was gone, Ron, Hermione and Ginny raced towards him with Hermione fixing most of his injuries rather quickly. However, the wounds to his body were nothing compared to the wounds of his mind. He had been so much closer than he had been during their last duel. He had actually hurt him and he had seriously thought he stood a chance.
Then, before Harry could even comprehend what had happened, it was over.
Ignoring the presence of his three friends, Harry stood up and walked to the edge of the grounds, Apparating away to talk to the only people that he thought would understand what was going on and how he could change the tide of a battle that seemed certain to end in a bad way.
Godric's Hollow
Graveyard at the Church of St. Clemintine
1:31 PM
"I don't know what to do." Harry said, leaning up against the tombstone of his deceased parents. "I've never felt like I had no chance to win. I've always had a chance but this time is different. I'm not even certain he's more powerful than I am but he has a stamina that I could never have. Not unless I was something I wasn't."
Ever since his defeat on the grounds of Hogwarts, Harry had spent him time talking to the memory of his parents. Harry thought that they would have known exactly what he was feeling. Knowing that their home had been compromised by Lord Voldemort, they didn't run. Instead, they charged on towards a foe that they knew would defeat them. Their bravery was something Harry had always been proud to have inherited but right now, it was lacking.
And it was lacking because Harry was fighting an opponent that seemed to be absolutely unbeatable.
"I figured that I would find you here."
Harry looked up to see Hermione Weasley-Granger standing in the archway to the graveyard.
"Where are the other two?" Harry asked hoarsely.
"I sent them on a wild goose chase to find you." Hermione said with a smile. "I wanted to be the one to find you."
"Why?"
"Because I know why you're here, Harry. I saw that battle, remember? You can fight him. You know it and I know it."
"But I can't keep up with him long term." Harry answered. "His stamina is impossible to overcome. He may not be stronger than me but with that stamina, with the fact that he'll never ever tire, there's no way I can win."
"There is. You just need to embrace it."
"What is that?" Harry asked, desperate for something.
"You need to remember what made you such a deadly duelist when you were an Auror. Do you remember why no one wanted to duel you in training sessions?"
"They thought that I was dirty." Harry said with a smile. "I used other things in the room and made advantages that no one thought about."
"It's only fighting dirty if there are rules to go by to begin with." Hermione replied as she came and sat down next to him. "Remember that, because right now, we need an awful lot of fighting dirty."
"I'll try and remember that." Harry said. "Why did you come?"
"Because I know you. I always have or at least for quite awhile now. When you left, ignoring all three of us I might add, the look on your face was one that I had never seen on you before. You may have been nervous in the past but you have never lacked for confidence once you got into something. As you walked away, I realized what you were feeling."
"What is that?"
"You felt lost. Defeated, even. And you felt this despite the fact that Noah made the greatest mistake he could have ever made."
"What mistake would that be?" Harry asked, a smile appearing on his face, remember an uncountable number of conversations with his best friend that had ended up this way.
"He let you live." Hermione said happily. "He let you live after he killed Cho. So, now only did he give you the motivation, he gave you the opportunity to make good on it. Plus, he gave the greatest duelist of his time the ability to see him in action and analyze him before engaging him again."
The mention of Cho, laying dead on the beach of the Black Lake, drove Harry to a dark place, despite Hermione's rampant optimism.
"What did you do with her?" Harry asked softly.
"We took her body back to Potter Manor." Hermione replied quietly. "We laid her in her old room until we can make arrangements for her."
"Good." Harry said as he stood up, dusting off his pants. "Now, what do we do next?"
Just as Hermione was about to answer, a Patronus shaped like a Jack Russel Terrier came racing into the graveyard. Stopping just feet in front of him, it spoke up in Ron's voice.
"Harry, I don't know where you are but I hope this finds you. Noah has come to the Ministry and taken Percy and fifteen other people captive inside the Atrium. He's going to kill one of them for every fifteen minutes that Hermione doesn't show up. I don't know where she's at but I imagine that she's with you. Meet me outside the Atrium in ten minutes."
As the Terrier finished its message, it disappeared into nothing. Looking at Hermione, he couldn't help but smile a bit.
"Well, I guess this is what we do next."