Chapter Sixteen

Harry gazed at Lucius Malfoy. The once healthy looking man was scrawny. His black robes hung loosely on his frame. His white blond hair was streaked liberally with grey. A pair if stylish black rimmed spectacles perched on his nose.

"Well, the last ten years haven't been kind to you have they? Which master are you serving now? I only ask because you used to be Voldemort's lapdog, but now Voldemort's dead so…" He let the sentence hang in the air.

Lucius took a step forward. His knuckles whitened as the grip on his wand tightened. "No games Evans. My master Abaddon wants you and he wants you now."

Harry leaned back against the wall of the bar his hands loose at his sides. "I'm married you know. Besides, I don't swing that way. I'm afraid your master is going to be disappointed."

One of the Death Eaters standing behind Lucius stepped closer. "This is not a request," he snapped. "You can come with us willingly or things will get nasty."

Harry looked at the people lined up behind Lucius. There were only twelve of them and all were men. All wore shabby robes which marked them as from the poorer class. Glancing back at Lucius, he raised an eyebrow.

"I'm surprised at you. I never thought you'd be hanging with people you viewed as below you."

Lucius's wand lifted. "Last chance Evans. I know you can't take all of us. You're good, but not that good."

Harry turned his palm towards Lucius. "We'll see about that. A beam of light left his palm. Lucius ducked and the light punched a hole through the chest of the man standing directly behind him. The man made a gurgling sound and collapsed.

Wasting no time, Harry ducked into an alley. He had to work fast. Pulling a simple magic marker from his pocket, he drew four runes on the brick wall beside him.

The first three Death Eaters rushed into the alley. The leader grinned. "Found you." He raised his wand.

"You sure did," Harry said cheerfully. "Guess what you've won?"

The leader looked confused. "What?"

Harry touched the first rune with one finger. A lightning bolt flared up at the entrance of the alley. The three men barely had time to begin to scream. There was a thud. A smell like roasted pork filled the air. Looking up, Harry noticed another group of four men standing just outside the alley, eyes wide in horror.

Harry touched the second rune and pointed a finger at the men. There was a rumbling sound and the earth under their feet split. The men screamed as they fell into the widening hole. They tried to grab onto something, but there was nothing to grab. The earth closed with a rumble.

Lucius stood far back from the entrance of the alley with his last four men. "This isn't over," he bellowed. "You can't hide behind your little runes forever."

Before Harry could retort, the four men turned and began to run away.

There was a blur of motion and the man at the back collapsed, blood spurting from his neck. His head rolled away, eyes staring.

Lucius looked back in time for another of his men to collapse, blood gushing from his sliced throat. Without hesitation, he turned on one foot and vanished, leaving the last two men to take a knife to the chest and get disemboweled respectively.

Harry came walking out of the alley to join Bloodwind.

"Thanks," he said stepping up beside him.

Bloodwind slipped his long knife back into its scabbard. "No one messes with my customers." He looked around at the bodies. "Do you have plans for those?"

"Not really. It's not like I can take them back to their families. Why do you ask?"

Bloodwind lifted a hand and all the bodies along with various severed pieces rose into the air. "I get ghouls in occasionally. They like finger foods and I should be able to get a few pints of blood out of what's left of these guys. Bloody Maries are a real hit with the vampires."

Harry opened his mouth to say something, couldn't think of anything, and closed it. Bloodwind started walking back towards the entrance to his bar. At the door he turned back. "If anymore of Abaddon's followers come looking for you, feel free to kill them here. I can't go looking for supplies like this and I don't buy it, so when I'm able to provide my customers with stuff like this it's a real treat."

The heavy iron door closed behind him with a crash. Harry stood staring at the door for several moments. Finally, he shook himself and turned away. He needed to get back to Hogwarts and tell everyone what happened.

XXX

"Did you have the authority to offer the dark creatures a home like that?" Dumbledore asked.

"I am the heir to the throne of Elphame," harry said. "The Unseelie queen will not object."

"Have you forgotten that the gates to Elphame are shut?"

"I'll figure that out once Abaddon is taken care of."

"That was nice of Bloodwind to take the bodies for you," Hermione said.

"Yeah, nice," Harry said. "Pretty sure he's going to be serving them to his customers."

Hermione looked at Harry strangely. "I agree that it's disgusting, but he's not human is he? He's a goblin elf hybrid. Besides, ghouls and vampires aren't human, not really, so it's not exactly cannibalism."

"Still too close for comfort," Harry said.

Lily and Ginny both nodded.

"It'd be like eating house elves," Dumbledore said with a shudder.

"And on that note, I think it's time for bed," Lily said. "We'll help you strengthen the wards in the morning."

"Thank you," Dumbledore said. "We'll you be staying here?"

"I think that'd be best," Harry said. The more we travel back and forth, the more likely it'd be that we were followed home."

Dumbledore snapped his fingers. A House Elf appeared beside him and bowed.

"Yes Headmaster," it said in slightly accented but perfectly intelligible English."

"Please show our guests to the guest rooms."

The House elf nodded and gestured for Harry and the others to follow him. "I'll see you all in the morning," Dumbledore said as they reached the door.

"Good night, headmaster," Lily said as the door closed behind them.

XXX

In a large manor on the outskirts of London, Abaddon scowled at Lucius's retreating back.

"Twelve," he hissed. "Twelve of our followers are dead. That was the last of Voldemort's old supporters. Where are we supposed to find more idiots to serve us?"

The brunette smiled slightly. "There are always idiots to serve us if we know where to look."

XXX

Deep in her mind, another presence woke up. Her bushy brown hair flowed down her back. She had to escape somehow. What was she going to do?

A figure shimmered into view in front of her. Her golden hair was tied back in a braid that hung halfway down her back. Her blue eyes were like two chips of ice. "Hermione, we've talked about this," she said patiently. "You can't escape me. Our souls are tied together."

"You are a monster," Hermione said. "I may have betrayed Harry in my world. I am guilty of the sin of mistrusting my friend, but what he's done is inexcusable. He's destroying worlds because one version of the supposed light side betrayed him. He's not only punishing innocent people. He's punishing people that had nothing to do with our war."

"Albus was responsible for my murder in our original world."

"And that gives you the right to steal my body? I was forced to watch as Harry AKA Abaddon mind controlled my parents, murdered Ron, and made it look like I committed those crimes. My betrayal is reprehensible, but nothing gave him the right to bring my parents into the fight."

"He gave them a quick death," the golden haired girl said.

"And that's supposed to make me feel better? There is nothing left for us in our world. I may not have a home anymore. My world may be gone, but you forgot one thing."

"Oh?"

"I have nothing to lose," Hermione said solemnly. "I may not be able to do it in this world or even the next one, but I will stop you and Abaddon."

"And what then?" the girl asked. "There is already a version of you in this world. What? Do you think they will welcome you with open arms? Besides, your soul is severely damaged now. Even if you managed to get rid of me, whom you won't, you'd probably spend the rest of your life in a coma somewhere."

"That doesn't matter," Hermione said. "I have to make up for my mistakes. I have to do what is right for once instead of what is easy. I'm done dwelling on my past. I will stop you even if I spend the rest of eternity as a fading spirit."

The golden haired girl turned and began to walk away. Before she vanished into the surrounding mist, she looked back over her shoulder. "You can try, but you will never succeed. Your body is mine Hermione Granger."

Hermione watched the usurper of her body vanish. "I pity you Ariana, but nothing justifies your actions against innocent people."

XXX

Neville smiled as he opened the door to his quarters. "Harry, Lily, come on in."

Harry and Lily entered the sitting room and looked around at the chairs and sofa around the room. Each piece of furniture was made of wood with leather cushions on them.

James and Alice stood up from the sofa. "Lily," Alice said stepping forward to hug her. "How've you been? What's it been, twenty years?"

Lily hugged her back. "There about. You and James," she gestured at the ring on Alice's left hand.

"Yes, we got married about two years after Frank's death. He's been a good Father to Neville and I'm sure he'll be a good Father to the new Potter coming along," she patted her stomach smiling at James lovingly.

"Congratulations," Lily said warmly. "I'm so happy for you."

As Alice and Lily talked, Harry was walking around the sitting room using one clawed finger to carve runes into the walls.

"I didn't know your claws were sharp enough to cut stone," James said walking over to join him.

"Yeah, elven wards are a sequence of runes with a master rune. Usually, you need a special tool to carve these runes because you have to infuse the rune with magic as you carve it, but my claws work just fine.

Jumping into the air, Harry carved one large rune that looked like an ankh with a sword on the end of it into the ceiling. Placing his hand flat on the rune, he closed his eyes and reached out for the nearest ley line. The runes carved into the walls flared blue before shrinking. James had to step close enough that his nose nearly touched the wall before he could make out the runes.

"What happened?" he asked.

"The wards are active. It's a design built into elven runes. When the rune is activated, it shrinks so it is harder to erase.

"That's handy," a young woman said exiting another room. She brushed blond hair out of her face and kissed Neville on the cheek.

Neville slipped an arm around her. "This is my wife Hannah"

"Pleasure," Harry said bowing slightly.

Hannah smiled at him. "How good are these wards?"

"Well, the castle could blow up and your quarters would still be standing," Harry said with a slight smirk. "Is that good enough for you?"

Hannah tilted her head. "It'll do I suppose."

"How's rose?" Neville asked.

"Sleeping for once," Hannah said. "Hopefully she won't wake up for a while."

Before anyone could say a word, a silvery phoenix appeared in the room. "We are under attack," the phoenix said in Dumbledore's voice. "Harry, we need you and your family to report to my office immediately."

XXX

Harry, Ginny, Hermione, and Luna appeared in Dumbledore's office.

"What are we facing?" Harry asked.

"Vampires, werewolves, and wraiths."

"Wraiths?" Luna asked.

"They're spirit creatures. They can't be harmed by magic or weapons, but can somehow rip flesh from bone. The only known way to kill them is with fire."

Hermione's green cat eyes blazed. "Don't worry Dumbledore," she said. "We'll take care of this."

"What?"

Harry ignored the old man. "Luna is there anything else with the invaders?"

"There are wizards," Luna said.

"How many?"

"Half a dozen," Luna answered.

"Alright," Harry said. "Hermione, take care of the vampires. Ginny, take the werewolves. I'll deal with the wraiths."

"What about me?" Luna asked.

Harry smiled nastily. "You get the wizards."

"Goody," Luna said bouncing on her feet happily.

"Wait, you can't…" Dumbledore began.

"Shh," Harry said holding up a hand. "It'll be fine, trust me."

Before Dumbledore could say or do anything else, the four had turned and left the office.

XXX

Ginny looked out at the werewolves prowling around the castle. To her surprise, most of them were in a half-wolf form.

Their noses and mouths had been fused together to form a snout. These deformed jaws protruded from their still mostly human faces slightly like spoiled fruit growing out of clean soil. Their hands were covered in fur. Each finger was tipped with a razor sharp claw. Their clothes were torn to rags fur sticking out of the split cloth.

"Wow," Ginny said. "You bitches are ugly."

The largest of the beasts stepped forward, his white teeth gleaming in the sunlight. "Ah, a little bit of fluff for us to devour." His voice was like the squeal of puppies being boiled alive. He licked his muzzle. "Maybe we can have a bit of fun with you first."

Ginny reached into the cloak she wore and drew two heavy revolvers. The grips were made of oak and the blue grey steel of the barrels and cylinders were etched with runes. She thumb cocked the pistols.

"You guys aren't worth the expenditure of magic, so I'm going to use the presents my husband gave me last Christmas."

"A Muggle gun," the big werewolf said curling his lip. "Those can't harm us."

"No?" Ginny asked. She pulled the trigger of the gun in her right hand. There was a boom like thunder. Blue fire licked at the air at the end of the barrel and the werewolf staggered backwards, his eyes wide. Blood leaked from a ragged hole in his stomach. He stared down at the pink intestines poking out of the hole.

"How… What…?" He spluttered.

Ginny didn't answer. Instead, she pointed the gun in her left hand at the werewolf's head. "I don't think you're gonna heal from this."

There was another boom and the werewolf's head exploded in a flurry of fur, blood, and bone.

Ginny cocked the pistols. "So," she said cheerfully. "Who's next?"

XXX

Luna skipped towards the six wizards, smiling brightly.

"Hello," she called. "Are you wanting inside Hogwarts?"

The wizards shifted uneasily. Finally, a scrawny man with greasy black hair and a crooked nose stepped forward. "Well," he said shifting from foot to foot as if he had to pee. "We've been told to err, invade Hogwarts."

"Why?" Luna asked, her bottom lip jutting forward. Her silvery blue eyes filled with tears. "You're not going to hurt us are you?"

The leader squirmed. He scratched his head and stared down at his feet. His cheeks flushing red. "Our master Abaddon has instructed us to kill everyone that will not submit to his rule, so I'm afraid that's what we're going to do."

Luna looked at the six wizards before her. Their robes were torn and dirty and hung loosely on their bodies. From several feet away, she could smell the stench of unwashed flesh. "What did you do before joining Abaddon's army?" she asked with a frown. "You don't seem like bad people."

The lead wizard looked up at her. "We're not. We weren't Death Eaters or anything. We just wanted to be treated equally. We were all Muggle-born you see. We were all looked down on by society. Abaddon came to us and offered us an alternative to being pushed around."

"Have you killed people?" Luna asked.

"Only those that deserved it."

"I see, so Death Eaters or Voldemort supporters?"

"Well no, but we did kill pure-blood."

"I'm pure-blood," Luna pointed out. "If you kill me based on my birth, what makes you any better than the Death Eaters?"

"We do what has to be done," the lead wizard said. For the first time he showed real anger. "We've talked long enough. Stand aside or you'll get hurt."

"The Death Eaters thought they had to do what needed to be done as well. You can't see it, but you are Abaddon's Death Eaters. Walk away or you will die. This is your last warning."

"There are six of us and one of you little girl. What are you going to do?"

"Luna's silvery blue eyes changed from sad to flinty in a moment. "I gave you a choice, but you wouldn't listen," she whispered. A single tear ran down her cheek. "People like you never listen."

From behind him, the leader heard shouts of alarm. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw flashes of green light. Turning around, he saw tall humanoid lizard things where his men once were. Panicked, he drew his wand and began shooting blasting curses at the monsters. He didn't see the killing curse that slammed into the side of his head.

Luna watched the six wizards fall one by one. Some had killed each other with killing curses. Others had used blasting curses and cutting curses. Regardless of the spells used, the results were the same. All six wizards were dead.

Turning, Luna began walking back towards the castle. Lily had been right all those years ago. Her greatest magical talent was her ability to affect the minds of her opponents and make them see what she wanted them to see. She hated to kill, but every time she gave her foes a choice; they always chose to fight. In the distance, she heard the sound of gunfire and howls of pain. It sounded like Ginny was having fun. She would go back to the castle and wait for her family to return.

XXX

Harry looked at the wraiths. They were naught but shadows. He caught the glimpse of a claw or a pair of red eyes, but the rest of their forms appeared to be living mist. The mist writhed and shifted into various shapes. Sometimes it was barbed tentacles. At other times Harry thought he saw the hind legs of goats.

Suddenly, a tentacle shot out and tried to wrap around his waist. Harry flipped backwards, narrowly avoiding the lashing appendage.

Harry turned his hand flat his palm facing the sky. A ball of fire formed in his palm. Tapping a ley line, Harry fed more and more power into the ball. The fireball grew from the size of a marble until it was at least three yards across. It spun lazily above his palm, sparks arcing off in all directions.

Harry pushed his hand forward. The ball of fire flew at the mist engulfing the wraiths in seconds. There was a sound like a hundred tea kettles whistling at once. When the flames faded, only a few streams of vapor remained. These soon fell apart in the cool morning air.

Harry stood staring at the spot where the wraiths had been for several moments. Once he was sure they were gone for good, he turned and headed towards Ginny. He had to make sure she was alright. Sure she could take care of herself, but things could go wrong.

XXX

Ginny heard the click as her guns landed on empty chambers. The remaining two werewolves grinned.

"What are you going to do now little girl," the werewolf on the left said with a smirk.

Ginny calmly holstered her guns. "Nothing much," she said. "Just this."

The werewolves opened their mouths, but all that came out were squeaks. They looked at each other. The air around them shimmered. The girl seemed to grow until she was several stories high. Looking around, the rocks had grown and now looked like giant boulders.

The werewolf looked at his companion. TO his shock, he stared into the beady eyes of a mouse. "What the…" he tried to say, but all that came out was series of squeaks.

His words were silenced when an enormous shoe smashed down upon him.

The other werewolf/mouse tried to run, but met the same fate as his erstwhile companion.

Ginny watched as the crushed mice turned back into a bloody mess of crushed human limbs. Grimacing, she clicked her fingers. The werewolves vanished. She heard a chuckle behind her and turned to see Harry grinning at her.

"That was certainly creative."

"Thank you, I try," Ginny said looking down demurely.

"Come on," Harry said taking her hand. "Let's go and see if Hermione needs help."

XXX

Hermione grinned at the vampires facing her. Their fangs gleamed in the morning sun. Their fingers sprouted long curved claws. Their faces shifted, ears becoming pointed and jaws lengthening.

"Well," she said drawing a machete from behind her back. The long steel blade was engraved with glyphs and runes. "I give you one chance. "Run away or else."

"Or else what?" a vampire at the back of the group shouted.

The blade of the machete blazed with flame. "Or else heads will roll."

Hermione became a blur. The machete flicked out; the fiery blade severed the closest vampire's head at the base of the neck. As the head fell to the ground, the body burst into flames. Within seconds, all that was left was a pile of ash.

Hermione reappeared in front of the vampires. "Anyone else?"

The vampires charged. There was a flurry of claws, snapping fangs, and a flashing steel blade. The air was filled with snarls, screams, and yells.

Hermione threw back her head, laughing manically as black vampire blood splashed across her face. She never felt so alive as when she was facing down her enemies. A vampire grabbed her shoulder. Twisting, Hermione flipped the vampire over her shoulder and plunged the machete into his waist.

There was a wet squelching sound. The vampire's top half slid away from his bottom half and fell to the ground with a splat. Raising her right hand, she touched a finger to the metal band on her left wrist.

The band was solid silver etched with thousands of runes. The rune she touched glowed. There was a flash of light and a sound like a canon blast. For a second, everything was silent. It was as if the world was holding its breath; then the air was filled with the pattering sound of tiny chunks of vampire falling to the ground.

Hermione calmly tucked her machete away and started back towards the castle. She smiled as she saw Harry and Ginny coming towards her.

"So you didn't need any help," Harry said.

"Nope," Hermione said cheerfully.

XXX

"You really didn't need any help," Dumbledore said eyes wide.

"These guys were just the grunts. I seriously doubt they were the best Abaddon had to offer.

"Indeed," Dumbledore said with a sigh. "Can you strengthen the wads soon? I won't ask you to do it today, but we need stronger wards soon. I know you strengthened the wards in Neville's quarters. Could you do that for the whole castle?"

"No, it'd take too long," Harry said.

"I see. Is there any way you can strengthen the wards for the entire castle?"

"Sure," Harry said, "but I'll need Hermione, Mum, Ginny, Luna, and your help. I'll also need to get some supplies, so I won't be able to put up the wards until tomorrow."

"Alright," Dumbledore said. "What are we going to do?"

"We are going to create a double layered triumvirate ward. "So long as three of the six participants are alive; the ward will not fall."

"When will we begin?"

"We'll perform the spell first thing in the morning."

XXX

Later that night, Harry was walking the grounds. He breathed deeply enjoying the cool crisp air. In the distance, he could hear the burbling sound of the Black lake.

Ginny stepped up beside him, kissing his cheek. "Nutt for your thoughts."

"I'm just wondering how to fight Abaddon. "He's strong, but I have to wonder if we aren't overestimating him a bit. I'd like to know how many people he's killed over the years."

"A lot," Ginny said.

Harry's lips twitched. "Obviously."

"He's going to be tougher than you think," Ginny said.

Harry turned to look at her. His eyes widened as her finger glowed red. He tried to raise a shield, but was too late to avoid the stunning spell that struck him in the forehead.

XXX

Ginny dropped Harry in front of Abaddon. "He let his guard down just as you thought he would."

"Good," Abaddon said. "How strong are his shields?"

"Very strong. I'll need time if I'm going to get through them."

"Work quickly. It won't be long before they notice he's missing. I want to know everything about him."

Ginny nodded. "Yes, my love. It will be done."

Abaddon leaned forward and kissed her fiercely. "Don't be too tired," he whispered in her ear. "I want to spend some quality time with you tonight."

Ginny's eyes gleamed. "I can't wait."

She watched as Abaddon left the room before turning to Harry. Staring at him, she concentrated. She slowly extended her magic and began to attack his mental shields. After several hours of constant work, she felt the shields weaken slightly.

"It's time to see what your secrets are," she whispered.