Visitors
The Realm of Ghur had been an almost impossible challenge to conquer for the human formerly known a s Tom Marvolo Riddle. The creatures and the land fought with themselves, and the unforgiving weather changed almost too quickly.
But he had resisted. Endured. Voldemort was still alive and prepared for any enemy that could put his life in danger. Or so he thought.
WAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGH!
A battle cry pierced the air and he moved quickly to its source, avoiding fallen logs and deep cracks in the ground. Jumping above enormous stones and dodging low branches.
The screams and the sound of weapons clashing in the distance alerted him of a battle starting. It came from the village he had found two days ago. When he laid low and looked to see who they were fighting he was almost surprised.
Giant humanoid creatures of green skin used weapons made of metal, leather, and bone against the members of the primitive village. Them on the other hand had brought forth swords and axes.
It was brutal. One man had lost his leg when his adversary had swung his arm down. The limb had been lopped off instantly.
Voldemort knew that this new species was a dangerous foe and waited for the battle to end to see who would come on top. They were too distracted to notice him.
And then the tremors indicating the approaching earthquake made him realize the invaders had a leader.
XXX
The group made in Earth to rescue Harry had finished their preparations and waited for everyone to be in the room. Amelia Bones had her arms crossed in front of her and looked at the archway with doubt in her mind. Worst thing it could happen was the death of various good men and women in a futile mission that could never be accomplished.
Ron, Hermione, Neville, Luna, and Ginny discussed their plans for searching the place where they were going. Snape stood in a corner without saying anything and lost in thought. Arthur and Molly discussed and kissed each other in a gesture of affection and goodbye. Tonks strolled through the room looking at the chamber waiting for the signal so they could begin. Remus and Sirius looked at a piece of parchment and discussed their plans to make again something they had created when they were younger.
The voices of the people talking and having discussions filled the chamber. The only ones that were left were Moody and Shacklebot. They had apparently gone in search of various magical items for the journey.
She turned towards the door to the room when the sounds of two people bickering filled her ears.
"But Fleur-!" A man complained to his companion.
"No! I'm going and that's final!" The voice belonged to a woman with French accent" Harry is my friend too. She helped Gabby and me last year when we were in danger, and I don't plan on staying here doing nothing!".
The man was Bill, a twenty-five years old red-headed member of the Weasley family. He had been discussing with his French girlfriend, Fleur Delacour about the necessity of her presence in the rescue mission.
Bill had a scar across his face, courtesy of a werewolf named Fenrir Greyback when he scratched him with his claws. Even though he had not been turned by the man, Weasley had developed traits that could remind of a wolf. He wore a jacket and a grey shirt; his pants and boots complimented his looks and made his job easier.
His girlfriend, Fleur, was a French blonde woman of unnatural beauty courtesy of her heritage as a descendant of the magical race known as Veela. She had come to the Department of Mysteries wearing a pair of pants with a white blouse. Her blue eyes looked at her boyfriend with determination. She was currently working for Gringotts, a bank created and run by Goblins and had come to visit England once again after her last year when she heard the news of Harry's disappearance.
"Fleur, I just want to keep you safe. We don't know where Harry has went and if the place is dangerous" He tried to reason.
"What if any of you can come back? What if Harry needs my help? I was so rude to her last year. I want to help" She declared.
The fact that they could never come back had been a looming threat that was brought back to the forefront when Fleur mentioned it.
"I think she should come with us" Sirius interjected. He approached the couple and smiled in reassurance, he then looked at the woman" I'm sure Harry will be very happy see you. She is not a girl that holds grudges".
Fleur's mood improved and William surrendered. The sound of steel hitting marble tiles was heard and everyone looked at the source. Moody and Shacklebot stepped in the room with a pair of enchanted bags.
"I see we're all here" Moody grunted" Let's go and rescue Potter".
"Finally!" Ron yelled. The people in the room turned towards him and the boy blushed in embarrassment.
"Oh, my poor boy! You must stay here Ronald. And you too Ginny! Let the adults handle this!" Their mother said with a frightened tone of voice.
"Harry is my friend! I want to help her. Besides, Hermione and the rest are going too!" Ron complained.
Before the woman could retort, Bill put a hand in her shoulder and stopped her.
"Don't worry mom. I will keep an eye on him. However, I think Ginny should stay behind too".
"No! I want to go and search for Harry" Ginny insisted "She is one of the few people that didn't insult Luna when she first met her. And she rescued me when the cursed diary made me do all those horrible things in my first year. I want to help!".
"Listen to your mother young lady! I will not allow you to go in this foolish errand and that's final! Arthur say something!".
Molly looked at her husband awaiting his answer and he looked in defeat at his daughter.
"I'm sorry Ginny… Your mother is right. Let us handle this" He said with remorse.
"But I can go right? Harry is my best mate! We been through everything together. Hermione has saved our butts and she's crazy smart!" Ron interjected.
"I will go1 Let me go daddy! I will do everything you say and stay close to you but let me go too!" Ginny tried to bargain. Moody looked at the ensuing drama and grunted in irritation.
"There's no time for this now…" He whipped his wand from its holster and casted a spell. It hit the girl and Ginny dropped unconscious.
"Alastor! What do you think you're doing?!" Moly screeched, meanwhile, her husband had caught their daughter before she hit the floor and hurt herself. He mouthed a 'thank you' to the man.
"We have no time for discussions. Time is of the essence" He answered.
Molly ranted below her breath while walking to her sons. She hugged Bill first and then Ron.
"Take care of your brother" She said to the first with tears in her eyes "Be careful Ron!".
Once Ginny was left resting in one of the stone benches with Molly beside her, they rest approached the looming archway.
"Who goes first?" Shacklebot asked.
"The adults first" Bill reasoned.
"Us" Hermione responded "We're Harry's friends".
Ron, Hermione, Neville, and Luna situated themselves in front of the crowd and looked at each other. After a silent conversation that lasted a few seconds, they nodded at each other.
"Wait! What if there's danger on the other side of the gateway?" Nymphadora objected.
"Tonks is right" Remus agreed "Padfoot and I will go first. We're her guardians".
The children begrudgingly accepted the declaration and moved to the side.
"Okay. But we go next" Neville announced.
Sirius hugged the group and patted them in the back.
"Are you ready Padfoot?" Remus asked his friend.
"I was born ready Moony. Let's go and find Harry" He declared.
The two walked forwards at the same time. After a couple of steps, the two touched the floating intangible cloth. In an instant, their bodies dissipated, and the room was left as if they had never been there.
"It's us now" Luna said. Her eyes were filled with determination, and she felt a little bit of giddiness in her heart. She felt like an exciting new adventure was going to happen.
"Let's go!" Ron yelled.
The group followed the two adults' example and passed through the archway. Like before, they vanished without leaving a trace. Molly broke into tears.
"My turn" Moody walked with grim determination. The sound of his metallic leg filling the silence. Once he passed, Shacklebot moved into position.
"To new horizons" He closed his eyes for a second and then moved with purpose. In an instant, the man had left in his companion's footsteps.
"Let's go, mon amour" Fleur indicated her boyfriend.
Bill and Fleur interlocked their fingers and entered the portal. Arthur hugged his wife and was next in line to enter the gateway. Tonks used the portal next. And finally, Snape wiped his black robes and was the last one to enter the Death Chamber's mysterious archway.
In the end, Amelia sighed and walked towards the only ones left in the room. He followed them outside the chamber and closed its door. One last look at the place and the woman prayed to Merlin for their success.
XXX
Gabriel Veridan had changed his post to the streets of Azyrheim this morning when one of his fellow soldiers came to relegate him from the position. The streets of the city were busy with the sound of people talking and making transactions with the different goods they sold. A couple of duardin men inspected the runes engraved in an axe while a human woman beside them organised the different trinkets of her shop.
Today had been filled with rumours and the talk of the visitor that had gone two day before to Sigmaron accompanied by a group of Stormcast Eternals. News travelled fast and speculation of her origin had been made. They had seen her wear strange clothes, a skirt too short to be appropriate and a shirt emblazed with a never-before-seen coat of arms, and the scar Harry had on her forehead.
The implications of the mark and the possible explanation for it had not waited long to be talked about. Apparently the girl had been sent to Hammerhal with changed clothes and people had wondered if they would see her again.
The God-King had not elaborated any further or made any statement. Combined with the appearance of the old man's corpse the same day, everybody had been on edge the past couple of days.
Gabriel was lost in thought when it happened. He felt the air twist and change, a vacuum in space and time fill in an instant and the same noise that the corpse had made when it appeared in Azyrheim made him have a bad feeling about it.
Booooooooaaaaaaam!
The sound of the explosion and the ensuing smoke attracted the various guard to the location. He drew his weapon and waited for the cloud of dust to dissipate.
Once it dispersed, the Stormcast looked at the two human children that had suddenly materialized in the street.
One was a boy with red hair and another a girl a year younger than him with blonde hair and two strange orange bulbs of plants used as pendants.
"Slaast Merlin! Bortalo vboal uroant! Wuasco toa-?!" The boy said in a never heard before tongue. When he finally looked at his surroundings, his eyes widened in surprise and a little bit of fear.
The girl on the other hand had observed the place where the two had appeared and had smiled with half-closed eyes.
"Get up! You will come with us" Gabriel declared. The boy and girl looked at each other in confusion and started speaking to each other.
"Borua vgghe bjpquo vi vo wtae. Luna, hsvol ayr it lofdaod rual? Voalo ersyo?" The boy said.
"Yrlco agsu vonap Ronald. Govkb aiby Harry vnobal" She responded to him.
The boy drew a wooden stick from his pocket and the soldiers tensed and pointed their weapons at them.
"Stop that! Come here. You're under arrest. I don't understand your strange tongue, but we will obtain some answers" One of Gabriel fellow soldiers declared. He grabbed the boy by his arm and the child tried to resist.
Gabriel helped the girl get up from her position. She smiled at him and nodded as to thank him. They didn't seem to be daemons, but it was best to be cautious about them.
Two other guards started to search them for weapons and took their strange sticks out of their hands.
"Hoeu! Viao rhao voarea!" The boy complained. The guards ignored him and began dragging the two children with them towards one of the buildings.
The people, meanwhile, had started talking to each other about the new presence in Azyrheim.
"What are two children doing here? How did they appear?" A man wondered.
"It's like last time! The corpse and the mysterious girl were the same! Is this a new tactic that the Ruinous Powers are using to infiltrate Azyr? God-King Sigmar protect us!" A woman said in a fearful tone.
The soldiers ignored the whispers and conversations around them and moved to one of the buildings with purpose.
XXX
Neville was a boy with an affinity for plants since he was young. He had grown to a fine young man in the years since he had been friends with Harry, Hermione, and Ron. When his grandmother had asked him what he wanted to work as when he became an adult, he answered her that he would like to be Professor of Herbology in Hogwarts.
The moment he arrived at the Realm of Ghyran, his eyes opened in wonder at the strange, new, and unique plants and trees that filled his vision. He found himself standing in a meadow inside a dense forest. The sound of insects flying and the wind that moved the branches of the trees filled his ears.
Neville rose from his position in the ground and stretched. Looking around him, he found himself alone.
"Ron? Hermione? Anybody? Are you there? Can you hear me?" He yelled. He used his hands to amplify his voice unsuccessfully.
Sighing in defeat, he drew his wand and prepared to cast a spell to find his companions.
"Point Me Hermione" He said. But nothing happened. He frowned and tried again "Point Me Hermione. Point Me Ron. Point Me Moody?".
No results. Neville felt a chill down his spine and a fear settle itself at the pit of his stomach. He pointed in front of him and tried casting another spell.
"Bombarda!" Nothing.
"Wingardium Leviosa!" He tried to make a stone float, but it didn't.
"Depulso! Avis! Colovaria!" None worked. For a second he feared his wand was broken but when he inspected it he found no damage.
He couldn't use magic. That mean he would have no way of finding Harry or the rest of his friends but the old-fashioned way.
Resigning himself to his fate, the boy began walking forward in search of the missing girl.
XXX
Fleur wished she had not lost her ability to use magic with her wand when the heat of the place she had landed on almost made her pass out from a heatstroke. Bill had tried to conjure water, but it had not worked.
It seemed like it was more difficult to use magic in this place. But that didn't mean they couldn't. The allure was a magical ability Veela used to seduce men and women they had an interest in or wanted to make them drop their guard when in battle. When she had used it on Bill, he had mentioned that she still had it.
They had speculated that it was possible that due to being a part of her race, the allure could still be used by Fleur. But they had no way of proving it until they found out if they could cast magic another way. Wandless magic was off the table for them, it was an incredibly difficult thing to use and master, the only instance used by mages of incredible ability or children due to their intense uncontrolled feelings.
The place they had landed on was the definition of a blazing inferno. The beach where they had landed was surrounded by mountain peaks and erupting volcanoes. Wildfires spread around them and the vegetation they could find was dry and barren.
Nobody else had arrived with them. And so, they had marched in search of Harry and the rest while rationing their water bottles.
Another thing that had frustrated them was the moment the enchanted bags had spilled their contents violently into the ground once they materialized there. Moody and Shacklebot had most of the objects and things brought for the expedition, but part of the food and water had been carried by Bill and Fleur.
"Mon Dieu! Why is it so hot in here?!" Fleur huffed while fawning herself with her hand.
"I don't know, but we better hurry and find everybody. I can't imagine what Harry is going through all alone in this hellscape".
Fleur nodded and the two began their path close to the beach in case some form of village or city would be built at the shore.
XXX
"Well, this is not good" Shacklebot declared.
"I say Kingsley" Moody grunted "Potter is not here; we can't use our wands and the rescue party has been dispersed to who knows where!".
The first thing they had tried was to see if their wands were damaged but found nothing was wrong with them. Now were standing with their enchanted bags also disenchanted and their contents piled in front of them. Magical trinkets, provisions and the tents laid in a heap in the ground.
"At least we are together" Tonks tried to object.
"Aye" Moody agreed" The important thing now is to set course and direction to search for signs of civilization and ask them. We will have to be as inconspicuous as possible".
"What a weird place this is though…" Nymphadora said, looking at their surroundings with curiosity.
The three were currently in a dessert surrounded by rocks and spires of metallic substances. The sky was the orange colour of the sunset and floating in the air sparks of molten metal descended to the ground. When Shacklebot crouched to touch the sand the colour of rust, he brought it close to the other two to observe it.
"This is not normal sand" He declared" It looks more like ground up rusted iron" He rubbed the substance between his fingers and let it fall back to the ground.
Tonks approached one of the rocks and caressed with her hand. The stone was polished to reflection and the woman could see herself in it.
"This is the same. It's more a piece of mined metal than a normal rock" She said to them.
"Hmmm… So, to recap, we are now magicless or incapable of using our wands in a mysterious land made almost completely of metallic substances and the rest of the rescue group is missing. Potter probably also landed in another place and the girl has moved most likely in search of other humans." Moody reasoned.
"There's no time to waste then" Kingsley declared.
"C'mon Moody, Shacklebot. Where to next?" Tonks asked.
They spun around a few times trying to see where to go and Kingsley pointed to the east.
"How about there?" He wondered.
"Good place to start as any" Moody shrugged" Let's grab everything. Let's go!".
With their hands full of their provisions, enchanted objects, and the tents, the three humans set course to parts unknown.
XXX
The irony of the place where Sirius and Remus had landed would probably not have been lost to Harry should she had known of it. The two men had arrived at the same place the girl had done, only further away from her.
To say they had felt a little bit creeped out by it would be an understatement. Remus felt in his nature a call of kinship in the place, and should Sirius had transformed into his Animagus form he would felt the bestial nature of the Grimm soar in joy.
"Man, this is creepy! Where in Merlin's name is everybody?!" Sirius complained.
"I don't know but we better begin searching for them. Safety in numbers in this strange land would be the way to go" Remus answered.
"Harry?! Harry?! Pup! It's me Sirius! Where are you Harry?!" Sirius began yelling to the heavens.
Remus put a hand on his shoulder and shook his head. The man stopped in his tracks and released a sigh of defeat.
"Dammit…" Harry's godfather cursed "Let's go Moony. The sooner we start looking for Harry and the rest the sooner we can leave this place".
The two friends began walking unaware of the presence hiding that had noted their sudden appearance.
XXX
Hammerhal was a city the size Harry could not explore in all her life. The buildings represented the wealth of the inhabitants and the different races living in it dedicated their manpower to keep the place running. An enormous marketplace filled with tents and sellers that exposed their merchandise stood surrounded by forges, restaurants, and districts.
There were military post, industrial factories and all manner of shipment carts being transported from one side of the Realmgate to the other. Apparently Hammerhal was divided between Aqshy and Ghyran, making the city a mixture of a blazing inferno and a humid tropical forest. The streets and alleyways where paved in stone and the people traded, bought, and sold their goods with one another.
Harry had moved to one of the city's districts in the hopes of finding a place to rest and live in the meantime. Tomorrow, she had planned to go in search of a job and after gaining sufficient money, go on a quest in search of Voldemort and weapons to use in battle.
Harry had during her search found a series of greenhouses where pants and trees from Ghyran served as a place of tourism. Flying beetles and other insects nested there. A couple of men walked the insides and took care of the place.
At the end, the girl had entered an inn and asked for a room to spend the night in. The owner, a woman with a scar crossing the left side of her face and a missing ear greeted her with a scowl. She had a pair of beefy arms, a stomach with toned abs and was dressed in a grey blouse and long brown skirt with a red apron tied to her waist, a leather bodice completed her looks. Her pale grey hair was put in a ponytail and had a necklace with a twin-tailed comet and a lightning bolt hanging from her neck.
"I would like to have a room, please" Harry said.
"It will cost you a vial of Aqua Ghyranis" The woman responded.
"I don't have it. I just recently moved here. My town was attacked and was rescued".
The woman grunted.
"Do you have money? I can put you to work to pay if you don't".
"I have. How much?".
"Ten brass coins" The woman declared.
Harry put her hand inside the bag and took the aforementioned payment. She deposited them in the table in front of her and watched as the woman inspected them for a couple of seconds. Nodding she pointed with her thumb behind her.
"Dinner starts in a couple of hours. Your room is on the first floor, the last one. Here's your key" She put a rusted key in front of Harry "Should you require more time staying here, you will have to pay ten coins a day or fifty for the complete month".
Harry nodded without saying a word. Grabbing her key, the girl walked up the stairs. The wood of the planks creaked every step she made. Once in front of the door of her room, Harry opened the door using her key.
Once inside, Harry closed behind her and sat on the bed. The room was empty of almost all kind of furniture except the most basic. An oil lamp rested on a table beside the bed that was made from hay and formerly white sheets. A window with a pair of wooden doors made possible to look outside at the city and all the activity in it.
Harry deposited the bag of coins on the table and waited for the time to go downstairs to satiate her hunger.
Meanwhile, she passed the time planning her immediate future, and all the people she had left behind.
XXX
The prison of Azkaban had housed all manner of evil wizards and witches. It rested on an island surrounded by perpetual storms and the terrible weather made almost impossible to escape the place.
Bellatrix Lestrange had howled and yelled without rest since her arrest. Her fellow Death Eaters had wailed or accepted their fate. The woman on the other hand, had not yet surrendered. She swore to be free once more, knowing instinctually that her Lord was still alive. He had always defied death and she was sure he would once more.
The sound of steps alerted her of an upcoming guard, and she waited to see what he wanted.
"Lestrange! You have visitors!" The guard declared.
"Really! Oh, I knew I was still popular! Hahaha!" She cackled and the man made a face of disgust.
Once the man left, Bellatrix saw that the ones that had come were her sister Narcissa and her son Draco.
"Cissy! Have I ever told you you're my favourite sister?!".
"Hello Bella. Draco wanted to talk to you".
"Hello aunt" Malfoy said with an even tone.
"Draco! Come give me a hug!" She stretched her arms outside the bars of her cell, but the boy abstained himself from approaching.
"Oh, poo!" She pouted with an exaggerated motion" Now tell me boy, what did you wanted to talk about?".
Draco looked to see if the guard was listening and approached the woman.
"I heard from Potter's friends that they were going somewhere" He whispered" They believe she is still alive".
"Really…?" Bellatrix interest was picked" And what were they planning to do?".
"Mother and I bribed one men from the Ministry, and he said he saw Alastor Moody, Kingsley Shacklebot, Potter's friends and a bunch of other people enter a room in the Department of Mysteries and never came back outside".
"What room Draco? Tell me. Describe it for me" Bellatrix felt excitement rise in her chest.
"He said it's called the Death Chamber; it has a stone arch-"
"-way with a floating white cloth in the middle of it" Bellatrix finished.
"Yes" He nodded.
"Hahahahahahahaha!".
Draco jumped in the air the moment he heard her demented laugh.
"I knew it! I knew Potter and Our Lord were still alive! The bitch took the Master away, but he still lives, he endures! I feel it in the Dark Mark! The others doubted when I explained it to them, but they are all idiots! We must go to Our Lord! Draco! I need your help!".
Draco gulped at the rant and approached once more to hear what she was saying.
"I will need you to help free us! And you'll come too! Our Lord will surely grant you anything you wish!".
"Yes, Aunt Bellatrix" He resigned himself to his fate. If that meant having Harry for himself when they capture her, all the better.
"Oh! What a day! What a lovely day!" Bellatrix extended her hands to the air and laughed once more.
"Keep it quiet!" The guard yelled "Your time to visit has expired. Come on! Let's get you out of here!".
Draco, his mother and the guard then left the mad woman behind and the sound of her cackling laughter.