Apologies for not updating last week. Things came up that made it a bad week for writing, but like I said before Monday is my go to update day, so I'll only post on another day if I happen to be almost finished when I miss the deadline. Anyway, I hope you enjoy another round of the story.
Dance of the Fairies, Flight of the Phoenix
Chapter 54:- Reformation
Hermione had been hoping that Harry would be in a better mood the following morning so he could bring up her idea about Daphne. Not particularly hopeful, but still hoping nonetheless. But it was a vain hope - Harry was absolutely no better. In fact he was even worse. He ignored all of Ron and Hermione's attempts to speak to him and just brushed by them as if they weren't even there. Even when Ron whispered to him some of the things that they had done to Umbridge the previous night, he only gave the absolute vaguest of smiles. Other than that, nothing.
He walked through the day like an Inferi, almost completely directionless and unfocused on what he was doing the whole time. Whatever was on his mind was beginning to consume him, leaving him unable to think about anything else. And it wasn't long before some of the others started picking up on his unusual behaviour. Fred and George had a go at getting him to open up, as did Neville, Parvati and Lavender. But they had no more effect than Ron or Hermione had.
As it was a Saturday, everyone was taking the opportunity to catch up on their homework in the morning so they could have the afternoon off, and since it wasn't a school day that meant that Harry was fortunate enough to not have a detention with Umbridge that evening. So Hermione decided to organise another DA meeting that evening, hoping that getting back to teaching others self-defence would take Harry's mind off his current problems.
It didn't quite work out like that.
"What!?" Cho Chang gasped, along with many of the others, when they'd gathered in the Room of Requirement that evening. "What do you mean you're stepping down?"
"I mean exactly what I said," Harry said firmly, refusing to meet anybody's gaze and focusing on the tips of his shoes as he addressed his stunned audience. "I can't teach you guys anymore."
"Why-ever not?" Ernie protested. "What's brought this on, Harry? You've been a fantastic teacher so far and we've really only just got this thing started. You can't just back out and leave us now."
"Yeah, especially after what happened on Tenroujima," Susan agreed. "We saw you were telling the truth with our own eyes Harry. We saw You-Know-Who. We even saw Morgan Le Fay herself. We need you to teach us now more than ever."
"No you don't," Harry shook his head. "You don't need me. We've got the support of the Order now anyway. Professor Lupin or Tonks could teach you easily."
"Maybe, but they're not always here are they?" Dean pointed out. "They're off doing their own thing quite a lot and you're always here."
"Is this about the detentions?" Ginny asked. "McGonagall's already working on getting that ridiculous demand of making you take them all year overturned. And even if she can't, we still have weekends where you're free to teach us."
"It's not the detentions," Harry shook his head dully.
"Well then what is it?" asked Michael Corner.
"Are you just afraid of facing responsibility?" Zacharias asked with a slight sneer.
"Out of everyone here, I think you are the least qualified to accuse someone of being afraid, don't you think?" Ginny growled at him quickly, and the bombardment of glares he received after that shut him up quickly.
"Harry," Ron insisted. "If this is about whatever it is that's been bugging you then you've got to know we all believe in you. We really do. You faced You-Know-Who on that island the other day once again and you came out of it alive once again. How many times is it that you've faced him now? I've lost count."
"He's right. We need you Harry. There's nobody better amongst us to be our leader and we're the ones that elected you," Hermione insisted. "That hasn't changed at all."
"Well things have changed for me," Harry turned away. "I can't teach you."
"Why?" several people asked at the same time. Harry's response was about five seconds of silence, his hands tightening into a fist at his sides and his whole body visibly shaking, before he finally said:-
"Because I'm not worthy of your trust."
"What!?" Fred snorted. "Are you bonkers, mate? I don't think there's anyone here who's more worthy of that."
"And besides, aren't we the ones who should decide if you're worthy or not?" George agreed.
"You don't understand," Harry suddenly growled. "I'm not worthy of it! For more than one reason - I don't deserve your trust and you don't deserve me as your leader."
"But why!?" Ginny insisted. "You're not telling us why!"
"I just don't, okay? Can we not just leave it at that?" Harry said firmly. "My decision's final - I'm stepping down from the DA. You can pick another leader. You can learn from some actual professionals. But I can't teach you anymore!"
And without another word he stormed out of the Room of Requirement, slamming the door shut behind him to a shocked silence. Nobody quite knew how to process what had just happened. Eventually though Cho ran to the door herself and said, "I'm going to talk to him," before hurrying out in pursuit.
"What the hell is wrong with him?" Terry Boot asked in shock. "Yeah, sure, he was still finding his feet as a teacher I think but he was still doing a good job of it. And he was certainly inspiring me to try my best."
"But now its like he's just… lost it," Dean agreed. "He's lost the will to even try or something… I don't know."
"We've been trying to figure out what's wrong," Hermione confessed, wringing her hands in obvious distress. "But he just won't tell us. I really hope this is just temporary. He may not believe it but I think we need him."
"I saw something weird earlier actually," Lee Jordan spoke up. "I was heading to the toilet and Harry was already there washing his hands and looking at himself in the mirror. And the way he was staring at his own reflection… it was almost scary. It's like he hated what he saw. He had self-loathing and disgust written all over his face and he actually looked like he was going to throw up at any moment."
"Is he sick?" Justin asked.
"Not physically," Luna suddenly said. "But quite clearly his opinion of himself has changed rather drastically all of a sudden. He is not worried about You-Know-Who or even Morgana or any other external force - his struggle is internal. Harry has never had any illusions that he is some kind of great hero. He believed himself to be a relatively normal person, which is a very good quality in a leader. It keeps him grounded and makes him more considerate to those around him. Now he no longer thinks of himself as normal. I think that he's discovered or realised something about himself which he doesn't like."
"But what in the world could that be?" Ron asked. "Harry's right - he is just an ordinary guy really, except for the fact that he's been put through a lot and come out of it alright. He's got flaws, but I reckon those parts of him are outweighed by all his good points so… what?"
"It's probably not got anything to do with his personality," said another voice, and for the first time everyone realised that Mirajane was also in the room. She and both of her siblings were standing by the door, probably having been listening for some time. Mirajane stepped forward and said, "Whatever it is, it's most likely something physical that's bothering him."
"What makes you say that?" Hermione asked.
"Because he's acting very similarly to how I acted when I first got my magic," Mirajane said sadly. She lifted up her arm and suddenly it warped into a twisted, brown limb covered in purplish limps like giant blisters. "The first time I ever used Take Over on a demon was by accident, and it gave me this," she said. "I thought the demon had possessed me, and so did everyone else. My family was driven out of our hometown and forced to go and find a new home, which is how we eventually ended up at Fairy Tail, where Master Makarov told me that I hadn't been possessed after all. I just had the power of a demon now."
"That sounds awful," Ginny whispered.
"It was," Lisanna nodded sadly. "Everyone was so cruel. The demon had been terrorising the town for weeks and they turned on Mira-nee instantly even though she'd been the one who tried to put a stop to it all."
"We were the only ones who stood by her," Elfman nodded. "All those people, none of them were worthy to call themselves Men. Especially since Nee-chan was only twelve when it happened. They drove out three orphaned children to fend for themselves in the wild. Bastards!"
"And I thought they had a right to," Mirajane nodded. "I hated myself. I was absolutely disgusted by what had happened to me. Even after I learned that I wasn't possessed I still found the new power I had to be repulsive and dirty. It got to the point where I wanted to run away and leave Elfman and Lisanna with Fairy Tail where they'd have a happy life, because I didn't want them to be associated with something as horrible as me. I don't know what's wrong with Harry, but he's reached that stage himself and he's done it incredibly rapidly. I believe he's trying to distance himself from everyone because he thinks its the right thing to do. He thinks it's for the best for all of you."
"So, why didn't you run away? What stopped you?" Hermione asked earnestly.
"We did," Elfman smirked proudly. "We showed Nee-chan that we loved her even with the power of a demon by learning the same magic as her. That's why we all use Take-Over. We did it so she wouldn't be alone any more."
"And we swore that we'd always be together," Lisanna smiled. "And that we'd all use our new magic to look out for each other and protect each other."
"And despite bumps in the road, we've always done our best to live up to that promise," Mirajane said. "And here we stand, still together. You need to now convince Harry somehow that you're going to stand by him too. Whatever's wrong with him, he's afraid you'll be like the people in our village and you'll want him gone."
"Of course we would. We'd never leave him," Hermione said vehemently. But Ron suddenly looked extremely awkward, which Elfman noticed.
"What's the face for?" he asked.
Ron coughed uncomfortably before he said, "There… there was a time where Harry and me… we had a rocky start to our last year. It was when his name came out of the Goblet of Fire, selecting him to be a participant in the Triwizard Tournament. I got so jealous of him… it just seemed to me that he always got the attention and the fame and… well, I didn't exactly handle it well. We got past it eventually but we weren't really speaking for at least a couple of months. So I guess you can kinda say that I did abandon him then."
"I wouldn't say that," Mirajane shook her head. "I'd certainly call it a falling out but not abandonment."
"Yeah, well I would," Ron muttered sullenly. "Harry didn't want to be in that tournament and I got so jealous I refused to listen to him when she said he didn't. He needed moral support because he'd just found himself in a competition where people had died participating in the past. And I just turned him away. He may have forgiven me for that but… maybe he's worried that we'll abandon him because I've already gone and proven I'm capable of it."
"Maybe," Elfman said gruffly. "But from what I saw, I think he'd be worried about it even if you'd stuck by him the whole time. And you admit that you were in the wrong back then, don't you?"
"Of course, yeah."
"Good. It takes a real Man to admit when he's wrong," Elfman thumped a fist over his heart enthusiastically.
"And it takes a real man to admit his flaws too," Lisanna chuckled lightly. "Yours was that you were jealous of him, right? But from the looks of things, that doesn't look like its going to be a factor in this situation. Whatever's bugging Harry doesn't sound like the kind of thing you'd be jealous of if you knew what it was. At least I'd be very surprised if it was."
"You've grown since then too," Mirajane pointed out. "You made mistakes, and you can learn from them. Find a way to make him know that you won't abandon him no matter what, the way Elfman and Lisanna did for me. If you can do that, then he just might open up to you after all."
Ron and Hermione looked to each other, a newfound determination alighting in the back of their eyes. Mirajane was quite right. Harry had said himself that he wasn't going to tell them because he didn't want them to think of him differently. They had to prove that they would not… but how?
"Harry!" Cho called out as she followed him through the corridors at a run. "Harry, wait up, please!"
Harry appeared to try and walk a little faster in an effort to break away from her without outright running, but she closed the distance between them quickly and got in front of him, effectively cutting him off.
"Please, Harry… can't you tell me what's going on?" she asked concernedly, trying to look him in the eye only for his gaze to instantly swing about to wherever her face wasn't in a blatant attempt to avoid looking her in the eye. "This is so unlike you. Quitting the DA… I'd never have imagined you doing anything like that in a thousand years."
"Yeah well, you just saw me do it, didn't you?" Harry muttered sullenly. "And I've already made up my mind, Cho. Talking about it isn't going to change anything."
"It might do if you'd actually give someone a straight answer," Cho pleaded, taking hold of his hand and grasping it despite a sudden attempt to pull away. "You can't just leave us behind like this."
"Yes I can. You don't want me as your teacher."
"We all voted for you, didn't we? We believe in you, Harry… we really do. And the Harry I know wouldn't just turn his back on people that need him when things get bad. You're the last person in this school who should be doing something like that because its not in your nature."
"What do you know?" Harry growled, pulling his hand out of her grip and storming to the window to stair out into the crisp winter air over and the light snowfall settling in over the top of the Hogwarts grounds. "Nobody in this school knows anything about me, not really."
"We know you're brave," Cho said adamantly. "We know you're generous and believe in fairness for everyone. We know that you care about the people around you. And despite what all the papers are saying we know for an absolute fact that you're not just trying to grab everyone's attention…"
"It's not about that."
"Well it's about something. And if it's not that then what?" Cho pleaded, tears beginning to well up in the corner of her eyes now. "I know you don't want to just leave us when we need you, Harry. After all, you were the one who told Cedric about the dragons from the first task of the tournament last year because you believed you should all be equally prepared for them. That shows how fair you are, just like you showed it again when you let Cedric take the Cup alongside you so that you could both be the winners at the end."
At this point tears were started to flow freely down her cheeks.
"So do you really think it's fair to just up and abandon us now when we need you the most? To stop teaching us when You-Know-Who is still out there just waiting for a chance to strike at us all? It's not fair at all, Harry, no matter what you're going through. And I know you know that. Just like I know that if you can do something to keep all the rest of us from ending up like Cedric…"
"Oh, it's always about Cedric, isn't it?" Harry snapped before he could stop himself, spinning around to lock eyes with the suddenly startled Cho. "Everything always comes back to Cedric with you."
"…What…?" Cho gasped in a strangled voice, obvious hurt spreading right across her face. But in that moment, Harry barely cared. Every time she'd mentioned his name in her attempts to make him see sense had inadvertently battered at his consciousness. Because the man who owned the fragment of soul he was carrying around inside his own body had done far more than just killing his own parents. Cedric had been murdered on his orders, as had hundreds of other people. And while his parents' deaths were arguably the closest to him, Cedric's was the one freshest in his memory.
Not only had it effectively been his fault that Cedric was there that day, as Cho had just pointed out without meaning to, but he was carrying around a piece of the man who had ordered his death! He'd always felt responsible for Cedric's death… but now it felt like he might as well have cast the Killing Curse himself.
And in that wave of grief, he lashed out! Hard!
"I said it always comes back to Cedric with you, doesn't it?" he yelled. "What are you thinking, Cho? You weren't interested in me when he was alive, but now it feels like you might be. Why's that exactly? Do you think that getting close to me would be like staying close to him because I was there when he died or something? Or are you just hoping for details on what happened if you hang around me long enough? You want details, I'll give you the details! We were transported away, Voldemort appeared, Cedric died! That's all there is to the story! Does that satisfy you?"
"Harry…" the older Ravenclaw girl choked out, so shocked by this sudden change around that she actually stopped crying for a few moments. "That's… that's not fair… I was just trying to help you…"
"And you think blubbering over Cedric's going to help with that?! Well, guess what, it doesn't! I don't need you bringing up another time I failed every time we talking to each other, Cho! I couldn't protect Cedric and you still all rally behind me. Well I don't deserve that, okay? You say that you know me, but you don't know me at all! So leave me the hell alone and stop talking about Cedric!"
Cho's horrified expression remained locked on him in silence for about five seconds before her tears started to flow again. She spun around and fled down the corridor with her face in her hands, sobbing loudly. Harry instantly felt guilty - no, more than that - he felt completely disgusted with himself. How could he have said something like that? And to the girl he had a crush on of all people? What the hell was wrong with him?
Other than the piece of Voldemort lurking inside his body that is.
God, what if it was influencing him to make him do that? Dumbledore had said it held no power over his actions but the thought was bone-chilling.
But ultimately, it was probably for the best. Cho would be better off staying as far away from him as possible. Everybody would. None of his friends deserved to be friends with a Horcrux anyway. And they certainly didn't deserve one as their leader.
So, despite his intense guilt and loneliness, Harry simply turned around and continued walking away, unaware that the entire exchange had been observed by the blond-haired ghostly girl hovering outside the window.
"It's not going well for him at all, just like I predicted," Mavis shook her head as she sat next to Fawkes the Phoenix on the windowsill of Dumbledore's office, stroking the top of the huge scarlet bird's head absent-mindedly. "It's like he's starting to blame himself for everything that Voldemort's ever done since the night his parent's died. It would surprise me if he was even blaming himself for the things that happened before it as well. He's falling apart, Albus - he really is."
"I was afraid that this would happen," Dumbledore ran a hand over his forehead with a heavy sigh. "This was exactly the reason why I didn't tell him about the Prophecy. I thought that in itself would be a terrible burden for him to bear. But learning he's a Horcrux too… it must be ripping him apart."
"Is there anything at all that we can do?" Mavis asked. "Perhaps wiping his memory really would be the best option right now. At least until he's ready."
"He'll never be ready to learn about this," Dumbledore sighed. "And wiping his memory won't change the fact that he will have to learn about this eventually. It's possible I could wait until I actually found a way to destroy it without harming it and told him after I'd done it… but I have no guarantee that will even happen. No, I fear that Harry will have to sort this out now."
"I have faith that he will," Mavis smiled. "After all, he does have his friends even if he is trying to push them away."
"I hope that they will be enough."
"You really care about him, don't you?" Mavis cocked her head to one side, and Fawkes spread his wings and trilled loudly in agreement before Dumbledore could even reply.
"I do, yes."
"Why? I understand that Harry is under your protection and that there's a lot riding on him for the fate of the world, but why is it you care about him as much as you do when compared with all the other students in your school? What singles him out?"
Dumbledore sighed, trailing his hand lightly through the top of his Penseive. "There are a number of reasons," he said. "But I believe the most prominent one is that I feel… in part way responsible for the death of his parents."
"Really?" Mavis' eyes widened in shock. "Why? You had nothing to do with that surely."
"Not directly," Dumbledore shook his head. "I had always liked James and Lily Potter, but when I heard the prophecy about the one with the power to destroy Voldemort and learned that he had selected their son as his equal, I made it my mission to protect all three of them. I was the one who set up the Fidelius Charm on their house. But there was one thing I did that I shouldn't have done… I asked James if I could borrow his Invisibility Cloak."
"What for?"
"…The whole story is a rather long and complex one," Dumbledore sighed. "But the short version is that I had heard a story about three incredibly powerful and ancient objects that had very special properties, one of which was an Invisibility Cloak. Not a normal Invisibility Cloak that can lose its power over time, but one that provided complete concealment and could hide someone for their entire life if they chose to wear it that long. I suspected that James' Cloak might be that very artefact so I borrowed it to examine it and see if it was. And I still had it in my possession the day Voldemort attacked and killed them both. If they had still had that cloak, perhaps they could have escaped under it. It would certainly have hid them from even Voldemort. But they didn't… so they couldn't. They died… and it all could have been avoided were it not for my own curiosity."
"…That is quite the burden to bear," Mavis said. "But Dumbledore, you are wise enough to know that even if they did have the Cloak, there's no guarantee that they'd have had time to escape under it. You don't know what could have happened. There's a high likelihood that they would have left the cloak somewhere where they would have had to get past Voldemort to reach it. You can't blame yourself for that."
"And yet I do," Dumbledore sighed. "My search for the ancient artefacts of which the Cloak is one has led to nothing but misfortune. It is the source of most of the things that ever went wrong in my life. And then it became the source of misfortune for everything that went wrong in Harry's. Or at least that is the way it feels.
"Because of it, Harry had to go and live with relatives that hate magic and made his life a misery until he could finally come to this school, just to protect him from vengeful associates of Voldemort that might come after him. Because of it he also grew up without his godfather, for if James and Lily had survived they would have been able to tell people that they'd switched their Secret Keeper to Peter Pettigrew.
"And that, Mavis, is why I cared for Harry so much, at least in the beginning. Since then he had flourished and become a brave young man who is bombarded with further tragedy and hardship, all while he is still supposed to be under my protection as the Headmaster of this school. He keeps sorting out my problems for me and eventually he will have to sort out the ultimate problem of Voldemort himself. And right now I feel almost powerless to help him."
"That isn't true," Mavis said as she got to her feet and strode across the room to hop onto his desk and look him squarely in the eye. "You have plenty of power to help him, even if its simply finding all the bricks to build the path he needs to make his way to defeating Voldemort. You've certainly got much more power to help him that I currently have to aid my guild."
"What do you mean?" Dumbledore frowned. "You've been extremely helpful to them so far. You saved them all from being destroyed by that black dragon, I believe."
"And yet I cannot lead them home, I have next to no magical power in my current state, and I have been having little success with one of my main abilities. Did you know they used to call me the Fairy Tactician?"
"I have heard that, yes."
"That is because I use my mind to determine the most likely course that the enemy will take and find a way to counter it. I run through countless scenarios and simulations in my mind, and I hope you will not find it arrogant of me to say that I am rarely ever wrong. And yet this time I have not a clue what will happen next. This fight against Morgana and Voldemort is far from a simple battlefield. They could be anywhere and about to do anything, and I can't anticipate it. There are too many possibilities, and this world is still so alien to me that I don't know a quarter of things they could try. You command presence and have great power. Whereas I am effectively useless right now."
"I wouldn't say that," Dumbledore shook his head. "Perhaps you find strategising to be more difficult than usual but you receive a great deal of admiration and respect from your guild. They all look up to you and admire you. And most importantly they trust you to lead them home. It's fair to say a great many of my students don't look up to me in that same light. Many believe me to be as crazy as the papers make me out to be."
"But you don't mind that do you?" Mavis said matter-of-factly.
"No, I don't. In the end, I don't mind what anybody thinks of me as long as I can keep them safe."
"That's all anyone in our position can do," Mavis placed a small reassuring hand on his arm. "We watch over those in our care as best we can."
"Indeed. And I have every confidence that you will succeed."
"Right back at you. We will find a way to get that Horcrux out of Harry. But for now, it's up to his friends to bring him back from the edge he's wandering towards. After all, we may watch over them, but we can't do everything for them."
"Agreed. We all make our choices, for better or for worse," Dumbledore nodded. "Let's hope Mister Weasley and Miss Granger get through to him before Harry makes too many wrong decisions."
Aside from sending letters to Yukino and the other members of Fairy Tail back in Earthland, Lucy and Loke both had other matters to see to. Or rather, just one major one:-
Further attempts to get the message across to Cornelius Fudge that working with Fairy Tail would be far more productive for the Ministry than trying to hunt them down.
Once again, Lucy was escorted to a restaurant outside not far from the entrance to the Ministry of Magic by a member of the Order - this time Kingsley Shacklebolt. And once again, Gemini was sent on a little excursion through the security and into the heart of the Ministry itself and made their way down towards Fudge's Office.
Since Loke and Capricorn's last visit, Fudge had upgraded security around himself again. Now the guards no longer waited outside. Instead there were four of them posted inside his office to keep an eye on him at all times. The only time he wasn't being escorted around was when he needed to use the restroom.
But it was still relatively simple for Gemini to enter the office, disguised as Kingsley, and quickly strike down all four guards and the Minister himself in the about half a second, stunning them all and then modifying their memories to make sure they wouldn't remember what just happened - it would be no good if Kingsley got arrested for this later.
This time instead of hiding under the desk, Gemini had brought Moody's Invisibility Cloak with them. So when they switched into their Lucy form, it was a simple job to hide beneath it and summon Loke into the room. And since they wanted a different Spirit to accompany Loke every time, this time he was accompanied by Aries.
After all, who could look less threatening than sweet little Aries?
"Minister," Loke banged on the unconscious Fudge's desk while Aries used a little of her wool magic to coat each of the guards, in a bid to keep them immobilised even if they woke up. "Minister, wake up."
"Hhhng… whu…" Fudge grunted, blinking his eyes multiple times as he attempted to clear his head. As soon as he realised what was going on though he leapt to his feet, backing away toward the wall.
"You!" he cried, looking around him in disbelief. "What did you do to my guards!?"
"I'm sorry!" Aries cringed at his sharp tone, dipping her head to him repeatedly and shuffling awkwardly on the spot. "We just wanted to have a private one on one talk with you so we knocked them out - I'm sorry!"
Fudge seemed a little taken aback by how timid this intruder was, which was exactly the point. It allowed Loke time to step in before he attempted to flee or something. "They'll be fine. We are not killers after all, Minister. A fact that I am certain you must realise. Has anything that I said to you before had a chance to sink in?"
"You honestly expect me to believe people who continue to sneak into my office like… like prowling hyenas?" Fudge asked with gritted teeth.
"We only continue to sneak in because there is no other way we can feasibly talk to you," said Loke calmly. "You know full well that we are not here to harm you. I hope you don't take offence when I say that it would have been rather easy to dispose of you by now if we had. Even in our first encounter."
"Well… that is true," Fudge conceded rather reluctantly.
"We really just want to have a heart to heart… I'm sorry if that's inconvenient for you," Aries trembled. "Maybe we should come back another time…"
"I think now would be more than convenient," Loke chuckled, before placing his hands on the desk and leaning forwards urgently. "So, Minister… have you had a chance to think any further about what I said last time?"
"…I have," Fudge said slowly. "And if you think that you can fool me, you are mistaken good sir. I don't know how it is you keep sneaking in here, but you are quite blatantly allies of Fairy Tail. This is another blatant attempt to get me to lower my guard. The more I do so the less prepared I shall be for when they finally decide to make their move."
"I was afraid of that," Loke sighed.
"I'm sorry you feel that way," Aries shuffled forwards a couple of steps. "Wouldn't it be possible for us to all just get along. I'm sure if you gave us and Fairy Tail a chance we could all work together happily… I'm sorry… I don't want to speak out of turn."
"…You're a rather twitchy girl, aren't you?" Fudge blinked again.
"I'm sorry."
"Anyway, if you think another conversation is going to change my stance where Fairy Tail are concerned then you are mistaken," Fudge said with apparent firmness. "You can't fool me into believing with all they have done that they are not menaces to our country and our way of life. Fairy Tail are public enemy number one and it is going to stay that way, understand?"
"If that's how you want it to be," Loke shrugged. "There's not a lot we can do to change your mind. But we did not come here today to talk about Fairy Tail actually. No… we came here to warn you about something else entirely."
"Oh yes?" Fudge asked, suddenly very wary. "And what would that be?"
"You aren't going to believe me when I tell you - that much I already know," Loke sighed. "But nevertheless, you deserve to be in possession of all the facts. What you do with them is up to you. And when what we say is proven to be right, I hope that you will be able to deal with it."
"What? What is it?"
"I take it you are familiar with a woman named Morgana, are you not?"
"Morgana?" Fudge's brows shot up. "You are referring to Morgan Le Fay?"
"The very same. And I have to tell you Minister - she has returned."
"…WHAT!?"
Fudge bristled like a cat who was trying to make himself look bigger, utter disbelief and disdain crossing his face as he did so.
"It is true," Loke said. "She was never dead - simply trapped in a prison beyond the boundaries of time and space. But now she has returned to the land of the living, and it making plans to take control of this country once more."
"This time you go too far, Lion Spirit," he snorted derisively. "Everything you've told me so far with regards to Fairy Tail's innocence, to Voldemort, to Sirius Black… all of that pales in comparison to this! It's absolutely ludicrous! Morgan Le Fay lived over fifteen-hundred years ago and nobody could have lived that long. Not even the great Merlin, the greatest wizard ever, could live that long! And if he couldn't then Le Fay certainly can't!"
"I thought you'd react like this," Loke said tightly. "But I am not lying. She has since joined forces with Voldemort and with the Dark Guild Grimoire Heart - who come from the same world as Fairy Tail but are most certainly not on the side of your people."
"This is an insult!" Fudge cried. "For you to stand there and spout such nonsense as this and expect me to believe a single syllable of it - it's an insult to my very intelligence. And now you bring me a nameable enemy from the same world as Fairy Tail too - just so you have somebody else to blame whenever Fairy Tail strikes. You would invent as many enemies as possible to make me cower in fear and seek help wherever I can. Yet you cannot bring any evidence to the table that any of these parties even exist at all."
"We're sorry," Aries whimpered, small tears appearing in the corner of her eyes. "We know we're asking for a lot but we're just hoping you'll at least take it into account. We don't want people to get hurt… I'm sorry."
Fudge's tirade ground to a halt instantly, which was surprising considering he looked as though he could have gone on for a while ten seconds previously. But he felt suddenly very uncomfortable for apparently scaring the woolly Spirit before him, as if he'd just gone and kicked a puppy. Which gave Loke more than enough of a chance to interject before he could think of something else to say.
"This conversation has gone pretty much the way that I expected it to. And you're right, we don't have any evidence… not really anyway. But ask yourself this, Minister. What if we are telling the truth? What if Morgana really has returned? If there is even the slightest chance that she has, can you really afford to just sit here mindlessly believing you're right. What's the phrase? 'Hope for the best and prepare for the worst' or something like that, I believe. I hope you consider that food for thought. Because if you don't… well… you may regret it in future."
He began to glow, signifying that he was about to return to the Spirit World. Aries followed suit, and Fudge watched silently as they disappeared into a poof of sparkles each right in front of him, before the glowing lights also filtered into nothingness. Quietly he took a seat, drumming his fingertips against the surface of his desk thoughtfully. As with their last conversation he was still almost completely certain that this was some elaborate ploy from the enemy, but Loke's words had still struck a chord within him.
The idea that Voldemort could be back was bad enough. Fudge didn't even want to think about it. But the idea that Morgana could be back as well. It was a terrifying thought. The stuff of nightmares in fact.
…No! No, no, no! He wouldn't fall for it! He wouldn't allow himself to fall for the tricks of the enemy. If they didn't have any evidence then there was no reason for him to believe a shred of what they said! Especially when it was just so… utterly ridiculous!
"You cannot fool me, Leo," he said quietly to himself. "If you think I'm going to believe a single thing you say after that… you are so very mistaken."
And unbeknownst to him, Gemini heard him say it. The Twins Spirit sighed lightly before vanishing back to the Spirit World themselves and taking the Invisibility Cloak with them.
"Well that went about as well as we thought," Lucy sighed when Gemini and Loke returned the cloak to her and Kingsley later in the hallway of Grimmauld Place.
"Fudge not buy it?" Sirius asked as he poked his head out from the kitchen.
"Not in the slightest," Loke sighed. "And from the sounds of it, he's a lost cause. Perhaps we shouldn't have told him about Morgana after all. It's such an outlandish statement that I don't think anything we say from this point on is going to get through to him."
"It's not so surprising," Kingsley said. "From the very beginning I thought that this plan of Scrimgeour's was just wishful thinking. Fudge used to hold great admiration and respect for Dumbledore and yet he won't believe him that You-Know-Who has returned. No offence to you, Loke, but if he won't believe Dumbledore about that, I never once thought he'd believe a being from another world he doesn't no anything about."
"No offence taken," Loke nodded. "You're quite right. Short of kidnapping him and dragging him to Tenroujima to speak with Kilgharrah and Aithusa, I really don't think we're going to change his mind."
"Hey, there's an idea," Sirius grinned. "Why don't we do that?"
"We already asked Kilgharrah, but he said he wouldn't do it," Kingsley sighed.
"Huh? Why not?"
"God knows," Kingsley said. "Something about the Old Religion not wanting him to, and Aithusa said the same thing. I won't even pretend to understand. Why would magic itself not want the Minister of Magic for this country to learn about the imminent threats he is facing?"
"I don't know but I'm sure Kilgharrah knows how to listen to it," Loke said. "Still, I don't think there will be much point in going to see Fudge again now. Words aren't going to change his mind. He won't believe that Morgana is back until she chooses to reveal himself."
"How can he be so infuriating!?" Lucy groaned. "It's like he wants the country to be destroyed or something!"
"Now, that's hardly fair, Lucy," Kingsley interjected. "Fudge may be extremely incompetent as a Minister… he may be paranoid, obtuse, unwavering… but at the end of the day he is still trying to do what he believes is best for his people. He is a good man. It's just that he's convinced himself that those who should be his allies are his enemies and he's put his trust in the wrong people. Lucius Malfoy and Dolores Umbridge being the most obvious examples."
"That's true," Loke nodded. "He looked very guilty when he upset Aries in there. Even though he's mostly working in his own self-interest, if he wasn't a decent human being at heart he wouldn't have cared at all."
"Well I suppose that's true," Lucy shrugged, biting her lip as an image of her father appeared in her mind. She couldn't help but see similarities between the two people. Both wanting what was best for themselves to keep hold of their power. Both extremely difficult to reason with. But both still caring about the people beneath them even though they didn't show it very well with their actions.
"But that doesn't change the fact that it would be a complete waste of time to try negotiating with Fudge any more unless we can provide him with any evidence, which isn't looking at all likely to happen any time soon if the dragons won't help us," she added.
"So that's it then?" Sirius asked. "Are you done with the Ministry until the bomb drops on them? Possibly literally - who knows what Morgana's going to do next."
"No," Kingsley said. "We're not done. After all, while Fudge might be beyond reason there are other important Ministry figures who are not. I know for a fact that Madame Bones is still very unsure what to think about Fairy Tail. And there are numerous other members of the Wizengamot who could very plausibly be swayed into believing you. Lucius Malfoy doesn't have everyone in his pocket after all."
"That's true," Sirius nodded. "There are all the members who voted for Harry to be cleared of all charges over the summer despite Fudge's insistence he be punished."
"Exactly," Kingsley nodded. "And if we can't talk to Fudge any more, we can always talk to them. They're not as influential as Fudge, but if we get enough of them then perhaps we can pick up a little slack and be more prepared when the time does finally come."
"Have you ever considered taking the position of Minister of Magic, Kingsley?" Loke smirked. "I think that you'd be rather good at it you know."
"It's never really been on my agenda," Kingsley shrugged. "But thank you for the compliment. Do you think it's worth a shot?"
"I guess," Lucy nodded. "All right then - Wizengamot here we come. Let's hope we have better luck with them than we have with the Fudge Cake."
Sirius barked with laughter. "Oh, I dare someone to call him that to his face next time they see him. And take a picture of him when you do!"
The Isle of the Blessed sat tranquil in the waters of the Bristol Bay, as it had done for thousands of years but with the exception that there was now an enormous airship sat upon the shoreline. Following their rushed exit from the Isle of the Blessed, Morgana and Voldemort had decided to bring their forces back here to recuperate, while they searched for a more permanent place to set up headquarters. Ideally somewhere that nobody would ever think to look for them and people were very unlikely to stumble across them by accident.
There weren't a great many places left that could match that description for such a large group of people and a large flying vehicle but Morgana was confident they could find one. But for now, there were a few things that she claimed they needed to attend to.
The most prominent of those being beginning Voldemort's lessons in the art of the magic of the Old Religion.
"The Isle of the Blessed is one of the few places left in this world that are still strong in that type of magic," she explained. "It's the perfect place to take the first steps in bringing out your latent power."
And so that was what they were doing. In the main ruins of the old courtyard, Voldemort and Morgana sat across from one another, their hands on their knees and their eyes closed in deep meditation. They'd had a large audience when they first started, all eager to see some amazing magic. But they'd been at this for a few hours now and most of the Death Eaters had lost interest and wondered off to do their own thing, leaving only Bellatrix and a few vaguely interested men left watching from the sidelines.
"Feel the flow of energy moving throughout the world around you," Morgana was saying quietly. "As I told you before, the Old Religion is connected to everything, which is what allows those who wield it to manipulate everything. Feel it blanketing us in the thick fog surrounding the island. Feel it creeping through the very stone upon which we sit, in every twig in the trees. Even the dead ones. Everything is alive in some sense as long as the Old Religion is present in it. And feel it moving through your own body… through every cell in your skin, every… well I was going to say hair on your head but…"
"Yes, yes," Voldemort wrinkled his slitted nose indifferently. "But… I believe that I can feel it flowing through every hair on your head."
"That's good," Morgana smiled. "Everything around you should be coming alive in the moment that you cast a spell. It's rather intoxicating, is it not?"
"Oh yes," Voldemort nodded, baring his teeth in a strange mixture of elation and smug triumph. I can see what you mean now, Lady Morgana… how primitive the wands we use now truly are in comparison to this. The energy I feel when I cast a spell with my wand… it is nothing compared to this."
"Excellent. Now… I want you to raise your hand with your palm facing the sky," Morgana intoned, opening her eyes so she could watch what happened next.
"Like this?" Voldemort asked, and as he raised his hand into the position Morgana requested, Bellatrix could feel herself seething in frustration. She'd officially decided that she hated Morgana's guts! Hated her with every fibre of her body and soul all rolled into on. This wasn't right! This wasn't the way things were supposed to go! The Dark Lord should be the one telling Morgana what to do, not the other way around! He should be the one giving all the instructions - it was the natural order of things! He was to be obeyed, not to do the obeying!
She knew she was being rather irrational. If the Dark Lord was going to master a new kind of magic that Morgana knew, of course she was going to have tell him what to do. But it still felt so unnatural to her… and of course there was what happened on Tenroujima where Morgana had most definitely been giving Voldemort instructions on how to carry out her own plan. Turning that Zancrow man into an Inferi had been her idea, and Voldemort had carried it out without complaint as soon as she commanded him to. It was just so… unnatural!
Yet from her perspective, he seemed so awed by this ancient lady's abilities that he'd almost just… fallen into line.
She was hoping that would change when he learned Old Magic though… so for now she just sat and simmered in her anger while her liege lord did as Morgana instructed.
"Now… this is a very important distinction, which you may find difficult to comprehend," Morgana said. "For you and every other wizard who uses a wand have spent all your lives treating magic as if it were some kind of tool you can master. But it is not a tool. You may be able to command it, but if you try to force it then it will not heed those commands to its full potential. You have to let it flow through your body and guide it in the direction you want it to go. If you do that, it will do what you want. If you try and force it, it will resist. Do you understand?"
"I believe so, yes," Voldemort nodded, though he didn't look best pleased by this news. Morgana was quite right. He was very used to just pointing a wand and making magic do whatever he wanted after all. The idea of working in tandem with it was a rather foreign one.
"Then imagine the magic energy from your body and from the area around you to flowing into the palm of your hand," Morgana said. "Will it to amalgamate there, guide it in a stream towards your target destination. And when you feel you have a significant amount of energy above your hand, saying the following word… 'Forbearnan.'"
"What does that mean?"
"It is a fire spell. A rather simple one too, perfect for a beginner. Try it out whenever you're ready."
Voldemort sat in silence, breathing heavily through his nose for about another half a minute as he focused on his palm. He could feel something happening - energy moving like a stream towards his open hand… and after about half a minute of silence he finally said, "Forbearnan."
At first nothing happened. But then, a tiny flame suddenly appeared floating above Voldemort's palm. It was a flame that would perhaps look at home atop a birthday candle - absolutely minuscule and yet undeniably there.
The side of Morgana's mouth twitched slightly. "Congratulations," she said. "You just harnessed the true power of the Old Religion."
"That's it?" Voldemort didn't even try to hide his disappointment and irritation when he opened his eyes to take a look at the tiny flame himself. "I was expecting it to at the very least fill my hand."
"It could have done," Morgana chuckled. "You could have even launched a large fireball up into the air if you had so chosen, but only if you'd done it completely right. You were still trying to force the magic - which is understandable as it's a tough transition to switch from wand to wandless."
"I was still expecting it to be somewhat more," Voldemort growled.
"I wasn't. This is actually a very impressive start indeed."
"It is?"
"Oh yes. Back in the days of Camelot, it could take trainee sorcerers days to get this far, even when the Old Religion was at the height of its power. You live in a time where it has been massively diluted which means that even at a place that resonates with it as strongly as the Isle of the Blessed does, that is a remarkably good start, especially after only a couple of hours of meditation."
"Is that right?" Voldemort frowned turned into a smirk. "Well, it's hardly surprising that I'd so so well isn't it?"
"Indeed," Morgana chuckled. "Granted, if we hadn't been here, you probably wouldn't have even gotten that far without a wand. But if you keep working at it, it will not be long before you find yourself able to use spells no matter where you are. The more you master the method and the stronger your power will become."
"And what would happen if I were to try using a wand with this spell right now?"
"Go ahead," Morgana chuckled, nodding to the piece of wood that was lying at Voldemort's feet. Instantly he picked it up and pointed it towards the sky. Through the same process he went, trying to channel the magic of the land and the air into his wand and then repeating the name of the spell:-
"Forbearnan."
WHOOOSH!
A massive plume of flames suddenly erupted out of the tip of his wand, belching upwards in a single plume that was strongly reminiscent of a flaming geyser. Even Voldemort was startled by how much fire his wand produced and immediately shut off the spell, leaving a gush of smoke trailing out across the Isle in all directions.
But Morgana just smirked and said, "You see? I told you before that the core of a wand is a conduit for the Old Religion that allows witches and wizards to still use it's magic despite its greatly reduced power. Which means when you use an actual spell from the Old Religion rather than the newer varieties, your wand provides a very large boost to the power you can produce."
"This is excellent," Voldemort crowed smugly, though he didn't look amazed - more like this was an inevitability. "But if that is the case then why have me practice without the wand at all?"
"Because it will help you learn the proper technique for using the Old Religion and when you master that you will gain even more power. What you just did was when you were still trying to command it after all, which means your power can increase even further. But there is another reason as well," Morgana's lip twisted. "The wand may provide a massive boost right now but it also puts a cap on your power."
"It does?" Voldemort blinked.
"Oh yes. Phoenix feathers, unicorn hairs and dragon heartstrings are all potent magical cores but even they eventually reach a point where they can't handle any more power. If you master Old Magic without a wand, then you should eventually reach the point where you can cast a spell that is so strong that any attempt to use a wand with it would shatter the wand completely."
Voldemort's eyes were alight with a greed that he hadn't displayed since he first learned about the existence of Horcruxes. "Then I shall continue to learn. I will truly become the most powerful wizard ever to live. I will surpass Merlin himself! And I am thankful to have such a capable teacher showing me the way."
"Oh, you flatterer," Morgana snickered, and that really made Bellatrix wince. It felt so unnatural for the Dark Lord to show flattery to anyone for any reason, so much so that she actually got to her feet and was about to march over and demand to know what was going on.
But before she could do so she was interrupted by the sound of a billowing cloak. Master Hades had marched into the courtyard, his arms folded across his chest and the remaining members of Grimoire Heart right behind him. Bluenote stood at the Hades' right shoulder while Rustyrose, Kain and Azuma stood shoulder to shoulder behind them. The Inferius formerly known as Zancrow brought up the rear, and as soon as he stopped moving he fell into a crouch position to stare blankly at the floor and wait for somebody to tell him to move.
"Ah, you're right on time, Hades," Morgana smiled. "Have the preparations been made?"
"Everything is in order," Hades nodded simply. "I must say that I find what you are proposing to be somewhat ambitious. Are you certain that you can pull off such a feat, Lady Morgana?"
"I brought you back did I not?" Morgana smiled. "If I can do something like that, what makes you doubt that I can do this too?"
"This is quite another matter entirely. Magic like this is night unheard of back in our world."
"Granted. But have faith in me and I promise I will not let you down."
"I would like to go on record here," Azuma said curtly. "And say that I am not altogether happy with this arrangement. It feels wrong."
"You objection has been noted, Azuma," Hades said as he stroked at his beard thoughtfully. "I admit, I too have had my tremulous thoughts about this. But if it helps secure the future of Grimoire Heart then I say we go for it nonetheless."
"It is in our best interest, Azuma," Rustyrose agreed with a certain sense of pride. "How my fragment will tremble when once more we rise to our former glory. We must reclaim everything that we lost in any way that we can."
"I don't mind myself," Kain twiddled his fingers. "I had some misgivings I admit, but if Master Hades thinks its for the best then I'm with him."
"Hmmm…" Azuma folded his arms. "That I cannot argue with. Master Hades, if this is your decision then I am with you to the end."
Morgana hid a smirk when Hades said, "It is. I will not leave anything to chance after all." That was exactly what her Shade needed to say to make his former subordinates fall in line. And with Voldemort hungry for more of her teachings he would gladly follow behind her, which meant everything was going her way for the time being. She had her eye on Bellatrix and Azuma - clearly the both of them weren't totally behind her as the rest of them seemed to be. But their loyalty to their respective Masters should be enough to keep them in line and if not… they could be dealt with in time.
She opened her mouth to speak when suddenly she paused… she could feel something. A ripple in the fabric of the world that tremored the Old Magic slightly. And one that had become quite familiar with over the course of the last few weeks.
"My, my," she said. "What timing this is. It appears that the last remnants of your guild is about to be joining us, Hades."
"Hmm?" Hades raised the brow above his eyepatch, the courtyard falling silent as Morgana raised her hands high above her head and began muttering under her breath. Words that Voldemort could tell were those of the Old Religion, but he had no idea what she was saying. However, after about half a minute of chanting, Morgana's irises flashed a bright golden yellow… and a gaping, swirling hole appeared in the fabric of reality right in front of her. Everyone except for Voldemort, Hades and Morgana all recoiled at the same time, but they still watched with wide eyes as two figures suddenly came shooting out of the hole to sprawl across the stonework before Morgana, who clapped her hands together to make the sudden portal vanish.
None of the present Death Eaters - and there were more filtering into the space now - had expected anything like this. They watched in utter confusion as the two newcomers pushed themselves upwards, nursing their heads and their bruised limbs gingerly. Evidently they'd both undergone quite a beating recently. But that wasn't the surprising part.
The surprising part was that one of them looked a little bit like a humanoid brown goat, with large flapping ears dangling on either side of his head, a short goat's beard and a wide flat nose. He was wearing bulky red samurai armour with the insignia of Grimoire Heart emblazoned in yellow on the front of his shirt, and he had an empty scabbard at his waist. There was no sign of the sword that belonged in it.
But that was nothing compared to the other guy who was… a chicken. There was no other way of putting it. He looked like a giant rooster with complete with a huge red comb on top of his head and wattles beneath his beak, right down to his bird-like feet. The only thing that distinguished him as being anything more than a big bird was his lack of a tail, his upright posture, and his human arms which protruded from beneath his wing-like projections.
"Uunnngh… my head…" the goat-guy muttered as he tried to get some grit out of one of his long ears. "I swear if I get my hands on that iron guy, I'll make him eat his own arms."
"Forget about that guy-pero," the chicken said. "What happened to the Black Dragon? How are we…?"
He stopped talking when he realised that Hades was towering above them and staring down at them. "PERO-PERO!" he cried, and instantly bowed his head, as did the other one when he too realised what was going on.
"Master Hades!" said the goat-guy. "Forgive us - we didn't see you there."
"It appears the last of the Grimoire Heart mages that were being transported to this world have made it across the breach," Morgana smirked. "I just used my power to direct them to this location. Much more convenient than having to track them down across half the countryside."
"Hmm…" Hades' moustache twitched as he looked down at them. "Correct me if I am wrong, but your names are Yomazu and Kawazu, are they not?"
"Yes, that's right. That's us," Yomazu the goat guy nodded. "We are humbled you remember who we are."
"Yes… unfortunately I was not paying attention to what you were doing during the Battle of Tenroujima," Hades said stiffly. "Remind me, what was it that the two of you did?"
"We faced off against the Iron Dragon Slayer and one of his little friends… a weak blue-haired girl," Yomazu replied quickly. "In the end he was able to defeat us but I believe we also damaged him enough to keep him from fighting afterwards… at least for a while…"
"I see…" Hades stroked his beard thoughtfully. "How did you escape from this attack of the Black Dragon that I keep hearing about?"
"We found a large piece of driftwood washed up on the shoreline-pero," Kawazu squawked. "Presumably debris from some of the ships that were destroyed by Azuma-pero."
"And we used one as a makeshift raft to put some distance between us and the dragon attack. We attempted to follow the airship when we saw it flying away, hoping yo would see us," Yomazu agreed. "But then…"
"Yes… I think I know the rest of the story. I also believe you two were some of the most powerful fighters I had in my guild who were not members of the Seven Kin of Purgatory. And while you may have been defeated you still fought to the last through your loyalty to our cause, unlike many who fled when they realised that they were not going to win. Are you still loyal now?"
"Absolutely."
"Definitely-pero!"
"Then I welcome you back to the ranks of Grimoire Heart with open arms," Hades said gruffly. "Loyal soldiers such as yourselves will be needed in the battles to come."
"You expect me to believe that these two are capable combatants?" Voldemort snorted. "I mean… look at them…"
"What was that?" Yomazu growled, his hand reaching for his sword only to discover that it wasn't there.
"We can hold our own in a fight plenty-pero," Kawazu agreed vehemently, hunkering his body down in preparation for a fight.
"Looks can be deceiving, my dear Voldemort," Morgana pointed out. "You wouldn't think that a weasel could take down a rabbit three times its own size and yet it can. But ultimately these two are Hades' men. I believe he should be the one to decide what to do with them, don't you agree?"
Voldemort wrinkled his nose but conceded the point. "Very well," he said. "This is a three-way alliance after all, isn't it?"
"Naturally," Morgana nodded. "Yomazu and Kawazu, welcome to our world."
"Our world?" Yomazu blinked. "What does that mean?"
"It means," Hades intoned. "That through unforeseen happenstances, we have ended up in an alternate universe. It is a pretty major setback, but our immediate goal has not changed. Grimoire Heart still aims to create the World of Great Magic… only now we are seeking to create two. By creating it here, we will be able to get home and create it there, as soon as we track down Zeref once again."
"R… right…" Yomazu blinked, the both of them struggling to process it all but as his eyes tracked over the group he suddenly noticed something. "Not all of the members of the Seven Kin are here," he said. "Caprico, Ultear-sama and Meredy aren't here…"
"Does this mean there's a chance that we'll get promoted to become members of the Seven Kin ourselves-pero?" Kawazu asked eagerly.
"Not quite," Hades shook his head. "You have served me faithfully and you will continue to do so, but I wish to discern what has become of the rest of my Seven Kin back home before I make any replacements to their numbers. Speaking of which, is it time, Morgana?"
"Yes, I believe so," Morgana nodded, turning around and moving until she was standing beside an ancient stone altar at one end of the courtyard. "If you would like to bring in the prisoners?"
Hades nodded and turned to give the order to Zancrow, who immediately got up and wandered in an almost aimless manner out of the courtyard. A couple of minutes later and he returned dragging a chain behind him. A chain which had three people - two men and one women - attached to by the neck and forced to walk in single file - their wrists shackled and their mouths gagged. They were fighting and tugging for all they were worth but Zancrow barely even seemed to notice, dragging them relentlessly forward as the other Grimoire Heart members stood aside to let him through.
It wasn't long before all three of them were kneeling before the altar, Morgana smirking as she stared imperiously down on them. One of the men attempted to let out a question from behind his gag, no doubt to demand who she was and what they were doing here, but Morgana only needed to give him the slightest of looks to shut him up, all three of them quailing fearfully before her. Yet Morgana had not a jot of mercy to be found in her eyes anywhere. She spun around in a whirl of black cloak and stepped around to the other side of the altar, laying her fingers on it and taking a deep breath in preparation for what was to come.
"Remind me again why what you're about to do cannot be used to bring Zancrow back to life," Azuma asked.
"Because Zancrow's soul has already passed on to the Spirit World," Morgana replied simply. "It would take a very different kind of magic to reach into it to bring him back. What I am about to do, Azuma, is not necromancy. There is quite a distinct difference between that… and the Power of Life and Death."
"It sounds like it should be pretty similar to me. It even has the word death in the title."
"You're right, it does. But the Power of Life and Death does not concern returning things that have already passed on to life. It revolves around two very different principles. One is restoring life to something that is dying but has not yet passed on and this requires the use of the Cup of Life, which the Muggles refer to as the Holy Grail. I do not have the Cup in my possession. I searched for it during my many years spent in the Crystal Cave but Merlin made sure to place a spell on its location that would prevent me from finding it. That conniving peasant!
"But what I am about to do now does not require the Cup of Life to work," she added sinisterly. "Creating life from nothing is extremely different after all… and something which very few High Priestesses of the Old Religion ever studied. But it has been done before. My half-brother, Arthur Pendragon himself, was born of this magic when a High Priestess named Nimueh used its power to give Uther's barren wife a son. But…" she looked down at the terrified captive with a cruel smirk. "There has to be a balance with this magic. In order for a life to be created there has to be a death. And we just so happen to be creating three lives today, aren't we?"
Immediately the prisoners began screaming and shaking their heads desperately, trying to get up and run away only for the ends of their chairs to bolt themselves into the stonework with a wave of Morgana's hand. She raised her hands high above her head and gave quick nods to Voldemort and Rustyrose, who quickly took up their positions - Voldemort beside the alter and Rustyrose behind the three struggling prisoners.
Morgana began chanting, whispering at first in such a quiet voice that she could barely hear herself, but getting louder all the time. She closed her eyes and focused on her breathing, and as she chanted everyone felt a chill coming over them. The area around the courtyard seemed to become heavy… not in the kind of way it would have if Bluenote had suddenly increased the gravity but more… tense and muggy… as if they were all being stared down upon from above by a god or goddess. But Morgana never broke from her chanting… she just kept raising her voice until she opened her eyes to give Rustyrose a nod.
The Arc of Embodiment Mage raised his own arms high and three beings began to form out of thin air, one standing behind each of the prisoners. It was the three missing members of Grimoire Heart - Caprico, Ultear and Meredy - all standing in a line with their eyes closed and their limbs slack like lifeless mannequins. The atmosphere grew even heavier, as if a heavy wind was swirling around them except there was no wind at all! And apart from Morgana everyone else had fallen silent, even the prisoners who were now too terrified to make a noise.
For a full two minutes Morgana chanted until she was practically yelling at the sky… and then she fell silent. Her hands clapped down on the altar and she turned to give Voldemort a nod. Eagerly the Dark Lord raised his wand and without a word he flicked it three times, firing a jet of radiant green light at each of the prisoners in turn! They only had time for one final gut-punching scream of terror each before their life force was robbed from their bodies, and in the very moment the last one died Morgana's eyes flashed a brilliant golden.
A split second later and Caprico, Ultear and Meredy all opened their eyes with loud gasps, stumbling backwards and falling to their knees, panting for breath. Gingerly Rustyrose stepped backwards himself and lowered his arms, cutting off all of his magic. As these three had been created by his Arc of Embodiment that meant they should have vanished into thin air. But they did not. They stayed there, eyes wide and looking around them at the assembled crowd and the three dead bodies lying prone before them.
Master Hades stepped forward as they got to their feet one at a time, the sound of his footsteps on the stone making them turn to face him. He glanced to each of them in turn and said, "What are your names?"
"…Caprico," said the white goat-man in his deep voice.
"I am Meredy," whispered the small pink-haired girl.
"I am Ultear Milkovich," the tall, buxom lady said confidently.
"And who are you?" Hades asked.
Ultear knelt back down, bowing her head before him with the other two doing the same thing moments later when she said, "We are loyal subjects of Master Hades, members of his Seven Kin of Purgatory and mages of Grimoire Heart. And we assure him, we will not fail him in the fight against Fairy Tail a second time."
Morgana smirked. The ceremony had been an unparalleled success! Kain was clapping enthusiastically and Rustyrose looked incredibly smug. Only Azuma looked a little disgruntled, for these were not his true comrades - only pale imitations of the original Ultear, Meredy and Caprico imagined as Rustyrose remembered them to be, which meant anything Rustyrose didn't know about them had been left completely out. As far as he was concerned, these three were no better than the zombified Zancrow.
Yet unlike him, and despite being imitations, they were alive!
To all intents and purposes, the Seven Kin of Purgatory were complete once more.