Chapter 4
...It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data. Insensibly, one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to facts...
~Arthur Conan Doyle Sherlock Holmes
Beginning of Winter 1999
Imperial Center
Tom Riddle sat at his huge mahogany desk, his fingers steepled underneath his chin. He was trying really hard to understand how two wizards could walk in, attack two high ranking Department officials, incapacitate more than half the Aurors, and escape unseen. It had only been an hour since the attack, since then, he immediately had the two high ranking officials brought to his office. Sirius arrived first. According to Riddle's secretary, Bella had to take a moment to "recompose herself".
Sirius sat in front of his Emperor waiting for him to pass judgment. Sirius told Riddle about how the perpetrators gained access by wanting to pass information about the Covent Gardens murders. Only, Sirius didn't want to tell Riddle the complete truth. Especially about the part concerning him telling Harry how to find a portkey straight to Dumbledore.
"So...", Riddle started. "Before they could assault you, Bella showed up?"
"Yes sir, it all happened so fast. I'm already thinking of new policies to make sure nobody else can repeat their actions."
Riddle thought about the the security breach. He had already devised a speech to curve the media backlash and the public backlash. He still needed a motive though. "Did you recognize them?"
"No sir."
Riddle was now contemplating using legilimency on Sirius just to see who this person was, but he didn't know if Sirius knew occlumency. To look into someone's thoughts without permission is a crime that is on par with rape. Surface thoughts was one thing, but complete legilimency, allows the person to see what that person is seeing, emotions and all. Sirius would never consent to it anyway due to his 'pureblood' upbringing; even though he turned his back on "most" of those traditions. He could always ask Bella, she had let him a few times before.
"Ok. Bella walks in and a fight commences, please explain how two experienced and capable people, such as yourselves, managed to end up the way you did."
"Someone hid in the corner and ambushed Bella as she entered. I tried to take out the one closest to me. But both of them are highly skilled at hand to hand combat. They had me stunned in less than a minute. Bella fared a lot worse than I did. We were very fortunate that the Aurors caught their attention. I was told of how they escaped, very ballsy in my opinion sir."
Riddle heard enough from Sirius, he really wanted to talk to Bella."Very well Mr. Black, please have a full, detailed report on my desk by tomorrow morning. I'll have to explain to the people why one of our government offices became a battleground. Your dismissed."
"Thank you sir," Sirius said solemnly. While he wanted to save his long lost godson, and helped said godson escape, and knew the location of Britain's biggest traitor, he still hated to disappoint the Emperor. Sirius loved his job and devoted his life to it. But he needed to question Harry first and Bella sure as hell didn't give him enough time. He didn't want to tell Riddle that Bella fired first because of all the damage that was done; collaterally, professionally, and personally. He couldn't be implicated with Harry and jeopardize his position in the MMTF. If he stood up and declared that Bella instigated the fight, would he even be heard?
Bella is his commanding officer anyway, maybe she knew something he didn't. Either way, he didn't want to create any waves with the upper management that would see him quietly removed from his position.
********oooo********
Bella stood at the bathroom mirror looking herself over. Medical personnel had fixed the mild scratches on her body, the rug burn on her face, and the bruises on her wrists and ankles from being suspended in the air by a rope. These wounds were superficial to Bella, the real damage was to her ego and the image she had as a "bad ass".
If she lost straight up, that was one thing. As the saying goes, "Every dog has it's day". A fighter can accept a defeat like that and use it to push themselves to be better. But what Bella endured...embarrassed the hell out of her.
Not only was she 'mostly' topless and a lot of her subordinates got a good look at her breasts, but she was hogtied and left hanging. Nobody has ever subdued her in such a fashion! The humiliation of having to be cut down from her cousin's office ceiling affected her deeply.
Then there was that kiss the blond guy gave her. The nerve of that bastard! How dare he take advantage of her in such a way! How dare he he rip her blouse to shreds! AND how dare SHE love every minute of their scuffle! Bella knew her sexual desires would be considered a little 'off ', but damn it was good! She hasn't felt that alive in a long time. It didn't matter that it appeared she was older than him or that he was covered in blood from the broken nose she inflicted, what mattered was the feelings that went through her.
This only served to piss Bella off more because her emotions were going a mile a minute and it had her completely confused. After finally reaching her boiling point, Bella screamed as loud as she could and punched the mirror. But that didn't satisfy her rage, she moved to kicking the bathroom stalls. She grabbed the trashed can and used it to break the rest of the mirrors then slung it at the bathroom door. A bystander checking on the commotion was almost creamed but she stepped aside just in time.
"GET THE FUCK OUT", Bella screamed. The lady recognized Bellatrix and immediately complied and then stood outside the door to relay that message to anyone else coming to see who was screaming.
After a few more minutes of dismantling bathroom stalls and shattering the tile, Bella slid to the floor and burst into tears. Notwithstanding the pin prick of lust, she still felt humiliation and a strong desire for revenge against the dark haired wizard. The man who she identified as the long lost Harry Potter. He was responsible for 'hanging her out to dry' and she will not stop until she returned the favor.
Ten minutes later and Bella left the restroom with a renewed determination. Nobody looked her way as she slung the door open and walked out of the area with a purpose. Later on, it would take three wizards four hours to fix the damage she caused with magic. It would have taken muggles about a week to accomplish the same task, but only if materials were on hand.
She walked right into the Imperial center and straight to her mentor's office. Riddle's secretary let her in since he was expecting her report. Looking up to see who the intruder was, Riddle instantly dropped what he was doing, "Bella, my dear, are you ok?"
"It was him Tom, it was definitely Harry Potter! There is no mistaking his appearance, he looks exactly like James except the glasses."
Riddle walked up to his friend of more than twenty years and guided her to a mini conference area in his office. The perpendicular leather chairs offset the supervisor/ employee relationship and made the conversation more personal. "So it really is him? Do you think Sirius recognized him?"
"I don't think so because they both had their wands out when I walked in. The other intruder was hidden in a corner and I don't think Sirius even realized he was there."
"It is no secret that Sirius Black is Harry's godfather, you would think he would have known who the boy looks like. He did mention that you entered just after he did, so maybe he didn't get the chance."
Bella didn't know how long Harry Potter was in Sirius' office, so hearing that she might have saved her cousin's life was a little comforting. She was running the incident in her mind again when she heard something off in the distance. Refocusing on Riddle, "hmmm", she questioned.
"I said, would it be acceptable if I viewed the memory."
Bella panicked, if she allowed it he would see how easily she was beaten and how she was left strung up half nude. If they used his preferred method of legilimency, he would feel the emotions that went with the memory. Which would make it extremely awkward since the revelation that she enjoyed her fight with Harry's blonde companion.
Riddle didn't care for any of that though. His sole focus, his entire game plan for dealing with Harry, depended on whether or not he was targeting his associates. But the important factor that Riddle was going to miss was that the memory would show that she fired the first spell. He probably would have had a different perspective of the event if he had seen first hand Sirius' and Harry's posture towards each other.
Bella's refusal to show the painful memory, something that could have saved them all a lot of trouble in the future, unknowingly started a war that would cost them dearly.
Seeing the pained look on his long time friend's face, incited anger within Riddle that he couldn't contain. For the first time in a long time, he was truly pissed off. 'They have gone against me', he thought. 'They said to trust them and then they send the son of THEIR MISTAKE to attack me? I AM THE EMPEROR!'
Tom Riddle showed no outward signs of being in a towering rage. He thought of the letter that the assassins had him owl to Joseph Evans. Thinking back, he concluded that he should have read that letter after all. 'Maybe they had planned the whole thing', he thought frantically. As a master of the mind arts he was able to control most of his emotions, but the tone in his voice clued Bella in to his current temperament. "They will pay for what they had done", he whispered dangerously.
Standing up, Riddle moved back to his desk to make a few calls and get the plan in motion that he had been sitting on since learning of Harry's return. Now that he knew where Harry stood, he could execute it...and them.
Riddle dialed a number and instantly received a salutation, "General Bones' office, Corporal Richards speaking".
"This is Emperor Riddle, I want Bones and Malfoy in here now, Operation Old Wounds is in effect."
After the Corporal's acknowledgment, Riddle looked to Bella, "Take the rest of the day off if you want, but if you want some retribution...we will hit them tonight."
..."The truth." Dumbledore sighed. "It is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with great caution."...
~ J.K Rowling Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone
Beginning of Winter 1999
Roach Motel
2130 Hours
Harry and Davin awoke a few hours after their escape from the Department of Magical Affairs Office somewhat refreshed. Harry silently applauded Davin's quick thinking with using a rope to jump out the window. Harry was prepared to jump and hope for the best, he didn't even think of using something to slow their descent.
Speaking of Davin, Harry noticed the smirk that his friend wore since they woke up. He also noted the mood change; his friend seemed happier for some reason. 'What the hell is he smiling about, we were almost caught', Harry thought. Then he remembered the stolen kiss on the female that broke his nose as well as his nuts.
"Was it that great that you have to sport that shit eating grin all day?"
Davin looked up at Harry and his smile got bigger.
"Guess so", Harry said laughing.
Harry went to the only window in their run down roach motel room and pulled the curtains back. He watched as darkness claimed the day and knew it was time to go to work. He wiped the smile off his face and looked at Davin, "time to prepare."
Harry wore his usual assassins garb which consisted of his midnight black monk robes, blood red rosary beads, and a hidden kusarigama. He took a few needles out of his ever present wrist band and transfigured some kunai knives before stowing them in a sheathe. He would have them in hand when the portkey activated just in case someone was waiting to ambush them.
Davin, being more blunt of the two, wore the same robes but his choice of weapons matched his personality perfectly. A sheath that crisscrossed his back contained his coveted bladed tonfas. They were razor sharp along the outer edge that morphed into knives at both ends. The blades were as dark as night and ran along the length Davin's forearms to a steel handle.
Davin wasn't as proficient in rapid wandless transfiguration like Harry, so he used his wand to conjure his throwing projectiles beforehand. He preferred spikes instead of knives and attached a pouch filled with them to his belt. His rosary beads were tucked into his undershirt so they wouldn't make sound or get hung up in combat.
When they were both ready, they apparated to a wooded clearing not far from their hotel. "This will be our fall back point in case we are attacked. You set up the tent and I'll set some traps", Harry instructed.
Davin nodded and reached into a pouch on his belt. He placed it on the ground and silently cast an Engorgio spell making the pop up tent rise to about eight feet tall. He went inside and conjured a stretcher and a small table that he put some medical supplies on. The idea was that if one of them was injured, instead of drawing attention to themselves, they would perform triage in their tent before moving to seek better medical attention.
Meanwhile, Harry cast a muggle repelling ward and tall prickly bushes around their field hospital. Behind the bushes, Harry cast a spell that would make the intruder think that they have been twisted upside down. In reality, the spell just changes the person's perception of their surroundings. All they would have to do is to continue moving and the spell would cancel. But it would disorient them enough to give Harry or Davin time to strike.
Harry walked ten paces from the perimeter of bushes and conjured devil's snare. This sneaky plant would grab anything near it and squeeze it. The only defense against it would be to use either blinding light or fire that will make it shrink away. Harry used it as signal flares, if someone was coming they would have to use light to protect themselves, otherwise they were dead. Either way was good for Harry.
When their tasks were completed, they met outside of their perimeter and apparated to Godric's Hollow. They stuck to the shadows as they located the only cemetery in the small magical town. It took almost an hour to find Lily Potter's gravestone. Harry stared at it for a minute with mixed emotions. A part of him wondered if it was true. If these two people were once his biological parents. The other part didn't really care, he couldn't change the past, even if he wanted too.
Before grabbing the designated flower, Harry cast a concealment charm on Davin. He would be completely invisible as long as he didn't move too fast. "Snap your fingers twice to meet up in case we need too." Davin tapped him twice on the shoulder to show understanding before grabbing onto Harry's forearm. Both of them held a throwing blade in their free hand as Harry took a deep breath and said the portkey's pass phrase, "solace."
********oooo********
The silent country night near Shirley Cottage in Bransgore was disrupted by a loud "whooshing" sound. As soon as their feet hit the ground, Harry and Davin dropped to a fighting stance with knives. After a moment of looking at their surroundings, Harry took in the landscape.
They were on a small road off of Thatchers Lane. Trees lined the left of the road all the way up and around the corner while small houses sporadically lined up on the right side. Hearing no commotion from their portkey entry, Harry discreetly tapped Davin to move out.
They both edged into the shadows of the trees for cover. Harry thought it was odd that there were no ambient sounds like nearby traffic or even the wind. Since Davin was still disillusioned, Harry whispered to him to stay hidden and to follow his lead. He would have liked to have a talk using legilimency, but didn't want to lose time or concentration finding him.
Before taking the portkey, Harry was prepared in case it would have been a trap. The complete lack of 'anything' left him confused. Closing his eyes, he reached out with his magic to feel for wards in the area. With any other wizarding building, Harry would feel a strong presence. In his current location, it was the absence of that presence that clued him in; like a void in space. 'Must be from the Fidelius Charm', Harry thought moving into that direction.
As they moved east along Thatchers Lane, Harry seen what appeared to be a rundown farm area. As they moved closer, it morphed into a large brick house. The decrepit stables and run down buildings turned into a long courtyard with a circular stone water fountain. To the right of the house, Harry seen a fenced in area with a chicken house and a wooden gate area with what sounded like grunting pigs.
All behind the house, Harry noticed crops of every kind laid out in rows parallel to the walls of the house. On the left side, stood a two story barn with it's doors half open and a small light shining out. 'This must be the place', Harry thought. The only reason why they could see it was because of Sirius. He gave them the secret to Dumbledore's location, which negated the Fidelius Charm. Otherwise, the whole area would still look run down and unused.
Thinking of a plan, Harry posted himself across the street from the newly revealed farmland. Harry snapped his fingers as quietly as he could. A second later, Davin tapped his shoulder showing that he arrived.
"Finite", Harry cast at Davin to cancel the disillusion charm. "I want that barn checked before we move to the house. There's a light shining out of there but I haven't seen any movement." Drawing a rough overview of the farmland, Harry told Davin to go through the small patch of trees to come up behind the barn. He would clear it as Harry watched the barn doors. Then they would work their way to the house and breach it from the second floor.
"There is so much magic in the area that I can't tell a ward from a charm, so be careful. If you get caught in something, shoot sparks and I'll back you up from the shadows." Davin was going to protest since sending sparks in the air would go against everything they were taught, but Harry raised his hand to placate him. "I know, I know. But it's not like you can holler." Harry left the sentence hang for a second, "I, on the other hand, am going to scream my ass off hoping someone will rescue me. Maybe Sirius Black will come out and we won't have to go through all this crap. If at any time someone fires spells at me, you back me up and hit who you can. Got it?"
Davin nodded his head, he understood now that Harry wanted answers from Sirius but if they were engaged, they would fight back with everything they had. Davin took off across the street and into the thin line of trees. Harry silently moved up to get a good view of the barn doors.
Harry watched from the shadows as Davin crept up to the barn and scaled the wall. He climbed to the front ledge and entered through an open window. Harry waited in anticipation until Davin exited the barn from the front doors. Together they moved up past the the pig trough and chicken coup and met up behind the stone fountain. So far everything appeared to be going smoothly, but appearances are deceiving.
Harry absentmindedly noticed that the fountain stopped flowing. Before the problem registered, the two assassins were blasted into the middle of the courtyard by a powerful stream of water. Harry twisted his body to get out of the way and raised up to a knee.
He raised his wand and fired off two stunning spells in quick succession. He looked up and rolled away just in time to see that the water stream, shaped like a giant hydra, crashed into his former position. Davin was pushed against the barn by two heads of the water serpent as three more twirled in the air looking for targets. Harry pointed his wand to ground between Davin and his water assailants and raised the ground up to block the water flow. A three foot patch of earth steadily rose and intercepted it, allowing Davin to escape.
Harry dodged another hydra head before he took aim at the fountain. "Bombarda", he hollered, pushing much of his magic into the exploding hex. An instant later, the stone fountain detonated sending debris in every direction. Harry heard a female scream before the water hydra dropped lifelessly to the ground.
Using the same "flash bang" technique from the Department of Magical Affairs, Harry cast a Lumos Maxima towards the origin of the scream. The courtyard lit up as Harry's spell exploded in blinding white light. 'No hiding it now', Harry thought. After covering his eyes for the brief moment to avoid the effects of his spell, he searched for his attacker.
Davin spotted her just before Harry, he launched himself at the lithe female holding her eyes. Before Davin could connect with a drop kick to the woman's chest, he was blown off course by a strong gust of wind. Davin rolled horizontally and simultaneously unsheathed his bladed tonfas. He stabbed them into the ground to stop from being blown away again.
Harry looked towards the house and seen the new combatant with his wand drawn in the doorway. The shaggy looking male had short unkempt hair and dirty looking brown robes. Harry sent a bone breaking hex in his direction before taking off the deal with the female. Davin had already started moving in the skinny newcomer's direction.
Davin swung his bladed tonfas, alternating between slashing and stabbing at the male combatant. He spun on his heel, spinning his weapons expertly, desperately trying to score a hit. The inhuman speed of the scraggly looking man surprised the hell out of him. Every slash and stab was met with only empty air, which infuriated the young assassin.
Davin became a fury of kicks and stabs in alternating combinations to catch his opponent off guard. Nothing seemed to work except the fact the he didn't give the raggedly looking man the opportunity to strike back. In a stroke of genius, Davin stabbed with his right tonfa, and threw his left tonfa into the ground sticking up behind him. His opponent seemed to duck and turn to Davin's right whenever he threw a right punch. Using that knowledge, Davin hoped to at least trip the man up.
Luckily, the gamble paid off as the man's leg caught the sharp end of the grounded tonfa when he, predictably, ducked and spun under Davin's stab. He stumbled and landed on his back in shock before Davin hammer punched him with the handle of his weapon. Blood exploded from the man's face as he went limp.
Harry charged at the blonde woman and sent an Incarcerous spell at her. She apparently regained her eyesight since she rolled to the side and slashed at the ropes. She retaliated with several stunners that nearly found their mark. Harry had to stop his advance to raise a shield charm. He was mildly surprised at the power behind the spells, so he ducked her last spell and he sent a barrage of his own.
The young woman tried blocking and dodging but Harry was shooting spells at her too fast. It was all she could do just to hold up behind her shield charm. Using his left hand, Harry wandlessly summoned the water soaking the ground from the damaged fountain to form a pool around the woman's feet. Harry commanded it cover her shoes and start to climb up her ankles.
The blonde knew something was up when she felt the coolness of the water travel to her calf muscle. When the spells stopped shooting around her, she jumped up to her feet and tried to run to a better position. But Harry wouldn't let her, the reason for the split second cease fire was because Harry pointed his wand at the water and froze it.
He seen it freeze her legs in place, "so you like water sports", Harry said enjoying the fight. Harry once again reached near the fountain and pulled his hand towards the sky. A pylon of water slowly elevated from the ground and hovered in the air at Harry's command. The woman looked at the impressive show of wandless magic with trepidation. Her eyes darted to and fro as she tried to break her legs free from the ice.
Harry, usually a smart ass when a fight gets good, thought about his last comment. "You know what I'm sorry about that comment, it was corny as hell and I didn't mean it." The woman looked into those bright green eyes with hope, 'shit shit shit', she kept repeating to herself. Unfortunately for her, Harry was still going to soak her. "But what the hell am I supposed to say when my drawers are so far UP my ASS that my tongue has a brown stain. All thanks to that water slide you put me on!"
The dark robed monk closed the fist he levitated the pylon of water with and then brought his arm down in an arc towards her. At the last moment, Harry spread is fingers and willed the giant pylon to form into hundreds of two inch diameter replicas. When the blonde beauty ducked her head, Harry froze the water as they converged all around her forming an ice cage. Harry would have been lying to himself if he said that the thought of killing this woman never crossed his mind, but the simple fact of the matter was that he wasn't there for her.
Instead, Harry caged the woman in with thick strands of ice that stood eight feet high. Harry cupped his hand and whispered "Aguamenti". He sipped a mouthful of water and schooled his facial features. When the woman looked back up to her opponent, she seen that he plucked her wand out of her hand. He then knelt down on all fours and stared those bright blue eyes. Harry was captivated for a split moment, 'she truly is beautiful', Harry thought.
"Just what the hell are you staring at", she asked snapping Harry out of his reverie. Having to think back about what he was going to do next, he smirked...then spit a fountain of water on the lady's head like a kid in a water park.
"Oy! What in the...gross!" She looked at him disgusted, but Harry was laughing his ass off too much to care. He tossed her wand aside and stood back up looking for another fight. That's when he noticed that Davin was having a helluva time with an old man with a long white beard. "Dumbledore", Harry said aloud.
Dumbledore's assault forced Davin to drop his bladed tonfas and use his wand. Occasionally, he would throw a spike at the old man to try and catch him off guard. But Dumbledore's skill betrayed his age as he dodged or blocked all of Davin's attacks effortlessly.
The old wizard sent a white curse that twirled violently like a tornado, forcing Davin to jump away. But at over hundred years old, you learn a few things. While Davin was spinning around and jumping to avoid spells, Dumbledore cast a quick sand charm on the courtyard around his opponent. When Davin leapt away, his feet didn't connect with the hard ground, it went right through. The assassin sunk all the way to his chest with only one arm able to move.
Dumbledore flicked his wand and Davin's last weapon was torn from his grasp. He was completely at his enemy's mercy. He was so preoccupied with the old wizard that he didn't even pay attention to Harry's battle. So he was pleasantly surprised when he seen Harry throwing his knives in Dumbledore's direction.
Dumbledore heard a woman's scream in the distance before he heard a loud rippling sound getting closer. Not knowing what was coming at him, Dumbledore brought his wand up and snapped his forearms into the shape of an 'X'. The defense charm the old wizard used solidified in the air before Harry's kunai knives could reach their target.
Harry used the fact that the charm blocked him from view and tossed a few more knives at Dumbledore's shield to keep his head down. Harry used the time to shorten the distance between the two of them. But unlike the woman, Dumbledore refused to be held down. He magically pulled air pressure towards him while Harry was throwing knives. After a quick five count, he unleashed a shock wave of energy towards his new attacker.
Harry was launched into the air and soared over hundred feet, just past the barn. On his decent to the ground, Harry was scratched and cut when he went through the thin line of trees surrounding the property. His monk robes were missing small chunks and his hood was ripped from his head. It was a miracle that he wasn't injured beyond scrapes and bruises. Harry rolled with the momentum to try and soften the fall, it worked somewhat.
He quickly rolled up to his feet and shook off his tattered monk robes. He jumped into the air and morphed into a long black curtain of smoke. The magic he used being a blend of spells from charms and transfiguration. It mostly gave Harry the ability of flight, but the added spells for the smoke struck fear in a lot of his victim's heart. Harry flew over the tree line and passed the barn to see his opponent waiting for him. He resembled a comet streaking through the sky, only he was devoid of any light.
On the way back to Dumbledore, Harry noticed that the house was being emptied with new combatants. He flew towards the duo trying to free the blond beauty from her ice cage first. Without breaking the charms that gave him flight, he grabbed both individuals and tossed them closer to the five other combatants. Then he weaved in and around them to obscure their vision with black smoke. The speed of Harry's flight created gale force wind that had them all cowering to protect themselves. Harry's childish giggles only increased their fear even though it was not his intentions. Harry, for some reason unbeknownst to him, loved to fly.
When he thought they were close enough to the ground, Harry took a page out of Dumbledore's book and turned the dirt around the seven magicals to quick sand. He quickly returned it back and made sure their extremities were trapped in the ground; just like Davin.
Harry shot back into the air, the pitch black smoke following him. He rose about thirty feet before suddenly reversing his direction and slammed into the ground in front of the new prisoners. The force of the blast rattled his captives teeth as the remnants of the smoke spread along the ground and dissipated. Unknowingly to Harry, the force of his landing also cracked a few bars that held the woman in the ice cage. Dumbledore thought his opponent was side stepping out of the way until he realized that he was actually dancing. Baffled, he watched as the dark haired man moved sideways in a "horse riding" stance. The boy's feet were a blur of motion propelling him sideways as he sensually rubbed around his chest and stomach.
"You can't touch this", Harry said dancing to M.C. Hammer in his head. "Ooooh oh oooh oh", he sang as he changed direction. When he got in front of a red haired wizard he hollered, "STOP!" Harry looked into Dumbledore's eyes and reveled in his confusion, or what Harry thought was confusion. To Dumbledore, it was a shocking realization to the identity of the dancing young man. Only the shout of 'Hammer time' shook him back to the present.
Harry changed dances to one called the 'running man'. While he didn't particularly like it, he still thought it was great for kicking dirt on people. Which is what he was doing to the red headed wizard stuck in the ground behind him. The man desperately tried to move his head to avoid the gulps of dirt going into his mouth and face, but it was no use.
Even though this operation was botched and they were discovered, Harry had to admit that he was having a blast. The 'alter ego' he has when fighting was coming out in full force and Harry loved every minute of it.
That is until he heard Dumbledore say his name, "Harry?"
The man in question instantly stopped dancing and looked at the aging wizard twenty feet from him. His good mood was replaced with instant rage, 'this is the second time someone recognized me', he thought heatedly.
Harry moved right in front of Dumbledore so fast that the old man thought he had apparated; even though Dumbledore knew it was impossible due to the charms he cast around his hideout. "HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT NAME", Harry shouted.
Accidental magic swirled around Harry making his clothes and neck length hair whip in the 'magical winds'. Bolts of lighting sparked around his closed fists as Harry shouted his question again. When he received no response, he raised his hands fully intent on electrocuting Dumbledore until he heard someone else shout his name again.
"HARRY STOP", Sirius yelled as he ran onto the property. Sirius waved his arms and hoped that the boy would listen. He stopped in his tracks when he seen seven of his friends attached to the earth, his best friend lying unconscious, and an empty cage made of ice.
Harry turned back to Dumbledore fully intent of frying the old bastard anyway. Instead, received a smack in the back of his head with a club of ice. He barely seen his attacker as he dropped to the ground and blacked out. The 'formerly' caged blonde beauty stood over top of Harry as his accidental magic fizzled out. "Dance on that you bastard", she muttered.
St. Giles Church
Near Bowes Castle
Approximately the same time Harry was knocked out
Lucius Malfoy sat disillusioned on top of an adjacent building overlooking St. Giles church. General Amelia Bones had just left to report to the Emperor and entrusted her squad of elite soldiers to his command until her return. The reason for her departure was laying right in front of Lucius. A special map, created by the recently returned Peter Petegrew, charted and labeled with the entire complex hiding the assassins.
When Riddle called Petegrew for assistance, he immediately portkeyed from America and snooped around the church as his rat animagus. After a few hours, Peter created two maps and returned to the church to plant C4 explosives in key areas.
Lucius marked the areas on the map where he had posted snipers and automatic rifleman. Muggle weapons had their place in the world if they were used correctly on unsuspecting wizards. If the magical knew about the guns beforehand, they would be able to cast a shield to block the bullets which rendered muggle small arms almost useless. Not many magicals could cast the shield and fight at the same time, which gave their wizards a chance to take out the target. A very effective 'suppresive fire' technique that worked most of the time.
The special combat team that Lucius was temporarily commanding was trained in the Lestrange's South American military camp. Which meant that they were used to working alongside magicals. Each squad was comprised of wizards and muggles; each with their assigned position. Defensive magic, automatic weapons, wards, snipers, healer/ combat medic, demolitions, and offensive magic.
To be on the safe side, Lucius drafted five wizards proficient in wards to ensure the spells they needed were cast quicker. The enemy could not escape. One wizard would cast the anti-portkey ward while another casts the anti-apparition ward. The other three wards would keep muggle civilians away from the area, brighten the area with a powerful Lumos Ward for near daylight conditions, and propel anybody from leaving the area on foot.
As Lucius looked at his watch for the hundredth time, his earpiece silently squawked in his ear, "Major Malfoy, C.O wants you at H.Q." 'Another brilliant muggle device', Lucius thought as he gave the speaker his acknowledgment. Muggle radios that spoke in the ear and wrapped around your throat to talk to others was amazing. The throat piece had two dime sized parts that amplified whispered speech and transmitted the message to the other radios. According to Peter, these radios were being used by an elite American unit called Navy Seals.
When Lucius entered the house they commandeered for their headquarters, he was surprised to see Bella and the Emperor.
"Lucius, thank you for joining us", Riddle started. "I just wanted the General to go over the plan with you guys before we launched."
"Absolutely, Emperor", General Bones said nodding her head. "As you can see from the map Peter made us, the complex has five floors; the top floor being the church itself. There are about twenty targets on various floors with only two ways to escape; one from the confession booth inside the church and the other leading to a hidden crypt in the grave yard. Peter dismantled the wards surrounding the crypt when he reentered the complex and proceeded to plant explosives on the lower floors. We have snipers and heavy gunners aimed at both entrances that will shoot whoever comes out, so be sure to announce your exit. There will be two teams of eight that will enter and mop up the survivors of Peter's explosion. We also have three ten man squads surrounding the area in a cross fire for a worse case scenario."
Riddle took in Bones' plan of attack and approved, he only had one request and hoped it could be attained. "Does Peter know who the leader is", he asked.
"Yes sir, it is the local priest named Father Jacobs. He resides on the second floor just under the confession booths."
Riddle thought for a second, he didn't want to change or compromise the plan, but he really wanted to kill Jacobs himself. "If it is possible, can Peter bring me Jacobs alive?"
Lucius answered before the General could, "I'll certainly pass it along to him sir. You know he will do anything for you, but Peter really isn't the best in combat."
Riddle nodded his head, "yes I know. His talents are primarily in subterfuge. But if he can, he'll definitely put me in a better mood."
Lucius smiled and grabbed the microphone on his neck, "Major to all squad leaders, have the rat report before the show starts, over." When he received affirmatives from the squads, he looked back to Riddle, "the men are looking out for him sir, He will report here as soon as he is done.
"Very well, how much longer are we waiting?"
"Peter has five more minutes to show up before we assume he is captured," General Bones said. "We have a remote detonator for the explosives, just in case. The ward casters will start in about four minutes to complete the spells required in our time frame."
"Peter is a good friend of mine General, if he doesn't come out in five minutes...there won't be any explosions. You have less than that to come up with a plan in case that happens." Riddle looked straight into Amelia Bones' eyes and conveyed his sincerity. She immediately scrambled to come up with a contingency plan. While Petegrew was not his most trusted or even the best of his friends, he still had his invaluable animagus skill that has assisted his goals for decades now. There was no way he would give it up so easily just to satisfy his need for revenge.
...The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off...
~Joe Klaas 12 steps to Happiness
Bransgore, England
Dumbledore's hideout
0400
Harry slowly came to and quickly realized what had happened. He could hear low murmurs in the distance so he kept his eyes closed to feign unconsciousness. He concentrated and reached out with his magic to determine the number of people around him, their location, and tried to determine Davin's status. It was difficult as hell since his head felt like it was split wide open.
"There is no need to pretend Harry, I know you are awake," Dumbledore said condescendingly, yet almost lovingly.
'Busted', Harry thought opening his eyes to look at his capture. "I'll ask one more time! How do you know that name!" Harry croaked out what he could menacingly, but the effect was wasted since his throat was dry.
"That is your name, correct? Harry Potter?"
"I've only ever went by Harry, IF you need to know. I've been an orphan for as long as I can remember."
"Yes, I know. When Sirius told me he found you or rather you found him, I must confess that I didn't quite believe him. But the moment I looked at you...", Dumbledore became nostalgic thinking of his lost friends, "I knew that you are the son of James and Lily Potter. Everybody thought you had died with your parents that night, but apparently, you have not."
Dumbledore let that statement hang in the air hoping that Harry would voluntarily give some insight to situation. When Harry remained silent, he continued, "you look almost exactly like your father, but you have your mother's amazingly green eyes. Speaking of your mother, I named my daughter after her...Lilliana. Your parents were her godparents before...well before they passed on."
Dumbledore choked up for a minute before continuing onto a lighter subject, "Lilliana is actually the reason why you are here and I'm not a cooked bird", Dumbledore chuckled slightly at his own joke.
Harry was not smiling however, "Why am I here and where is my friend?"
"Well, obviously, you were sent here to kill England's greatest traitor", the old man stated, punctuating the traitor comment with quotation marks using his hands. "As for your friend, he is just fine. It took us awhile to figure out why he wouldn't talk to us. Fortunately, I am well versed in the mind arts to overcome that barrier. Right now he is eating with a few friends of mine, I can send for him if you like?"
"If that's true, why am I still tied down. If you know the reason why am I here and what I came to do, why haven't you killed me?"
"Quite frankly, we feared your reaction to waking up in captivity. You are a very powerful wizard Harry. So I wanted the chance to speak with you when you awoke." Dumbledore waved his hands over Harry's restraints and released him. "I've been waiting quite awhile for you to wake up...and it's left me very hungry. Come join me for something to eat and we'll meet up with Davin."
Harry sat up slowly and rubbed his wrists while thinking of his options. Since Dumbledore already said he practiced the mind arts, Harry instantly raised his occlumency shields. 'I could go ahead and neutralize my intended target and try and find Davin or... I could actually ride this out', Harry thought furiously. Harry would be lying to himself if he said he wasn't intrigued by Dumbledore's knowledge of his birth parents. Judging by Sirius Black's reaction the day before gave Dumbledore's information some credibility.
"Alright but let me ask you one question, what are planning on doing with us?"
"I'm not going to kill you, if that's what you are asking", Harry cocked his head at Dumbledore's statement which prompted another light chuckle from the aging man. "I just want to talk Harry. Hopefully we can give each other some insight to past events that has affected the both of us. After that, I will let you go."
Now Harry was really confused, "so I come here to kill you...and...you just want to chit chat...and your gonna let me go?"
When Dumbledore nodded his head, Harry started to laugh lightly and commented, "what the fuck."
Dumbledore raised his eye at Harry's crude language but didn't comment.
Harry cleared his throat and tried again, "uhmmm, lead the way...sir".
Dumbledore escorted Harry downstairs and into the dining room where several other people congregated around a long table. Upon their entrance, everyone ceased their conversations and stared at the dark haired menace that so easily took them down. Harry searched for his companion, he didn't care what they thought of him.
Davin was sitting between the scraggly looking wizard he had knocked out and a pretty blonde. When he caught sight of Harry, he immediately stood up and they met halfway. Clasping each others forearms, Harry opened his occlumency shield. 'You alright brother?'
'Yeah, I'm good. How's your head?'
Harry's headache flared in response. 'Nothing I can't handle. They interrogate you or anything?'
'No, these people are really nice, even after I revealed we were assigned to kill them. They seem really eager to meet you though.'
They let go of each other and headed back to Dumbledore, Harry gave Davin one more telepathic message before he raised his mind shields back up. 'They say I'm Harry Potter and that they knew my real parents.'
Davin did a double take at Harry when Dumbledore cut in, "as you can see, your friend is in good health."
"Yes sir, just as you said."
"Very good." Dumbledore started making his way further down the table to sit at it's head. "Let's tuck in and I'll introduce everyone here."
Harry and Davin sat opposite of Dumbledore and sat down as he did. Food magically appeared before them as Dumbledore spoke, "starting from left to right, we have young William Weasley."
As Dumbledore pointed him out, he nodded his head to the assassins, "just call me Bill, please."
"Then, we have his father, Arthur." After a small salutation, Dumbledore continued down the row with Sirius Black's cousin, Nymphadora Tonks, and then Sirius himself.
"On the other side," Dumbledore continued, "we have my wife Minerva, Remus Lupin, Arthur's daughter Ginny, and my daughter...Lilliana. Believe it or not, you have met each other before. And if I am not mistaken, you even had a few play dates. "
Everybody except Lilliana looked Harry in the eyes with some sort of acknowledgment. Apparently, she knew about the 'play date' thing before this conversation. It kind of rattled him that she would dismiss him so easily though. Call it showing off, call it male chauvinistic "peacocking", or just call it a deep infatuation. But, Harry wanted her to notice him...needed her to notice him. She was the one that knocked his ass out after all.
He was fully intent on calling her out on that fact until what Dumbledore just said finally penetrated his hormonal thoughts. "Wait...what? Your daughter", Harry exclaimed. He looked to Davin and noticed this tidbit of information was new to him also. "How does that work, your like what...maybe...eighteen years old," Harry continued referring to a now angry looking Lilliana, "and you sir...are ancient as hell, no offense."
Most of the occupants in the room looked mildly affronted by Harry's rambling, but Davin was in tears. His silent roaring egged Harry on to continue. "I realize that there are certain spells a wizard can cast that will, how you say, keep your wand up. Maybe a pepper up potion to get the energy up, but...you know what...ewwwww... never mind."
"Surely you know about the process of human procreation and the decreased aging of magical people, Mr. Potter", Minerva said in her Scottish drawl.
Davin was still giggling when Harry asked, "so you are telling me, that witches and wizards age slower than muggles?"
When Minerva Dumbledore nodded her head in agreement, Harry looked at Davin again and with a straight face said, "huh, well...we got something to look forward too for the next hundred years. The muggles have been searching for ways to bump uglies well into their golden years too. Billion dollar industry that is."
Davin nodded his head, tears running down his face, still unable to "comment" from laughing too hard. Even Lillian, who looked enraged at first, smirked at Harry's comments concerning elderly intercourse. She never said it aloud, but vowed to never get pregnant at her mother's age. Looking into Harry's eyes, she could tell that there was never any malcontent with the subject. She noticed how he had held in his laughter and how his beautiful green eyes shone because of it. 'Stop it', she told herself.
Dumbledore cleared his voice, "moving along", his face red from embarrassment. "Like I said, we named Lilliana after your mother. She was our Charms professor back when I was the Headmaster of Hogwarts. She was a very talented witch...and very much in love with your father, James Potter."
Lilliana noticed the change in Harry's eyes. The mirth that was once there was replaced with something she could not identify. Was it rage? Or was it pain?
"How do you know for sure that I'm this Harry Potter character. Knowing what I came here to do, what makes you think that I'm not just going along with this story so I can get your guard down enough to kill you...and your collaborators." Harry gave Dumbledore a challenging look. "I am an assassin and I've never missed an assignment I've been given."
Several hands surreptitiously wandered to their wands. Harry ignored them, what he said was true. He wanted to know Dumbledore's reaction to that fact. He also wanted to know for sure if they could really identify him as Harry Potter.
Dumbledore wasn't fazed at all. "Forget that you look exactly like your father, even without glasses. And we'll forget that you have your mother's startling green eyes." Sirius Black nodded his head in agreement as Dumbledore looked squarely into Harry's face. "I know you because I was there when you were born. I was there when you first walked. And, I was there when you first performed accidental magic."
He could tell by the dubious expression on Harry's face that he still didn't quite believe him. Dumbledore continued, "Sirius and Remus know you because they were your father's best friends during and after Hogwarts. Sirius was announced as your godfather. They were there for everything I just said and more. Your father, Remus and Sirius were like brothers from the time they started Hogwarts until..."
"The night your parents died," Dumbledore stopped for a second to choke back stray tears, "it was the single most devastating event in my life. Our lives", he corrected as he gestured to the older adults around the table. "To witness their deaths must have been traumatic enough for you to bury the memories deep down into the recesses of your mind. I'm also guessing that you consumed yourself with your training to forget what you have witnessed."
Harry reeled back. Davin's doubts about Dumbledore's belief in Harry's identity cracked as well. He remembered when they had started their training with Father Jacobs. Harry was the most devoted to lesson. He would spend endless nights perfecting whatever they were required to learn.
Dumbledore continued pressing, "you are a master of occlumency and legilimency, like I am. Search yourself and learn that what I say is truth."
Harry took a minute and actually sifted through his earlier memories, but all he could find was pain. He did catch a glimpse of a yellow stuffed toy. "If you are having trouble Harry, I offer you my memories."
Dumbledore kept his gaze into Harry's eyes in case the young man wanted to perform legilimency.
'This is the most infamous traitor in all of England's history, I should not be trusting him, I should be killing him', Harry thought. But he couldn't bring himself to do it. He knew that what Dumbledore said was true. It had to be if so many vehemently agreed with him. Harry wasn't too keen on performing legilimency on Dumbledore since it was basically a two way street. While he seen memories of his parents, Dumbledore could view what Harry didn't protect behind his occlumency shields.
"There is something I do remember", Harry started. "I feel a closeness with a certain object...a stuff toy of some sort. What is it?"
Dumbledore, Minerva, Sirius, and Remus smiled at the memory brought forth within their own minds. "It was a stuffed golden snitch. It was given to you by your mother's father when they toured Diagon Alley after you were born."
Dumbledore knew he had finally gotten through to Harry. The young man's eyes grew slightly with surprise, but what really through Harry for a loop was Dumbledore's next statement.
"Your grandfather is probably going to faint when I tell him that you are alive and well." Dumbledore smiled.