Harry Potter and the God of War
A Harry Potter/God of War crossover.
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Chapter 1: A Serendipitous Rescue
Little Hangleton Cemetery.
In a darkened graveyard, Harry Potter, the fourth and unwilling participant of the Triwizard Tournament, and just now a hostage/torture victim of one Tom Riddle styled Lord Voldemort, all around Dark Wizard and murderer of countless innocents, including Harry's own parents, in his mad quest for power, conquest and all other things that tiny minded tinpot dictators wanted, stood unsteadily on his feet.
Harry's arms and legs shook from the pain and stress of the Cruciatus Curse he was forced to endure and the wound from where the Acromantula had struck him burned like the fieriest pit of hell. Staring at the blood red eyes of the monster who had ruined his life, Harry held his wand in numb fingers; Cedric's body lay a few feet away, cold and lifeless, and the Triwizard Cup lay just a few feet beyond that.
In all honesty, this seemed like it was the end of the line for the Boy Who Lived; he was running on fumes basically, injured and exhausted beyond human capacity. It was frankly a miracle he was standing on his feet, perhaps a testament to the determination Harry had in himself, to spite the Dark Lord. Deep down inside, Harry was terrified for his life and he wished that someone, anyone would come rescue him.
As Voldemort smiled cruelly and raised his wand to deliver the Killing Curse and his gang of cronies watched in anticipation, a sudden blinding explosion of light filled the space between the Dark Lord and his prey. The swirling coalescence of light and colour slowly took shape in the form of two people. Everyone stared dumbfounded at what they saw.
The first figure was an imposing individual; taller than everyone in the cemetery, bone-ash white flesh with a thick crimson tattoo lining parts of his body before ending over his left eye. A thick full beard of dark brown almost black hair, wearing armour that consisted of a black bearskin cloak that hung from his broad muscular shoulders, dark leather sleeves and gauntlets on his thick sinewy arms and a black hide kilt with a banded leather belt. He also looked well-armed as he held in one brawny hand an ornate looking axe with a broad blade. Chains were wrapped around his muscular forearms as he glanced around with hard stern eyes.
The second figure was a woman of great beauty. She had shoulder length reddish chestnut hair done in intricate braids and a pair of bird feathers stuck at the back. Dark eyeshadow or mascara lined her warm brown eyes. Her armour looked regal and ornate with golden scales covering her sides and much of her arms. Metal pauldrons of interweaving patterns adorned her narrow shoulders and poking over her right shoulder were two sword hilts of excellent make.
Harry stared dumbfounded at these two individuals. Even Voldemort and his cronies were speechless at the sight of two warriors ready for battle. The ash-skinned man spoke in a deep rumbling voice.
"Head, where are we?" he asked.
Then another voice, a man's with a Scottish brogue spoke from just behind the ash-skinned man's right hip.
"Cannae rightly say, Brother, but if I were to guess, I'd say we were in my homeland, or near enough to it."
The pale-fleshed warrior then holstered his axe on his back before going to his hip to lift up a severed head with gemstone eyes and horns on it. Amazingly, the head was alive and talking.
"Yes, this land is familiar enough, but different as well," it said in a cheery manner.
"How is this possible?" the warrior demanded gruffly.
"Well, I'd gladly answer that question, Brother, but it seems there's more pressing concerns in front of us now," the head replied.
The warrior-woman suddenly looked at Voldemort who stared back with a sneer. A dark look came over her face as she spoke with contempt lacing her voice.
"We've arrived at the scene of a dark ritual. The air stinks of black magic!"
The head spoke in agreement with her. "Aye, can taste it on the air, your majesty. Some very foul black magic has been done here," it said knowingly with a grim frown.
The warrior-queen, given that the talking head address her as royalty, glanced at her companion and said to him, "Kratos? I know you do not like being ordered to kill for any reason, but would you be a dear and deal with those things?" she asked indicating the Death Eaters before looking directly at Voldemort and said, "I will deal with that… thing!"
Kratos looked at Voldemort and his followers before replying, "I was going to do it anyway."
"Kill them!" shrieked the snake-faced Dark Lord and what Harry witnessed next was a completely one-sided slaughter.
The ash-skinned warrior, Kratos, brutally hacked apart the Death Eaters with his axe which glowed and was covered in thick frost. The head now back on Kratos's hip was shouting encouragement and warnings to him. The Death Eaters were hacked to pieces, blood splashing onto the earth and headstones of the graveyard; Harry nearly lost his lunch after seeing the warrior grab one Death Eater and literally rip the man's head from his neck.
The warrior-queen was calmly walking towards Voldemort who hurled curse after curse at her. But she spoke in a strange tongue and tree roots sprung up to defend her from the hexes and jinxes, slowly making her way towards the Dark Lord who looked ever more desperate in his attempts to kill her.
"Nagini!"
Voldemort's snake familiar slithered into view and rose up behind the warrior-queen. Harry gave a strangled cry of warning. No sooner than Harry cried out, the talking head on Kratos' hip shouted in warning, "Brother! Right side!"
The warrior spun around and hurled his frost covered axe at the snake, chopping its head from its body. Oily black smoke rose up from the now decapitated serpent and Voldemort screamed in anguish.
Gnashing his teeth, Voldemort raised his wand to cast an Unforgiveable, but the warrior-queen shouted another strange spell. Tree roots sprung from the earth and wrapped around the Dark Lord's limbs, forcing him to his knees. The warrior queen raised her hands that now glowed with bright energy.
"Brother! Freya's about to do something crazy! Grab the boy there and haul us to safety! We don't wanna see this!" the head shouted to the warrior who quickly scooped Harry up into his arms and kicked the door to a crypt open before throwing themselves inside as the warrior-queen shouted in that strange language. What Harry felt could only be described as a pulse of pure magic followed by a thunderous boom.
After a moment, Kratos picked Harry up and carried him outside. After gently setting the boy down to stand beside him, Kratos lifted the talking severed head up to look at Freya, who now looked tired and haggard, breathing heavily.
"That was quite a bit of magic you did just now, your majesty," the head remarked. "Might we ask why?" it asked.
Freya stepped aside to reveal the charred corpse of Voldemort which was already crumbling away to dust and said, "This… thing… committed blasphemy! It broke its own soul into pieces! As a means to cheat death and achieve immortality! Such magic is a crime against the natural order of things!"
The head seemed to understand as it said, "Aye, looking at him now, I could tell. Ripping one's soul apart is murder on the looks." The head's tone was grim as it spoke the words.
"What is this magic you speak of?" Kratos asked sternly.
"It's a foul corrupted bit of magic, Brother," the head replied. "Magic that should never be used or allowed to exist. Only used by those desperate to avoid death," it said darkly. "That thing, whatever it was in life, tried to cheat death itself! The damned fool…"
Freya nodded at this before looking at Harry, her expression becoming kinder as she rushed over to help him. "Are you alright, child? What's your name?" Her words were kind and motherly.
"Harry. My name is Harry," Harry said weakly as he tried to stand but failed as the wound on his leg burned, nearly making him fall down, only to be caught by Freya.
"Easy there. You're wounded," she reminded him. "How did you end up in this horrible place?" she then asked in concern.
"The cup… it was a portkey… and Cedric? Oh, God, Cedric?" Harry looked at the lifeless corpse of Cedric Diggory.
Kratos and the talking head looked over at Cedric's dead body. "Oh, the poor lad," the head lamented sadly.
"His name was Cedric… he could've run, but he didn't!" Harry exclaimed. "He wasn't supposed to die!" he wept as tears welled up in his eyes.
Kratos walked over to Cedric's body, his expression unreadable as he looked at Cedric's lifeless eyes. "He died a warrior, a brave one," he said simply.
Freya then cupped Harry's chin in her tattooed hands, looking at him with concern in her eyes. "How did you get here? Is there somewhere we can take you?" She then noticed the lightning bolt scar on his forehead, her expression becoming surprised and horrified. "Oh no…" she whispered softly before looking at her companions.
"Kratos? Mimir? How would you feel about helping me with a cleansing ritual and a scavenger hunt of sorts?" she asked.
The severed head held in Kratos's hand, Mimir, glanced at Harry before saying, "Aye. We can certainly help you with that, your majesty. What say you, Brother?" he asked Kratos.
Kratos grunted before saying, "Fine. But we then find a way back home afterwards."
"Alrighty then, now let's see about getting out of this dank place, shall we?" Mimir chattered cheerfully.
"How did you get here?" Freya then asked Harry, repeating her earlier question.
"The cup… it's a portkey," replied Harry.
"What is a portkey?" Kratos asked, his tone deep and neutral.
"I think it's this land's way of getting around, Brother," Mimir told him. "Mind if I take a wee look at it?" he requested and Kratos held the talking head to the Triwizard Cup. The gemstones that were Mimir's eyes glowed brightly and he said, "Ah, should be able to take us back to its point of origin no problem."
"How does it work?" Freya asked as she looked at the trophy apprehensively.
"We just have to be holding onto it, I guess," Harry said in response.
"Here, let me help you," Freya offered kindly as she easily hefted Harry into her surprisingly strong arms.
"What about Cedric?" Harry asked.
"We'll take him back to his people. Give him a proper sendoff. Won't we, brother?" Mimir said to Kratos.
"Hm."
Hanging Mimir on his hip, the ashen warrior lifted Cedric's body into his arms before they all gathered around the portkey.
"Ready, everyone?" Mimir asked them. "Three… two… one… now!" Kratos and Freya latched their free hands onto the cup and with a violent lurch they were taken from the graveyard. A moment later, they were dropped on a raised dais.
"What in all Helheim was that?!" Freya swore violently as she shakily got to her feet. "Even travel between realms isn't that unpleasant!" she stated.
Kratos grunted in discomfort as he stood to his feet, neither showing any pain or discomfort.
It was then that Dumbledore and several others slowly approached. Kratos made to reach for his axe when Harry whispered to him, "Good guy!" before he passed out.
Dumbledore was rather nonplussed when two strangers showed up with his two missing students, one of whom was sadly dead. He was even more befuddled when the woman then spoke calmly and regally like a queen would, asking questions while her frankly frighteningly looking companions hefted an unconscious Harry in his arms, refusing to relinquish the boy to anyone, save a healer and further said in his deep growling voice that he would be staying with the boy until he was fully recovered.
It was a strange procession to the Hospital Wing, however the mystery woman, Freya glared at Moody darkly. The grizzled ex-auror muttered an excuse about checking on the security before limping off. Freya then began making demands of Snape after learning he was a potions master from Dumbledore. Snape had made to say something scathing, but a cold glare from Kratos had the greasy haired man uncharacteristically holding his tongue and looking very nervous as he strode, muttering under his breath the list of ingredients Freya asked him to bring to her.
Harry's friends wanted to stay with Harry, but the headmaster sent them to their dorms as the boy was then tended to by Madame Pomfrey who then wanted to tend Kratos for any injuries. Kratos refused any treatment and calmly left, but not before leaving Mimir with Freya and everyone was stunned to see a talking reanimated head.
Snape came back with a pile of ingredients that Freya asked him to bring and watched in amazement as she grinded them, working some strange ancient magic over Harry Potter. Then a thin coiling line of smoke was pulled from the famous lightning bolt scar on Harry's forehead which Freya then sealed in a small unbreakable jar.
"Nasty business," Freya muttered grimly, shaking her hands as she set the jaw aside before tenderly stroking Harry's cheek. "But I've gotten it all. A good night's rest and a little salve, he'll be just fine," she said with a warm smile. Looking at her, Snape felt himself drawn to her; seeing her smile reminded him of Lily, a kindness in those warm brown eyes showing a motherly beauty making her seem breathtaking to behold. The potions master had felt the Dark Mark tattooed on his forearm flare to life an hour ago, but it had quickly faded shortly afterwards. The talking head, Mimir had idly informed Dumbledore about the graveyard which would need "a little tidy-up," and Freya had pulled what she labelled a soul leech from Harry Potter's head.
Snape had no idea what any of it meant, but he dared to believe that for the first time in many years since Lily's death, there was now hope for the future.
Later in Dumbledore's office, Kratos, Freya and Mimir were speaking with Dumbledore who made a cursory offer of one of the muggle sweets he was so fond of.
"So, that snake-faced fucker we dealt with in the graveyard earlier," Mimir said coarsely. "Did you know that he had split his soul into pieces?" he asked knowingly.
Dumbledore sighed as he sagged in his chair, feeling his age as he replied, "I… had my suspicions…"
"And did you know that one of those soul shards was in the boy?" Freya demanded coldly.
Dumbledore reluctantly nodded in confirmation. "You didn't think to remove such a foul piece of magic sooner?" Freya asked in growing anger.
"I had been trying to for many years," Dumbledore replied sadly. "But all my research on how to remove a horcrux from a living being told me that the host would have to die in order for it to be removed," he said bitterly.
"Well, it's a bloody good thing that we came along and dealt with it for you," Mimir stated before adding, "And I'm guessing there's more than one of these horcrcuxes the snake-faced fucker made, isn't there?" he asked although it sounded more like a statement than a question.
"There is, but how many I do not exactly know, but I have my suspicions which I need to confirm," Dumbledore replied.
"What are your suspicions?" Kratos asked gruffly.
Dumbledore then prepared to tell the strangers what he knew of Voldemort's sordid past and quest for immortality.
TO BE CONTINUED(?)
A/N: There! Just thought I'd give this plot bunny a shot and see if it goes anywhere. This idea has been dancing around in my head for a while and I haven't thought too much about it, I decided to give it a shot. It might be a very short story, but I won't underestimate it as it could very well become longer than a few chapters. A funny idea for this story would be Kratos, Freya and Mimir becoming professors at Hogwarts; Mimir could teach history of magic and be a much more engaging teacher than Professor Binns; Freya could easily teach Charms, Transfiguration, Herbology and Potions and Kratos might end up teaching Defence against the Dark Arts. I could just picture Malfoy trying to mouth off at Kratos only to get Leviathan narrowly missing his head followed by a very cold stern lecture from Kratos about discipline and obedience. Freya might use her magic to dangle Malfoy above the venomous tentacula as a clear warning not to test her patience and Mimir using his all-seeing Bifrost eyes might reveal some embarrassing secrets about Malfoy and his family to everyone.
But we might not ever see that as the story might only last a couple of chapters with Kratos and co. finding and destroying Moldyshorts' horcruxes followed by finding a way back to the Nine Realms.
And apart from that, I haven't got too much more to say about this, so I'll leave this here and see you all in the next one.
Be kind to one another,
Angry lil' elf.